title: "Great blue heron" content: great blues in bill morphology, head plume length, and in having a total lack of pigment in its plumage. It averages somewhat larger than the sympatric race "A. h. wardi" and may be the largest race in the species. In a survey of "A. h. occidentalis" in Florida, males were found to average and females average , with a range for both sexes of . This is mainly found near salt water, and was long thought to be a separate species. Birds intermediate between the normal morph and the white morph are known as Würdemann's heron; these birds resemble a


title: "Great blue heron" content: "normal" great blue with a white head. The theory that great white herons may be a separate species ("A. occidentalis") from the great blue heron has again been given some support by David Sibley. The "great white heron" could be confused with great egret, but is larger, with yellow legs as opposed to the great egret's black legs. The reddish egret ("Egretta rufescens") and little blue heron ("Egretta caerulea") could be mistaken for the great blue heron, but are much smaller, and lack white on the head and yellow in the bill. In the southern reaches of its range, the


title: "Great blue heron" content: great blue sometimes overlaps in range with the closely related and similarly sized cocoi heron ("A. cocoi"). The cocoi is distinguished by a striking white neck and solid black crown, but the duller juveniles are more easily confused. More superficially similar is the slightly smaller grey heron, which may sometimes vagrate to the northern coasts of North America. The grey heron (which occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia as the great blue heron) has very similar plumage, but has a solidly soft-gray neck. Erroneously, the great blue heron is sometimes referred to as a "crane". A heron is differentiable


title: "Great blue heron" content: from a crane in flight. The crane's neck will be straight and the heron's is always curved. The great blue heron is found throughout most of North America, as far north as Alaska and the southern Canadian provinces in the summer months. In winter, the range extends south through Florida, Mexico, and the Caribbean to South America. Birds east of the Rocky Mountains in the northern part of their range are migratory and winter in the coastal areas of the southern United States, Central America or northern South America. From the southern United States southwards, and on the lower Pacific


title: "Great blue heron" content: coast, they are year-round residents. However, their hardiness is such that individuals often remain through cold northern winters, as well, so long as fish-bearing waters remain unfrozen (which may be the case only in flowing water such as streams, creeks, and rivers). The great blue heron can adapt to almost any wetland habitat in its range. It may be found in numbers in fresh and saltwater marshes, mangrove swamps, flooded meadows, lake edges, or shorelines. It is quite adaptable and may be seen in heavily developed areas as long as they hold bodies of fish-bearing water. Great blue herons rarely


title: "Great blue heron" content: venture far from bodies of water, but are occasionally seen flying over upland areas. They usually nest in trees or bushes near water's edge, often on islands (which minimizes the potential for predation) or partially isolated spots. It has been recorded as a vagrant in England, Greenland, Hawaii, and the Azores. The great white heron is unique to south Florida, including Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuge in the Florida Keys. The primary food for great blue heron is small fish, though it is also known to opportunistically feed on a wide range of shrimp, crabs, aquatic insects, rodents, and


title: "Great blue heron" content: other small mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds, especially ducklings. Primary prey is variable based on availability and abundance. In Nova Scotia, 98% of the diet was flounders. In British Columbia, the primary prey species are sticklebacks, gunnels, sculpins, and perch. California herons were found to live mostly on sculpin, bass, perch, flounder, and top smelt. Nonpiscine prey is rarely quantitatively important, though one study in Idaho showed that from 24 to 40% of the diet was made up of voles. Herons locate their food by sight and usually swallow it whole. They have been known to choke on prey that


title: "Great blue heron" content: is too large. It is generally a solitary feeder. Individuals usually forage while standing in water, but also feed in fields or drop from the air, or a perch, into water. Mice are occasionally preyed on in upland areas far from the species' typical aquatic environment. Occasionally, loose feeding flocks form and may be beneficial since they are able to locate schools of fish more easily. As large wading birds, great blue herons are capable of feeding in deeper waters, thus are able to harvest from niche areas not open to most other heron species. Typically, the great blue heron


title: "Great blue heron" content: feeds in shallow waters, usually less than deep, or at the water's edge during both the night and the day, but especially around dawn and dusk. The most commonly employed hunting technique of the species is wading slowly with its long legs through shallow water and quickly spearing fish or frogs with its long, sharp bill. Although usually ponderous in movements, the great blue heron is adaptable in its fishing methods. Feeding behaviors variably have consisted of standing in one place, probing, pecking, walking at slow speeds, moving quickly, flying short distances and alighting, hovering over water and picking up


title: "Great blue heron" content: prey, diving headfirst into the water, alighting on water feet-first, jumping from perches feet-first, and swimming or floating on the surface of the water. This species usually breeds in colonies, in trees close to lakes or other wetlands. Adults generally return to the colony site after winter from December (in warmer climes such as California and Florida) to March (in cooler areas such as Canada). Usually, colonies include only great blue herons, though sometimes they nest alongside other species of herons. These groups are called a heronry (a more specific term than "rookery"). The size of these colonies may be


title: "Great blue heron" content: large, ranging between five and 500 nests per colony, with an average around 160 nests per colony. A heronry is usually relatively close, usually within , to ideal feeding spots. Heronry sites are usually difficult to reach on foot (e.g., islands, trees in swamps, high branches, etc.) to protect from potential mammalian predators. Trees of any type are used when available. When not, herons may nest on the ground, sagebrush, cacti, channel markers, artificial platforms, beaver mounds, and duck blinds. Other waterbirds (especially smaller herons) and, occasionally, even fish and mammal-eating raptors may nest amongst colonies. Although nests are often


title: "Great blue heron" content: reused for many years and herons are socially monogamous within a single breeding season, individuals usually choose new mates each year. Males arrive at colonies first and settle on nests, where they court females; most males choose a different nest each year. Great blue herons build a bulky stick nest. Nests are usually around across when first constructed, but can grow to more than in width and deep with repeated use and additional construction. If the nest is abandoned or destroyed, the female may lay a replacement clutch. Reproduction is negatively affected by human disturbance, particularly during the beginning of


title: "Great blue heron" content: nesting. Repeated human intrusion into nesting areas often results in nest failure, with abandonment of eggs or chicks. However, Vancouver B.C. Canada's Stanley Park has had a healthy colony for some years right near its main entrance and tennis courts adjacent to English Bay and not far from Lost Lagoon. The park's colony has had as many as 183 nests. The female lays three to six pale blue eggs. Eggs can measure from in length and in width, though the smallest eggs in the above sample may have been consider "runt eggs" too small to produce viable young. Egg weight


title: "Great blue heron" content: ranges from . One brood is raised each year. First broods are laid generally from March to April. Eggs are usually laid at two-day intervals, incubated around 27 days, and hatch asynchronously over a period of several days. Males incubate for about 10.5 hours of each day, while females usually incubate for the remainder of each day and the night, with eggs left without incubation for about 6 minutes of each hour. The first chick to hatch usually becomes more experienced in food handling and aggressive interactions with siblings, so often grows more quickly than the other chicks. Both parents


title: "Great blue heron" content: feed the young at the nest by regurgitating food. Parent birds have been shown to consume up to four times as much food when they are feeding young chicks (about 4300 kJ/day) than when laying or incubating eggs (about 1200 kJ/day). By the time they are 45 days old, the young weigh 86% of the adult's mass. After about 55 days at the northern edge of the range (Alberta) and 80 days at the southern edge of the range (California), young herons take their first flight. They return to the nest to be fed for about another 3 weeks, following


title: "Great blue heron" content: adults back from foraging grounds, and are likely to gradually disperse away from their original nest over the course of the ensuing winter. Young herons are not as successful at fish capture as adults, as strike rates are similar, but capture rates are about half that of adults during the first 2 months after fledging. Predators of eggs and nestlings include turkey vultures ("Cathartes aura"), common ravens ("Corvus corax"), and American crows ("Corvus brachyrhynchos"). Red-tailed hawks ("Buteo jamaicensis"), American black bears ("Ursus americanus"), and raccoons ("Procyon lotor") are known to take larger nestlings or fledglings and, in the latter predator,


title: "Great blue heron" content: many eggs. Adult herons, due to their size, have few natural predators, but a few of the larger avian predators have been known to kill both young and adults, including bald eagles ("Haliaeetus leucocephalus") (the only predator known to attack great blue herons at every stage of their lifecycle from in the egg to adulthood), golden eagles ("Aquila chrysaetos") and, less frequently, great horned owls ("Bubo virginianus") and Harris's hawks ("Parabuteo unicinctus"). An occasional adult heron or, more likely, an unsteady fledgling may be snatched by an American alligator ("Alligator mississippiensis") or an American crocodile ("Crocodylus acutus"). Using its considerable


title: "Great blue heron" content: size and dagger-like bill, a full-grown heron can be a formidable foe to a predator. In one instance, during an act of attempted predation by a golden eagle, a heron was able to mortally wound the eagle although it succumbed to injures sustained in the fight. When predation on an adult or chick occurs at a breeding colony, the colony can sometimes be abandoned by the other birds. The primary source of disturbance and breeding failures at heronries is human activities, mostly through human recreation or habitat destruction, as well as by egg-collectors and hunters. John James Audubon illustrates the


title: "Great blue heron" content: great blue heron in Birds of America, Second Edition (published, London 1827–38) as Plate 161. The image was engraved and colored by Robert Havell's, London workshops. The original watercolor by Audubon was purchased by the New-York Historical Society. Great white herons feature prominently in the logo for the Major League Soccer club Inter Miami CF. They were chosen for their local connection, as well as their quickness when hunting. <br> Great blue heron The great blue heron ("Ardea herodias") is a large wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, common near the shores of open water and in wetlands over


title: Variometer content: Variometer A variometer – also known as a rate of climb and descent indicator (RCDI), rate-of-climb indicator, vertical speed indicator (VSI), or vertical velocity indicator (VVI) – is one of the flight instruments in an aircraft used to inform the pilot of the rate of descent or climb. It can be calibrated in feet per minute, knots (1 kn ≈ 100 ft/min) or metres per second (1 m/s ≈ 200 ft/min), depending on country and type of aircraft. In powered flight the pilot makes frequent use of the VSI to ascertain that level flight is being maintained, especially during turning


title: Variometer content: maneuvers. In gliding, the instrument is used almost continuously during normal flight, often with an audible output, to inform the pilot of rising or sinking air. It is usual for gliders to be equipped with more than one type of variometer. The simpler type does not need an external source of power and can therefore be relied upon to function regardless of whether a battery or power source has been fitted. The electronic type with audio needs a power source to be operative during the flight. The instrument is of little interest during launching and landing, with the exception of


title: Variometer content: aerotow, where the pilot will usually want to avoid releasing in sink. Variometers measure the rate of change of altitude by detecting the change in air pressure (static pressure) as altitude changes. A simple variometer can be constructed by adding a large reservoir (a thermos bottle) to augment the storage capacity of a common aircraft rate-of-climb instrument. In its simplest electronic form, the instrument consists of an air bottle connected to the external atmosphere through a sensitive air flow meter. As the aircraft changes altitude, the atmospheric pressure outside the aircraft changes and air flows into or out of the


title: Variometer content: air bottle to equalise the pressure inside the bottle and outside the aircraft. The rate and direction of flowing air is measured by the cooling of one of two self-heating thermistors and the difference between the thermistor resistances will cause a voltage difference; this is amplified and displayed to the pilot. The faster the aircraft is ascending (or descending), the faster the air flows. Air flowing out of the bottle indicates that the altitude of the aircraft is increasing. Air flowing into the bottle indicates that the aircraft is descending. Newer variometer designs directly measure the static pressure of the


title: Variometer content: atmosphere using a pressure sensor and detect changes in altitude directly from the change in air pressure instead of by measuring air flow. These designs tend to be smaller as they do not need the air bottle. They are more reliable as there is no bottle to be affected by changes in temperature and less chances for leaks to occur in the connecting tubes. The designs described above, which measure the rate of change of altitude by automatically detecting the change in static pressure as the aircraft changes altitude are referred to as "uncompensated" variometers. The term "vertical speed indicator"


title: Variometer content: or "VSI" is most often used for the instrument when it is installed in a powered aircraft. The term "variometer" is most often used when the instrument is installed in a glider or sailplane. An "Inertial-lead" or "Instantaneous" VSI (IVSI) uses accelerometers to provide a quicker response to changes in vertical speed. Human beings, unlike birds and other flying animals, are not able directly to sense climb and sink rates. Before the invention of the variometer, sailplane pilots found it very hard to soar. Although they could readily detect abrupt "changes" in vertical speed ("in the seat of the pants"),


title: Variometer content: their senses did not allow them to distinguish lift from sink, or strong lift from weak lift. The "actual" climb/sink rate could not even be guessed at, unless there was some clear fixed visual reference nearby. Being near a fixed reference means being near to a hillside, or to the ground. Except when hill-soaring (exploiting the lift close to the up-wind side of a hill), these are generally very unprofitable positions for glider pilots to be in. The most useful forms of lift (thermal and wave lift) are found at higher altitudes and it is very hard for a pilot


title: Variometer content: to detect or exploit them without the use of a variometer. After the variometer was invented in 1929 by Alexander Lippisch and Robert Kronfeld, the sport of gliding moved into a new realm. Variometers also became important in foot-launch hang gliding, where the open-to-air pilot hears the wind but needs the variometer to help him or her to detect regions of rising or sinking air. In early hang gliding, variometers were not needed for the short flights or flights close to ridge lift. But the variometer became key as pilots began making longer flights. The first portable variometer for use


title: Variometer content: in hang gliders was the Colver Variometer by Colver Soaring Instruments which served to extend the sport into cross-country thermal flying. As the sport of gliding developed, however, it was found that these very simple "uncompensated" instruments had their limitations. The information that glider pilots really need to soar is the total change in energy experienced by the glider, including both altitude and speed. An uncompensated variometer will simply indicate vertical speed of the glider, giving rise to the possibility of a "stick thermal," i.e., a change in altitude caused by stick input only. If a pilot pulls back on


title: Variometer content: the stick, the glider will rise, but also slow down as well. But if a glider is rising without the speed changing, this is an indication of real lift, not "stick lift." Compensated variometers also include information about the speed of the aircraft, so the total energy (potential and kinetic) is used, not just the change in altitude. For example, if a pilot pushes forward on the stick, speeding up as the plane dives, an uncompensated variometer only indicates that altitude is being lost. But the pilot could pull back on the stick, trading the extra speed for altitude again.


title: Variometer content: A compensated variometer uses both speed and altitude to indicate the change in total energy. So the pilot that pushes the stick forward, diving to gain speed, and then pulls back again to regain altitude will notice no change in total energy on a compensated variometer (neglecting energy loss due to drag). Most modern sailplanes are equipped with "Total Energy compensated" variometers. The total energy of the aircraft is: 1. formula_1 where formula_2 is the potential energy, and formula_3 is the kinetic energy. So the change in total energy is: 2. formula_4 Since 3. Potential Energy is proportional to Height


title: Variometer content: formula_5 where m is the glider mass and g the acceleration of gravity and 4. Kinetic Energy is proportional to Velocity squared, formula_6 then from 2: 5. formula_7 6. Typically, this is converted to an effective altitude change by dividing by the acceleration of gravity, and the mass of the aircraft, so: <math>{\Delta E_{tot} \over m g}= \Delta h + Variometer A variometer – also known as a rate of climb and descent indicator (RCDI), rate-of-climb indicator, vertical speed indicator (VSI), or vertical velocity indicator (VVI) – is one of the flight instruments in an aircraft used to inform the


title: "Johan Herman Wessel" content: 7603) in which gender roles have been switched and only women are allowed to fight in the military. The traditional restaurant "Wesselstuen" in Bergen, Norway features many decorations inspired by his works. Johan Herman Wessel Johan Herman Wessel (6 October 1742 – 29 December 1785) was an 18th-century Danish-Norwegian poet, satirist and playwright. His written work was characterized by the use of parody and satiric wit. Wessel was born and raised at Vestby in Akershus, Norway. He was the son of Jonas Wessel (1707-1785) and Helene Maria Schumacher (1715-1789). His father was a parish priest. He was one of thirteen


title: "Linotype machine" content: Linotype machine The Linotype machine ( ) is a "line casting" machine used in printing sold by the Mergenthaler Linotype Company and related It was a hot metal typesetting system that cast blocks of metal type for individual uses. Linotype became one of the mainstay methods to set type, especially small-size body text, for newspapers, magazines, and posters from the late 19th century to the 1970s and 1980s, when it was largely replaced by phototypesetting, offset lithography printing and computer typesetting. The name of the machine comes from the fact that it produces an entire line of metal type at


title: "Linotype machine" content: once, hence a "line-o'-type", a significant improvement over the previous industry standard, i.e., manual, letter-by-letter typesetting using a composing stick and drawers of letters. The linotype machine operator enters text on a 90-character keyboard. The machine assembles "matrices", which are molds for the letter forms, in a line. The assembled line is then cast as a single piece, called a "slug", of type metal in a process known as hot metal typesetting. The matrices are then returned to the type magazine from which they came, to be reused later. This allows much faster typesetting and composition than original hand composition


title: "Linotype machine" content: in which operators place down one pre-cast glyph (metal letter, punctuation mark or space) at a time. The machine revolutionized typesetting and with it especially newspaper publishing, making it possible for a relatively small number of operators to set type for many pages on a daily basis. Before Ottmar Mergenthaler's invention of the linotype in 1884, daily newspapers were limited to eight pages. The linotype machine consists of four major sections: The operator interacts with the machine via the keyboard, composing lines of text. The other sections are automatic; they start as soon as a line is completely composed. Some


title: "Linotype machine" content: linotype machines included a paper tape reader. This allowed the text to be typeset to be supplied over a telegraph line (TeleTypeSetter). It also allowed for several tape perforator operators to prepare paper tape to be processed by a single linotype machine, essentially decoupling the typing speed of the operators from the operating speed of the linotype machine. Each matrix contains the letter form for a single character of a font of type; i.e., a particular type design in a particular size. The letter form is engraved into one side of the matrix. For sizes up to 14 points, and


title: "Linotype machine" content: in some matrices of size 16 to 24 points, the matrix has two letter forms on it, the normal and auxiliary positions. The normal position has the upright (Roman) form of a given character, and on the auxiliary, the slanted ("Italic") form of that character will be used, but this can also be the boldface form or even a different font entirely. The machine operator can select which of the two will be cast by operating the "auxiliary rail" of the "assembler", or, when setting entire lines of italics, by using the "flap", which is a piece that can be


title: "Linotype machine" content: turned under a portion of the first elevator column. This is the origin of the old typesetting terms "upper rail" for italic and "lower rail" for Roman characters. These terms have persisted in phototypesetting technology even though the mechanics of the auxiliary rail do not exist there. The character on a Linotype matrix, when viewed, is not inverted as a letter for conventional movable type would be, and the letter is incised below the surface rather than raised above it. This is because the matrix is not used directly to print onto the paper—rather, it is used as part of


title: "Linotype machine" content: a mold from which a metal slug will be cast. The slug has its features reversed: therefore, the matrix does not. The magazine section is the part of the machine where the matrices are held when not in use, and released as the operator touches keys on the keyboard. The magazine is a flat box with vertical separators that form "channels", one channel for each character in the font. Most main magazines have 90 channels, but those for larger fonts carried only 72 or even 55 channels. The auxiliary magazines used on some machines typically contained 34 channels or, for


title: "Linotype machine" content: a magazine carrying larger fonts, 28 channels. The magazine holds a particular font of type; i.e., a particular type design in a particular size. If a different size or style was needed, the operator would switch to a different magazine. Many models of the Linotype machine could keep several magazines (as many as four) available at a time. In some of these, the operator could shift to a different magazine by raising or lowering the stack of magazines with a crank. Such machines would not allow mixing fonts within a single line. Others, such as the Model 9, allowed arbitrary


title: "Linotype machine" content: mixing of text from up to four magazines within a single line. In a linotype machine, the term "escapements" refers to the mechanisms at the bottom of the magazine that release matrices one at a time as keys are pressed on the keyboard. There is an escapement for each channel in the magazine. To keep the matrices circulating smoothly throughout the machine, it is necessary that oil not be allowed anywhere near the matrix path. If oil is found in the matrix's path (due to careless maintenance or over-lubrication of nearby parts), it combines with dust, forming a gummy substance


title: "Linotype machine" content: that is eventually deposited in the magazine by the matrices. The most common result is that the matrix will not be released from the magazine at its usual speed, and almost always results in a letter or two arriving out of sequence in the assembler — a "matrix transposition". When these machines were in heavy use, it was not uncommon for an operator to set type at the rate of over 4,000 ems per hour, with the fastest operators being able to exceed 10,000 ems per hour (approximately 10 to 30 words per minute in today's units) so careful lubrication


title: "Linotype machine" content: and regular cleaning were essential to keep these machines operating at their full potential. In the composing section, the operator enters the text for a line on the keyboard. Each keystroke releases a matrix from the magazine mounted above the keyboard. The matrix travels through channels to the assembler where the matrices are lined up side by side in the order they were released. When a space is needed, the operator touches the "spaceband lever" just to the left of the keyboard. This releases a "spaceband" from the spaceband box. Spacebands are stored separately from the matrices because they are


title: "Linotype machine" content: too big to fit in the magazine. Once enough text has been entered for the line, the operator depresses the "casting lever" mounted on the front right corner of the keyboard. This lifts the completed line in the assembler up between two fingers in the "delivery channel", simultaneously tripping the catch holding it in position. The spring-operated delivery channel then transports the line into the casting section of the machine, and engages the clutch that drives the casting section and the subsequent transfer into the distribution section. The operator is now finished with the line; the remaining processing is automatic.


title: "Linotype machine" content: While the line is being cast, the operator can continue entering text for the next line. The keyboard has 90 keys. There is no shift key; uppercase letters have keys separate from the lowercase letters. The arrangement of letters corresponds roughly to letter frequency, with the most frequently used letters on the left. The first two columns of keys are: e, t, a, o, i, n; and s, h, r, d, l, u. A Linotype operator would often deal with a typing error by running the fingers down these two rows, thus filling out the line with the nonsense words


title: "Linotype machine" content: etaoin shrdlu. This is known as a "run down". It is often quicker to cast a bad slug than to hand-correct the line within the assembler. The slug with the run down is removed once it has been cast, or by the proofreader. The linotype keyboard has the same alphabet arrangement given twice, once for lower-case letters, the keys in black, on the left side of the keyboard, and once for upper-case letters, the keys in white, located on the right side of the keyboard. The blue keys in the middle are punctuation, digits, small capital letters and fixed-width spaces.


title: "Linotype machine" content: In proper keyboard operation, an experienced operator's left hand operates only the spaceband key and the left column of keys. The operator's right hand strokes the remaining keys on the entire keyboard. The keys of the keyboard are connected by vertical pushrods to the escapements. When a key is pressed, the corresponding escapement is actuated, which releases a matrix from the magazine. With one exception, each key corresponds directly to a channel in the standard ("90 channel") magazine. The one exception is the lower-case letter "e": that letter is used so often that the "90 channel" magazine actually has 91


title: "Linotype machine" content: channels, with two channels (the leftmost two) both used for the letter "e". Similarly, the "72 channel" magazine actually has 73 channels, with the leftmost two being used for lower-case "e". Alternate lines release matrices alternately from the two "e" channels in the magazine. On machines that support multiple magazines, there is a shifting mechanism that controls which magazine is currently connected to the keyboard. In most machines, this is done by raising or lowering the stack of magazines. In justified text, the spaces are not fixed width; they expand to make all lines equal in width. In linotype machines


title: "Linotype machine" content: this is done by spacebands. A spaceband consists of two wedges, one similar in size and shape to a type matrix, one with a long tail. The wide part of the wedge is at the bottom of the tail, so pushing the tail up expands the spaceband. Due to their size, spacebands are not held in the magazine, but in a spaceband box and released one at a time by pressing the spaceband lever at the left edge of the keyboard. Matrices released from the magazine, and spacebands released from the spaceband box, drop down into the assembler. This is


title: "Linotype machine" content: a rail that holds the matrices and spacebands, with a jaw on the left end set to the desired line width. When the operator judges that the line is close enough to full, he raises the casting lever on the bottom of the keyboard to "send" the line to the casting section of the linotype machine. The remaining processing for that line is automatic; as soon as the finished line has been transferred to the casting section, the operator can begin composing the next line of text. The casting section of the machine operated intermittently, when triggered by the operator


title: "Linotype machine" content: at the completion of a line. The full casting cycle time was less than nine seconds. Motive power for the casting section came from a clutch-operated drive running large cams (the keyboard and distributor sections ran all the time, since distribution may take much longer; however, the front part of the distributor completed its job before the next line of matrices was distributed). The construction of the machine was such that both the return of the former line to the magazine and the composition of the next line could occur while the current line was being cast, enabling very high


title: "Linotype machine" content: productivity. Older machines typically had a 1/3 hp 850 or 1140 revolution per minute motor geared to the main clutch wheel, the inner shaft engaging this wheel while the casting cycle was in operation. An external leather belt on this wheel ran a second jackshaft, which powered the distributor and keyboard matrix conveyor and escapements through additional belting off this shaft. Gas fired pots, such as in the illustration below, were most common in the earlier years, with the pot being thermostatically controlled (high flame when under temperature and low flame when up to temperature), and then a second smaller


title: "Linotype machine" content: burner for the mouth and throat heating, with the more modern installations running on 1500 watt electric pots with an initially rheostat controlled mouth and throat heaters (several hundred watts on the electric models). The temperature was precisely adjusted to keep the lead and tin type metal liquified just prior to being cast. Newer machines, and the larger machines above 36 EM Matrix size typically used the more standardized 1/2 horsepower motor after v-belts came into common use in the 1930s. The large machines also had the so-called 'double pot', with either larger gas burners, or else 2250 watt pot


title: "Linotype machine" content: heaters and larger mouth and throat heaters. The most modern Linotypes had the mouth and throat heaters thermostatically controlled, an improvement over the manual rheostat adjustment, or gas flame adjustment. The Linotype company would even supply kerosene heaters and line-shaft operated machines, in locales without electricity. The casting section receives completed lines from the assembler, and uses these to cast the type slugs that are the product of the linotype machine. The casting section is automatic: once it is activated by the operator sending a completed line by raising the casting lever, a series of cams and levers move the


title: "Linotype machine" content: matrices through the casting section and control the sequence of steps that produce the slug. The casting material is an alloy of lead (85%), antimony (11%), and tin (4%), and produces a one-piece casting slug capable of 300,000 impressions before the casting begins to develop deformities and imperfections, and the type must be cast again. The continuous heating of the molten alloy causes the tin and antimony in the mixture to rise to the top and oxidize along with other impurities into a substance called "dross" which has to be skimmed off. Excessive dross formation leads to the alloy softening


title: "Linotype machine" content: as the proportion of lead increases. The mixture must then be assayed and tin and antimony added back (in the form of a specially proportioned alloy) to restore the original strength and properties of the alloy. From the assembler, the assembled line moves via the "first elevator" to the "justification vise". The vise has two jaws (1 and 2 in the illustration) which are set to the desired line width. The spacebands are now expanded to justify the line. When the line is justified, the matrices fit tightly between the vise jaws, forming a tight seal which will prevent the


title: "Linotype machine" content: molten type metal from escaping when the line is cast. Justification is done by a spring-loaded ram (5) which raises the tails of the spacebands, unless the machine was equipped with a Star Parts automatic hydraulic quadding attachment or Linotype hydraquadder. If the operator did not assemble enough characters, the line will not justify correctly: even with the spacebands expanded all the way, the matrices are not tight. A safety mechanism in the justification vise detects this and blocks the casting operation. Without such a mechanism, the result would be a "squirt" of molten type metal spraying out through the


title: "Linotype machine" content: gaps between the matrices, creating a time consuming mess and a possible hazard to the operator. If a squirt did occur, it was generally up to the operator to grab the "hell bucket" and catch the flowing lead. It was so called because the bucket would often "go to hell", or melt, while holding the molten lead that was still extremely hot. Also, in conjunction with possible hazards facing an operator, toxic lead fumes were possible, as they were the result of melting the lead ingots for casting. The justification vise holds the assembled line against the face of the


title: "Linotype machine" content: "mold disk". The mold disk has rectangular openings which correspond to the width and thickness of the "slugs" (cast lines) to be made. "Mold liners" fit into these openings for specific slug dimensions. Behind the mold disk is the type metal pot, which contains molten type metal. Before casting, the mold disk slides forwards, so the mold itself fits tightly against the matrices. The pot itself reclines, forcing the mouthpiece tightly against the back of the mold. A piston in the pot pushes the molten metal down into the pot, which forces the metal through the pot throat and into


title: "Linotype machine" content: the mold, forcing it against the faces of the matrices. These have character shapes cut into them, so the result is a cast "slug" with the character shapes of the line on its front face. The mold disk is sometimes water-cooled, and often air-cooled with a blower, to carry away the heat of the molten type metal and allow the cast slugs to solidify quickly. When casting is complete, the plunger rises, pulling back the metal from the throat. The pot pulls backwards, separating the mouthpiece from the mold. The mold disk retracts, thus extracting the slug from the matrices,


title: "Linotype machine" content: and then turns three-quarters of a turn counterclockwise to the "ejector" and "knife block assembly". A stationary knife, behind the mold on the left side ("9 o'clock") shaves the back side of the slug as it passes next to it, ensuring smooth "leg" and precise and uniform height of the slug. The disk stops when the mold is vertical, on the right, directly in front of the "ejector". The ejector is a rectangular rod that pushes the completed slug from the mold aperture in the mold disk. As it emerges from the mold disk, the slug passes a set of


title: "Linotype machine" content: knife edges in the knife block, which trims off any small irregularities in the casting and produces a slug of exactly the desired width and height. From there, the slug drops into the "galley tray" which holds the lines in the order in which they were cast. The most significant innovation in the linotype machine was that it automated the distribution step; i.e., returning the matrices and space bands back to the correct place in their respective magazines. This is done by the "distributor". After casting is completed, the matrices are pushed to the "second elevator" which raises them to


title: "Linotype machine" content: the "distributor" at the top of the magazine. The space bands are separated out at this point and are returned to the spaceband box. The matrices have a pattern of teeth at the top, by which they hang from the "distributor bar". Some of the teeth are cut away; which pattern of teeth is cut away depends on the character on the matrix; i.e., which channel in the magazine it belongs in. Similarly, teeth are cut away along portions of the distributor bar. The bar on the elevator has all teeth, so it will hold any matrix (but not the


title: "Linotype machine" content: space bands, which have no teeth at all). As the matrices are carried along the distributor bar by the distributor screws, they will hang on only so long as there are teeth to hold them. As soon as the matrix reaches the point where each of its teeth corresponds to a cut-away tooth on the distributor bar, it is no longer supported and will drop into the matrix channel below that point. The pattern of teeth is a 7-bit binary code, with the innermost pair of teeth at the bottom of the notch being the most significant bit. The codes


title: "Linotype machine" content: count up from the left side of the main magazine. Code 0 (no teeth) is for spacebands, which are not carried up to the distributor. Code 1 is skipped (no reason for this is given in the Linotype manual). Codes 2 through 92 are for the 91-channel main magazine, and the codes above that are for the auxiliary magazine, if one is installed on the machine. The widest auxiliary magazine has 34 channels, so its rightmost channel is code 125. Code 126 is unused while code 127 is used for pi matrices (described below). In typesetting, it is sometimes necessary


title: "Linotype machine" content: to use characters that are uncommon or obscure enough that it does not make sense to assign them to a magazine channel. These characters are referred to as "pi characters" or "sorts" ("pi" in this case refers to an obscure printer's term relating to loose or spilled type). Footnote marks, rarely used fractions, and mathematical symbols are examples of pi characters. In the linotype machine, a pi matrix has all teeth present (code 127, no teeth cut away) so it will not drop from the distributor bar and will not be released into either the main or the auxiliary magazine.


title: "Linotype machine" content: Instead, it travels all the way to the end and into the flexible metal tube called the "pi chute" and is then lined up in the "sorts stacker". From the sorts stacker, the machine operator can (manually) pick pi matrices and insert them into the line being assembled as needed. Linotype machine The Linotype machine ( ) is a "line casting" machine used in printing sold by the Mergenthaler Linotype Company and related It was a hot metal typesetting system that cast blocks of metal type for individual uses. Linotype became one of the mainstay methods to set type, especially


title: Warlord content: internal political rivals. Political scientist Jesse Driscoll uses the term "redistribution politics" to classify the bargaining process between warlords and the regime in states where cooperative warlord politics prevails, and when that bargaining leads to accords or informal arrangements concerning the extraction of rent—which can refer to natural resources, territory, labor, revenue or privilege. In his study of warlordism in Georgia and Tajikistan, Driscoll cites "land reform, property ownership and transfers, privatization in non-transparent closed-bid settings, complex credit swaps cemented via marriages, money laundering, price fixing schemes, and bribery," as principal sources of exchange in redistribution politics. Noted theorist Max


title: "Heinrich Cornelius Agrippa" content: physician at Geneva and Freiburg, but in 1524 went to Lyons on being appointed physician to Louise of Savoy, mother of Francis I. In 1528 he gave up this position, and about this time was invited to take part in the dispute over the legality of the divorce of Catherine of Aragon by Henry VIII; but he preferred an offer made by Margaret, duchess of Savoy and regent of the Netherlands, and became archivist and historiographer to the emperor Charles V. Margaret's death in 1530 weakened his position, and the publication of some of his writings about the same time


title: "Lego Mindstorms" content: to the later touch-sensors. Most notably, instead of featuring a removable cable, the cable was fixed just like the other sensors. These early sensors also featured longer cables. The Control Lab was designed for schools and educational use and was as a result not available to the mass market. It was later replaced by the RCX and the educational release of the Robot Invention System which allowed for mobile inventions in addition to stationary inventions. Cybermaster was mainly sold in Europe and Australia/New Zealand and was available for a short time in the United States via the Lego Club magazines.


title: "Architecture of the United States" content: earthquake itself, though some burned in the aftermath. They introduced the contemporary services of central heating and electricity. The Carson Mansion conceived of by Builder-Architects, Samuel and Joseph Cather Newsom and built by an army of over 100 craftsman from the massive lumber operations of its owner, is prominently situated at the head of Old Town Eureka, California on Humboldt Bay. It is widely regarded as one of the highest executions of Queen Anne style in California and the United States. On the east coast the Queen Anne evolved into the Shingle Style architecture. It is characterized by attention to


title: "American literature" content: the American frontier. The New England Brahmins were a group of writers connected to Harvard University and Cambridge, Massachusetts. They included James Russell Lowell, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. In 1836, Ralph Waldo Emerson, a former minister, published his essay "Nature", which argued that men should dispense with organized religion and reach a lofty spiritual state by studying and interacting with the natural world. Emerson's work influenced the writers who formed the movement now known as Transcendentalism, while Emerson also influenced the public through his lectures. Among the leaders of the Transcendental movement was Henry David Thoreau,


title: "John Taylor (dissenting preacher)" content: of an English Presbyterian,' 1843. He married (13 August 1717) Elizabeth Jenkinson (died 2 June 1761), a widow, of Boston, Lincolnshire. His surviving children were: John Taylor (dissenting preacher) John Taylor (1694–1761) was an English dissenting preacher, Hebrew scholar, and theologian. The son of a timber merchant at Lancaster, he was born at Scotforth, Lancashire. His father, John was an Anglican, his mother, Susannah a dissenter. Taylor began his education for the dissenting ministry in 1709 under Thomas Dixon at Whitehaven, where he drew up for himself a Hebrew grammar (1712). From Whitehaven he went to study under the tutor


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: Merlin (bird) The merlin ("Falco columbarius") is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. Males typically have wingspans of , with females being slightly larger. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters who specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to quail. The merlin has for centuries been well regarded as a falconry bird.


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: In recent decades merlin populations in North America have been significantly increasing, with some merlins becoming so well adapted to city life that they forgo migration. The merlin was described and illustrated by the English naturalist Mark Catesby (as the "pigeon hawk") in his "Natural history of Carolina, Florida and the Bahama Islands" published in 1729–1732. Based on this description, in 1758 Carl Linnaeus included the species in the tenth edition of his "Systema Naturae" and introduced the present binomial name "Falco columbarius" with the type locality as "America". The genus name is Late Latin; "falco" derives from "falx", "falcis",


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: a sickle, referring to the claws of the bird. The species name "columbarius" is Latin for "of doves" from "columba", "dove". Thirteen years after Linnaeus's description Marmaduke Tunstall recognized the Eurasian birds as a distinct taxon "Falco aesalon" in his "Ornithologica Britannica". If two species of merlins are recognized, the Old World birds would thus bear the scientific name "F. aesalon". The name "merlin" is derived from Old French "esmerillon" via Anglo-Norman "merilun" or "meriliun". There are related Germanic words derived through older forms such as Middle Dutch "smeerle", Old High German "smerle" and Old Icelandic "smyrill". Wycliffe's Bible, around


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: 1382, mentions "An Egle, & agriffyn, & a merlyon". The species was once known as 'pigeon hawk' in North America. The relationships of the merlin are not resolved to satisfaction. In size, shape and coloration, it is fairly distinct among living falcons. The red-necked falcon is sometimes considered more closely related to the merlin than other falcons, but this seems to be a coincidence due to similar hunting habits; it could not be confirmed in more recent studies. Indeed, the merlin seems to represent a lineage distinct from other living falcons since at least the Early Pliocene, some 5 Ma


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: (million years ago). As suggested by biogeography and DNA sequence data, it might be part of an ancient non-monophyletic radiation of "Falco"s from Europe to North America, alongside the ancestors of forms such as the American kestrel ("F. sparvierus"), and the aplomado falcon ("F. femoralis") and its relatives. A relationship with the red-necked falcon ("F. chicquera") was once proposed based on their phenetic similarity, but this is not considered likely today. In that regard, a fossil falcon from the Early Blancan (4.3–4.8 Ma) Rexroad Formation of Kansas. Known from an almost complete right coracoid (specimen UMMP V29107) and some tarsometatarsus,


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: tibiotarsus and humerus pieces (V27159, V57508-V57510, V57513-V57514), this prehistoric falcon was slightly smaller than a merlin and apparently a bit more stout-footed, but otherwise quite similar. It was part of the Fox Canyon and Rexroad Local Fauna's, and may have been the ancestor of the living merlins or its close relative. With its age quite certainly pre-dating the split between the Eurasian and North American merlins, it agrees with the idea of the merlin lineage originating in North America, or rather the colonization thereof. After adapting to its ecological niche, ancient merlins would have spread to Eurasia again, with gene


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: flow being interrupted as the Beringia and Greenland regions became icebound in the Quaternary glaciation. That the merlin has a long-standing presence on both sides of the Atlantic is evidenced by the degree of genetic distinctness between Eurasian and North American populations. Arguably, they might be considered distinct species, with gene flow having ceased at least a million years ago, but probably more. By and large, color variation in either group independently follows Gloger's Rule. The Pacific temperate rain forest subspecies "suckleyi"'s males are almost uniformly black on the upperside and have heavy black blotches on the belly, whereas those


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: of the lightest subspecies, "pallidus", have little non-dilute melanin altogether, with grey upperside and reddish underside pattern. American group Eurasian group The merlin is long with a wingspan. Compared with most other small falcons, it is more robust and heavily built. Males average at about and females are typically about . There is considerable variation, however, throughout the birds' range and—in particular in migratory populations—over the course of a year. Thus, adult males may weigh , and females . Each wing measures , the tail measures and the tarsus measures . Such sexual dimorphism is common among raptors; it allows


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: males and females to hunt different prey animals and decreases the territory size needed to feed a mated pair. The male merlin has a blue-grey back, ranging from almost black to silver-grey in different subspecies. Its underparts are buff- to orange-tinted and more or less heavily streaked with black to reddish brown. The female and immature are brownish-grey to dark brown above, and whitish buff spotted with brown below. Besides a weak whitish supercilium and the faint dark malar stripe—which are barely recognizable in both the palest and the darkest birds—the face of the merlin is less strongly patterned than


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: in most other falcons. Nestlings are covered in pale buff down feathers, shading to whitish on the belly. The remiges are blackish, and the tail usually has some 3–4 wide blackish bands, too. Very light males only have faint and narrow medium-grey bands, while in the darkest birds the bands are very wide, so that the tail appears to have narrow lighter bands instead. In all of them, however, the tail tip is black with a narrow white band at the very end, a pattern possibly plesiomorphic for all falcons. Altogether, the tail pattern is quite distinct though, resembling only


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: that of the aplomado falcon ("F. berigora") and (in light merlins) some typical kestrels. The eye and beak are dark, the latter with a yellow cere. The feet are also yellow, with black claws. Light American males may resemble the American kestrel ("F. sparverius", not a typical kestrel), but merlin males have a grey back and tail rather than the reddish-brown of the kestrels. Light European males can be distinguished from kestrels by their mainly brown wings. In the north of South Asia, wintering males may be confused with the red-necked falcon ("F. chicquera") if they fly away from the


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: observer and the head (red on top in "F. chicquera") and underside (finely barred with black in "F. chicquera") are not visible. Merlins inhabit fairly open country, such as willow or birch scrub, shrubland, but also taiga forest, parks, grassland such as steppe and prairies, or moorland. They are not very habitat-specific and can be found from sea level to the treeline. In general, they prefer a mix of low and medium-height vegetation with some trees, and avoid dense forests as well as treeless arid regions. During migration however, they will utilize almost any habitat. Most of its populations are


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: migratory, wintering in warmer regions. Northern European birds move to southern Europe and North Africa, and North American populations to the southern United States to northern South America. In the milder maritime parts of its breeding range, such as Great Britain, the Pacific Northwest and western Iceland, as well as in Central Asia, it will merely desert higher ground and move to coasts and lowland during winter. The migration to the breeding grounds starts in late February, with most birds passing through the USA, Central Europe and southern Russia in March and April, and the last stragglers arriving in the


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: breeding range towards the end of May. Migration to winter quarters at least in Eurasia peaks in August/September, while e.g. in Ohio, just south of the breeding range, "F. c. columbarius" is typically recorded as a southbound migrant as late as September/October. In Europe, merlins will roost communally in winter, often with hen harriers ("Circus cyaneus"). In North America, communal roosting is rare. Merlins rely on speed and agility to hunt their prey. They often hunt by flying fast and low, typically less than above the ground, using trees and large shrubs to take prey by surprise. But they actually


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: capture most prey in the air, and will "tail-chase" startled birds. Throughout its native range, the merlin is one of the most able aerial predators of small to mid-sized birds, more versatile if anything than the larger hobbies (which prefer to attack in mid-air) and the more nimble sparrowhawks (which usually go for birds resting or sleeping in dense growth). Breeding pairs will frequently hunt cooperatively, with one bird flushing the prey toward its mate. The merlin will readily take prey that is flushed by other causes, and can for example be seen tagging along sharp-shinned hawks ("Accipiter striatus") to


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: catch birds that escape from this ambush predator into the open air. It is quite unafraid, and will readily attack anything that moves conspicuously. Merlins have even been observed trying to "catch" automobiles and trains, and to feed on captive birds such as those snared in the mist nets used by ornithologists. Even under adverse conditions, one in 20 targets is usually caught, and under good conditions almost every other attack will be successful. Sometimes, merlins cache food to eat it later. In particular during the breeding season, most of the prey are smallish birds weighing . Almost any such


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: species will be taken, with local preferences for whatever is most abundant—be it larks (Alaudidae), pipits ("Anthus") or house sparrows ("Passer domesticus")—and inexperienced yearlings always a favorite. Smaller birds will generally avoid a hunting merlin if possible. In the Cayman Islands (where it only occurs in winter), bananaquits were noted to die of an apparent heart attack or stroke, without being physically harmed, when a merlin went at them and they could not escape. Larger birds (e.g. sandpipers, flickers and even rock pigeons as heavy as the merlin itself) and other animals—insects (especially dragonflies and moths), small mammals (especially bats


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: and voles) and reptiles—complement its diet. These are more important outside the breeding season, when they can make up a considerable part of the merlin's diet. But for example in Norway, while small birds are certainly the breeding merlin's staple food, exceptional breeding success seems to require an abundance of "Microtus" voles. Corvids are the primary threat to eggs and nestlings. Adult merlins may be preyed on by larger raptors, especially peregrine falcons ("F. peregrinus"), eagle-owls (e.g., great horned owl, "Bubo virginianus"), and larger "Accipiter" hawks (e.g., northern goshawk, "A. gentilis"). In general however, carnivorous birds avoid merlins due to


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: their aggressiveness and agility. Their desire to drive larger raptors away from their territory is so pronounced that it is an identifying characteristic. Quoting from one popular raptor watching reference, "An observer may use this aggressive tendency for identification purposes and as a means of detection. High-flying merlins often betray themselves and distinguish themselves because they are vigorously harassing another raptor (even ones as large as the Golden Eagle)." Breeding occurs typically in May/June. Though the pairs are monogamous at least for a breeding season, extra-pair copulations have been recorded. Most nest sites have dense vegetative or rocky cover; the


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: merlin does not build a proper nest of its own. Most will use abandoned corvid (particularly "Corvus" crow and "Pica" magpie) or hawk nests which are in conifer or mixed tree stands. In moorland—particularly in the UK—the female will usually make a shallow scrape in dense heather to use as a nest. Others nest in crevices on cliff-faces and on the ground, and some may even use buildings. Three to six (usually 4 or 5) eggs are laid. The rusty brown eggs average at about . The incubation period is 28 to 32 days. Incubation is performed by the female


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: to about 90%; the male instead hunts to feed the family. Hatchlings weigh about . The young fledge after another 30 days or so, and are dependent on their parents for up to 4 more weeks. Sometimes first-year merlins (especially males) will serve as a "nest helper" for an adult pair. More than half—often all or almost all—eggs of a clutch survive to hatching, and at least two-thirds of the hatched young fledge. However, as noted above, in years with little supplementary food only 1 young in 3 may survive to fledging. The merlin becomes sexually mature at one year


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: of age and usually attempts to breed right away. The oldest wild bird known as of 2009 was recorded in its 13th winter. John James Audubon illustrated the merlin in the second edition of "Birds of America" (published in London, 1827–38) as Plate 75, under the title, "Le Petit Caporal – "Falco temerarius"". The image was engraved and colored by Robert Havell's London workshops. The original watercolor by Audubon was purchased by the New York History Society, where it remains as of January 2009. William Lewin illustrates the merlin as Plate 22 in volume 1 of his "Birds of Great


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: Britain and their Eggs", published 1789 in London. In medieval Europe, merlins were popular in falconry: the Book of St. Albans listed it as "the falcon for a lady", where it was noted for classic "ringing" (circling rapidly upward) pursuits of the English skylark. Though the merlin is only slightly larger than the American kestrel in dimensions, it averages about one third to one half larger by weight, with this weight mostly being extra muscle that gives it greater speed and endurance than the kestrel. Like the American kestrel, the merlin offers the modern falconer the ability to hunt year


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: round against sparrows and starlings, in urban settings not requiring large tracts of land or hunting dogs, with the additional advantage of being able to reliably take small game birds such as dove and quail during hunting season. A large and exceptionally aggressive female merlin may take prey as large as pigeons and occasionally even small ducks. They also offer an exciting style of flight, generally at closer range than large falcons where it may be more clearly witnessed and enjoyed by the falconer. In addition to horizontal tail-chases in the manner of American kestrels, they will also "ring up"


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: in pursuit of prey that seeks to escape by out-climbing them, and perform high speed diving stoops on prey beneath them in the manner of larger falcons. Quoting from one popular falconry book on the eagerness of merlins to chase a swung lure, "Every stoop, outrun, dodge, and aerial maneuver of a hard flight to real quarry can be duplicated with no risk of loss of the falcon. Merlins regularly flown to the lure take most field quarries with such ease and such assurance as to make the field flight the less interesting and exciting of the two." Quoting expert


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: falconer Matthew Mullenix, author of the book "American Kestrels in Modern Falconry", in an article comparing the American kestrel to the merlin he states "What a merlin gives you is raw power: lots of it. It brings an ability to negate wind as a factor, to stay airborne at a tremendous clip then gear down further at any time for more performance. One merlin can dominate an entire flock of frightened birds, directing its fate as a whole. The flock responds like bait fish to a barracuda and for precisely the same reason. Merlins demonstrate total mastery of their element."


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: Concerning suitable game for these two species, he states "To snipe, dove, quail and open-country sparrows, merlins are best suited. For most blackbirds (Icteridea), either falcon can prove effective. Starlings in close are extremely vulnerable to kestrels; but in the open are best prey for merlins." Altogether, the merlin is not particularly rare, and due to this and its wide range it is considered a species of least concern by the IUCN. Its numbers are—except in the Asian part of its range, where the situation is less well determined—regularly censused. In about every major country it inhabits, many hundreds to


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: many thousands are found, ranging from a "mere" 250–300 pairs in Belarus to perhaps as many as 30,000 pairs of "aesalon" in European Russia as determined in 1993. It is listed on CITES Appendix II and on a local level protected as other birds of prey; while some countries allow to capture merlins, e.g. for falconry, international trade requires an export permit. By far the most serious long-term threat to these birds is habitat destruction, especially in their breeding areas. Ground-nesting populations in moorland have a preference for tall heather, and are thus susceptible to overmanagement by burning vast tracts


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: instead of creating a habitat mosaic containing old and new growth. Still, the merlin is rather euryoecious and will even live in settled areas, provided they have the proper mix of low and high vegetation, as well as sufficient prey (which is usually the case) and nesting sites (which is a common limiting factor). In North America, the species seems to have been more widespread in the past, or perhaps its range has shifted northwards: "F. c. columbarius" was an uncommon breeding bird in Ohio before the 20th century, but in Seneca County, as early as the 1900s even single


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: adults were rarely seen in the breeding season. It is encountered in Ohio as a passage migrant and rarely as a winter guest, though two recent nestings have been confirmed. Changing land-use in Ohio mainly turned forest into agricultural land and thus is not very likely to have rendered the region inhospitable to the merlin; global warming on the other hand cannot be dismissed as a reason, given that the merlin is essentially a subarctic species that barely ranges even into temperate climes. Also, it may be that the number of merlins wintering in the northern USA has increased during


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: the 20th century. Perhaps the most frequent cause of accidental death for individuals is collision with man-made objects, particularly during attacks. This may account for almost half of all premature deaths of merlins. In the 1960s and 1970s, organochlorine pesticides were responsible for declines—particularly in Canada—due to eggshell thinning and subsequent brood failure, and compromising the immune system of adults. This has since been remedied with restrictions on the use of DDT and similar chemicals, and numbers have rebounded. Overall, merlin stocks appear globally stable; while they may decline temporarily in places, they will usually increase again eventually, suggesting that


title: "Merlin (bird)" content: this phenomenon is due to the fluctuations of supplementary food stocks discussed above. Merlin (bird) The merlin ("Falco columbarius") is a small species of falcon from the Northern Hemisphere, with numerous subspecies throughout North America and Eurasia. A bird of prey once known colloquially as a pigeon hawk in North America, the merlin breeds in the northern Holarctic; some migrate to subtropical and northern tropical regions in winter. Males typically have wingspans of , with females being slightly larger. They are swift fliers and skilled hunters who specialize in preying on small birds in the size range of sparrows to


title: Kelpie content: Kelpie Kelpie, or water kelpie, is the Scots name given to a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. It has usually been described as appearing as a horse, but is able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil". Almost every sizeable body of water in Scotland has an associated kelpie story, but the most extensively reported is that of Loch Ness.


title: Kelpie content: Parallels to the general Germanic neck or nixie and the Scandinavian bäckahäst have been observed. More widely, the wihwin of Central America and the Australian bunyip have been seen as counterparts. The origin of the belief in malevolent water horses has been proposed as originating in human sacrifices once made to appease gods associated with water, but narratives about the kelpie also served a practical purpose in keeping children away from dangerous stretches of water, and warning young women to be wary of handsome strangers. Kelpies have been portrayed in their various forms in art and literature, including recently as


title: Kelpie content: two high steel sculptures in Falkirk, "The Kelpies", completed in October 2013. The etymology of the Scots word "kelpie" is uncertain, but it may be derived from the Gaelic "calpa" or "cailpeach", meaning "heifer" or "colt". The first recorded use of the term to describe a mythological creature, then spelled "kaelpie", appears in the manuscript of an ode by William Collins, composed some time before 1759 and reproduced in the Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh of 1788. The place names Kelpie hoall and Kelpie hooll are reported in "A Dictionary of the Older Scottish Tongue" as appearing in


title: Kelpie content: the 1674 burgh records for Kirkcudbright. Douglas Harper, historian and founder of the Online Etymology Dictionary, defines "kelpie" as "the Lowland name of a demon in the shape of a horse". It is the most common water spirit in Scottish folklore, but the name is attributed to several different forms in narratives recorded throughout the country. The late 19th century saw the onset of an interest in transcribing folklore, but the recorders were inconsistent in spelling and frequently anglicised words, which could result in differing names for the same spirit. Commentators have disagreed over the kelpie's aquatic habitat. Folklorists who


title: Kelpie content: define kelpies as spirits living beside rivers, as distinguished from the Celtic lakeside-dwelling water horse ("each-uisge"), include 19th-century minister of Tiree John Gregorson Campbell and 20th-century writers Lewis Spence and Katharine Briggs. This distinction is not universally applied however; Sir Walter Scott for instance claims that the kelpie's range may extend to lochs. Mackillop's dictionary reconciles the discrepancy, stating that the kelpie was "initially thought to inhabit ... streams, and later any body of water." But the distinction should stand, argues one annotator, who suggests that people are led astray when an "each uisge" in a "common practice of translating"


title: Kelpie content: are referred to as kelpies in English accounts, and thus mistakenly attribute lake-dwelling habits to the latter. Others associate the term "kelpie" with a wide variety of mythical creatures. Counterparts in some regions of Scotland include the shoopiltee and nuggle of Shetland and the tangie of Orkney; in other parts of the United Kingdom they include the Welsh ceffyl dŵr and the Manx cabbyl-ushtey. Parallels to the general Germanic neck and the Scandinavian bäckahäst have been observed; Nick Middleton observes that "the kelpie of Scottish folklore is a direct parallel of the [sic] bäckahästen [of Scandinavian folklore]". The wihwin of


title: Kelpie content: Central America and the Australian bunyip are seen as similar creatures in other parts of the world. The mythological kelpie is usually described as a powerful and beautiful black horse inhabiting the deep pools of rivers and streams of Scotland, preying on any humans it encounters, One of the water-kelpie's common identifying characteristics is that its hooves are reversed as compared to those of a normal horse, a trait also shared by the "nykur" of Iceland. An Aberdeenshire variation portrays the kelpie as a horse with a mane of serpents, whereas the resident equine spirit of the River Spey was


title: Kelpie content: white and could entice victims onto its back by singing. The creature's nature was described by Walter Gregor, a folklorist and one of the first members of the Folklore Society, as "useful", "hurtful", or seeking "human companionship"; in some cases, kelpies take their victims into the water, devour them, and throw the entrails to the water's edge. In its equine form the kelpie is able to extend the length of its back to carry many riders together into the depths; a common theme in the tales is of several children clambering onto the creature's back while one remains on the


title: Kelpie content: shore. Usually a little boy, he then pets the horse but his hand sticks to its neck. In some variations the lad cuts off his fingers or hand to free himself; he survives but the other children are carried off and drowned, with only some of their entrails being found later. Such a creature said to inhabit Glen Keltney in Perthshire is considered to be a kelpie by 20th-century folklorist Katharine Mary Briggs, but a similar tale also set in Perthshire has an "each uisge" as the culprit and omits the embellishment of the young boy. The lad does cut


title: Kelpie content: his finger off when the event takes place in Thurso, where a water kelpie is identified as the culprit. The same tale set at Sunart in the Highlands gives a specific figure of nine children lost, of whom only the innards of one are recovered. The surviving boy is again saved by cutting off his finger, and the additional information is given that he had a Bible in his pocket. Gregorson Campbell considers the creature responsible to have been a water horse rather than a kelpie, and the tale "obviously a pious fraud to keep children from wandering on Sundays".


title: Kelpie content: Kelpie myths usually describe a solitary creature, but a fairy story recorded by John F. Campbell in "Popular Tales of the West Highlands" (1860) has a different perspective. Entitled "Of the Drocht na Vougha or Fuoah", which is given the translation of "the bridge of the fairies or kelpies", it features a group of voughas. The spirits had set about constructing a bridge over the Dornoch Firth after becoming tired of travelling across the water in cockleshells. It was a magnificent piece of work resplendent with gold piers and posts, but sank into the water to become a treacherous area


title: Kelpie content: of quicksand after a grateful onlooker tried to bless the kelpies for their work. The same story is recorded by Folklore Society member and folklore collector Charlotte Dempster simply as "The Kelpie's Bridge" (1888) with no mention of Voughas or Fuoah. Quoting the same narrative Jennifer Westwood, author and folklorist, uses the descriptor "water kelpies", adding that in her opinion "Kelpies, here and in a few other instances, is used in a loose sense to mean something like 'imps. Progeny resulting from a mating between a kelpie and a normal horse were impossible to drown, and could be recognised by


title: Kelpie content: their shorter than normal ears, a characteristic shared by the mythical water bull or "tarbh uisge" in Scottish Gaelic, similar to the Manx "tarroo ushtey". Kelpies have the ability to transform themselves into non-equine forms, and can take on the outward appearance of human figures, in which guise they may betray themselves by the presence of water weeds in their hair. In their human form, kelpies are almost invariably male. One of the few stories describing the creature in female form is set at Conon House in Ross and Cromarty. It tells of a "tall woman dressed in green", with


title: Kelpie content: a "withered, meagre countenance, ever distorted by a malignant scowl", who overpowered and drowned a man and a boy after she jumped out of a stream. Gregor described a kelpie adopting the guise of a wizened old man continually muttering to himself while sitting on a bridge stitching a pair of trousers. Believing it to be a kelpie, a passing local struck it on the head, causing it to revert to its equine form and scamper back to its lair in a nearby pond. Other accounts describe the kelpie when appearing in human form as a "rough, shaggy man who


title: Kelpie content: leaps behind a solitary rider, gripping and crushing him", or as tearing apart and devouring humans. A folk tale from Barra tells of a lonely kelpie that transforms itself into a handsome young man to woo a pretty young girl it was determined to take for its wife. But the girl recognises the young man as a kelpie and removes his silver necklace (his bridle) while he sleeps. The kelpie immediately reverts to its equine form, and the girl takes it home to her father's farm, where it is put to work for a year. At the end of that


title: Kelpie content: time the girl rides the kelpie to consult a wise man, who tells her to return the silver necklace. The wise man then asks the kelpie, once again transformed into the handsome young man the girl had first met, whether if given the choice it would choose to be a kelpie or a mortal. The kelpie in turn asks the girl whether, if he were a man, she would agree to be his wife. She confirms that she would, after which the kelpie chooses to become a mortal man, and the pair are married. The arrival of Christianity in Scotland


title: Kelpie content: in the 6th century resulted in some folk stories and beliefs being recorded by scribes, usually Christian monks, instead of being perpetuated by word of mouth. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves even in human form, leading to its association with the Christian notion of Satan, just as with the Greek god Pan. Robert Burns refers to such a Satanic association in his "Address to the Devil" (1786): When a kelpie appeared in its equine persona without any tack, it could be captured using a halter stamped with the sign of a cross, and its strength could


title: Kelpie content: then be harnessed in tasks such as the transportation of heavy mill stones. One folk tale describes how the Laird of Morphie captured a kelpie and used it to carry stones to build his castle. Once the work was complete, the laird released the kelpie, which was evidently unhappy about its treatment. The curse it issued before leaving – "Sair back and sair banes/ Drivin' the Laird o' Morphies's stanes,/ The Laird o' Morphie'll never thrive/ As lang's the kelpy is alive" – was popularly believed to have resulted in the extinction of the laird's family. Some kelpies were said


title: Kelpie content: to be equipped with a bridle and sometimes a saddle, and appeared invitingly ready to ride, but if mounted they would run off and drown their riders. If the kelpie was already wearing a bridle, exorcism might be achieved by removing it. A bridle taken from a kelpie was endowed with magical properties, and if brandished towards someone, was able to transform that person into a horse or pony. Just as with cinematic werewolves, a kelpie can be killed by being shot with a silver bullet, after which it is seen to consist of nothing more than "turf and a


title: Kelpie content: soft mass like jelly-fish" according to an account published by Spence. When a blacksmith's family were being frightened by the repeated appearances of a water kelpie at their summer cottage, the blacksmith managed to render it into a "heap of starch, or something like it" by penetrating the spirit's flanks with two sharp iron spears that had been heated in a fire. Almost every sizeable Scottish body of water has a kelpie story associated with it, but the most widely reported is the kelpie of Loch Ness. Several stories of mythical spirits and monsters are attached to the loch dating


title: Kelpie content: back to 6th-century reports of Saint Columba defeating a monster there. The early 19th-century kelpie that haunted the woods and shores of Loch Ness was tacked up with its own saddle and bridle. A fable attached to the notoriously nasty creature has the Highlander James MacGrigor taking it by surprise and cutting off its bridle, the source of its power and life, without which it would die within twenty-four hours. As the kelpie had the power of speech, it attempted unsuccessfully to bargain with MacGrigor for the return of its bridle. After following MacGrigor to his home, the kelpie asserted


title: Kelpie content: that MacGrigor would be unable to enter his house while in possession of the bridle, because of the presence of a cross above the entrance door. But MacGrigor outwitted the creature by tossing the bridle through a window, so the kelpie accepted its fate and left, cursing and swearing. The myth is perpetuated with further tales of the bridle as it is passed down through the family. Referred to as "Willox's Ball and Bridle", it had magical powers of healing; a spell was made by placing the items in water while chanting "In the name of the Father, the Son


title: Kelpie content: and of the Holy Ghost"; the water could then be used as a cure. A popular and more recent explanation for the Loch Ness monster among believers is that it belongs to a line of long-surviving plesiosaurs, but the kelpie myth still survives in children's books such as Mollie Hunter's "The Kelpie's Pearls" (1966) and Dick King-Smith's "The Water Horse" (1990). Folklorist Gary R. Varner has suggested that the origin of the belief in water horses that preyed on and devoured humans may be a reflection of the human sacrifices once made to appease the gods of water. The association


title: Kelpie content: with horses may have its roots in horse sacrifices performed in ancient Scandinavia. Stories of malevolent water spirits served the practical purpose of keeping children away from perilous areas of water, and of warning adolescent women to be wary of attractive young strangers. The stories were also used to enforce moral standards, as they implied that the creatures took retribution for bad behaviour carried out on Sundays. The intervention of demons and spirits was possibly a way to rationalise the drowning of children and adults who had accidentally fallen into deep, fast flowing or turbulent water. Historian and symbologist Charles


title: Kelpie content: Milton Smith has hypothesised that the kelpie myth might originate with the water spouts that can form over the surface of Scottish lochs, giving the impression of a living form as they move across the water. Sir Walter Scott alludes to a similar explanation in his epic poem "The Lady of the Lake" (1810), which contains the lines Pictish stones dating from the 6th to 9th centuries featuring what has been dubbed the Pictish Beast may be the earliest representations of a kelpie or kelpie-like creature. Other depictions show kelpies as poolside maidens, as in Draper's 1913 oil on canvas.


title: Kelpie content: Thomas Millie Dow had also sketched the kelpie in 1895 as a melancholy dark-haired maiden balanced on a rock, a common depiction for artists of the period. Folklorist Nicola Bown has suggested that painters such as Millie Dow and Draper deliberately ignored earlier accounts of the kelpie and reinvented it by altering its sex and nature. Two high steel sculptures in Falkirk on the Forth and Clyde Canal, named "The Kelpies", borrow the name of the mythical creature to associate with the strength and endurance of the horse; designed by sculptor Andy Scott, they were built as monuments to Scotland's


title: Kelpie content: horse-powered industrial heritage. Construction was completed in October 2013 and the sculptures were opened for public access from April 2014. Kelpie Kelpie, or water kelpie, is the Scots name given to a shape-shifting water spirit inhabiting the lochs and pools of Scotland. It has usually been described as appearing as a horse, but is able to adopt human form. Some accounts state that the kelpie retains its hooves when appearing as a human, leading to its association with the Christian idea of Satan as alluded to by Robert Burns in his 1786 poem "Address to the Devil". Almost every sizeable


title: Airedale content: Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley of the River Aire (pronounced "air"). The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton on to Keighley, Bingley and Shipley through to Leeds and Castleford and on to join the River Ouse at Airmyn. This valley is of great topographic significance as it provides low-altitude passes through the mid Pennines to the west coast known as the Aire Gap. The upper Aire valley was formed 12,000 years ago by a retreating glacier. A


title: Airedale content: moraine formed in the Cononley area and the lake stretched as far north as Gargrave. Colonisation by man developed later on, especially during the Iron Age. The peoples that occupied the Aire Valley (and much of north eastern England) were called Brigantes by the Romans. Transport improved in the 18th and 19th centuries with the building of the Aire and Calder Navigation and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. The railways arrived from the 1830s onwards and during the twentieth century the roads were vastly improved in the valley. Airedale was formerly wholly within the West Riding of Yorkshire, right from


title: Airedale content: Malhamdale, the source of the river, to Airmyn, where the river joins the Ouse. After the Boundary changes of 1974, Airedale starts off in what is now North Yorkshire. Airmyn is now in the East Riding of Yorkshire. The upper valley is characterised by the beautiful landscape of the Yorkshire Dales (Malhamdale is just inside the Yorkshire Dales National Park). The part of the dale from Skipton to Knottingley is heavily industrialised and continues in that vein today despite many mill closures. The East Yorkshire section of the dale is flatter and more agricultural than the upper sections. From Aire


title: Airedale content: Springs the river flows past Skipton and Keighley, through Bingley, Saltaire, Shipley and into Leeds. Up until this point the river is essentially swift flowing and fed by streams and becks. Thereafter, the flow through Castleford and Knottingley out to Airmyn is a meandering course through a broad floodplain. The broad definition of Airedale, is one that encompasses all the immediate areas adjacent to the river Aire and its tributaries. The Aire Catchment Flood Management Plan (CFMP), which takes into account all the becks and streams that feed the river, lists the Worth Valley and most of Bradford City as


title: Airedale content: part of Airedale. Similarly, the Airedale Partnership's Masterplan, which is sponsored by Bradford Council, shows the same boundaries as the Aire CFMP. The upper section between Malham and Skipton is largely upfaulted Carboniferous limestone. The middle section between Skipton and Knottingley is peat and gritstone, with steep valley walls crested with moorland prevalent between Skipton and Shipley. The sandstone deposits between Skipton and Leeds have characterised the buildings within this part of Airedale, whilst the deposits of Limestone, Coal, Fireclay and Ironstone fuelled industrial developments. Airedale is notable for several tourist sites and the World Heritage Site of Saltaire village.


title: Airedale content: Other attractions include The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway, Bingley Five Rise Locks, The Shipley Glen Tramway, East Riddlesden Hall, Rodley Nature Reserve, Kirkstall Abbey, The Royal Armouries (Leeds), St Aidan's Nature Reserve and Fairburn Ings Nature Reserve. Many of the former woollen and cotton mills of the dale have been demolished or converted into housing. The heavy industry east of Leeds is still in existence and two of the three coal fired powers stations in the lower section take their water from the River Aire. Industry that lies alongside the Aire includes Ferrybridge, Eggborough and Drax power stations, Eggborough


title: Airedale content: Saint Gobain glassworks, Stolze and Allied Glass in Knottingley and Kellingley Colliery. Leeds City Council have an enterprise zone that covers 400 acres of regenerated land along the Aire Valley from the city centre up to junction 45 of the M1 (known as Gateway 45). This houses several manufacturing and food companies. The names Aire and Airedale are associated with many things and areas. Most notable in the valley are Airedale General Hospital, Aireborough (a region comprising mostly Wharfedale towns) and Airedale, a suburb of Castleford. The area gaves its name to the Airedale Terrier, the largest of the terrier


title: Airedale content: group of dogs. They were first bred in the area in the nineteenth century. Airedale Airedale is a geographic area in Yorkshire, England, corresponding to the river valley of the River Aire (pronounced "air"). The valley stretches from the river's origin in Aire Head Springs, Malham which is in the Yorkshire Dales, down past Skipton on to Keighley, Bingley and Shipley through to Leeds and Castleford and on to join the River Ouse at Airmyn. This valley is of great topographic significance as it provides low-altitude passes through the mid Pennines to the west coast known as the Aire Gap.


title: "Blonde on Blonde" content: Day Women #12 & 35", the Chicago blues-influenced "Pledging My Time" sets the somber tone that runs through the album. It draws on several traditional blues songs, including Elmore James' recording of "It Hurts Me Too". For critic Michael Gray, the lines "Somebody got lucky but it was an accident" echo the lines "Some joker got lucky, stole her back again" from Robert Johnson's "Come On in My Kitchen", which is itself an echo of the Skip James 1931 recording "Devil Got My Woman". Gray suggests that "the gulping movements of the melodic phrases" derive from the melody of "Sitting


title: Mombasa content: connected to the mainland to the north by the Nyali Bridge, to the south by the Likoni Ferry, and to the west by the Makupa Causeway, alongside which runs the Kenya-Uganda Railway. The port serves both Kenya and countries of the interior, linking them to the ocean. The city is served by Moi International Airport located in the northwest mainland suburb of Chaani. Mombasa has a cosmopolitan population, with the Swahili people and Mijikenda predominant. Other communities include the Akamba and Taita Bantus as well as a significant population of Luo and Luhya peoples from Western Kenya. The major religions


title: "Fritz Todt" content: by a training subsidy. On 8 February 1942, soon after takeoff from the "Wolfsschanze" ("Wolf's Lair") airfield near Rastenburg in East Prussia, Todt's aircraft crashed. He was buried in the Invalids' Cemetery in the Scharnhorst-Strasse in Berlin. Posthumously he became the first receiver of the newly created "Deutscher Orden" ("German Order") the most important award that the Nazi Party could bestow on a person for "duties of the highest order to the state and party". It has been suggested that Todt was the victim of an assassination, but this has never been confirmed. Todt's successor as "Reichsminister" was Albert Speer,


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: Confederation Bridge The Confederation Bridge () spans the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait. It links Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick, Canada. Before its official naming, Prince Edward Islanders often referred to the bridge as the "Fixed Link". Construction took place from October 1993 to May 1997 and cost C$1.3 billion. The bridge opened on May 31, 1997. The bridge is a two-lane toll bridge that carries the Trans-Canada Highway between Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island (at Route 1) and Cape Jourimain, New Brunswick (at Route 16). It is a multi-span balanced cantilever bridge with a post-tensioned concrete box girder


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: structure. Most of the curved bridge is above water with a navigation span for ship traffic. The bridge rests on 62 piers, of which the 44 main piers are apart. The bridge is wide. The speed limit on the bridge is but can vary with wind and weather conditions. When travelling at the speed limit, it takes about 12 minutes to cross the bridge. Tolls only apply when leaving Prince Edward Island (when traveling westbound). The toll rates are $47.00 for a two-axle automobile and $8.00 for each additional axle. Motorcycles are charged $18.50. While pedestrians and cyclists are not


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: permitted to cross the bridge, a shuttle service is available. Before 2006, the shuttle was free and since January 1, 2015, the service has charged $4.25 per pedestrian or $8.75 per cyclist when leaving Prince Edward Island. The other major Northumberland Strait crossing, Wood Islands Ferry from Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island to Caribou, Nova Scotia, charges when leaving Prince Edward Island. Other ferry fares include $20.00 per adult pedestrian, $40.00 per motorcycle, and $20.00 per bicycle. Travellers, whether entering the island by bridge and leaving by ferry or "vice versa" only pay for leaving the island. Various proposals for


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: a fixed link across the Northumberland Strait can be traced as far back as the 1870s when the province's railway system was developed. Subsequent proposals arose during federal elections in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The ebb and flow of public support for a fixed link was indirectly tied to the varying levels of federal investment in ferry and steamship connections to the province over the years, finally culminating in a proposal in the mid-1980s which resulted in the current bridge being constructed. As a part of Prince Edward Island's admission into the Dominion of Canada in 1873, the


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: Canadian government was obligated to provide... Following Confederation, early steamship services across Northumberland Strait connected the Island ports of Charlottetown and Georgetown with railway facilities at Pictou, Nova Scotia. Similar services operated from Summerside connected with railway facilities at Shediac, New Brunswick. The most direct route across the Northumberland Strait, however, was at the wide Abegweit Passage. Infrequent winter service provided by underpowered steamships incapable of breaking sea ice ensured the survival of a passenger and mail service across Abegweit Passage using iceboats until a permanent ferry service was established in the 1910s. The unsatisfactory winter steamship service and reliance


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: upon primitive iceboats provoked complaints from the Island government until the federal government decided to implement a railcar ferry service across Abegweit Passage between new ports at Port Borden and Cape Tormentine. In 1912, the federal government promised to open a car ferry between the "Capes" (Cape Traverse, PEI to Cape Tormentine, NB). The privately owned New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island Railway from Sackville, New Brunswick to Cape Tormentine was purchased by the federal government and an order was made with a shipyard in England for an icebreaking railcar ferry, to be called the "Prince Edward Island". Ports were


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: developed at Carleton Point, several kilometres west of Cape Traverse, and the existing harbour at Cape Tormentine; the new port at Carleton Point would be named Borden in honour of Prime Minister Sir Robert Borden. The new ferry entered service in 1915 and operated on the former steamship routes until port facilities were opened in October 1917. Automobile service was added in 1938 and other vessels followed as the ferry service expanded in the post-war years. This ferry service was initially the responsibility of Canadian Government Railways (1917–1918) and later Canadian National Railway (1918–1983), then a CNR subsidiary CN Marine


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: (1977–1986). In 1986, CN Marine was renamed when all federal government ferry services in Atlantic Canada were transferred to the new Crown corporation Marine Atlantic. Discussion of a fixed link can be traced to George Howlan, who called for construction of a railway tunnel beneath Abegweit Passage at the same time as the Prince Edward Island Railway was being built across the province in the 1870s. Howlan also raised the issue as a member of the provincial Legislative Assembly, and in March 1891, as a Senator and member of a delegation to meetings on the subject, conducted at the British


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: Parliament. The idea lost favour following his death in 1901. Talk of a fixed link was revived in the 1950s and 1960s, coinciding with federal election campaigns. The topic was raised in 1957, only two years following the opening of the Canso Causeway, and at the same time as another mega-project, the St. Lawrence Seaway was being constructed. A rockfill causeway was proposed to cross Abegweit Passage, with a bridge/tunnel to accommodate shipping. This plan was rejected for navigational reasons but was raised again in 1962, and in 1965, the federal government, ignoring concerns of the shipping industry, called for


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: tenders for a $148 million fixed link featuring a tunnel/causeway/bridge. Approach roads and railway lines were constructed at Borden and Jourimain Island but the project was formally abandoned in 1969 upon scientific recommendation in favour of improved ferry services. Due to the extremely complex tidal regime in the Northumberland Strait consisting of diurnal and semi-diurnal cycles, any attempt to close Abegweit Passage would be next to impossible since the tidal cycles on each side of a causeway would be placed at opposites to each other. It is estimated by tidal experts at the Canadian Hydrographic Service, that tidal currents through


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: a gap in such a causeway would be in excess of , powerful enough to counter most commercial ships and to sweep away boulders the size of houses. Consideration of a fixed link was renewed in the 1980s by an unsolicited proposal from a Nova Scotia businessman. The federal government favoured the construction of a fixed link chiefly because of the rising costs of providing ferry service (a constitutional requirement dating from PEI's accession to Confederation) and the increasing deficits being incurred by the railway system on PEI (run as part of Canadian National, then a Crown corporation). The federal


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: government proposed to provide a fixed subsidy for the construction and operation of a fixed link, in return for the province agreeing to the abandonment of the ferry service and the railway system. Following the election of the Progressive Conservative government of Brian Mulroney, with its agenda for regional development through so-called "mega-projects," Public Works Canada called for formal proposals in 1987 and received three offers. These proposals included a tunnel, a bridge, and a combined tunnel-causeway-bridge. These developments sparked an extremely divisive debate on the Island, and Premier Joe Ghiz promised a plebiscite to gauge public support, which was


title: "Confederation Bridge" content: held on January 18, 1988. During the plebiscite debate, the anti-link group "Friends of the Island" cited potential ecological damage from the construction, as well as concerns about the impact on Prince Edward Island's lifestyle in general, and noted that the "mega-project" model has had limited success in other areas of the world, and rarely enriched the local population. The "Friends of the Island" believed that a fixed link was being pressured by a federal government not willing to shoulder the cost of constitutional obligations for funding an efficient ferry service, and that a link would be built largely for