Evening star., 1928-12-27
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

rendered by the Navy with the approval
Of President Coolidge.
Q. When were the symbols Of the
Evangelists adopted?-S. D.
A. In the fifth century the Four
Beasts which had already been used as
emblems of the Four Archangels and
the Four Great Prophets were adopted
as symbols of the EvangeliStS, and two
centuries later these curious creatures
were universally employed as symbolic
of these four saints. AT first they were
simply emblems of the Evangelists, but
after st. Jerome wrote of the Vision of
Ezekiel, each of these beasts was as
signed to a particular saint. To ST.
Matthew was given the cherub, or
winged human face; to st. Mark, the
Lion; to st. Luke, the Ok; and to st.
John, the Eagle.
@. How much and what kind Of
cream does 1t take to make pound
Of butter?-F. E. r.
A. The amount Of cream required TO
produce a pound Of butter does not
depend on the breed Of COW, but on
the richness Of the cream. Two quarts
Of cream containing 20 per cent butter
fat will make pound of butter, and
one and a half quarts of cream con-
tanning 30 per cent butterfat will pro-
duce pound Of butter.
@. Can children in the primary
grades be taught to use a typewriter
r. c. C.
A. In an experiment conducted at
the Horace Mann School at Teachers
College, Columbia University, five and
six year old children are being taught
their spelling and writing lessons on
typewriters. DR.. Rollo Reynolds. the
principal. believes that the children will
learn to spell more rapidly by this sys-l
tenn.
@. What Is the origin of the name
Taos, the home Of an art colony?-N. T. J
A. Taos is short for San Fernando de
Taos, the name of the saint to whom
the town Is dedicated.
@. Who established the Peabody Con-
servatory of music In Baltimore?-W. C. ,
A. The conservatory Is George Pea
body's gift to the city of his adoption.
The founder was born in Massachu-
sets in 1795, a poor boy. At the age
of 20 he went South to seek his for
tune and settled in Baltimore. Here
he laid the foundations of the great
wealth he was some day to possess =
His death was in 1869, and during his,
life he gave away from eight to nine
millions of dollars. Students now come
to this conservatory from "a States,
China, Hawaii, and Philippine Islands:
Q. What are the balls made of which
are used as Christmas tree ,orna-.
mentS?-B. G..
A. The decorations used on Christmas
trees are made from various materials.
The colored balls are generally made,
from very thin glass.
Q. Where and how did the Christ.
mas tree idea originate?-E. c.
A. In regard to why Christmas trees.
came into use we find the following ex-
PLANTATION: 1t was the desire of the
church to combat the heathen customs
which prevailed at this season. Christ
mas carols and Christmas plays were
introduced and later Christ trees or
Christmas trees adorned with lights and
gifts, the latter in commemoration Of
the gifts brought to the Christ Child
by the Wise Men. There Is a diversity
! Of opinion as to where the Christmas
tree custom originated, it being credited
to both Italy and Germany.
@. What are some Of the supersti-'
tions connected with the nistletoe?-,
w. D.
A. The mistletoe was intimately.
connected with many of the supersti-,
tions of the ancient Germans and the
British DruidS. In the northern my
thology, Balder Is said to have been slain
with spear of mistletoe. Among the.
Celts the nnistletoe which grew on the.
oak was in peculiar esteem for magical
virtues. Traces of the ancient regard
for miStletoe still remain In some old
English and German customs, as kiss
ing under the mistletoe at Christmas
The rniStletoe was at one time in high
repute as remedy for epilepsy and
convulsions, but it seems to possess no
decided medicinal properties.
@. Into what languages was the
speech of the new British high COM
missioner to Palestine translated?-N.
A. D.
A. The speeches Of the mayor Of
Jerusalem welcoming Sir John Chan
cellor and his reply were translated into
the three official languages, English,
Arabic and Hebrew.