Evening star., 1940-08-10

reader can get the anst1er to am
question OF fact By Uriting The Eue-
ming Star Information Bureau, Fred
eric J. HaSktn, director, Washington.
d. c. Please tnclose stamp for reply.
@. How many homes have been FORE
closed and sold by the Home Owners
Loan?-M. M. NJ
A. About 165 900 homes have been fore
closed by the Home Owners Loan Corp,
of which 100000 have been resold.
@. What is the price of beer in Eng
land since the war?-J. H. M.
A. Taxes have recently raised the cost
from 13 cents to IS cents a pint.
Q. Please give brief history of the
hymn, Lead, Kindly Light."-A. O.
A. The words were written in 1888 by
the Rev. John Henry Newman while he
was on ship becalmed in the Straits of
Bonlfacio. At this time he was in i'll
health and 1t was period of great
mental distress. The music was COM
posed by John P. Dykes as he walked
through the Strand in London, a cir
cumstance in striking contrast to that
under which the words were written.
q. What is a tumblebug?-A S.
A. The tumblebug is a familiar Amer
ican example of the group of beetles
known as the dung beetles, because of
their characteristic habit of laying their
eggs in balls of dung, which they roll to
their burrows. The most famous beetle
of this group is the Egyptian sacred
scarab, which was regarded by the an
cient Egyptians as symbol of the sun
god.
@. I would like to know the size of
England in some statement that is more
understandable than to say how many
square miles it contains.-O. N. H.
A. Trevelyan's History of England"
says there is no spot in the tight little
island that is more than 10 miles distant
from salt water. 1t is little smaller
than Oregon.
@. What is Wardian case?-I. C. M.
A 1t is portable case with glass top
and sides and metal or earthen base.
for moisture-loving plants. 1t was named
for its inventor, the English botanist,
Nathaniel B. Ward Q791-1868).
@. How many States impose cigarette
taxes?-H. F. M.
A. The Federation of Tax Administra-
tors says that only four States have taxes
on packages of cigarettes. These are
Alabama, Arizona, Kansas and Okla
homa. In Arizona and Kansas the tax
is on per 20 cigarettes, which is the size
of the ordinary package Twenty-Five
more States have cigarette taxes, which
are imposed in various ways.
@. Who said: Never swap horses in
the middle of stream"?-M N.
A. The expression is attributed to w.
o. Stoddard, who in turn attributed it
to an ancient legend. The lines are
quoted as follows: st am reminded in
this connection of an old Dutch farmer
who remarked that it was not best to
swap horses while crossing streams"
@. Is there any dust in London fog?
F. C. K.
A. In the average pea soup fog there
are approximately 819,358 dust particles
per cubic inch.
@. What Is Irish moss?-P. A. r.
A. Carrageen is dark purple, branch
ing, cartilaginous seaweed found on the
coasts of Northern Europe and North
America. When dried and bleached, it
forms the Irish moss of commerce used
in making jellies, blancmange and as a
demulcent in pharmacy. 1t is pulled
from the rocks by an iron rake, by men
in boats, taken to the shore and spread
out to bleach.
@. How long does it take to make
Ford?-B S.
A. In 1899 it required approximately
1895 labor hours.
O. How long has Sidney Hillman been
head of the Amalgamated Clothing
Workers of America?-S. j. J.
A. Mr. Hillman has been president of
the organization since its founding in
1914.