Evening star., 1926-11-03
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

! Q. What is the record number of
eggs for hen to lay In one year,
c. r. NJ.
! A. The record is 345. This record
was made by white leghorn in New
Zealand. In the United States the
record is 335. This record was made
! in the State Of Washington.
@. What is the origin of the term
| Cracker" as applied to the country
people of Georgia?-L. l.. G..
| A. Harris NJ. King. a Georgian, says
that it originated in Savannah in
| much this fashion,: "Countrymen
would come into the city in their
carts, bringing their products for
sale to the city, and after disposing
of what they had. would buy what
they required for their country homes.
/ They always came In droves. and |
can recall In my boyhood days seeing
| as many as 15 or more carts in the
procession, coming and going. Arriv-
| Ing here one day. they would remain
until the following morning before
returning, carting spaces being espe-
cially provided for them, and the most
of them slept in their carts. When
| leaving, they would start very early.
about daylight, and as they went out
| they would begin cracking their whips,
which would probably sound like a
pack Of firecrackers going off; the re-
| suit being that the city folks would
| be awakened, and they would say.
There goes those damn crackers
! again! From this. the term Cracker
| was applied to practically all of the
country people of Georgia, and 1t Is
sometimes used in designating the
country people of North and South
=. y.o1fna E1nff6o -
c. How many kinds of insects are
there?-L. C..
A. There are about 100000.
Q. Is there any such thing as the
suns being either slow or fast at any
time Of the year?-W. G. r.
A. The Naval Observatory says chat
the apparent daily motion Of the sun
not being perfectly uniform. 1t does
not ordinarily cross a standard time
meridian exactly at noon by the clock.
and Is therefore said to be slow or
fast. as the case may be. The diff
| ference between clock and sun Is
greatest In the first part of November,
when the sun Is over 16 minutes ahead
Of the clock. The variability in the
apparent motion Of the sun Is due to
the equator of the earth not being in
the plane Of It's orbit, and the orbit
| not being circular, but slightly
elliptical.
@. What is the Nickname of Bucha.
rest, the capital of Rumania?-G. T.
A. Bucharest is often called THE
Paris of the Orient"
@. Is there any duty on inexpensive
Christmas gifts sent into Canada?-
r. A. F..
A. The Department Of Commerce
says inexpensive Christmas gifts may
be sent to Canada free of duty If
marked on the outside of the package
Christmas gifts. not to be sold"
Q. How many freight cars are there
| in use in the United States?-V. K.
A. The total number Of freight cars
in service at the end Of the year. De-
cember 81. 1925, was 2.3S7.54S.
@. Is the number Of farms in the
United States known?-L. L.
A. AS enumerated by the United
States Bureau of the Census there
were 6.372 1868 in 1925.
@. Does Mrs. Woodrow Wilson
have the privilege Of franktng her
letters?-C. o. M.
A. The Post Office Department says
that there was a special act on March
4. 1925. giving the franking privilege
to Mrs. Edith Gait Wilson. This act
| was passed too late to be included In
| the rules and regulations of the Post
| Office Department. the last copy of
which was published In 1924.
! O. What is the difference in mean.
| ing between "obsolescent" and lob
solete"?-W. X.
A. "Obsolete" conveys the idea that
a thing has gone out Of use, Is no
! longer practiced or accepted. "Obso-
| lescent" conveys the idea that the