Evening star., 1928-11-26
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

The answers to questions printed
here each day are specimens picked
from the mass of inquiries handled by
our great Information Bureau main
tanned at Washington, D. c. This VAL
uahIe service is for the free use of the
public. Ask any question of fact you
NAV want to know and you will get an
immediate reply. Write plainly. in
close 2 cents in coin or stamps for re-
turn postage. and address The Evening
Star information Bureau Frederic j.
Haskin, Director, Washington, D. G.
@. Did the people who came over
here on the Graf Zeppelin have pass
ports?-H. M. G.
A. Most of the foreigners coming to
the United States on the Graf Zeppelin
had passports. For those who did not,
special arrangements we're made, since
the situation was unusual.
@. OF what breed are polo ponies?
W. S.
A. Polo ponies are of no special breed.
They are usually underslzed thorough
breds. The qualities desired in a polo
pony are short legs and back, big barrel,
speed and endurance. Sometimes polo
ponies are produced by crossing thor
able types. The training is the most
important part in the production OF
polo ponies.
q How many acres are there in the
Ford concession in Brazil?-R. S.
A. There are 100000 acres in the
tract of land that Henry Ford is de-
veloping in Brazil
@. What does Ito shanghai person"
mean?-C. S.
A, ITO shanghai person" is to drug
intoxicate or render him insensible and
ship him as a sailor-usually TO secure
advance money or a premium.
@. When was oil first burned for
light?-F. A.
A. From the earliest times oil has
been a source of light and until the
middle Of the nineteenth century only
oils of vegetable and animal origin were
employed In indoor lamps. Cola and
sperm oils we're chiefly used. It was
not until 1853 that mineral oil was in
troduced as an illuminant. but the dis
covery of oil in Pennsylvania, in 1858
led to the extensive use of this COM
modify in the United States. The first
American patent for a petroleum lamp
is dated 1859.
@. Where do the wild geese come
from that are going south in the Au-
tumn?--J. T. B.
A. The principal breeding ground for
wild geese is the region from Alberta
Canada, east to the Hudson Bay region.
These birds usually Winter in the Gulf
States.
@. Do other countries bottle their
milk?-F. H. S.
A. Mexico and South American
countries bottle very little milk. Eng
land and Canada use many bottles
similar to ours. Germany bottles little
milk, but other European countries use
bottles.
@. How many pounds Of radium are
there in the world?-F. ]. A.
A. All the radium produced In the
world amounts to about ID pounds.
@. What kinds of wood did the early
Greeks and early Romans use in carved
woodwork?-L. T. D.
A. Cypress, cedar. juniper and ebony
were in general use.
@. How many hospitals in the United
States are operated by Roman Catho-
lics?-D. K.
A. The American Medical Association
says: Our list of Catholic hospitals
shows a total of $50 in the United
States. These are practically all gen.
eral hospitals doing work for acute
medical and surgical conditions. They
have total capacity of somewhere in
the neighborhood of 10000 beds"
@. Is Harvard to have group sys-
tenn of colleges?-C. N. C.
A. A S3,000.000 fund. given to Hsr-
ward anonymously, is expected to make
possible the establishment of q number
of small colleges within the university
resembling the colleges of Oxford and
Cambridge. The fund will be used to
build and endow a group of buildings
for this purpose. 1t is emphasized that