Evening star., 1925-07-02
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

Q. Are the clothes moths we see
about the house at times the insects
that destroy fabrics and furs?-
L. S. c.
A. These moth millers have i'm
perfectly developed mouth parts and
could not feed upon fabrics if they
desired. Their purpose in life is
merely to lay eggs that develop into
worms or larvae, which alone can
cause destruction.
Q. When was mail first carried by
rail?-C. B.
A. Mail was first carried by a
steam railway in 1884, but it was not
until 1888 that a law was passed de-
claring all railroads to be post routes.
The travelling railway post Office did
not come until 1870.
@. Who first used the word vita
MINER. J. n.
A. The word "vitamine" was first
used by DIR. Casmir Funk when he
fancied he had prepared a pure or
nearly pure form from rice polishings
by extracting them with alcohol and
purifying the extract, which when
applied even in very small doses was
capable of curing polyneuritiS in
pigeons in a startling manner. The
derivation of the word is obvious,
from vita. life, and anime, an am
monia derivative, because 1T appeared
to be a substance necessary Tor the
maintenance of life and health and
was thought to contain nitrogen in
anime form.
Q. What is the history Of Dry
Tortugas?-H. B. S.
A. Dry Tortugas was noted for the
establishment of Fort jefferson on one
of the islands as Il penal station dur
ing the Civil War. In 1904 the Car
negie Institution of Washington estab
lished on Loggerhead Key a marine
biological laboratory. and in 1908 the
Government set aside the entire group
as a Federal bird reservation.
Q. Please give the locations Of the
magnetic poles.-G. S. s.
A. The north magnetic pole is In
approximately 10 degrees north lati
tude and So degrees west longitude
in northern Canada. The south mag
netic pole is located on the Antarctic
continent at approximately 72 degrees
south latitude and 155 degrees east
longitude.
@. What is the strongest structural
A. The Bureau Of Standards says
that duralumin is.
Q. A cousin of mine was in the
Navy. He still has his blue serge
uniform. Is It against the law fol
him to wear IT'D. r.
A. The Navy Department says that
it is against the law to wear a sailor
suit after having left the service
A sailor suit can be changed into a
civilian suit by removing all Navy
insignia.
biblical manuscripts on exhibition al
the Freer Gallery of Art in Wash
ington?-F. A
A. The most important Of the so
called Washington manuscripts in
clude Deuteronomy and Joshua, the
Psalms, the four Gospels and a frag
mentary manuscript of the Epistles OF
st. Paul.
Q. What effect does liquid manure
have on flower plants?-M. B. G..
A. Liquid manure promotes the
growth Of foliage on the plants. If toe
much is applied they become tender.
@. What is the difference between a
hazel nut and f1lbert?-W. d. B.
A. The husk Of the hazel nut comes
little higher than the nut, hence II
was called Haesel, meaning hooded" +"
Haesel nut has come to be called hazel
nut. The husk Of the filbert Is con-
siderably longer and closes beyond the
end Of the nut, hence called full beard
ed. Full bearded has come to be called
f1lbert.
Q. How many automobiles are stolen
yearly?-S. l.. D.
A. The National Automobile Deal
ers' Association has survey covering
% cities for the past years. Activi
ties Of automobile thieves were nearly
so per cent greater in these cities in
1924 than in 1923, and not more than
100 per cent more than in 1918. In
these % index cities there were stolen
In 1924 total Of 57,771 motor vehicles
OF this number 47,4S4 automobiles
were recovered in those cities. The
percentage Of vehicles not recovered
was II per cent of the total number
stolen. This Is a reduction Of l per