New Britain herald., 1925-07-21
QUESTIONS ANSWERED.


 sonal reply. I'nsimed requests can. not b answered. All letters arc cor fdontial,--Edtor.
 e. What percentage of the an nual consumption of forest products is used as lumber?
 A. About one-third Of all the timber taken from American forests yearly goes into lumber. The only item which exceeds lumber in the quantity of wood consumed is fire wood. According to the best figures now obtainahle, fence posts com 1 prise percent of the wood removed from the forests, heWed ties 8 per cent and pulp wood, percent. At l least 10 percent is attributed to de- struction by forest fires and the de- predations of insects and disease.
 Q. Were the Los Angeles and the Shenandoah over known by any other names?
 A. The Los Angeles was original ly the ZR-3 and the Shenandoah | formerly the ZR-1. c. What kind of poison should one use to get rid of bats in the house?
 A, Bats will not eat poison. They exist on living food. The only satis- factory way that has been found for getting rid of them is 10 get them i out of the house by closing up all apertures through which they usual ly enter. As they sleep in the house during the day, the best time to do this is after dark.
 C. What is the largest oil well known?
 A. The largest oil well on rec ord was the Cerro Azul Number 4 in Mexico, which is estimated to have flowed more than million barrels in q week. The column of oil was GOO feet high.
 q. Has the summit of Mt. Ever est ever been reached?
 A, No party has yet reached the top of Mt. Everest. On July 16, 1922, an expedition reached within HOO feet of the top. The Bruce party in 1924 reached a height Of 27,700 feet. The Duke of Abruzzi made an attempt in 1909 and reached an altitude Of 24,6O0 fat. The mountain itself is 29,141 feet high.
 Q. What is the formula for the commercial insecticides sold on the market?
 A, These, of course, are trade secrets, but the basis of most of these sprays is an extract of pyre- thrum flowers in kerosene oil, to which is added some essential oil, Different kinds of essential oils are used.
 Q. Of what country Is the rub her tree native, and can it be grown ill the United States?
 A. The rubber tree Is native to Brazil where 1t was found growing in forests several hundred miles up the Amazon river. It Is first men, toned by Herrera in his account of the second voyage of Columbus, where he found natives using balls made out of the gum from the rub Der tree. The cultivation of rubber did not begin until the latter part of the last century. In the early seventies an English hotanist named Wickham smuggled some seeds out of Brazil and, by experir enting, 1t was found they grew wei in the eastern tropics, Today there are large rubber plantations in Ccylon, Bornoo and the Malay peninsula and neighboring regions. Rubber trees canno' oe grown 10 advantage ln the Unit l States, but the de- partment of commerce has several expeditions out trying to find places in the American tropical possessions where it can be gronw successfully.
 Q. How many lepers are there in the United States?
 A. It has been estimated that there are approximately 1900.
 e, Can you tell me the total number of eclipses of the sun that have occurred in the last hundred years?
 A. There have been S2 total oclipscs of the sun in the past hun dred years, that is to say from June 20, 1925, to June 20, 1925.
 e. Is it lawful now for an in dividual to inspect income tax re- turns?
 A. Yes; apply 10 the collector of internal revenue Of the district in which the returns you wish to in- spCct were made.
 O. What is the difference in meaning of the words, tempora- mental, moody sensitive. and i'm questionable? Can they be used in- terchangeably?
 A, Tempcramental signifies a combination of intellectual and emo- tional tendencies; moody signifies a showing of capricious humors; sensitive signifies that one is easily Influenced by outside opinion or in- fluenCe; and impressionable means that one is easily impressed.
 Q. Docs the Bible condemn danc- ing as an evil?
 A, No. Of course, social dancing as we have it today was not known in Bible times Dancing among the Hebrews was either as a part of the religious ceremony as David's dancing before the Lord;" or it was for entertainment purposes; as the dance of Salome, which so de- lighted Herod that he offered her