Milton Lamson Jr., age 13, of Concord, N.H., for his question:

WHO WORE THE FIRST GLOVE?

We don't know who wore the first glove, but we do know that prehistoric cave dwellers in, France wore them thousands of years ago. We also know that the ancient Greeks wore gloves to protect their hands when they did rough work.

The ancient Romans used gloves as ornaments and as signs of rank.

During the Middle Ages, gloves were expensive and only the wealthy were able to afford them. The word glove comes from the Anglo Saxon word "golf," which means "palm of the hand."

Knights in the Middle Ages often fastened ladies' gloves to their helmets to show love or devotion. Gloves were also used at this time and even later as a sign of challenge. A challenger threw down his glove, and the person who accepted the invitaiton to fight picked i t up.

Today gloves, which are used both for protection and decoration, are made of leather, plastic, silk, fur, cotton, rubber, canvas and wool.

Center of the glovemaking industry in America is New York. The industry started here when glovemakers moved from Connecticut to Fulton County in New York to settle on land granted by an Irish general named Sir William Johnson. Today, Gloversville in Fulton County makes one out of ever three gloves manufactured in the country.