Evening star., 1927-09-26
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC ]. HASKIN.

@. What is castor sugar?-M. E. E.
A. Castor sugar" was the old name
for what is now called "granulated
sugar" The term is usually found in
cookbooks written so or 60 years ago.
Q. Please send me formula for max
ing aquarium cement.-M. G. S.
A. Cement for panes in aquariums
is produced from ltharge and glyc-
erin. The former must he as finely
powdered as possible and the glyc-
erin very condensed. of a sirupy
consistency and limpid.. Mix the two
ingredients into semi-liquid paste.
coat the places. or pour the tough
mass into the respective cavity, and
press into it the part to be cemented
on. The surplus oozing out must be
removed at once and the place cleaned
as the putty hardens very rapidly.
@. Who was the man who invented
the electric chair. and who was the
first man executed?-R. L.
A. The electric chair was devised
by f. F. Davis, the State electrician
of New York. about 1888. The method
of electrocuting criminals was first
adopted by the State of New York.
the law making this mode of capital
punishment obligatory. being passed
June 4, 1888. The law became effective
on the 1st of January, 1889. The
first criminal to be executed by cleo
tricity was William Kemmler, on the
9Th of August, 1890, at Auburn Prison.
BY 1906 about us murderers had been
successfully executed by electricity in
New York State. in Sing Sing, Auburn
and Dannemora prisons.
@. What percentage of the Ameri-
can people are interested in the Red
Cross?-D. n. B.
A. According to statistics al the end
of the last fiscal year the number of
adult members of the American Red
Cross was 3.012,O55. and juniors were
enrolled to the number of $40 ,42S. ap-
proximately II per cent of the total
population.
Q. What is the Pennsylvania Coal
and Iron Police?-C. w. II.
A. The Pennsylvania Coal and Iron
Police are commissioned by the Secre-
tary of State. Various companies
make application to the Secretary of
State for as many men as are required
at their plants and these men are then
commissioned to cover only the prop
erty of the plant to which they are
assigned. They are paid by the plant
which asked for this protection. They
have full police authority on the
property to which they are assigned,
but no authority at any other place.
Q. What are the dimensions of the
RS-1?-F. L. De G..
A. The RS-1 is 2S2 feet long, "a
feet inches at it's greatest width, so
feet high, with a helium capacity of
10000 cubic feet.
O. What is a Bantu?-J. W. N.
A. A Bantu is a member of one of
the great family of Negroid tribes &C.
cupying Equatorial and Southern
Africa. These tribes include, as i'm
portant divisions, the Kafirs, Damaras,
Bechuanas. Swahilis and many tribes
whose names begin with Aba, ANA,
Ba-, Ma, Wa. variants of the Bantu'
plural personal prefix Aba, as in
Ba-ntu, or Aba-ntu, itself a combina-
ton Of this prefix with the syllable
.ntu, a lcrson.
@. What is the width and average
depth of the English Channel?-
H. J. Y.
A. The English Channel is 20 miles
wide at it's narrowest point. The
average depth ranges from 20 to 80
fathoms in the Strait of Dover to 60
fathoms at the entrance.
@. When was the first clock made
and how was the time computed
H. l..
A. 1t is uncertain when the first
time clock was constructed. Its in
vention is claimed by many from the
Chinese 2000 BIC. to the Germans of
the eleventh century. The oldest clock
of which there is description is the
tower clock Of the Palace of Charles
V of France which was set up in 1879
by a German named Henry De Wick.
Methods of computing time have been
in existence from very early periods.
Before the invention of the clock the
sundial clepsydra, or water clock, and