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Wednesday, July 21, 2010
The Great Marlin
Marlin is the name of a group of large game fishes that live in the ocean. They are related to the spearfishes and sailfishes. Most marlins weigh from 50 to 400 pounds, but some weigh much more. The largest ever caught, a black marlin, weighed about 1,560 pounds. The marlin has a pointed spear that may measure 2 feet long. The marlin's dorsal fin looks like a sickle, and its tail is crescent shaped. White marlins live in the Atlantic Ocean and striped marlins live in the Pacific. Black marlins and blue marlins live in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Marlins often leap high in the air.
Marmoset Monkeys
Marmoset is one of the world's smallest kinds of monkey. Most marmosets are less than 1 foot long, not including the tail, and weight from 10 to 12 ounces. The thick, soft coats or marmosets range in color from silvery-white to dark gray or brown. Patches of hair stick out from the head and ears of some marmosets. Unlike most other monkeys, marmosets have claws instead of nails. The live in trees and walk on all four legs, much like squirrels. Marmosets feed mainly on insects and fruit. They also chew holes in certain trees to eat gum or sap. Most marmosets live in groups of 3 to 8 in the tropical forests and woodland plains of Central and South America.
There are 10 types of marmosets. The pygmy marmoset is 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inches long and weighs between 5 to 7 ounces. Pygmy marmosets are found from southern Colombia to southeastern Peru, and in parts of Ecuador and Brazil. Other marmosets live in Brazil and Bolivia.
Marmosets are kept as pets and are used in medical research. They are threatened by the increasing destruction of their tropical forest habitat.
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Marsh Mallow
Marsh mallow is a plant that grows in meadows and marshes of eastern Europe. It is now grown in the United States. The marsh mallow has woody stalks, which grows to 2 to 4 feet high, and large leaves. Downy hair covers both stalks and leaves. The plant has bluish to pink flowers. Its root is white and shaped like a carrot. People have eaten the roots and leaves of this plant during famines. These parts also are sometimes used for medicinal purposes.
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Marten Mammals
Marten is a slim, fur-covered mammal that looks like an oversized weasel. It lives in mountainous and forested areas of Asia, Europe, and North America.
The best known North American species is the American marten. It is fairly common in the Rocky Mountains and the Far North from Newfoundland and Quebec to Alaska. This marten has thick, golden-brown fur with darker feet and a paler face. It usually has an orange path on the throat and chest. It grows to 26 inches long, including its tail. Martens weigh 2 to 3 pounds. The males are slightly larger than the females. The American marten eats mice, rabbits, squirrels and birds. It lives in hollow trees and rock crevices. About nine months after mating, the female gives birth, usually to two or three young.
From November to March, when the American marten's coat is thick and soft, trappers in Canada and the United States kill about 50,000 to 130,000 animals. The fur is used in coats, hats, and muffs.
The fisher is related to the American marten. A male fisher weighs up to 20 pounds. It has dark brown or grayish-brown fur. Now rare, the fisher is found in nearly the same areas as the American marten. It lives on the ground or in trees. It eats mostly small rodents. It also feeds on porcupines and snowshoe hares. Well-known European martens include the beech marten, which has white fur on its throat and chest, and the pine marten, with yellowish fur on these parts.
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Martin Birds
Martin is the name of several birds in the swallow family. The purple martin is the best known martin in North America. It is about 8 inches long. The male is a dark purplish-blue color. The birds migrate to Central and South America in the winter. They have been seen in summer as far north as the Saskatchewan Valley in Canada. Purple martins nest in colonies. They originally built their nests in holes in dead trees, but they now nest primarily in large, multi-roomed birdhouses built for them. Martins will return to the same birdhouse year after year. The female lays from three to eight white eggs.
Martins help people by eating ants, flies, beetles, mosquitoes, and other winged insect pests. In New England, English sparrows and starlings have driven most of the martins from their homes.
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Chief Massasoit
Massasoit was a chief of the Wampanoag tribe of Indians that lived in what is now southern Massachusetts and Rhode Island. He made a treaty with Governor John Carver of Plymouth Colony in the spring of 1621, shortly after the Pilgrims landed in America.
He agreed that his people would not harm the Pilgrims as long as he lived. In turn, the Pilgrims guaranteed to protect the Indians and their rights. Massasoit kept the peace all his life.
As a reward for the Indian's friendship, Massasoit and a number of his braves are said to have been invited to join the feast in Plymouth Colony on the first Thanksgiving Day. Afterward, the chief told the English: "The Great Spirit surely must love his white children best."
When Massasoit died, he was succeeded by his elder son, Wamsutta, known as Alexander. Massasoit's younger son, Metacomet, known as King Phillip, succeeded Alexander.
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Ancient Mastodons
Mastodon was an animal much like the elephant. It is now extinct. Mastodons first lived in North Africa about 40 million years ago. They spread to Asia, Europe, and the rest of Africa. Mastodons reached America about 14 million years ago and lived there until about 10,000 years ago.
Mastodons were related to another group of prehistoric elephant-like animals called four-tuskers. Mastodons and four-tuskers were stockier than and not as tall as elephants or mammoths. Early species had tusks in both jaws. Some of the later species lost the lower tusks. Others developed great, flat, lower tusks. These species are called shovel-tuskers. The mastodon's teeth were up to 3 inches wide and 6 inches long. Each tooth had four to six cross-rows of heavy enamel cones which the mastodon used to grind plants it ate.
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Mate Plants
Mate, also called Paraguay tea, is a drink made from the dried leaves and shoots of a holly tree which grows in South America. People make the tea by pouring boiling water over the leaves and stems. Mate has a large amount of caffeine and produces a stimulating effect. The plant had dark-green leaves 3 to 6 inches long. Its greenish-white flowers and small, dark-red fruits grow at the base of the leaf stems. Mate growing is a large industry in Paraguay, Argentina, and southern Brazil. Exporters ship large amounts to other countries in South America. Mate is sometimes called yerba mate.
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The Matterhorn
Matterhorn is a famous mountain peak in the Pennine Alps. It rises 14,692 feet on the boundary between Valais, Switzerland, and the Piedmont region of Italy. It is about 40 miles east of Mont Blanc.
The Matterhorn rises like a pyramid from the mountains around it. Snow always covers the upper slopes of this peak. Many climbers have scaled its steep sides. The first person to make the dangerous climb to the top of the Matterhorn was Edward Whymper in 1865.
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May Apples
May apple is an American plant that belongs to the barberry family. It grows wild in wooded areas of the eastern half of the United States. People often call the May apple mandrake.
The May apple grows in large groups or colonies. Its large leaves have 5 to 7 lobes. The leaves look somewhat like small umbrellas. They usually grow in pairs, on a stem about 1 foot high. A white flower grows on a short stalk in a fork of the stem. It is about 2 inches wide.
The May apple produces a small, round fruit about the size of a golf ball. Before it ripens, the fruit is green in color and has a bitter taste. If eaten, it can cause severe stomach pain. The ripe fruit is yellow and can be eaten. Podophyllum resin, a drug used to remove warts, comes from the root of the May apple.
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Mayflies
Mayfly is a dainty insect with lacy wings and a slender, forked tail that trails behind it in flight. Mayflies are commonly called dayflies because of their short lives. Adult mayflies live only a few hours or a few days. They do not eat and usually have undeveloped mouthparts. Mayflies actually are not true flies. A true fly has two wings. However, mayflies have four wings. Mayflies are also known as shad flies or duns. Imitation mayflies are used as fishing lures.
Young mayflies are called nymphs or naiads. They hatch from eggs laid in streams and ponds. A nymph breathes through gills and feeds on water plants. It lives for a few months to two years in the water. It then leaves the water, sheds its skin and becomes winged subimago, or subadult. Mayflies are the only insects that go through this stage. After a few hours, the subimago sheds its skin and becomes a full grown adult. Mayflies are most common in early spring, but may occur until late fall. The nymphs serve as a source of food for fish.
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Thursday, July 15, 2010
A Glimpse at Canvasbacks
Canvasback is a large duck that lives in North America. The duck is named for the male's grayish-white body, which resembles the color of canvas. The male also has a reddish-brown head and neck and a black breast. The female is gray and brown. Canvasbacks measure about 21 inches in length and weigh 2 to 3 pounds. They dive underwater to feed on wild celery, small clams, and other plants and animals that live on the bottom of lakes and marshes.
Canvasbacks breed in marshes on the Canadian prairies and in Alaska. The birds usually build nests in clumps of cattails or bulrushes. The female lays seven to nine greenish eggs. Another species of duck, called redhead, often lays its eggs in canvasback nests.
Canvasbacks spend the winter in Chesapeake Bay, San Francisco Bay, and other areas on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States and Mexico. Many hunters prize the duck as a game bird.
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Tunes of a Harp
Harp is one of the oldest known stringed instruments. The chief instrument in the harp family is the large concert harp. Smaller harps are often used in folk music.
The modern concert harp is a large, triangular wooden instrument about 70 inches tall. The wood is often gilded and decoratively carved. The harp rests on a base called the pedestal. A perpendicular column called the pillar rises from the front of the pedestal. A hollow soundbox, which amplifies the sound, projects at an angle from the rear of the pedestal. The pillar and the soundbox are joined at the top by a gracefully curved neck.
Forty-seven strings of different lengths and thicknesses are stretched between the neck and the soundbox. Tuning pins in the neck set the strings to the notes of the scale over a range of 6 1/2 octaves. Seven foot-pedestals extend from the pedestal. When a pedal is depressed, it raises the pitch of its corresponding strings a half-tone or whole-tone, depending on the distance the pedal is depressed. This mechanism, called double action, enables the performer to play in any key or sequence of keys.
The performer sits with the harp between the knees, tilting it so it rests against the right shoulder. The player plucks the strings with the thumb and the first three fingers of each hand and operates the pedals with the feet.
Early forms of the harp existed in several ancient Near Eastern civilizations. In Europe, the first harps appeared in the 700's in Ireland, where the harp is now a national symbol.
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Heliotrope - A Flower
Heliotrope is a popular plant with beautiful, fragrant flowers. These flowers always face toward teh sun. Another name for heliotrope is turnsole. Both names mean turning to the sun.
The species of heliotrope grown in most places is native to Peru. It grows easily from cuttings or from seed. The plant is shrubby, has many branches, and grows from 1 to 2 feet high. The oval leaves have veins and wrinkles. The tiny, sweet heliotrope blossoms form huge clusters that range from lilac to dark blue in color. Each flower is shaped like a slender tube that broadens into a five pointed star. The fragrance of the Peruvian heliotrope is like vanilla. Another kind smells like narcissus. Heliotrope perfumes imitate this scent.
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Volcano Vesuvius
Vesuvius is the only active volcano on the mainland of Europe. It is probably the most famous volcano in the world. It rises on the Bay of Naples, about 7 miles southeast of the city of Naples. Vesuvius has been studied by scientist more than any other volcano because it erupts frequently and is easy to reach.
Vesuvius is a cone within the rim of Mount Somma, a big crater formed when the top of the mountain collapsed in the eruption of A.D. 79. The height of Vesuvius changes with each eruption. In 1900, the cone was 4,275 feet high. But after several eruptions since then, its height has dropped to 4,190 feet. The top of the active cone is a cup-shaped crater, ranging from 50 to 400 feet across. Vesuvius spouts columns of steam, cinders, and sometimes small amounts of lava into the air.
Many people live on the lower slopes of the mountain and on the plains at its foot, in spite of Vesuvius' history of eruptions. The volcanic soil is extremely fertile and the area is famous for its vineyard of wine grapes.
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Triticale Grains
Triticale is a grain produced by crossbreeding wheat and rye. It has a high nutritional content because it contains more usable protein that either wheat or rye. The plant stands from 18 to 41 inches tall and has 6 to 10 long, narrow leaves. The head consists of many spikelets, each of which holds three to five kernels of grain.
Botanists first crossbred wheat and rye in 1876. This process yielded a hybrid plant that could not produce seeds. In 1937, scientists discovered that treating seedlings of wheat-rye crosses with a chemical called colchicines made the plants fertile.
The first triticale breeding program was set up in Sweden in the mid-1930's. By the 1950's, many countries, including the United States and Canada, has such programs. These programs have developed many varieties of the grain. Someday, triticale may become an important food in countries not suited for wheat production. Some varieties can grow in cold climates and in sandy or acid soils. Other resist rust better than wheat does and produce a higher yield than rye. At higher latitudes, triticale grain yields increase at a greater rate than do wheat yields.
Triticale will probably be used in many countries mainly as an animal feed. It can also serve as a pasture crop. Food companies may use triticale to make four for bread and cake. Other potential uses for the grain include cereal products and beermaking.
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Lightning Forms
Lightning occurs in a variety of forms. A single flash of lightning often varies in appearance, depending on the position of an observer in relation to it.
The major forms of lightning include forked lightning, streak lightning, ribbon lightning, and bead, or chain, lightning. Forked lightning refers to a flash in which multiple branches of a stroke are visible. Streak lightning is a flash that seems to illuminate a single jagged line. Ribbon lightning appears as parallel streaks of light. It is formed when wind separates the strokes of a flash. Bead, or chain, lightning is a flash that breaks up into a dotted line as it fades.
Some electrical flashes in the sky - such as heat lightning and sheet lightning - are not really separate forms of lightning, though they appear different in some ways. Heat lightning, often seen on summer nights, seems to occur without thunder. Actually, it is lightning that occurs too far away from the observer for its accompanying thunder to be heard. The people underneath what looks from a distance like heat lightning experiencing a normal thunderstorm. Sheet lightning appears as an illumination of a portion of the sky. But it is lightning whose distinct flashes either are too far away to be seen or are hidden from view by clouds.
A form of lightning called ball lightning differs greatly from ordinary lightning. Ball lightning appears as a glowing, fiery ball that floats for several seconds before disappearing. It has reportedly been seen during thunderstorms, usually after ordinary lightning has occurred. It is described as a red, yellow, or orange ball that may be as large as a grapefruit. It has been reported floating along the ground and inside houses, barns and airplanes. No one knows how or why ball lightning occurs, or what it consists of.
A glowing light called St. Elmo's fire may resemble ball lightning in some ways. St. Elmo's fire is caused by electrical discharges from a sharp object during a thunderstorm. It sometimes appears around airplanes, the masts of sailing ships, towers, and treetops.
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Saturnalia
Saturnalia was an ancient Roman festival that honored Saturn, the god of agriculture. The Saturnalia began on December 17. It lasted two days at first, but eventually was extended to a week. The Saturnalia may have originated as a thanksgiving celebration to commemorate the winter planting. However, it later lost its agricultural significance and became a time of general merriment. Even slaves were given temporary freedom to do as they pleased. The Saturnalia featured feasting, visiting, and gift giving. The most popular gifts of this festival were wax candles and small clay figurines.
The festival resembled celebrations in other parts of the ancient world that took place during December. Some features of Saturnalia may have influenced the way people celebrate Christmas today.
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The Rhododendron Bush
Rhododendron is the name of a group of trees and shrubs that belong to the heath family. The name means rose tree. The group includes several species which are known for the beauty of their flowers and for their evergreen leaves. One of the best known is the great rhododendron which is also called great laurel and rosebay. It grows widely in the Allegheny Mountains. There, the interlocking branches form almost impassable thickets. This rhododendron rarely grows higher than 35 feet. Its white or rose-colored flowers grow in a large cluster.
Another species, the mountain rosebay, is a common shrub in Virginia. It produces brilliant, lilac-purple flowers. Other species are found in the Pacific Coast region. Some magnificent rhododendrons grow in the mountain regions of Indian. The leaves of most rhododendrons are poisonous.
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Wednesday, July 14, 2010
The Rhesus Monkey
Rhesus monkey is a monkey noted for its usefulness in medical and behavioral research. It is also one of the most popular monkeys exhibited in zoos. Research on the rhesus monkey led to the discovery of the RH factor, a substance in the red blood cells of most human beings. Scientists named the substance for the animal.
The rhesus monkey lives in many regions of southern and southeastern Asia, from Afghanistan in the west to Thailand and southern China in the east. It measures from 18 to 25 inches tall. Rhesus monkeys weigh from 9 to 22 pounds and have dull yellow to brown fur. They live both on the ground and in trees in groups of about 5 to more than 100 animals. Rhesus monkeys inhabit a variety of surroundings, including deserts, farm areas, forests, mountains, and swamps. These monkeys also live in villages and in crowded bazaars of large cities. Their food includes buds, fruit, insects, leaves, roots, and various crops.
Many Hindus once regarded rhesus monkeys as sacred. But religious tolerance of the animals has declined because rhesus monkeys destroy crops and other property. Many scientists have called for conservation effort to protect rhesus monkeys. Large numbers have been trapped for use in research and in zoos, and people are occupying more and more land inhabited by the monkeys.
Until 1978, India was the chief exporter of rhesus monkeys. However, India stopped exporting them that year. As a result, there is a growing need in the United States for rhesus monkey breeding colonies
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The South American Rhea
Rhea is a large South American bird that cannot fly. It looks like a small ostrich, and it is often called the South American ostrich. However, it has three toes on each foot, while the ostrich has two. The rhea also has larger wings and more feathers on its neck and head than the ostrich. The common rhea stands about 5 feet tall and weighs about 50 pounds.
Rheas live on the plains of southern Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina. They usually live in flocks of from 5 to 30 birds, generally in brush-covered land near water where they can bathe and swim. They eat leaves, roots, and insects. Rheas have unusual nesting habits. The male scrapes a shallow hole in the ground and lines it with dry grass. Then he leads several hens to the nest, and each hen lays an egg. This process may be repeated several times, and a nest may contain up to 30 eggs. The male rhea sits on the eggs until they hatch. He also cares for the young birds.
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Tuesday, July 13, 2010
Triggerfishes
Triggerfish is a type of colorful fish that lives in coastal waters of warm and tropical seas. Most triggerfish are less than 1 1/2 feet long and have a roundish body with flattened sides.
The first three spines of a triggerfish's dorsal fin are specialized. The fish uses these spines to enlarge its body when threatened. The first spine is long and strong. It can be locked in place by the second, smaller spine, which lifts up and acts as a "trigger." When frightened, the fish hides in a crack or crevice and locks its spine. The fish then cannot be removed by predators. It returns to its normal size by releasing its second spine.
Triggerfish are closely related to filefish. There are about 120 species of triggerfish and filefish that live along the Atlantic Coast of the United States. Three species of triggerfish live along the mainland Pacific Coast. The state fish of Hawaii, the Humuhumunkunukuapuaa, is a triggerfish.
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Hawthorn Plants
Hawthorn, also called thorn apple, is the name of more than 600 species of thorny shrubs or small trees that bear fragrant flowers. Hawthorns are native to North America, Europe, and northern Africa. Their blossoms are white or rarely, pink or red. The English hawthorn is noted for its beauty in May, when it blooms. The English countryside then becomes white with hawthorn blossoms. Hawthorns are deciduous - that is, they lose their leaves each autumn. The leaves change to scarlet, bronze-red, or yellow before they are shed. The fruit, called a haw, is fleshy with a paper like core. It is red to red-orange and looks like a small apple. For this reason, the hawthorn is sometimes called red haw or scarlet haw. The fruit ripens from September to October.
The downy hawthorn is a type of hawthorn found in the United States. This small tree has crooked, spreading branches and white blossoms. The orange-scarlet haws ripen late in the summer but fall soon after they mature. Another American hawthorn, the cockspur, sometimes grows 25 feet tall. Its red fruit remains on the tree from fall through winter.
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The Ocelot
Ocelot is a medium-sized animal of the cat family. It is known as the leopard cat or tiger cat of America. It is 3 1/2 to 4 feet long including the tail, which is 15 inches long. The ocelot stands 16 to 18 inches high at the shoulder. The ocelot lives in an area ranging from southeastern Arizona and southern Texas to Paraguay in South America. It spends most of its life on the ground, but often hunts in forest trees and is an agile climber. It eats mice, wood rats, rabbits, snakes, lizards, birds, young deer, and monkeys. In the tropics a favorite food is agoutis. If taken young, the ocelot can be tamed and makes an excellent pet.
The ground tint of the ocelot fur varies greatly in different animals, from reddish-yellow to smoky-pearl. Black spots vary in size from dots of the legs and feet to large shell-shaped spots on other parts of the body. The ocelot has a pink nose and large translucent eyes.
Ocelots have been widely hunted for their fur, and their number has decreased sharply. Laws that prohibit the hunting of ocelots have been hard to enforce.
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Chickasaw Indians
Chickasaw Indians are a tribe that originally lived in the Southern United States. Their territory included northern Mississippi, northwestern Alabama, and western Tennessee and Kentucky. In the 1830's the US government relocated the tribe in what is now Oklahoma.
The Chickasaw lived in several villages of small, one-room log cabins. Each village was headed by a chief. The people supported themselves by farming, fishing, hunting, and trading with neighboring tribes.
The Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto was th first white person to come into contact with the Chickasaw. He and his group spent the winter of 1540 - 1541 in one of their villages while searching for gold. Before leaving, de Soto demanded that some of the Chickasaw join him to help carry supplies. The Indians became angry and attacked de Soto's expedition, killing about 12 of his men.
The Chickasaw were fierce warriors. They helped Great Britain fight France and Spain for control of what is now the Southeastern United States. They also supported the British during the Revolutionary War. During the civil war, the tribe fought for the Confederacy.
In 1837, the government moved the Chickasaw west to the Indian Territory to make room for additional white settlement in the South. The forced march of the Indians to their new territory became known as the Trail of Tears because thousands of Indians died on the way. In 1907, the Chickasaw Territory became part of the new state of Oklahoma.
Today, about 5,300 people of the Chickasaw descent make their homes in Oklahoma. A tribal government elected by the Chickasaw helps provide for the general welfare of the tribe.
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Sunday, July 11, 2010
Indian Mallow
Indian mallow is a weed that has velvety, heart-shaped leaves. It is a member of the mallow family. the name refers to the fact that the plant originally grew in India. It is also called velvet leaf and stamp weed. The Indian mallow was once used to stamp designs on hand-churned butter. It grows from less than 1 foot to over 6 feet tall, depending on the fertility of the soil.
It has attractive orange-yellow flowers. In fact, the Indian mallow was first raised in the United States as an ornamental plant. It has now become a troublesome weed to some farmers, and is a special pest in cornfields. In China and Japan, the Indian mallow is called chingma.
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Beneficial Insects
Beneficial insects include bees, wasps, flies, butterflies, moths, and others that pollinate plants. In the United States, the value of crops that require or benefits from pollination by insects totals about $5 billion a year. Many fruits, including oranges, apples, plums, strawberries, blackberries, pears, and grapes, depend on insect pollinators for the production of seeds. So do such vegetables and field crops as peas, onions, carrots, cabbages, clobber, alfalfa, and cotton. Insects also pollinate carnations, morning-glories, orchids, magnolias, and other lovely flowers.
Insects are an import food source of birds, fish, frogs, lizards, skunks, and many other animals. Insects even serve as food for such plants as Venus's-flytraps, pitcher plants, and sundews. Many people also eat insects. In South Africa, some people roast termites and eat them by the handful, like popcorn. Mexicans make a cake out of the eggs of water boatmen. Many stores in the United States sell fried caterpillars and chocolate-covered bees and ants.
Insects provide us with products worth millions of dollars yearly. These products include honey and beeswax, made by bees, shellac, made from a substance given off by lac insects; and silk, produced by silkworms.
Many insects help keep the landscape clean by feeding on animal wastes and dead animals, or the remains of dead plants. Insects that live in the ground enrich the soil with their waste products and dead bodies.
Many insects are beneficial because they are predators. They feed on harmful insects. One predator, the ladybug eats several kinds of crop-destroying insects. Other helpful insects are the parasites that live in or on the bodies of harmful insects. For example, some wasps lay their eggs in caterpillars that damage tomato plants. As the young develop, they feed on the caterpillars and kill them.
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Harmful Insects
Insects attack and injure almost all types of plants. Every year, insects destroy about 10% of the crops raised in the United States. The major pests include boll weevils, which damage cotton; Hessian flies, which attack wheat; corn earworms and chinch bugs, which destroy corn and other crops; and the Colorado beetles, which feed on potatoes.
Many insects are household pests. Clothes moths and carpet beetles ruin clothing, carpets, upholstery, and furs. Silverfish damage books. Termites attack furniture and the beams and floors of buildings. Ants, cockroaches, flies, and many other insects eat or spoil the food stored in homes and warehouses.
The worst insect enemies are probably those that endanger our health. Variuos biting flies and bugs inject a painful and sometimes deadly poison. Many fleas, lice, and other parasites may cause soreness, damage to tissues, or occasionally death. Houseflies and blowflies often carry germs that cause typhoid fever, cholera, dysentry, or other diseases as malaria, African sleeping sickness, or bubonic plague.
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Tuesday, July 6, 2010
The Century Plant
Century plant is the name of a group of desert plants that belong to the agave family. It is also called agave. The name century plant came from the mistaken idea that the American centuray plant blooms only once in 100 years. Some century plants flower many times, and others bloom only once and then die. But none blooms so rarely as once in 100 years.
The American century plant has thick, fleshy leaves with sharp-spined edges. The white or greenish flowers grow in an open cluster on the upper portion of the stalk. The leaves die after the plant has bloomed. The roots remain alive and produce a new plant. The American century plant is also known as the American aloe.
The people of Mexico use the sap of certain agaves to make beverages, such as pulque, tequila, and mescal. The long, tough fibers of other agaves, such as the sisal and henequen, may be formed into thread, cord, and rope. The green leaves of the plants are used as fodder.
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Eating Rhubarb
Rhubarb is one of the few perennial vegetables. It is also called pieplant. Rhubarb originally came form Mongolia, but is grown both in Europe and America. The plant forms a large, yellow storage root and a mass of feeder roots underground. Its rhizome, or underground stem produces buds from which grow long, thick leafstalks with large leaves. People use the reddish, juicy stalks for food. A person may become ill from eating leaves because they contain poisonous oxalic acid salts.
Although rhubarb is technically a vegetable, people usually prepare it as dessert food, often as pie fillings and sauces. Stores sell rhubarb packaged frozen and in cans. However, many people prefer to eat the fresh stalks. Rhubarb contains some vitamin C, and has laxative qualities.
Rhubarb plants produce many seeds, but plants from the seeds are not always like the parent plant. Growers plant pieces of the big storage root that have several buds from which new plants grow. Each plant lasts 5 to 8 years. Rhubarb is relatively free from insect attack and suffers from few diseases.
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Cerberus - Hades' Dog
Cerberus was a monstrous three-headed dog who guarded the entrance to Hades, the Underworld of Greek and Roman mythology. Cerberus was the offspring of the monsters Typhon and Echidna. His name or tail consisted of snakes.
Cerberus allowed only shades (spirits) of the dead to enter Hades and savagely barred their escape. However, three living mortals successfully overcame him. Orpheus used their magical power of his music to charm Cerberus into submission. Hercules used his great strength. Aeneas entered the Underworld with the help of an old woman called sibyl, who lulled Cerberus to sleep with drugged food.
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Neptune - God of the Sea
Neptune was the god of the sea in Roman mythology. He had power over the sea and seafaring. For example, he could cause - or prevent - storms at sea. Neptune resembled the Greek god Poseidon. Like Poseidon, he was also the god of earthquakes and horses.
The ancient Romans were a seafaring people and imported much of their food and other necessities by ship. As ruler of the sea, Neptune thus had an important role in their daily life. Sea travel was dangerous in ancient times, and Roman sailors prayed to Neptune for safe voyages. After their return, sailors often showed their gratitude by dedicating a valuable object to Neptune.
Neptune was the son of Saturn and Ops (called Cronus and Rhea by the Greeks.) He married the sea nymph Amphitrite, and they had a son, Triton, who was half man and half fish. Triton played an important role in many ancient legends about the sea.
Neptune appears in a famous episode at the beginning of the Aeneid, an epic by the Roman poet Virgil. In this epic, Neptune calms a storm that had threatened to destroy the fleet of the Trojan hero Aeneas. Many ancient and modern seascapes feature Neptune, Amphitrite, and Triton. Artists portray Neptune as a man carrying a trident (three-pronged spear). Some show him riding in a chariot pulled by sea horses and accompanied by dolphins. Many fountains, notably the Trevi Fountain in Rome, include a statue of Neptune. One of the planets is name for him.
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Raising Lemons
Lemon trees can grow from 22 to 25 feet tall. They are covered with thorns and have long, pointed, pale green leaves. The trees produce large, white, fragrant flowers throughout the year, except for the winter. Lemons develop from the ovaries of the blossoms and riped about 7 to 8 months after the flowers bloom. Lemon trees may carry blossoms and fruit at the same time.
Lemon trees are grown from buds cut from trees that produce the type of lemon desired. The buds are grafted to seedling lemon trees called rootstocks. Rootstock varieties are chosen for about 4 years after grafting, and some continue to bear fruit for 50 years.
Lemon trees may be severely damaged by frost and freezing temperatures, and growers use a variety of methods to protect the trees from cold weather. For example, some growers prevent frost by warming the cold air near the ground with oil-burning heaters. Other lemon growers use large fans called wind machines to mix the cold surface air with the warmer air above it. Lemon trees may also be attacked by such insect pests as mites, scale insects, and thrips. Mites and scale insects feed on the leaves, fruit, and twigs of the trees. Thrips attack the buds and the fruit. Growers combat the insects by growing varieties of trees that resist the pests spray orchards with fungicides to fight fungal diseases, which attack the leaves, fruit, and roots of the trees.
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How to Cut All Over Layers
Step 1: Part hair into five cutting sections. Starting at the back of the top section use 1/2" partings across the head. Hold the hair at 90 degrees from the head form and cut to the desired length.
Step 2: Make a second parting working towards the front. Direct the first parting to the second parting and cut the second parting to the same length as the guide. Continue working from back to front of the top section until all the hair has been cut to the same length.
Step 3: Divide the top section in two from front to back and comb to the sides. This will be the guide for the side sections.
Step 4: Start at the back of the right side section. Use vertical partings 1/2" thick. Hold the hair at a 90 degree angle from the head form. Use the previously cut hair in the top section to establish the length. Work down the section, cutting every hair the same length. This will establish a guide for the rest of the section.
Step 5: Take another 1/2" vertical parting. Move the previously cut side parting to the parting to be cut. Use the previously cut side parting and the top section as a guide. Cut the hair from the top of the section to the bottom.
Step 6: Continue using 1/2" vertical partings and the previously cut parting as your guide. Work forward to the front hairline.
Step 7: Repeat the procedure on the left side.
Step 8: At the front of the rear section take a 1/2" pie-shaped vertical parting from the center of the top of the crown tot the nape. Make a second parting starting at the top section down to the bottom of the side section. This will be your guide. Direct the previously cut parting tot he parting to be cut. Cut to the same length. When you get below the side parting into the nape, you will be creating a new guide for the rest of the nape area.
Step 9: Work from right to left and continue making vertical pie-shaped partings. You should have one parting to be cut and one parting as a guide, continuing the guide down into the nape. Always move the guide to the parting to be cut.
Step 10: Follow this procedure into the left rear section. When you have completed the back, the left rear section should match the left front section.
Note: All the hair that has been cut should be the same length when measured.
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The Lena River
Lena River is the chief waterway of a large district of eastern Siberia. The river rises on the slopes of the Baikal Mountains and flows northeast for 2,734 miles. It empties into the Artic Ocean through the Laptev Sea. The river's delta is about 250 miles wide. Ships can sail up the river for about 2,000 miles.
The Lena River drains an area of about 1 million square miles, which is nearly one-third the size of Canada. Its chief branches are the Vitim, Olekma, Aldan, and Vilyuy rivers. Gold is mined along the Vitim and the Aldan.
Along its middle course, the Lena River flows through a region that is inhabited by the Yakuyts, a Turkic people. The Yakuts make their living by fishing, farming, and raising livestock. The largest city on the river is Yakutsk.
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