title: "Lawn mower" content: designed for large expanses of grass such as golf courses and municipal parks, although they are ill-suited for complex terrain. The first lawn mower was invented by Edwin Budding in 1830 in Thrupp, just outside Stroud, in Gloucestershire, England. Budding's mower was designed primarily to cut the grass on sports grounds and extensive gardens, as a superior alternative to the scythe, and was granted a British patent on August 31, 1830. Budding's first machine was wide with a frame made of wrought iron. The mower was pushed from behind. Cast-iron gear wheels transmitted power from the rear roller to the


title: "Lawn mower" content: cutting cylinder, allowing the rear roller to drive the knives on the cutting cylinder; the ratio was 16:1. Another roller placed between the cutting cylinder and the main or land roller could be raised or lowered to alter the height of cut. The grass clippings were hurled forward into a tray-like box. It was soon realized, however, that an extra handle was needed in front to help pull the machine along. Overall, these machines were remarkably similar to modern mowers. Two of the earliest Budding machines sold went to Regent's Park Zoological Gardens in London and the Oxford Colleges. In


title: "Lawn mower" content: an agreement between John Ferrabee and Edwin Budding dated May 18, 1830, Ferrabee paid the costs of enlarging the small blades, obtained letters of patent and acquired rights to manufacture, sell and license other manufacturers in the production of lawn mowers. Without patent, Budding and Ferrabee were shrewd enough to allow other companies to build copies of their mower under license, the most successful of these being Ransomes of Ipswich, which began making mowers as early as 1832. His machine was the catalyst for the preparation of modern-style sporting ovals, playing fields (pitches), grass courts, etc. This led to the


title: "Lawn mower" content: codification of modern rules for many sports, including for football, lawn bowls, lawn tennis and others. It took ten more years and further innovations to create a machine that could be drawn by animals, and sixty years before a steam-powered lawn mower was built. In the 1850s, Thomas Green & Son of Leeds introduced a mower called the Silens Messor (meaning silent cutter), which used a chain drive to transmit power from the rear roller to the cutting cylinder. These machines were lighter and quieter than the gear-driven machines that preceded them, although they were slightly more expensive. The rise


title: "Lawn mower" content: in popularity of lawn sports helped prompt the spread of the invention. Lawn mowers became a more efficient alternative to the scythe and domesticated grazing animals. Manufacture of lawn mowers took off in the 1860s. By 1862, Ferrabee's company was making eight models in various roller sizes. He manufactured over 5000 machines until production ceased in 1863. The first grass boxes were flat trays but took their present shape in the 1860s. James Sumner of Lancashire patented the first steam-powered lawn mower in 1893. His machine burned petrol and/or paraffin (kerosene) as fuel. These were heavy machines that took several


title: "Lawn mower" content: hours to warm up to operating pressure. After numerous advances, these machines were sold by the Stott Fertilizer and Insecticide Company of Manchester and Sumner. The company they both controlled was called the Leyland Steam Motor Company. Around 1900, one of the best known English machines was the Ransomes' Automaton, available in chain- or gear-driven models. Numerous manufacturers entered the field with petrol (gasoline) engine-powered mowers after the start of the 20th century. The first was produced by Ransomes in 1902. JP Engineering of Leicester, founded after World War I, produced a range of very popular chain-driven mowers. About this


title: "Lawn mower" content: time, an operator could ride behind animals that pulled the large machines. These were the first riding mowers. The first United States patent for a reel lawn mower was granted to Amariah Hills on January 12, 1868. In 1870, Elwood McGuire of Richmond, Indiana designed a human-pushed lawn mower, which was very lightweight and a commercial success. John Burr patented an improved rotary-blade lawn mower in 1899, with the wheel placement altered for better performance. Amariah Hills went on to found the Archimedean Lawn Mower Co. in 1871. In the United States, gasoline-powered lawn mowers were first manufactured in 1914


title: "Lawn mower" content: by Ideal Power Mower Co. of Lansing, Michigan, based on a patent by Ransom E. Olds. Ideal Power Mower also introduced the world's first self-propelled, riding lawn tractor in 1922, known as the "Triplex". The roller-drive lawn mower has changed very little since around 1930. "Gang mowers", those with multiple sets of blades to cut a wider swath, were built in the United States in 1919 by the Worthington Mower Company. In the 1920s one of the most successful companies to emerge during this period was Atco, at that time a brand name of Charles H Pugh Ltd. The Atco


title: "Lawn mower" content: motor mower, launched in 1921 was an immediate success. Just 900 of the 22-inch-cut machines were made in 1921, each costing £75. Within five years, annual production had accelerated to tens of thousands. Prices were reduced and a range of sizes was available, making the Standard the first truly mass-produced engine-powered mower. Rotary mowers were not developed until engines were small enough and powerful enough to run the blades at sufficient speed. Many people experimented with rotary blade mowers in the late 1920s and early 1930s, and Power Specialties Ltd. introduced a gasoline-powered rotary mower. Kut Kwick replaced the saw


title: "Lawn mower" content: blade of the "Pulp Saw" with a double-edged blade and a cutter deck, converting the "Pulp Saw" into the first ever out-front rotary mower. One company that produced rotary mowers commercially was the Australian Victa company, starting in 1952. Its mowers were lighter and easier to use than similar ones that had come before. The first Victa mowers were made at Mortlake, an inner suburb of Sydney, by local resident Mervyn Victor Richardson. He made his first model out of scrap in his garage. The first Victa mowers were then manufactured, going on sale on 20 September 1952. The new


title: "Lawn mower" content: company, Victa Mowers Pty Ltd, was incorporated on 13 February 1953. The venture was so successful that by 1958 the company moved to much larger premises in Parramatta Road, Concord, and then to Milperra, by which time the mower incorporated an engine, designed and manufactured by Victa, which was specially designed for mowing, rather than employing a general-purpose engine bought from outside suppliers. Two Victa mowers, from 1958 and 1968 respectively, are held in the collection of the National Museum of Australia. The Victa mower is regarded as something of an Australian icon, appearing en masse, in simulated form, at


title: "Lawn mower" content: the opening of the Sydney Olympic Games in 2000. A cylinder mower or reel mower carries a fixed, horizontal cutting blade at the desired height of cut. Over this is a fast-spinning reel of blades which force the grass past the cutting bar. Each blade in the blade cylinder forms a helix around the reel axis, and the set of spinning blades describes a cylinder. Of all the mowers, a properly adjusted cylinder mower makes the cleanest cut of the grass, and this allows the grass to heal more quickly. The cut of a well-adjusted cylinder mower is straight and


title: "Lawn mower" content: definite, as if cut with a pair of scissors. This clean cut promotes healthier, thicker and more resilient lawn growth that is more resistant to disease, weeds and parasites. Lawn cut with a cylinder mower is less likely to result in yellow, white or brown discolouration as a result of leaf shredding. While the cutting action is often likened to that of scissors, it is not necessary for the blades of the spinning cylinder to contact the horizontal cutting bar. If the gap between the blades is less than the thickness of the grass blades, a clean cut can still


title: "Lawn mower" content: be made. If more, however, the grass will slip through. Reel mowers also have more difficulty mowing over uneven terrain. There are many variants of the cylinder mower. Push mowers have no engine and are usually used on smaller lawn areas where access is a problem, where noise pollution is undesirable and where air pollution is unwanted. As the mower is pushed along, the wheels drive gears which rapidly spin the reel. Typical cutting widths are . Advances in materials and engineering have resulted in these mowers being very light and easy to operate and manoeuvre compared with their predecessors


title: "Lawn mower" content: while still giving all the cutting advantages of professional cylinder mowers. Their distinct environmental benefits, both in noise and air pollution, are also strong selling points, something not lost on many international zoos, animal sanctuaries and exclusive hotel groups. The basic push mower mechanism is also used in gangs towed behind a tractor. The individual mowers are arranged in a "v" behind the tractor with each mower's track slightly overlapping that of the mower in front of it. Gang mowers are used over large areas of turf such as sports fields or parks. A gasoline engine or electric motor can


title: "Lawn mower" content: be added to a cylinder mower to power the cylinder, the wheels, the roller, or any combination of these. A typical arrangement on electric powered machines for residential lawns is for the motor to power the cylinder while the operator pushes the mower along. The electric models can be corded or cordless. On petrol machines the engine drives both the cylinder and the rear roller. Some variants have only three blades in a reel spinning at great speed, and these models are able to cut grass which has grown too long for ordinary push mowers. One type of reel mower,


title: "Lawn mower" content: now largely obsolete, was a powered version of the traditional side-wheel push mower, which was used on residential lawns. An internal combustion engine sat atop the reel housing and drove the wheels, usually through a belt. The wheels in turn drove the reel, as in the push mower. Greens mowers are used for the precision cutting of golf greens and have a cylinder made up of at least eight, but normally ten, blades. The machine has a roller before and after the cutting cylinder which smooths the freshly cut lawn and minimizes wheel marks. Due to the weight, the engine


title: "Lawn mower" content: also propels the mower. Much smaller and lighter variants of the roller mower are sometimes used for small patches of ornamental lawns around flower beds, and these have no engine. Riding reel mowers are also produced. Typically, the cutting reels are ahead of the vehicle's main wheels, so that the grass can be cut before the wheels push the grass over onto the ground. The reels are often hydraulically powered. The main parts of a cylinder or reel mower are: A rotary mower rotates about a vertical axis with the blade spinning at high speed relying on impact to cut


title: "Lawn mower" content: the grass. This tends to result in a rougher cut and bruises and shreds the grass leaf resulting in discolouration of the leaf ends as the shredded portion dies. This is particularly prevalent if the blades become clogged or blunt. Most rotary mowers need to be set a little higher than cylinder equivalents to avoid scalping and gouging of slightly uneven lawns, although some modern rotaries are fitted with a rear roller to provide a more formal striped cut. These machines will also tend to cut lower (13 mm) than a standard four-wheeled rotary. The main parts of a rotary


title: "Lawn mower" content: mower are: Extensive grass trimming was not common before the widespread application of the vertical shaft single cylinder gasoline/petrol engine. In the United States this development paralleled the market penetration of companies such as the Briggs & Stratton company of Wisconsin. Most rotary push mowers are powered by internal combustion engines. Such engines are usually four-stroke engines, used for their greater torque and cleaner combustion (although a number of older models used two-stroke engines), running on gasoline (petrol) or other liquid fuels. Internal combustion engines used with lawn mowers normally have only one cylinder. Power generally ranges from four to


title: "Lawn mower" content: seven horsepower. The engines usually have a carburetor and require a manual pull crank to start them, although an electric starter is offered on some models, particularly large riding and commercial mowers. Some mowers have a throttle control on the handlebar with which the operator can adjust the engine speed. Other mowers have a fixed, pre-set engine speed. All are equipped with a governor (often centrifugal/mechanical or air vane style) to open the throttle as needed to maintain the pre-selected speed when the force needed to cut the thicker or taller grass is encountered. Gasoline mowers have the advantages over


title: "Lawn mower" content: electric mowers of greater power and distance range. They do create a significant amount of pollution due to the combustion in the engine, and their engines require periodic maintenance such as cleaning or replacement of the spark plug and air filter, and changing the engine oil. Electric mowers are further subdivided into corded and cordless electric models. Both are relatively quiet, typically producing less than 75 decibels, while a gasoline lawn mower can be 95 decibels or more. Corded electric mowers are limited in range by their trailing power cord, which may limit their use with lawns extending outward more


title: "Lawn mower" content: than 100–150 feet (30–45 m) from the nearest available power outlet. There is the additional hazard with these machines of accidentally mowing over the power cable, which stops the mower and may put users at risk of receiving a dangerous electric shock. Installing a residual-current device (GFCI) on the outlet may reduce the shock risk. Cordless electric mowers are powered by a variable number (typically 1–4) of 12-volt, 56-volt, and 80-volt rechargeable batteries. Typically, more batteries mean more run time and/or power (and more weight). Batteries can be in the interior of the lawn mower or on the outside. If


title: "Lawn mower" content: on the outside, the depleted batteries can be quickly swapped with recharged batteries. Cordless mowers have the maneuverability of a gasoline-powered mower and the environmental friendliness of a corded electric mower, but they are more expensive and come in fewer models (particularly the self-propelling type) than either. The eventual disposal of worn-out batteries is problematic (though some manufacturers offer to recycle them), and the motors in some cordless mowers tend to be less powerful than gasoline motors of the same total weight (including batteries). While considered antiquated with the invention of powered mowers, the original type of push-powered reel mowers


title: "Lawn mower" content: are still available. The reel is attached to the mower's wheels by gears, so that when the mower is pushed forward, the reel spins several times faster than the plastic or rubber-tired wheels turn. These types of reel mowers offer the benefit of zero pollution being produced. Since all of the energy necessary comes from the user, however, this method of mowing is the most strenuous and is not recommended for large lawns. Depending on the placement of the reel, these mowers often cannot cut grass very close to lawn obstacles, like trees, driveways, edging, etc., and also require a


title: "Lawn mower" content: very smooth lawn surface to operate properly without bottoming out the cutter bar. Hover mowers are powered rotary push lawn mowers that use an impeller above the spinning blades to drive air downward, thereby creating an air cushion that lifts the mower above the ground. The operator can then easily move the mower as it floats over the grass. Hover mowers are necessarily light in order to achieve the air cushion and typically have plastic bodies with an electric motor. The most significant disadvantage, however, is the cumbersome usability in rough terrain or on the edges of lawns, as the


title: "Lawn mower" content: lifting air-cushion is destroyed by wide gaps between the chassis and the ground. Hover mowers are built to operate on steep slopes, waterfronts, and high-weeded areas, so they are often used by golf course greenskeepers and commercial landscapers. Grass collection is often available, but can be poor in some models. The quality of cut can be inferior if the grass is pushed away from the blade by the cushion of air. A robotic mower is contained by a border wire around the lawn that defines the area to be mowed. The robot uses this wire to locate the boundary of


title: "Lawn mower" content: the area to be trimmed and in some cases to locate a recharging dock. Robotic mowers are capable of maintaining up to of grass. Robotic lawn mowers are increasingly sophisticated, are usually self-docking and contain rain sensors, nearly eliminating human interaction for mowing grass. Multiple robotic mowers can be used to mow an even larger area. Tractor pulled mowers are usually in the form of an attachment to a tractor. The attachments can simply function by the movement of the tractor similar to manual push cylinder mowers, but also sometimes may have powered moving blades. They are commonly mounted on


title: "Lawn mower" content: either the side or the back of the tractor. Riding mowers (U.S. and Canada) or ride-on mowers (U.K. and Canada) are a popular alternative for large lawns. The operator is provided with a seat and controls on the mower and literally rides on the machine. Most use the horizontal rotating blade system, though usually with multiple blades. A common form of ride-on mower is the lawn tractor. These are usually designed to resemble a small agricultural tractor, with the cutting deck mounted amidships between the front and rear axles. The drives for these mowers are in several categories. The most


title: "Lawn mower" content: common transmission for tractors is a manual transmission. The second most common transmission type is a form of continuously variable transmission, called the hydrostatic transmission. These transmissions take several forms, from pumps driving separate motors, which may incorporate a gear reduction, to fully integrated units containing a pump, motor and gear reduction. Hydrostatic transmissions are more expensive than mechanical transmissions, but they are easier to use and can transmit greater torque to the wheels compared to a typical mechanical transmission. The least common drive type, and the most expensive, is electric. There have been a number of attempts to replace


title: "Lawn mower" content: hydrostatic transmissions with lower cost alternatives, but these attempts, which include variable belt types, e.g., MTD's "Auto Drive", and toroidal, have various performance or perception problems that have caused their market life to be short or their market penetration to be limited. Riding lawn mowers can often mount other devices, such as rototillers/rotavators, snow plows, snow blowers, yard vacuums, occasionally even front buckets or fork-lift tines (these are more properly known as "lawn tractors" in this case, being designed for a number of tasks). The deck of a rotary mower is typically made of steel. Lighter steel is used on


title: "Lawn mower" content: less expensive models, and heavier steel on more expensive models for durability. Other deck materials include aluminium, which does not rust and is a staple of higher priced mowers, and hard composite plastic, which does not rust and is lighter and less expensive than aluminium. Electric mowers typically have a plastic deck. Riding mowers typically have an opening in the side or rear of the housing where the cut grass is expelled, as do most rotary lawn mowers. Some have a grass catcher attachment at the opening to bag the grass clippings. Mulching mowers Special mulching blades are available for


title: "Lawn mower" content: rotary mowers. The blade is designed to keep the clippings circulating underneath the mower until the clippings are chopped quite small. Other designs have twin blades to mulch the clippings to small pieces. This function has the advantages of forgoing the additional work collecting and disposing grass clippings while reducing lawn waste in such a way that also creates convenient compost for the lawn, forgoing the expense and adverse environmental effect of fertilizer. Mower manufacturers market their mowers as side discharge, 2-in-1, meaning bagging and mulching or side discharging and mulching, and 3-in-1, meaning bagging, mulching, and side discharge. Most


title: "Lawn mower" content: 2-in-1 bagging and mulching mowers require a separate attachment to discharge grass onto the lawn. Some side discharge mower manufacturers also sell separate "mulching plates" that will cover the opening on the side discharge mower and, in combination with the proper blades, will convert the mower to a mulching mower. These conversions are impractical when compared with 2- or 3-in-1 mowers which can be converted in the field in seconds. There are two types of bagging mowers. A rear bag mower features an opening on the back of the mower through which the grass is expelled into the bag. Hi-vac


title: "Lawn mower" content: mowers have a tunnel that extends from the side discharge to the bag. Hi-vac is also the type of grass collection used on some riding lawn mowers and lawn tractors and is suitable for use in dry conditions but less suitable for long wet lush grass as they often clog up. Mulching and bagging mowers are not well suited to long grass or thick weeds. In some ride-on mowers, the cut grass is dropped onto the ground and then collected by a set of rotating bristles, allowing even long, wet grass to be collected. Rotary mowers with internal combustion engines


title: "Lawn mower" content: come in three price ranges. Low priced mowers use older technology, smaller motors, and lighter steel decks. These mowers are targeted at the residential market and typically price is the most important selling point. Professional grass-cutting equipment (used by large establishments such as universities, sports stadiums and local authorities) usually take the form of much larger, dedicated, ride-on platforms or attachments that can be mounted on, or behind, a standard tractor unit (a "gang-mower"). Either type may use rotating-blade or cylindrical-blade type cutters, although high-quality mowed surfaces demand the latter. Wide-area mowers (WAMs) are commercial grade mowers which have decks


title: "Lawn mower" content: extended to either side, many to . These extensions can be lowered for large area mowing or raised to decrease the mower's width and allow for easy transport on city roads or trailers. Commercial lawn-mowing companies have also enthusiastically adopted types such as the zero-turn mower (in both ride-on and stand-on versions), which allow high-speed over the grass surface, and rapid turn-around at the end of rows, as well as excellent maneuverability around obstacles. Rotary mowers can throw out debris with extreme velocity and energy. Additionally, the blades of a self-powered push mower (gasoline or electric) can injure a careless


title: "Lawn mower" content: or inattentive user; as such, many come equipped with a dead man's switch to immediately disable the blade rotation when the user is no longer holding the handle. In the United States, over 12,000 people per year are hospitalized as a result of lawn mower accidents. The vast majority of these injuries can be prevented by wearing protective footwear when mowing. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children be at least 12 years old before they are allowed to use a walk-behind lawn mower and at least 16 years of age before using a riding mower. They also should


title: "Lawn mower" content: demonstrate proper judgment and maturity. Persons using a mower should wear heavy footwear, eye protection, and hearing protection in the case of engine-powered mowers. A 2001 study showed that some mowers produce the same amount of pollution (emissions other than carbon dioxide) in one hour as driving a 1992 model vehicle for . Another estimate puts the amount of pollution from a lawn mower at four times the amount from a car, per hour, although this report is no longer available. Beginning in 2011, the United States Environmental Protection Agency set standards for lawn equipment emissions and expects a reduction


title: "Lawn mower" content: of at least 35 percent. Lawn mowers produce GHG emissions. A minimum-maintained lawn management practice with clipping recycling, and minimum irrigation and mowing, is recommended to mitigate global warming effects from urban turfgrass system Mowers can create significant noise pollution, and could cause hearing loss if used without hearing protection for prolonged periods of time. Lawn mowers also present an occupational hearing hazard to the nearly 1 million people who work in lawn service and ground-keeping. A recent study assessed the occupational noise exposure among groundskeepers at several North Carolina public universities and found noise levels from push lawn mowers


title: "Lawn mower" content: measured between 86-95 decibels (A-weighted) and from riding lawn mowers between 88 and 96 dB(A); both types exceeded the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Recommended Exposure Limit of 85 dB(A). To reduce the possibility of developing hearing loss and reduce noise pollution, users might consider the use of reel mowers or newer "green" or battery-operated mowers. Appropriate hearing protection such as earplugs or earmuffs will also help reduce the amount of sound that the user hears, which in turn can reduce hearing loss caused by lawnmowers. Lawn mower A lawn mower (also named as mower or lawnmower)


title: "Battersea Park railway station" content: were conveyed forward to Victoria at 10:58 by a special train, the unobstructed Slow lines having been re-energised for electric trains at 10:45 after an initial complete isolation of the conductor rails in the area. During the day the damaged trains were made fit to move and hauled into sidings so that, there being no damage to the track or signalling equipment, normal working was resumed at 16:12. The West End of London and Crystal Palace Railway opened an engine shed off what is now Prince of Wales Drive on 29 March 1858. It closed in 1877. The London Brighton


title: "Epilobium canum" content: Epilobium canum Epilobium canum, also known as California fuchsia or Zauschneria, is a species of willowherb in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae). It is native to dry slopes and in chaparral of western North America, especially California. It is a perennial plant, notable for the profusion of bright scarlet flowers in late summer and autumn. The name reflects that in the past it used to be treated in a distinct genus "Zauschneria", but modern studies have shown that it is best placed within the genus "Epilobium". Other common names include California-fuchsia (from the resemblance of the flowers to those of


title: "Epilobium canum" content: fuchsias), hummingbird flower or hummingbird trumpet (the flowers are very attractive to hummingbirds), and firechalice. The original genus name was in honor of Johann Baptista Josef Zauschner (1737–1799), a professor of medicine and botany in Prague. It is a subshrub growing to 60 cm tall. Native populations of these plants exhibit considerable variation in appearance and habit. The small leaves may be opposite or alternate, lance-shaped or ovate, with short to nonexistent stalks, and range in color from green to nearly white. Overall shape may be matting or mounding, the plants commonly spreading via rhizomes. The racemes of tubular or


title: "Epilobium canum" content: funnel-shaped flowers are terminal, and colors are mostly reddish, ranging from fuchsia to pink to red-orange. The wide degree of variation has led to the description of many subspecies, mostly no longer recognised as distinct due to the extensive intergradation between them; the following are still recognised: As befits their origin, they prefer to be cultivated in well-drained soil exposed to full sun but protected from the wind, and need little watering. A small number of hybrid cultivars have been introduced by various growers, in some cases by working from isolated populations, such as those on Santa Cruz Island off


title: "Epilobium canum" content: the California coast. Epilobium canum Epilobium canum, also known as California fuchsia or Zauschneria, is a species of willowherb in the evening primrose family (Onagraceae). It is native to dry slopes and in chaparral of western North America, especially California. It is a perennial plant, notable for the profusion of bright scarlet flowers in late summer and autumn. The name reflects that in the past it used to be treated in a distinct genus "Zauschneria", but modern studies have shown that it is best placed within the genus "Epilobium". Other common names include California-fuchsia (from the resemblance of the flowers


title: "Electoral reform in New Zealand" content: Electoral reform in New Zealand Electoral reform in New Zealand has, in recent years, become a political issue as major changes have been made to both Parliamentary and local government electoral systems. National elections in New Zealand were first held in 1853 using a simple version of the first-past-the-post (FPP) electoral system and conducted over a period of two and a half months. At this time, the country was divided into 23 electorates who elected either a single member or three members depending on the population within that area. This basic system continued over a great period of time, with


title: "Ted DiBiase" content: for buying #30 in the previous year's Royal Rumble. For his punishment, he was forced to enter as entrant #1. He broke the record at the time by lasting 45 minutes in the Royal Rumble match after entering as the #1 entrant. He eliminated two opponents before he was eliminated by The Ultimate Warrior. This may have foreshadowed Dibiase seeking revenge on Warrior after Warrior became WWF Champion, by facing him several months later at a co-promotional All Japan and New Japan event in the Tokyo Dome. He then continued his feud with Jake Roberts, who stole the Million Dollar


title: "Lazarillo de Tormes" content: Mendoza was generally accepted, until Alfred Paul Victor Morel-Fatio, in 1888, demonstrated the untenability of that candidate. The earliest known editions are the four of Alcalá de Henares, Antwerp, Medina del Campo, and Burgos, all of which appeared in 1554. Two continuations (or second parts) appeared – one, anonymously, in 1555, and the other, accredited to H. Luna, in 1620. There has been some suggestion that the author was originally of Jewish extraction, who in 1492 had to convert to Catholicism to avoid being expelled from Spain; it could be used to explain the animosity towards the Catholic Church displayed


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: Ryugyong Hotel The Ryugyong Hotel (; sometimes spelled as Ryu-Gyong Hotel), or Yu-Kyung Hotel, is an unfinished 105-story, pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ("capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang. The building is also known as the 105 Building, a reference to its number of floors. The building has been planned as a mixed-use development, which would include a hotel. The building is currently listed by Guinness World Records as being the tallest unoccupied building in the world. Construction began in 1987 but was halted in 1992 as North Korea entered a


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: period of economic crisis after the fall of the Soviet Union. After 1992 the building stood topped out, but without any windows or interior fittings. In 2008 construction resumed, and the exterior was completed in 2011. It was planned to open the hotel in 2012, the centenary of Kim Il-sung's birth. A partial opening was announced for 2013, but this was cancelled. , the building remains unopened and has been called the tallest unfinished building in the world. The Ryugyong Hotel is tall, making it the most prominent feature of Pyongyang's skyline and by far the tallest structure in North


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: Korea. Construction of the Ryugyong Hotel was intended to be completed in time for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students in June 1989; had this been achieved, it would have held the title of world's tallest hotel. The unfinished building was not surpassed in height by any new hotel until the 2009 completion of the spire atop the Rose Tower in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The Ryugyong Hotel is the world's 63rd tallest building (tied with the China World Trade Center Tower III, Zhuhai St. Regis Hotel & Office Tower, and Yuexiu Fortune Center l in height) and


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: has the tenth most floors. According to Guinness World Records, it is the tallest unoccupied building in the world. The building consists of three wings, each measuring long, wide, and sloped at a 75‑degree angle, which converge at a common point to form a pinnacle. The building is topped by a truncated cone wide, consisting of eight floors that are intended to rotate, topped by a further six static floors. The structure was originally intended to house five revolving restaurants, and either 3,000 or 7,665 guest rooms, according to different sources. According to Orascom's Khaled Bichara in 2009, the Ryugyong


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: will not be just a hotel, but rather a mixed-use development, including "revolving restaurant" facilities along with a "mixture of hotel accommodation, apartments and business facilities". The plan for a large hotel was reportedly a Cold War response to the completion of the world's tallest hotel, the Westin Stamford Hotel in Singapore, in 1986 by the South Korean company SsangYong Group. North Korean leadership envisioned the project as a channel for Western investors to step into the marketplace. A firm, the Ryugyong Hotel Investment and Management, was established to attract a hoped-for $230 million in foreign investment. A representative for


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: the North Korean government promised relaxed oversight, allowing "foreign investors [to] operate casinos, nightclubs or Japanese lounges". North Korean construction firm Baikdoosan Architects & Engineers (also known as Baekdu Mountain Architects and Engineers) began construction on a pyramid‑shaped hotel in 1987. The hotel was scheduled to open in June 1989 for the 13th World Festival of Youth and Students, but problems with building methods and materials delayed completion. Had it opened on schedule, it would have surpassed the Westin Stamford to become the world's tallest hotel, and would have been the seventh-tallest building in the world. In 1992, after the


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: building had reached its full architectural height, work was halted due to the economic crisis in North Korea following the collapse of the Soviet bloc. Japanese newspapers estimated the cost of construction was $750 million, consuming 2 percent of North Korea’s GDP. For over a decade, the unfinished building sat vacant and without windows, fixtures, or fittings, appearing as a massive concrete shell. A rusting construction crane remained at the top, which the BBC called "a reminder of the totalitarian state's thwarted ambition". According to Marcus Noland, in the late 1990s, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea inspected


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: the building and concluded that the structure was irreparable. Questions were raised regarding the quality of the building's concrete and the alignment of its elevator shafts, which some sources said were "crooked". In a 2006 article, ABC News questioned whether North Korea had sufficient raw materials or energy for such a massive project. A North Korean government official told the "Los Angeles Times" in 2008 that construction was not completed "because [North Korea] ran out of money". Though mocked-up images of the completed hotel had appeared on North Korean stamps during the initial construction period, the North Korean government ignored


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: the building's existence during the construction hiatus even though it dominated the Pyongyang skyline. The government manipulated official photographs in order to remove the unfinished structure from the skyline, and excluded it from printed maps of Pyongyang. The halt in construction, the rumours of problems and the mystery about its future led foreign media sources to dub it "the worst building in the world", "Hotel of Doom" and "Phantom Hotel". In April 2008, after 16 years of inactivity, work on the building was restarted by the Egyptian company Orascom Group. The firm, which had entered into a US$400 million deal


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: with the North Korean government to build and run a 3G mobile phone network, said that their telecommunications deal was not directly related to the Ryugyong Hotel work. In 2008 North Korean officials stated that the hotel would be completed by 2012, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the birth of the "Eternal President", Kim Il-sung. In 2009, Orascom's Chief Operating Officer Khaled Bichara noted that they "had not had too many problems" resolving the reported structural issues of the building, and that a revolving restaurant will be located at the top of the building. In July 2011, it was


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: reported that the exterior work was complete. Features that Orascom had installed include exterior glass panels and telecommunications antennae. In September 2012, photographs taken by Koryo Tours were released, showing the interior for the first time. There were few fixtures or furnishings. In November 2012, international hotel operator Kempinski announced it would be running the hotel which was expected to partially open in mid‑2013. In March 2013, plans to open the hotel were suspended. Kempinski clarified its earlier statements saying that only "initial discussions" had ever occurred, but that no agreement had been signed because “market entry is not currently


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: possible”. Kempinski did not elaborate on its reasons, but commentators suggested that international tensions related to the 2013 North Korean nuclear test, economic risks, and delays in construction probably played a part. In late 2016 there were indications of renewed activity, and a report that a representative of Orascom had visited North Korea. In 2017 and early 2018, there were signs of work at the site, with access roads being constructed. In April 2018, it was reported that a large LED display featuring the North Korean flag had been added to the top of the building. By May, an LED


title: "Ryugyong Hotel" content: display had been added to one entire side of the structure, and there were reports that that the building was being readied for occupation. By July, the LED display was showing animations and movie scenes. Ryugyong Hotel The Ryugyong Hotel (; sometimes spelled as Ryu-Gyong Hotel), or Yu-Kyung Hotel, is an unfinished 105-story, pyramid-shaped skyscraper in Pyongyang, North Korea. Its name ("capital of willows") is also one of the historical names for Pyongyang. The building is also known as the 105 Building, a reference to its number of floors. The building has been planned as a mixed-use development, which would


title: Nachos content: Nachos Nachos is a dish from northern Mexico that consists of tortilla chips (or "totopos") covered with mince and cheese or a cheese-based sauce often served as a snack. More elaborate versions add other ingredients and may be served as a main dish. Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya is credited with creating the dish in about 1943. The original nachos consisted of fried corn tortillas covered with melted cheese and sliced jalapeño peppers. Nachos originated in the city of Piedras Negras, Coahuila, Mexico, just over the border from Eagle Pass, Texas. In 1943, the wives of U.S. soldiers stationed at Fort Duncan


title: Nachos content: in nearby Eagle Pass were in Piedras Negras on a shopping trip, and arrived at the restaurant after it had already closed for the day. The "maître d'hôtel", Ignacio "Nacho" Anaya, created a new snack for them with what little he had available in the kitchen: tortillas and cheese. Anaya cut the tortillas into triangles, fried them, added shredded cheddar cheese, quickly heated them, added sliced pickled jalapeño peppers, and served them. When asked what the dish was called, he answered, "Nacho's "especiales"". As word of the dish traveled, the apostrophe was lost, and Nacho's "specials" became "special nachos". Anaya


title: Nachos content: went on to work at the Moderno Restaurant in Piedras Negras, which still uses the original recipe. He also opened his own restaurant, "Nacho's Restaurant", in Piedras Negras. Anaya's original recipe was printed in the 1954 "St. Anne's Cookbook". The popularity of the dish swiftly spread throughout Texas and the Southwest. The first known appearance of the word "nachos" in English dates to 1950, from the book "A Taste of Texas". According to El Cholo restaurant history, waitress Carmen Rocha is credited with making nachos in San Antonio, Texas, before introducing the dish to Los Angeles at El Cholo Mexican


title: Nachos content: restaurant in 1959. A modified version of the dish, with cheese sauce and prepared tortilla chips, was marketed in 1976 by Frank Liberto, owner of Ricos Products, during Texas Rangers baseball games at Arlington Stadium in Arlington, Texas. This version became known as "ballpark nachos". During the September 4, 1978 "Monday Night Football" game between the Baltimore Colts and Dallas Cowboys, sportscaster Howard Cosell enjoyed the name "nachos", and made a point of mentioning the dish in his broadcasts over the following weeks, further popularizing it and introducing it to a whole new audience. Ignacio Anaya died in 1975. In


title: Nachos content: his honor, a bronze plaque was erected in Piedras Negras, and October 21 was declared the International Day of the Nacho. Anaya's son, Ignacio Anaya, Jr., served as a judge at the annual nacho competition until his death in 2010. The nutritional breakdown and total calorie count for a serving of nachos typically depends on the type of nacho, type of cheese, and additional toppings (such as beef, jalapeños, etc.) that are included in the serving. Most typical corn tortilla chips contain about 15 calories per chip. Baked corn tortilla chips have about 6 calories per chip, making them a


title: Nachos content: healthier alternative option to the usual fried chip. Mexican-style cheddar cheese contains about 110 calories per ounce. Adding an additional source of protein, such as chicken or beef, increases the calorie count by about 100 calories or so. All in all, a single serving of nachos can contain as much as 300–600 total calories. A single serving of nachos also contains significant amounts of fat, sodium, and calcium. There are around 16 grams of fat, 816 mg of sodium, and 272 mg of calcium per serving of nachos. In other words, one serving contains 39% of the daily value for


title: Nachos content: fat, 34% of the daily value for sodium, and 27% of the daily value for calcium. A variation consists of a quartered and fried tostada topped with a layer of refried beans and/or various meats and a layer of shredded cheese or nacho cheese, topped with habanero hot sauce. Other variations include barbecue nachos (in which cheese is replaced with barbecue sauce) and poutine nachos (in which cheddar cheese is replaced with cheese curds and gravy). Although those variations use nontraditional ingredients, these versions are still classified as nachos. Traditional nachos consist of the tortilla chips topped with cheese and


title: Nachos content: jalapenos, as done by Anaya who created "nachos". The modern form of nachos has several possible ingredients with the most common toppings being, cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream, jalapenos, and sometimes lettuce. Lettuce is a less common topping, if added at all. The topping of the greatest quantity is often the cheese. Nachos vary from the modern style served in restaurants to the quick and easy nachos sold at concession stands in stadiums. The nachos sold at concession stands consists of tortilla chips topped with pump-able cheese sauce. The cheese sauce comes in condensed form to which water or milk


title: Nachos content: and pepper juice are added. What is contained in the condensed form itself is a trade secret. Another variation of nachos is "dessert nachos". These vary widely, from cinnamon and sugar on pita chips to "s'more nachos" with marshmallow and chocolate on graham crackers, and typically refer to a dessert consisting of scattered toppings on some form of crispy base. Common toppings include: See also the common cheeses used: Nachos with an abundance of toppings are sometimes called "loaded nachos", "super nachos", or "epic nachos". This type of dish is usually served as an appetizer at bars or restaurants in


title: Nachos content: the United States and elsewhere. Typically, the tortilla chips are arranged on a platter, meat and refried bean toppings are then added, and the entire platter is smothered with shredded cheese. The platter is then put into a broiler or microwave to cause the cheese to melt. The platter is then covered with the cold toppings (shredded lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, jalapeños, etc.) and served immediately. In Memphis, Tennessee, barbecue nachos are served in most barbecue restaurants, and also at sporting events. Generous portions of barbecued pork shoulder are placed atop tortilla chips, then covered with melted cheese or nacho cheese,


title: Nachos content: barbecue sauce, and sliced jalapeño peppers. In Hawaii, kalua pork and pineapple nachos are served in many restaurants and bars. Generous portions of kalua pork and pineapple bits are placed atop tortilla chips, then covered with melted cheese or nacho cheese, and varied toppings. A similar dish that involves tortilla chips and cheese is found in Tex-Mex restaurants. Small bowls of chili con queso and/or, more commonly, salsa, are served with baskets of warm tortilla chips as appetizers. A form of processed cheese sauce mixed with peppers and other spices is often used in place of freshly shredded cheese in


title: Nachos content: institutional or large-scale production settings, such as schools, movie theaters, sports venues, and convenience stores, or wherever using freshly grated cheese may be logistically prohibitive. Though originally formulated as a cheaper and more convenient source of cheese to top nachos, this dip has become popular enough in the U.S. that it is available in some Mexican-themed restaurants, and at major grocery stores, in both name-brand (Frito-Lay, Tostitos, and Taco Bell) and unbranded versions. In the United States, National Nacho Day is celebrated on November 6. The International Nacho Festival is held between October 13 and 15 at Piedras Negras, the


title: Nachos content: birthplace of nachos, and features live music, art, cultural activities, and a "biggest nacho of the world" contest which is registered with the "Guinness World Records". On April 21, 2012, the world's biggest serving of nachos was made by Centerplate at University of Kansas in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. It weighed 4,689 pounds and contained 765 pounds of nacho chips, 405 pounds of salsa, 323 pounds of tomato, 918 pounds of meat and beans, and more than 2,200 pounds of cheese. Nachos Nachos is a dish from northern Mexico that consists of tortilla chips (or "totopos") covered with mince and


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: Eurasian blackcap The Eurasian blackcap ("Sylvia atricapilla") usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which looks quite different


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: but has a similar song. The blackcap breeds in much of Europe, western Asia and northwestern Africa, and its preferred habitat is mature deciduous woodland. The male holds a territory when breeding, which is defended against garden warblers as well as other blackcaps. The nest is a neat cup, built low in brambles or scrub, and the clutch is typically 4–6 mainly buff eggs, which hatch in about 11 days. The chicks fledge in 11–12 days, but are cared for by both adults for some time after leaving the nest. The blackcap is a partial migrant; birds from the colder


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: areas of its range winter in scrub or trees in northwestern Europe, around the Mediterranean and in tropical Africa. Some German birds have adapted to spending the winter in gardens in Great Britain and Ireland. Insects are the main food in the breeding season, but, for the rest of the year, blackcaps survive primarily on small fruit. Garden birds also eat bread, fat and peanuts in winter. Despite extensive hunting in Mediterranean countries and the natural hazards of predation and disease, the blackcap has been extending its range for several decades, and is classified by the International Union for Conservation


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: of Nature as Least Concern. Its rich and varied song has led to it being described as the "mock nightingale" and it has featured in literature, films and music. In Messiaen's opera "Saint François d'Assise", the saint is represented by themes based on the blackcap's song. The genus "Sylvia", the typical warblers, forms part of a large family of Old World warblers, the Sylviidae. The blackcap and its nearest relative, the garden warbler, are an ancient species pair which diverged very early from the rest of the genus at between 12 and 16 million years ago. In the course of


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: time, these two species have become sufficiently distinctive that they have been placed in separate subgenera, with the blackcap in subgenus "Sylvia" and the garden warbler in "Epilais". These sister species have a breeding range which extends farther northeast than all other "Sylvia" species except the lesser whitethroat and common whitethroat. The nearest relatives of the garden warbler outside the sister group are believed to be the African hill babbler and Dohrn's thrush-babbler, both of which should probably be placed in "Sylvia" rather than their current genera, "Pseudoalcippe" and "Horizorhinus" respectively. The blackcap was one of the many bird species


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: originally described by Linnaeus in the landmark 1758 10th edition of his "Systema Naturae", as "Motacilla atricapilla". The current genus name is from Modern Latin "silvia", a woodland sprite, related to "silva", a wood. The species name, like the English name, refers to the male's black cap. "Atricapilla" is from the Latin "ater", "black", and "capillus", "hair (of the head)". Fossils and subfossils of the blackcap have been found in a number of European countries; the oldest, dated to 1.2–1.0 million years ago, are from the Early Pleistocene of Bulgaria. Fossils from France show that the genus "Sylvia" dates back


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: at least 20 million years. The differences between subspecies are small, making subspecific boundaries hard to define, and the exact distribution of "S. a. heineken" is unclear, since birds from northwest Africa may be of this form. About 2% of male blackcaps on Madeira and the Azores are melanistic, with black plumage on the whole head and upper breast. Melanistic females are rarer, and are characterised by grey-brown underparts. This dark morph has also been recorded from the Canary Islands, but not from Cape Verde. The melanistic birds were formerly sometimes considered to be a distinct subspecies, "S. a. obscura".


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: The blackcap is a mainly grey warbler with distinct male and female plumages. The nominate subspecies is about long with a wing length. The weight is typically , but can be up to for birds preparing to migrate. The adult male has olive-grey upperparts, other than a paler grey nape and a neat black cap on the head. The underparts are light grey, becoming silvery white on the chin, throat and upper breast. The tail is dark grey, with an olive tint to the outer edge of each feather. The bill and long legs are grey, and the iris is


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: reddish brown. The female resembles the male, but has a reddish-brown cap and a slightly browner tone to the grey of the upperparts. Juveniles are similar to the female, but their upperparts have a slight rufous tinge, and the breast and flanks have a more olive tone; young males have a darker brown cap than their female counterparts. This species is unmistakable; other dark-headed "Sylvia" species, such Sardinian and Orphean warblers have extensive black on the head instead of a small cap. They are also larger and have white edges on the tail. Blackcaps have a complete moult in their


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: breeding areas in August and September prior to migration. Some birds, typically those migrating the greatest distances, have a further partial moult between December and March. Juveniles replace their loosely structured body feathers with adult plumage, starting earlier, but taking longer to complete, than the adults. Blackcaps breeding in the north of the range have an earlier and shorter post-juvenile moult than those further south, and cross-breeding of captive birds shows that the timing is genetically controlled. The male's song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, which is given in bursts of up to


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: 30 seconds. The song is repeated for about two-and-a-half minutes, with a short pause before each repetition. In some geographically isolated areas, such as islands, peninsulas and valleys in the Alps, a simplified fluting song occurs, named the "Leiern" (drawling) song by the German ornithologists who first described it. The song's introduction is like that of other blackcaps, but the final warbling part is a simple alternation between two notes, as in a great tit's call but more fluting. The main song is confusable with that of the garden warbler, but it is slightly higher pitched than in that species,


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: more broken into discrete song segments, and less mellow. Both species have a quiet subsong, a muted version of the full song, which is even more difficult to separate. The blackcap occasionally mimics the song of other birds, the most frequently copied including the garden warbler and the common nightingale. The main call is a hard "tac-tac", like stones knocking together, and other vocalisations include a squeaking "sweet" alarm, and a low-pitched trill similar to that of a garden warbler. Male blackcaps will sometimes sing even when incubating, especially with the second brood. This appears to be intended to maintain


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: the bond with the female. Wintering birds in Africa are quiet initially, but start singing in January or February prior to their return north. The continental breeding range of the blackcap lies between the 14–30° July isotherms, and is occupied by the nominate subspecies, the other forms being restricted to islands or fringe areas in the Caucasus and eastern Iberia. Birds on the Mediterranean and Atlantic islands and in the milder west and south of the main Eurasian distribution often winter within the nesting range, but populations elsewhere are migratory. The blackcap is a leap-frog migrant; birds from the north


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: of the breeding range travel furthest south, whereas Mediterranean breeders move much shorter distances. The wintering areas overlap with the breeding range, but also include extensive areas in West Africa, East Africa south to Lake Malawi, and further north in Ethiopia, South Sudan and Eritrea. The large majority of birds wintering in eastern Africa are of the southwest Asian race, "S. a. dammholzi". There is a migratory divide in Europe at longitude 10–11°E. Birds to the west of this line head southwest towards Iberia or West Africa, whereas populations to the east migrate to the eastern Mediterranean and on to


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: East Africa. Cross-breeding in captivity of birds from the resident population on the Canary Islands with migratory blackcaps from Germany showed the urge to migrate is genetically controlled, the offspring showing intermediate behaviour in terms of restlessness at migration time. Similar experiments using birds from southern Germany and eastern Austria, on opposite sides of the migratory divide, demonstrated that the direction of migration is also genetically determined. Climate change appears to be affecting the migration pattern of the garden warbler and blackcap. Both are arriving in Europe earlier than previously, and blackcaps and juvenile (but not adult) garden warblers are


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: departing nearly two weeks later than in the 1980s. Birds of both species are longer-winged and lighter than in the past, suggesting a longer migration as the breeding range expands northwards. In recent decades, substantial numbers of central European birds have taken to wintering in gardens in Great Britain, and, to a lesser extent, Ireland, where the blackcap was formerly just a summer visitor. Although the British climate is sub-optimal, compensatory factors include the ready availability of food, (particularly from bird tables), a shorter migration distance, and the avoidance of the Alps and the Sahara Desert. These wintering birds come


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: from Germany, and isotope analysis (which enables the wintering location to be determined) showed that the German birds wintering in Britain tend to mate only among themselves, and do not usually interbreed with those wintering in the Mediterranean or western Africa. This is because the British migrants arrive back on the breeding grounds earlier than blackcaps wintering around the Mediterranean, and form pairs before the southern birds arrive. Mixed pairings are also selected against because the hybrid young would migrate in an intermediate direction, which would take them into the Bay of Biscay. The blackcap's main breeding habitat is mature


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: deciduous woodland, with good scrub cover below the trees. Other habitats, such as parks, large gardens and overgrown hedges, are used as long as they meet the essential requirements of tall trees for songposts and an established understory. Where other "Sylvia" warblers also breed, blackcaps tend to use taller trees than their relatives, preferably those with a good canopy, such as pedunculate oak. In prime habitat, breeding densities reach 100–200 pairs per square kilometre (250–500 pairs per square mile) in northern Europe, and 500–900 pairs per square kilometre (1,250–2,250 pairs per square mile) in Italy. Densities are much lower in


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: poorer habitats such as conifer forests. Breeding occurs in Europe at altitudes up to . The preferred winter habitat around the Mediterranean is scrub and olive orchards, where densities approach the levels found in the best breeding areas. The British wintering population is atypical, with 95% found in gardens, mostly in towns at altitudes below . In Africa, habitats include cultivated land, acacia scrub, mangroves and forest, and these warblers are found at altitudes up to in the east of the continent. Wintering birds wander in search of good fruit supplies, but often stay in good feeding areas, and return


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: in subsequent winters. Migrants may occur in a wide variety of habitats, such as reed bed and fen, but show a preference for shrubland. When male blackcaps return to their breeding areas, they establish a territory. Adults that have previously bred return to the site they have used in previous summers, whereas inexperienced birds either wander until they find a suitable area, or establish a very large initial territory which contracts under pressure from neighbours. Territorial boundaries are established initially by loud singing, performed while the male displays with his crown raised, tail fanned and slow wingbeats. This display is


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: followed, if necessary, by a chase, often leading to a fight. The typical territory size in a French study was , but in insect-rich tall maquis in Gibraltar, the average was only . Females feed within a home range which may overlap other blackcap territories, and covers up to six times the area of the defended zone. "Sylvia" warblers are unusual in that they vigorously defend their territories against other members of their genus as well as conspecifics. Blackcaps and garden warblers use identical habits in the same wood, yet aggressive interactions mean that their territories never overlap. Similar songs


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: are a feature of the "Sylvia" warblers as a group, and it has been suggested that this promotes interspecific competition and helps to segregate territories between related species. It appears more likely from later studies that segregation of sympatric species, other than the blackcap and garden warbler, is due to subtle habitat preferences rather than interspecies aggression. Blackcaps first breed when they are one year old, and are mainly monogamous, although both sexes may sometimes deviate from this. A male attracts a female to his territory through song and a display involving raising the black crown feathers, fluffing the tail,


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: slow wingbeats, and a short flapping flight. He also builds one or more simple nests (cock nests), usually near his songpost. The final nest, which may be one of the cock nests or built from scratch, is a neat cup of roots, stems and grasses lined with fine material such as hair. The nest is typically deep and across, and is built in the cover of bramble, scrubs or trees. It is constructed mainly by the female, and may be up to above the ground, although lower than is more typical. The clutch is typically 4–6 eggs (range 2–7), which


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: are usually buff with grey and brown blotches and a few dark brown spots. The average size of the egg is . The eggs are incubated for an average of 11 days (range 10–16). Both adults incubate, although only the female stays on the nest at night. The chicks are altricial, hatching naked and with closed eyes, and are fed by both parents. They fledge about 11–12 days after hatching, leaving the nest shortly before they are able to fly. They are assisted with feeding for a further two or three weeks. If the nest is threatened, the non-incubating bird


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: gives an alarm call so that the sitting parent and chicks stay still and quiet. A male blackcap may mob a potential predator, or try to lure it away with disjointed runs and flaps on the ground. The blackcap normally raises just one brood, but second nestings are sometimes recorded, particularly in the milder climate of the Mediterranean and the Atlantic islands; triple brooding has been observed once, the female laying a total of 23 eggs in the season. Of eggs laid, 65–93% hatch successfully, and 75–92% of the chicks go on to fledge. The productivity (young fledged per nest)


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: varies with location, level of predation and quality of habitat, but the national figure for the UK was 2.5. The adult annual survival rate is 43% (males 46%, females 29%), and 36% of juveniles live through their first year. The typical life expectancy is two years, but the record is 13 years and 10 months for a bird in the Czech Republic. The blackcap feeds mainly on insects during the breeding season, then switches to fruit in late summer, the change being triggered by an internal biological rhythm. When migrants arrive on their territories they initially take berries, pollen and


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: nectar if there are insufficient insects available, then soon switch to their preferred diet. They mainly pick prey off foliage and twigs, but may occasionally hover, flycatch or feed on the ground. Blackcaps eat a wide range of invertebrate prey, although aphids are particularly important early in the season, and flies, beetles and caterpillars are also taken in large numbers. Small snails are swallowed whole, since the shell is a source of calcium for the bird's eggs. Chicks are mainly fed soft-bodied insects, fruit only being provided if invertebrates are scarce. In July, the diet switches increasingly to fruit. The


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: protein needed for egg-laying and for the chicks to grow is replaced by fruit sugar which helps the birds to fatten for migration. Aphids are still taken while they are available, since they often contain sugars from the plant sap on which they feed. Blackcaps eat a wide range of small fruit, and squeeze out any seeds on a branch before consuming the pulp. This technique makes them an important propagator of mistletoe. The mistle thrush, which also favours that plant, is less beneficial since it tends to crush the seeds. Although any suitable fruit may be eaten, some have


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: seasonal or local importance; elder makes up a large proportion of the diet of northern birds preparing for migration, and energy-rich olives and lentisc are favoured by blackcaps wintering in the Mediterranean. The German birds wintering in British gardens rely on provided food, and the major items are bread and fat, each making up around 20% of the diet; one bird survived the whole winter eating only Christmas cake. Fruit is also eaten, notably cotoneaster (41% of the fruit consumed), ivy and honeysuckle, and apple if available. Some birds have learned to take peanuts from feeders. Blackcaps defend good winter


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: food sources in the wild, and at garden feeding stations they repel competitors as large as starlings and blackbirds. Birds occasionally become tame enough to feed from the hand. Blackcaps are caught by Eurasian sparrowhawks in the breeding range, and by Eleonora's falcons on migration. Eurasian jays and Eurasian magpies take eggs and young, as do mammals such as stoats, weasels and squirrels. Domestic cats are the most important predator, possibly killing up to 10% of blackcaps. Blackcaps are occasionally hosts of the common cuckoo, a brood parasite. The level of parasitism is low because the cuckoo's eggs are often


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: rejected. Blackcaps have evolved adaptations which make it difficult for the parasitic species to succeed, despite the cuckoo's tendency to lay eggs which resemble those of their host. Blackcaps are good at spotting alien eggs, and their own eggs are very alike within a clutch, making it easier to spot the intruder. There is, however, considerable variation between different clutches, making it harder for the cuckoo to convincingly mimic a blackcap egg. The open habitat and cup nest of the warbler make it a potential target for the cuckoo; it may have experienced much higher levels of parasitism in the


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: past, and countermeasures would have spread rapidly once they evolved. The only blood parasites found in a study of blackcaps trapped on migration were protozoans from the genera "Haemoproteus" and "Plasmodium". Of those affected, 45.5% were males and 22.7% were females, but the number of parasites was small, and the ability to store fat for the migration flight was unimpaired. Seventeen strains of "H. parabelopolskyi" are found only in the blackcap, and form a monophyletic group; three further members of that group are found only in the garden warbler, and another three occur in the African hill babbler, supporting the


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: shared ancestry of the three bird species. The protozoan "Isospora ashmoonensis" was first identified in a blackcap in Egypt. Blackcaps may carry parasitic worms that sometimes kill their hosts. External parasites include chewing lice and feather mites. The latter do little damage, although heavy infestations cause individual tail feathers to develop asymmetrically. Aristotle, in his "History of Animals", considered that the garden warbler eventually metamorphosed into a blackcap. The blackcap's song has led to it being described as the "mock nightingale" or "country nightingale", and John Clare, in "The March Nightingale" describes the listener as believing that the rarer species


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: has arrived prematurely. "He stops his own and thinks the nightingale/Hath of her monthly reckoning counted wrong". The song is also the topic of Italian poet Giovanni Pascoli's "La Capinera" [The Blackcap]. Giovanni Verga's 1871 novel "Storia di una capinera", according to its author, was inspired by a story of a blackcap trapped and caged by children. The bird, silent and pining for its lost freedom, eventually dies. In the book, a nun evacuated from her convent by cholera falls in love with a family friend, only to have to return to her confinement when the disease wanes. The novel


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: was adapted as films of the same name in 1917, 1943 and 1993. The last version was directed by Franco Zeffirelli, and its English-language version was retitled as "Sparrow". In "Saint François d'Assise", an opera by Messiaen, the orchestration is based on bird song. St Francis himself is represented by the blackcap. Folk names for the blackcap often refer to its most obvious plumage feature (black-headed peggy, King Harry black cap and coal hoodie) or to its song, as in the "nightingale" names above. Other old names are based on its choice of nesting material (Jack Straw, hay bird, hay


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: chat and hay Jack). There is a tradition of the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm bases being named for birds. A former base near Stretton in Cheshire was called HMS "Blackcap". The blackcap has a very large range, and its population in Europe is estimated at 25–49 million breeding pairs. Allowing for birds breeding in Africa and Asia, the total population is between 80–196 million individuals. It is therefore classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as being of Least Concern. Blackcaps and other small birds are illegally trapped and hunted in large numbers in Mediterranean countries, particularly


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: in Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Malta, Libya, Egypt and Cyprus, where they are considered as a delicacy. Despite hunting and natural hazards, the European population of the blackcap has been rising for several decades as the range extends northwards, for example to Scotland and Denmark. There are occasional nesting records from outside the main range, such as in northern Israel and the Faroes, and wandering birds may appear further afield in Iceland or on the islands of Arctic Russia. In the Baltic, the spread of the blackcap appears to have been helped by the availability of territories formerly occupied by the


title: "Eurasian blackcap" content: declining barred warbler. Eurasian blackcap The Eurasian blackcap ("Sylvia atricapilla") usually known simply as the blackcap, is a common and widespread typical warbler. It has mainly olive-grey upperparts and pale grey underparts, and differences between the five subspecies are small. Both sexes have a neat coloured cap to the head, black in the male and reddish-brown in the female. The male's typical song is a rich musical warbling, often ending in a loud high-pitched crescendo, but a simpler song is given in some isolated areas, such as valleys in the Alps. The blackcap's closest relative is the garden warbler, which


title: Nougat content: Nougat Nougat ( , , or ; ; Azerbaijani: لوکا; Persian: ) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word "nougat" comes from Occitan "pan nogat" (), seemingly from Latin "panis nucatus" 'nut bread' (the late colloquial Latin adjective "nucatum" means 'nutted' or 'nutty'). There are three basic kinds of nougat. The first, and most common, is white nougat


title: Nougat content: (' or ' in Italy, ' in Spain), made with beaten egg whites and honey; it appeared in Cologna Veneta, Italy, in the early 15th century, in Alicante, Spain with the first published recipe in the 16th century, and in Montélimar, France, in the 18th century. The second is brown nougat ("nougat noir" in French, literally "black nougat"), which is made without egg whites and has a firmer, often crunchy texture. The third is the Viennese or German nougat which is essentially a chocolate and nut (usually hazelnut) praline. Many legends exist around nougat’s origins. The early recipes of white


title: Nougat content: nougat, probably borrowed from Central Asia, were found in a Middle Eastern book in Baghdad the 10th century. That nougat was called '. One of these recipes indicates that the ' comes from Harran, a city located between Urfa (now in southeast Turkey) and Aleppo, Syria. Mention of ' was found in a triangle between Urfa, Aleppo, and Baghdad. At the end of the 10th century, the traveler and geographer Ibn Hawqal wrote that he ate some ' in Manbij (in modern Syria) and Bukhara (in modern Uzbekistan). It’s from Tabriz city in Azarbaijan in Iran. In southern Europe, nougat


title: Nougat content: is an important component of all Christmas meals. ' is produced in Spain, "Nougat" in southern France, ', ' or even ' and "cubbaita" – from Latin ' in Cremona, Taurianova and Sicily in Italy, in Greece where it is known as ' or ', Malta (where it is known as ' and sold in village festivals), Romania (where it is known as "" sold in local festivals and fairgrounds, mainly on the Sunday of Forgiveness preceding the Easter Lent), and in local variant form in Tabriz, Iran where it is known as "Nowga". The nougat that appears in many


title: Nougat content: modern candy bars in the United States and United Kingdom is different from traditional recipes, being a mixture of sucrose and corn syrup aerated with a whipping agent such as egg white or hydrolyzed soya protein or gelatine. It may also include vegetable fats and milk powder. This type of nougat is often used as a filler by large candy companies, since it is inexpensive to make. Typically it is combined with nuts, caramel, or chocolate. But some American confections feature such nougat as the primary component, rather than one of several. Varieties of nougat are found in Reese's Fast


title: Nougat content: Break, Snickers, Double Decker, ZERO bars, and Baby Ruth bars. Whipped nougat is the feature ingredient in 3 Musketeers bars. In Britain, nougat is traditionally made in the style of the southern European varieties, and is commonly found at fairgrounds and seaside resorts. The most common industrially produced type is coloured pink and white, the pink often fruit flavoured, and sometimes wrapped in edible rice paper with almonds and cherries. Spanish "" follows the traditional recipes with toasted nuts (commonly almonds), sugar, honey, and egg whites. ' from Italy includes these same basic ingredients as well as vanilla or citrus


title: Nougat content: flavoring, and is often sandwiched between two very thin sheets of rice paper. The Venetian town of Cologna Veneta is well known for its nougat production, especially the type called ', always based on honey, sugar, egg whites, and almonds (also known as ' in Italian) but with a different taste and harder to bite than '. "Wiener (Viennese) Nougat" is a variant which contains only sugar, cocoa butter, nuts, and cocoa mass, and has a mellow consistency. The nuts used for Viennese nougat are usually hazelnuts. In Germany and the Nordic countries, Viennese nougat is what has traditionally been


title: Nougat content: associated with and labelled as nougat, while in Sweden and Denmark the original nougat is referred to as "French nougat". In Germany, gianduja is traditionally called nougat. Nougat Nougat ( , , or ; ; Azerbaijani: لوکا; Persian: ) is a family of confections made with sugar or honey, roasted nuts (almonds, walnuts, pistachios, hazelnuts, and macadamia nuts are common), whipped egg whites, and sometimes chopped candied fruit. The consistency of nougat is chewy, and it is used in a variety of candy bars and chocolates. The word "nougat" comes from Occitan "pan nogat" (), seemingly from Latin "panis nucatus"


title: Apocynaceae content: Apocynaceae Apocynaceae is a family of flowering plants that includes trees, shrubs, herbs, stem succulents, and vines, commonly known as the dogbane family, (Greek for "away from dog" since some taxa were used as dog poison). Members of the family are native to the European, Asian, African, Australian, and American tropics or subtropics, with some temperate members. The former family Asclepiadaceae (now known as Asclepiadoideae) is considered a subfamily of Apocynaceae and contains 348 genera. A list of Apocynaceae genera may be found here. Many species are tall trees found in tropical forests, but some grow in tropical dry (xeric)


title: "Quercus garryana" content: Quercus garryana Quercus garryana, the Garry oak, Oregon white oak, or Oregon oak, is a tree species with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It grows from sea level to altitude in the northern part of its range, and at in the south of the range in California. The eponymous Nicholas Garry was deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1822–35. In British Columbia, the Garry oak grows on the Gulf Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island, from west of Victoria along the east side of the island up to the Campbell River area. There are also


title: "Quercus garryana" content: small populations along the Fraser River on the British Columbia mainland. The northernmost population of Garry oak can be found just below 50°N on Savary Island, in the northern stretches of the Strait of Georgia In Washington state, the garry oak grows on the west side of the Cascade Range, particularly in the Puget Sound lowlands, the northeastern Olympic Peninsula, Whidbey Island, the Chehalis river valley, and the San Juan Islands. It also grows in the foothills of the southeastern Cascades and along the Columbia River Gorge. In Oregon, the Garry oak grows on the west side of the Cascade


title: "Quercus garryana" content: Range, primarily in the Willamette, Umpqua and Rogue River valleys, and along the Columbia River Gorge. In California, the "garryana" variety grows in the foothills of the Siskiyou and Klamath Mountains, the Coast Ranges of Northern California, and of the west slope of the Cascades. The "semota" variety grows in the Sierra Nevada and Coast Ranges as far south as Los Angeles County. There are three varieties: It is a drought-tolerant tree, typically of medium height, growing slowly to around 20 m (occasionally as high as 30 m) or as a shrub to tall. It has the characteristic oval profile


title: "Quercus garryana" content: of other oaks when solitary, but is also known to grow in groves close enough together that crowns may form a canopy. The leaves are deciduous, 5–15 cm long and 2–8 cm broad, with 3-7 deep lobes on each side. The flowers are catkins, the fruit a small acorn 2–3 cm (rarely 4 cm) long and 1.5–2 cm broad, with shallow, scaly cups. Its fall color is unspectacular, with many trees turning plain brown. Other individuals may have subtle mixtures of brown, green and yellow, or in less common cases a fairly bright "peas and corn" effect. The Oregon white


title: "Quercus garryana" content: oak is commonly found in the Willamette Valley hosting the mistletoe "Phoradendron flavescens". It is also commonly found hosting galls created by wasps in the family Cynipidae. 'Oak apples', green or yellow ball of up to 5 cm in size, are the most spectacular. They are attached to the undersides of leaves. One common species responsible for these galls is "Cynips maculipennis". Other species create galls on stems and leaves. Shapes vary from spheres to mushroom-shaped to pencil-shaped. In British Columbia, the Garry oak can be infested by three nonnative insects: the jumping gall wasp "Neuroterus saltatorius", the oak leaf


title: "Quercus garryana" content: phylloxeran, and the gypsy moth. While the invasive plant disease commonly called Sudden Oak Death attacks other Pacific Coast native oaks, it has not yet been found on the Garry oak. Most oak hosts of this disease are in the red oak group, while Garry oak is in the white oak group. Garry oak is the only native oak species in British Columbia, Washington, and northern Oregon. In these areas, Garry oak woodlands are seral, or early-successional – they depend on disturbance to avoid being overtaken by Douglas-fir ("Pseudotsuga menziesii"). The disturbance allowing Garry oak to persist in an area


title: "Quercus garryana" content: that would otherwise succeed to coniferous forest was primarily fire. Natural wildfires are relatively common in the drier portions of the Pacific Northwest where Garry oak is found, but fire suppression has made such events much less common. In addition, early settlers' records, soil surveys, and tribal histories indicate that deliberate burning was widely practiced by the indigenous people of these areas. Fire perpetuated the grasslands that produced food sources such as camas, chocolate lily, bracken fern, and oak; and that provided grazing and easy hunting for deer and elk. Mature Garry oaks are fire-resistant, and so would not be


title: "Quercus garryana" content: severely harmed by grass fires of low intensity. Such fires prevented Douglas-fir and most other conifer seedlings from becoming established, allowing bunch grass prairie and Garry oak woodland to persist. Fire also kept oak woodlands on drier soils free of a shrub understory. Wetter oak woodlands historically had a substantial shrub understory, primarily snowberry. Garry oak woodlands in British Columbia and Washington are critical habitats for a number of species that are rare or extirpated in these areas, plant, animal, and bryophyte: Garry oak woodlands create a landscape mosaic of grassland, savanna, woodland, and closed-canopy forest. This mosaic of varied


title: "Quercus garryana" content: habitats, in turn, allows many more species to live in this area than would be possible in coniferous forest alone. Parks Canada states that Garry oak woodlands support more species of plants than any other terrestrial ecosystem in British Columbia. It grows in a variety of soil types, for instance, rocky outcrops, glacial gravelly outwash, deep grassland soils, and seasonally flooded riparian areas. The Donation Land Claim Act of 1850 encouraged Anglo settlement of Washington and Oregon, and marked the beginning of the end of regular burning by Indians of the area (Perdue IN Dunn and Ewing). The arrival of


title: "Quercus garryana" content: Europeans also reduced the number of natural fires that took place in Garry oak habitat. With fire suppression and conversion to agriculture, Garry oak woodlands and bunch grass prairies were invaded by Douglas-fir, Oregon ash ("Fraxinus latifolia"), and imported pasture grasses. Oaks were logged to clear land for pasture, and for firewood and fence posts. Livestock grazing trampled and consumed oak seedlings. By the 1990s, more than half the Garry oak woodland habitat in the South Puget Sound area of Washington was gone. On Vancouver Island, more than 90% was gone. Remaining Garry oak woodlands are threatened by urbanization, conversion


title: "Quercus garryana" content: to Douglas-fir woodland, and invasion by shrubs, both native and nonnative (Scotch broom "Cytisus scoparius", sweetbriar rose "Rosa eglanteria", snowberry "Symphoricarpos albus", Indian plum "Oemleria cerasiformis", poison-oak "Toxicodendron diversilobum", English holly "Ilex aquifolium", bird cherry "Prunus avens"). Conversely, oak groves in wetter areas that historically had closed canopies of large trees are becoming crowded with young oaks that grow thin and spindly, due to lack of fires that would clear out seedlings. "Chionodes petalumensis" caterpillars feed on oak leaves, including those of the Garry oak ("Quercus garryana") and valley oak ("Q. lobata"). Although the wood has a beautiful grain, it


title: "Quercus garryana" content: is difficult to season without warping, and therefore the Garry oak has not historically been regarded as having any commercial value and is frequently destroyed as land is cleared for development. Recently the wood, which is similar to that of other white oaks, has been used experimentally in Oregon for creating casks in which to age wine. When used as firewood, garry oak produces burned. Garry oaks and their ecosystems are the focus of conservation efforts, including communities such as Tacoma, Washington, where an Oak Tree Park has been established; Oak Bay, British Columbia, which is named after the tree;


title: "Quercus garryana" content: and Corvallis, Oregon. Oak Harbor, Washington, named after the tree and home to Smith Park that contains a dense grove of mature Garry Oak trees, is actively pursuing conservation of the city's namesake tree with the formation of the Oak Harbor Garry Oak Society. In southwest Washington, significant acreages of Garry oaks are preserved in the Scatter Creek Wildlife Area, in sites such as the Scatter Creek Unit, which contain some of the few remaining areas of south Puget Sound prairie. In Oak Bay, British Columbia, a fine of up to $10,000 may be issued for each Garry oak tree


title: "Quercus garryana" content: cut or damaged. Quercus garryana Quercus garryana, the Garry oak, Oregon white oak, or Oregon oak, is a tree species with a range stretching from southern California to southwestern British Columbia. It grows from sea level to altitude in the northern part of its range, and at in the south of the range in California. The eponymous Nicholas Garry was deputy governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, 1822–35. In British Columbia, the Garry oak grows on the Gulf Islands and southeastern Vancouver Island, from west of Victoria along the east side of the island up to the Campbell River area.


title: "Quercus cerris" content: Quercus cerris Quercus cerris, the Turkey oak or Austrian oak, is an oak native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the type species of "Quercus" sect. "Cerris", a section of the genus characterised by shoot buds surrounded by soft bristles, bristle-tipped leaf lobes, and acorns that usually mature in 18 months. "Quercus cerris" is a large deciduous tree growing to 25–40 m tall with a trunk up to 2 m diameter. The bark is dark grey and deeply furrowed. On mature trees the bark fissures are often streaked orange near the base of the trunk. The glossy leaves


title: "Quercus cerris" content: are 7–14 cm long and 3–5 cm wide, with 6–12 triangular lobes on each side; the regularity of the lobing varies greatly, with some trees having very regular lobes, others much less regular. The flowers are wind-pollinated catkins, maturing about 18 months after pollination; the fruit is a large acorn, 2.5–4 cm long and 2 cm broad, bicoloured with an orange basal half grading to a green-brown tip; the acorn cup is 2 cm deep, densely covered in soft 4–8 mm long 'mossy' bristles. The acorns are very bitter, but are eaten by jays and pigeons; squirrels usually only eat


title: "Quercus cerris" content: them when other food sources have run out. The tree harbours the gall wasp "Andricus quercuscalicis" whose larvae seriously damage the acorns of native British oaks. In 1998, the Ministry of Defence ordered the felling of all Turkey oaks on its UK bases. The species' range extended to northern Europe and the British Isles before the previous ice age, about 120,000 years ago. It was reintroduced in the United Kingdom and in Ireland in the eighteenth century as an ornamental tree, its gall wasps now provide early food for birds. Turkey oak is widely planted and is naturalised in much


title: "Quercus cerris" content: of Europe. This is partly for its relatively fast growth. It is used as an ornamental, and as a coastal windbreak. The wood has many of the characteristics of other oaks, but is very prone to crack and split and hence is relegated to such uses as fencing. Several cultivars have been selected, including 'Variegata', a variegated cultivar, and 'Woden', with large, deeply lobed leaves. Turkey oak readily hybridises with cork oak ("Q. suber"), the resulting hybrid being named "Q. × crenata" Lam.. This hybrid occurs both naturally where its parents ranges overlap in the wild, and has also arisen


title: "Quercus cerris" content: in cultivation. It is a very variable medium to large tree, usually semi-evergreen, sometimes nearly completely so, and often with marked hybrid vigour; its bark is thick and fissured but never as thick as that of the cork oak. Numerous cultivars are available, often grafted onto Turkey oak root stock. These include 'Ambrozyana', evergreen except in severe winters, originating from the Mlyňany Arboretum in Slovakia, home of the late Count Ambrozy; 'Diversifolia', with the leaves are extremely deeply cut leaving a narrow strip down the centre, and very corky bark; 'Fulhamensis' (Fulham oak), raised at Osborne's nursery in Fulham c.1760;


title: "Quercus cerris" content: and 'Lucombeana' (Lucombe oak), raised by William Lucombe at his nursery in Exeter c.1762. An early specimen raised by Lucombe is at the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew. A similar Lucombe oak was felled by fungus and a light wind in Phear Park, Exmouth 15 February 2009. Quercus cerris Quercus cerris, the Turkey oak or Austrian oak, is an oak native to south-eastern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the type species of "Quercus" sect. "Cerris", a section of the genus characterised by shoot buds surrounded by soft bristles, bristle-tipped leaf lobes, and acorns that usually mature in 18 months. "Quercus


title: "Advanced Third Reich" content: to launch devastating and far-fetched attacks on France or even, say, Yugoslavia, in the opening turn. The airbase rules have been tidied up a little, to allow a player to "recycle" airbases already on the map by removing one each turn to place a new one. Defence Modifiers (DMs) are now cumulative, so that a unit in mountains and behind a river is now quadrupled rather than simply tripled. Minor countries forces (except Finns and Swedes) now defend at -1 DM outside their homeland, making Romanian and Hungarian forces much weaker in the USSR. Infantry now defend against exploiting armour


title: "Mackenna's Gold" content: gold. However, in the novel as well as the film, the gang abducts a Marshall named MacKenna to find a way to the Canyon. The film also adapts elements from another work, "Apache Gold and Yaqui Silver" (1939) by J. Frank Dobie, a collection of tales about the fabulous treasures of the Southwest, based on the legend of the "Lost Adams Diggins". Thompson's first choice for the role of MacKenna was Clint Eastwood, but he was offered the lead role in "Hang 'Em High" (1968) and subsequently Gregory Peck replaced him. Steve McQueen was also considered for the lead role.


title: Externsteine content: Externsteine The Externsteine is a distinctive sandstone rock formation located in the Teutoburg Forest, near the town of Horn-Bad Meinberg in the Lippe district of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The formation is a tor consisting of several tall, narrow columns of rock which rise abruptly from the surrounding wooded hills. In a popular tradition going back to an idea proposed to Hermann Hamelmann in 1564, the Externsteine are identified as a sacred site of the pagan Saxons, and the location of the Irminsul idol reportedly destroyed by Charlemagne; there is however no archaeological evidence that would confirm the


title: Externsteine content: site's use during the relevant period. The stones were used as the site of a hermitage in the Middle Ages, and by at least the high medieval period were the site of a Christian chapel. The Externsteine relief is a medieval depiction of the Descent from the Cross. It remains controversial whether the site was already used for Christian worship in the 8th to early 10th centuries. The Externsteine gained prominence when "Völkisch" and nationalistic scholars took an interest in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. This interest peaked under the Nazi regime, when the Externsteine became a focus


title: Externsteine content: of Nazi propaganda. Today, they remain a popular tourist destination and also continue to attract Neo-Pagans and Neo-Nazis. The etymology of the name "Extern-" is unclear ("-steine" meaning "stones" or "rocks"). The Latinized spelling with "x" is first recorded in the 16th century, but became common only in the late 19th century. The oldest recorded forms of the name read "Agistersten" and "Eggesterenstein", both dated 1093. Other forms of the name include "Egesterenstein" (12th century), "Egestersteyn" (1366), "Egersteyne" (1369), "Egestersten" (1385), "Egesternsteyn" (15th century), "Eygesternsteyn" (151), "Externsteine" (1533), "Egesterennstein" (1583), "Agisterstein" (1592). Hamelmann (1564) gives the Latinized name "rupes picarum"


title: Externsteine content: ("rock of the magpies"), associating the name with Westphalian word "Eckster" "magpie" (Standard German "Elster"). "Eckster" "magpie" is argued to be the actual etymology of the name by Schröder (1964), who also connects other Westphalian toponyms "Externbrock, Externmühle, Exter, Extern, Exten an der Exter". Other scholars identify the association with magpies as folk etymology; Plassmann (1961) connects the name with a giant "Ecke" or "Ekka" of the "Eckenlied", a medieval poem of the Theoderic cycle. Bahlow (1962, 1965) connects the name to the hydronym "Exter". More recent linguistic research assigns a much higher probability to a different explanation. The Germanic


title: Externsteine content: "ag" means "sharp, edged or pointy". In Middle Low German "Egge" was used for long rocky ridges. It is found today in "Eggegebirge", for example, which lies south of the Teutoburger Forest. That latter area was also known as "Osning" ("Osnegge"). Thus, rather than reflecting mythological associations, the physical geology of the stones likely gave rise to their name. The Externsteine are located on the northeastern slope of the "Teutoburger Wald". They are a natural outcropping of sandstone in a region that is otherwise largely devoid of rocks. The formation stretches for several hundred metres. It starts inside the forest


title: Externsteine content: with some rocks that are mostly covered by soil. It terminates in a series of 13 highly visible and mostly free-standing pillars. For scientific purposes, these have been numbered I-XIII from northwest to southeast with the most imposing being stones I-V. The largest is rock I (subdivided into Ia and Ib), also known as the "Grottenfels" due to its cave. The next one, II, is also known as "Turmfels" (tower) and rises above the surrounding area. Rock III is called "Treppenfels" (stairs). A large gap separates rocks III and IV. The latter is also known as "Wackelsteinfelsen" due to a


title: Externsteine content: loose boulder (now fixed in place) at its top. The geological formation consists of a hard, erosion-resistant sandstone (so-called "Osningsandstein"), laid down during the early Cretaceous era about 100 million years ago, near the edge of a large shallow sea that covered large parts of Northern Europe at the time. About 70 million years ago, these originally horizontal layers were folded to an almost vertical position. The resulting cracks in the stone offered ample scope for various forms of weathering. Thousands of years of erosion washed the rocks from the surrounding soil and then formed the surface of the stone.


title: Externsteine content: The pillars have been modified and decorated by humans over the centuries. Most of these alterations are on the southwestern side. The pond that currently lies at the foot of the formation is artificial and was created in the 19th century. The "Grottenfels" (I) contains a man-made "grotto" of three chambers connected by passages. Above the entrance to the main chamber is a carving that unlike the others here is not a bas-relief, but simply a cut in the stone in the form of what appears to be a winged creature. It appears to have been intended to receive a


title: Externsteine content: relief made from some other material and then set into the stone. The main chamber is 11 m by 3.5 m with a ceiling height of 2.5 m. The side chamber has the same height but is 2 m by 5 m. In the main chamber is an inscription dated to 1115, indicating that an altar was consecrated here. The third room is the so-called "Kuppelgrotte" is reached from the main chamber and via a small passage from the outside. This room is quite narrow compared to the other two and, with its domed ceiling, has a more cavelike appearance.


title: Externsteine content: Next to the external entrance, in an alcove, is another relief, much eroded. It shows a standing figure, holding a sash in the left and a key in the right hand. This has been interpreted as a depiction of St Peter. The outside of rock I also features the "Kreuzabnahmerelief" (showing Christ's Descent from the Cross). Below the side chamber, next to the pond, is the so-called "Sargstein" (tomb stone). An arched alcove with an open stone sarcophagus at the bottom has been cut into the sandstone. This is a type of structure known as an Arcosolium. On top of