title: "Sewing machine" content: 1917 sewing machine in cabinet Sewing machine A sewing machine is a machine used to stitch fabric and other materials together with thread. Sewing machines were invented during the first Industrial Revolution to decrease the amount of manual sewing work performed in clothing companies. Since the invention of the first working sewing machine, generally considered to have been the work of Englishman Thomas Saint in 1790, the sewing machine has greatly improved the efficiency and productivity of the clothing industry. Home sewing machines are designed for one person to sew individual items while using a single stitch type. In a


title: Angerona content: the gesture that requests silence. Dumézil sees in this peculiar feature the reason of her being listed among the goddesses who were considered candidates to the title of secret tutelary deity of Rome. Dumézil considers this peculiar feature of Angerona's statue to hint to a prerogative of the goddess which was well known to the Romans, i.e. her will of requesting silence. He remarks silence in a time of cosmic crisis is a well documented point in other religions, giving two instances from Scandinavian and Vedic religion. Among the Scandinavians god Viðarr is considered the second strongest after Thor. His


title: "Northern pike" content: Northern pike The northern pike ("Esox lucius"), known simply as a pike in Britain, Ireland, most of Canada, and most parts of the United States (once called luce when fully grown; also called jackfish or simply "northern" in the U.S. Upper Midwest and in Manitoba or Saskatchewan), is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus "Esox" (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere ("i.e." holarctic in distribution). Pike can grow to a relatively large size: the average length is about , with maximum recorded lengths of up to and published weights of


title: "Northern pike" content: . The IGFA currently recognizes a pike caught by Lothar Louis in Lake on Grefeern, Germany, on 16 October 1986, as the all-tackle world-record northern pike. The northern pike gets its common name from its resemblance to the pole-weapon known as the pike (from the Middle English for 'pointed'). Various other unofficial trivial names are common pike, great northern pike, Lakes pike, snot rocket, slough shark, snake, slimer, slough snake, northern, gator (due to a head similar in shape to that of an alligator), jack, jackfish, hammer handle, and other such names as long head and pointy nose. Numerous other


title: "Northern pike" content: names can be found in "Field Museum Zool. Leaflet Number 9". Its earlier common name, the luci (now lucy), was used to form its taxonomic name ("Esox lucius") and is used in heraldry. Northern pike are most often olive green, shading from yellow to white along the belly. The flank is marked with short, light bar-like spots and a few to many dark spots on the fins. Sometimes, the fins are reddish. Younger pike have yellow stripes along a green body; later, the stripes divide into light spots and the body turns from green to olive green. The lower half


title: "Northern pike" content: of the gill cover lacks scales, and it has large sensory pores on its head and on the underside of its lower jaw which are part of the lateral line system. Unlike the similar-looking and closely related muskellunge, the northern pike has light markings on a dark body background and fewer than six sensory pores on the underside of each side of the lower jaw. A hybrid between northern pike and muskellunge is known as a tiger muskellunge ("Esox masquinongy × lucius" or "Esox lucius × masquinongy", depending on the sex of each of the contributing species). In the hybrids,


title: "Northern pike" content: the males are invariably sterile, while females are often fertile, and may back-cross with the parent species. Another form of northern pike, the silver pike, is not a subspecies but rather a mutation that occurs in scattered populations. Silver pike, sometimes called silver muskellunge, lack the rows of spots and appear silver, white, or silvery-blue in color. When ill, silver pike have been known to display a somewhat purplish hue; long illness is also the most common cause of male sterility. In Italy, the newly identified species "Esox cisalpinus" ("southern pike") was long thought to be a color variation of


title: "Northern pike" content: the northern pike, but was in 2011 announced to be a species of its own. Northern pike in North America seldom reach the size of their European counterparts; one of the largest specimens known was a specimen from New York. It was caught in Great Sacandaga Lake on 15 September 1940 by Peter Dubuc. Reports of far larger pike have been made, but these are either misidentifications of the pike's larger relative, the muskellunge, or simply have not been properly documented and belong in the realm of legend. As northern pike grow longer, they increase in weight, and the relationship


title: "Northern pike" content: between length and weight is not linear. The relationship between total length ("L", in inches) and total weight ("W", in pounds) for nearly all species of fish can be expressed by an equation of the form Invariably, "b" is close to 3.0 for all species, and "c" is a constant that varies among species. For northern pike, "b" = 3.096 and "c" = 0.000180 ("c" = 7.089 enables one to put length in meters and weight in kilograms). The relationship described in this section suggests a northern pike will weigh about , while a northern pike will weigh about .


title: "Northern pike" content: Pike are found in sluggish streams and shallow, weedy places in lakes and reservoirs, as well as in cold, clear, rocky waters. They are typical ambush predators; they lie in wait for prey, holding perfectly still for long periods, and then exhibit remarkable acceleration as they strike. They inhabit any water body that contains fish, but suitable places for spawning are also essential. Because of their cannibalistic nature, young pike need places where they can take shelter between plants so they are not eaten. In both cases, rich submerged vegetation is needed. Pike are seldom found in brackish water, except


title: "Northern pike" content: for the Baltic Sea area, here they can be found spending time both in the mouths of rivers and in the open brackish waters of the Baltic Sea. It is normal for pike to return to fresh water after a period in these brackish waters. They seem to prefer water with less turbidity, but that is probably related to their dependence on the presence of vegetation and not to their being sight hunters. The northern pike is a relatively aggressive species, especially with regard to feeding. For example, when food sources are sparse, cannibalism develops, starting around five weeks in


title: "Northern pike" content: a small percentage of populations. This cannibalism occurs when the ratio of predator to prey is two to one. One can expect this because when food is scarce, Northern pike fight for survival, such as turning on smaller pike to feed; this is seen in other species such as tiger salamanders. Usually, pike tend to feed on smaller fish, such as the banded killifish. However, when pike exceed long, they feed on larger fish. Because of cannibalism when food is short, pike suffer a fairly high young mortality rate. Cannibalism is more prevalent in cool summers, as the upcoming pike


title: "Northern pike" content: have slow growth rates in that season and might not be able to reach a size to deter the larger pike. Cannibalism is likely to arise in low growth and low food conditions. Pike do not discriminate siblings well, so cannibalism between siblings is likely. Aggressiveness also arises from a need of space. Young pike tend to have their food stolen by larger pike. Pike are aggressive if not given enough space because they are territorial. They use a form of foraging known as sit-and-wait. Unlike species such as perch, pike undergo bursts of energy instead of actively chasing down


title: "Northern pike" content: prey. As such, a fair amount of inactive time occurs until they find prey. Hunting efficiency decreases with competition; the larger the pike, the larger the area controlled by that particular pike. An inverse relation to vegetation density and pike size exists, which is due to the possibility of cannibalism from the largest pike. This makes sense, as the smaller pike need more vegetation to avoid being eaten. Large pike do not have this worry and can afford the luxury of a large line of sight. They prefer a tree structure habitat. Pike are capable of "fast start" movements, which


title: "Northern pike" content: are sudden high-energy bursts of unsteady swimming. Many other fish exhibit this movement as well. Most fish use this mechanism to avoid life-threatening situations. For the pike, however, it is a tool used to capture prey from their sedentary positions. They flash out in such bursts and capture their prey. These fast starts terminate when the pike has reached terminal velocity. During such motions, pike make "S" conformations while swimming at high rates. To decelerate, they, simply make a "C" conformation, exponentially slowing down their speed so that they can "stop". An interesting behavioral trait that pike have is that


title: "Northern pike" content: they have short digestion times and long feeding periods. They can undergo many of these fast bursts to collect as much prey as they can. Pike are least active during the night. Pike have a strong homing behavior; they inhabit certain areas by nature. During the summer, they tend to group closer to vegetation than during the winter. The exact reason is not clear, but likely is a result of foraging or possibly reproductive needs to safeguard young. Pike diel rhythm changes significantly over the year. On sunny days, pike stay closer to the shallow shore. On windy days, they


title: "Northern pike" content: are further from shore. When close to the shore, pike have a preference for shallow, vegetated areas. Pike are more stationary in reservoirs than lakes. A possibility is that lakes have more prey to feed upon, or possibly in reservoirs prey will ultimately cross paths with the pike. As such, this could be a form of energy conservation. Pike breed in the spring. Pike are physically capable of breeding at an age of about two years, spawning in spring when the water temperature first reaches about . They have a tendency to lay a large number of eggs. A likely


title: "Northern pike" content: explanation for such actions are to produce as many surviving offspring as possible, as many most likely die early in life. In females, the gonads enlarge when it is time to shed her eggs. However, after they are shed, these eggs will not hatch if the water is below . Male pike arrive to the breeding grounds before females do, preceding them by a few weeks. In addition, the males stay after the spawning is finished. Parental stock is vital for pike success. Egg survival has been shown to be positively correlated with number of eggs laid. For breeding, the


title: "Northern pike" content: more stable the water, the greater the fitness of the pike. Mortality results from toxic concentrations of iron or rapid temperature changes, and adult abundance and the strength of the resulting year classes are not related. It is based upon two points of development: one during embryo stage between fertilization and closure of the blastopore, and the second between hatching and the termination of the alevin stage. The color of the sticky eggs is yellow to orange; the diameter is . The embryos are in length and able to swim after hatching, but stay on the bottom for some time.


title: "Northern pike" content: The embryonic stage is five to 16 days, dependent on water temperature (at and , respectively). Under natural circumstances, the survival from free-swimming larva to 75-mm pike is around 5%. The young free-swimming pike feed on small invertebrates starting with daphnia, and quickly moving on to bigger prey, such as the isopods asellus or gammarus. When the body length is , they start feeding on small fish. A pike has a very typical hunting behavior; it is able to remain stationary in the water by moving the last fin rays of the dorsal fins and the pectoral fins. Before striking,


title: "Northern pike" content: it bends its body and darts out to the prey using the large surface of its caudal fin, dorsal fin, and anal fin to propel itself. The fish has a distinctive habit of catching its prey sideways in the mouth, immobilising it with its sharp, backward-pointing teeth, and then turning the prey headfirst to swallow it. For larger prey, the pike will usually attempt to drown the prey before carrying it off to be consumed. It eats mainly fish and frogs, but also small mammals and birds fall prey to pike. Young pike have been found dead from choking on


title: "Northern pike" content: a pike of a similar size, an observation referred to by the renowned English poet Ted Hughes in his famous poem "Pike". Northern pike also feed on insects, and leeches. They are not very particular and eat spiny fish like perch, and will even take fish as small as sticklebacks if they are the only available prey. The northern pike is a largely solitary predator. It migrates during a spawning season, and it follows prey fish like common roaches to their deeper winter quarters. Sometimes, divers observe groups of similar-sized pike that cooperate some to start hunting at the same


title: "Northern pike" content: time, so "wolfpack" theories are given. Large pike can be caught on dead immobile fish, so these pike are thought to move about in a rather large territory to find food. Large pike are also known to cruise large water bodies at a few meters deep, probably pursuing schools of prey fish. Smaller pike are more of ambush predators, probably because of their vulnerability to cannibalism. Pike are often found near the exit of culverts, which can be attributed to the presence of schools of prey fish and the opportunity for ambush. Being potamodromous, all esocids tend to display limited


title: "Northern pike" content: migration, although some local movement may be of key significance for population dynamics. In the Baltic, they are known to follow herring schools, so have some seasonal migration. Although it is generally known as a "sporting" quarry, some anglers release pike they have caught because the flesh is considered bony, especially due to the substantial (epipleural) "Y-bones". The white and mild-tasting flesh of pikes nonetheless has a long and distinguished history in cuisine and is popular fare in Europe and parts of North America. Among fishing communities where pike is popular fare, the ability of a filleter to effectively remove


title: "Northern pike" content: the bones from the fillets while minimizing the amount of flesh lost in the process (known as "de-boning") is a highly valued skill. There are methods for filleting pike and leaving the "y-bones" in the fish's body, this does leave some flesh on the fish but avoids the sometimes difficult process of "de-boning". Larger fish are more easily filleted (and much easier to de-bone), while smaller ones are often processed as forcemeat to eliminate their many small bones, and then used in preparations such as quenelles and fish mousses. Historical references to cooking pike go as far back as the


title: "Northern pike" content: Romans. Fishing for pike is said to be very exciting with their aggressive hits and aerial acrobatics. Pike are among the largest North American freshwater game fish. Because of their prolific and predatory nature, laws have been enacted in some places to help stop the spread of northern pike outside of their native range. For instance, in California, anglers are required by law to remove the head from a pike once it has been caught. In Alaska, pike are native north and west of the Alaska Range, but have been illegally introduced to south-central Alaska by game fishermen. In south-central


title: "Northern pike" content: Alaska, no limit is imposed in most areas. Pike are seen as a threat to native wild stocks of salmon by some fishery managers. Notably in Britain and Ireland, pike are greatly admired as a sporting fish and they are returned alive to the water to safeguard future sport and maintain the balance of a fishery. The Pike Anglers Club has campaigned to preserve pike since 1977, arguing that the removal of pike from waters can lead to an explosion of smaller fish, and to ensure pike removal stops, which is damaging to both the sport fishery and the environment.


title: "Northern pike" content: "Esox lucius" is found in fresh water throughout the Northern Hemisphere, including Russia, Europe, and North America. It has also been introduced to lakes in Morocco, and is even found in brackish water of the Baltic Sea, but they are confined to the low-salinity water at the surface of the sea, and are seldom seen in brackish water elsewhere. Within North America, northern pike populations are found in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, West Virginia, Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Montana, Idaho,


title: "Northern pike" content: Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, northern Texas, northern New Mexico, northern Arizona, Alaska, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, and Québec (pike are rare in British Columbia and east coast provinces). Watersheds in which pike are found include the Ohio Valley, the upper Mississippi River and its tributaries, and the Great Lakes Basin. They are also stocked in, or have been introduced to, some western lakes and reservoirs for sport fishing, although some fisheries managers believe this practice often threatens other species of fish such as bass, trout, and salmon, causing government agencies to attempt to exterminate the pike by poisoning lakes, such as


title: "Northern pike" content: Stormy Lake, Alaska. Pike angling is becoming an increasingly popular pastime in Europe. Effective methods for catching this hard-fighting fish include dead baits, lure fishing, and jerk baiting. They are prized as game fish for their determined fighting. Lake fishing for pike from the shore is especially effective during spring, when the big pike move into the shallows to spawn in weedy areas, and later many remain there to feed on other spawning coarse fish species to regain their condition after spawning. Smaller jack pike often remain in the shallows for their own protection, and for the small fish food


title: "Northern pike" content: available there. For the hot summer and during inactive phases, the larger female pike tend to retire to deeper water and/or places with better cover. This gives the boat angler good fishing during the summer and winter seasons. Trolling (towing a fairy or bait behind a moving boat) is a popular technique. The use of float tubes has become a very popular way of fishing for pike on small to medium-sized still waters. Fly fishing for pike is another eligible way of catching these fish, and the float tube is now recognized as an especially suitable water craft for pike


title: "Northern pike" content: fly-fishing. Also they have been caught this way by using patterns that imitate small fry or invertebrates. In recent decades, more pike are released back to the water after catching (catch and release), but they can easily be damaged when handled. Handling those fish with dry hands can easily damage their mucus-covered skin and possibly lead to their deaths from infections. Since they have very sharp and numerous teeth, care is required in unhooking a pike. Barbless trebles are recommended when angling for this species, as they simplify unhooking. This is undertaken using long forceps, with 30-cm artery clamps the


title: "Northern pike" content: ideal tool. When holding the pike from below on the lower jaw, it will open its mouth. It should be kept out of the water for the minimum amount of time possible, and should be given extra time to recover if being weighed and photographed before release. If practicing live release, calling the fish "caught" when it is alongside a boat is recommended. Remove the hook by grabbing it with needle-nosed pliers while the fish is still submerged and giving it a flip in the direction that turns the hook out of the mouth. This avoids damage to the fish


title: "Northern pike" content: and the stress of being out of water. In Finland, catching a "kymppihauki", a pike weighing at least , is considered the qualification as a master fisherman. Many countries have banned the use of live fish for bait, but pike can be caught with dead fish, which they locate by smell. For this technique, fat marine fish like herring, sardines and mackerel are often used. Compared to other fish like the eel, the pike does not have a good sense of smell, but it is still more than adequate to find the baitfish. Baitfish can be used as groundbait, but


title: "Northern pike" content: also below a float carried by the wind. This method is often used in wintertime and best done in lakes near schools of preyfish or at the deeper parts of shallow water bodies, where pike and preyfish tend to gather in great numbers. Pike make use of the lateral line system to follow the vortices produced by the perceived prey, and the whirling movement of the spinner is probably a good way to imitate or exaggerate these. Jerkbaits are also effective and can produce spectacular bites with pike attacking these erratic-moving lures at full speed. For trolling, big plugs or


title: "Northern pike" content: softbaits can be used. Spoons with mirror finishes are very effective when the sun is at a sharp angle to the water in the mornings or evenings because they generate the vibrations previously discussed and cause a glint of reflective sunlight that mimics the flash of white-bellied prey. Most fishermen tend to use small lures, but often that is not advisable because pike have a preference for large prey. When fishing in shallow water for smaller pike, lighter and smaller lures are frequently used. The humble 'woolly bugger' fly is a favourite lure among keen fly fisherman of the southern


title: "Northern pike" content: hemisphere. Fly fishing for pike is an established aspect of the sport and there are now numerous dedicated products to use specifically to target these fish. Northern pike The northern pike ("Esox lucius"), known simply as a pike in Britain, Ireland, most of Canada, and most parts of the United States (once called luce when fully grown; also called jackfish or simply "northern" in the U.S. Upper Midwest and in Manitoba or Saskatchewan), is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus "Esox" (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere ("i.e." holarctic in


title: Everglades content: and Aw). Like most regions with this climate type, there are two basic seasons – a "dry season" (winter) which runs from November through April, and a "wet season" (summer) which runs from May through October. About 70% of the annual rainfall in south Florida occurs in the wet season – often as brief but intense tropical downpours. The dry season sees little rainfall and dew points and humidity are often quite low. The dry season can be severe at times, as wildfires and water restrictions are often in place. The annual range of temperatures in south Florida and the


title: Tapestry content: Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art, traditionally woven by hand on a loom. Tapestry is weft-faced weaving, in which all the warp threads are hidden in the completed work, unlike cloth weaving where both the warp and the weft threads may be visible. In tapestry weaving, weft yarns are typically discontinuous; the artisan interlaces each coloured weft back and forth in its own small pattern area. It is a plain weft-faced weave having weft threads of different colours worked over portions of the warp to form the design. Most weavers use a natural warp thread, such as wool,


title: Tapestry content: linen or cotton. The weft threads are usually wool or cotton, but may include silk, gold, silver, or other alternatives. First attested in English in 1467, the word "tapestry" derives from Old French "tapisserie", from "tapisser", meaning "to cover with heavy fabric, to carpet", in turn from "tapis", "heavy fabric", via Latin "tapes" ( "tapetis"), which is the latinisation of the Greek ("tapēs"; , "tapētos"), "carpet, rug". The earliest attested form of the word is the Mycenaean Greek , "ta-pe-ja", written in the Linear B syllabary. The success of decorative tapestry can be partially explained by its portability (Le Corbusier


title: Tapestry content: once called tapestries "nomadic murals"). Kings and noblemen could roll up and transport tapestries from one residence to another. In churches, they were displayed on special occasions. Tapestries were also draped on the walls of castles for insulation during winter, as well as for decorative display. In the Middle Ages and renaissance, a rich tapestry panel woven with symbolic emblems, mottoes, or coats of arms called a baldachin, canopy of state or cloth of state was hung behind and over a throne as a symbol of authority. The seat under such a canopy of state would normally be raised on


title: Tapestry content: a dais. The iconography of most Western tapestries goes back to written sources, the Bible and Ovid's "Metamorphoses" being two popular choices. Apart from the religious and mythological images, hunting scenes are the subject of many tapestries produced for indoor decoration. Tapestries have been used since at least Hellenistic times. Samples of Greek tapestry have been found preserved in the desert of Tarim Basin dating from the 3rd century BC. The form reached a new stage in Europe in the early 14th century AD. The first wave of production occurred in Germany and Switzerland. Over time, the craft expanded to


title: Tapestry content: France and the Netherlands. The basic tools have remained much the same. In the 14th and 15th centuries, Arras, France was a thriving textile town. The industry specialised in fine wool tapestries which were sold to decorate palaces and castles all over Europe. Few of these tapestries survived the French Revolution as hundreds were burnt to recover the gold thread that was often woven into them. "Arras" is still used to refer to a rich tapestry no matter where it was woven. Indeed, as literary scholar Rebecca Olson argues, arras were the most valuable objects in England during the early


title: Tapestry content: modern period and inspired writers such as William Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser to weave these tapestries into their most important works such as "Hamlet" and "The Faerie Queen". By the 16th century, Flanders, the towns of Oudenaarde, Brussels, Geraardsbergen and Enghien had become the centres of European tapestry production. In the 17th century, Flemish tapestries were arguably the most important productions, with many specimens of this era still extant, demonstrating the intricate detail of pattern and colour embodied in painterly compositions, often of monumental scale. In the 19th century, William Morris resurrected the art of tapestry-making in the medieval style


title: Tapestry content: at Merton Abbey. Morris & Co. made successful series of tapestries for home and ecclesiastical uses, with figures based on cartoons by Edward Burne-Jones. Kilims and Navajo rugs are also types of tapestry work. In the mid-twentieth century, new tapestry art forms were developed by children at the Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Centre in Harrania, Egypt, and by modern French artists under Jean Lurçat in Aubusson, France. Traditional tapestries are still made at the factory of Gobelins and a few other old European workshops, which also repair and restore old tapestries. While tapestries have been created for many centuries and


title: Tapestry content: in every continent in the world, what distinguishes the contemporary field from its pre-World War ll history is the predominance of the artist as weaver in the contemporary medium. This trend has its roots in France during the 1950s where one of the "cartoonists" for the Aubusson Tapestry studios, Jean Lurçat spearheaded a revival of the medium by streamlining color selection, thereby simplifying production, and by organizing a series of Biennial exhibits held in Lausanne, Switzerland. The Polish work submitted to the first Biennale, which opened in 1962, was quite novel. Traditional workshops in Poland had collapsed as a result


title: Tapestry content: of the war. Also art supplies in general were hard to acquire. Many Polish artists had learned to weave as part of their art school training and began creating highly individualistic work by using atypical materials like jute and sisal. With each Biennale the popularity of works focusing on exploring innovative constructions from a wide variety of fiber resounded around the world. There were many weavers in pre-war United States, but there had never been a prolonged system of workshops for producing tapestries. Therefore, weavers in America were primarily self-taught and chose to design as well as weave their art.


title: Tapestry content: Through these Lausanne exhibitions, US artists/weavers, and others in countries all over the world, were excited about the Polish trend towards experimental forms. Throughout the 1970s almost all weavers had explored some manner of techniques and materials in vogue at the time. What this movement contributed to the newly realized field of art weaving, termed "contemporary tapestry", was the option for working with texture, with a variety of materials and with the freedom for individuality in design In the 1980s it became clear that the process of weaving weft-faced tapestry had another benefit, that of stability. The artists who chose


title: Tapestry content: tapestry as their medium developed a broad range of personal expression, styles and subject matter, stimulated and nourished by an international movement to revive and renew tapestry traditions from all over the world. Competing for commissions and expanding exhibition venues were essential factors in how artists defined and accomplished their goals. Much of the impetus in the 1980s for working in this more traditional process came from the Bay Area in Northern California where, twenty years earlier, Mark Adams, an eclectic artist, had two exhibits of his tapestry designs. He went on to design many large tapestries for local buildings.


title: Tapestry content: Hal Painter, another well-respected artist in the area became a prolific tapestry artist during the decade weaving his own designs. He was one of the main artists to "…create the atmosphere which helped give birth to the second phase of the contemporary textile movement – textiles as art – that recognition that textiles no longer had to be utilitarian, functional, to serve as interior decoration." Early in the 1980s many artists committed to getting more professional and often that meant traveling to attend the rare educational programs offered by newly formed ateliers, such as the San Francisco Tapestry Workshop, or


title: Tapestry content: to far-away institutions they identified as fitting their needs. This phenomenon was happening in Europe and Australia as well as in North America. Opportunities for entering juried tapestry exhibits were beginning to happen by 1986, primarily because the American Tapestry Alliance (ATA), founded in 1982, organised biennial juried exhibits starting in 1986. The biennials were planned to coincide with the Handweavers Guild or America's "Convergence" conferences. The new potential for seeing the work of other tapestry artists and the ability to observe how one's own work might fare in such venues profoundly increased the awareness of a community of like-minded


title: Tapestry content: artists. Regional groups were formed for producing exhibits and sharing information. The desire of many artists for greater interaction escalated as an international tapestry symposium in Melbourne, Australia in 1988 lead to a second organization committed to tapestry, the International Tapestry Network (ITNET). Its goal was to connect American tapestry artists with the burgeoning international community. The magazines were discontinued in 1997 as communicating digitally became a more useful tool for interactions. As the world has moved into the digital age, tapestry artists around the world continue to share and inspire each other's work. By the new millennium however, fault


title: Tapestry content: lines had surfaced within the field. Many universities that previously had strong weaving components in their art departments, such as San Francisco State University, no longer offered handweaving as an option as they shifted their focus to computerized equipment. A primary cause for discarding the practice was the fact that only one student could use the equipment for the duration of a project whereas in most media, like painting or ceramics, the easels or potters wheels were used by several students in a day. Worldwide, people from all different cultures began adopting these forms of decor for profession and personal


title: Tapestry content: use. At the same time, "fiber art" had become one of the most popular mediums in their art programs. Young artists were interested in exploring a wider scope of processes for creating art through the materials classified as fiber. This shift to more multimedia and sculptural forms and the desire to produce work more quickly had the effect of pushing contemporary tapestry artists inside and outside the academic institutions to ponder how they might keep pace in order to sustain visibility in their art form. Susan Iverson, a professor in the School of the Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University, explains


title: Tapestry content: her reasons: I came to tapestry after several years of exploring complex weaves. I became enamored with tapestry because of its simplicity — its straightforward qualities. It allowed me to investigate form or image or texture, and it had the structural integrity to hold its own form. I loved the substantial quality of a tapestry woven with heavy threads—its object quality. Another prominent artist, Joan Baxter, states: My passion for tapestry arrived suddenly on the first day of my introduction to it in my first year at ECA [Edinburgh College of Art.] I don't remember ever having consciously thought about


title: Tapestry content: tapestry before that day but I somehow knew that eventually I'd be really good at this. From that day I have been able to plough a straight path deeper and deeper into tapestry, through my studies in Scotland and Poland, my 8 years as a studio weaver in England and Australia and since 1987 as an independent tapestry artist. The demanding creative ethos of the tapestry department gave me the confidence, motivation and self-discipline I needed to move out into the world as a professional tapestry weaver and artist. What was most inspiring for me as a young student was


title: Tapestry content: that my tutors in the department were all practising, exhibiting artists engaging positively with what was then a cutting edge international Fibre Art movement. Archie Brennan, now in his sixth decade of weaving, says of tapestry: 500 years ago it was already extremely sophisticated in its development-- aesthetically, technically and in diversity of purpose. Today, its lack of a defined purpose, its rarity, gives me an opportunity to seek new roles, to extend its historic language and, above all, to dominate my compulsive, creative drive. In 1967, I made a formal decision to step away from the burgeoning and exciting


title: Tapestry content: fiber arts movement and to refocus on woven tapestry’s long-established graphic pictorial role. The term "tapestry" is also used to describe weft-faced textiles made on Jacquard looms. Before the 1990s tapestry upholstery fabrics and reproductions of the famous tapestries of the Middle Ages had been produced using Jacquard techniques but more recently, artists such as Chuck Close, Patrick Lichty, and the workshop Magnolia Editions have adapted the computerised Jacquard process to producing fine art. Typically, tapestries are translated from the original design via a process resembling paint-by-numbers: a cartoon is divided into regions, each of which is assigned a solid


title: Tapestry content: colour based on a standard palette. However, in Jacquard weaving, the repeating series of multicoloured warp and weft threads can be used to create colours that are optically blended – i.e., the human eye apprehends the threads’ combination of values as a single colour. This method can be likened to pointillism, which originated from discoveries made in the tapestry medium. The style’s emergence in the 19th century can be traced to the influence of Michel Eugène Chevreul, a French chemist responsible for developing the colour wheel of primary and intermediary hues. Chevreul worked as the director of the dye works


title: Tapestry content: at Les Gobelins tapestry works in Paris, where he noticed that the perceived colour of a particular thread was influenced by its surrounding threads, a phenomenon he called “simultaneous contrast". Chevreul’s work was a continuation of theories of colour elaborated by Leonardo da Vinci and Goethe; in turn, his work influenced painters including Eugène Delacroix and Georges-Pierre Seurat. The principles articulated by Chevreul also apply to contemporary television and computer displays, which use tiny dots of red, green and blue (RGB) light to render colour, with each composite being called a pixel. Tapestry Tapestry is a form of textile art,


title: "Matres and Matronae" content: depictions are frontal, they appear almost exclusively in threes with at least one figure holding a basket of fruit in her lap, and the women are either standing or sitting. In some depictions, the middle figure is depicted with loose hair and wearing a headband, and the other two wear head dresses. In addition, snakes, children, and nappies appear. Other motifs include depictions of sacrifice—including burning incense, pigs, and bowls filled with fruit—and decorations of fruits, plants and trees. In most cases, the votive stones and altars are not found singularly, but rather in groups around temple buildings and cult


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: Radcliffe Camera The Radcliffe Camera (Camera, meaning "room" in Latin; colloquially, "Rad Cam" or "The Camera") is a building of Oxford University, England, designed by James Gibbs in neo-classical style and built in 1737–49 to house the Radcliffe Science Library. It is sited to the south of the Old Bodleian, north of the Church of St Mary the Virgin, and between Brasenose College to the west and All Souls College to the east. The library's construction and maintenance was funded from the estate of John Radcliffe, a notable doctor, who left £40,000 upon his death in 1714. According to the


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: terms of his will, construction only began in 1737, although the intervening period saw the complex purchase of the site. The exterior was complete in 1747 and the interior finished by 1748, although the library's opening was delayed until 13 April 1749. Upon completion, Francis Wise was appointed as its first librarian. Until 1810, the library housed books covering a wide range of subjects, but under George Williams it narrowed its focus to the sciences. Williams brought the library from a state of neglect up to date, although by 1850 the Radcliffe Library still lagged behind the Bodleian. It was


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: at this point that Henry Wentworth Acland, then librarian, laid out plans for the Radcliffe Library building to merge with the university and the library's collection of books to be moved to the newly constructed Radcliffe Science Library, which were accepted by the library's trustees and the university. It was at this point that the building became known as the Radcliffe Camera, serving as a reading room for the Bodleian. John Radcliffe (c.1650–1714) attended University College from the age of thirteen, becoming a fellow of Lincoln College at eighteen. He had a successful career in medicine, serving a number of


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: high-profile, wealthy patients including William III and Queen Anne. He built up a large fortune and died childless. He is buried in St. Mary's Church, Oxford. It was known that he intended to build a library in Oxford at least two years before his death in 1714. It was thought that the new building would be an extension westwards of the Selden End of the Bodleian Library. Francis Atterbury, Dean of Christ Church, writing in December 1712 describes plans for a 90 ft room on the site of neighbouring Exeter College, and that the lower storey would be a library


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: for Exeter College and the upper story Radcliffe's Library. Radcliffe also dedicated £100 a year to furnishing his proposed library with books. Plans were prepared by Nicholas Hawksmoor and are now held in the Ashmolean Museum. By 1714, however, Radcliffe had settled on a different site for his new library, to the south of the existing Bodleian. William Pittis, Radcliffe's first biographer, ascribes the change of heart to excessive demands from the Rector and Fellows of Exeter College. Radcliffe died on 1 November 1714. His will, proved on 8 December, provided for the building of a new library on the


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: new site, stating: And will that my executors pay forty thousand pounds in the terme of ten years, by yearly payments of four thousand pounds, the first payment thereof to begin and be made after the decease of my said two sisters for the building a library in Oxford and the purchaseing the houses between St Maries and the scholes in Catstreet where I intend the Library to be built, and when the said Library is built I give one hundred and fifty pounds per annum for ever to the Library Keeper thereof for the time being and one hundred


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: pounds a year per annum for ever for buying books for the same Library. It also provided £100 a year to maintain the new library, but only once 30 years had elapsed from his death. The library-keeper was to be chosen by several influential figures: the Archbisop of Canterbury, the Lord Chancellor, the Chancellor of the University of Oxford, the Bishop of London and the Bishop of Winchester, the Home Secretary and Foreign Secretary, the Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench and the Lord Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and the Master of the Rolls. The first payment


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: was to be made after the death of Radcliffe's two sisters, Hannah Redshaw and Millicent Radcliffe. The latter lived until 1736, although it appears between the death of Redshaw in 1716 and Millicent Radcliffe in 1736, much preparatory work was done acquiring the site for the library. A number of tenement houses fronting Catte Street, built right up to the Schools, some gardens, Brasenose College outbuildings and Black Hall occupied the site required for the library. A number of colleges became involved in the development of the site. An added problem was that Brasenose required an equal amount of land


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: fronting High Street in return for the land they were being asked to give up. As a consequence, the Trustees had to negotiate with the owners and the tenants of the houses. An Act of Parliament was passed in 1720 that enabled any corporations within the University to sell ground for building a library. The negotiations dealing with Catte Street took over twenty years, with the final payments being made to Oriel, Magdalen and University Colleges in 1737 (N.S.). Radcliffe had placed four men in charge of his estate: William Bromley, sometime Speaker of the House of Commons; Sir George


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: Beaumont, a Lord of the Admiralty; Antony Keck, a banker; and Thomas Sclater Bacon, a lawyer. There appears to have been some difficulty in getting the required majority to agree to work beginning before 1736, with the four split between Bromley and Beaumont wanting to start and Bacon and Keck set against them. Accordingly Bromley made plans for work to start not long after 1720, but they were never fulfilled. The early start was to be funded by the high share price of investments in the South Sea Company, which proved overly optimistic. It was therefore in 1720 that the


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: choice of architect was first considered – Christopher Wren, John Vanbrugh, Thomas Archer, James Thornhill, John James, Nicholas Hawksmoor, and James Gibbs were all considered. By the time the Trustees began to consider the building project, however, their choice had been restricted: Wren had died in 1723, Vanbrugh in 1724, and Thornhill in 1734. In 1734 Hawksmoor and Gibbs were invited to submit plans. A model, believed to be to Hawksmoor's specification, was made in 1734 and presented to the University in 1913. The model was well-received and it appears to have only been Hawksmoor's death in 1736 that led


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: the Trustees to appoint Gibbs as architect to the project. Gibbs was given a salary of £100 per annum "for directing and supervising the building of the Radcliffe Library and drawing all plans that shall be necessary for completing that work and corresponding with the builders, and going down four times in every year to see the building". On 4 March 1737, the Trustees directed Gibbs along with Francis Smith of Warwick and William Townesend of Oxford 'to prepare Stones and things ready for building the library'. An early set of plans were engraved and prints delivered to the most


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: important members of the town and University, no doubt to ensure that their opposition was dealt with swiftly. The University in particular seems to have influenced the Trustee's plan, although the Library would not form part of it. A second set were made a year later. A third set of prints, representing the final plans, were reprinted by Gibbs in his "Bibliotheca Radcliviana" of 1747. On 17 May 1737, the foundation stone was laid. Four days before, the Trustees had decided on an inscription for it to bear on a copper plate. The whereabouts of neither the stone nor the


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: plate are known, although it is believed that the copper plate adorned a section of the wall that was removed to create the doorway in 1863. That inscription read: Quod Felix Faustumque sit Academiae Oxoniensi Die XVI. Kalendarum Junii Anno MDCCXXXVII
 Carolo Comite de Arran Cancellario Staphano Niblett S.T.P. Vice-Cancellario Thoma Paget et Iohanne Land A.M. Procuratoribus
 Plaudenti undique Togata Gente Honorabilis Admodum D D Carolus Noel Somerset Honorabilis Iohannes Verney Gualterus Wagstaff Bagot Baronettus Edwardus Harley et Armigeri Edwardus Smith
 Radclivii Munificentissimi Testamenti Curatores P.P. Jacobo Gibbs Architecto The progress of the building and the craftsmen employed is


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: detailed both in the Minute Books of the Trustees and the Building Book, which supplement information given by Gibbs in his "Bibliotheca Radcliviana". An extract states:Mr. William Townsend of Oxford, and Mr. William Smith of Warwick, were employed to be masons; Mr. John Philipps to be the carpenter and joiner; Mr. George Devall to be plumber; Mr. Townsend junior to be stone carver; Mr. Linel of Long-acre, London, to be carver in wood; Mr. Artari, an Italian, to be their plaisterer in the fret work way; Mr. Michael Rysbrack to be sculptor, to cut the Doctor's figure in marble; and


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: Mr. Blockley to be locksmith. Francis Smith, the father of William, was chosen as one of the masons, but died in 1738 and was succeeded by his son near the beginning of building. In 1739, John Townesend also succeeded his father on the latter's death. The Clerk of Works for most of the construction was Thomas Jersey, who was paid £40 per annum. He was replaced in 1745 by George Shakespeare and shortly thereafter William Robinson. The construction went smoothly until February 1741, save for a short interruption in the latter part of 1740 when the threat of smallpox halted


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: construction. It was in February 1741 that there appears to have been either a misunderstanding or a change of plan concerning what the dome was to be constructed out of. It had been partially completed out of stone, to the value of over £700 of stonework completed or prepared, when all work was immediately halted. The Trustees threatened to take the matter to the Court of Chancery if Townesend and Smith pursued their claim for £700 to cover the stonemasons' bills; the Trustees did not make good this threat and they eventually paid the bill. Part of the stone dome


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: was removed and the dome recovered in timber and lead. 41 tonnes of Derbyshire lead was used on the roof. The incident took over a year to completely resolve. The dome had been completed by March 1743. In 1742 or 1743, when the exterior scaffolding was being removed (only work on the cupola and balustrade remained) two men were killed in an accident. The Trustees approved the payment of £20 to be held on trust for the family of one of the dead men and inquired after the circumstances of the accident and the men injured. The interior work began


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: once the main structure was complete. John Phillips was employed as a carpenter for the Library's floors, windows and bookcases. Joseph Artari was chosen to be the project's plasterer, employing Charles Stanley and Thomas Toberts alongside him. In March 1745, the Trustees intervened to help ensure no work was proceeding by candlelight as the Library neared completion. A portrait of Radcliffe was sent to John Michael Rysbrack, who was tasked with creating a six-feet tall marble statue of the Library's benefactor. It was installed by Townesend and Smith. The responsibility for the ironwork for the gates for the seven exterior


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: arches of the library was given to Robert Bakewell of Derby. His original estimate proved too low, however, explained by Gibbs to be a result of the French war. It eventually cost £364. The Trustee's meeting of 13 March 1746 reveals that the remaining work consisted of the paving of the library inside and out, the staircase rail, and the locks, hinges and bolts for the bookcases. The exterior of the building was complete by 1747 and the building fully completed in 1748. A librarian was appointed, as was a porter. Before Radcliffe's death, the sub-librarian of the Bodleian, Thomas


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: Hearne, was widely considered to have been Radcliffe's choice as his new librarian. He was not appointed, however, and the post remained unfilled. In 1737, another sub-librarian, Francis Wise, reached out to several influential figures (including the Duke of Newcastle) to assist him in securing the position. However, by 1741 he had grown deeply weary of the level of competition he faced, particularly from a Richard Green, Radcliffe's great-nephew. The position did not go to Green, however: Wise was appointed to the position by a majority of one in 1748. The first porter was Pudsey Mussendine, who was paid a


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: salary of £20 per annum, and received a gown in Radcliffe's colours and with his coat of arms emblazoned on it. The opening ceremony was delayed by around a year because of disturbances in Oxford. It finally took place on 13 April 1749. Work on the exterior continued after the opening of the Library. In 1750, part of the land between the Camera and St. Mary's Church was remodelled to remove a dividing wall, level the ground and lay pebbles on it. This cost a total of £158. 17s, of which £100 came from the Trust and the rest from


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: the University. The Old Convocation house was repaired in 1759 at the cost of £144. In 1751, the Trustees also agreed to the construction of twenty obelisks to hold gas lamps, which the University agreed to maintain. Only 14 were actually erected and in 1755 the Trustees reimbursed the University for the cost of maintaining them up to that point and took on the obligation itself out of the £100 per annum left by Radcliffe for the Library's upkeep. In 1758–9, for example, they were lit on 89 nights at a cost of £23. 6s. 1d. The library's collection grew


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: only slowly. The first book to be placed in the library was identified by one contemporary account as Thomas Carte's "A General History of England". The first donation was some 50,000 pamphlets from a Mr Bartholomew of University College, subsequently gifted to the Bodleian in 1794. The first major purchase was books to the value of £45 from a seller in Newport in 1751, although they were kept in private possession until 1755. In 1754, the Library received a number of books from the estate of James Gibbs, mostly concerning architecture. A number of classical and history books by the


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: bequest of Richard Frewin, Camden Professor of Ancient History, and law books of Charles Viner, the founder of the Vinerian Professorship of Common Law, were also added to the Library. Early purchases also included the purchase of the manuscripts of James Fraser to the value of £500, and those of George Sale for £157 10s., both concerned with the Middle East – the first on the advice of Thomas Hunt, Laudian Professor of Arabic. The texts appear to have suffered from poor care after their acquisition. Three further collections were purchased before Wise's death in 1767. Even at this early


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: stage, the Trustees appear to have collaborated with the Bodleian to avoid duplication. The Library quickly became known as 'the Physic Library'. Despite its name, its acquisitions were varied for the first sixty years, but from 1811 its intake was confined to works of a scientific nature. During the first half of the 19th century the collections included coins, marbles, candelabra, busts, plaster casts, and statues. These collections have since been moved to more specifically appropriate sites. A muniment room was created in 1753 to house the collection documents relating to Radcliffe's will and the accumulated deeds of the land


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: on which the Library had been built. Despite regular inspections, in 1817, a number of deeds were found to have degraded completely. Although the Trustees did not believe that the particular documents lost were likely to cause many future problems, the remaining manuscripts were moved to the main Library to prevent further damage. In other respects, Wise's tenure was marked only by his poor (and worsening) health and poor relations with the University. University members expected to be admitted and the Vice-Chancellor made it clear to Wise that he believed the Library part of the University and thus under his


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: overall control. Wise did not agree, threatening at one point to padlock the Library and refer any man who cut it to the courts. The Vice-Chancellor took this as an unprovoked insult and turned to consideration of the University statutes and the imposition, if they did not already exist, of such statutes as would compel the ageing Wise to attend to his duties from which he was now regularly absent. Five years before his actual death in 1767, a satirical death notice was placed in the London papers announcing the "greatly regretted" death of Wise "[his death] occasioned by a


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: violent cold, contracted by too close attendance on the duties of his respective offices". In those last years, Wise was so ill that he could no longer attend the Library. Upon his death, his collection of coins was presented to the Library. He was replaced by Benjamin Kennicott who served as librarian until his death in 1783. His librarianship saw the purchase of more Arabic, Hebrew and Persian works, the subject of study of Kennicott. Despite several reparative measures, the building continued to fall into disrepair, with Kennicott immersed in his academic study. Comments at the time of his death


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: noted that the collection was "so far from being 'one of the first collections in the Universe,' that it is even inconsiderable and invaluable when compared, not only with the Bodley collection, but perhaps others in Oxford." Kennicott's successor, Thomas Hornby, did nothing to improve the situation, devoting much of time to his other post of Radcliffe Observer. There are no records of any books being bought before his death in 1810. There was, however, one controversial benefaction of a series of marbles, with a custodian appointed and funded (along with the cost of securing the statues) by Sir Roger


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: Newdigate. It was eventually accepted, although not without opposition from Hornby who believed it would distract from the Library's academic purpose and block readers' light. Upon Newdigate's death, the statues had not been purchased and his executors added to the opposition. The benefaction was reassessed and finally rejected. In the last years of his tenure, Hornby was asked to provide a catalogue, but no such document was put together before his death. Hornby's successor was chosen as George Williams. It was under his tenure that "a new era dawned" for the Radcliffe Library. Williams, a physician in the Radcliffe Infirmary


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: and Professor of Botany, adopted an approach which had been mooted a couple of years before to fill the Library's shelves not with a general collection of works, but rather specifically scientific books. Huge sums were spent from funds which had accumulated from previous years: £2000 in 1814, and around £500 annually for the years after. Dr. Abraham Robertson was asked to donate a copy of the Radcliffe Observatory's records each year in exchange for being allowed to borrow certain books. In 1814, the Library hosted a banquet for the visiting Prince Regent. The Library also received a number of


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: marble busts and a collection of 1,000 marble specimens. The grounds of the Library were enclosed by railings in 1827 at a cost of £1,310, although the ascertainment of the exact extent of the Trustee's holdings required careful examination and a previous overlooked transfer completed. Upon Williams' death in 1834, the Trustees gave an unprecedented statement of thanks; it was echoed by a report in "The Gentleman's Magazine" which read: "In carrying into effect these great national as well as academic purposes, the Trustees found in Dr. Williams's extensive reading, retentive memory... exact judgment, comprehensive views and philosophical mind, the


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: very talents and accomplishments which were necessary to ensure the successful execution of their design". Williams was succeeded by John Kidd, Regius Professor of Medicine. Gas heating and lighting was introduced into the Library, a third member of staff (an assistant) hired at a salary of £25 per annum, and insurance taken out against the risk of fire – £10,000 to cover the buildings and a further £10,000 for the books. In 1835, the Library catalogue was finally published, for which Kidd received £100 by way of bonus. He was, however, unsuccessful in three attempts to secure a pay rise.


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: The book collection continued to expand, with Kidd required to provide a memorandum of books added each year to the Library, and the first proper bookcases installed. A visitors' book was created to distinguish students and academics from "those who visit the Library from mere motives of general curiosity". In other respects Library life was unremarkable for the rest of Kidd's tenure, which ended with his death in 1851. Henry Wentworth Acland succeeded Kidd as Librarian. He made several structural alterations, creating a reading room, improving the lighting and heating and adding a hot water system. More significantly, in light


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: of the sum of £200 to be spent on books annually, which Acland considered insufficient, he set out a detailed proposal to bring the Library under the leadership of the University. In 1856, he laid out his plan to the Trustees, at which point the Library contained between 14,000 and 15,000 volumes: "[I fear] the Library be found wanting in some standard work of reference [or] the ordinary Scientific Literature... [while] it is supposed by visitors... that the great collection of scientific works in Oxford is to be found in the Radcliffe Library... the Bodleian Library is far richer in


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: scientific transactions and periodicals; it receives, or ought to receive, without cost all British books... the Radcliffe Library must be accounted to be, and will remain, of much less public utility than is generally supposed." The Radcliffe Library building was to become a reading room of the Bodleian, and the collection transferred to the new 'Museum Library' being constructed (now the Radcliffe Science Library). The plan was accepted by both parties and on 23 October 1861 the keys to the Radcliffe Library building were handed to Bodley's Librarian. It took four more years to finalise everything. The Radcliffe Library building


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: thus became the Radcliffe Camera as the Library ceased to be fully independent. The Trustees retained the freehold to the building, which was finally transferred to the University in 1927. Between 1909 and 1912 an underground book store of two floors was constructed beneath the north lawn of the library with a tunnel connecting it with the Bodleian, invisibly linking the two library buildings, something envisaged by Henry Acland in 1861. It was known as the "Radder" in 1930s slang but was later referred to as "the Radcliffe Link" or "the Link". This was refurbished as reading rooms, completed in


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: 2011, and is now known as the "Gladstone Link". After the Radcliffe Science Library moved into another building, the Radcliffe Camera became home to additional reading rooms of the Bodleian Library. The interior of the upper reading-room houses a six-foot marble statue of John Radcliffe, carved by John Michael Rysbrack. It now holds books from the English, history, and theology collections, mostly secondary sources found on Undergraduate and Graduate reading lists. There is space for around 600,000 books in rooms beneath Radcliffe Square. In November 2010, the Radcliffe Camera was occupied by students for over twenty-four hours, as part of


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: wider national protest against proposed changes to university funding and substantial increases in the cost of tuition. The building is the earliest example in England of a circular library. It is built in three main stages externally and two stories internally, the upper one containing a gallery. The ground stage is heavily rusticated and has a series of eight pedimented projections alternating with niches. The central stage is divided into bays by coupled Corinthian columns supporting the continuous entablature. The pedimented windows stand above mezzanine openings, reflecting the interior arrangement. The top stage is a lanterned dome on an octagonal


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: drum, with a balustraded parapet with vases. The construction used local stone from Headington and Burford, which was then ashlar faced. The dome and cupola are covered with lead. Inside, the original walls and dome were distempered but this was later removed, revealing the decorations to be carved in stone. Only the decorative work of the dome is plaster. Originally, the basement was an open arched arcade with a vaulted stone ceiling, with Radcliffe's coat of arms in the centre. The arcade arches were fitted with iron grilles: three of them were gates which were closed at night, and which


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: gave access to the library by a grand staircase. In 1863, when the building had become a reading-room of the Bodleian, the arches were glazed, a new entrance was created on the north side in place of a circular window, with stone steps leading up to the entrance. The area around the Library was originally partly paved, partly cobbled, and partly gravelled. In 1751 stone posts and obelisks surmounted by lamps were placed around the perimeter. All but the three at the entrance to Brasenose Lane were removed around 1827 when the lawns were laid and iron railings installed. The


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: 1744 work "The Present State of the Universities" by Thomas Salmon described the new Radcliffe library as "the most magnificent Structure in Oxford... I find a great many People of Opinion that he intended to perpetuate his Memory by it, and therefore give it the name of 'Radcliffe's Mausoleum'". This was echoed by "The Gentleman and the Lady's Pocket Companion for Oxford" (1747) which said that "the most magnificent structure in Oxford is the new public Library". In 1773, however, Edward Tatham was not so complimentary: "The writer... cannot help expressing his disapprobation of the situation of the Radclivian Library.


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: Whatever merit this edifice reflects on the architect, and splendor on the University, it certainly destroys the regularity of the area, and intercepts the view of every building in it." He regarded the north side of Broad Street, south of the gardens of Trinity College, to have been a more suitable site and the chosen site left largely open "as we pronounce in general that the areas in a town should be free, open, and without obstruction". Gibbs later said of the Trustees "I never observed a trust discharged with greater unanimity, integrity and candor, during the whole time I


title: "Radcliffe Camera" content: had the honour of serving you, from the laying of the first stone of this fabric to its finishing." Contemporaries found great irony in the fact that the iconoclast Radcliffe, who scorned book-learning, should bequeath a substantial sum for the founding of the Radcliffe Library. Sir Samuel Garth quipped that the endowment was "about as logical as if a eunuch should found a seraglio". Radcliffe Camera The Radcliffe Camera (Camera, meaning "room" in Latin; colloquially, "Rad Cam" or "The Camera") is a building of Oxford University, England, designed by James Gibbs in neo-classical style and built in 1737–49 to house


title: "Héctor Camacho" content: 1, 1989), Christian (born 1992), and Tyler Camacho (born 1998). (The "New York Times" reports the youngest son's name as "Taylor".) In 1998 she obtained a restraining order against Camacho, alleging he had threatened her and one of their sons. They divorced in 2001. As of March 2011, his ex-wife Amy Camacho and at least one son were living in Orange County, Florida. His youngest son, Tyler, also practices boxing. In 2003, The Press and Guide of Dearborn, Michigan printed an engagement notice between Camacho and Shelly Salemassi, along with a photograph of the couple. Although they never married, the


title: "Réunion" content: and insular traditions. The most widely spoken language, Réunion Creole, derives from French. French is the only official language of Réunion. Although not official, Réunion Creole is the native language of a large part of the population and is spoken alongside French. Creole is used informally and orally in some administration offices whereas the official language of any administration office as well as education is French. Because of the diverse population, other languages are also spoken such as Comorian language varieties (especially Shimaore), Malagasy by recent immigrants from Mayotte and Madagascar, Mandarin, Hakka and Cantonese by members of the Chinese


title: Arachnid content: Arachnid Arachnids () are a class (Arachnida) of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Almost all adult arachnids have eight legs, although the front pair of legs in some species has converted to a sensory function, while in other species, different appendages can grow large enough to take on the appearance of extra pairs of legs. The term is derived from the Greek word ("aráchnē"), from the myth of the hubristic human weaver Arachne who was turned into a spider. Spiders are the largest order in the class, which also includes scorpions, ticks, mites, harvestmen, and solifuges. Almost


title: Arachnid content: all extant arachnids are terrestrial, living mainly on land. However, some inhabit freshwater environments and, with the exception of the pelagic zone, marine environments as well. They comprise over 100,000 named species. Almost all adult arachnids have eight legs, and arachnids may be easily distinguished from insects by this fact, since insects have six legs. However, arachnids also have two further pairs of appendages that have become adapted for feeding, defense, and sensory perception. The first pair, the chelicerae, serve in feeding and defense. The next pair of appendages, the pedipalps, have been adapted for feeding, locomotion, and/or reproductive functions.


title: Arachnid content: In Solifugae, the palps are quite leg-like, so that these animals appear to have ten legs. The larvae of mites and Ricinulei have only six legs; a fourth pair usually appears when they moult into nymphs. However, mites are variable: as well as eight, there are adult mites with six or even four legs. Arachnids are further distinguished from insects by the fact they do not have antennae or wings. Their body is organized into two tagmata, called the prosoma, or cephalothorax, and the opisthosoma, or abdomen. The cephalothorax is derived from the fusion of the cephalon (head) and the


title: Arachnid content: thorax, and is usually covered by a single, unsegmented carapace. The abdomen is segmented in the more primitive forms, but varying degrees of fusion between the segments occur in many groups. It is typically divided into a preabdomen and postabdomen, although this is only clearly visible in scorpions, and in some orders, such as the Acari, the abdominal sections are completely fused. A telson is present in scorpions, where it has been modified to a stinger, and in the Schizomida, whip scorpions and Palpigradi. Like all arthropods, arachnids have an exoskeleton, and they also have an internal structure of cartilage-like


title: Arachnid content: tissue, called the endosternite, to which certain muscle groups are attached. The endosternite is even calcified in some Opiliones. Most arachnids lack extensor muscles in the distal joints of their appendages. Spiders and whipscorpions extend their limbs hydraulically using the pressure of their hemolymph. Solifuges and some harvestmen extend their knees by the use of highly elastic thickenings in the joint cuticle. Scorpions, pseudoscorpions and some harvestmen have evolved muscles that extend two leg joints (the femur-patella and patella-tibia joints) at once. The equivalent joints of the pedipalps of scorpions though, are extended by elastic recoil. There are characteristics that


title: Arachnid content: are particularly important for the terrestrial lifestyle of arachnids, such as internal respiratory surfaces in the form of tracheae, or modification of the book gill into a book lung, an internal series of vascular lamellae used for gas exchange with the air. While the tracheae are often individual systems of tubes, similar to those in insects, ricinuleids, pseudoscorpions, and some spiders possess sieve tracheae, in which several tubes arise in a bundle from a small chamber connected to the spiracle. This type of tracheal system has almost certainly evolved from the book lungs, and indicates that the tracheae of arachnids


title: Arachnid content: are not homologous with those of insects. Further adaptations to terrestrial life are appendages modified for more efficient locomotion on land, internal fertilisation, special sensory organs, and water conservation enhanced by efficient excretory structures as well as a waxy layer covering the cuticle. The excretory glands of arachnids include up to four pairs of coxal glands along the side of the prosoma, and one or two pairs of Malpighian tubules, emptying into the gut. Many arachnids have only one or the other type of excretory gland, although several do have both. The primary nitrogenous waste product in arachnids is guanine.


title: Arachnid content: Arachnid blood is variable in composition, depending on the mode of respiration. Arachnids with an efficient tracheal system do not need to transport oxygen in the blood, and may have a reduced circulatory system. In scorpions and some spiders, however, the blood contains haemocyanin, a copper-based pigment with a similar function to haemoglobin in vertebrates. The heart is located in the forward part of the abdomen, and may or may not be segmented. Some mites have no heart at all. Arachnids are mostly carnivorous, feeding on the pre-digested bodies of insects and other small animals. Only in the harvestmen and


title: Arachnid content: among mites, such as the house dust mite, is there ingestion of solid food particles, and thus exposure to internal parasites, although it is not unusual for spiders to eat their own silk. Several groups secrete venom from specialized glands to kill prey or enemies. Several mites and ticks are parasites, some of which are carriers of disease. Arachnids produce digestive juices in their stomachs, and use their pedipalps and chelicerae to pour them over their dead prey. The digestive juices rapidly turn the prey into a broth of nutrients, which the arachnid sucks into a pre-buccal cavity located immediately


title: Arachnid content: in front of the mouth. Behind the mouth is a muscular, sclerotised pharynx, which acts as a pump, sucking the food through the mouth and on into the oesophagus and stomach. In some arachnids, the oesophagus also acts as an additional pump. The stomach is tubular in shape, with multiple diverticula extending throughout the body. The stomach and its diverticula both produce digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients from the food. It extends through most of the body, and connects to a short sclerotised intestine and anus in the hind part of the abdomen. Arachnids have two kinds of eyes: the


title: Arachnid content: lateral and median ocelli. The lateral ocelli evolved from compound eyes and may have a tapetum, which enhances the ability to collect light. With the exception of scorpions, which can have up to five pairs of lateral ocelli, there are never more than three pairs present. The median ocelli develop from a transverse fold of the ectoderm. The ancestors of modern arachnids probably had both types, but modern ones often lack one type or the other. The cornea of the eye also acts as a lens, and is continuous with the cuticle of the body. Beneath this is a transparent


title: Arachnid content: vitreous body, and then the retina and, if present, the tapetum. In most arachnids, the retina probably does not have enough light sensitive cells to allow the eyes to form a proper image. In addition to the eyes, almost all arachnids have two other types of sensory organs. The most important to most arachnids are the fine sensory hairs that cover the body and give the animal its sense of touch. These can be relatively simple, but many arachnids also possess more complex structures, called trichobothria. Finally, slit sense organs are slit-like pits covered with a thin membrane. Inside the


title: Arachnid content: pit, a small hair touches the underside of the membrane, and detects its motion. Slit sense organs are believed to be involved in proprioception, and possibly also hearing. Arachnids may have one or two gonads, which are located in the abdomen. The genital opening is usually located on the underside of the second abdominal segment. In most species, the male transfers sperm to the female in a package, or spermatophore. Complex courtship rituals have evolved in many arachnids to ensure the safe delivery of the sperm to the female. Arachnids usually lay yolky eggs, which hatch into immatures that resemble


title: Arachnid content: adults. Scorpions, however, are either ovoviviparous or viviparous, depending on species, and bear live young. In most arachnids only the females provide parental care, with harvestmen being one of the few exceptions. The phylogenetic relationships among the main subdivisions of arthropods have been the subject of considerable research and dispute for many years. A consensus emerged from about 2010 onwards, based on both morphological and molecular evidence. Extant (living) arthropods are a monophyletic group and are divided into three main clades: chelicerates (including arachnids), pancrustaceans (the paraphyletic crustaceans plus insects and their allies), and myriapods (centipedes, millipedes and allies). The


title: Arachnid content: three groups are related as shown in the cladogram below. Including fossil taxa does not fundamentally alter this view, although it introduces some additional basal groups. The extant chelicerates comprise two marine groups: sea spiders and horseshoe crabs, and the terrestrial arachnids. These are related as shown below. (Pycnogonida (sea spiders) may be excluded from the chelicerates, which are then identified as the group labelled "Euchelicerata".) Discovering relationships within the arachnids has proven difficult , with successive studies producing different results. A study in 2014, based on the largest set of molecular data to date, concluded that there were systematic


title: Arachnid content: conflicts in the phylogenetic information, particularly affecting the orders Acariformes, Parasitiformes and Pseudoscorpiones, which have had much faster evolutionary rates. Analyses of the data using sets of genes with different evolutionary rates produced mutually incompatible phylogenetic trees. The authors favoured relationships shown by more slowly evolving genes, which demonstrated the monophyly of Chelicerata, Euchelicerata and Arachnida, as well as of some clades within the arachnids. The diagram below summarizes their conclusions, based largely on the 200 most slowly evolving genes; dashed lines represent uncertain placements. Tetrapulmonata, here consisting of Araneae, Amblypygi and Thelyphonida (Schizomida was not included in the study),


title: Arachnid content: received strong support. The addition of Scorpiones to produce a clade called Arachnopulmonata was also well supported. Pseudoscorpiones may also belong here, possibly as the sister of Scorpiones. Somewhat unexpectedly, there was support for a clade comprising Opiliones, Ricinulei and Solifugae, a combination not found in most other studies. The Uraraneida are an extinct order of spider-like arachnids from the Devonian and Permian. A fossil arachnid in 100 million year old (mya) amber from Myanmar, "Chimerarachne yingi", has spinnerets (to produce silk); it also has a tail, like the Palaeozoic Uraraneida, some 200 million years after other known fossils with


title: Arachnid content: tails. The fossil resembles the most primitive living spiders, the mesotheles. The subdivisions of the arachnids are usually treated as orders. Historically, mites and ticks were treated as a single order, Acari. However, molecular phylogenetic studies suggest that the two groups do not form a single clade, with morphological similarities being due to convergence. They are now usually treated as two separate taxa – Acariformes, mites, and Parasitiformes, ticks – which may be ranked as orders or superorders. The arachnid subdivisions are listed below alphabetically; numbers of species are approximate. It is estimated that 98,000 arachnid species have been described,


title: Arachnid content: and that there may be up to 600,000 in total. Arachnid Arachnids () are a class (Arachnida) of joint-legged invertebrate animals (arthropods), in the subphylum Chelicerata. Almost all adult arachnids have eight legs, although the front pair of legs in some species has converted to a sensory function, while in other species, different appendages can grow large enough to take on the appearance of extra pairs of legs. The term is derived from the Greek word ("aráchnē"), from the myth of the hubristic human weaver Arachne who was turned into a spider. Spiders are the largest order in the class,


title: "Judicial functions of the House of Lords" content: held high judicial office. High judicial officers included judges of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, the Inner House of the Court of Session and the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland. Additionally, a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary who had reached the age of seventy could become a Lord of Appeal. Between 1996 and 2001, Lord Cooke of Thorndon, a retired judge of an overseas appellate court (the Court of Appeal of New Zealand), served as a Lord of Appeal. Judicial appeals were heard by Lords of Appeal in Ordinary and Lords of Appeal under the age


title: "J. B. Priestley" content: in his literary reminiscences, "Margin Released", he suffered from the effects of poison gas, and then supervised German prisoners of war, before being demobilised in early 1919. After his military service, Priestley received a university education at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. By the age of 30 he had established a reputation as an essayist and critic. His novel "Benighted" (1927) was adapted into the James Whale film "The Old Dark House" (1932); the novel has been published under the film's name in the United States. Priestley's first major success came with a novel, "The Good Companions" (1929), which earned him the


title: BLT content: BLT A BLT is a type of sandwich, named for the initials of its primary ingredients, bacon, lettuce and tomato. It can be made with varying recipes according to personal preference. Simple variants include using different types of lettuce, toasting or not, or adding mayonnaise. More pronounced variants can include using turkey bacon or tofu in place of bacon, or removing the lettuce entirely. The combination of ingredients on a sandwich dates back to the early 1900s, though it didn't achieve widespread popularity until after World War II, when the ingredients became more readily available year-round. Referencing the sandwich by


title: BLT content: its initials rather than naming the ingredients in full did not become common until the 1970s. The BLT has been ranked as the second most popular sandwich in the US and as the UK's favourite sandwich, and is frequently referenced or depicted in media and culture. Although the ingredients of the BLT have existed for many years, there is little evidence of BLT sandwich recipes prior to 1900. The "1903 Good Housekeeping Everyday Cook Book", a recipe by a Dr. Kevin Zinter for a club sandwich included bacon, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and a slice of turkey sandwiched between two slices


title: BLT content: of bread. Whilst the 1929 book "Seven Hundred Sandwiches" does include a section on bacon sandwiches, the recipes often include pickles and none contain tomato. The BLT became popular after World War II because of the rapid expansion of supermarkets, which allowed ingredients to be available year-round. The initials, representing "bacon, lettuce, tomato", likely began in the American restaurant industry as shorthand for the sandwich, but it is unclear when this transferred to the public consciousness. For example, a 1951 edition of the "Saturday Evening Post" makes reference to the sandwich, although it does not use its initials, describing a


title: BLT content: scene in which: "On the tray, invariably, are a bowl of soup, a toasted sandwich of bacon, lettuce and tomato, and a chocolate milk shake." A 1954 issue of "Modern Hospital" contains a meal suggestion that includes: "Bean Soup, Toasted Bacon Lettuce and Tomato Sandwich, Pickles, Jellied Banana Salad, Cream Dressing, and Pound Cake." By 1958, Hellmann's Mayonnaise advertised their product as "traditional on bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwiches," suggesting that the combination had been around for some time. However, there are several references to a "B.L.T" in the early 1970s, including in one review of Bruce Jay Friedman's play


title: BLT content: entitled "Steambath" titled: "A B.L.T. for God – hold the mayo.". The abbreviation used in title references a line of dialogue in the play in which God yells, "Send up a bacon and lettuce and tomato sandwich, hold the mayo. You burn the toast, I'll smite you down with my terrible swift sword." The coexistence of the shortened version and the full name suggests this was a period of transition as the abbreviation was popularized. According to food historian John Mariani, it is the second most popular sandwich in the U.S., after the ham sandwich, and a poll by OnePoll


title: BLT content: in 2008 showed that it was the "nation's favourite" sandwich in the UK. BLT sandwiches are popular especially in the summer, following the tomato harvest. In the United States, the BLT-season is associated with an increase in the price of pork-bellies, which are processed into bacon. While there are variations on the BLT, the essential ingredients are bacon, tomatoes and lettuce between two slices of bread, often toasted. The quantity and quality of the ingredients are matters of personal preference. The bacon can be well cooked or tender, but as it "carries" the other flavors, chefs recommend using higher quality


title: BLT content: meat; in particular, chef Edward Lee states "Your general supermarket bacon is not going to cut the mustard." Iceberg lettuce is a common choice because it does not add too much flavour whilst adding crunch. Food writer Ed Levine has suggested that BLT does not require lettuce at all, as it is "superfluous", a suggestion that Jon Bonné, lifestyle editor at MSNBC, described as "shocking". Michele Anna Jordan, author of "The BLT Cookbook", believes the tomato is the key ingredient and recommends the use of the beefsteak tomato as it has more flesh and fewer seeds. The sandwich is sometimes


title: BLT content: served with dressings, like mayonnaise. The bread can be of any variety, white or wholemeal, toasted or not, depending on personal preference. The sandwich has a high sodium and fat content, and has been specifically targeted by UK café chains in an effort to reduce salt and fat. Due to this, low-fat mayonnaise is a common substitute along with low salt bread and less fatty bacon. In 2009, seven large cafe chains in the UK made a commitment to reducing salt and fat through similar substitutions. A more visible solution is to use turkey bacon in lieu of normal bacon.


title: BLT content: One of the variations on the BLT is the club sandwich, a two-layered sandwich in which one layer is a BLT. The other layer can be almost any sort of sliced meat, normally chicken or turkey. The BLT has been deconstructed into a number of forms; for example, Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock created a BLT salad in "The Gift of Southern Cooking" by cutting the ingredients into pieces and tossing in mayonnaise. This variation was described by "New York Times" writer Julia Reed as "even more perfect than a BLT". Vegans and vegetarians may replace bacon with tempeh or


title: BLT content: tofu as meat analogue instead. Alternatively they can use mock bacon. In 1963, pop art sculptor Claes Oldenburg created "Giant BLT", a soft sculpture representing the sandwich, now in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art. It measures and uses vinyl, kapok and wood, painted in acrylic. Every time it is moved, it must be restacked, which means it varies between exhibits. The artist has said that he has not set it up personally since its creation in 1963. In 2003, a record for the world's largest BLT was created by Michele Anna Jordan, measuring in length. It


title: BLT content: was prepared at a 2003 tomato festival in Sonoma County, California and had a total area of . In 2008, Marie Ganister and Glenda Castelli created a BLT – a sandwich which was originally planned with Jordan. The record was broken again by the Iron Barley restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri, with a BLT measuring , and is currently held by Bentley Dining Services for their 2009 attempt, measuring . In 2004, the "New Statesman" reported that the sandwich chosen by a politician as his "favourite" is loaded with political symbolism. For example, it suggested that a chicken tikka sandwich


title: BLT content: would be a "gentle nod to an imperial past and a firm statement of a multicultural present and future". The article went on to explain that the then Leader of the Opposition William Hague had accused the then Prime Minister Tony Blair of being a hypocrite with regards to food, telling one portion of society that his favourite meal was fish and chips and another that it was a fresh fettuccine dish. The conclusion of the article was that Blair chose the BLT as his favourite sandwich, which appeals to all classes. BLT A BLT is a type of sandwich,


title: "Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen" content: that sew their line of clothing in Bangladesh. The National Labor Committee, which organized the pledge, praised the twins for their commitment to worker rights. Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen (born June 13, 1986), also known as the Olsen twins collectively, are American fashion designers and former child actresses. The dizygotic twins made their acting debut as infants playing Michelle Tanner on the television series "Full House". At the age of six, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen began starring together in TV, film, and video projects, which continued to their teenage years. Through their company Dualstar, the


title: "Oedipus Rex" content: he begs to be allowed to leave without answering further. However, Oedipus presses him, finally threatening him with torture or execution. It emerges that the child he gave away was Laius's own son, and that Jocasta had given the baby to the shepherd to secretly be exposed upon the mountainside. This was done in fear of the prophecy that Jocasta said had never come true: that the child would kill his father. Everything is at last revealed, and Oedipus curses himself and fate before leaving the stage. The chorus laments how even a great man can be felled by fate,


title: NewsRadio content: series is set at WNYX, a fictional AM news radio station in New York City, populated by an eccentric station owner and staff. The show begins with the arrival of a new news director, the level-headed Dave Nelson (Dave Foley). While Dave turns out to be less naive than his youthful appearance suggests, he never fully gains control of his co-workers. The fast-paced scripts and ensemble cast combined physical humor and sight gags with smart dialogue and absurd storylines. Plots often involved satirical takes on historical events, news stories, and pop culture references. The third- and fourth-season finales took the


title: "Joseph-Louis Lagrange" content: by a paper by Edmond Halley which he came across by accident. Alone and unaided he threw himself into mathematical studies; at the end of a year's incessant toil he was already an accomplished mathematician. Charles Emmanuel III appointed Lagrange to serve as the "Sostituto del Maestro di Matematica" (mathematics assistant professor) at the Royal Military Academy of the Theory and Practice of Artillery in 1755, where he taught courses in calculus and mechanics to support the Piedmontese army's early adoption of the ballistics theories of Benjamin Robins and Leonhard Euler. In that capacity, Lagrange was the first to teach


title: Stoat content: Stoat The stoat ("Mustela erminea"), also known as the short-tailed weasel or simply the weasel in Ireland where the least weasel does not occur, is a mammal of the genus "Mustela" of the family Mustelidae native to Eurasia and North America, distinguished from the least weasel by its larger size and longer tail with a prominent black tip. Originally from Eurasia, it crossed into North America some 500,000 years ago, where it naturalized and joined the notably larger, closely related native long-tailed weasel. The name "ermine" is used for any species in the genus "Mustela", especially the stoat, in its


title: Stoat content: pure white winter coat, or the fur thereof. In the late 19th century, stoats were introduced into New Zealand to control rabbits, where they have had a devastating effect on native bird populations. The stoat is classed by the IUCN as least concern, due to its wide circumpolar distribution, and because it does not face any significant threat to its survival. It was nominated as one of the world's top 100 "worst invaders". Ermine luxury fur was used in the 15th century by Catholic monarchs, who sometimes used it as the mozzetta cape. It was also used in capes on


title: Stoat content: images such as the Infant Jesus of Prague. The root word for "stoat" is likely either the Dutch word ("naughty") or the Gothic word (, "to push"). According to John Guillim, in his "Display of Heraldrie", the word "ermine" is likely derived from Armenia, the nation where it was thought the species originated, though other authors have linked it to the Norman French from the Teutonic (Anglo-Saxon ). This seems to come from the Lithuanian word . In Ireland (where the least weasel does not occur), the stoat is referred to as a weasel, while in North America it is


title: Stoat content: called a short-tailed weasel. A male stoat is called a "dog", "hob" or "jack", while a female is called a "jill". The collective noun for stoats is either "gang" or "pack". The stoat's direct ancestor was "Mustela palerminea", a common carnivore in central and eastern Europe during the Middle Pleistocene, that spread to North America during the late Blancan or early Irvingtonian. The stoat is the product of a process begun 5–7 million years ago, when northern forests were replaced by open grassland, thus prompting an explosive evolution of small, burrowing rodents. The stoat's ancestors were larger than the current


title: Stoat content: form, and underwent a reduction in size as they exploited the new food source. The stoat first arose in Eurasia, shortly after the long-tailed weasel arose as its mirror image in North America 2 million years ago. The stoat thrived during the Ice Age, as its small size and long body allowed it to easily operate beneath snow, as well as hunt in burrows. The stoat and the long-tailed weasel remained separated until 500,000 years ago, when falling sea levels exposed the Bering land bridge. Combined phylogenetic analyses indicate the stoat's closest living relative is the mountain weasel ("Mustela altaica"),


title: Stoat content: though it is also closely related to the least weasel ("Mustela nivalis") and long-tailed weasel ("Mustela frenata"). Its next closest relatives are the New World Colombian weasel ("Mustela felipei") and the Amazon weasel ("Mustela africana"). , 37 subspecies are recognized. The stoat is entirely similar to the least weasel in general proportions, manner of posture, and movement, though the tail is relatively longer, always exceeding a third of the body length, though it is shorter than that of the long-tailed weasel. The stoat has an elongated neck, the head being set exceptionally far in front of the shoulders. The trunk


title: Stoat content: is nearly cylindrical, and does not bulge at the abdomen. The greatest circumference of body is little more than half its length. The skull, although very similar to that of the least weasel, is relatively longer, with a narrower braincase. The projections of the skull and teeth are weakly developed, but stronger than those of the least weasel. The eyes are round, black and protrude slightly. The whiskers are brown or white in colour, and very long. The ears are short, rounded and lie almost flattened against the skull. The claws are not retractable, and are large in proportion to


title: Stoat content: the digits. Each foot has five toes. The male stoat has a curved baculum with a proximal knob that increases in weight as it ages. Fat is deposited primarily along the spine and kidneys, then on gut mesenteries, under the limbs and around the shoulders. The stoat has four pairs of nipples, though they are visible only in females. The dimensions of the stoat are variable, but not as significantly as the least weasel's. Unusual among the Carnivora, the size of stoats tends to decrease proportionally with latitude, in contradiction to Bergmann's rule. Sexual dimorphism in size is pronounced, with


title: Stoat content: males being roughly 25% larger than females and 1.5-2.0 times their weight. On average, males measure in body length, while females measure . The tail measures in males and in females. In males, the hind foot measures , while in females it is . The height of the ear measures in males and . The skulls of males measure in length, while those of females measure . Males average in weight, while females weigh less than . The stoat has large anal scent glands measuring in males and smaller in females. Scent glands are also present on the cheeks, belly


title: Stoat content: and flanks. Epidermal secretions, which are deposited during body rubbing, are chemically distinct from the products of the anal scent glands, which contain a higher proportion of volatile chemicals. When attacked or being aggressive, the stoat secretes the contents of its anal glands, giving rise to a strong, musky odour produced by several sulphuric compounds. The odour is distinct from that of least weasels. The winter fur is very dense and silky, but quite closely lying and short, while the summer fur is rougher, shorter and sparse. In summer, the fur is sandy-brown on the back and head and a


title: Stoat content: white below. The division between the dark back and the light belly is usually straight, though this trait is only present in 13.5% of Irish stoats. The stoat moults twice a year. In spring, the moult is slow, starting from the forehead, across the back, toward the belly. In autumn, the moult is quicker, progressing in the reverse direction. The moult, initiated by photoperiod, starts earlier in autumn and later in spring at higher latitudes. In the stoat's northern range, it adopts a completely white coat (save for the black tail-tip) during the winter period. Differences in the winter and