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STARK, JOHN" Jdrsey, and at West Point in 1779-1780; and was one of the court which con- demned Major Andre. After the war he returned to his farm. He died in Manchester, N. H., May 8, 1822. STARLING, in ornithology, a popular name for any individual of the genus Sturnus, sometimes extended to the whole family but specifically applied to S. vulgaris, the coinmon starling, abun- dant in most parts of the continent of Europe, frequently visiting Northern Africa in its winter migrations. The male is about eight inches long, general color of the plumage black, glossed with blue and purple, the feathers, except those of the head and fore neck, having a triangular white spot on the tip. The female is very similar, but has the feathers tipped with broader spots, those on the upper parts being light brown. The eggs are from 4 to 6 in number, light blue in color and are deposited in some hole or crevice. Starlings feed on snails, worms, and insects; they are gregarious, uniting in large flocks. They become exceedingly familiar in confinement, and display great imitative powers. STAR OF BETHLEHEM, the celestial phenomenon described in the New Tes- tament as accompanying the birth of Christ. Some astronomers have at- tempted to account for this on the hy- pothesis of the conjunction of two or more bright planets in about the same part of the sky at that time, but with little success. At various times since the appearance of Tycho Brahe's star in the constellation Cassiopeia in 1572, the celebrated Nova of that year, it has been suggested that this might be a variable star of long period, though there is nothing now in the vicinity of the place of this star brighter than the 12th or 13th magnitude. Astronomers, since the invention of the telescope, have kept a pretty close watch of the few faint stars in the immediate vicinity of the place indicated by Tycho Brahe's meas- ures to see if any of them changed in brightness, but without any evidence of such change. There is no good reason for supposing any such periodicity in the star, or any other star now known. STAR OF BETHLEHEM, in botany' Ornithogalum umbellatum; natural or- der Liliacese; a bulbous-rooted plant with white star-like flowers. It is com- mon in many parts of Europe and is naturalized in some of the United States. STAROSTS, in Poland, those noblemen who were reckoned among the dignitaries 58 STAR-SPANGLED BANNER, THE of the land, and who received a castle or landed estate from the crown do- mains. Some of the starosts had civil and criminal jurisdiction over a certain district, others merely enjoyed the rev- enues of the starosty. STARR, FRANCES (GRANT), an American actress, born at Oneonta, N. Y., in 1886. She was educated in the public schools of Albany and made her first appearance on the stage in that city in 1901. She joined the Murray Hill Stock Co. of New York City and while playing there attracted the atten- tion of David Belasco, who undertook her theatrical training. Under his di- rection she appeared as leading lady in "The Music Master"; "The Easiest Way," "The Secret," "Little Lady in Blue," and "Tiger, Tiger," the latter in 1919-20. STAR ROUTES, a term used in con- nection with the United States postal service. Prior to 1845 it was the custom in letting the contracts for the trans- portation of inland mails, other than by railroad or steamboat routes, to give the preference to bidders who offered stage or coach service. This was abol- ished by act of Congress, March 3, 1845. which provided that the postmaster-gen- eral should let all such contracts to the lowest bidder tendering sufficient guar- antee for faithful performance, without any condition except to provide for due celerity, certainty and security of trans- portation. These bids for such service became classified as "celerity, certainty and security bids," and for brevity were designated on the route registers by three stars (***) and known as star routes. Early in 1881 rumors were in circu- lation of extensive frauds in this branch of the mail service. It was charged that there was a "ring" to defraud the gov- ernment in which were included some of the large contractors, the Second As- sistant Postmaster-General, some of th» subordinates in the department, a United States Senator, and others. Proceedings were begun, but no conviction was se- cured either on these charges or on oth- ers which were made in 1883. STARS AND BARS, the flag of the Confederate States of America. It was merely an adaptation of the stars and stripes, having 3 "alternate stripes red and white," instead of 13 such stripes, and a circle of white stars on a blue field, corresponding to the num- ber of States of the confederacy. STAR-SPANGLED BANNER, THE, the national anthem of the United States. It was written by Francis Scott .