Evening star., 1927-03-04
stamps were made in 1s45 by post
masters I'm nine cities.

Q. Why do we use Roman lettersf--
A. E. B.
A. The Romans took their alphabet
Of % letters into Britain. as they had
already taken 1t into Gaul and other
conquered countries. and 1t was
adopted later by the Anglo-Saxons.
To the Anglo-Saxon alphabet, how
ever, three new letters were added
Two OF these were runic letters and
represent as nearly as possible the
sounds Of "th" and ''ph" Later the
influence Of the Normans caused these
TO be discarded. and the three addi-
tlonal letters OF our alphabet are quite
different. They ara i, - ''u" and Wv
Q. Is there n decrease In the piano
industry2-E. J. NJ.
a. The Census Bureau says that
there Is a decrease in every branch
Of the piano industry. In 1923 there
We're 100 establishments In the United
States where the chief source of reve-
nue. was the manufacture OF pianos.
In 1925 there were only 142 piano COM
panies.
@. Does the Government Printing
Office sell plain white paper to the
tTade?-J. T. l..
A. 1t sells to Government depart
ments and bureaus. but not outside.
@. How long are the Straits Of
Gibraltar?--A. V. r,
A. About 40 miles.
@. is asafetida a vegetable or a
mineral?-A. b. r.
a. Asafetida is of vegetable origin,
being u gum resin found on various
b fose.vr I'D
Q. Have cats ever been used as
hunting animaIs?-K. W.
A. The ancient Egyptians are said
to have killed wild ducks with throw
sticks. to have made use of decOys.
and to have trained cats as retrtevers.
They also hunted with trained lions.
which belong to the cat species. There
have been also hunting leopards used
as long ago as the reign Of Kubla
Kahn in China
Q. Is the flesh of the Karakul
sheep edible?-M. A.
A. The mutton of Karakul sheep Is
| said to be the most palatable OF any
| breed, and the fat Is also considered
dencacy by the Bokharans. being
used by them instead of butter.
Q. Do mirages ever occur in the
North Atlantic?--A. r. NJ.
| A. They are frequent under favor
| able atmospheric conditions on the
| southern and eastern sides of the ice
regions, where the cold and warm
waters mix. Bergs often appear In
| verted and assume fantastic shapes,
| causing them TO appear much larger
| than they prove to be when close by.
There IS a record of berg the image
| of which was sighted over 20 miles
away in the mixed waters south OF
the tail OF the Grand Banks. appear
| ing first as three bergs, one set upon
the other. with the mirage continually
changing shape as the ship apv
| preached.
Q. What is the full name of Prince
Leopold of BeIgtum?-R. G.
A. He is His Royal Highness
Prince Leopold Philippe Charles AL
bert Meinrad Hubertus Marie Miguel.
Prince of Belgium, Duke Of Brabant.
@. How large is the Royal Albert
Hall in London?-W. A. F.
A The building, constructed in
1911. is oval In form, measuring 2'0
feet by 240 feet and accommodating
over 10000 people.
| @. Were there such characters as
| Evangeline and Gabriel?--A. s.
A. 1t is said that Evangeline and
| Gabriel were real characters and that
they married and lived many years in
| Philadelphia, where they are sup
posed to be buried.
| This Is q special department deroted
solely to the handling OF queries
| This paper puts at your disposal the
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| in Washington to serUe vou tn any
capacity that relates to Information.
| This service Is free. Failure to make
use Of 1t deprfres y0u OF benefits to
t0hich you are entitled. Your obHod-
tio11 Is o7llU cents in stamps Enclosed
1Cith your inquiry for direct reply.
Address The EUenin0 St1r Informa-
ton Bureau, Frederic j. HGskip, di-
rector, Washington, ID. @.