Evening star., 1933-10-19
ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
BY FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

year, . committee Of physicians con.
cludes that maternal deaths are due to
controllable causes.
@. How did the four seasons get
their names?-J. B.
A. There Is some doubt as to how
the names of the seasons originated.
Spring" meaning source Of water, .
springing, a rising or leaping, probably
in reference to the coming out Of young
shoots at this time of the year. Sum-
mer is from the Sanskrit "sama" mean
ing year. Autumn Is from the Latin
"autumnus connected with
"augere," past participle "auctus,"
meaning increase, Autumn being the
season Of produce. Winter Is from the
Gohtic "wintris," probably originally It
meant the snowy time.
@. What were the three laments Of
Cato?-C. C.
A. Plutarch says that Cato declared
that in his whole life he most repented
of three things: One was that he had
trusted a secret to a woman; another,
that he went by water when he might
have gone by land; the third, that he
had remained one whole day without
doing any business Of importance.
Q. Was the Imperial Valley ever .
desert?-C. H. w.
A. Prior to 1893, when the California
Development Co. was organized for the
purpose of securing and delivering water
to irrigate and reclaim the Imperial
Valley, the region was waterleSS barren
and uninhabited. The first water was
brought into the valley with the I'm
perial Canal CAS- miles long), which
curved below the international boundary
into Mexico, in March, 1902.
@. What is the leading industry in
Canada?-W. B. w.
A. Pulp and paper ranks first, fol.
lowed by slaughtering and meat
packing, then by flour milling.
Q. Is polyandry practiced in Tibetf
A. The highest type of polyandry is
found in Tibet, and IN this case there
| is a close approach to the essential
elements Of the modern family. The
wife lives in the home Of her husbands,
who are kinsmen, usually brothers. It
| is the prerogative of the eldest brother
to choose the wife All the children
are assumed to belong to him; the first
is known to be.
O. Why was Shakespeare not buried
in Westminster Abbey?-L. M.
A. At the time of the death Of
Shakespeare his fame was not sufti-
ciently great to authorize his burial in
Westminster Abbey, which at that time
was reserved largely for the bodies of
the rulers and statesmen. 1t was also
his wish to be buried in the parish
church, and as tithe owner he was
| entitled to be buried in the chancel
@. How many languages or dialects
are spoken in Soviet Russia?-H. N. S.
A. The census of 1926 showed that
the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
| of Russia was composed of 1872 different
nationalities with 149 languages. There
are three great distinct dialects in Rus
sia-Great Russian Of the northern,
eastern and central parts Of European
Russia; the Little Russian Of the south
and southwest, and White Russian OF
the western part.
@. Are all moths harmful?-J. F. H.
A. There are many different types
of moths. one type being the clothes
moth, whose larvae are destructive to
household cloth articles. Many types
of moths such as those occasionally OBJ
served outside houses, especially at
night, are not harmful.
Q. In what possessions Of the United
States Is coffee grown commercially
j. A. r.
| A. In Hawaii and Puerto Rico.