Evening star., 1938-09-12
ANSWERS TO
QUESTIONS
By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.

By FREDERIC J. HASKIN.
reader con get the ansper 10 am
question OF fact BY sritin1 The Epe-
ming Sta, Information Bureau, frederic
J. Hdskin. director, Washinoton, D, c,
Please irciose stamp for reply.
q. Who originated the Picardy gladi.
olus?-H L. K.
"A. This beautiful pink sladiolus was
originated by e. F. Palmer Of Canada.
Q. What country ranks next to tho
United States In the production Of
srapefruit?J. L.
A. The United States produces 90 per
cent Of the world total and Palestine Is
next In production.
Q. What is the origin Of the expression
Even Steven?"-R. L X.
A. 1t is probably from one Of swifts
letters to Stella, which says: Now We
are even, quoth Steven" when he gave
his wife six blows to one.
g What city In Europe is said to bs
built on bones?-T. j. K.
A. This Is said OF Leningrad, because
80 many laborers lost their lives IN thu
olmcult task OF building the city on piles.
y. What Is the name Of the tree that
supplies water to travelers?-H I.R.
A. 1t Is the travellers tree known bo.
tanlcally as Ravenala madagascariensis,
which grows in Madagascar and Reunion.
Inc tree bears at the top a number Of
large long-stalked leaves which spread
vertically like fan. The leaf has a
large sheath at the base in which water
collectsjn large quantity.
Q. What was President Wilson's last
on1cial act?-J. K. L.
A. On March 4, 1921 when he accom-.
panied President-elect Harding to tho
Capitol, his official career was ended.
@. Why was the 1896 Literary Digest
presidential poll such failure?-H
A. Fortune says: Now that our sister
publication, Time. has absorbed the Lit
erary Digest, it Is possible and appro-
pirate to say word on why the Digests
1880 poll went SO completely astray. The
OlgeSts poll was never, OF course,
scientific sampling. The lists to which
the old Dlgests ballots were mailed were
made up primarily of automobile and
telephone subscribers. Until 1896 this
Sampllng defect was never particularly
apparent. But the 1896 elections pro-
duced horizontal split in public opinion
along class lines and the large part of
the population that did not have auto
mobiles or telephones became statistically
important for the first time. The Digest
poll never touched them. What the
1885 poll really predicted (althoueh it
was not so labeled was that among
people who owned automobiles and tele.
phones Mr.. Landon was the favorite"
Q. How did Mrs. Mclean happen to
become involved in the Lindbergh caser
r. S. H.
A. In her book. Father Struck II
Rich. Evalyn Walsh Mclean says: WHY
should have tried to get the Lindbereh
baby back to its mother? Well, for one
thing had lived more than a score of
years haunted daily by the fear of lust
what had happened to the Lindberghs.
So many people were then wishing they
might save the baby and revenge tho
crime that wonder why so many per.
sons now ask me what prompted me to
involve myself in the hunt It should
be obvious. I think. that I tried to do
what millions wished they might try to
do. In my case the wish was harnessed.
Just as carriage, to my money
J. F. G.
A. His father named him after Benito
Jaurez, the Mexican revolutionist.
@. How large were the grounds at the
st. Louis Worlds Fair?-J. M. G.
A. The grounds Of the Louisiana Pur.
chase Exposition covered 1,240 acres, Of
which $50 were under roof.
Q. How many pictures did Gainsbor-
ough psint?-J. L.
A. The artist is said to have painted
about 500 pictures.
Q. Where is the largest known de.
posit OF nitrates?-W B. j.
A. In the Atacama Desert in Northern
Chile. Since 1925 over 100000 tons Of
Chile saltpeter has been exported. The
annual production is about $500 900 tons.
Q. How long has King Carol of Ru-
mania known Nine. Lupescu7-T XII.
A. They met in 1923. At the time she
was the wife Of an army oficer whom she
subsequently divorced.
Q. Where was the first trapshootinR
club In the United States?-H. L. J.
A. Cincinnati Is the recognized home
OF organized trapshooting in this coun-
try, club having been established there
| in 1881.
@. How old is the legend OF the IVAN.
| dering Jew"?-T L. NJ
A. The legend first appeared In q
pamphlet alleged to have been printed
| in Leyden in 1902.
Q. What poet popularized the lake
| district?-K. G. H.
A. Gray is intimately associated with
the region, but 1t was Wordsworth who
really made 1t a Mecca for lovers of Eng
lish poetry. He spent 90 years at
Hawkshead, Grasmere, and Rydal Mount.
and in the churchyard at Grasmere he
and his wife lie buried.