Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1925-12-21
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

@. Why are evergreens used for
decoration at Craftsmanship. G. 5.
A. The custom of hanging ever
greens in the house at Christmas time
originally had a purpose beyond deco
ration. In olden times each kind of
evergreen was supposed to confer spe
cial blessings on those who passed
beneath it. To pass under holly in
sured good fortune for the coming
year.
@. At what speed is the earth travel
ing toward the star Vega?-C. S. G..
A. AS far as the earth is concern
ed, the course is not a straight line,
but a spiral, composed from the mo-
ton of the earth around the sun and
its motion with the sun. The rate
Of motion is about II miles per second.
@. What is meant by the fifth
estate"?-P J.
A. This term has recently been ap-
piled to that body of persons who
| are engaged in the preservation and
advancement of the organized knowl
edge we know as science.
Q. When was it discovered that silk
could be made from the web of the
silk wor1n?-D. T. S.
A. 1t is the general belief that the
great Importance of the silk worm
was discovered by Selling, the wife
of the Chinese Emperor Hoangti, who
reigned about 2637 b. c., and that she
invented and taught the art of silk
| spinning and weaving. The great
centers of this industry are China,
Japan, India and southern Europe.
Silk worms have been successfully
| raised in California, Ohio. Kansas, east
Tennessee, northern Georgia, Ken
lucky and some parts of New Jersey
@. What is the leading distinction
between a rife and other guns?-G.
r. T.
| A. A rife is a gun in which, by
| means of grooves in the bore or other
wise, the projectile is forced to rotate
| before leaving the barrel. This rota-
| tory motion, maintained during flight,
| lessons the tendency to depart from a
! straight line, and in a measure over
| comes atmospheric resistance.
| Q. Is rubber produced from the sap
| of plants?-N. D.
A. The milky juice or latex yielded
| by a number of different trees, shrubs
| and vines from which through coagu-
| lation rubber is derived is not the
| sap, on the circulation of which the
nutrition of the trees, etc, depends.
It's exact function in the plant appears
not to be fully understood
| q. What is a pilot fish2-O. A. s.
| A. 1t is a fish of the open ocean, of
| the family of horse-mackerel, attain
| ing d length of about l. inches, hav-
| ing Il peculiar habit of keeping COM
pany with ships and laSge fishes, espe-
| CIally sharks.
Q, Does the wind blow at the north
and south poles?-C. l.. X.
a. The Weather Bureau says that
wind does occur at both poles of the
| earth.
G. What are the principal cities and
towns touched by the Yellowstone
Trail from Chicago TO Seattle?-D.
L. NJ.
A. Milwaukee. st. Paul, Minneapo-
lis, Selby, :. Oak; Bowman, y. Oak;
fallon, Billings, Livingston, Butte and
Mlssoula, in Montana; Wallace, Idaho;
Spokane. Walla Walla, Yakima and
Ellenberg, in Washington.
Q. Can man pushing against an
ordinary brick wall move it even in
the slightest degree?-W. p.
A. There would be some DETECTION
An Instrument recently constructed at
/
can measure the amount of DETECTION
Of q brick wall 40 inches thick under
the pressure of one finger. This in
strUment is so delicately adjusted that
If one person looks into the eyepiece
while another walks across the floor
| the detection is apparently SO great
| that the whole building seems to be
[ sWaying back and forth as though
! made of cardboard
! @. Are any of the Eskimos Catho-
! lics.-W. J. NJ.
| a. There are many Catholic Eski-