Evening star., 1932-11-22

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Washington, D. C.
O. How much grass seed does 1t take
to seed the fairways Of q nine-hole goli
course?-W. w.
A. It requires from so to so acres tc
build a nine-hole golf course-depend-
ing somewhat on the shape Of the
property and on the topography. II
takes about 125 pounds to the acre Of Q
fairway grass mixture to seed the q
to 30 acres of fairway.
@. How long did 1t take the author
to compose the words to "America" P
L. r.
A. DR.. Samuel Francis Smith COM
posed the poem when he was "A years
old. He wrote the words to fit the
music found in book of German songs
He is quoted as saying that he COM
posed the eight verses in about half ar
hour. The first four are the ones usu-
ally sung, or the first two and the
fourth.
O. When was the FIRST Thanksgiving
day?-W. o. C.
A. The Pilgrims instituted the GUS
tom of setting apart one day yearly al
day for thanksgiving. After they hac
been in New England nearly a year and
had found that their efforts to raise
crops had been successful and that q
rich harvest was gained, Gov. Bradford
in 1921 issued a proclamation that har-
vest feast Of Thanksgiving should bt
given and enjoyed by all the people oi
the Colony and sent four men into the
forest to shoot turkey and wild game
for this purpose. Friendly Indians were
bringing as their share gifts of venisor
and fruits.
q. Do elephants stand or lie down
when sleeping?-V. H. 8.
A. Elephants do sometimes lie down
to sleep. although, like horses and some
other large quadrupeds, they can sleer
standing up.
@. When were the famous wheat cor.
ners, and how high did prices go?-
D. D.
A. The Letter corner in MAY wheat
was in 1898 and sent the price up tc
81 83 per bushel The Patten corner In
May wheat was in 1909 and sent the
price to 81 go. These prices compare
with $3.45, which wheat reached in the
World War before the Government took
control.
O. How many ships can the Panama
Canal accommodated. H.
A. At the present time the capacity
OF the Panama Canal the year round is
approximately 48 ships of usual size per
day, or about 1900 year.
@. When did the United States adopt
the Australian or secret ballc::?-
A. M D.
A; In most States it was adopted
in 1884.
@ When were ''the Ides of March"2-
S. B. D.
A. The word 'Ides" refers to the
Roman system of reckoning time. The
Romans divided their month into Ka-
lends, Nones and Ides. The Kalends
came on the first CT the month. In
March, May and October the Nones
fell on the 7th and the Ides on the
18th. In the remaining months the
Nones came on the 5th and the Ides
on the 18th. The "Ides Of March,"
therefore, was the period from the 18th
to the 1st of the following month