Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-09

A. Bakelite Is produced from coal
tar by a process invented by DR.. l.. II.
Boekeland. 1t consists Of the conden-
sation products of phenols and formal
dehyde converted by heat and pressure
into solid form.
@. If ice is found In temperature Of
80 degrees below zero, how cold would
the center of the block Of ice be?-
G. H. G.
A. Ice can exist at any temperature
lower than its freezing point. It also
has the property of assuming the tenn
perature of its surroundings in time:
therefore. IL the temperature Is 80 de-
grees below zero, the temperature of
the ice will eventually be the same.
@. What is an anticline? Can It be
detected at the surface Of the earth?-
r. T.
A. The Geological Survey says that
an anticline Is an uphold In rocks. and
such fold In deposits. that are buried
beneath formations of more recent geo.
logic age that we're not subjected to the
folding. cannot be detected at the sur
face. Such upfolds-called "anticlines"
are regarded as favorable to the ac-
emulation of oil and it is for this rea-
son that oil prospectors endeavor TO To-
cate such structures.
@. In leaving a street car with q
woman, should a man alight first or
permit the woman to precede him?-
| w. S. G.
A. He should precede her and assist
her in stepping to the pavement.
O. What is the capacity Of the Royal
Albert Hall?- "A E.
A. The Royal Albert Hall In London
| seats 5000.
@. What class of people in the
United States use snuff?-I. F. M.
A. In the United States where the
production of snuff is about 10000 tons
year. the chief users are foreign-born.
The snuff used in this country is all Of
domestic manufacture, the small amount
of French snuff imported not being
worth considering. In certain regions Of
the South, inhabitants Of the rural Sec
| lions still use snuff.
Q. Are the Black Hills rich in min
erals?-H. N.
A. The Black Hills constitute one of
the richest gold mining districts In the
United States and have yielded over
500, 100000. Silver, copper, tin and
iron ores also occur within their limits,
besides coal, salt. petroleum, mica. gyp-
sum and building stone. About one
third of the area is covered with dense
dark forests of pine, whence the name,
while deciduouS trees are abundant. The
climate is Salubrious, the soil fertile, and
the hills are well adapted to grazing
purposes.
@. Can tigers climb trees?-C. r.
A. Although the tiger is able to climb
trees, it does not habitually do so.
@. What were the measurements of
the city of New York hundred years
ago?-C. B.
A. An article published in the Chris
tan Advocate says: "At the beginning of
the nineteenth century the commercial
metropolis of the United States occu-
pied only the lower end of Manhattan
Island, what is now up town being still
made up Of spacious farms and country
estates, including the little village of
Harlem. The actual measurements of
the city proper are given as three miles
in length (from the Battery to Four
teenth street,, one and a half miles in
width and eight miles in circumfer-
ence." ..5
@. How is the fire walking ceremony
Of Tahiti explained?-R. C. T.
A. The late S. P. Langley of the
Smithsonian Institution witnessed the
fire walking ceremony in Tahiti and de-
scribed it in Nature for August %, 1921.
He says that the stones used in the cere-
many were tested and found to be Of
vascular basalt, whose most distinctive
features are its porosity and non-con-
ductibility. He found that these stones
could be heated red-hot at one end while
| the remaining part was comparatively
cool. He was of the opinion that while
the lower stones of the pit were glow
| ing, the upper layer was fairly cool.