Bot Fly
Horse bot flies (family Gasterophilidae) include species of Gasterophilus, a serious horse pest. The adult horse fly, often known as a gad fly, deposits between about 400 and 500 eggs (nits) on the horse's
Sarah
Also spelled �Sarai, � in the Old Testament, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac. Sarah was childless until she was 90 years old. God promised Abraham that she would be �a mother of nations� (Genesis 17:16) and that she would conceive and bear a son, but Sarah did not believe. Isaac, born to Sarah and Abraham in their old age, was the fulfillment of God's promise to them. The barrenness of Sarah, cited in the preface
Chronology, Peoples of Oaxaca and the Isthmus of Tehuantepec
Pictorial books of the Mixtec of Oaxaca record events in the lives of ruling families covering seven centuries, but, again, happenings are fixed only by the day on which each occurred and the year in which the day fell. Sequence is usually clear, but at times there is doubt as to which 52-year period is meant when parenthetical material, such as life histories of secondary
Gomberg, Moses
At age 18 Gomberg migrated with his family to the United States because his father's antitsarist activities made them unwelcome in Russia.
Sarapion, Saint
Sarapion was a champion with St. Athanasius of Alexandria of orthodox doctrine in the 4th-century theological controversy over Arianism. A key figure in early monasticism, together with his Egyptian contemporary, St. Anthony, Sarapion
Iamb
Metrical foot consisting of one short syllable (as in classical verse) or one unstressed syllable (as in English verse) followed by one long or stressed syllable, as in the word {breve}be|cause� . Considered by the ancient Greeks to approximate the natural rhythm of speech, iambic metres were used extensively for dramatic dialogue, invective, satire, and fables. Also suited
Wierzynski, Kazimierz
Wierzynski moved to Warsaw after the restoration of Poland's independence at the close of World War I and became one of the foremost members of Skamander. His poetical debut was Wiosna i wino (1919; �Spring and Wine�), followed by Wr�ble na
Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali
Born into a noble Rajput family that had accepted Islam, Bhutto was the son of a prominent political figure in the Indian colonial government. He was educated in Bombay and at the University
Benacerraf, Baruj
From the age of five until the outbreak of World War II, Benacerraf
Pyryatyn
Russian �Piryatin�, also spelled �Piriatin� city and centre of a rayon (sector), Poltava oblast (province), Ukraine, on the Uday River. Pyryatyn dates at least from 1155, when it is first documented, and was incorporated in 1781. Before the Revolution of 1917 it was an administrative centre and later became a railway junction. Today it has varied industries, including furniture, building materials, and foodstuffs. Pop. (1991 est.) 18,300.
Powell, William
After graduating from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City in 1912, Powell debuted
Scandinavian Literature, The Icelanders', or family, sagas
These sagas were about heroes who had supposedly lived in the 10th and 11th centuries. Their origins are unclear, and it is debatable whether they were faithful records of history. One theory is that they were composed in the 11th century and transmitted orally until written down in the 13th century; though researchers now reject this view, it is true that the sagas owed much
Uist
Either of two islands of the Outer Hebrides, both lying off the northwestern coast of Scotland. See North Uist; South Uist.
Plum-yew
(Cephalotaxus species), any of about seven species of small coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Cephalotaxus, comprising the plum-yew family (Cephalotaxaceae). Native to central and eastern Asia, these plants are used in many temperate-zone areas as ornamentals. The small, fleshy, plumlike fruit contains a single, hard seed. The Japanese plum-yew, or cow's tail pine
Sea People
Any of the groups of aggressive seafarers who invaded eastern Anatolia, Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, and Egypt toward the end of the Bronze Age, especially in the 13th century BC. They are held responsible for the destruction of old powers such as the Hittite Empire. Because of the abrupt break in ancient Near Eastern records as a result of the invasions, the precise extent and
Raddall, Thomas Head
Raddall immigrated to Nova Scotia with his family in 1913 after his father, a military officer, was transferred to Halifax. The younger Raddall was briefly employed as a wireless operator before becoming
Malar, Lake
Swedish �M�laren,� lake in eastern Sweden, located just west of Stockholm, which lies at the lake's junction with Salt Bay, an arm of the Baltic Sea. At one time Lake Malar was a bay of the Baltic, and seagoing vessels using it were able to sail far into the interior of Sweden. Because of movements of the Earth's crust, however, the rock barrier at the mouth of the bay had become so shallow by about
Bruno Of Querfurt, Saint
A member of the family of the counts of Querfurt, Bruno was educated at the cathedral school at Magdeburg, Saxony, and at the age of 20 he was attached to the clerical household of the Holy Roman emperor Otto III. In 997 he accompanied Otto to Rome, where he was
Athens
City, seat (1819) of Limestone county, northern Alabama, U.S., in the Tennessee River valley, about 25 miles (40 km) west of Huntsville. Settled in 1807 and named for Athens, Greece, it grew as an agricultural and timber centre. During the American Civil War, the town was occupied at intervals by Union troops until recaptured by Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest in 1864. Cotton dominated
Dublin
Irish �Baile �tha Cliath� county in the province of Leinster, Ireland, bounded by County Meath (north), by the Irish Sea (east), by County Wicklow (south), and by Counties Kildare and Meath (west). County Dublin is one of the smallest counties in Ireland and, including Dublin city, is one of the most populous. Its central and northern parts are low-lying, whereas low mountains occupy the southern border
Grafton
City, seat (1878) of Taylor county, northern West Virginia, U.S., on the Tygart Valley River, north of Tygart Lake. Settled in 1852 by construction crews of the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, it is thought to be named for the �graftin' on� (junction) point for branch rail lines. It was chartered in 1856. During the American Civil War it was a key rail centre and was occupied by both Confederate and
Epistolary Novel
A novel told through the medium of letters written by one or more of the characters. Originating with Samuel Richardson's Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded (1740), the story of a servant girl's victorious struggle against her master's attempts to seduce her, it was one of the earliest forms of novel to be developed and remained one of the most popular up to the 19th century. The epistolary
Cyrenaica
Also spelled �Cirenaica�, Arabic �Barqah� historic region of North Africa and until 1963 a province of the United Kingdom of Libya. As early as c. 631 BC Greek colonists settled the northern half of ancient Cyrenaica, known then as Pentapolis for the five major cities they established: Euhesperides (Banghazi), Barce (al-Marj), Cyrene (Shahhat), Apollonia (Marsa Susah), and Tenchira (Tukrah). In later times Ptolemais (Tulmaythah) and Daims-Zarine
Arts, Central Asian, Tibetan music
Tibetan religious music is the only Central Asian repertoire that has a long history of written notation. This notation, for liturgical chant, consists of neumes - i.e., symbols representing melodic contour rather than precise pitch, similar to the earliest music writing of medieval Europe. Also distinctive is the metaphysical aspect of Tibetan Buddhist music, related
Radiation Injury
Tissue damage or changes caused by exposure to ionizing radiation - namely, gamma rays, X rays, and such high-energy particles as neutrons, electrons, and positrons. Sources of ionizing radiation may be natural (e.g., radioactive substances such as the element radium or the radioisotopes potassium-40 and carbon-14) or man-made (X-ray machines, nuclear reactors, particle accelerators,
Biblical Literature, The Gospel According to Luke
Luke is the third in order of the canonical gospels, which, together with Acts, its continuation, is dedicated by Luke to the same patron, �most excellent� Theophilus. Theophilus may have been a Roman called by a title of high degree because he is an official or out of respect; or he may have been an exemplification of the Gentile Christian addressees of the Lucan Gospel.
Anathema
(from Greek anatithenai: �to set up,� or �to dedicate�), in the Old Testament, a creature or object set apart for sacrificial offering. Its return to profane use was strictly banned, and such objects, destined for destruction, thus became effectively accursed as well as consecrated. Old Testament descriptions of religious wars call both the enemy and their besieged city
Anathema
(from Greek anatithenai: �to set up,� or �to dedicate�), in the Old Testament, a creature or object set apart for sacrificial offering. Its return to profane use was strictly banned, and such objects, destined for destruction, thus became effectively accursed as well as consecrated. Old Testament descriptions of religious wars call both the enemy and their besieged city
Latite
Also called �trachyandesite� extrusive igneous rock very abundant in western North America. Usually coloured white, yellowish, pinkish, or gray, it is the volcanic equivalent of monzonite (q.v.). Latites contain plagioclase feldspar (andesine or oligoclase) as large, single crystals (phenocrysts) in a fine-grained matrix of orthoclase feldspar and augite. They also contain phenocrysts of diopside,
Florida
The geographic location of Florida has been the key factor in a long and colourful development, and it helps explain the striking contemporary character of the state. The
O Canada
The music, written by Calixa Lavall�e (1842 - 91), a concert pianist and native of Verch�res, Que., was commissioned in 1880 on the occasion of a visit to Quebec by Lord Lorne (later Duke of Argyll), then governor-general of Canada, and his wife, Queen Victoria's
