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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