What is a flamethrower?
The flamethrower is a military weapon used to project a stream of flaming liquid at enemy personnel and installations. Ancient types, consisting of tubes to which bellows were attached, shot a stream of flaming naphtha-like substance. The Greek-fire weapon of the Byzantine Empire was much more formidable and first appeared when used against an Arab invasion fleet in 637. The flamethrower was revived by the Germans in World War I and soon adopted by the Allies. It consisted of a tank of oil put under pressure by gases. The flame was shot from a movable nozzle. Both stationary and portable models were developed, but they played no important part in the war. The flamethrower was used extensively, however, in World War II, particularly in the Pacific. Large models were mounted on tanks, and small models were carried by infantrymen. They shot flaming oil or jellied gasoline.
A fisher who does not eat fish
This animal's name is not really a good one. For although it swims fairly well the fisher does not catch and eat fish. Instead, it eats such animals as squirrels, mice, and rabbits. It is one of the few animals that will kill a porcupine.
Like most of its relatives, the fisher gets about wonderfully well on land. Its cousin, the marten, is very fast. It can run fast enough to catch a squirrel. But the fisher is even faster. It can run fast enough to catch a marten. The fisher can climb trees easily, too. And it can make 40-foot leaps from branch to branch.
A fisher's silky fur is very valuable. For years fishers have been hunted and trapped for their pelts.
A fisher makes its home in a hollow tree. Like most meat-eating animals, it does much of its hunting at night.
Gopher tortoise
The gopher tortoise is an inhabitant of Florida and other coast states of the southern United States, that burrows into sandy soil during the day, and emerges at night in search of food. This tortoise is about 15 inches long, with shell of brown and black above, and yellow beneath. Both the tortoise and its eggs are highly valued by many for food.
Gopher tortoise
Who were the Franks?
Franks is the name of several Germanic tribes, who first appear in history about the middle of the 3d century. They fought with the Roman Empire. After the time of the Roman emperor Julian they were divided into two branches, the Salian Franks near the North Sea and the Ripuarian Franks along the Rhine River. The Salian Franks were conquered by the Romans and became the allies of Rome for a time. But in the 5th century under Clovis and later under his sons they defeated the Romans and founded the largest European kingdom of the Middle Ages, including France, Germany, and eventually Italy, under Charlemagne. After Charlemagne's death his kingdom was divided.
Furnace
Furnace is an apparatus for producing heat. The term is general and may refer to any heat-producing apparatus, from a small, gas-fired metallurgical furnace to a towering blast furnace used in reducing iron ore. Furnaces may use any type of fuel suited to their design, including electricity. In common usage a furnace is a house-warming unit. Goal, coke, oil, gas, or electricity may be used as fuel.
While boilers, or steam generators, are fired by coal, coke, oil, or gas and may be fitted with grates, stokers, or burners, the term furnace is replaced by firebox or combustion chamber in referring to this type of apparatus for producing heat. Blast furnaces are cylindrical steel structures, up to 100 feet in height, used to reduce iron ore to pig iron or ingot iron. See blast furnace.
In the metal industry, furnaces are used to refine and to produce the various types of steel, steel alloys, and nonferrous alloys. Coke, oil, or gas may be used as fuel.
Electric furnaces use electricity to furnish the heat for melting and alloying metals. The heat is obtained by induction or by the electric arc.
While boilers, or steam generators, are fired by coal, coke, oil, or gas and may be fitted with grates, stokers, or burners, the term furnace is replaced by firebox or combustion chamber in referring to this type of apparatus for producing heat. Blast furnaces are cylindrical steel structures, up to 100 feet in height, used to reduce iron ore to pig iron or ingot iron. See blast furnace.
In the metal industry, furnaces are used to refine and to produce the various types of steel, steel alloys, and nonferrous alloys. Coke, oil, or gas may be used as fuel.
Electric furnaces use electricity to furnish the heat for melting and alloying metals. The heat is obtained by induction or by the electric arc.
Metamorphosis in animals
Metamorphosis is the change in body form and structure which takes place in some animals as they develop from young (larvae) to adult. The word "metamorphosis" comes from a Greek word which means "to transform." Grasshoppers, termites, dragonflies, damselflies, and frogs go through an incomplete metamorphosis in which there is a partial change of body form. Bees, beetles, flies, fleas, moths, butterflies, and doodlebugs go through a complete metamorphosis in which there are three stages of change m body form and structure. These three stages are: larva, pupa, and adult.
Baby grasshoppers are called nymphs, and undergo incomplete metamorphosis. With their six legs and compound eyes, they look somewhat like adult grasshoppers, except for their wings. The nymph's wings grow very slowly, getting a little bigger each time the nymph molts (sheds its outer covering). The wings are not fully developed until the grasshopper has reached the adult stage.
Baby grasshoppers are called nymphs, and undergo incomplete metamorphosis. With their six legs and compound eyes, they look somewhat like adult grasshoppers, except for their wings. The nymph's wings grow very slowly, getting a little bigger each time the nymph molts (sheds its outer covering). The wings are not fully developed until the grasshopper has reached the adult stage.
How did astronomers in earlier times account for comets they observed?
Once astronomers finally determined that comets occur in space, beyond the Earth's atmosphere, they tried to ascertain where a comet's journey begins and ends. Johannes Kepler, who observed the comet of 1607, concluded that comets follow straight lines, coming from and disappearing into infinity. Somewhat later, German astronomer Johannes Hevelius suggested that comets followed slightly curved lines. Then in the latter half of the 1600s, Georg Samuel Dorffel suggested that comets follow a parabolic course.
The Fastest Fish on Land
Cesar Franck
Cesar Franck (1822-1890), Belgian-French composer and organist, was born in Liège, Belgium, and received his musical education at the Liège and Paris conservatories. Franck led a retíred life, devoted almost entirely to composing and teaching. He served as a church organist, first at Saint-Jean-Saint-Francois and then at Sainte-Clotilde. In 1872 he was appointed professor of the organ at the Paris Conservatory. The following year he became a French citizen. His death was caused by complications of injuries incurred when he was struck accidentally by an omnibus.
Franck exerted a great influence on later composers and is today considered the founder not only of modern French instrumental music but also of the French school of organ music. Nevertheless, few composers of Franck's reputation have received so little recognition during their lifetimes. It was not until the last year of his life that a performance of his work was received with unqualified enthusiasm.
His works include the opera Hulda; the symphonic poem The Accursed Hunter; the oratorios Ruth, The Redemption, and The Beatitudes; a string quartet; and a sonata for piano and violin. Perhaps best known are his single symphony in D minor and his compositions for the organ.
Franck exerted a great influence on later composers and is today considered the founder not only of modern French instrumental music but also of the French school of organ music. Nevertheless, few composers of Franck's reputation have received so little recognition during their lifetimes. It was not until the last year of his life that a performance of his work was received with unqualified enthusiasm.
His works include the opera Hulda; the symphonic poem The Accursed Hunter; the oratorios Ruth, The Redemption, and The Beatitudes; a string quartet; and a sonata for piano and violin. Perhaps best known are his single symphony in D minor and his compositions for the organ.
How Birds Migrate
Recently ornithologists have started to learn how birds know where they are and navigate during their great migrations. Near your house, it is unlikely that you would ever get lost. You know the way because you recognize landmarks; birds also use landmarks to find their way. But they also have other ways of navigating when they fly out of their neighborhood. They have several sources of information that tell them which way to go. Migrating birds can use the sun by day and the stars by night. Research shows that they can even use the earth's magnetic field (the same field detected by a compass) and that they sometimes use odor clues, and maybe even low-frequency sounds.
However birds find their way, they are rarely very late. One of the extraordinary things about migration is its precision. Birds that travel across a continent, or farther, arrive at their destination within a few days of the same time each year.
A bird's internal clock is mostly responsible for the start of migration, but weather is also a factor. Many species, such as American robins, time their arrival to match the spring thaw. Birds are sensitive to changes in atmospheric pressure. Strong favorable winds cause birds to migrate in large numbers.
Plankton — the pastures of the sea
of life but a floating community of both plants and animals, found in surface waters. Most are tiny, even microscopic. There are diatoms and other one-celled plants, and slightly larger animals that feed on the plants and spend all their lives floating on the waters.
Thousands upon thousands of different species—various larvae, minute shelled animals, sea worms and sea "spiders," baby fish, and others— make up a plankton community. None of these creatures can swim against the currents. They simply drift.
Plankton is the basic food supply of the sea. For in the sea, as on land, animals depend on plants for food. Only the plants can change simple substances into the sugars, starches, and proteins that nourish animals. So the tiniest animals feed on the diatoms, which make up six tenths of plankton. And larger animals feed on the smaller.
What is Quantum theory?
In 1900 Max Planck, professor of theoretical physics in Berlin, found a mathematical formula that described the energy of a radiating substance. He found that the transfer of energy was not continuous, but instead included little packets, or bundles, called quanta. (The rainbow which appears to be a continuous band of color is really made up of little units, or bundles, of light of different energies.)
How was Comet Hale-Bopp discovered?
On July 22, 1995, two astronomers, Alan Hale at his home in southern New Mexico and Thomas Bopp near Stanfield, Arizona, each independently observed a new comet in the sky. Using a 16-inch reflector telescope, Hale was observing Comet Clark and waiting to observe Comet d'Arrest when he turned his attention to a globular cluster in the constellation Sagittarius. He soon observed a new object that appeared to be moving, and suspected that it was a comet. After making sketches and verifying the novelty of the object, Hale notified the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams at the Harvard-Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Cambridge, Massachusetts, with details of his sighting. Bopp, observing the same globular cluster in Sagittarius through a friend's 17.5-inch reflector telescope, also noticed a new object in the sky. After confirming that the object was moving, Bopp drove 90 miles (144 kilometers) home to report his comet sighting to the Central Bureau for Astronomical Telegrams. Both Hale and Bopp were soon informed that they had co-discovered the comet.
Frederick the Great
Frederick the Great (1712-1786), or Frederick II, king of Prussia, was a brilliant general, a wily diplomat, and an energetic administrator, who made his small and relatively poor country a rival of Austria for control of Germany and one of the greatest powers in Europe.
His character as a youth did not give promise of his future. His chief interests were musical and literary, and these he kept all his life. He hated the rigid military education his father forced upon him and at 18 years of age tried to flee the kingdom. He was caught, and his father forced him to watch the execution of his companion in flight.
His character as a youth did not give promise of his future. His chief interests were musical and literary, and these he kept all his life. He hated the rigid military education his father forced upon him and at 18 years of age tried to flee the kingdom. He was caught, and his father forced him to watch the execution of his companion in flight.
Furies (Roman mythology)
ith bloodshot eyes. They had snakes for hair and wings like those of bats.
How does a fish swim?
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Doesn't a fish ever paddle itself along with its other fins? Hardly ever. Most fish use the other fins for steering or balancing. Some use them as feelers when they hunt for food at night.
A fish called the shark-sucker has a fin like a suction cup. The fish sticks its cup onto a shark's body and hitchhikes along until the shark finds something to eat. Any morsels that fall from the shark's mouth are gobbled by the sucker.
The fins of a flying fish act like glider wings when it leaps out of the water and soars through the air.
Fishes must constantly be swimming in order to keep from sinking.
Are comets permanent members of our solar system?
There are many theories as to what happens at the end of a comet's life. The most common is that the comet's nucleus either splits or explodes, which may produce a meteor shower. It has also been proposed that comets eventually become inactive and end up as asteroids. Yet another theory is that gravity or some other disturbance causes a comet to exit the solar system and travel out into interstellar space.
What is a hyssop?
Who was Franco?
Francisco Franco (1892-1975), generalissimo and head of the Spanish state, was born in Galicia. Educated in the military academy of the Alcazar at Toledo, he served in Morocco so successfully in the 1920's that by the time he was 32 he was a general. From 1928 to 1931 he was director of the military academy at Saragossa, but the establishment of the republic in 1931 caused that institution to be abolished and Franco to be banished to the Balearic Islands. He was brought back to Spain in 1933, however, by a decisive election victory of the right, and by 1935 he was chief of staff. The following year, Franco, dissatisfied with the republic, organized Moroccan troops in a rebellion against it. His ultimate success, which came with the surrender of Madrid and Valencia in 1939, was largely due to assistance from Germany and Italy. He did not forget these friends during World War II, for he gave them all aid short of entering the war, including a división of "volunteers" (the Blue Division) to fight on the Soviet front. Not until 1945, when Germany had plainly lost the war, did Franco sever relations with Berlin. But the action came too late, and Franco was diplomatically isolated. By 1953, however, the world situation had forced the West to seek his help against Communism. In 1947 Spain was declared a kingdom. Franco was named chief of state for life, and the Cortes—or Spanish parliament—gave him the right to appoint his successor.
Saint Francis of Assisi
Saint Francis of Assisi (1182-1226), the founder of the Franciscan friars, was born at Assisi, Italy. His family was wealthy, and Francis had a good education. As a young man he was the companion of other young men of fashion. Even at that time he was remarkable for his gentleness and kindness to all about him. When he was still very young, he gave up all he had and determined not to own anything at all but to go around preaching, depending on alms for his daily bread. He felt very strongly that the church needed reforms from within—that there should be more true devotion and imitation of Jesus among its members. He preached before the pope about this, saying that poverty, chastity, and obedience were the greatest virtues. He said that Lady Poverty was his bride. He was considered to be a mystic; that is, he used to have visions, in one of which it is believed that he received on his own body the marks of Jesus' wounds, called the stigmata. His hands and his feet bore the marks of the nails that had held Jesus on the cross, and his side bore the mark of the spear with which the soldiers had wounded him.
St. Francis was charming. He loved all created things, and it was said that he used to preach to the birds, who flocked to hear his voice. He wrote a well-known canticle, or hymn, to the sun. His life has been a favorite subject for some of the greatest painters, particularly Giotto.
About 1209 St. Francis founded an order of preaching friars, which was called the Franciscan order. These friars were called Cordeliers because they wore a cord around the waist. They were also called Friars Minor for their humility. After St. Francis died the book Little Flowers of St. Francis was written about him by his disciples. He was buried at Assisi. He was canonized, or made a saint, by Pope Gregory IX in 1228.
St. Francis was charming. He loved all created things, and it was said that he used to preach to the birds, who flocked to hear his voice. He wrote a well-known canticle, or hymn, to the sun. His life has been a favorite subject for some of the greatest painters, particularly Giotto.
About 1209 St. Francis founded an order of preaching friars, which was called the Franciscan order. These friars were called Cordeliers because they wore a cord around the waist. They were also called Friars Minor for their humility. After St. Francis died the book Little Flowers of St. Francis was written about him by his disciples. He was buried at Assisi. He was canonized, or made a saint, by Pope Gregory IX in 1228.
Clothes moth
The most common kinds of clothes moths are the casemaking clothes moth (Tinea pellionella) and the webbing clothes moth (Tincola biselliella). Both kinds have a wingspread of about half an inch, and they are pale yellow or grayish yellow. The female moths lay 100 to 150 small white eggs on clothing, rugs, or draperies. The larvae that hatch from the eggs are white caterpillars that reach a length of about half an inch when fully grown.
The larva of the webbing clothes moth spins a silken web, while the casemaking clothes moth larva makes a portable silken case to live in. The larvae of both kinds of moths may feed from six weeks to as long as four years. They then pupate and develop into adults within one to four weeks, depending on the temperature.
Fabrics may be protected against clothes moths by being dry-cleaned, sprayed with protective spray, or stored with mothballs or crystals.
What is Hymenoptera?
Hymenoptera is a large order of insects. The word Hymenoptera means membrane winged. Wasps, bees, and ants belong to this order. So do the gallflies, which make the gall formation on oak trees and rosebushes. The Hymenoptera differ widely from each other, but all except the worker ants and a few others have four transparent, membranous wings. Many of these insects are valuable to man. Some destroy other insects. Others help pollinate plants, and produce honey and beeswax.
Gall fly facts
The gall fly is a small fly that produces on plant leaves and stems an injurious, abnormal growth called a gall. The gall fly belongs to the insect order Diptera, which also includes the true flies, mosquitoes, and gnats.
The gall fly causes the formation of galls by piercing tender leaves and stems and by laying its eggs within their tissues. After hatching from the eggs, the larvae remain within the plant tissues and feed upon them until they have metamorphosed into adult insects. Galls are white, yellow, red, or green growths that are of irregular shape and that vary in width from a fraction of an inch to several inches.
The hessian fly is a gall fly that causes much injury to growing wheat. Another gall fly injures growing chrysanthemums.
The gall fly causes the formation of galls by piercing tender leaves and stems and by laying its eggs within their tissues. After hatching from the eggs, the larvae remain within the plant tissues and feed upon them until they have metamorphosed into adult insects. Galls are white, yellow, red, or green growths that are of irregular shape and that vary in width from a fraction of an inch to several inches.
The hessian fly is a gall fly that causes much injury to growing wheat. Another gall fly injures growing chrysanthemums.
What are freckles?
Black box (radiesthesia)
A diagnostic device, the black box was devised early in the twenty century XX by Dr. Albert Abrams of San Francisco, one of the first theorists of radiesthesia, or dowsing, for medical purposes. Traditionally trained, Abrams was a respected neurologist when he became interested in unconventional medical alternatives. In 1910 he parted company with orthodoxy and wrote a book called Spondylotherapy, which espoused a synthesis of osteopathic and chiropractic therapeutics; his ideas were ridiculed by his medical peers but embraced by laymen, and Abrams began a national series of lectures to explain his techniques. In 1914 he published a more sophisticated and extensive work, New Concepts of Diagnosis and Treatment, which set forth his position that disease was the result of a "disharmony of electronic oscillation," a modern reiteration of the age-old life-force concept of illness. For the purpose of measuring the extent of and locating the source of this disharmony, Abrams offered the black box, also known as the E.R.A. or the oscilloclast, a sealed box containing a thin rubber sheet stretched over a metal plate, and adorned on the outside with several rheostats. A sample of the patient's blood was placed inside the box, which was attached to a metal plate affixed to the forehead of a healthy person. By tapping the abdomen of the healthy person, the diagnostician was supposedly able to identify "areas of dullness" indicative of disharmony. Although there was some evidence that Abrams occasionally succeeded in accurately diagnosing patients with his black box, the technique produced uneven results with other practitioners. Many believers in the principles of radiesthesia remained, however, and similar devices continue to be manufactured in the United States and Great Britain.
Are comets the source of life on Earth?
British astronomer Fred Hoyle (1915-2001), who served as a professor of astronomy and philosophy at the Institute for Theoretical Astronomy in Cambridge, England, has made detailed studies of the nuclear reactions that take place in the core of a star. He has also researched the gravitational, electrical, and nuclear fields of stars and the various elements formed within them. Hoyle is the author of several books on stars, both technical and for general readers, as well as a number of science fíction stories and even a script for an opera. Hoyle believes that life on Earth began with organic compounds found in interstellar space that were carried to Earth by comets.
Facts about the fruit bat
Fruit bats are found in Africa, the Pacific islands, East Indies, Philippines, India, and Australia. They are eaten by the natives in many places. They range in size from the small pollen-eating Macroglossus which are about 2½ inches long to the large flying foxes of Asia (Pteropus and Acerodon) some of which are 14 inches long and have a wingspread of nearly six feet. They feed on pollen, ripe fruit, green coconuts, and dates. In only a few places do they do serious damage to commercial fruits and coconuts.
Fruit bats have a limited migration as they must follow the ripening fruit season. The fruit itself is not eaten, but crushed by the heavy cheek teeth and the juices only are swallowed. The flying foxes often form roosts of many thousands while some African fruit bats are solitary.
How can frogs stay under water so long?
When a frog is sitting on the bank of a stream, he breathes through his nostrils as you do. Air goes into his lungs, which are somewhat like your lungs. Then he dives under water, and he doesn't come to the surface as quickly as you have to when you dive. Why not? There is always some air mixed with water in a stream or pond, and a frog can take a little of it into his body through his skin.
Do fish have voices?
Fish called croakers make hoarse "garrumph" sounds. The noise is caused by two muscles that beat on an air-filled sac like a drum in the fish's belly. The drumming can be heard through an instrument called a hydrophone, a sort of underwater microphone. Sometimes the fish keeps on croaking after it is caught and landed.
Scientists recognize the noises made by several kinds of fish. But they are puzzled by certain strange groans and wails that the hydrophone often picks up. They don't yet know what water animal makes these weird sounds.
Scientists recognize the noises made by several kinds of fish. But they are puzzled by certain strange groans and wails that the hydrophone often picks up. They don't yet know what water animal makes these weird sounds.
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| croaker, the fish who sings |
David Ben-Gurion
The first prime minister of Israel was David Ben-Gurion (1886-1973). He was born in Plonsk, Russia (now in Poland), the son of Sheindal and Avigdor Green. As a child, he said, "One day I will be the leader of Israel."
He went to Palestine in 1906 to work as a farm laborer. At that time, Palestine was part of the Turldsh Ottoman Empire. Young David Green wanted the country to be free. He helped organize a Jewish defense force. He became editor of a weekly Hebrew newspaper, signing his first article Ben-Gurion, which means "young lion."
Ben-Gurion was forced to leave Palestine because he plotted to form a Jewish state. He sailed for the United States. Later, he helped form a Jewish Legion in Canada to fight for Palestine's freedom. After World War II, Ben-Gurion returned to Palestine to form a secret army. The United Nations in 1947 voted to divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. In 1948, at a meeting in a museum in Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion read a proclamation aloud. "The State of Israel is in existence," he said.
Ben-Gurion headed the new government from 1949 to 1953 and again from 1955 until he retired in 1963. He was the minister of defense during the early battles with Arab armies.
He went to Palestine in 1906 to work as a farm laborer. At that time, Palestine was part of the Turldsh Ottoman Empire. Young David Green wanted the country to be free. He helped organize a Jewish defense force. He became editor of a weekly Hebrew newspaper, signing his first article Ben-Gurion, which means "young lion."
Ben-Gurion was forced to leave Palestine because he plotted to form a Jewish state. He sailed for the United States. Later, he helped form a Jewish Legion in Canada to fight for Palestine's freedom. After World War II, Ben-Gurion returned to Palestine to form a secret army. The United Nations in 1947 voted to divide Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. In 1948, at a meeting in a museum in Tel Aviv Ben-Gurion read a proclamation aloud. "The State of Israel is in existence," he said.
Ben-Gurion headed the new government from 1949 to 1953 and again from 1955 until he retired in 1963. He was the minister of defense during the early battles with Arab armies.
Benjamin Banneker
Washington, D.C., capital of the United States, would not look as it does today without the help of Benjamin Banneker (1731-1806), black astronomer and mathematician.
Banneker was born a free man in Maryland at a time when most black men were slaves. His grandmother taught him to read the Bible by the time he was four. Banneker attended a Quaker school. George Ellicott, a friend, got him interested in astronomy. Banneker charted the movement of the stars so accurately that he published his own almanac from 1792 until he died.
President George Washington appointed him assistant planner and surveyor for the new capital city. The chief architect was Fierre Charles L'Enfant, a Frenchman. As a surveyor, Banneker was allowed to see L'Entant's drawings, which the architect usually kept secret. L'Enfant resigned and Banneker's friend, George Ellicott, replaced him as chief architect. The angry L'Enfant took all his drawings with him. But Banneker was able to reconstruct the plan from memory. The streets of Washington, D.C., still reflect Banneker's plan.
Banneker was born a free man in Maryland at a time when most black men were slaves. His grandmother taught him to read the Bible by the time he was four. Banneker attended a Quaker school. George Ellicott, a friend, got him interested in astronomy. Banneker charted the movement of the stars so accurately that he published his own almanac from 1792 until he died.
President George Washington appointed him assistant planner and surveyor for the new capital city. The chief architect was Fierre Charles L'Enfant, a Frenchman. As a surveyor, Banneker was allowed to see L'Entant's drawings, which the architect usually kept secret. L'Enfant resigned and Banneker's friend, George Ellicott, replaced him as chief architect. The angry L'Enfant took all his drawings with him. But Banneker was able to reconstruct the plan from memory. The streets of Washington, D.C., still reflect Banneker's plan.
Water rabbit
Water Rabbit, the Lepus aquaticus, an American species, most abundant in the swampy tracts bordering on the Mississippi and its tributaries in the southwestern states, whence it is also called the swamp hare. It is an excellent swimmer and subsists chiefly on the roots of aquatic plants. Fur dark grayish-brown above, white below, coarse in texture; ears and tail long.
Manzanita
About 50 kinds of evergreen trees and shrubs are in the manzanita group. The bear-berry is a trailing shrub of northern states with light-pink flowers in clusters. The fruit is a red drupe with several nutlets. The great-berried manzanita of California grows about 25 feet high and has white flowers.
James Baldwin
James Baldwin (1924 – 1987) is an American author best known for his novels and essays about racial conflict in the United States. He was born and raised in the slums of Harlem, in New York City. He went to work in factories after graduating from high school, but he used his evenings for writing. He won a grant in 1948 that enabled him to live and work in Europe. His first book, Go Tell It on the Mountain, was published in 1953, and was an instant success. It is the story of a 14-year-old Negro boy growing up in Harlem. It was followed by a group of essays, Notes of a Native Son (1955).
Baldwin returned to the U.S in 1957 and became active in the civil rights movement. He also continued to turn out best-selling books such as Nobody Knows My Name (essays) and Another Country (a novel). One of his outstanding collections of essays, The Fire Next Time, criticizes American society for the way it treats black citizens.
Baldwin returned to the U.S in 1957 and became active in the civil rights movement. He also continued to turn out best-selling books such as Nobody Knows My Name (essays) and Another Country (a novel). One of his outstanding collections of essays, The Fire Next Time, criticizes American society for the way it treats black citizens.
Do alligators and crocodiles eat people?
If an alligator is frightened, it will sometimes attack people, but it is not really a man-eater. American crocodiles usually leave people alone. The crocodiles that live in Africa and Asia eat anything they can catch, and they are very dangerous to man.
Sometimes these big-mouthed creatures get eaten themselves. A naturalist once found a huge snake that had swallowed a five-foot alligator!
Sometimes these big-mouthed creatures get eaten themselves. A naturalist once found a huge snake that had swallowed a five-foot alligator!
Niobium
Niobium is a shiny, grayish metallic element. It was discovered in 1801 by Heinrich Rose. Its original name was columbium. This name is still used often in talking about its minerals.
It was recently discovered that niobium would withstand very high temperatures. It melts at 1950 °C. It now promises to be important in high temperature alloys and stainless steel for airplanes and rockets.
Niobium (symbol Nb), element number 41, has atomic weight 92.906 (92.91, O=16).
It was recently discovered that niobium would withstand very high temperatures. It melts at 1950 °C. It now promises to be important in high temperature alloys and stainless steel for airplanes and rockets.
Niobium (symbol Nb), element number 41, has atomic weight 92.906 (92.91, O=16).
How did Halley's Comet further our understanding of the nature of comets in general?
English astronomer Edmond Halley (1656-1742) calculated the paths traveled by twenty-four comets. Among these, he found three—those of 1531,1607, and one he viewed himself in 1682—with nearly identical paths. This discovery led him to the conclusion that comets follow an orbit around the Sun, and thus reappear periodically. In 1695, Halley wrote in a letter to Isaac Newton, "I am more and more confirmed that we have seen that Comet now three times, since the year 1531." Halley predicted that this same comet would return in 1758. Although he did not live to see it, his prediction was correct, and the comet was named Halley's comet.
Raccoon, the little brother of the bear
though the body is covered with coarse, grayish hair, black patches often mark the eyes and black rings circle the tail.
Raccoons may be found throughout most of North and Central America. These curious little animals are nocturnal, usually sleeping during the day, and hunting at night. They eat fish, frogs, crayfish, and mussels which they catch in the shallow water along the edges of ponds and streams. They also eat fruit, berries, nuts, honey, corn and hunt birds, mice, reptiles, insects, and occasionally poultry. When water is available, they will carefully wash their food before eating.
Baby raccoons are born in late spring, either in a hollow tree, in a crevice among some rocks, or in a burrow in the ground.
Raccoons are wanted for their fur which is made into coats and coonskin caps in which the long bushy tail is used as a tassel.
Raccoons are hunted at night with the help of dogs. Raccoons are courageous fighters. If captured young, these intelligent little animals are easily tamed and may be kept as pets.
Is the story of the fox and the fleas true?
Probably you have heard the story of the fox who had thousands of fleas in his fur. The fleas bit him, and he scratched himself till he grew weary. At last he went to the river bank, picked up a good-sized stick, and holding the stick in his mouth, walked into the water. The fleas all up crawled onto his back to keep dry. The fox went on into deeper water. and the fleas crowded onto his head. He ducked lower and lower, forcing the fleas to scramble down along his nose and finally out onto the stick he held in his teeth. Suddenly, the fox opened his jaws. Away went the stick with his tormentors aboard, and now he had a rest from scratching until a new crop of the pests made their home in his fur.
This sounds like a fairy tale, but naturalists say that some foxes have really learned to get rid of fleas in exactly this way.
This sounds like a fairy tale, but naturalists say that some foxes have really learned to get rid of fleas in exactly this way.
Mesozoic Era
Mesozoic Era is the age of the dinosaurs, the "middle" time era in the earth's history. It lasted about 125 million years, between the Paleozoic era of ancient life and the Cenozoic era of modern plant and animal life.
A long period of erosion was folio wed by great floods. Mountain building began along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to South America. Fines and flowering plants were new developments. Reptiles were the most important form of animal life in numbers and in kinds. Insects and the first gliding birds appeared. Mesozoic rock layers formed the source of the Gulf Coast, Arabian and Venezuelan oil.
A long period of erosion was folio wed by great floods. Mountain building began along the Pacific Coast from Alaska to South America. Fines and flowering plants were new developments. Reptiles were the most important form of animal life in numbers and in kinds. Insects and the first gliding birds appeared. Mesozoic rock layers formed the source of the Gulf Coast, Arabian and Venezuelan oil.
Cockroaches
Although only a few of the 3,500 species of cockroaches infest houses, they have earned notoriety for the entire order. Because its taste in food is so wide-ranging, the common cockroach can scavenge in any environment. Within man's shelter alone it can derive nourishment from such diverse materials as wallpaper, food scraps, other household insects, stale beer, watercolors, and white-wash. Attempts to exterminate them invariably prove futile, for these hardy insects have survived all enemies for at least 230 million years.
The earliest fossil cockroaches date from the Carboniferous period. In fact, so prevalent are the Blattaria in these deposits that one scientist has nicknamed it "the era of the cockroach." Structurally, these early forms were remarkably similar to present day insects. Because they were already exception-ally well developed and had already separated into a large number of distinct species, entomologists believe that they must have been among the first insects on earth. They were, in any case, the first capable of flight.
The earliest fossil cockroaches date from the Carboniferous period. In fact, so prevalent are the Blattaria in these deposits that one scientist has nicknamed it "the era of the cockroach." Structurally, these early forms were remarkably similar to present day insects. Because they were already exception-ally well developed and had already separated into a large number of distinct species, entomologists believe that they must have been among the first insects on earth. They were, in any case, the first capable of flight.
Gallinaceous birds
Gallinaceous birds is a name given to members of the order Gallinae. Members of this order are chicken-like in appearance and live on the ground.
The bill is stout, short, and arched; the head is small and the body heavy; the wings are short and rounded
but are adapted for relatively sustained and swift flight; the legs are heavy and long in proportion to
the body; the front toes are webbed and the hind toe is raised. Most members of the group are polygamous
in habit. The nests are built on the ground but the birds are protected by the almost perfect blending of
the feather colors with the background. The eggs are numerous and usually large. Food consists of insects,
grain, berries, and nuts. Although the group has a world-wide distribution and many species, only four families are found in the United States and Canada.
These families are the Ondontophondae, bobwhites and quails; the Tetraonidae, grouse and ptarmigans; Meleagridae, turkeys; and the Phasiamdae, pheasants of European and Asiatic origin. Megapodidae, the mound-building birds of the Pacific; Opistkocomidae, the curious primitive hoactzin ; Numididae, guinea fowls; and Phasianidae, peacocks, are other representatives of the order.
The bill is stout, short, and arched; the head is small and the body heavy; the wings are short and rounded
but are adapted for relatively sustained and swift flight; the legs are heavy and long in proportion to
the body; the front toes are webbed and the hind toe is raised. Most members of the group are polygamous
in habit. The nests are built on the ground but the birds are protected by the almost perfect blending of
the feather colors with the background. The eggs are numerous and usually large. Food consists of insects,
grain, berries, and nuts. Although the group has a world-wide distribution and many species, only four families are found in the United States and Canada.
These families are the Ondontophondae, bobwhites and quails; the Tetraonidae, grouse and ptarmigans; Meleagridae, turkeys; and the Phasiamdae, pheasants of European and Asiatic origin. Megapodidae, the mound-building birds of the Pacific; Opistkocomidae, the curious primitive hoactzin ; Numididae, guinea fowls; and Phasianidae, peacocks, are other representatives of the order.
Do animals live as long as people?
Most animals have very short lives. But some live longer that people usually live. A tortoise has been known to reach the age of one hundred and fifty. Elephants grow old at just about the same rate as people. Many of them live to be sixty-five or seventy. Dogs and cats are old when they reach the age of ten, but some live longer. And one kind of insect — the seventeen-year locust — usually spends seventeen years in the earth before it comes out. Then it lives for only a few weeks.
Quartz
Quartz is one of the most common minerals. It consists of silicon dioxide, or silica. It is found in many places and in many types of rock formations. Several varieties of quartz are used as gems. Other s are building materials. Quartz is very hard.
There are many colors and many varieties of quartz. The color is due to other minerals and determines certain varieties. Rock crystal is pure, clear, transparent quartz. Purple quartz is called amethyst. These are crystalline varieties. Agate is an opaque type in which the color is distributed unevenly through its mass. Sometimes the color runs through in curved bands. In moss agate specimens, the color is arranged so that it looks as if moss or other vegetable matter has been "frozen" in the quartz. Agate, carnelian, and onyx are usually considered as special types of quartz—chalcedony.
Chalcedony is the massive form of quartz. Other varieties include bloodstone, flint, jasper, sand and gravel, sandstone, and quartzite.
There are many colors and many varieties of quartz. The color is due to other minerals and determines certain varieties. Rock crystal is pure, clear, transparent quartz. Purple quartz is called amethyst. These are crystalline varieties. Agate is an opaque type in which the color is distributed unevenly through its mass. Sometimes the color runs through in curved bands. In moss agate specimens, the color is arranged so that it looks as if moss or other vegetable matter has been "frozen" in the quartz. Agate, carnelian, and onyx are usually considered as special types of quartz—chalcedony.
Chalcedony is the massive form of quartz. Other varieties include bloodstone, flint, jasper, sand and gravel, sandstone, and quartzite.
How do comets travel in our solar system?
Comets orbit the Sun on elliptical paths. (Since they orbit the Sun, they are members of the solar system.) Early astronomers believed that a second group of comets also exist, those that appeared only once and have parabolic paths. Further study showed that all comets follow elliptical paths, but that some paths are so elongated, even taking millions of years to complete, that they appear to be parabolic.
Radar
Radar is an electronic system that permits man to see objects at great distances regardless of darkness or bad weather. It is used to direct both air and sea traffic, and for detection and identification of unknown ships and aircraft.
Sound waves bouncing off hillsides or tunnel walls create an echo. Radar works in the same way by sending out short pulses of radio energy which bounce off objects in their path and return to the sender as a type of echo. The reflected impulses are shown on a screen, like that of a television set, as spots of light, or blips.
Most radar sets have six important parts: the modulator, which turns the transmitter on to send a pulse and off to receive an echo; the transmitter, which sends the very short, or microwave, pulses; the antenna, which focuses the pulses into a narrow beam and also receives the echoing signals; the duplexer, which, as a switching device, connects first the transmitter and then the receiver to the antenna; the receiver, which is a listening and amplifying device to strengthen weak echoes so that they will show on the radar screen; and the indicator, which displays the blips to the operator on its screen.
Sound waves bouncing off hillsides or tunnel walls create an echo. Radar works in the same way by sending out short pulses of radio energy which bounce off objects in their path and return to the sender as a type of echo. The reflected impulses are shown on a screen, like that of a television set, as spots of light, or blips.
Most radar sets have six important parts: the modulator, which turns the transmitter on to send a pulse and off to receive an echo; the transmitter, which sends the very short, or microwave, pulses; the antenna, which focuses the pulses into a narrow beam and also receives the echoing signals; the duplexer, which, as a switching device, connects first the transmitter and then the receiver to the antenna; the receiver, which is a listening and amplifying device to strengthen weak echoes so that they will show on the radar screen; and the indicator, which displays the blips to the operator on its screen.
Galago
Galagos are relatives of the monkeys. They are found wild only in Africa. There are about 30 kinds. The largest are as large as cats. The smallest are smaller than squirrels. The African natives call the little ones "bush babies." Galagos are pretty animals with their soft fur, bushy tails, big ears, and big eyes.
Their eyes are peculiar. A galago cannot move its eyes except by moving its whole head. But it is able to turn its head very far to each side.
As one would guess from its big eyes, a galago hunts for its food at night. It eats mostly fruit and insects. During the daytime it curls itself up in a tree. A man who once had a pet bush baby said that it used to wrap itself in a newspaper every morning and sleep until dusk.
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| galagos |
As one would guess from its big eyes, a galago hunts for its food at night. It eats mostly fruit and insects. During the daytime it curls itself up in a tree. A man who once had a pet bush baby said that it used to wrap itself in a newspaper every morning and sleep until dusk.
Waterhen bird
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| Waterhen |
Fossils in the same layer of rock
During the early part of the nineteenth century an engineer called William Smith made a valuable discovery. He was a surveyor of canals and coal mines. He noticed that certain kinds of fossils always turned up in the same layer of rock. From this he deduced that rocks containing similar fossils, although miles apart, were of the same age.
Rocks belong to different ages which have been given names. From this we can construct a time chart. A palaeontologist can examine a fossil and say, for example, 'this is the leg bone of a dinosaur which lived during the Jurassic Period, 150 million years ago'. He can even tell from its shape that the dinosaur was slow and clumsy, or lively, that it walked on two or four legs, and how big it was. The teeth might tell him what it fed on, whether it was a flesh-eater or ate plants. Even footprints tell their story.
Fossils are formed in different ways. In rare cases the soft parts form an impression in the rock. Even jellyfishes have been preserved in this way. Hard parts are partly strengthened by minerals or entirely replaced by them, that is, they become petrified (turned into stone). The famous Petrified Forest in Arizona, U.S.A., is an example. If a fossil disintegrates altogether, the space which it leaves becomes filled in with
the surrounding minerals. This forms a fossil cast. Ammonites and sea urchin fossils are commonly formed in this way, out of chalk or flint.
Sometimes entire plants or animals are preserved. Insects and other small creatures were trapped in the gum which oozed out of a prehistoric tree. This gum hardened into amber which preserved the creature. In the far north, in Siberia and Alaska, tusks, teeth, and even bodies of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses have been found in the frozen ground. Flesh, skin and hair are still present. It is like being preserved in the deep-freeze.
Rocks belong to different ages which have been given names. From this we can construct a time chart. A palaeontologist can examine a fossil and say, for example, 'this is the leg bone of a dinosaur which lived during the Jurassic Period, 150 million years ago'. He can even tell from its shape that the dinosaur was slow and clumsy, or lively, that it walked on two or four legs, and how big it was. The teeth might tell him what it fed on, whether it was a flesh-eater or ate plants. Even footprints tell their story.
Fossils are formed in different ways. In rare cases the soft parts form an impression in the rock. Even jellyfishes have been preserved in this way. Hard parts are partly strengthened by minerals or entirely replaced by them, that is, they become petrified (turned into stone). The famous Petrified Forest in Arizona, U.S.A., is an example. If a fossil disintegrates altogether, the space which it leaves becomes filled in with
the surrounding minerals. This forms a fossil cast. Ammonites and sea urchin fossils are commonly formed in this way, out of chalk or flint.
Sometimes entire plants or animals are preserved. Insects and other small creatures were trapped in the gum which oozed out of a prehistoric tree. This gum hardened into amber which preserved the creature. In the far north, in Siberia and Alaska, tusks, teeth, and even bodies of mammoths and woolly rhinoceroses have been found in the frozen ground. Flesh, skin and hair are still present. It is like being preserved in the deep-freeze.
Coatimundi
Coatis are classified as the order Carnivora, family Procyonidae, genus Nasua.
How can a fly walk on the ceiling?
A fly has a little suction cup on each of its six feet. This is how the suction cup works: It is hollow inside and slightly moist. When it is pushed against a flat surface, most of the air is squeezed out. The moisture seals the edges and keeps air from getting back in. Now there is a lot of air outside and very little inside the cup. The pressure of the outside air is strong. It holds the suction cup tightly to the ceiling.
The fly picks up three of its feet at a time to step forward. The suction cups on the other three feet hold the fly in place till their turn to move. Does this seem like a hard way to walk? It would be hard for us, but not for a fly. Flies have great strength for their size.
The fly picks up three of its feet at a time to step forward. The suction cups on the other three feet hold the fly in place till their turn to move. Does this seem like a hard way to walk? It would be hard for us, but not for a fly. Flies have great strength for their size.
What happens to robins in winter?
If you live in a place where winter is cold, you know that robins disappear before the snow falls. They fly away south to warmer country where they can find plenty of worms and insects to eat. In spring the robins come back. This moving back and forth is called migration.
Many kinds of birds migrate in huge flocks. Each kind follows just about the same path each year. Some travel only a few hundred miles. Others fly immense distances. Often a bird will find its way back to its old nesting place year after year.
How can we be so sure the same bird comes back? We can be sure if the bird wears a label. Naturalists actually do put labels on birds. They fasten tiny aluminum bands to the birds' legs. Each band has a different number. Every year naturalists catch birds and look at the bands. They can tell by the number whether a particular bird has come back to its old home.
Why don't the birds get lost? One kind of bird guides itself by the stars. The positions of the stars give it directions, just as the Pole Star tells us which way is north. Scientists still have to find out whether all birds are guided in this same way.
Many kinds of birds migrate in huge flocks. Each kind follows just about the same path each year. Some travel only a few hundred miles. Others fly immense distances. Often a bird will find its way back to its old nesting place year after year.
How can we be so sure the same bird comes back? We can be sure if the bird wears a label. Naturalists actually do put labels on birds. They fasten tiny aluminum bands to the birds' legs. Each band has a different number. Every year naturalists catch birds and look at the bands. They can tell by the number whether a particular bird has come back to its old home.
Why don't the birds get lost? One kind of bird guides itself by the stars. The positions of the stars give it directions, just as the Pole Star tells us which way is north. Scientists still have to find out whether all birds are guided in this same way.
Are bats blind?
"Blind as a bat" is an common expression. Bats can actually see. But they don't depend on eyesight to guide them when they fly around at night hours. They rely on the echoes of their own voices.
A bat broadcasts its voice in short, quick squeaks. The squeaks bounce back from any object nearby — even from a telephone wire only a few inches away. The bat's keen ears pick up the echo. Instantly it knows just where the wire is. So it can swerve to one side.
Bats have to hunt for their food in the dark. Some of them eat the nectar of flowers. Others eat moths, mosquitoes or other insects that fly at night. A bat uses echoes to locate the insects.
A bat's voice is too high for our ears to hear, but scientists have used sensitive machines to pick up the sound. They have also done experiments to prove that echolocation works. First they blindfolded a bat. It flew without bumping into anything. Then they taped its ears shut. It flew into obstacles it had missed before.
A bat broadcasts its voice in short, quick squeaks. The squeaks bounce back from any object nearby — even from a telephone wire only a few inches away. The bat's keen ears pick up the echo. Instantly it knows just where the wire is. So it can swerve to one side.
Bats have to hunt for their food in the dark. Some of them eat the nectar of flowers. Others eat moths, mosquitoes or other insects that fly at night. A bat uses echoes to locate the insects.
A bat's voice is too high for our ears to hear, but scientists have used sensitive machines to pick up the sound. They have also done experiments to prove that echolocation works. First they blindfolded a bat. It flew without bumping into anything. Then they taped its ears shut. It flew into obstacles it had missed before.
Dwarfs
Common marigolds grow to be about two feet tall. But some marigolds are never more than a few inches tall even when they are full grown. They are called dwarf marigolds.
Most people grow to be more than five feet tall. But some are less than four feet tall even when they are grown men and women. They are dwarf s. There are dwarf s among many kinds of plants and animals.
No one knows the whole story of why dwarfs appear. We do know that certain body glands, when they do not work properly, cause some people to become dwarfs.
In the great days of kings and queens many court jesters were dwarfs. Dwarfs were thought to be especially clever.
The most famous dwarf in America was "General Tom Thumb." His real name was Charles Stratton. He was given the name of Tom Thumb when P. T. Barnum persuaded him to join his circus. General Tom Thumb was 40 inches tall; he weighed 70 pounds. A famous English dwarf, Jeffrey Hudson, was much smaller. He was only 18 inches tall. This dwarf was in the court of Charles I of England.
There are many storybook dwarfs. Rumpelstilskin is one. The Seven Dwarfs in the story of Snow White are others.
Most people grow to be more than five feet tall. But some are less than four feet tall even when they are grown men and women. They are dwarf s. There are dwarf s among many kinds of plants and animals.
No one knows the whole story of why dwarfs appear. We do know that certain body glands, when they do not work properly, cause some people to become dwarfs.
In the great days of kings and queens many court jesters were dwarfs. Dwarfs were thought to be especially clever.
The most famous dwarf in America was "General Tom Thumb." His real name was Charles Stratton. He was given the name of Tom Thumb when P. T. Barnum persuaded him to join his circus. General Tom Thumb was 40 inches tall; he weighed 70 pounds. A famous English dwarf, Jeffrey Hudson, was much smaller. He was only 18 inches tall. This dwarf was in the court of Charles I of England.
There are many storybook dwarfs. Rumpelstilskin is one. The Seven Dwarfs in the story of Snow White are others.
Where and how do comets originate?
The most commonly accepted theory about where comets originate was suggested by Dutch astronomer Jan Hendrick Oort in 1950. Oort's theory states that trillions of inactive comets lie on the outskirts of the solar system, about one light-year from the Sun. They remain there in what is called an Oort cloud, until a passing gas cloud or star jolts a comet into orbit around the Sun. The Oort cloud lies somewhere between 50,000 and 150,000 astronomical units (AU) from the Sun. In 1951, another Dutch astronomer, Gerard Kuiper, suggested that there is a second cometary reservoir located just beyond the edge of our solar system, around one thousand times closer to the Sun than the Oort cloud. His hypothetical Kuiper belt is located somewhere between 35 and 1,000 AU from the Sun. It contains an estimated ten million to one billion comets, far fewer than the Oort cloud.
Myths and legends
Before the days of science people in many different parts of the world made up stories to explain the world as they saw it. They told stories to explain why the seasons change, why birds migrate, why robins have red breasts, why each group of stars is in the sky, and many, many other such things. Stories of this kind are called myths. They are not true. But they show that the people who made them up were really trying to understand the world around them.
There are many Indian myths about nature. The next is a myth told by the Ojibway Indians. Ojeeb Annung, so the myth says, was a famous hunter. He had the power of changing himself into a fisher, an animal of the forest, whenever he wished.
The hunter's son also wanted to be a great hunter, but the land where he lived was too cold much of the time. The boy's hands were so cold that he could not fit his arrows into his bow. He begged his father to make summer come. His father promised, although he knew it would be hard.
There are many Indian myths about nature. The next is a myth told by the Ojibway Indians. Ojeeb Annung, so the myth says, was a famous hunter. He had the power of changing himself into a fisher, an animal of the forest, whenever he wished.
The hunter's son also wanted to be a great hunter, but the land where he lived was too cold much of the time. The boy's hands were so cold that he could not fit his arrows into his bow. He begged his father to make summer come. His father promised, although he knew it would be hard.
How did early cultures interpret comets?
the Hun, and in A.D. 684 a comet was blamed for an outbreak of the plague. People used to print and distribute pamphlets every time a comet was coming, some with titles such as "News of the Terrible and Fearsome Comet." Aristotle, the famous Greek philosopher and scientist from the third century B.C., mistakenly believed that comets were atmospheric phenomena and that they were a sign of coming weather.
Does a camel store water in its hump?
Camels can live in the desert for two or three weeks, eating dry food and drinking no water. At the end of that time, a thirsty camel will guzzle enough to fill a bathtub. People used to think that the camel's hump was a sort of natural canteen where the water was stored. But scientists have found that the hump contains fat, not water. A camel lives on this fat when it can't find food in the desert.
Then how can a camel go so long without drinking? The answer is that a camel stores water all over its body — in the flesh and blood and skin and muscles. As it uses the water, its body gets drier and drier. If other animals dry out like this, they get sick. But it doesn't bother the camel at all. In fact, a camel never takes little drinks. It always waits until it is so dry it needs about a bathtub full of water.
Then how can a camel go so long without drinking? The answer is that a camel stores water all over its body — in the flesh and blood and skin and muscles. As it uses the water, its body gets drier and drier. If other animals dry out like this, they get sick. But it doesn't bother the camel at all. In fact, a camel never takes little drinks. It always waits until it is so dry it needs about a bathtub full of water.
Quinine uses
Quinine is a fever-reducing drug used in the treatment of malaria. It is a white, odorless, crystalline powder with a bitter taste. It comes from the bark of the cinchona tree originally found in South America. Because of the demand for quinine, the tree is now raised in the East Indies, Jamaica, Java, and other tropical countries. To prepare quinine, the bark is stripped from the trees and dried. It is then ground into a powder, from which the quinine is extracted.
Cinchona bark was used in early times by the Inca Indians of South America, who called it quinaquina. It was introduced in Europe in 1640, when it was used to cure the fever of the wife of the Peruvian Viceroy. She was Countess Cinchón, for whom the cinchona tree was named.
Before World War II, most quinine came from the Dutch East Indies. When the Dutch East Indies fell into Japanese hands, the supply of quinine for the Allied troops fighting in the tropics was cut off. It was necessary to develop synthetic drugs for the control of malaria, and atabrine became the best known.
Quinine is also used as a remedy for joint and muscle pain and for headaches, in the treatment of varicose veins, and as an appetite stimulant.
Cinchona bark was used in early times by the Inca Indians of South America, who called it quinaquina. It was introduced in Europe in 1640, when it was used to cure the fever of the wife of the Peruvian Viceroy. She was Countess Cinchón, for whom the cinchona tree was named.
Before World War II, most quinine came from the Dutch East Indies. When the Dutch East Indies fell into Japanese hands, the supply of quinine for the Allied troops fighting in the tropics was cut off. It was necessary to develop synthetic drugs for the control of malaria, and atabrine became the best known.
Quinine is also used as a remedy for joint and muscle pain and for headaches, in the treatment of varicose veins, and as an appetite stimulant.
Uses of Hypnotism
Scientists use hypnosis in research, medicine, surgery, and dentistry, and in psychotherapy, a method of treating the mentally ill (see psychotherapy). Doctors sometimes use it as a sedative to quiet patients who are nervous or irritable. They also use it to relieve pain or uncomfortable symptoms. Surgeons may use hypnosis as a form of anesthesia so that a patient undergoing an operation will feel no pain. Hypnotism is used by some doctors as an aid during childbirth.
Why do beavers build dams?
Beavers build dams so that they will have safe homes close to a supply of food in winter. In the pond that forms behind their dam, the father and mother beaver put together a hut. It looks like a jumble of sticks and mud, but it is quite strong. It has a good dry room inside and the entrance is hidden under water. A beaver family — the father, mother and several young ones called kits — live together in the house.
Even in winter when the woods are deep in snow and the pond is frozen over, beavers usually have plenty of food. They eat the bark from tree branches and bushes which they have cut and then anchored in the mud at the bottom of the pond.
Even in winter when the woods are deep in snow and the pond is frozen over, beavers usually have plenty of food. They eat the bark from tree branches and bushes which they have cut and then anchored in the mud at the bottom of the pond.
Quince Flowering
Quinces are popular garden shrubs that are among the first to blossom in the spring. These shrubs belong to the rose family and come from eastern Asia. The five-petaled, showy flowers bloom before or with the unfolding of the leaves. They make fine specimen plants and are also used for hedges. They are easily raised in most soils and are propagated by cuttings or layering.
Japonica is a variety known as dwarf Japanese quince. It is a low, spreading plant that grows about three feet high and has red flowers.
Lagenaria is known as Japanese quince. It grows four to six feet tall and has spiny branches. Its flowers are scarlet or white, but some have pink flowers that turn red in the fall. It is the best flowering quince for hedges.
The hard, acid fruit called quince is related to the pear and apple. It is also a member of the rose family. The fruit is very tasty when it is cooked.
Japonica is a variety known as dwarf Japanese quince. It is a low, spreading plant that grows about three feet high and has red flowers.
Lagenaria is known as Japanese quince. It grows four to six feet tall and has spiny branches. Its flowers are scarlet or white, but some have pink flowers that turn red in the fall. It is the best flowering quince for hedges.
The hard, acid fruit called quince is related to the pear and apple. It is also a member of the rose family. The fruit is very tasty when it is cooked.
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| Japonica quince |
Some facts about the Hedgehog
Can a porcupine throw its quills?
No, a porcupine cannot shoot out its quills at other animals or human beings. But don't go too close to a porcupine. It may switch you with its tail. The tail, like the body, is covered with quills that stick when they touch anything soft.
Each quill has a sharp point. It can easily go into the mouth or tongue of a foolish bear or mountain lion. Once the quill is in, it clings with a sharp barb, like the barb on a fishhook. Often the quill keeps working its way deeper and deeper into the flesh. Although it is no bigger than a toothpick, it can kill a huge bear. A bear can't use pliers as you can to pull the quill out.
Each quill has a sharp point. It can easily go into the mouth or tongue of a foolish bear or mountain lion. Once the quill is in, it clings with a sharp barb, like the barb on a fishhook. Often the quill keeps working its way deeper and deeper into the flesh. Although it is no bigger than a toothpick, it can kill a huge bear. A bear can't use pliers as you can to pull the quill out.
Why is a snake always sticking its tongue out?
A snake's tongue is a kind of special feeler. It helps to detect smells. The tongue darts out of the mouth and picks up bits of dust. Then it draws in and places the dust on certain spots in the mouth. These spots are very sensitive to odors. So the tongue gives the snake an extra keen sense of smell.
What is Quicksand?
Quicksand is a bed of very fine, powdery, wet sand. It may look solid, but it is like a thick fluid. It will not support anything heavy. Men, animals, trains, or automobiles can be swallowed up if they move onto quicksand.
Under quicksand there is usually a layer of clay. The clay keeps the water from draining away from the sand. Quicksand is often found at the mouths of rivers where fine sand has been deposited on clay. It can also be found around lakes or ponds if a hollow pocket in a clay shore holds it and keeps it wet.
Quicksand is very treacherous. There are many tales of men sinking into quicksand. A man need not be swallowed up, however. If he remains calm and still and takes special care not to move his feet, he will stop sinking when he is in quicksand up to his armpits. His weight then will balance the weight of displaced sand.
Under quicksand there is usually a layer of clay. The clay keeps the water from draining away from the sand. Quicksand is often found at the mouths of rivers where fine sand has been deposited on clay. It can also be found around lakes or ponds if a hollow pocket in a clay shore holds it and keeps it wet.
Quicksand is very treacherous. There are many tales of men sinking into quicksand. A man need not be swallowed up, however. If he remains calm and still and takes special care not to move his feet, he will stop sinking when he is in quicksand up to his armpits. His weight then will balance the weight of displaced sand.
Musical instruments
People are born with built —in musical instruments— their voice boxes. But not even our very early ancestors were satisfied with having just their voices to make music. Thousands of years ago they learned to make musical instruments out of reeds, hollow logs, and other things they found around them.
The image on this page show some of the many kinds of musical instruments. Some kinds of instruments have been played since ancient times. Others have been developed in recent times.
Most musical instruments belong in one or another of these three groups: wind instruments, stringed instruments, and percussion instruments. In every musical instrument there must be something which can be set to moving back and forth, or vibrating. Unless something is vibrating, no sound comes from the instrument.
Wind instruments are all played by setting the air inside them to vibrating. As a rule the player blows into them. Their name tells that stringed instruments have strings. The player plucks the strings with his fingers or draws a bow across them. Percussion instruments are played by striking them. It is easy to sort out most of the instruments in the image (below) into their proper places in these three groups.
There are a few instruments that do not fit exactly into any one of these groups. The piano is a good example. It has many strings, but it is played by making little felt hammers hit the strings. Thus it is both a percussion and a stringed instrument.
In bands only wind and percussion instruments are used. Orchestras use stringed instruments, too.
The image on this page show some of the many kinds of musical instruments. Some kinds of instruments have been played since ancient times. Others have been developed in recent times.
Most musical instruments belong in one or another of these three groups: wind instruments, stringed instruments, and percussion instruments. In every musical instrument there must be something which can be set to moving back and forth, or vibrating. Unless something is vibrating, no sound comes from the instrument.
Wind instruments are all played by setting the air inside them to vibrating. As a rule the player blows into them. Their name tells that stringed instruments have strings. The player plucks the strings with his fingers or draws a bow across them. Percussion instruments are played by striking them. It is easy to sort out most of the instruments in the image (below) into their proper places in these three groups.
There are a few instruments that do not fit exactly into any one of these groups. The piano is a good example. It has many strings, but it is played by making little felt hammers hit the strings. Thus it is both a percussion and a stringed instrument.
In bands only wind and percussion instruments are used. Orchestras use stringed instruments, too.
Hippopotamus
Garnet minerals
Garnet is a group of minerals, some of which are used as gemstones. They are common in several igneous and metamorphic rocks. Many elements are included in the different varieties of garnet, such as calcium, magnesium, iron, aluminum, chromium, manganese, and titanium. Garnets often occur as crystals, some several inches in diameter. Colors vary from yellow to red, green, purple, and brown. Large quantities of the minerals are found in Bohemia, Ceylon, and South Africa and in the United States in Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, California, Alaska, and many other states.
Goose (Anserinae)
The goose is any bird belonging to the subfamily Anserinae (true geese) of the family Anatidae. Technically, the term goose is reserved for the female, the male being known as the gander, and the newly hatched young as goslings. Also included in the Anatidae are swans, ducks, and mergansers.
Geese and other members of the Anatidae are swimming birds of moderate size with short legs, fully-webbed front toes, and a broad, flat bill with laminated edges. The young are covered with down and are precocious, being able to swim or run about within a few hours after they are hatched. Geese differ from their close relatives, the swans, in having a shorter neck and the front of the face feathered. They differ from most of the ducks in having the front of the lower part of the legs covered by small hexagonal scales instead of larger, narrower ones, and the bill relatively shorter and more tapering.
Geese and other members of the Anatidae are swimming birds of moderate size with short legs, fully-webbed front toes, and a broad, flat bill with laminated edges. The young are covered with down and are precocious, being able to swim or run about within a few hours after they are hatched. Geese differ from their close relatives, the swans, in having a shorter neck and the front of the face feathered. They differ from most of the ducks in having the front of the lower part of the legs covered by small hexagonal scales instead of larger, narrower ones, and the bill relatively shorter and more tapering.
Common Garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis)
What is a hyperbole?
Hyperbole is a figure of speech which is an exaggeration. Persona often use expressions such as "I nearly died laughing," "I was hopping mad," and "I tried a thousand times." Such statements are not literally true, but people make them to sound impressive or to emphasize something, such as a feeling, effort, or reaction. Sometimes there is humor in such statements, and usually everybody knows they are not true. Hyperboles are common in everyday speech, and in poetry and other literature.
Water bug
Flying fish
The flying fish has large soft scales. It has a silver belly, and the rest of the body is green or blue. It feeds on tiny sea animals and lays round eggs in long thin streamers, which are attached to seaweed. Flying fish are eaten by tuna and other large fishes. They are also used as bait in commercial and large game fishing, and in many areas they are sold for human food.
The largest flying fish is the 18-inch-long California flying fish (Cypselurus californicus), which is found off the coast of southern California. Other well-known-species are the tropical fish (Exocoetus volitans) which inhabits all warm waters, and the Atlantic flying fish (C. heterurus), which lives on both sides the Atlantic Ocean.
What is rabies?
Rabies is a disease found among wild and domestic animals. It is sometimes called hydrophobia, which means "fear of water," because rabies causes paralysis of throat muscles, and the victim, although thirsty, cannot swallow.
In dumb rabies the infected animal is listless, dull-eyed and unable to swallow. The voice is hoarse, the mouth hangs open and the jaw drips saliva. There is no indication of unfriendliness, and many times the disease is not recognized until infection has passed on through a break in the skin of the animal's handler. Furious rabies is easier to recognize because the infected animal, in addition to hoarseness and slobbering, wanders off and becomes violent.
Rabies among wild animals, fox, bats, skunks, and squirrels, is referred to as sylvatic rabies. In domestic animals it is known as urban rabies. All pets should be given anti-rabies vaccinations for protection of the pet and the owner. Health departments make every effort to curb the disease by vaccinating stray animals, and issuing dog licenses. This dread disease can be transmitted to any unvaccinated pet by wild animals.
The rabies' virus lives in the salivary glands of the infected animal and can be passed on to humans through a bite. The virus travels by nerve trunks to the central nervous system where it finally causes death to the nerve cells. The period between the entry of the rabies' virus into the body and the first signs of the disease may be from four to eight weeks.
For humans exposed to rabies, Pasteur anti-rabies vaccine is administered for a period of 21 days for bites involving the head, and fourteen days for bites elsewhere on the body.
In dumb rabies the infected animal is listless, dull-eyed and unable to swallow. The voice is hoarse, the mouth hangs open and the jaw drips saliva. There is no indication of unfriendliness, and many times the disease is not recognized until infection has passed on through a break in the skin of the animal's handler. Furious rabies is easier to recognize because the infected animal, in addition to hoarseness and slobbering, wanders off and becomes violent.
Rabies among wild animals, fox, bats, skunks, and squirrels, is referred to as sylvatic rabies. In domestic animals it is known as urban rabies. All pets should be given anti-rabies vaccinations for protection of the pet and the owner. Health departments make every effort to curb the disease by vaccinating stray animals, and issuing dog licenses. This dread disease can be transmitted to any unvaccinated pet by wild animals.
The rabies' virus lives in the salivary glands of the infected animal and can be passed on to humans through a bite. The virus travels by nerve trunks to the central nervous system where it finally causes death to the nerve cells. The period between the entry of the rabies' virus into the body and the first signs of the disease may be from four to eight weeks.
For humans exposed to rabies, Pasteur anti-rabies vaccine is administered for a period of 21 days for bites involving the head, and fourteen days for bites elsewhere on the body.
What is nicotine?
Nicotine is a natural chemical made in tobacco plants. It is poisonous and small amounts eaten or injected can cause severe nausea or death.
Pure nicotine is a clear liquid, but it becomes dark brown when exposed to air. Its formula is Ci0Hi4N2. It has a burning, bitter taste. It is classed as an alkaloid.
Nicotine is used in insecticides and for studies of nerve and heart reactions. It is a hazard to smokers though their bodies develop some resistance to its effects.
Pure nicotine is a clear liquid, but it becomes dark brown when exposed to air. Its formula is Ci0Hi4N2. It has a burning, bitter taste. It is classed as an alkaloid.
Nicotine is used in insecticides and for studies of nerve and heart reactions. It is a hazard to smokers though their bodies develop some resistance to its effects.
Night-blooming plants
The best known night-blooming plant is the night-blooming cereus. Its blooms are nearly a foot long and very fragrant. They are most beautiful after midnight, but they only open once and then wither.
Other plants may bloom for several nights, as do the night jasmines. Many tropical plants will bloom for several nights, but they are not commonly cultivated. Some plants bloom during the latter part of the day but their flowers are at their finest at night, and they are most fragrant after sundown. Some flowers bloom during the day if the weather is cloudy and overcast.
Plants belonging to the genus Nicotiana are the most outstanding of the hardy garden flowers that bloom after sunset and at night. They have clusters of sweet-smelling flowers that open in the evening or on sunless days. The easily raised evening primroses are also popular garden night-blooming plants. Others are evening campion, nightshade, evening star, evening stock, four-o-clock, night phlox, akebia quintas, gladiolus tristis, hemerocallis thunbergi, and hesperis.
Dolls
For thousands of years children have played with dolls. Dolls have been found in the tombs of ancient Egypt. They have been found in the ruins of the cities of ancient Babylonia. Dolls have even been found in the graves of people who lived before anyone could write.
Many of the dolls American children play with look like real babies. They are as soft and cuddly as real babies, too. They can cry and say,"Mama." There are older dolls, too. Some can walk. Some have real hair that can be shampooed and curled. But probably no American girl loves her doll any more than a little girl of ancient Egypt loved her painted wooden doll with hair made of clay beads.
Even today the dolls 'children play with in some parts of the world look strange to children in other parts of the world. And homemade dolls are often very different from the dolls for sale in toy shops.
Materials of many kinds are used for dolls. Among them are plastics, rubber, china, wood, rags, and even cornhusks.
Some of the dolls in the toy stores of America were made in other lands. But many of them were made in the United States. The United States now makes more dolls than any other country in the world.
The stores that sell dolls usually sell doll houses and doll furniture, too. It is easy to spend hundreds of dollars for a doll house and its furniture. Probably the most famous doll house in the world is Colleen Moore's. Colleen Moore is a former movie actress. Her doll house is now in a museum in Chicago.
Many of the dolls American children play with look like real babies. They are as soft and cuddly as real babies, too. They can cry and say,"Mama." There are older dolls, too. Some can walk. Some have real hair that can be shampooed and curled. But probably no American girl loves her doll any more than a little girl of ancient Egypt loved her painted wooden doll with hair made of clay beads.
Even today the dolls 'children play with in some parts of the world look strange to children in other parts of the world. And homemade dolls are often very different from the dolls for sale in toy shops.
Materials of many kinds are used for dolls. Among them are plastics, rubber, china, wood, rags, and even cornhusks.
Some of the dolls in the toy stores of America were made in other lands. But many of them were made in the United States. The United States now makes more dolls than any other country in the world.
The stores that sell dolls usually sell doll houses and doll furniture, too. It is easy to spend hundreds of dollars for a doll house and its furniture. Probably the most famous doll house in the world is Colleen Moore's. Colleen Moore is a former movie actress. Her doll house is now in a museum in Chicago.
Oysters
The oyster is a small sea animal enclosed in two hinged shells called valves. Oysters belong to a group of mollusks called bivalves (two-valves). Varieties are used for food, mother-of-pearl, and pearl production. Oysters are found mainly in waters off sea coasts.
The full-grown oyster's shell is the size of a woman's hand, appearing grayish colored and irregularly pear-shaped. One valve is larger and cupped, holding the animal's soft body. The other is like a lid on a box. The inside of the valves is made smooth by a secretion of the oyster. This is "mother-of-pearl." Its smoothness protects the soft, naked animal. The valves open and close slightly, controlled by adductor muscles, located on either side of the body. Oysters breathe by gills and eat minute plants and animals in the water. To remove an oyster, one must force the shell open by cutting the strong muscles at the hinge with a sharp knife.
Oysters develop from eggs, one oyster producing hundreds of millions of eggs in a season. This large number of eggs is vital, for quantities are eaten by fish, which also devour the larvae (small swimming forms which develop into adults. These swimmers travel about for two weeks until they anchor permanently. They continue to grow, arriving at full growth in three to four years.
Commercially, oyster "beds" are kept in favorable condition for, oyster production and development. Since oysters live such perilous lives, "farmers" must do all they can to guard their investment by careful attention to oyster needs.
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| Oyster |
Oysters develop from eggs, one oyster producing hundreds of millions of eggs in a season. This large number of eggs is vital, for quantities are eaten by fish, which also devour the larvae (small swimming forms which develop into adults. These swimmers travel about for two weeks until they anchor permanently. They continue to grow, arriving at full growth in three to four years.
Commercially, oyster "beds" are kept in favorable condition for, oyster production and development. Since oysters live such perilous lives, "farmers" must do all they can to guard their investment by careful attention to oyster needs.
Minotaur
Minotaur, Greek mythology, a monster represented as having the body of a man and the head of a bull. The name means bull of Minos. The bull was confined in the Cretan labyrinth by Minos, king of Crete, and fed on human flesh. Seven youths and seven maidens of Athens were thus sacrificed yearly until Theseus, with the aid of Ariadne, daughter of Minos, succeeded in slaying the monster.
Drugs
All cities, large towns, and even most small towns have drugstores. The drugs these stores sell are chemicals that help people get well or keep well. Medicines are made of drugs. A medicine may have only one drug in it or it may be a combination of several different drugs.
Some drugs come from plants. Penicillin, for instance, comes from a little mold plant called penicillium. Some drugs come from animals. Cortisone comes from certain animal glands. Other drugs come from the earth. Sulfur is one of them. Scientists are producing still other drugs from chemicals in their laboratories. Year after year new drugs are discovered.
Certain drugs are called narcotics. A person may take one of these drugs for so long that finally his body cannot get along without it. In the end, such a drug may do him a great deal of harm.
Some drugs come from plants. Penicillin, for instance, comes from a little mold plant called penicillium. Some drugs come from animals. Cortisone comes from certain animal glands. Other drugs come from the earth. Sulfur is one of them. Scientists are producing still other drugs from chemicals in their laboratories. Year after year new drugs are discovered.
Certain drugs are called narcotics. A person may take one of these drugs for so long that finally his body cannot get along without it. In the end, such a drug may do him a great deal of harm.
Walking Stick or cane
Dust
Housekeepers spend a great deal of time dusting. Dust settles from the air and may make a gray coating over everything in a house.
How surprised many housekeepers would be if they knew that part of the dust they wipe off the floors and furniture each day is alive! But it is. Dust is made up partly of tiny bits of rock. It may have in it bits of dead wood and dried leaves. It may have in it ashes from volcanoes— ashes from volcanoes have been blown clear around the world. It may have in it, too, particles left when a shooting star burned up on its way to the ground. It is almost sure to have some soot in it. But it also has in it yeasts and bacteria, and perhaps spores from several kinds of plants, and pollen from flowers. These are alive!
Yeasts are very tiny microorganisms. They are much too small to be seen without a microscope. Bacteria are tiny organisms which are even smaller than yeasts. Some of them are disease germs. Mushrooms and molds and ferns are three of the kinds of fungi organisms that have spores. These fungi do not have seeds. They are scattered by spores instead. Pollen is the powder in flowers that helps form seeds.
In a region where there has not been enough rain, there may be great dust storms. The dust blown about in these storms is mostly topsoil.
How surprised many housekeepers would be if they knew that part of the dust they wipe off the floors and furniture each day is alive! But it is. Dust is made up partly of tiny bits of rock. It may have in it bits of dead wood and dried leaves. It may have in it ashes from volcanoes— ashes from volcanoes have been blown clear around the world. It may have in it, too, particles left when a shooting star burned up on its way to the ground. It is almost sure to have some soot in it. But it also has in it yeasts and bacteria, and perhaps spores from several kinds of plants, and pollen from flowers. These are alive!
Yeasts are very tiny microorganisms. They are much too small to be seen without a microscope. Bacteria are tiny organisms which are even smaller than yeasts. Some of them are disease germs. Mushrooms and molds and ferns are three of the kinds of fungi organisms that have spores. These fungi do not have seeds. They are scattered by spores instead. Pollen is the powder in flowers that helps form seeds.
In a region where there has not been enough rain, there may be great dust storms. The dust blown about in these storms is mostly topsoil.
The Nightingale bird
There are two species of nightingale, one of which ranges from Britain across southern Europe to Asia and another which does not reach western Europe. Both winter in northern Africa, migrating north in April. The males arrive before the females.
The nightingale nests in thick brush. The nest is cup-shaped, lined with fine roots and balanced in the undergrowth. From four to six dark olive eggs are laid. The birds feed on insects and worms.
Leopard, the smartest cat
Largest ape: Gorilla
The gorilla is the largest of the man-like apes. The male is larger than a man, being about six feet tall and sometimes weighing 500 pounds. Gorillas usually walk on all fours, but they can walk in an upright position better than other apes. The body is short and heavy and the arms are so long that the finger tips fall below the knees. The skin is black and covered with coarse gray hair. The teeth are large and the jaws so strong that the gorilla can easily crack nuts which would require a blow from a heavy hammer. Gorillas live in the equatorial forest of western Africa, and it is estimated that there are not more than 2,000 in the world. They feed on nuts and spend most of their time in the branches of trees, where they make nests resembling hammocks for the females and young. The male has but one mate.
The internment of Japanese Americans
On February 19,1942, a little more than two months after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, U.S. president Franklin D. Roosevelt authorized the forcible removal of approximately 112,000 persons of Japanese ancestry from their homes in the Pacific Coast states to "relocation," or detention, camps. Although approximately two-thirds of those detained were American citizens, the government feared they would sabotage the American war effort, even though many Japanese American soldiers were fighting bravely in the U.S. Armed Forces. The camps were closed when the war ended in 1945. In 1988 continuing controversy over the forced internments led Congress to pass a bill awarding each of the surviving internees $20,000.
Stephen A. Douglas
Every time a new president of the United States is elected, at least one other person is defeated. When Abraham Lincoln was elected president, Stephen A. Douglas (1813-1861) was the candidate who was defeated.
Douglas had a nickname. It was "The Little Giant." He got his nickname because he was very short but had a big head and big shoulders. He had an excellent voice and made many wonderful speeches.
In 1858, two years before Lincoln defeated Douglas, Douglas had defeated Lincoln. But then they were running for senator, not president. Lincoln and Douglas traveled all over Illinois to tell the voters what their ideas were. They had many debates. These debates were of great interest to the whole country. Douglas persuaded the voters of Illinois that his ideas were better than Lincoln's. He won the election to the U.S. Senate.
But the tables were turned in the race for president. Because of the stand Douglas took on the slavery question, he made the Southern Democrats angry. When it came time to choose a president, these Southerners refused to vote for him. Lincoln won.
Soon after the election, the War between the States began. Douglas offered to help Lincoln in any way he could. But he had little chance to do so. He died from typhoid fever only two months after the beginning of the war.
Douglas had a nickname. It was "The Little Giant." He got his nickname because he was very short but had a big head and big shoulders. He had an excellent voice and made many wonderful speeches.
In 1858, two years before Lincoln defeated Douglas, Douglas had defeated Lincoln. But then they were running for senator, not president. Lincoln and Douglas traveled all over Illinois to tell the voters what their ideas were. They had many debates. These debates were of great interest to the whole country. Douglas persuaded the voters of Illinois that his ideas were better than Lincoln's. He won the election to the U.S. Senate.
But the tables were turned in the race for president. Because of the stand Douglas took on the slavery question, he made the Southern Democrats angry. When it came time to choose a president, these Southerners refused to vote for him. Lincoln won.
Soon after the election, the War between the States began. Douglas offered to help Lincoln in any way he could. But he had little chance to do so. He died from typhoid fever only two months after the beginning of the war.
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