Evening star., 1929-06-24
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

This is q special department devoted
SOLELY to the handling Of queries. This
paper puts at your disposal the services
of~an extensive organization in Wash
ington to serve you in any capacity that
relates to information. This service Is
free. Failure to make use OF 1t deprives
you of benefits to which you are en-
titled. Your obligation Is only 2 cents
In coin or stamps inclosed with your
inquiry for direct reply. Address The
Evening Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. Haskin, director, Washington,
D. G.
Q. Is the statement that eight or
nine tenths of the human body Is water
in reality true?-A. S.
A. Although the body is largely COM
posed Of water, it is for the most part
not water in the usual physical sense,
but water bound in this physico-cheni-
cal union with colloids.
Q. Which six States lead in popula-
tion?-A. M.
A. New York, Pennsylvania, Illinois,
Ohio, Texas and Michigan.
@. Is it true that coconuts are
drained of their milk, which is re-
placed with water, before shipment?-
g. p.
A. DR.. Cook, the Department Of
Agriculture expert on tropical plants,
says that the coconut water is not re-
moved before shipment. This would be
very foolhardy, since nature provides
the best preservative. What you may
have reference to Is the fact that when
the coconut Is quite young 1t Is Gus
ton1ary for the natives to strike OF one
end and drink the water. since it Is
wholesome and refreshing. After the
| "a loQeaV1Q
| and also loses part of its nutriment,
since the white meat substance is really
a deposit Of the coconut liquid.
@. Are cigarettes dopedP-H M.
A. Carl Werner says: owing to the
| called doping of cigarettes, 1t might
be well for me to reiterate that in the
better grades there Is absolutely no
| foreign substance of any kind applied
| to or contained In the tobacco. and that
even in the cheaper grades the tobacco
is treated with nothing except glycerine,
which is absolutely harmless. And as
| to the paper used for wrapping the
tobacco, it contains no deleterious sub
stance Of any kind and is so thin and
| fragile that the ash after the paper has
been consumed Is almost a negligible
| quantity"
| ", W1dJ 8IG lux QOBS!-J. ~.
A. This name Is applied by certain
naturaiists to the wild dogs of South
America because of their foxlike ap-
| pearance. Among these are the crab
| eating dog, the zono, or Azara's dog, and
the small-eared Brazilian dog.
@. For what offense are most crimi-
mails sent to prison for the first time?
A. T.
A. A survey Of the inmates Of many
penitentiaries made by an of1cial Of
| the Juvenile Court showed that petty
larceny was the outstanding first Of
Tense Of the prisoners examined.
@. Is 1t true that Gary was built to
order?-J. G.
A. Gary is a town in Lake County,
end Of Lake Michigan, 26 miles south
east of the heart of Chicago. It was
founded in April, 1906, by the United
States Steel Corporation and was
named after Ebert II. Gary, an officer
of the corporation. 1t might well be
said that it was built to order.
9. Please give history of the book
plate?-L. T.
A. A bookplate is a typographical or
pictorial label, used to denote the
ownership of q book. Bookplates are
considered to have had their origin in
Germany, though an unsupported claim
has been made that they were used in
| Japan in the tenth century, and GER
tain small clay tablets are believed to
have performed in Babylonia and
Assyria an Office similar to that Of
the bookplate of today. The earliest
printed bookplate we know today was
used about 1480. From Germany the
use of the bookplate spread to France
and finally to all continental countries.
The bookplates first used In America
were Of English make, brought over by
the wealthy colonists. They possess
great interest as memorials of the old
| families, but the plates engraved by the
hands of our first American engravers,
Nathaniel Hurd and Paul Revere Of