STAR 



5529 



STARCH 



Stars of twelfth magnitude 3,000,000 



" " thirteenth " 9,000,000 



" " fourteenth " 27,000,000 



" " fifteenth " 80,000,000 



Among the stars of first magnitude are Sirius, 

 Canopus, Rigel and Aldebaran. 



Mariner's Stars. "Steering by the stars" has 

 become a common expression, and sailors by 

 careful observation of the position of certain 

 well-known stars are able to verify the cor- 

 rectness of or error in the courses they are 

 steering. In the northern hemisphere the fa- 

 miliar Dipper acts as guide to mariners and to 

 hunters in the forests of the North. Two of 

 its stars point to the North Star; that point 

 ascertained, the other points of the compass 

 are easily located. In the southern hemisphere 

 the Southern Cross serves the same purpose. 

 Many a sailor, storm tossed, his vessel driven 

 miles out of its course, has been cheered and 

 saved by a rift in the clouds which permits 

 him a view of the Dipper or of the Southern 

 Cross. 



How to Make a Star. The accompanying 

 diagram shows a geometrical drawing which 

 may serve as a pattern for a five-pointed star. 

 The drawing can be constructed as follows: 



Draw a four-inch circle. Draw the horizon- 

 tal and vertical diameters a b and c d. Mark 

 the. point of intersection e. Bisect e b and 



and j. With h and ;' as centers and the same 

 radius, describe arcs cutting the circumference 

 at k and I. Form a star by connecting c and 

 I, c and k, h and k, I and ; and h and ;. 



HOW TO MAKE A STAR 

 The figure is explained in the text. 



mark the point of intersection /. With c as a 

 center and c j as a radius, transcribe an arc 

 cutting a e, marking the point of intersection 

 g. With gr c as a radius and c as a center, de- 

 scribe two arcs cutting the circumference at h 



HOW A STAR MAY BE CUT FROM PAPER 

 Explanation appears in the text. 



The six drawings of the second diagram show 

 how a star may be cut out quickly by folding. 

 Cut on the dotted line in /, which shows the 

 reverse of e. 



These directions will be especially helpful 

 to a class desiring to make a flag (see subhead 

 How to Make a Flag in FLAG article, page 

 2196). 



Consult Young's Lessons in Astronomy; New- 

 comb's The Stars: A Study of the Universe; 

 Chambers' Story of the Stars. 



Related Subjects. In addition to above ref- 

 erences see list of related subjects at the close of 

 the article ASTRONOMY. 



STARCH, a soft, white, glistening powder, 

 originating within the living cells of plants. 

 Starch is made up of hydrogen, carbon and 

 oxygen, and is therefore a carbohydrate. It is 

 one of the most important foods known to 

 man, and is an active producer of energy and 

 heat in the body, through which it circulates 

 in the form of grape sugar, a chemical change 

 resulting from digestion. It is highly nutri- 

 tious, if taken in combination with other foods. 



The Plant as a Manufacturer of Starch. 

 Starch making is confined to those plants which 

 contain a green coloring matter called chloro- 

 phyll, and takes place only under the direct 

 influence of sunlight and when water and car- 

 bon dioxide are both present. Just how the 

 chlorophyll bodies use the water and carbon 

 dioxide to make starch is not known, for the 

 process is understood by neither *he chemist 

 nor the botanist. Professor George L. Goodale 

 of Harvard University has made the following 

 interesting comparison of the starch-making 

 leaf to any mill for ease of comparison, a 

 flour mill: 



