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September 15th - October 15th is Hispanic Heritage Month and each week we’re highlighting the work of some of the community’s amazing photographers on Flickr. This week, we invite you to explore an album curated by the talented photographer, Alfredo Hernandez, as he shares his story with the Flickr community.

 

View the album here.

 

Papa Alfredo's Hispanic American Heritage

 

"My name is Alfredo Luis Hernández Moldes, Cuban by birth, naturalized German. I was born in the city of Cárdenas, Matanzas province, in the north of Cuba. I come from a middle-class family. My father was a doctor, my mother a teacher. I had a happy childhood in a country where everything is governed by state control. From a very young age, I had a great inclination for art, music and photography. I remember my first 2 cameras in Cuba, a Russian-made Zenith and another Praktika camera made in East Germany. I was very happy with my cameras, in those days having one or two was a true miracle and I remember how people looked at me in amazement for carrying those gadgets of that time.

 

The truth is that, in a country where everything is controlled by the regime, having those two cameras was also quite risky because you could be accused of spying for imperialism. In fact, I was detained several times to investigate why I was taking photos in one place or another.

 

I was also a musician who had a great influence on the rock music of those years, where it was practically impossible to listen to foreign music because it was classified in those years as ideologically deviant music. I remember that I was the first Cuban rock singer who sang in English in bands like Primavera (Spring) and La Guerrilla (The guerrila). Almost always, after the concerts, they took me to prison and several times they cut off my long hair.

 

These were the prices to pay for being so involved in art in Cuba. If you didn't make revolutionary art, then you had to be a counterrevolutionary and branded an enemy of the revolution.

 

I had to leave Cuba due to mental exhaustion and the abuse I received from the authorities. That was around 1984. My departure was hard, distressing and painful because they treated me like a real wild animal.

 

I finally made it to the free world, the world where I knew no one would care what I would do, who I would hang out with, and who I would meet.

 

Germany took me in as its own and I soon became one of its citizens. Here I could start doing my own thing freely, set up my own recording studio and buy the best cameras. Go to concerts with long hair without fear of being repressed and losing it again. Go take pictures freely knowing that no one would care where I pointed the lens of my camera.

 

Every year when I think about celebrating the Hispanic American national heritage and I look back and see where I came from, I feel pain for all my friends and family that I left behind. They unfortunately have nothing to celebrate but to continue resisting the injustice that is applied every day to their daily lives.

 

That is why, in every photograph I take, every song I compose and every painting I make, there is always the memory of my loved ones, the memory of the island where I was born but which destroyed my life uselessly because of the pranks of a few who have imposed their heavy hand against the Cuban people. I always carry all of them in my heart."

 

- Alfredo Hernandez

 

Photo © Alfredo Hernandez

Most sensational

Narcissus is a genus of predominantly spring flowering perennial plants of the amaryllis family, Amaryllidaceae. Various common names including daffodil, narcissus, and jonquil are used to describe all or some members of the genus. Narcissus has conspicuous flowers with six petal-like tepals surmounted by a cup- or trumpet-shaped corona. The flowers are generally white and yellow (also orange or pink in garden varieties), with either uniform or contrasting coloured tepals and corona.

 

Narcissus were well known in ancient civilisation, both medicinally and botanically, but formally described by Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum (1753). The genus is generally considered to have about ten sections with approximately 50 species. The number of species has varied, depending on how they are classified, due to similarity between species and hybridisation. The genus arose some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene epochs, in the Iberian peninsula and adjacent areas of southwest Europe. The exact origin of the name Narcissus is unknown, but it is often linked to a Greek word (ancient Greek ναρκῶ narkō, "to make numb") and the myth of the youth of that name who fell in love with his own reflection. The English word "daffodil" appears to be derived from "asphodel", with which it was commonly compared.

 

The species are native to meadows and woods in southern Europe and North Africa with a centre of diversity in the Western Mediterranean, particularly the Iberian peninsula. Both wild and cultivated plants have naturalised widely, and were introduced into the Far East prior to the tenth century. Narcissi tend to be long-lived bulbs, which propagate by division, but are also insect-pollinated. Known pests, diseases and disorders include viruses, fungi, the larvae of flies, mites and nematodes. Some Narcissus species have become extinct, while others are threatened by increasing urbanisation and tourism.

 

Historical accounts suggest narcissi have been cultivated from the earliest times, but became increasingly popular in Europe after the 16th century and by the late 19th century were an important commercial crop centred primarily in the Netherlands. Today narcissi are popular as cut flowers and as ornamental plants in private and public gardens. The long history of breeding has resulted in thousands of different cultivars. For horticultural purposes, narcissi are classified into divisions, covering a wide range of shapes and colours. Like other members of their family, narcissi produce a number of different alkaloids, which provide some protection for the plant, but may be poisonous if accidentally ingested. This property has been exploited for medicinal use in traditional healing and has resulted in the production of galantamine for the treatment of Alzheimer's dementia. Long celebrated in art and literature, narcissi are associated with a number of themes in different cultures, ranging from death to good fortune, and as symbols of spring.

 

The daffodil is the national flower of Wales and the symbol of cancer charities in many countries. The appearance of the wild flowers in spring is associated with festivals in many places.

 

Narcissus is a genus of perennial herbaceous bulbiferous geophytes, which die back after flowering to an underground storage bulb. They regrow in the following year from brown-skinned ovoid bulbs with pronounced necks, and reach heights of 5–80 centimetres (2.0–31.5 in) depending on the species. Dwarf species such as N. asturiensis have a maximum height of 5–8 centimetres (2.0–3.1 in), while Narcissus tazetta may grow as tall as 80 centimetres (31 in).

 

The plants are scapose, having a single central leafless hollow flower stem (scape). Several green or blue-green, narrow, strap-shaped leaves arise from the bulb. The plant stem usually bears a solitary flower, but occasionally a cluster of flowers (umbel). The flowers, which are usually conspicuous and white or yellow, sometimes both or rarely green, consist of a perianth of three parts. Closest to the stem (proximal) is a floral tube above the ovary, then an outer ring composed of six tepals (undifferentiated sepals and petals), and a central disc to conical shaped corona. The flowers may hang down (pendant), or be erect. There are six pollen bearing stamens surrounding a central style. The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) consisting of three chambers (trilocular). The fruit consists of a dry capsule that splits (dehisces) releasing numerous black seeds.

 

The bulb lies dormant after the leaves and flower stem die back and has contractile roots that pull it down further into the soil. The flower stem and leaves form in the bulb, to emerge the following season. Most species are dormant from summer to late winter, flowering in the spring, though a few species are autumn flowering.

 

The pale brown-skinned ovoid tunicate bulbs have a membranous tunic and a corky stem (base or basal) plate from which arise the adventitious root hairs in a ring around the edge, which grow up to 40 mm in length. Above the stem plate is the storage organ consisting of bulb scales, surrounding the previous flower stalk and the terminal bud. The scales are of two types, true storage organs and the bases of the foliage leaves. These have a thicker tip and a scar from where the leaf lamina became detached. The innermost leaf scale is semicircular only partly enveloping the flower stalk (semisheathed).(see Hanks Fig 1.3). The bulb may contain a number of branched bulb units, each with two to three true scales and two to three leaf bases. Each bulb unit has a life of about four years.

 

Once the leaves die back in summer, the roots also wither. After some years, the roots shorten pulling the bulbs deeper into the ground (contractile roots). The bulbs develop from the inside, pushing the older layers outwards which become brown and dry, forming an outer shell, the tunic or skin. Up to 60 layers have been counted in some wild species. While the plant appears dormant above the ground the flower stalk which will start to grow in the following spring, develops within the bulb surrounded by two to three deciduous leaves and their sheaths. The flower stem lies in the axil of the second true leaf.

 

The single leafless Plant stem stem or scape, appearing from early to late spring depending on the species, bears from 1 to 20 blooms. Stem shape depends on the species, some are highly compressed with a visible seam, while others are rounded. The stems are upright and located at the centre of the leaves. In a few species such as N. hedraeanthus the stem is oblique. The stem is hollow in the upper portion but towards the bulb is more solid and filled with a spongy material.

 

Narcissus plants have one to several basal leaf leaves which are linear, ligulate or strap-shaped (long and narrow), sometimes channelled adaxially to semiterete, and may (pedicellate) or may not (sessile) have a petiole stalk. The leaves are flat and broad to cylindrical at the base and arise from the bulb. The emerging plant generally has two leaves, but the mature plant usually three, rarely four, and they are covered with a cutin containing cuticle, giving them a waxy appearance. Leaf colour is light green to blue-green. In the mature plant, the leaves extend higher than the flower stem, but in some species, the leaves are low-hanging. The leaf base is encased in a colorless sheath. After flowering, the leaves turn yellow and die back once the seed pod (fruit) is ripe.

 

Jonquils usually have dark green, round, rush-like leaves.

 

The inflorescence is scapose, the single stem or scape bearing either a solitary flower or forming an umbel with up to 20 blooms. Species bearing a solitary flower include section Bulbocodium and most of section Pseudonarcissus. Umbellate species have a fleshy racemose inflorescence (unbranched, with short floral stalks) with 2 to 15 or 20 flowers, such as N. papyraceus (see illustration, left) and N. tazetta (see Table I). The flower arrangement on the inflorescence may be either with (pedicellate) or without (sessile) floral stalks.

 

Prior to opening, the flower buds are enveloped and protected in a thin dry papery or membranous (scarious) spathe. The spathe consists of a singular bract that is ribbed, and which remains wrapped around the base of the open flower. As the bud grows, the spathe splits longitudinally. Bracteoles are small or absent.

 

The flowers of Narcissus are hermaphroditic (bisexual), have three parts (tripartite), and are sometimes fragrant (see Fragrances). The flower symmetry is actinomorphic (radial) to slightly zygomorphic (bilateral) due to declinate-ascending stamens (curving downwards, then bent up at the tip). Narcissus flowers are characterised by their, usually conspicuous, corona (trumpet).

 

The three major floral parts (in all species except N. cavanillesii in which the corona is virtually absent - Table I: Section Tapeinanthus) are;

 

(i) the proximal floral tube (hypanthium),

(ii) the surrounding free tepals, and

(iii) the more distal corona (paraperigon, paraperigonium).

All three parts may be considered to be components of the perianth (perigon, perigonium). The perianth arises above the apex of the inferior ovary, its base forming the hypanthial floral tube.

 

The floral tube is formed by fusion of the basal segments of the tepals (proximally connate). Its shape is from an inverted cone (obconic) to funnel-shaped (funneliform) or cylindrical, and is surmounted by the more distal corona. Floral tubes can range from long and narrow sections Apodanthi and Jonquilla to rudimentary (N. cavanillesii).

 

Surrounding the floral tube and corona and reflexed (bent back) from the rest of the perianth are the six spreading tepals or floral leaves, in two whorls which may be distally ascending, reflexed (folded back), or lanceolate. Like many monocotyledons, the perianth is homochlamydeous, which is undifferentiated into separate calyx (sepals) and corolla (petals), but rather has six tepals. The three outer tepal segments may be considered sepals, and the three inner segments petals. The transition point between the floral tube and the corona is marked by the insertion of the free tepals on the fused perianth.

 

The corona, or paracorolla, is variously described as bell-shaped (funneliform, trumpet), bowl-shaped (cupular, crateriform, cup-shaped) or disc-shaped with margins that are often frilled, and is free from the stamens. Rarely is the corona a simple callose (hardened, thickened) ring. The corona is formed during floral development as a tubular outgrowth from stamens which fuse into a tubular structure, the anthers becoming reduced. At its base, the fragrances which attract pollinators are formed. All species produce nectar at the top of the ovary. Coronal morphology varies from the tiny pigmented disk of N. serotinus (see Table I) or the rudimentary structure in N. cavanillesii to the elongated trumpets of section Pseudonarcissus (trumpet daffodils, Table I).

 

While the perianth may point forwards, in some species such as N. cyclamineus it is folded back (reflexed, see illustration, left), while in some other species such as N. bulbocodium (Table I), it is reduced to a few barely visible pointed segments with a prominent corona.

 

The colour of the perianth is white, yellow or bicoloured, with the exception of the night flowering N. viridiflorus which is green. In addition the corona of N. poeticus has a red crenulate margin (see Table I). Flower diameter varies from 12 mm (N. bulbocodium) to over 125 mm (N. nobilis=N. pseudonarcissus subsp. nobilis).

 

Flower orientation varies from pendent or deflexed (hanging down) as in N. triandrus (see illustration, left), through declinate-ascendant as in N. alpestris = N. pseudonarcissus subsp. moschatus, horizontal (patent, spreading) such as N. gaditanus or N. poeticus, erect as in N. cavanillesii, N. serotinus and N. rupicola (Table I), or intermediate between these positions (erecto-patent).

 

The flowers of Narcissus demonstrate exceptional floral diversity and sexual polymorphism, primarily by corona size and floral tube length, associated with pollinator groups (see for instance Figs. 1 and 2 in Graham and Barrett). Barrett and Harder (2005) describe three separate floral patterns;

 

"Daffodil" form

"Paperwhite" form

"Triandrus" form.

The predominant patterns are the 'daffodil' and 'paperwhite' forms, while the "triandrus" form is less common. Each corresponds to a different group of pollinators (See Pollination).

 

The "daffodil" form, which includes sections Pseudonarcissus and Bulbocodium, has a relatively short, broad or highly funnelform tube (funnel-like), which grades into an elongated corona, which is large and funnelform, forming a broad, cylindrical or trumpet-shaped perianth. Section Pseudonarcissus consists of relatively large flowers with a corolla length of around 50 mm, generally solitary but rarely in inflorescences of 2–4 flowers. They have wide greenish floral tubes with funnel-shaped bright yellow coronas. The six tepals sometimes differ in colour from the corona and may be cream coloured to pale yellow.

 

The "paperwhite" form, including sections Jonquilla, Apodanthi and Narcissus, has a relatively long, narrow tube and a short, shallow, flaring corona. The flower is horizontal and fragrant.

 

The "triandrus" form is seen in only two species, N. albimarginatus (a Moroccan endemic) and N. triandrus. It combines features of both the "daffodil" and "paperwhite" forms, with a well-developed, long, narrow tube and an extended bell-shaped corona of almost equal length. The flowers are pendent.

 

Androecium

There are six stamens in one to two rows (whorls), with the filaments separate from the corona, attached at the throat or base of the tube (epipetalous), often of two separate lengths, straight or declinate-ascending (curving downwards, then upwards). The anthers are basifixed (attached at their base).

 

Gynoecium

The ovary is inferior (below the floral parts) and trilocular (three chambered) and there is a pistil with a minutely three lobed stigma and filiform (thread like) style, which is often exserted (extending beyond the tube).

 

Fruit

The fruit consists of dehiscent loculicidal capsules (splitting between the locules) that are ellipsoid to subglobose (almost spherical) in shape and are papery to leathery in texture.

 

Seeds

The fruit contains numerous subglobose seeds which are round and swollen with a hard coat, sometimes with an attached elaiosome. The testa is black and the pericarp dry.

 

Most species have 12 ovules and 36 seeds, although some species such as N. bulbocodium have more, up to a maximum of 60. Seeds take five to six weeks to mature. The seeds of sections Jonquilla and Bulbocodium are wedge-shaped and matte black, while those of other sections are ovate and glossy black. A gust of wind or contact with a passing animal is sufficient to disperse the mature seeds.

 

Chromosomes

Chromosome numbers include 2n=14, 22, 26, with numerous aneuploid and polyploid derivatives. The basic chromosome number is 7, with the exception of N. tazetta, N. elegans and N. broussonetii in which it is 10 or 11; this subgenus (Hermione) was in fact characterised by this characteristic. Polyploid species include N. papyraceus (4x=22) and N. dubius (6x=50).

 

Phytochemistry

Alkaloids

As with all Amarylidaceae genera, Narcissus contains unique isoquinoline alkaloids. The first alkaloid to be identified was lycorine, from N. pseudonarcissus in 1877. These are considered a protective adaptation and are utilised in the classification of species. Nearly 100 alkaloids have been identified in the genus, about a third of all known Amaryllidaceae alkaloids, although not all species have been tested. Of the nine alkaloid ring types identified in the family, Narcissus species most commonly demonstrate the presence of alkaloids from within the Lycorine (lycorine, galanthine, pluviine) and Homolycorine (homolycorine, lycorenine) groups. Hemanthamine, tazettine, narciclasine, montanine and galantamine alkaloids are also represented. The alkaloid profile of any plant varies with time, location, and developmental stage. Narcissus also contain fructans and low molecular weight glucomannan in the leaves and plant stems.

 

Fragrances

Fragrances are predominantly monoterpene isoprenoids, with a small amount of benzenoids, although N. jonquilla has both equally represented. Another exception is N. cuatrecasasii which produces mainly fatty acid derivatives. The basic monoterpene precursor is geranyl pyrophosphate, and the commonest monoterpenes are limonene, myrcene, and trans-β-ocimene. Most benzenoids are non-methoxylated, while a few species contain methoxylated forms (ethers), e.g. N. bujei. Other ingredient include indole, isopentenoids and very small amounts of sesquiterpenes. Fragrance patterns can be correlated with pollinators, and fall into three main groups (see Pollination).

 

The taxonomy of Narcissus is complex, and still not fully resolved. Known to the ancients, the genus name appears in Graeco-Roman literature, although their interest was as much medicinal as botanical. It is unclear which species the ancients were familiar with. Although frequently mentioned in Mediaeval and Renaissance texts it was not formally described till the work of Linnaeus in 1753. By 1789 it had been grouped into a family (Narcissi) but shortly thereafter this was renamed Amaryllideae, from which comes the modern placement within Amaryllidaceae, although for a while it was considered part of Liliaceae.

 

Many of the species now considered to be Narcissus were in separate genera during the nineteenth century, and the situation was further confused by the inclusion of many cultivated varieties. By 1875 the current circumscription was relatively settled. By 2004 phylogenetic studies had allowed the place of Narcissus within its fairly large family to be established, nested within a series of subfamilies (Amaryllidoideae) and tribes (Narcisseae). It shares its position in the latter tribe with Sternbergia.

 

The infrageneric classification has been even more complex and many schemes of subgenera, sections, subsections and series have been proposed, although all had certain similarities. Most authorities now consider there to be 10 – 11 sections based on phylogenetic evidence. The problems have largely arisen from the diversity of the wild species, frequent natural hybridisation and extensive cultivation with escape and subsequent naturalisation. The number of species has varied anywhere from 16 to nearly 160, but is probably around 50 – 60.

 

The genus appeared some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene eras, around 24 million years ago, in the Iberian peninsula. While the exact origin of the word Narcissus is unknown it is frequently linked to its fragrance which was thought to be narcotic, and to the legend of the youth of that name who fell in love with his reflection. In the English language the common name Daffodil appears to be derived from the Asphodel with which it was commonly compared.

 

Early

Narcissus was first described by Theophrastus (Θεόφραστος, c 371 - c 287 BC) in his Historia Plantarum (Greek: Περὶ φυτῶν ἱστορία) as νάρκισσος, referring to N. poeticus, but comparing it to Asphodelus (ασφοδελωδες). Theophrastus' description was frequently referred to at length by later authors writing in Latin such as Pliny the Elder (Gaius Plinius Secundus, 23 AD – 79 AD) from whom came the Latin form narcissus (see also Culture). Pliny's account is from his Natural History (Latin: Naturalis Historia). Like his contemporaries, his interests were as much therapeutic as botanical. Another much-cited Greek authority was Dioscorides (Διοσκουρίδης, 40 AD – 90 AD) in his De Materia Medica (Greek: Περὶ ὕλης ἰατρικῆς). Both authors were to remain influential until at least the Renaissance, given that their descriptions went beyond the merely botanical, to the therapeutic (see also Antiquity).

 

An early European reference is found in the work of Albert Magnus (c. 1200 – 1280), who noted in his De vegetabilibus et plantis the similarity to the leek. William Turner in his A New Herball (1551) cites all three extensively in his description of the plant and its properties.It was to remain to Linnaeus in 1753 to formally describe and name Narcissus as a genus in his Species Plantarum, at which time there were six known species (N. poeticus, N. pseudonarcissus, N. bulbocodium, N. serotinus, N. jonquilla and N. tazetta).[1] At that time, Linnaeus loosely grouped it together with 50 other genera into his Hexandria monogynia.

 

Modern

It was de Jussieu in 1789 who first formally created a 'family' (Narcissi), as the seventh 'Ordo' (Order) of the third class (Stamina epigyna) of Monocots in which Narcissus and 15 other genera were placed. The use of the term Ordo at that time was closer to what we now understand as Family, rather than Order. The family has undergone much reorganisation since then, but in 1805 it was renamed after a different genus in the family, Amaryllis, as 'Amaryllideae' by Jaume St.-Hilaire and has retained that association since. Jaume St.-Hilaire divided the family into two unnamed sections and recognised five species of Narcissus, omitting N. serotinus.

 

De Candolle brought together Linnaeus' genera and Jussieau's families into a systematic taxonomy for the first time, but included Narcissus (together with Amaryllis) in the Liliaceae in his Flore française (1805-1815) rather than Amaryllidaceae, a family he had not yet recognised. Shortly thereafter he separated the 'Amaryllidées' from 'Liliacées' (1813), though attributing the term to Brown's 'Amaryllideae' in the latter's Prodromus (1810) rather than St.-Hilaire's 'Amaryllidées'. He also provided the text to the first four volumes of Redouté illustrations in the latter's Les liliacées between 1805 and 1808 (see illustration here of N. candidissimus).

 

Historically both wide and narrow interpretations of the genus have been proposed. In the nineteenth century genus splitting was common, favouring the narrow view. Haworth (1831) using a narrow view treated many species as separate genera, as did Salisbury (1866). These authors listed various species in related genera such as Queltia (hybrids), Ajax (=Pseudonarcissus) and Hermione (=Tazettae), sixteen in all in Haworth's classification. In contrast, Herbert (1837) took a very wide view reducing Harworth's sixteen genera to six. Herbert, treating the Amaryllidacea as an 'order' as was common then, considered the narcissi to be a suborder, the Narcisseae, the six genera being Corbularia, Ajax, Ganymedes, Queltia, Narcissus and Hermione and his relatively narrow circumscription of Narcissus having only three species. Later Spach (1846) took an even wider view bringing most of Harworth's genera into the genus Narcissus, but as separate subgenera. By the time that Baker (1875) wrote his monograph all of the genera with one exception were included as Narcissus. The exception was the monotypic group Tapeinanthus which various subsequent authors have chosen to either exclude (e.g. Cullen 1986) or include (e.g. Webb 1978, 1980). Today it is nearly always included.

 

The eventual position of Narcissus within the Amaryllidaceae family only became settled in the twenty-first century with the advent of phylogenetic analysis and the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group system. The genus Narcissus belongs to the Narcisseae tribe, one of 13 within the Amaryllidoideae subfamily of the Amaryllidaceae. It is one of two sister clades corresponding to genera in the Narcisseae, being distinguished from Sternbergia by the presence of a paraperigonium, and is monophyletic

 

The infrageneric phylogeny of Narcissus still remains relatively unsettled. The taxonomy has proved very complex and difficult to resolve, particularly for the Pseudonarcissus group. This is due to a number of factors, including the diversity of the wild species, the ease with which natural hybridisation occurs, and extensive cultivation and breeding accompanied by escape and naturalisation.

 

De Candolle, in the first systematic taxonomy of Narcissus, arranged the species into named groups, and those names (Faux-Narcisse or Pseudonarcissus, Poétiques, Tazettes, Bulbocodiens, Jonquilles) have largely endured for the various subdivisions since and bear his name. The evolution of classification was confused by including many unknown or garden varieties, until Baker (1875) made the important distinction of excluding all specimens except the wild species from his system. He then grouped all of the earlier related genera as sections under one genus, Narcissus, the exception being the monotypic Tapeinanthus. Consequently, the number of accepted species has varied widely.

 

A common modern classification system has been that of Fernandes (1951, 1968, 1975) based on cytology, as modified by Blanchard (1990) and Mathew (2002), although in some countries such as Germany, the system of Meyer (1966) was preferred. Fernandes described two subgenera based on basal chromosome number, Hermione, n = 5 (11) and Narcissus, n = 7 (13). He further subdivided these into ten sections (Apodanthi, Aurelia, Bulbocodii, Ganymedes, Jonquillae, Narcissus, Pseudonarcissi, Serotini, Tapeinanthus, Tazettae), as did Blanchard later.

 

In contrast to Fernandes, Webb's treatment of the genus for the Flora Europaea (1978, 1980) prioritised morphology over genetics, and abandoned the subgenera ranks. He also restored De Candolle's original nomenclature, and made a number of changes to section Jonquilla, merging the existing subsections, reducing Apodanthi to a subsection of Jonquilla, and moving N. viridiflorus from Jonquilla to a new monotypic section of its own (Chloranthi). Finally, he divided Pseudonarcissus into two subsections. Blanchard (1990), whose Narcissus: a guide to wild daffodils has been very influential, adopted a simple approach, restoring Apodanthae, and based largely on ten sections alone.

 

The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS) currently lists ten sections, based on Fernandes (1968), three of which are monotypic (contain only one species), while two others only containing two species. Most species are placed in Pseudonarcissus While infrageneric groupings within Narcissus have been relatively constant, their status (genera, subgenera, sections, subsections, series, species) has not. Some authors treat some sections as being further subdivided into subsections, e.g. Tazettae (3 subsections). These subdivisions correspond roughly to the popular names for narcissi types, e.g. Trumpet Daffodils, Tazettas, Pheasant's Eyes, Hoop Petticoats, Jonquils.

 

While Webb had simply divided the genus into sections, Mathew found this unsatisfactory, implying every section had equal status. He adapted both Fernandes and Webb to devise a more hierarchical scheme he believed better reflected the interrelationships within the genus. Mathew's scheme consists of three subgenera (Narcissus, Hermione and Corbularia). The first two subgenera were then divided into five and two sections respectively. He then further subdivided two of the sections (subgenus Narcissus section Jonquillae, and subgenus Hermione section Hermione) into three subsections each. Finally, he divided section Hermione subsection Hermione further into two series, Hermione and Albiflorae. While lacking a phylogenetic basis, the system is still in use in horticulture. For instance the Pacific Bulb Society uses his numbering system for classifying species.

 

The phylogenetic analysis of Graham and Barrett (2004) supported the infrageneric division of Narcissus into two clades corresponding to the subgenera Hermione and Narcissus, but does not support monophyly of all sections, with only Apodanthi demonstrating clear monophyly, corresponding to Clade III of Graham and Barrett, although some other clades corresponded approximately to known sections. These authors examined 36 taxa of the 65 listed then, and a later extended analysis by Rønsted et al. (2008) with five additional taxa confirmed this pattern.

 

A very large (375 accessions) molecular analysis by Zonneveld (2008) utilising nuclear DNA content sought to reduce some of the paraphyly identified by Graham and Barrett. This led to a revision of the sectional structure, shifting some species between sections, eliminating one section and creating two new ones. In subgenus Hermione, Aurelia was merged with Tazettae. In subgenus Narcissus section Jonquillae subsection Juncifolii was elevated to sectional rank, thus resolving the paraphyly in this section observed by Graham and Barrett in Clade II due to this anomalous subsection, the remaining species being in subsection Jonquillae, which was monophyletic. The relatively large section Pseudonarcissi was divided by splitting off a new section, Nevadensis (species from southern Spain) leaving species from France, northern Spain and Portugal in the parent section. At the same time Fernández-Casas (2008) proposed a new monotypic section Angustini to accommodate Narcissus deficiens, placing it within subgenus Hermione.

 

While Graham and Barrett (2004) had determined that subgenus Hermione was monophyletic, using a much larger accession Santos-Gally et al. (2011) did not. However the former had excluded species of hybrid origins, while the latter included both N. dubius and N. tortifolius. If these two species are excluded (forming a clade with subgenus Narcissus) then Hermione can be considered monophyletic, although as a section of Hermione, Tazettae is not monophyletic. They also confirmed the monophyly of Apodanthi.

 

Some so-called nothosections have been proposed, predominantly by Fernández-Casas, to accommodate natural ('ancient') hybrids (nothospecies).

 

Subgenera and sections

Showing revisions by Zonnefeld (2008)

 

subgenus Hermione (Haw.) Spach.

(Aurelia (Gay) Baker (monotypic) - merged with Tazettae (2008)

Serotini Parlatore (2 species)

Tazettae de Candolle (16 species) syn. Hermione (Salisbury) Sprengel, in Fernandes' scheme. Incorporating Aurelia (2008)

subgenus Narcissus L.

Apodanthi A. Fernandes (6 species)

Bulbocodium de Candolle (11 species)

Ganymedes (Haworth) Schultes f. (monotypic)

Jonquillae de Candolle (8 species)

Juncifolii (A. Fern.) Zonn. sect. nov. (2008)

Narcissus L. (2 species)

Nevadensis Zonn. sect. nov. (2008)

Pseudonarcissus de Candolle (36 species) Trumpet daffodils

Tapeinanthus (Herbert) Traub (monotypic)

 

Species

Estimates of the number of species in Narcissus have varied widely, from anywhere between 16 and nearly 160, even in the modern era. Linnaeus originally included six species in 1753. By the time of the 14th edition of the Systema Naturae in 1784, there were fourteen. The 1819 Encyclopaedia Londinensis lists sixteen (see illustration here of three species) and by 1831 Adrian Haworth had described 150 species.

 

Much of the variation lies in the definition of species, and whether closely related taxa are considered separate species or subspecies. Thus, a very wide view of each species, such as Webb's results in few species, while a very narrow view such as that of Fernandes results in a larger number. Another factor is the status of hybrids, given natural hybridisation, with a distinction between 'ancient hybrids' and 'recent hybrids'. The term 'ancient hybrid' refers to hybrids found growing over a large area, and therefore now considered as separate species, while 'recent hybrid' refers to solitary plants found amongst their parents, with a more restricted range.

 

In the twentieth century Fernandes (1951) accepted 22 species, on which were based the 27 species listed by Webb in the 1980 Flora Europaea. By 1968, Fernandes had accepted 63 species, and by 1990 Blanchard listed 65 species, and Erhardt 66 in 1993. In 2006 the Royal Horticultural Society's (RHS) International Daffodil Register and Classified List listed 87 species, while Zonneveld's genetic study (2008) resulted in only 36. As of September 2014, the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families accepts 52 species, along with at least 60 hybrids, while the RHS has 81 accepted names in its October 2014 list.

 

Evolution

Within the Narcisseae, Narcissus (western Mediterranean) diverged from Sternbergia (Eurasia) some time in the Late Oligocene to Early Miocene eras, around 29.3–18.1 Ma, with a best estimate of 23.6 Ma. Later the genus divided into the two subgenera (Hermione and Narcissus) between 27.4 and 16.1 Ma (21.4 Ma). The divisions between the sections of Hermione then took place during the Miocene period 19.9–7.8 Ma.

 

Narcissus appears to have arisen in the area of the Iberian peninsula, southern France and northwestern Italy, and within this area most sections of the genus appeared, with only a few taxa being dispersed to North Africa at a time when the African and West European platforms were closer together. Subgenus Hermione in turn arose in the southwestern mediterranean and north west Africa. However, these are reconstructions, the Amaryllidaceae lacking a fossil record.

 

Names and etymology

The derivation of the Latin narcissus (Greek: νάρκισσος) is unknown. It may be a loanword from another language; for instance, it is said to be related to the Sanskrit word nark, meaning 'hell'. It is frequently linked to the Greek myth of Narcissus described by Ovid in his Metamorphoses, who became so obsessed with his own reflection that as he knelt and gazed into a pool of water, he fell into the water and drowned. In some variations, he died of starvation and thirst. In both versions, the narcissus plant sprang from where he died. Although Ovid appeared to describe the plant we now know as Narcissus there is no evidence for this popular derivation, and the person's name may have come from the flower's name. The Poet's Narcissus (N. poeticus), which grows in Greece, has a fragrance that has been described as intoxicating. This explanation is largely discredited due to lack of proof. Pliny wrote that the plant 'narce narcissum dictum, non a fabuloso puero' ('named narcissus from narce, not from the legendary youth'), i.e. that it was named for its narcotic properties (ναρκάω narkao, 'I grow numb' in Greek), not from the legend. Furthermore, there were accounts of narcissi growing, such as in the legend of Persephone, long before the story of Narcissus appeared (see Greek culture). It has also been suggested that daffodils bending over streams evoked the image of the youth admiring his own reflection in the water.

 

Linnaeus used the Latin name for the plant in formally describing the genus, although Matthias de l'Obel had previously used the name in describing various species of Narcissi in his Icones stirpium of 1591, and other publications, as had Clusius in Rariorum stirpium (1576).

 

The plural form of the common name narcissus has caused some confusion. British English sources such as the Shorter Oxford English Dictionary give two alternate forms, narcissi and narcissuses. In contrast, in American English the Merriam-Webster Dictionary provides for a third form, narcissus, used for both singular and plural. The Oxford dictionaries only list this third form under American English, although the Cambridge Dictionary allows of all three in the same order. However, Garner's Modern American Usage states that narcissi is the commonest form, narcissuses being excessively sibilant. For similar reasons, Fowler prefers narcissi in British English usage. Neither support narcissus as a plural form. Common names such as narcissus do not capitalise the first letter in contrast to the person of that name and the Latin genus name.

 

The name Narcissus (feminine Narcissa) was not uncommon in Roman times, such as Tiberius Claudius Narcissus, a Roman official in Claudius' time, an early New Testament Christian in Rome and later bishops and saints.

 

Daffodil

The word daffodil was unknown in the English language before the sixteenth century. The name is derived from an earlier affodell, a variant of asphodel. In classical Greek literature the narcissus is frequently referred to as the asphodel, such as the meadows of the Elysian fields in Homer (see Antiquity). Asphodel in turn appears to be a loanword coming from French via Mediaeval Latin affodilus from Classical Latin asphodilus and ultimately the Greek asphodelos (Greek: ἀσφόδελος). The reason for the introduction of the initial d is not known, although a probable source is an etymological merging from the Dutch article de, as in de affodil, or English the, as th'affodil or t'affodil, hence daffodil, and in French de and affodil to form fleur d'aphrodille and daphrodille.

 

From at least the 16th century, daffadown dilly and daffydowndilly have appeared as playful synonyms of the name. In common parlance and in historical documents, the term daffodil may refer specifically to populations or specimens of the wild daffodil, N. pseudonarcissus. H. N. Ellacombe suggests this may be from Saffon Lilly, citing Prior in support, though admittedly conjectural.

 

Lady Wilkinson (1858), who provides an extensive discussion of the etymology of the various names for this plant, suggests a very different origin, namely the Old English word affodyle (that which cometh early), citing a 14th-century (but likely originally much earlier) manuscript in support of this theory, and which appears to describe a plant resembling the daffodil. Ellacombe provides further support for this from a fifteenth century English translation of Palladius that also refers to it.

 

Jonquil

The name jonquil is said to be a corruption via French from the Latin juncifolius meaning 'rush-leaf' (Juncaceae) and its use is generally restricted to those species and cultivars which have rush like leaves, e.g. N. juncifolius.

 

Other

A profusion of names have attached themselves in the English language, either to the genus as a whole or to individual species or groups of species such as sections. These include narcissus, jonquil, Lent lily, Lenten lily, lide lily, yellow lily, wort or wyrt, Julians, glens, Lent cocks, corn flower, bell rose, asphodel, Solomon's lily, gracy day, haverdrils, giggary, cowslip, and crow foot.

View On Black

Ex works following a classified repair (General) at Derby works 25167 departs from Nottingham station I suspect for Nottingham London Road parcels depot with a parcels train, 30th June 1979.

 

Locomotive History

The eighteen year career of 25167 began when the frames for D7517 were laid down during September 1964 at Derby works. D7517 entered service in December 1964, allocated to Toton. It would spend the next seven years at depots associated with the Midland Mainline until January 1972 when it was part of a batch of twelve class 25’s (7510 – 7521) transferred to the Western Region (Ebbw Junction) to assist in the withdrawal of the remaining smaller diesel hydraulics locomotives. In May 1974 it transferred to Cardiff and back to the London Midland Region in 1976. Its general repair in 1979 did not include dual brake fitment and therefore it remained vacuum braked only and susceptible to withdrawal as the 1980’s progressed This eventually took place in May 1983. Following withdrawal it lingered at Crewe for eight months before dispatch to Swindon works on the 15th February 1984. Less than two months later Swindon works had broken up 25167.

 

Mother and bay otter bonding, Morro Bay California. he sea otter (Enhydra lutris) is a marine mammal native to the coasts of the northern and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Adult sea otters typically weigh between 14 and 45 kg (30 and 100 lb), making them the heaviest members of the weasel family, but among[3] the smallest marine mammals. Unlike most marine mammals, the sea otter's primary form of insulation is an exceptionally thick coat of fur, the densest in the animal kingdom. Although it can walk on land, the sea otter is capable of living exclusively in the ocean.

 

The sea otter inhabits nearshore environments, where it dives to the sea floor to forage. It preys mostly on marine invertebrates such as sea urchins, various mollusks and crustaceans, and some species of fish. Its foraging and eating habits are noteworthy in several respects. Its use of rocks to dislodge prey and to open shells makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools. In most of its range, it is a keystone species, controlling sea urchin populations which would otherwise inflict extensive damage to kelp forest ecosystems.[4] Its diet includes prey species that are also valued by humans as food, leading to conflicts between sea otters and fisheries.

 

Sea otters, whose numbers were once estimated at 150,000–300,000, were hunted extensively for their fur between 1741 and 1911, and the world population fell to 1,000–2,000 individuals living in a fraction of their historic range.[5] A subsequent international ban on hunting, sea otter conservation efforts, and reintroduction programs into previously populated areas have contributed to numbers rebounding, and the species occupies about two-thirds of its former range. The recovery of the sea otter is considered an important success in marine conservation, although populations in the Aleutian Islands and California have recently declined or have plateaued at depressed levels. For these reasons, the sea otter remains classified as an endangered species.

 

Evolution

The sea otter is the heaviest (the giant otter is longer, but significantly slimmer) member of the family Mustelidae,[6] a diverse group that includes the 13 otter species and terrestrial animals such as weasels, badgers, and minks. It is unique among the mustelids in not making dens or burrows, in having no functional anal scent glands,[7] and in being able to live its entire life without leaving the water.[8] The only living member of the genus Enhydra, the sea otter is so different from other mustelid species that, as recently as 1982, some scientists believed it was more closely related to the earless seals.[9] Genetic analysis indicates the sea otter and its closest extant relatives, which include the African speckle-throated otter, Eurasian otter, African clawless otter and Asian small-clawed otter, shared an ancestor approximately 5 million years ago.[10]

 

Fossil evidence indicates the Enhydra lineage became isolated in the North Pacific approximately 2 million years ago, giving rise to the now-extinct Enhydra macrodonta and the modern sea otter, Enhydra lutris.[11] One related species has been described, Enhydra reevei, from the Pleistocene of East Anglia.[12] The modern sea otter evolved initially in northern Hokkaidō and Russia, and then spread east to the Aleutian Islands, mainland Alaska, and down the North American coast.[13] In comparison to cetaceans, sirenians, and pinnipeds, which entered the water approximately 50, 40, and 20 million years ago, respectively, the sea otter is a relative newcomer to a marine existence.[14] In some respects, though, the sea otter is more fully adapted to water than pinnipeds, which must haul out on land or ice to give birth.[15] The full genome of the northern sea otter (Enhydra lutris kenyoni) was sequenced in 2017 and may allow for examination of the sea otter's evolutionary divergence from terrestrial mustelids.[16]

 

Taxonomy

Lutrinae

Pteronura (giant otter)

 

Lontra (4 species)

 

Enhydra (sea otter)

 

Hydrictis

(spotted-necked otter)

 

Lutra (2 species)

 

Aonyx

(African clawless)

 

Amblonyx

(Asian small-clawed)

 

Lutrogale

(smooth-coated)

 

Cladogram showing relationships between sea otters and other otters[17][18]

The first scientific description of the sea otter is contained in the field notes of Georg Steller from 1751, and the species was described by Carl Linnaeus in his landmark 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.[19] Originally named Lutra marina, it underwent numerous name changes before being accepted as Enhydra lutris in 1922.[11] The generic name Enhydra, derives from the Ancient Greek en/εν "in" and hydra/ύδρα "water",[20] meaning "in the water", and the Latin word lutris, meaning "otter".[21] It was formerly sometimes referred to as the "sea beaver".[22]

 

Subspecies

Three subspecies of the sea otter are recognized with distinct geographical distributions. Enhydra lutris lutris (nominate), the Asian sea otter, ranges across Russia's Kuril Islands northeast of Japan, and the Commander Islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. In the eastern Pacific Ocean, E. l. kenyoni, the northern sea otter, is found from Alaska's Aleutian Islands to Oregon and E. l. nereis, the southern sea otter, is native to central and southern California.[23] The Asian sea otter is the largest subspecies and has a slightly wider skull and shorter nasal bones than both other subspecies. Northern sea otters possess longer mandibles (lower jaws) while southern sea otters have longer rostrums and smaller teeth.[24][25]

 

Description

 

A sea otter's thick fur makes its body appear plumper on land than in the water.

 

Skull of a sea otter

The sea otter is one of the smallest marine mammal species, but it is the heaviest mustelid.[8] Male sea otters usually weigh 22 to 45 kg (49 to 99 lb) and are 1.2 to 1.5 m (3 ft 11 in to 4 ft 11 in) in length, though specimens up to 54 kg (119 lb) have been recorded.[26] Females are smaller, weighing 14 to 33 kg (31 to 73 lb) and measuring 1.0 to 1.4 m (3 ft 3 in to 4 ft 7 in) in length.[27] For its size, the male otter's baculum is very large, massive and bent upwards, measuring 150 mm (5+7⁄8 in) in length and 15 mm (9⁄16 in) at the base.[28]

 

Unlike most other marine mammals, the sea otter has no blubber and relies on its exceptionally thick fur to keep warm.[29] With up to 150,000 strands of hair per square centimetre (970,000/in2), its fur is the densest of any animal.[30] The fur consists of long, waterproof guard hairs and short underfur; the guard hairs keep the dense underfur layer dry.[27] There is an air compartment between the thick fur and the skin where air is trapped and heated by the body.[31] Cold water is kept completely away from the skin and heat loss is limited.[27] However, a potential disadvantage of this form of insulation is compression of the air layer as the otter dives, thereby reducing the insulating quality of fur at depth when the animal forages.[31] The fur is thick year-round, as it is shed and replaced gradually rather than in a distinct molting season.[32] As the ability of the guard hairs to repel water depends on utmost cleanliness, the sea otter has the ability to reach and groom the fur on any part of its body, taking advantage of its loose skin and an unusually supple skeleton.[33] The coloration of the pelage is usually deep brown with silver-gray speckles, but it can range from yellowish or grayish brown to almost black.[34] In adults, the head, throat, and chest are lighter in color than the rest of the body.[34]

 

The sea otter displays numerous adaptations to its marine environment. The nostrils and small ears can close.[35] The hind feet, which provide most of its propulsion in swimming, are long, broadly flattened, and fully webbed.[36] The fifth digit on each hind foot is longest, facilitating swimming while on its back, but making walking difficult.[37] The tail is fairly short, thick, slightly flattened, and muscular. The front paws are short with retractable claws, with tough pads on the palms that enable gripping slippery prey.[38] The bones show osteosclerosis, increasing their density to reduce buoyancy.[39]

 

The sea otter presents an insight into the evolutionary process of the mammalian invasion of the aquatic environment, which has occurred numerous times over the course of mammalian evolution.[40] Having only returned to the sea about 3 million years ago,[41] sea otters represent a snapshot at the earliest point of the transition from fur to blubber. In sea otters, fur is still advantageous, given their small nature and division of lifetime between the aquatic and terrestrial environments.[42] However, as sea otters evolve and adapt to spending more and more of their lifetimes in the sea, the convergent evolution of blubber suggests that the reliance on fur for insulation would be replaced by a dependency on blubber. This is particularly true due to the diving nature of the sea otter; as dives become lengthier and deeper, the air layer's ability to retain heat or buoyancy decreases,[31] while blubber remains efficient at both of those functions.[42] Blubber can also additionally serve as an energy source for deep dives,[43] which would most likely prove advantageous over fur in the evolutionary future of sea otters.

 

The sea otter propels itself underwater by moving the rear end of its body, including its tail and hind feet, up and down,[36] and is capable of speeds of up to 9 kilometres per hour (5.6 mph).[6] When underwater, its body is long and streamlined, with the short forelimbs pressed closely against the chest.[44] When at the surface, it usually floats on its back and moves by sculling its feet and tail from side to side.[45] At rest, all four limbs can be folded onto the torso to conserve heat, whereas on particularly hot days, the hind feet may be held underwater for cooling.[46] The sea otter's body is highly buoyant because of its large lung capacity – about 2.5 times greater than that of similar-sized land mammals[47] – and the air trapped in its fur. The sea otter walks with a clumsy, rolling gait on land, and can run in a bounding motion.[37]

 

Long, highly sensitive whiskers and front paws help the sea otter find prey by touch when waters are dark or murky.[48] Researchers have noted when they approach in plain view, sea otters react more rapidly when the wind is blowing towards the animals, indicating the sense of smell is more important than sight as a warning sense.[49] Other observations indicate the sea otter's sense of sight is useful above and below the water, although not as good as that of seals.[50] Its hearing is neither particularly acute nor poor.[51]

 

An adult's 32 teeth, particularly the molars, are flattened and rounded for crushing rather than cutting food.[52] Seals and sea otters are the only carnivores with two pairs of lower incisor teeth rather than three;[53] the adult dental formula is

3.1.3.1

2.1.3.2

.[54] The teeth and bones are sometimes stained purple as a result of ingesting sea urchins.[55] The sea otter has a metabolic rate two or three times that of comparatively sized terrestrial mammals. It must eat an estimated 25 to 38% of its own body weight in food each day to burn the calories necessary to counteract the loss of heat due to the cold water environment.[56][57] Its digestive efficiency is estimated at 80 to 85%,[58] and food is digested and passed in as little as three hours.[29] Most of its need for water is met through food, although, in contrast to most other marine mammals, it also drinks seawater. Its relatively large kidneys enable it to derive fresh water from sea water and excrete concentrated urine.[59]

 

Behavior

 

Sensitive vibrissae and forepaws enable sea otters to find prey (like this purple sea urchin) using their sense of touch.

The sea otter is diurnal. It has a period of foraging and eating in the morning, starting about an hour before sunrise, then rests or sleeps in mid-day.[60] Foraging resumes for a few hours in the afternoon and subsides before sunset, and a third foraging period may occur around midnight.[60] Females with pups appear to be more inclined to feed at night.[60] Observations of the amount of time a sea otter must spend each day foraging range from 24 to 60%, apparently depending on the availability of food in the area.[61]

 

Sea otters spend much of their time grooming, which consists of cleaning the fur, untangling knots, removing loose fur, rubbing the fur to squeeze out water and introduce air, and blowing air into the fur. To casual observers, it appears as if the animals are scratching, but they are not known to have lice or other parasites in the fur.[62] When eating, sea otters roll in the water frequently, apparently to wash food scraps from their fur.[63]

  

A sea otter grooming itself by rubbing its dense coat.

Foraging

See also: Physiology of underwater diving

The sea otter hunts in short dives, often to the sea floor. Although it can hold its breath for up to five minutes,[35] its dives typically last about one minute and not more than four.[27] It is the only marine animal capable of lifting and turning over rocks, which it often does with its front paws when searching for prey.[63] The sea otter may also pluck snails and other organisms from kelp and dig deep into underwater mud for clams.[63] It is the only marine mammal that catches fish with its forepaws rather than with its teeth.[29]

  

A sea otter in captivity in Japan, 2015

Under each foreleg, the sea otter has a loose pouch of skin that extends across the chest. In this pouch (preferentially the left one), the animal stores collected food to bring to the surface. This pouch also holds a rock, unique to the otter, that is used to break open shellfish and clams.[64] At the surface, the sea otter eats while floating on its back, using its forepaws to tear food apart and bring it to its mouth. It can chew and swallow small mussels with their shells, whereas large mussel shells may be twisted apart.[65] It uses its lower incisor teeth to access the meat in shellfish.[66] To eat large sea urchins, which are mostly covered with spines, the sea otter bites through the underside where the spines are shortest, and licks the soft contents out of the urchin's shell.[65]

 

The sea otter's use of rocks when hunting and feeding makes it one of the few mammal species to use tools.[67] To open hard shells, it may pound its prey with both paws against a rock on its chest. To pry an abalone off its rock, it hammers the abalone shell using a large stone, with observed rates of 45 blows in 15 seconds.[27] Releasing an abalone, which can cling to rock with a force equal to 4,000 times its own body weight, requires multiple dives.[27]

 

Social structure

 

Sleeping sea otters holding paws at the Vancouver Aquarium[68] are kept afloat by their naturally high buoyancy.

 

Southern sea otters playing with one another at the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve.

Although each adult and independent juvenile forages alone, sea otters tend to rest together in single-sex groups called rafts. A raft typically contains 10 to 100 animals, with male rafts being larger than female ones.[69] The largest raft ever seen contained over 2000 sea otters. To keep from drifting out to sea when resting and eating, sea otters may wrap themselves in kelp.[70]

 

A male sea otter is most likely to mate if he maintains a breeding territory in an area that is also favored by females.[71] As autumn is the peak breeding season in most areas, males typically defend their territory only from spring to autumn.[71] During this time, males patrol the boundaries of their territories to exclude other males,[71] although actual fighting is rare.[69] Adult females move freely between male territories, where they outnumber adult males by an average of five to one.[71] Males that do not have territories tend to congregate in large, male-only groups,[71] and swim through female areas when searching for a mate.[72]

 

The species exhibits a variety of vocal behaviors. The cry of a pup is often compared to that of a gull.[73] Females coo when they are apparently content; males may grunt instead.[74] Distressed or frightened adults may whistle, hiss, or in extreme circumstances, scream.[73] Although sea otters can be playful and sociable, they are not considered to be truly social animals.[75] They spend much time alone, and each adult can meet its own hunting, grooming, and defense needs.[75]

 

Reproduction and life cycle

 

While mating the male bites the nose of the female, often bloodying and scarring it.

Sea otters are polygynous: males have multiple female partners, typically those that inhabit their territory. If no territory is established, they seek out females in estrus. When a male sea otter finds a receptive female, the two engage in playful and sometimes aggressive behavior. They bond for the duration of estrus, or 3 days. The male holds the female's head or nose with his jaws during copulation. Visible scars are often present on females from this behavior.[6][76]

 

Births occur year-round, with peaks between May and June in northern populations and between January and March in southern populations.[77] Gestation appears to vary from four to twelve months, as the species is capable of delayed implantation followed by four months of pregnancy.[77] In California, sea otters usually breed every year, about twice as often as those in Alaska.[78]

 

Birth usually takes place in the water and typically produces a single pup weighing 1.4 to 2.3 kilograms (3 lb 1 oz to 5 lb 1 oz).[79] Twins occur in 2% of births; however, usually only one pup survives.[6] At birth, the eyes are open, ten teeth are visible, and the pup has a thick coat of baby fur.[80] Mothers have been observed to lick and fluff a newborn for hours; after grooming, the pup's fur retains so much air, the pup floats like a cork and cannot dive.[81] The fluffy baby fur is replaced by adult fur after about 13 weeks.[19]

  

A mother floats with her pup on her chest. Georg Steller wrote, "They embrace their young with an affection that is scarcely credible."[82]

Nursing lasts six to eight months in Californian populations and four to twelve months in Alaska, with the mother beginning to offer bits of prey at one to two months.[83] The milk from a sea otter's two abdominal nipples is rich in fat and more similar to the milk of other marine mammals than to that of other mustelids.[84] A pup, with guidance from its mother, practices swimming and diving for several weeks before it is able to reach the sea floor. Initially, the objects it retrieves are of little food value, such as brightly colored starfish and pebbles.[64] Juveniles are typically independent at six to eight months, but a mother may be forced to abandon a pup if she cannot find enough food for it;[85] at the other extreme, a pup may be nursed until it is almost adult size.[79] Pup mortality is high, particularly during an individual's first winter – by one estimate, only 25% of pups survive their first year.[85] Pups born to experienced mothers have the highest survival rates.[86]

 

Females perform all tasks of feeding and raising offspring, and have occasionally been observed caring for orphaned pups.[87] Much has been written about the level of devotion of sea otter mothers for their pups – a mother gives her infant almost constant attention, cradling it on her chest away from the cold water and attentively grooming its fur.[88] When foraging, she leaves her pup floating on the water, sometimes wrapped in kelp to keep it from floating away;[89] if the pup is not sleeping, it cries loudly until she returns.[90] Mothers have been known to carry their pups for days after the pups' deaths.[82]

 

Females become sexually mature at around three or four years of age and males at around five; however, males often do not successfully breed until a few years later.[91] A captive male sired offspring at age 19.[79] In the wild, sea otters live to a maximum age of 23 years,[27] with lifespans ranging from 10 to 15 years for males and 15–20 years for females.[92] Several captive individuals have lived past 20 years, and a female at the Seattle Aquarium named Etika died at the age of 28 years.[93] Sea otters in the wild often develop worn teeth, which may account for their apparently shorter lifespans.[94]

 

Population and distribution

Sea otters live in coastal waters 15 to 23 metres (49 to 75 ft) deep,[95] and usually stay within a kilometre (2⁄3 mi) of the shore.[96] They are found most often in areas with protection from the most severe ocean winds, such as rocky coastlines, thick kelp forests, and barrier reefs.[97] Although they are most strongly associated with rocky substrates, sea otters can also live in areas where the sea floor consists primarily of mud, sand, or silt.[98] Their northern range is limited by ice, as sea otters can survive amidst drift ice but not land-fast ice.[99] Individuals generally occupy a home range a few kilometres long, and remain there year-round.[100]

 

The sea otter population is thought to have once been 150,000 to 300,000,[22] stretching in an arc across the North Pacific from northern Japan to the central Baja California Peninsula in Mexico. The fur trade that began in the 1740s reduced the sea otter's numbers to an estimated 1,000 to 2,000 members in 13 colonies. Hunting records researched by historian Adele Ogden place the westernmost limit of the hunting grounds off the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido and the easternmost limit off Punta Morro Hermosa about 21+1⁄2 miles (34.6 km) south of Punta Eugenia, Baja California's westernmost headland in Mexico.[101]

 

In about two-thirds of its former range, the species is at varying levels of recovery, with high population densities in some areas and threatened populations in others. Sea otters currently have stable populations in parts of the Russian east coast, Alaska, British Columbia, Washington, and California, with reports of recolonizations in Mexico and Japan.[102] Population estimates made between 2004 and 2007 give a worldwide total of approximately 107,000 sea otters.[19][103][104][105][106]

 

Japan

Adele Ogden wrote in The California Sea Otter Trade that western sea otter were hunted "from Yezo northeastward past the Kuril Group and Kamchatka to the Aleutian Chain".[101] "Yezo" refers to the island province of Hokkaido, in northern Japan, where the country’s only confirmed population of western sea otter resides.[1] Sightings have been documented in the waters of Cape Nosappu, Erimo, Hamanaka and Nemuro, among other locations in the region. [107]

 

Russia

Currently, the most stable and secure part of the western sea otter's range is along the Russian Far East coastline, in the northwestern Pacific waters off of the country (namely Kamchatka and Sakhalin Island), occasionally being seen in and around the Sea of Okhotsk.[108] Before the 19th century, around 20,000 to 25,000 sea otters lived near the Kuril Islands, with more near Kamchatka and the Commander Islands. After the years of the Great Hunt, the population in these areas, currently part of Russia, was only 750.[103] By 2004, sea otters had repopulated all of their former habitat in these areas, with an estimated total population of about 27,000. Of these, about 19,000 are at the Kurils, 2,000 to 3,500 at Kamchatka and another 5,000 to 5,500 at the Commander Islands.[103] Growth has slowed slightly, suggesting the numbers are reaching carrying capacity.[103]

 

British Columbia

Along the North American coast south of Alaska, the sea otter's range is discontinuous. A remnant population survived off Vancouver Island into the 20th century, but it died out despite the 1911 international protection treaty, with the last sea otter taken near Kyuquot in 1929. From 1969 to 1972, 89 sea otters were flown or shipped from Alaska to the west coast of Vancouver Island. This population increased to over 5,600 in 2013 with an estimated annual growth rate of 7.2%, and their range on the island's west coast extended north to Cape Scott and across the Queen Charlotte Strait to the Broughton Archipelago and south to Clayoquot Sound and Tofino.[109][110] In 1989, a separate colony was discovered in the central British Columbia coast. It is not known if this colony, which numbered about 300 animals in 2004, was founded by transplanted otters or was a remnant population that had gone undetected.[105] By 2013, this population exceeded 1,100 individuals, was increasing at an estimated 12.6% annual rate, and its range included Aristazabal Island, and Milbanke Sound south to Calvert Island.[109] In 2008, Canada determined the status of sea otters to be "special concern".[111][112]

 

United States

Alaska

Alaska is the central area of the sea otter's range. In 1973, the population in Alaska was estimated at between 100,000 and 125,000 animals.[113] By 2006, though, the Alaska population had fallen to an estimated 73,000 animals.[104] A massive decline in sea otter populations in the Aleutian Islands accounts for most of the change; the cause of this decline is not known, although orca predation is suspected.[114] The sea otter population in Prince William Sound was also hit hard by the Exxon Valdez oil spill, which killed thousands of sea otters in 1989.[63]

 

Washington

In 1969 and 1970, 59 sea otters were translocated from Amchitka Island to Washington, and released near La Push and Point Grenville. The translocated population is estimated to have declined to between 10 and 43 individuals before increasing, reaching 208 individuals in 1989. As of 2017, the population was estimated at over 2,000 individuals, and their range extends from Point Grenville in the south to Cape Flattery in the north and east to Pillar Point along the Strait of Juan de Fuca.[19]

 

In Washington, sea otters are found almost exclusively on the outer coasts. They can swim as close as six feet off shore along the Olympic coast. Reported sightings of sea otters in the San Juan Islands and Puget Sound almost always turn out to be North American river otters, which are commonly seen along the seashore. However, biologists have confirmed isolated sightings of sea otters in these areas since the mid-1990s.[19]

 

Oregon

The last native sea otter in Oregon was probably shot and killed in 1906. In 1970 and 1971, a total of 95 sea otters were transplanted from Amchitka Island, Alaska to the Southern Oregon coast. However, this translocation effort failed and otters soon again disappeared from the state.[115] In 2004, a male sea otter took up residence at Simpson Reef off of Cape Arago for six months. This male is thought to have originated from a colony in Washington, but disappeared after a coastal storm.[116] On 18 February 2009, a male sea otter was spotted in Depoe Bay off the Oregon Coast. It could have traveled to the state from either California or Washington.[117]

 

California

 

California's remote areas of coastline sheltered small colonies of sea otters through the fur trade. The 50 that survived in California, which were rediscovered in 1938, have since reproduced to almost 3,000.

The historic population of California sea otters was estimated at 16,000 before the fur trade decimated the population, leading to their assumed extinction. Today's population of California sea otters are the descendants of a single colony of about 50 sea otters located near Bixby Creek Bridge in March 1938 by Howard G. Sharpe, owner of the nearby Rainbow Lodge on Bixby Bridge in Big Sur.[118][119][120] Their principal range has gradually expanded and extends from Pigeon Point in San Mateo County to Santa Barbara County.[121]

 

Sea otters were once numerous in San Francisco Bay.[122][123] Historical records revealed the Russian-American Company snuck Aleuts into San Francisco Bay multiple times, despite the Spanish capturing or shooting them while hunting sea otters in the estuaries of San Jose, San Mateo, San Bruno and around Angel Island.[101] The founder of Fort Ross, Ivan Kuskov, finding otters scarce on his second voyage to Bodega Bay in 1812, sent a party of Aleuts to San Francisco Bay, where they met another Russian party and an American party, and caught 1,160 sea otters in three months.[124] By 1817, sea otters in the area were practically eliminated and the Russians sought permission from the Spanish and the Mexican governments to hunt further and further south of San Francisco.[125] In 1833, fur trappers George Nidever and George Yount canoed "along the Petaluma side of [the] Bay, and then proceeded to the San Joaquin River", returning with sea otter, beaver, and river otter pelts.[126] Remnant sea otter populations may have survived in the bay until 1840, when the Rancho Punta de Quentin was granted to Captain John B. R. Cooper, a sea captain from Boston, by Mexican Governor Juan Bautista Alvarado along with a license to hunt sea otters, reportedly then prevalent at the mouth of Corte Madera Creek.[127]

 

In the late 1980s, the USFWS relocated about 140 southern sea otters to San Nicolas Island in southern California, in the hope of establishing a reserve population should the mainland be struck by an oil spill. To the surprise of biologists, the majority of the San Nicolas sea otters swam back to the mainland.[128] Another group of twenty swam 74 miles (119 km) north to San Miguel Island, where they were captured and removed.[129] By 2005, only 30 sea otters remained at San Nicolas,[130] although they were slowly increasing as they thrived on the abundant prey around the island.[128] The plan that authorized the translocation program had predicted the carrying capacity would be reached within five to 10 years.[131] The spring 2016 count at San Nicolas Island was 104 sea otters, continuing a 5-year positive trend of over 12% per year.[132] Sea otters were observed twice in Southern California in 2011, once near Laguna Beach and once at Zuniga Point Jetty, near San Diego. These are the first documented sightings of otters this far south in 30 years.[133]

 

When the USFWS implemented the translocation program, it also attempted, in 1986, to implement "zonal management" of the Californian population. To manage the competition between sea otters and fisheries, it declared an "otter-free zone" stretching from Point Conception to the Mexican border. In this zone, only San Nicolas Island was designated as sea otter habitat, and sea otters found elsewhere in the area were supposed to be captured and relocated. These plans were abandoned after many translocated otters died and also as it proved impractical to capture the hundreds of otters which ignored regulations and swam into the zone.[134] However, after engaging in a period of public commentary in 2005, the Fish and Wildlife Service failed to release a formal decision on the issue.[130] Then, in response to lawsuits filed by the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center and the Otter Project, on 19 December 2012 the USFWS declared that the "no otter zone" experiment was a failure, and will protect the otters re-colonizing the coast south of Point Conception as threatened species.[135] Although abalone fisherman blamed the incursions of sea otters for the decline of abalone, commercial abalone fishing in southern California came to an end from overfishing in 1997, years before significant otter moved south of Point Conception. In addition, white abalone (Haliotis sorenseni), a species never overlapping with sea otter, had declined in numbers 99% by 1996, and became the first marine invertebrate to be federally listed as endangered.[136]

 

Although the southern sea otter's range has continuously expanded from the remnant population of about 50 individuals in Big Sur since protection in 1911, from 2007 to 2010, the otter population and its range contracted and since 2010 has made little progress.[137][138] As of spring 2010, the northern boundary had moved from about Tunitas Creek to a point 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) southeast of Pigeon Point, and the southern boundary has moved along the Gaviota Coast from approximately Coal Oil Point to Gaviota State Park.[139] A toxin called microcystin, produced by a type of cyanobacteria (Microcystis), seems to be concentrated in the shellfish the otters eat, poisoning them. Cyanobacteria are found in stagnant water enriched with nitrogen and phosphorus from septic tank and agricultural fertilizer runoff, and may be flushed into the ocean when streamflows are high in the rainy season.[140][141] A record number of sea otter carcasses were found on California's coastline in 2010, with increased shark attacks an increasing component of the mortality.[142] Great white sharks do not consume relatively fat-poor sea otters but shark-bitten carcasses have increased from 8% in the 1980s to 15% in the 1990s and to 30% in 2010 and 2011.[143]

 

For southern sea otters to be considered for removal from threatened species listing, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) determined that the population should exceed 3,090 for three consecutive years.[137] In response to recovery efforts, the population climbed steadily from the mid-20th century through the early 2000s, then remained relatively flat from 2005 to 2014 at just under 3,000. There was some contraction from the northern (now Pigeon Point) and southern limits of the sea otter's range during the end of this period, circumstantially related to an increase in lethal shark bites, raising concerns that the population had reached a plateau.[144] However, the population increased markedly from 2015 to 2016, with the United States Geological Survey (USGS) California sea otter survey 3-year average reaching 3,272 in 2016, the first time it exceeded the threshold for delisting from the Endangered Species Act (ESA).[132] If populations continued to grow and ESA delisting occurred, southern sea otters would still be fully protected by state regulations and the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which set higher thresholds for protection, at approximately 8,400 individuals.[145] However, ESA delisting seems unlikely due to a precipitous population decline recorded in the spring 2017 USGS sea otter survey count, from the 2016 high of 3,615 individuals to 2,688, a loss of 25% of the California sea otter population.[146]

 

Mexico

Historian Adele Ogden described sea otters are particularly abundant in "Lower California", now the Baja California Peninsula, where "seven bays...were main centers". The southernmost limit was Punta Morro Hermoso about 21+1⁄2 miles (34.6 km) south of Punta Eugenia, in turn a headland at the southwestern end of Sebastián Vizcaíno Bay, on the west coast of the Baja Peninsula. Otter were also taken from San Benito Island, Cedros Island, and Isla Natividad in the Bay.[101] By the early 1900s, Baja's sea otters were extirpated by hunting. In a 1997 survey, small numbers of sea otters, including pups, were reported by local fishermen, but scientists could not confirm these accounts.[147] However, male and female otters have been confirmed by scientists off shores of the Baja Peninsula in a 2014 study, who hypothesize that otter dispersed there beginning in 2005. These sea otters may have dispersed from San Nicolas Island, which is 300 kilometres (190 mi) away, as individuals have been recorded traversing distances of over 800 kilometres (500 mi). Genetic analysis of most of these animals were consistent with California, i.e. United States, otter origins, however one otter had a haplotype not previously reported, and could represent a remnant of the original native Mexican otter population.[148]

 

Ecology

Diet

High energetic requirements of sea otter metabolism require them to consume at least 20% of their body weight a day.[31] Surface swimming and foraging are major factors in their high energy expenditure due to drag on the surface of the water when swimming and the thermal heat loss from the body during deep dives when foraging.[149][31] Sea otter muscles are specially adapted to generate heat without physical activity.[150]

 

Sea otters consume over 100 prey species.[151] In most of its range, the sea otter's diet consists almost exclusively of marine benthic invertebrates, including sea urchins (such as Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and S. purpuratus), fat innkeeper worms, a variety of bivalves such as clams, mussels (such as Mytilus edulis), and scallops (such as Crassadoma gigantea), abalone, limpets (such as Diodora aspera), chitons (such as Katharina tunicata), other mollusks, crustaceans, and snails.[151][152][153] Its prey ranges in size from tiny limpets and crabs to giant octopuses.[151] Where prey such as sea urchins, clams, and abalone are present in a range of sizes, sea otters tend to select larger items over smaller ones of similar type.[151] In California, they have been noted to ignore Pismo clams smaller than 3 inches (76 mm) across.[154]

 

In a few northern areas, fish are also eaten. In studies performed at Amchitka Island in the 1960s, where the sea otter population was at carrying capacity, 50% of food found in sea otter stomachs was fish.[155] The fish species were usually bottom-dwelling and sedentary or sluggish forms, such as Hemilepidotus hemilepidotus and family Tetraodontidae.[155] However, south of Alaska on the North American coast, fish are a negligible or extremely minor part of the sea otter's diet.[19][156] Contrary to popular depictions, sea otters rarely eat starfish, and any kelp that is consumed apparently passes through the sea otter's system undigested.[157]

 

The individuals within a particular area often differ in their foraging methods and prey types, and tend to follow the same patterns as their mothers.[158] The diet of local populations also changes over time, as sea otters can significantly deplete populations of highly preferred prey such as large sea urchins, and prey availability is also affected by other factors such as fishing by humans.[19] Sea otters can thoroughly remove abalone from an area except for specimens in deep rock crevices,[159] however, they never completely wipe out a prey species from an area.[160] A 2007 Californian study demonstrated, in areas where food was relatively scarce, a wider variety of prey was consumed. Surprisingly, though, the diets of individuals were more specialized in these areas than in areas where food was plentiful.[128]

 

As a keystone species

 

Sea otters control herbivore populations, ensuring sufficient coverage of kelp in kelp forests

Sea otters are a classic example of a keystone species; their presence affects the ecosystem more profoundly than their size and numbers would suggest. They keep the population of certain benthic (sea floor) herbivores, particularly sea urchins, in check.[4] Sea urchins graze on the lower stems of kelp, causing the kelp to drift away and die.[161] Loss of the habitat and nutrients provided by kelp forests leads to profound cascade effects on the marine ecosystem. North Pacific areas that do not have sea otters often turn into urchin barrens, with abundant sea urchins and no kelp forest.[6] Kelp forests are extremely productive ecosystems. Kelp forests sequester (absorb and capture) CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis. Sea otters may help mitigate effects of climate change by their cascading trophic influence[162]

 

Reintroduction of sea otters to British Columbia has led to a dramatic improvement in the health of coastal ecosystems,[163] and similar changes have been observed as sea otter populations recovered in the Aleutian and Commander Islands and the Big Sur coast of California[164] However, some kelp forest ecosystems in California have also thrived without sea otters, with sea urchin populations apparently controlled by other factors.[164] The role of sea otters in maintaining kelp forests has been observed to be more important in areas of open coast than in more protected bays and estuaries.[164]

 

Sea otters affect rocky ecosystems that are dominated by mussel beds by removing mussels from rocks. This allows space for competing species and increases species diversity.[164]

 

Predators

Leading mammalian predators of this species include orcas and sea lions, and bald eagles may grab pups from the surface of the water. Young predators may kill an otter and not eat it.[67] On land, young sea otters may face attack from bears and coyotes. In California, great white sharks are their primary predator.[165] In Katmai National Park, grey wolves have been recorded to hunt and kill sea otters.[166]

 

Urban runoff transporting cat feces into the ocean brings Toxoplasma gondii, an obligate parasite of felids, which has killed sea otters.[167] Parasitic infections of Sarcocystis neurona are also associated with human activity.[16] According to the U.S. Geological Survey and the CDC, northern sea otters off Washington have been infected with the H1N1 flu virus and "may be a newly identified animal host of influenza viruses".[168]

 

Relationship with humans

Fur trade

 

Aleut men in Unalaska in 1896 used waterproof kayak gear and garments to hunt sea otters.

Sea otters have the thickest fur of any mammal, which makes them a common target for many hunters. Archaeological evidence indicates that for thousands of years, indigenous peoples have hunted sea otters for food and fur. Large-scale hunting, part of the Maritime Fur Trade, which would eventually kill approximately one million sea otters, began in the 18th century when hunters and traders began to arrive from all over the world to meet foreign demand for otter pelts, which were one of the world's most valuable types of fur.[22]

 

In the early 18th century, Russians began to hunt sea otters in the Kuril Islands[22] and sold them to the Chinese at Kyakhta. Russia was also exploring the far northern Pacific at this time, and sent Vitus Bering to map the Arctic coast and find routes from Siberia to North America. In 1741, on his second North Pacific voyage, Bering was shipwrecked off Bering Island in the Commander Islands, where he and many of his crew died. The surviving crew members, which included naturalist Georg Steller, discovered sea otters on the beaches of the island and spent the winter hunting sea otters and gambling with otter pelts. They returned to Siberia, having killed nearly 1,000 sea otters, and were able to command high prices for the pelts.[169] Thus began what is sometimes called the "Great Hunt", which would continue for another hundred years. The Russians found the sea otter far more valuable than the sable skins that had driven and paid for most of their expansion across Siberia. If the sea otter pelts brought back by Bering's survivors had been sold at Kyakhta prices they would have paid for one tenth the cost of Bering's expedition.[170]

  

Pelt sales (in thousands) in the London fur market – the decline beginning in the 1880s reflects dwindling sea otter populations.[171]

Russian fur-hunting expeditions soon depleted the sea otter populations in the Commander Islands, and by 1745, they began to move on to the Aleutian Islands. The Russians initially traded with the Aleuts inhabitants of these islands for otter pelts, but later enslaved the Aleuts, taking women and children hostage and torturing and killing Aleut men to force them to hunt. Many Aleuts were either murdered by the Russians or died from diseases the hunters had introduced.[172][disputed – discuss] The Aleut population was reduced, by the Russians' own estimate, from 20,000 to 2,000.[173] By the 1760s, the Russians had reached Alaska. In 1799, Tsar Paul I consolidated the rival fur-hunting companies into the Russian-American Company, granting it an imperial charter and protection, and a monopoly over trade rights and territorial acquisition. Under Aleksander I, the administration of the merchant-controlled company was transferred to the Imperial Navy, largely due to the alarming reports by naval officers of native abuse; in 1818, the indigenous peoples of Alaska were granted civil rights equivalent to a townsman status in the Russian Empire.[174]

 

Other nations joined in the hunt in the south. Along the coasts of what is now Mexico and California, Spanish explorers bought sea otter pelts from Native Americans and sold them in Asia.[172] In 1778, British explorer Captain James Cook reached Vancouver Island and bought sea otter furs from the First Nations people. When Cook's ship later stopped at a Chinese port, the pelts rapidly sold at high prices, and were soon known as "soft gold". As word spread, people from all over Europe and North America began to arrive in the Pacific Northwest to trade for sea otter furs.[175]

 

Russian hunting expanded to the south, initiated by American ship captains, who subcontracted Russian supervisors and Aleut hunters[176] in what are now Washington, Oregon, and California. Between 1803 and 1846, 72 American ships were involved in the otter hunt in California, harvesting an estimated 40,000 skins and tails, compared to only 13 ships of the Russian-American Company, which reported 5,696 otter skins taken between 1806 and 1846.[177] In 1812, the Russians founded an agricultural settlement at what is now Fort Ross in northern California, as their southern headquarters.[175] Eventually, sea otter populations became so depleted, commercial hunting was no longer viable. It had stopped in the Aleutian Islands, by 1808, as a conservation measure imposed by the Russian-American Company. Further restrictions were ordered by the company in 1834.[178] When Russia sold Alaska to the United States in 1867, the Alaska population had recovered to over 100,000, but Americans resumed hunting and quickly extirpated the sea otter again.[179] Prices rose as the species became rare. During the 1880s, a pelt brought $105 to $165 in the London market, but by 1903, a pelt could be worth as much as $1,125.[79] In 1911, Russia, Japan, Great Britain (for Canada) and the United States signed the Treaty for the Preservation and Protection of Fur Seals, imposing a moratorium on the harvesting of sea otters.[180] So few remained, perhaps only 1,000–2,000 individuals in the wild, that many believed the species would become extinct.[19]

 

Recovery and conservation

Main article: Sea otter conservation

 

In the wake of the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, heavy sheens of oil covered large areas of Prince William Sound.

During the 20th century, sea otter numbers rebounded in about two-thirds of their historic range, a recovery considered one of the greatest successes in marine conservation.[181] However, the IUCN still lists the sea otter as an endangered species, and describes the significant threats to sea otters as oil pollution, predation by orcas, poaching, and conflicts with fisheries – sea otters can drown if entangled in fishing gear.[1] The hunting of sea otters is no longer legal except for limited harvests by indigenous peoples in the United States.[182] Poaching was a serious concern in the Russian Far East immediately after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991; however, it has declined significantly with stricter law enforcement and better economic conditions.[108]

 

The most significant threat to sea otters is oil spills,[67] to which they are particularly vulnerable, since they rely on their fur to keep warm. When their fur is soaked with oil, it loses its ability to retain air, and the animals can quickly die from hypothermia.[67] The liver, kidneys, and lungs of sea otters also become damaged after they inhale oil or ingest it when grooming.[67] The Exxon Valdez oil spill of 24 March 1989 killed thousands of sea otters in Prince William Sound, and as of 2006, the lingering oil in the area continues to affect the population.[183] Describing the public sympathy for sea otters that developed from media coverage of the event, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesperson wrote:

 

As a playful, photogenic, innocent bystander, the sea otter epitomized the role of victim ... cute and frolicsome sea otters suddenly in distress, oiled, frightened, and dying, in a losing battle with the oil.[19]

The small geographic ranges of the sea otter populations in California, Washington, and British Columbia mean a single major spill could be catastrophic for that state or province.[19][57][63] Prevention of oil spills and preparation to rescue otters if one happens is a major focus for conservation efforts. Increasing the size and range of sea otter populations would also reduce the risk of an oil spill wiping out a population.[19] However, because of the species' reputation for depleting shellfish resources, advocates for commercial, recreational, and subsistence shellfish harvesting have often opposed allowing the sea otter's range to increase, and there have even been instances of fishermen and others illegally killing them.[184]

 

In the Aleutian Islands, a massive and unexpected disappearance of sea otters has occurred in recent decades. In the 1980s, the area was home to an estimated 55,000 to 100,000 sea otters, but the population fell to around 6,000 animals by 2000.[185] The most widely accepted, but still controversial, hypothesis is that killer whales have been eating the otters. The pattern of disappearances is consistent with a rise in predation, but there has been no direct evidence of orcas preying on sea otters to any significant extent.[114]

 

Another area of concern is California, where recovery began to fluctuate or decline in the late 1990s.[186] Unusually high mortality rates amongst adult and subadult otters, particularly females, have been reported.[106] In 2017 the US Geological Survey found a 3% drop in the sea otter population of the California coast. This number still keeps them on track for removal from the endangered species list, although just barely.[187] Necropsies of dead sea otters indicate diseases, particularly Toxoplasma gondii and acanthocephalan parasite infections, are major causes of sea otter mortality in California.[188] The Toxoplasma gondii parasite, which is often fatal to sea otters, is carried by wild and domestic cats and may be transmitted by domestic cat droppings flushed into the ocean via sewage systems.[188][189] Although disease has clearly contributed to the deaths of many of California's sea otters, it is not known why the California population is apparently more affected by disease than populations in other areas.[188]

  

Sea otters off the coast of Washington, within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary

Sea otter habitat is preserved through several protected areas in the United States, Russia and Canada. In marine protected areas, polluting activities such as dumping of waste and oil drilling are typically prohibited.[190] An estimated 1,200 sea otters live within the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, and more than 500 live within the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.[191][192]

 

Economic impact

Some of the sea otter's preferred prey species, particularly abalone, clams, and crabs, are also food sources for humans. In some areas, massive declines in shellfish harvests have been blamed on the sea otter, and intense public debate has taken place over how to manage the competition between sea otters and humans for seafood.[193]

 

The debate is complicated because sea otters have sometimes been held responsible for declines of shellfish stocks that were more likely caused by overfishing, disease, pollution, and seismic activity.[63][194] Shellfish declines have also occurred in many parts of the North American Pacific coast that do not have sea otters, and conservationists sometimes note the existence of large concentrations of shellfish on the coast is a recent development resulting from the fur trade's near-extirpation of the sea otter.[194] Although many factors affect shellfish stocks, sea otter predation can deplete a fishery to the point where it is no longer commercially viable.[193] Scientists agree that sea otters and abalone fisheries cannot exist in the same area,[193] and the same is likely true for certain other types of shellfish, as well.[185]

 

Many facets of the interaction between sea otters and the human economy are not as immediately felt. Sea otters have been credited with contributing to the kelp harvesting industry via their well-known role in controlling sea urchin populations; kelp is used in the production of diverse food and pharmaceutical products.[195] Although human divers harvest red sea urchins both for food and to protect the kelp, sea otters hunt more sea urchin species and are more consistently effective in controlling these populations.[196] E. lutris is a controlling predator of the red king crab (Paralithodes camtschaticus) in the Bering Sea, which would otherwise be out of control as it is in its invasive range, the Barents Sea.[197] (Berents otters, Lutra lutra, occupy the same ecological niche and so are believed to help to control them in the Berents but this has not been studied.)[197] The health of the kelp forest ecosystem is significant in nurturing populations of fish, including commercially important fish species.[195] In some areas, sea otters are popular tourist attractions, bringing visitors to local hotels, restaurants, and sea otter-watching expeditions.[195]

 

Roles in human cultures

 

Aleut carving of a sea otter hunt

Left: Aleut sea otter amulet in the form of a mother with pup. Above: Aleut carving of a sea otter hunt on a whalebone spear. Both items are on display at the Peter the Great Museum of Anthropology and Ethnography in St. Petersburg. Articles depicting sea otters were considered to have magical properties.[198]

 

For many maritime indigenous cultures throughout the North Pacific, especially the Ainu in the Kuril Islands, the Koryaks and Itelmen of Kamchatka, the Aleut in the Aleutian Islands, the Haida of Haida Gwaii[199] and a host of tribes on the Pacific coast of North America, the sea otter has played an important role as a cultural, as well as material, resource. In these cultures, many of which have strongly animist traditions full of legends and stories in which many aspects of the natural world are associated with spirits, the sea otter was considered particularly kin to humans. The Nuu-chah-nulth, Haida, and other First Nations of coastal British Columbia used the warm and luxurious pelts as chiefs' regalia. Sea otter pelts were given in potlatches to mark coming-of-age ceremonies, weddings, and funerals.[68] The Aleuts carved sea otter bones for use as ornaments and in games, and used powdered sea otter baculum as a medicine for fever.[200]

 

Among the Ainu, the otter is portrayed as an occasional messenger between humans and the creator.[201] The sea otter is a recurring figure in Ainu folklore. A major Ainu epic, the Kutune Shirka, tells the tale of wars and struggles over a golden sea otter. Versions of a widespread Aleut legend tell of lovers or despairing women who plunge into the sea and become otters.[202] These links have been associated with the many human-like behavioral features of the sea otter, including apparent playfulness, strong mother-pup bonds and tool use, yielding to ready anthropomorphism.[203] The beginning of commercial exploitation had a great impact on the human, as well as animal, populations. The Ainu and Aleuts have been displaced or their numbers are dwindling, while the coastal tribes of North America, where the otter is in any case greatly depleted, no longer rely as intimately on sea mammals for survival.[204]

 

Since the mid-1970s, the beauty and charisma of the species have gained wide appreciation, and the sea otter has become an icon of environmental conservation.[186] The round, expressive face and soft, furry body of the sea otter are depicted in a wide variety of souvenirs, postcards, clothing, and stuffed toys.[205]

 

Aquariums and zoos

Sea otters can do well in captivity, and are featured in over 40 public aquariums and zoos.[206] The Seattle Aquarium became the first institution to raise sea otters from conception to adulthood with the birth of Tichuk in 1979, followed by three more pups in the early 1980s.[207] In 2007, a YouTube video of two sea otters holding paws drew 1.5 million viewers in two weeks, and had over 22 million views as of July 2022.[208] Filmed five years previously at the Vancouver Aquarium, it was YouTube's most popular animal video at the time, although it has since been surpassed. The lighter-colored otter in the video is Nyac, a survivor of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill.[209] Nyac died in September 2008, at the age of 20.[210] Milo, the darker one, died of lymphoma in January 2012.[211]

 

Current conservation

Sea otters, being a known keystone species, need a humanitarian effort to be protected from endangerment through "unregulated human exploitation".[212] This species has increasingly been impacted by the large oil spills and environmental degradation caused by overfishing and entanglement in fishing gear.[213] Current efforts have been made in legislation: the international Fur Seal Treaty, The Endangered Species Act, IUCN/The World Conservation Union, Convention on international Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Other conservation efforts are done through reintroduction and zoological parks. Wikipedia

 

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Marines - France

"Heiligenstein is a French commune located in the department of Bas-Rhin, in the region East Grand.

 

This town is located in the historical and cultural region of Alsace.

 

Located at the foot of Mont Sainte-Odile, Heiligenstein is best known for its klevener, a grape variety unique in the region and used to produce a white wine classified AOC Alsace: the klevener of Heiligenstein.

 

His wine vocation goes back to the 3rd century, at the time Gallo-Roman.

 

The town is home to part of the “Landsberg forest” ; property of a family forestry group, managed by 6 managers since 1800. The forest covers 158 hectares (of which nearly 25 hectares are unproductive), spread over 3 municipalities (Heiligenstein, Barr and Obernai). It is subject to so-called “close to nature” management (according to the silvicultural principles recommended by Prosilva), without clear cutting. It was FSC certified in December 2000 and PEFC in December 2002.

 

Heiligenstein is a wine-growing village clinging to the side of the hill, at the foot of Mont Sainte-Odile, between 240 m and 300 m above sea level. The vines are likely introduced to the 3rd century by the Romans colonized the Rhine Province. A charter dated 1181 mentions for the first time the name of Hellgenstein which is part of the seigneury of Barr. The Abbey of Truttenhausen owns property there. A ruin identified with an old hermitage is located at the western edge of the ban, below the Kappelhusfelsen.

 

The old cemetery surrounding the church was contiguous to the castle of Hell, hence the name Hellgenstein. The current name of Heiligenstein (probably changed for religious reasons, Hell being translatable as "hell") appears for the first time in 1460. The rue du Rempart still remains, it is called "d'Hell" which translates into Alsatian as "hell". Another etymology is admissible. Indeed the word Helgen derived from ancient Celtic will translate as "hero". Associated with Stein, it will mean "Stone of the Heroes".

 

At the 16th century, the village lives a tragedy. The peasants of the region rise up against the abuses of the powerful, nobles and clergy. Refugees on the heights for several months, they find their village completely looted and destroyed by the mercenaries of the lords on their return. This is how they settled on the neighboring hill which would become the current village. The Reformation was introduced in 1554. A Protestant Lutheran parish with its own cult was introduced in 1869.

 

In the 18th century, a new variety, the klevener, is said reported in northern Italy by the Mayor of the village Ehret Wantz, is introduced. The flint soil allowing its optimal development, the winegrowers quickly requested the expansion of the wine-growing area. After many adventures and a long trial with the neighboring villages who wanted to keep the coveted land for their use, the Council of Aldermen of Strasbourg authorized in 1742 the village of Heiligenstein to plant this famous klevener on its land. This new grape variety is so successful that the winegrowers are soon invited to pay the tithe in klevener which, at that time, is worth twice as much as other wines. He was quickly authorized by the same council to enlarge his production area, because the tithe brought in much more on good vines than on poor pastures.

 

Since then, the Heiligenstein klevener has enjoyed official recognition 2.

 

Alsace (/ælˈsæs/, also US: /ælˈseɪs, ˈælsæs/; French: [alzas]; Low Alemannic German/Alsatian: 's Elsàss [ˈɛlsɑs]; German: Elsass [ˈɛlzas]; Latin: Alsatia) is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2017, it had a population of 1,889,589.

 

Until 1871, Alsace included the area now known as the Territoire de Belfort, which formed its southernmost part. From 1982 to 2016, Alsace was the smallest administrative région in metropolitan France, consisting of the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin departments. Territorial reform passed by the French Parliament in 2014 resulted in the merger of the Alsace administrative region with Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine to form Grand Est. Due to protests it was decided in 2019 that Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin would form the future European Collectivity of Alsace in 2021.

 

Alsatian is an Alemannic dialect closely related to Swabian and Swiss German, although since World War II most Alsatians primarily speak French. Internal and international migration since 1945 has also changed the ethnolinguistic composition of Alsace. For more than 300 years, from the Thirty Years' War to World War II, the political status of Alsace was heavily contested between France and various German states in wars and diplomatic conferences. The economic and cultural capital of Alsace, as well as its largest city, is Strasbourg, which sits right on the contemporary German international border. The city is the seat of several international organisations and bodies." - info from Wikipedia.

 

During the summer of 2018 I went on my first ever cycling tour. On my own I cycled from Strasbourg, France to Geneva, Switzerland passing through the major cities of Switzerland. In total I cycled 1,185 km over the course of 16 days and took more than 8,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon.

Classified as a Vulnerable Species endemic to western and central Madagascar.

 

Ravelobe Lake, Ankarafantsika National Park, Mahajanga, Madagascar.

Garasia people.

 

Garasia, an interesting ethnic group inhabiting the Aravali foothills of remote Sabarkatha district in Gujarat has a curious history. Though a depressed class and classified as a de-notified tribe, the Garasias resembles closely with the advanced Rajput clans in many ways. Due to these, the British administration had even categorized the Garasias as a branch of Rajputs who were petty land holders. Even today amidst poverty and deep isolation I was surprised to see Garasias not only as prime agriculturalists but also holders of large chunk of lands in the remote slopes of Aravali Mountains. Their houses are widely dispersed each surround by a large farmstead.

 

Yet the Garasias are poor and deprived of basic services like, health, education

and safe drinking water. Farming is mostly rain fed. According to historical records, in colonial India as land became scarce both through colonial expansion and slash-and-burn agriculture Garasias became further marginalized and associated themselves with Bhils, a more primitive tribal group. The nationalist movement created further division between groups as the Rajput identity was grounded in traditional customs and their heritage as rulers.

 

Garasias of Sabarkatha form two distinct groups – the Garasia Rajputs and the

Garasia Bhils.

 

The Garasia Rajputs: In the medieval time the Rajputs from Rajasthan and surrounding plains of Gujarat had appropriated Bhil territories and in part to strengthen their rule and maintain peace, some of them married to Bhil women.

Their offspring formed a distinct caste – the Garasia Rajputs. They served as delegates between the ruling Rajputs and Bhils. The Garasia Rajputs are a lower

status caste than the Rajputs but consider themselves higher to Bhils with whom

they do not inter marry. Garasia Rajputs see themselves as tribalized Rajputs and they believe that that their Rajput ancestors moved to remote forest to avoid subjugation by a conquering group.

 

The Garasia Bhils: The Garasia Bhils are those who married to Bhil women and were not accepted into Garasia society because of the lower status of the Bhils. The Bhil Garasias are also called Dungri Garasias.

 

The Garasias live mostly in huts consisting of two/three rooms with mud wall partitions. The roofs are built of flat tiled roofs. There is a smaller hut attached to the main one meant for cattle. However, for the other animals like goats and hens there

are open air facilities. The Garasia women are known for their colourful attires and silver jewellery. Dhols (drums) and bow-arrows are also part of the material culture of the Garasias.

 

The huts belonging to various families are widely dispersed and there is no central place where people can meet together. I visited a few houses in the village and while interacting with the inhabitants I discovered the gender divisions - women’s responsibility include cooking, tending to cattle, milking the animals and looking after the children. The men do the physical labour such as ploughing, harvesting and building the houses. There is a strong prevalence of joint family system though there is very little unity or cooperation between the village clans.

  

A highly classified project - the stealth-infused car. It was sponsored by government and was designed for the purposes of testing air force technologies. Their current motto is "Something that is visible on the road shall not take off".

"The New Town (Czech: Nové Město) is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent (from the Middle Ages until 1784) towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague. New Town was founded in 1348 by Charles IV just outside the city walls to the east and south of the Old Town and encompassed an area of 7.5 km²; about three times the size of the Old Town. The population of Prague in 1378 was well over 40,000, perhaps as much as twice that, making it the 4th most populated city north of the Alps and, by area, the 3rd largest city in Europe. Although New Town can trace its current layout to its construction in the 14th century, only few churches and administrative buildings from this time survive. There are many secular and educational buildings in New Town, but also especially magnificent gothic and baroque churches. These nevertheless are not the main drawing points for tourists. New Town's most famous landmark is Wenceslas Square, which was originally built as a horsemarket and now functions as a center of commerce and tourism. In the 15th century, the Novoměstská radnice, or New Town Hall, was the site of the first of the three defenestrations of Prague.

 

Prague (/ˈprɑːɡ/ PRAHG; Czech: Praha [ˈpraɦa]; German: Prag [pʁaːk]; Latin: Praga) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters.

 

Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611).

 

It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era.

 

Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

 

The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. It is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe.

 

Prague is classified as a "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies. In 2019, the city was ranked as 69th most livable city in the world by Mercer. In the same year, the PICSA Index ranked the city as 13th most livable city in the world. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. In 2017, Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul.

 

Bohemia (Latin Bohemia, German Böhmen, Polish Czechy) is a region in the west of the Czech Republic. Previously, as a kingdom, they were the center of the Czech Crown. The root of the word Czech probably corresponds to the meaning of man. The Latin equivalent of Bohemia, originally Boiohaemum (literally "land of Battles"), which over time also influenced the names in other languages, is derived from the Celtic tribe of the Boios, who lived in this area from the 4th to the 1st century BC Bohemia on it borders Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Moravia in the east and Poland in the north. Geographically, they are bounded from the north, west and south by a chain of mountains, the highest of which are the Krkonoše Mountains, in which the highest mountain of Bohemia, Sněžka, is also located. The most important rivers are the Elbe and the Vltava, with the fertile Polabean Plain extending around the Elbe. The capital and largest city of Bohemia is Prague, other important cities include, for example, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hradec Králové, Pardubice and České Budějovice, Jihlava also lies partly on the historical territory of Bohemia." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

Me "So what's with the classifieds Menace?"

 

Menace "You give me a crappy allowance and I'm sick of being poor wearing the same clothes months after months"

 

Me "You know we have tons of clothes, You don't have to still be wearing THAT outfit"

 

Menace "Oh sure sure put me in those hideous handmedowns.. um NO thanks. I'm done with your rules and stinky old stuff.. I'm getting the perfect job! Ill be rich beyond your wildest dreams! I found the PERFECT Job!"

 

Me "Oh Color me Intrigued O_o"

GI Joe Classified Gallery

Facebook

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The Baroness is one snake you never wanna back into a corner.

 

Diorama by High School Creations (Etsy and IG: @highschoolcreations)

 

Have fun, and happy snapping!

i'm step-by-stepping this drawing.

and selling advertising space in my new zine.

more about both here;

andreajoseph24.blogspot.com/

Edited Hubble Space Telescope image of the galaxy NGC 2146. Color/processing variant.

 

Original caption: NGC 2146 is classified as a barred spiral due to its shape, but the most distinctive feature is the dusty spiral arm that has looped in front of the galaxy's core as seen from our perspective. The forces required to pull this structure out of its natural shape and twist it up to 45 degrees are colossal. The most likely explanation is that a neighbouring galaxy is gravitationally perturbing it and distorting the orbits of many of NGC 2146’s stars. It is probable that we are currently witnessing the end stages of a process which has been occurring for tens of millions of years. NCG 2146 is undergoing intense bouts of star formation, to such an extent that it is referred to as a starburst galaxy. This is a common state for barred spirals, but the extra gravitational disruption that NGC 2146 is enduring no doubt exacerbates the situation, compressing hydrogen-rich nebulae and triggering stellar birth. Measuring about 80 000 light-years from end to end, NGC 2146 is slightly smaller than the Milky Way. It lies approximately 70 million light-years distant in the faint northern constellation of Camelopardalis (The Giraffe). Although it is fairly easy to see with a moderate-sized telescope as a faint elongated blur of light it was not spotted until 1876 when the German astronomer Friedrich Winnecke found it visually using just a 16 cm telescope. This picture was created from images taken with the Wide Field Channel of Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. Images through a near-infrared filter (F814W, coloured blue and orange/brown) were combined with images taken in a filter that isolates the glow from hydrogen gas (F658N, coloured red). An additional green colour channel was also created by combining the two to help to create a realistic colour rendition for the final picture from this unusual filter combination. The total exposure times were 120 s and 700 s respectively and the field of view is covers 2.6 x 1.6 arcminutes.

Atlas 7114 Details: Liftoff of Missile 7114; PALC 2-4; Classified Air Force Mission Date: 01/19/1966--Please tag these photos so information can be recorded.---Note: This material may be protected by Copyright Law (Title 17 U.S.C.)--Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum

D2774 and D2767 are 0-4-0 diesel hydraulic shunters, classified by BR as D2/10 and are part of a batch built by the North British Locomotive Company Ltd. at their Queen's Park Works in Glasgow in 1960, which were numbered from D2708 to D2780; 73 in all.

D2774 passed to the NCB working at Celynen South Colliery in Gwent, South Wales before it was preserved in 1986, first at the ELR but it is now based at the Strathspey Railway at Aviemore in Northern Scotland.

D2767 was also built in 1960 but after only 7 years in BR service was bought by Andrew Barclay & Sons for conversion to industrial specification and was used at the Burmah Oil Refinery in Ellesmere Port, Cheshire from 1969 until 1981. The loco was initially preserved and restored by a group at the Bury Transport Museum but was subsequently purchased with a grant from the Royal Scottish Museum National Fund for Acquisitions. It is now part of the Scottish Railway Preservation Society collection based at the Bo'ness and Kinneil Railway, near Falkirk.

Finally, 69621 is an 0-6-2T steam locomotive, which was originally built by the Great Eastern Railway at their Stratford Works in 1924 and fitted with condensing equipment for working on the Metropolitan lines in the eastern area of London working out of Liverpool Street. It was classified N7 by the LNER. In 1940 the locomotive was rebuilt with a round topped firebox and reclassified N7/4. It was withdrawn from service by BR in September 1962 and purchased by Dr. Fred Youell for preservation. The locomotive returned to steam in 1989, and spent the next ten years visiting many preserved lines and gained the name "A J Hill" in honour of its designer.

After an overhaul, 69621 re-entered service on the North Norfolk Railway, where it is on long term loan from the East Anglia Railway Museum in September 2005.

In 2015, just before the expiration of the boiler certicate, it spent some time on the Churnet Valley Railway.

As there were no plans to return the locomotive to steam again it was cosmetically restored in BR lined black for display at Platform 4 at the Chappel & Wakes Colne which is part of the East Anglia Railway Museum. However, in June 2020, the East Anglia Railway Museum confirmed that the locomotive was going to be overhauled and that it was planned to have it back in steam in 2024.

Hong Kong Transport - Trucks

 

The Hong Kong Truck Culture

 

The number of Trucks, Vans* and Special Purpose Vehicles (Light, Medium & Heavy) registered + licenced in Hong Kong seems to fluctuate between 120,000 - 125,000 vehicles and presumably new trucks registered are offset by old trucks being retired or sold over the border in China.

 

*Vans are classified as Light Goods Vehicles and are not shown in this album

 

In Hong Kong Trucks are classified as GOODS VEHICLES By the Transport Department - see below

 

☛Light Goods Vehicles - Goods vehicles of permitted gross vehicle weight not exceeding 5.5 tonnes.

 

☛Medium Goods Vehicles - Goods vehicles of permitted gross vehicle weight exceeding 5.5 tonnes but not exceeding 24 tonnes.

 

☛Heavy Goods Vehicles - Goods vehicles of permitted gross vehicle weight exceeding 24 tonnes but not exceeding 38 tonnes.

 

The major truck types you tend to see in urban areas are trucks carrying construction materials or waste, dump trucks, concrete mixers and all sizes of delivery trucks... outside of the urban areas it is container trucks and large trucks carrying construction materials.

 

The following brands of Trucks can be seen on the streets of Hong Kong and include:-

 

Beiben ✚ Bell ✚ CAMC ✚ CNHTC ✚ DAF ✚ Dennis ✚ Dong Feng ✚ FAW ✚ Fuso ✚ Foton ✚ Ford ✚ Hino ✚ Howo ✚ Hyundai ✚ Isuzu ✚ Iveco ✚ JAC ✚ Kato ✚ KIA ✚ Liebherr ✚ MAN ✚ Mercedes Benz ✚ Mitsubishi ✚ Nissan ✚ Renault ✚ Scania ✚ Shacman ✚ Sinotruk ✚ Suzuki ✚ Toyota ✚ UD ✚ Volvo ✚ Zoomlion

 

Hong Kong is a brand conscious place even for trucks (!) hence the popularity of the European brands, Scania and Man are very popular and even the older trucks look the business and they are utterly reliable.

 

Isuzu is the market leader in terms of sale volume for all types of trucks.

 

(Source - The Transport Department, Hong Kong Government)

 

☛.... and if you want to read about my views on Hong Kong, then go to my blog, link below

 

✚ www.j3consultantshongkong.com/j3c-blog

 

☛ Photography is simply a hobby for me, I do NOT sell my images and all of my images can be FREELY downloaded from this site in the original upload image size or 5 other sizes, please note that you DO NOT have to ask for permission to download and use any of my images!

"The Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert (Czech: metropolitní katedrála svatého Víta, Václava a Vojtěcha) is a Catholic metropolitan cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. Until 1997, the cathedral was dedicated only to Saint Vitus, and is still commonly named only as St. Vitus Cathedral (Czech: katedrála svatého Víta or svatovítská katedrála).

 

This cathedral is a prominent example of Gothic architecture, and is the largest and most important church in the country. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, the cathedral is under the ownership of the Czech government as part of the Prague Castle complex. Cathedral dimensions are 124 m × 60 m (407 ft × 197 ft), the main tower is 102.8 m (337 ft) high, front towers 82 m (269 ft), arch height 33.2 m (109 ft).

 

Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad; [ˈpraʃskiː ˈɦrat]) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic serving as the official residence and workplace of the president of the Czech Republic. Built in the 9th century, the castle has long served as the seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. As such, the term "Prague Castle" or simply "Castle" are often used as metonymy for the president and his staff and advisors. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it.

 

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world, occupying an area of almost 70,000 square metres (750,000 square feet), at about 570 metres (1,870 feet) in length and an average of about 130 metres (430 feet) wide. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague, attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually.

 

Hradčany (German: Hradschin) is an urban district and cadastral territory of Prague with an area of ​​1.5 km², divided between city districts and at the same time the city districts of Prague 1 and Prague 6. A significant part of the district is occupied by Prague Castle, one of the most famous castles in Europe and, according to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest castle complex in the world. Hradčany was an independent town until 1784, when it became part of the united royal capital of Prague.

 

Hradčany includes the area of ​​Prague Castle, the territory of the historic city around Hradčanské and Loretánské náměstí, Pohořelec, the area of ​​Strahov Monastery and Nový Svět, as well as the area of ​​the former Marian Walls forming an arc from the western edge of Letenská plain to the top of Petřín.

 

Prague 6 includes a strip of territory defined by tram lines in Dlabačov, Keplerova, Jelení, Mariánské hradby, Badeni, Milada Horáková, Patočkova and Myslbekova streets. The cadastral territory Hradčany is adjacent to Střešovice to the northwest, Dejvice to the north, Mala Strana to the east, Smíchov (a small strip of territory) to the south, and Břevnov to the southwest.

 

Prague (/ˈprɑːɡ/ PRAHG; Czech: Praha [ˈpraɦa]; German: Prag [pʁaːk]; Latin: Praga) is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate oceanic climate, with relatively warm summers and chilly winters.

 

Prague is a political, cultural, and economic hub of central Europe, with a rich history and Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque architectures. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and residence of several Holy Roman Emperors, most notably Charles IV (r. 1346–1378) and Rudolf II (r. 1575–1611).

 

It was an important city to the Habsburg monarchy and Austro-Hungarian Empire. The city played major roles in the Bohemian and the Protestant Reformations, the Thirty Years' War and in 20th-century history as the capital of Czechoslovakia between the World Wars and the post-war Communist era.

 

Prague is home to a number of well-known cultural attractions, many of which survived the violence and destruction of 20th-century Europe. Main attractions include Prague Castle, Charles Bridge, Old Town Square with the Prague astronomical clock, the Jewish Quarter, Petřín hill and Vyšehrad. Since 1992, the historic center of Prague has been included in the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

 

The city has more than ten major museums, along with numerous theatres, galleries, cinemas, and other historical exhibits. An extensive modern public transportation system connects the city. It is home to a wide range of public and private schools, including Charles University in Prague, the oldest university in Central Europe.

 

Prague is classified as a "Alpha-" global city according to GaWC studies. In 2019, the city was ranked as 69th most livable city in the world by Mercer. In the same year, the PICSA Index ranked the city as 13th most livable city in the world. Its rich history makes it a popular tourist destination and as of 2017, the city receives more than 8.5 million international visitors annually. In 2017, Prague was listed as the fifth most visited European city after London, Paris, Rome, and Istanbul.

 

Bohemia (Latin Bohemia, German Böhmen, Polish Czechy) is a region in the west of the Czech Republic. Previously, as a kingdom, they were the center of the Czech Crown. The root of the word Czech probably corresponds to the meaning of man. The Latin equivalent of Bohemia, originally Boiohaemum (literally "land of Battles"), which over time also influenced the names in other languages, is derived from the Celtic tribe of the Boios, who lived in this area from the 4th to the 1st century BC Bohemia on it borders Germany in the west, Austria in the south, Moravia in the east and Poland in the north. Geographically, they are bounded from the north, west and south by a chain of mountains, the highest of which are the Krkonoše Mountains, in which the highest mountain of Bohemia, Sněžka, is also located. The most important rivers are the Elbe and the Vltava, with the fertile Polabean Plain extending around the Elbe. The capital and largest city of Bohemia is Prague, other important cities include, for example, Pilsen, Karlovy Vary, Kladno, Ústí nad Labem, Liberec, Hradec Králové, Pardubice and České Budějovice, Jihlava also lies partly on the historical territory of Bohemia." - info from Wikipedia.

 

Summer 2019 I did a solo cycling tour across Europe through 12 countries over the course of 3 months. I began my adventure in Edinburgh, Scotland and finished in Florence, Italy cycling 8,816 km. During my trip I took 47,000 photos.

 

Now on Instagram.

 

Become a patron to my photography on Patreon or donate.

Italien / Lombardei - Monte Grona

 

Monte Grona is a mountain of Lombardy, Italy. It has an elevation of 1,736 metres and belongs to the province of Como.

 

SOIUSA classification

 

According to the SOIUSA (International Standardized Mountain Subdivision of the Alps) the mountain can be classified in the following way:

 

main part = Western Alps

major sector = North Western Alps

section = Lugano Prealps

subsection = Prealpi Comasche

supergroup = Catena Gino-Camoghè-Fiorina

group = Gruppo del Gino

code = I/B-11.I-A.1

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Monte Grona ist ein 1736 m s.l.m. hoher Berg in den südlichen Alpen (Tambogruppe bzw. Luganer Voralpen) zwischen dem Luganersee und dem Comer See in der Lombardei in Italien.

 

Routen zum Gipfel

 

Talort ist Breglia nördlich von Menaggio. Ein Bergweg beginnt an den Monti di Breglia (996 m). Er führt zunächst zu einer Schutzhütte (Rifugio Menaggio, 1.380 m). Von dort aus führen neben dem Normalanstieg noch zwei weitere Bergwege zum Gipfel: Ein direkter Steilanstieg („Direttissima“) und ein Aussichtsweg („Sentiero Panoramico“). Der vierte Weg auf den Gipfel ist ein Klettersteig („Ferrata del Centenario CAO“).

 

(Wikipedia)

 

Der Aufstieg zum Monte Grona gehört zum Pflichtprogramm eines Comer See-Aufenthalts. Auch die Bewohner der Gemeinde Menaggio besteigen zu Saisonbeginn, veranstaltet vom hiesigen Alpenverein, den Gipfel. Auf dem Weg nach oben gehört der Besuch des Rifugio Menaggio dazu.

 

Der Monte Grona hat eine Bomben-Hütte

 

Der Hüttenwirt bereitet bis auf einen kurzen Zeitraum von Januar bis Februar das ganze Jahr über einfache lokale Speisen und Getränke zu. Der Monte Grona ist 1 736 m hoch und bietet vom Gipfel einen Rundumblick über die gesamte Region bis zum Luganer See. Der Aufstieg beginnt in Breglia oder dem Parkplatz kurz oberhalb des Ortes, nach 2h ist der Gipfel erreicht.

 

Das Rifugio Menaggio, bis weit über den Comer See hinaus bekannt, wurde 1952 als Schutzhütte für Bergsteiger geplant und gebaut. 1960 folgte die feierliche Eröffnung und 1970 wurde die Schutzhütte dann zu ihrer heutigen Form erweitert. Die Hütte ist weitgehend autonom, bezieht das Wasser aus einer nahe gelegenen Quelle, Strom liefert die Sonne mit Hilfe einer Photovoltaik-Anlage.

 

Die Lebensmittelversorgung wird über eine Lastenseilbahn von einem Forstweg (ca. 150 m unterhalb der Hütte) organisiert. Das Rifugio verfügt über zwanzig Schlafmöglichkeiten, eine Küche, zwei Aufenthaltsräume und ein Bad mit Warmwasser.

 

Tourbeschreibung: Die äußerst attraktive Bergwanderung beginnt man sinnvollerweise oberhalb von Breglia an einem Parkplatz. Die Anfahrt dorthin ist im Gegensatz zu anderen Bergen eher angenehm, mehr als 10 min. sollte sie nicht dauern. Wer viel Power hat, parkt natürlich in Breglia selbst bei der Kirche, ca. 30 m. vom Platz beginnt der Wanderweg. Er führt allerdings anfangs immer wieder ein bisschen an der Straße entlang, sodass viele den oberen Startpunkt wählen. Vom (Berg-)Parkplatz aus geht es dann in ca. 1h durch zunächst niedrigen Wald, später auf offener Strecke zum Rifugio Menaggio auf 1 383 m. Höhe.

 

Die Strecke ist durchgehend ausgeschildert und eigentlich nicht zu verfehlen. Am Rifugio angekommen, erfrischt man sich mit Wasser aus dem Brunnen oder in der Berghütte. Neben Getränken gibt es auch kleinere einfache Speisen: Polenta mit Fleisch, Käse oder Würstchen und Spaghetti mit verschiedenen Soßen. Viel grüne Fläche in der Sonne und im Schatten lädt zum Verweilen ein, die Sicht ist grandios.

 

Der weitere Weg auf den Monte Grona führt rechts an der Hütte vorbei. Nach wenigen Schritten geht es ab zum nahe gelegenen Klettersteig (Ferrata), der aber nur für geübte Kletterer empfohlen wird. Folgen Sie lieber der Hauptstrecke, die sich nach einigen Metern erneut teilt: Sie haben nun die Wahl zwischen der sog. ‚Diretissima‘ und dem ‚Via normale‘. Letzterer ist 10 min. länger.

 

Beide Strecken liegen wunderschön im Gelände, am besten man begeht beide, eine beim Aufstieg, eine beim Abstieg. Der Via normale führt über viele enge und teils extrem ausgewaschene Pfade inmitten faszinierender Natur bis zum Sattel zwischen Monte Grona und Monte Santa Amata, einem kleineren Nachbarberg, in dessen Verlauf der Monte Bregagno schon zu sehen ist. Folgen Sie dem Weg zum Monte Grona links, auf dem Schild werden 30 min. ausgewiesen, und entdecken Sie die schönsten Seiten der Comenser Bergwelten.

 

Bald erreicht man über schmale teils auch felsige Strecken den Gipfel mit einer Traumaussicht in alle Himmelsrichtungen. Für die letzten zehn Meter ist zur Sicherheit noch ein Seil gespannt, das man aber eigentlich nicht benötigt. Im Westen der Luganer See, dahinter die Bergkette des Monte Rosa, dem höchsten Berg der Schweiz, gegenüber der Monte Legnone, mit 2 609 m., der höchste Berg am Lago di Como.

 

Im Süden die hohen Vertreter der Grigne-Gruppe von Lecco, unterhalb der Ort Menaggio. Für 2 h Anstrengung erhält man an diesem Berg eine ganze Menge hochalpiner Eindrücke. Zurück am Rifugio genießt man am besten die Abendstimmung bei einer Tasse Cappuccino. Ausklang: In Menaggio gibt es direkt an der Piazza Garibaldi (auch Tourist-Office) eine Gelateria mit gutem Eis und einige Cafés.

 

Tourvarianten 1. Kurz nach dem oberen Parkplatz führt bei der Abzweigung ein weiterer Weg unterhalb zum Rifugio (ausgeschildert). Der Weg ist zunächst etwas flacher und breiter, verjüngt sich aber später ebenfalls. Man erreicht das Rifugio im Gegensatz zur anderen Strecke von unten. 2. Während des Aufstiegs zum Monte Grona gibt es eine gut beschilderte Abzweigung zum Monte Bregagno, mit 2 143 m. ein stattlicher Berg der Region.

 

Man steigt zunächst diagonal zum Berg an, überquert dann, schon auf dem Bergkamm laufend, den kleinen Bruder des Bregagno und erreicht nach weiteren 1,5 h auf weichem Wiesenuntergrund den grünen Gipfel. Von hier führt auch ein Abstieg zur Via Monti Lariani (VML), an der Kreuzung liegt die Kirche San Bernardo, die zum Bergdorf Labbio gehört.

 

Dort befindet sich das Agriturismo Labbio, in dem man übernachten kann (www.agriturismolabbio.it). Allen anderen bleibt nur der beschwerliche Abstieg über unzählige Serpentinen nach Musso oder der Weitermarsch auf dem VML nach Dongo. 3. Auf halber Strecke zum Monte Bregagno liegt das Kirchlein Sant‘Amate, das von vielen als (Zwischen-)Ziel gewählt wird.

 

(comersee-info.de)

Classified as a 2 year old in 2019

Ben Nevis and Glen Coe is a national scenic area (NSA) covering part of the Highlands of Scotland surrounding Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, in which certain forms of development are restricted. It is one of 40 such areas in Scotland, which are defined so as to identify areas of exceptional scenery and to ensure its protection from inappropriate development. The Ben Nevis and Glen Coe NSA covers 903 km2 (349 sq mi) of land, lying within the Highland, Argyll and Bute and Perth and Kinross council areas. A further 19 km2 (7.3 sq mi) of the NSA are marine, covering the sea loch of Loch Leven.

 

National scenic areas are primarily designated due to the scenic qualities of an area, however NSAs may well have other special qualities, for example related to culture, history, archaeology, geology or wildlife. Areas with such qualities may be protected via other national and international designations that overlap with the NSA designation. Glen Coe is designated as a national nature reserve, and there are several Special Areas of Conservation and Special Protection Areas within the NSA. Although the national scenic area designation provides a degree of additional protection via the planning process, there are no bodies equivalent to a national park authority, and whilst local authorities can produce a management strategy for each one, only the three national scenic areas within Dumfries and Galloway have current management strategies .

 

The idea that areas of wild or remote character such as Ben Nevis and Glen Coe should be designated to protect the scenic qualities of their landscapes grew in popularity throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In 1931 a commission headed by Christopher Addison first proposed the creation of a national park in Scotland. Following the Second World War a committee chaired by Sir Douglas Ramsay to consider the issue proposed that five areas should receive a level of protection: Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount was one of the areas listed. The area thus became one of five designated "national park direction areas", in which planning decisions taken by local authorities could be reviewed by central government under certain circumstances.

 

A 1974 report by the Countryside Commission for Scotland (CCS) entitled A Park System for Scotland recommended that the Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount area should be designated as one of four proposed "Special Parks", considering the area of national importance due to its natural beauty and amenity value, however this recommendation was not acted on. Following a further review of landscape protection in 1978, it was suggested that additional areas, alongside the existing direction areas should receive protection, and in 1981 the direction areas were thus replaced by the 40 national scenic areas, which were based on the 1978 recommendations, and included the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe area.

 

A further report into protection of the landscape of Scotland was published by the CCS in 1990. Entitled The Mountain Areas of Scotland - Conservation and Management, it recommended that four areas were under such pressure that they ought to be designated as national parks, each with an independent planning board, in order to retain their heritage value. The four areas identified were similar to those proposed by the Ramsay Committee, and included Glen Coe-Ben Nevis-Black Mount. The government did not however choose to establish national parks and so the status of the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe area was not altered. Following the passage of the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000, national parks were established in the Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, two of the areas identified by the Ramsay committee, however the status of the other three Ramsay areas, including Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, was again not altered. In 2013 the Scottish Campaign for National Parks proposed seven areas deemed suitable for national park status, one of which was the Ben Nevis and Glen Coe area.

 

Although named after Ben Nevis and Glen Coe, the national scenic area covers a much wider area of land, as detailed below. Much of the northern part of the NSA lies within the Lochaber region.

 

Glen Nevis (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Nibheis) lies in the north of the national scenic area, and runs south from Fort William. It is bordered to the south by the Mamore range, and to the north by the highest mountains in the British Isles: Ben Nevis (Scotland's highest mountain), Càrn Mor Dearg, Aonach Mòr, and Aonach Beag. It is home to the second highest waterfall in Scotland, Steall Falls. Below the waterfall is a steeply walled and impressive gorge.

 

The Mamores form an east–west ridge approximately fifteen kilometres in length lying between Glen Nevis to the north and Loch Leven to the south. Ten of the ranges are classified as Munros. The hills can be accessed from both Glen Nevis and the former aluminium smelting town of Kinlochleven.

 

Glen Coe (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Comhann) is a glen of volcanic origins, in the heart of the national scenic area. A review of the national scenic areas by Scottish Natural Heritage in 2010 made reference to the "soaring, dramatic splendour of Glen Coe", and "the suddenness of the transition between high mountain pass and the lightly wooded strath" in the lower glen. It also described the journey through the glen on the main A82 road as "one of the classic Highland journeys". The main settlement is the village of Glencoe located at the foot of the glen. The glen is regarded as the home of Scottish mountaineering and is popular with hillwalkers and climbers.

 

Glen Etive (Scottish Gaelic: Gleann Èite) lies to the south of Glen Coe. The River Etive (Scottish Gaelic: Abhainn Èite) rises on the peaks surrounding Rannoch Moor, with several tributary streams coming together at the Kings House Hotel. From the Kings House, the Etive flows for about 18 km, reaching the sea loch, Loch Etive. The river and its tributaries are popular with whitewater kayakers and at high water levels it is a test piece of the area and a classic run. Glen Etive has been used as the backdrop to many movies, among them Braveheart and Skyfall.

 

The Black Mount is situated between Glen Orchy and Glen Coe, to the east of Glen Etive, forming the southernmost part of the national scenic area. Its four Munros are Stob Ghabhar, Stob a' Choire Odhair, Creise and Meall a' Bhuiridh. The hills of Ben Inverveigh and Meall Tairbh are located between Black Mount and the Bridge of Orchy. The Black Mount Deer Forest includes moorland, the mountain, as well as several rivers, burns, lochs, and tarns.

 

Much of the western part of Rannoch Moor (Scottish Gaelic: Mòinteach Raineach/Raithneach), an expanse of around 50 square miles (130 km2) of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, is included in the national scenic area. The A82 road crosses western Rannoch Moor on its way to Glen Coe and Fort William, as does the West Highland Line, which reaches Fort William via Glen Spean rather than Glen Coe. When the line was built across the moor, its builders had to float the tracks on a mattress of tree roots, brushwood and thousands of tons of earth and ashes. Corrour railway station, the UK's highest, and one of its most remote being 10 miles (16 km) from the nearest public road, is located on this section of the line at 1,339 feet (408 m). The line takes gentle curves totalling 23 miles (37 km) across the moorland.

 

A number of other conservation designation are defined within or overlapping with the NSA: Glen Coe is designated as a both national nature reserve (NNR), and a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) due to wide variety of montane habitats found within the glen. Glen Coe, along with most of the southwestern portion of the NSA including Glen Etive and the Black Mount, forms part of the Glen Etive and Glen Fyne Special Protection Area (SPA), which is protected due to its breeding population of golden eagles.

 

Rannoch Moor is also designated as an SAC, and is particularly famous as being the sole British location for the Rannoch-rush, named after the moor. It also has populations of otters and freshwater pearl mussels. The River Tay rises on the moor within the NSA, and is designated as a separate SAC for its entire length. The Ben Nevis massif is also an SAC, as are the woodlands at North Ballachulish in the westernmost part of the NSA. The final SAC within the NSA protects the woods on the western side of Loch Etive, in the southwestern extremity of the area.

 

The Highlands is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Scots language replaced Scottish Gaelic throughout most of the Lowlands. The term is also used for the area north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, although the exact boundaries are not clearly defined, particularly to the east. The Great Glen divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands. The Scottish Gaelic name of A' Ghàidhealtachd literally means "the place of the Gaels" and traditionally, from a Gaelic-speaking point of view, includes both the Western Isles and the Highlands.

 

The area is very sparsely populated, with many mountain ranges dominating the region, and includes the highest mountain in the British Isles, Ben Nevis. During the 18th and early 19th centuries the population of the Highlands rose to around 300,000, but from c. 1841 and for the next 160 years, the natural increase in population was exceeded by emigration (mostly to Canada, the United States, Australia and New Zealand, and migration to the industrial cities of Scotland and England.) and passim  The area is now one of the most sparsely populated in Europe. At 9.1/km2 (24/sq mi) in 2012, the population density in the Highlands and Islands is less than one seventh of Scotland's as a whole.

 

The Highland Council is the administrative body for much of the Highlands, with its administrative centre at Inverness. However, the Highlands also includes parts of the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Argyll and Bute, Moray, North Ayrshire, Perth and Kinross, Stirling and West Dunbartonshire.

 

The Scottish Highlands is the only area in the British Isles to have the taiga biome as it features concentrated populations of Scots pine forest: see Caledonian Forest. It is the most mountainous part of the United Kingdom.

 

Between the 15th century and the mid-20th century, the area differed from most of the Lowlands in terms of language. In Scottish Gaelic, the region is known as the Gàidhealtachd, because it was traditionally the Gaelic-speaking part of Scotland, although the language is now largely confined to The Hebrides. The terms are sometimes used interchangeably but have different meanings in their respective languages. Scottish English (in its Highland form) is the predominant language of the area today, though Highland English has been influenced by Gaelic speech to a significant extent. Historically, the "Highland line" distinguished the two Scottish cultures. While the Highland line broadly followed the geography of the Grampians in the south, it continued in the north, cutting off the north-eastern areas, that is Eastern Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, from the more Gaelic Highlands and Hebrides.

 

Historically, the major social unit of the Highlands was the clan. Scottish kings, particularly James VI, saw clans as a challenge to their authority; the Highlands was seen by many as a lawless region. The Scots of the Lowlands viewed the Highlanders as backward and more "Irish". The Highlands were seen as the overspill of Gaelic Ireland. They made this distinction by separating Germanic "Scots" English and the Gaelic by renaming it "Erse" a play on Eire. Following the Union of the Crowns, James VI had the military strength to back up any attempts to impose some control. The result was, in 1609, the Statutes of Iona which started the process of integrating clan leaders into Scottish society. The gradual changes continued into the 19th century, as clan chiefs thought of themselves less as patriarchal leaders of their people and more as commercial landlords. The first effect on the clansmen who were their tenants was the change to rents being payable in money rather than in kind. Later, rents were increased as Highland landowners sought to increase their income. This was followed, mostly in the period 1760–1850, by agricultural improvement that often (particularly in the Western Highlands) involved clearance of the population to make way for large scale sheep farms. Displaced tenants were set up in crofting communities in the process. The crofts were intended not to provide all the needs of their occupiers; they were expected to work in other industries such as kelping and fishing. Crofters came to rely substantially on seasonal migrant work, particularly in the Lowlands. This gave impetus to the learning of English, which was seen by many rural Gaelic speakers to be the essential "language of work".

 

Older historiography attributes the collapse of the clan system to the aftermath of the Jacobite risings. This is now thought less influential by historians. Following the Jacobite rising of 1745 the British government enacted a series of laws to try to suppress the clan system, including bans on the bearing of arms and the wearing of tartan, and limitations on the activities of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Most of this legislation was repealed by the end of the 18th century as the Jacobite threat subsided. There was soon a rehabilitation of Highland culture. Tartan was adopted for Highland regiments in the British Army, which poor Highlanders joined in large numbers in the era of the Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars (1790–1815). Tartan had largely been abandoned by the ordinary people of the region, but in the 1820s, tartan and the kilt were adopted by members of the social elite, not just in Scotland, but across Europe. The international craze for tartan, and for idealising a romanticised Highlands, was set off by the Ossian cycle, and further popularised by the works of Walter Scott. His "staging" of the visit of King George IV to Scotland in 1822 and the king's wearing of tartan resulted in a massive upsurge in demand for kilts and tartans that could not be met by the Scottish woollen industry. Individual clan tartans were largely designated in this period and they became a major symbol of Scottish identity. This "Highlandism", by which all of Scotland was identified with the culture of the Highlands, was cemented by Queen Victoria's interest in the country, her adoption of Balmoral as a major royal retreat, and her interest in "tartenry".

 

Recurrent famine affected the Highlands for much of its history, with significant instances as late as 1817 in the Eastern Highlands and the early 1850s in the West.  Over the 18th century, the region had developed a trade of black cattle into Lowland markets, and this was balanced by imports of meal into the area. There was a critical reliance on this trade to provide sufficient food, and it is seen as an essential prerequisite for the population growth that started in the 18th century. Most of the Highlands, particularly in the North and West was short of the arable land that was essential for the mixed, run rig based, communal farming that existed before agricultural improvement was introduced into the region.[a] Between the 1760s and the 1830s there was a substantial trade in unlicensed whisky that had been distilled in the Highlands. Lowland distillers (who were not able to avoid the heavy taxation of this product) complained that Highland whisky made up more than half the market. The development of the cattle trade is taken as evidence that the pre-improvement Highlands was not an immutable system, but did exploit the economic opportunities that came its way.  The illicit whisky trade demonstrates the entrepreneurial ability of the peasant classes. 

 

Agricultural improvement reached the Highlands mostly over the period 1760 to 1850. Agricultural advisors, factors, land surveyors and others educated in the thinking of Adam Smith were keen to put into practice the new ideas taught in Scottish universities.  Highland landowners, many of whom were burdened with chronic debts, were generally receptive to the advice they offered and keen to increase the income from their land.  In the East and South the resulting change was similar to that in the Lowlands, with the creation of larger farms with single tenants, enclosure of the old run rig fields, introduction of new crops (such as turnips), land drainage and, as a consequence of all this, eviction, as part of the Highland clearances, of many tenants and cottars. Some of those cleared found employment on the new, larger farms, others moved to the accessible towns of the Lowlands.

 

In the West and North, evicted tenants were usually given tenancies in newly created crofting communities, while their former holdings were converted into large sheep farms. Sheep farmers could pay substantially higher rents than the run rig farmers and were much less prone to falling into arrears. Each croft was limited in size so that the tenants would have to find work elsewhere. The major alternatives were fishing and the kelp industry. Landlords took control of the kelp shores, deducting the wages earned by their tenants from the rent due and retaining the large profits that could be earned at the high prices paid for the processed product during the Napoleonic wars.

 

When the Napoleonic wars finished in 1815, the Highland industries were affected by the return to a peacetime economy. The price of black cattle fell, nearly halving between 1810 and the 1830s. Kelp prices had peaked in 1810, but reduced from £9 a ton in 1823 to £3 13s 4d a ton in 1828. Wool prices were also badly affected.  This worsened the financial problems of debt-encumbered landlords. Then, in 1846, potato blight arrived in the Highlands, wiping out the essential subsistence crop for the overcrowded crofting communities. As the famine struck, the government made clear to landlords that it was their responsibility to provide famine relief for their tenants. The result of the economic downturn had been that a large proportion of Highland estates were sold in the first half of the 19th century. T M Devine points out that in the region most affected by the potato famine, by 1846, 70 per cent of the landowners were new purchasers who had not owned Highland property before 1800. More landlords were obliged to sell due to the cost of famine relief. Those who were protected from the worst of the crisis were those with extensive rental income from sheep farms.  Government loans were made available for drainage works, road building and other improvements and many crofters became temporary migrants – taking work in the Lowlands. When the potato famine ceased in 1856, this established a pattern of more extensive working away from the Highlands.

 

The unequal concentration of land ownership remained an emotional and controversial subject, of enormous importance to the Highland economy, and eventually became a cornerstone of liberal radicalism. The poor crofters were politically powerless, and many of them turned to religion. They embraced the popularly oriented, fervently evangelical Presbyterian revival after 1800. Most joined the breakaway "Free Church" after 1843. This evangelical movement was led by lay preachers who themselves came from the lower strata, and whose preaching was implicitly critical of the established order. The religious change energised the crofters and separated them from the landlords; it helped prepare them for their successful and violent challenge to the landlords in the 1880s through the Highland Land League. Violence erupted, starting on the Isle of Skye, when Highland landlords cleared their lands for sheep and deer parks. It was quietened when the government stepped in, passing the Crofters' Holdings (Scotland) Act, 1886 to reduce rents, guarantee fixity of tenure, and break up large estates to provide crofts for the homeless. This contrasted with the Irish Land War underway at the same time, where the Irish were intensely politicised through roots in Irish nationalism, while political dimensions were limited. In 1885 three Independent Crofter candidates were elected to Parliament, which listened to their pleas. The results included explicit security for the Scottish smallholders in the "crofting counties"; the legal right to bequeath tenancies to descendants; and the creation of a Crofting Commission. The Crofters as a political movement faded away by 1892, and the Liberal Party gained their votes.

 

Today, the Highlands are the largest of Scotland's whisky producing regions; the relevant area runs from Orkney to the Isle of Arran in the south and includes the northern isles and much of Inner and Outer Hebrides, Argyll, Stirlingshire, Arran, as well as sections of Perthshire and Aberdeenshire. (Other sources treat The Islands, except Islay, as a separate whisky producing region.) This massive area has over 30 distilleries, or 47 when the Islands sub-region is included in the count. According to one source, the top five are The Macallan, Glenfiddich, Aberlour, Glenfarclas and Balvenie. While Speyside is geographically within the Highlands, that region is specified as distinct in terms of whisky productions. Speyside single malt whiskies are produced by about 50 distilleries.

 

According to Visit Scotland, Highlands whisky is "fruity, sweet, spicy, malty". Another review states that Northern Highlands single malt is "sweet and full-bodied", the Eastern Highlands and Southern Highlands whiskies tend to be "lighter in texture" while the distilleries in the Western Highlands produce single malts with a "much peatier influence".

 

The Scottish Reformation achieved partial success in the Highlands. Roman Catholicism remained strong in some areas, owing to remote locations and the efforts of Franciscan missionaries from Ireland, who regularly came to celebrate Mass. There remain significant Catholic strongholds within the Highlands and Islands such as Moidart and Morar on the mainland and South Uist and Barra in the southern Outer Hebrides. The remoteness of the region and the lack of a Gaelic-speaking clergy undermined the missionary efforts of the established church. The later 18th century saw somewhat greater success, owing to the efforts of the SSPCK missionaries and to the disruption of traditional society after the Battle of Culloden in 1746. In the 19th century, the evangelical Free Churches, which were more accepting of Gaelic language and culture, grew rapidly, appealing much more strongly than did the established church.

 

For the most part, however, the Highlands are considered predominantly Protestant, belonging to the Church of Scotland. In contrast to the Catholic southern islands, the northern Outer Hebrides islands (Lewis, Harris and North Uist) have an exceptionally high proportion of their population belonging to the Protestant Free Church of Scotland or the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. The Outer Hebrides have been described as the last bastion of Calvinism in Britain and the Sabbath remains widely observed. Inverness and the surrounding area has a majority Protestant population, with most locals belonging to either The Kirk or the Free Church of Scotland. The church maintains a noticeable presence within the area, with church attendance notably higher than in other parts of Scotland. Religion continues to play an important role in Highland culture, with Sabbath observance still widely practised, particularly in the Hebrides.

 

In traditional Scottish geography, the Highlands refers to that part of Scotland north-west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which crosses mainland Scotland in a near-straight line from Helensburgh to Stonehaven. However the flat coastal lands that occupy parts of the counties of Nairnshire, Morayshire, Banffshire and Aberdeenshire are often excluded as they do not share the distinctive geographical and cultural features of the rest of the Highlands. The north-east of Caithness, as well as Orkney and Shetland, are also often excluded from the Highlands, although the Hebrides are usually included. The Highland area, as so defined, differed from the Lowlands in language and tradition, having preserved Gaelic speech and customs centuries after the anglicisation of the latter; this led to a growing perception of a divide, with the cultural distinction between Highlander and Lowlander first noted towards the end of the 14th century. In Aberdeenshire, the boundary between the Highlands and the Lowlands is not well defined. There is a stone beside the A93 road near the village of Dinnet on Royal Deeside which states 'You are now in the Highlands', although there are areas of Highland character to the east of this point.

 

A much wider definition of the Highlands is that used by the Scotch whisky industry. Highland single malts are produced at distilleries north of an imaginary line between Dundee and Greenock, thus including all of Aberdeenshire and Angus.

 

Inverness is regarded as the Capital of the Highlands, although less so in the Highland parts of Aberdeenshire, Angus, Perthshire and Stirlingshire which look more to Aberdeen, Dundee, Perth, and Stirling as their commercial centres.

 

The Highland Council area, created as one of the local government regions of Scotland, has been a unitary council area since 1996. The council area excludes a large area of the southern and eastern Highlands, and the Western Isles, but includes Caithness. Highlands is sometimes used, however, as a name for the council area, as in the former Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern is also used to refer to the area, as in the former Northern Constabulary. These former bodies both covered the Highland council area and the island council areas of Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles.

 

Much of the Highlands area overlaps the Highlands and Islands area. An electoral region called Highlands and Islands is used in elections to the Scottish Parliament: this area includes Orkney and Shetland, as well as the Highland Council local government area, the Western Isles and most of the Argyll and Bute and Moray local government areas. Highlands and Islands has, however, different meanings in different contexts. It means Highland (the local government area), Orkney, Shetland, and the Western Isles in Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service. Northern, as in Northern Constabulary, refers to the same area as that covered by the fire and rescue service.

 

There have been trackways from the Lowlands to the Highlands since prehistoric times. Many traverse the Mounth, a spur of mountainous land that extends from the higher inland range to the North Sea slightly north of Stonehaven. The most well-known and historically important trackways are the Causey Mounth, Elsick Mounth, Cryne Corse Mounth and Cairnamounth.

 

Although most of the Highlands is geographically on the British mainland, it is somewhat less accessible than the rest of Britain; thus most UK couriers categorise it separately, alongside Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and other offshore islands. They thus charge additional fees for delivery to the Highlands, or exclude the area entirely. While the physical remoteness from the largest population centres inevitably leads to higher transit cost, there is confusion and consternation over the scale of the fees charged and the effectiveness of their communication, and the use of the word Mainland in their justification. Since the charges are often based on postcode areas, many far less remote areas, including some which are traditionally considered part of the lowlands, are also subject to these charges. Royal Mail is the only delivery network bound by a Universal Service Obligation to charge a uniform tariff across the UK. This, however, applies only to mail items and not larger packages which are dealt with by its Parcelforce division.

 

The Highlands lie to the north and west of the Highland Boundary Fault, which runs from Arran to Stonehaven. This part of Scotland is largely composed of ancient rocks from the Cambrian and Precambrian periods which were uplifted during the later Caledonian Orogeny. Smaller formations of Lewisian gneiss in the northwest are up to 3 billion years old. The overlying rocks of the Torridon Sandstone form mountains in the Torridon Hills such as Liathach and Beinn Eighe in Wester Ross.

 

These foundations are interspersed with many igneous intrusions of a more recent age, the remnants of which have formed mountain massifs such as the Cairngorms and the Cuillin of Skye. A significant exception to the above are the fossil-bearing beds of Old Red Sandstone found principally along the Moray Firth coast and partially down the Highland Boundary Fault. The Jurassic beds found in isolated locations on Skye and Applecross reflect the complex underlying geology. They are the original source of much North Sea oil. The Great Glen is formed along a transform fault which divides the Grampian Mountains to the southeast from the Northwest Highlands.

 

The entire region was covered by ice sheets during the Pleistocene ice ages, save perhaps for a few nunataks. The complex geomorphology includes incised valleys and lochs carved by the action of mountain streams and ice, and a topography of irregularly distributed mountains whose summits have similar heights above sea-level, but whose bases depend upon the amount of denudation to which the plateau has been subjected in various places.

Climate

 

The region is much warmer than other areas at similar latitudes (such as Kamchatka in Russia, or Labrador in Canada) because of the Gulf Stream making it cool, damp and temperate. The Köppen climate classification is "Cfb" at low altitudes, then becoming "Cfc", "Dfc" and "ET" at higher altitudes.

 

Places of interest

An Teallach

Aonach Mòr (Nevis Range ski centre)

Arrochar Alps

Balmoral Castle

Balquhidder

Battlefield of Culloden

Beinn Alligin

Beinn Eighe

Ben Cruachan hydro-electric power station

Ben Lomond

Ben Macdui (second highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Ben Nevis (highest mountain in Scotland and UK)

Cairngorms National Park

Cairngorm Ski centre near Aviemore

Cairngorm Mountains

Caledonian Canal

Cape Wrath

Carrick Castle

Castle Stalker

Castle Tioram

Chanonry Point

Conic Hill

Culloden Moor

Dunadd

Duart Castle

Durness

Eilean Donan

Fingal's Cave (Staffa)

Fort George

Glen Coe

Glen Etive

Glen Kinglas

Glen Lyon

Glen Orchy

Glenshee Ski Centre

Glen Shiel

Glen Spean

Glenfinnan (and its railway station and viaduct)

Grampian Mountains

Hebrides

Highland Folk Museum – The first open-air museum in the UK.

Highland Wildlife Park

Inveraray Castle

Inveraray Jail

Inverness Castle

Inverewe Garden

Iona Abbey

Isle of Staffa

Kilchurn Castle

Kilmartin Glen

Liathach

Lecht Ski Centre

Loch Alsh

Loch Ard

Loch Awe

Loch Assynt

Loch Earn

Loch Etive

Loch Fyne

Loch Goil

Loch Katrine

Loch Leven

Loch Linnhe

Loch Lochy

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park

Loch Lubnaig

Loch Maree

Loch Morar

Loch Morlich

Loch Ness

Loch Nevis

Loch Rannoch

Loch Tay

Lochranza

Luss

Meall a' Bhuiridh (Glencoe Ski Centre)

Scottish Sea Life Sanctuary at Loch Creran

Rannoch Moor

Red Cuillin

Rest and Be Thankful stretch of A83

River Carron, Wester Ross

River Spey

River Tay

Ross and Cromarty

Smoo Cave

Stob Coire a' Chàirn

Stac Polly

Strathspey Railway

Sutherland

Tor Castle

Torridon Hills

Urquhart Castle

West Highland Line (scenic railway)

West Highland Way (Long-distance footpath)

Wester Ross

Shenzhen, China

The Andromeda Galaxy, classified as M31 or Messier 31 and NGC, is a spiral galaxy in the Andromeda constellation. It is approximately 2.5 million light years out into space. Its sister galaxies, M110 above and M32 below, have in the past to some extent interacted with the Andromeda Galaxy.

 

This is a 12 image stack processed and stretched in ImagePlus 5.5.

 

The Great Andromeda Galaxy is then sandwiched with an image of the VLA array in Magdalena, NM. The VLA array is a 27 dish radio telescope array that scans the heavens.

The Burgtheater on the Dr.-Karl -Lueger-Ring (from now on, Universitätsring) in Vienna is an Austrian Federal Theatre. It is one of the most important stages in Europe and after the Comédie-Française, the second oldest European, as well as the largest German speaking theater. The original 'old' Burgtheater on Michaelerplatz was recorded from 1748 until the opening of the new building at the ring in October, 1888. The new house was completely on fire in 1945 as a result of bomb attacks, until the re-opening on 14 October 1955 was the Ronacher as temporary quarters. The Burgtheater is considered Austrian National Theatre.

Throughout its history, the theater was wearing different names, first kk Theater next to the castle, then to 1918 K.K. Court-Burgtheater and since then Burgtheater. Especially in Vienna it is often referred to as "The Castle (Die Burg)" , the ensemble members are known as Castle actors (Burgschauspieler). Director of the House since 2009, Matthias Hartmann.

History

St. Michael's Square with the old K.K. Theatre beside the castle (right) and the Winter Riding School of the Hofburg (left)

The interior of the Old Burgtheater, painted by Gustav Klimt. The people are represented in such detail that the identification is possible.

The 'old' Burgtheater at St. Michael's Square

The original castle theater was set up in a ball house that was built in the lower pleasure gardens of the Imperial Palace of the Roman-German King and later Emperor Ferdinand I in 1540, after the old house 1525 fell victim to a fire. Until the beginning of the 18th Century was played there the Jeu de Paume, a precursor of tennis. On 14 March 1741 finally gave the Empress Maria Theresa, who after the death of her father ruled a general theater lock order, the "Entrepreneur of the Royal Court Opera" and lessees of 1708 built theater at Kärntnertor, Joseph Karl Selliers, permission to change the ballroom into a theater. Simultaneously, a new ball house was built in the immediate vicinity, which todays Ballhausplatz is bearing its name.

In 1748, the newly designed "theater next to the castle" was opened. 1756 major renovations were made, inter alia, a new rear wall was built. The Auditorium of the Old Burgtheater was still a solid timber construction and took about 1200 guests. The imperial family could reach her ​​royal box directly from the imperial quarters with them the Burgtheater was structurally connected. At the old venue at Michael's place were, inter alia, several works of Christoph Willibald Gluck, Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart as well as Franz Grillparzer were premiered .

On 17 February 1776, Emperor Joseph II declared the theater to the German National Theatre (Teutsches Nationaltheater). It was he who ordered by decree that the pieces should not treat sad events to bring the imperial audience in a bad mood. Many pieces had changed and therefore a Vienna Final (Happy End) is provided, such as Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. From 1794, the theater was bearing the name K.K. Court Theatre next to the castle.

1798 the poet August von Kotzebue was appointed as head of the Burgtheater, but after discussions with the actors he left Vienna in 1799. Under German director Joseph Schreyvogel was introduced German instead of French and Italian as a new stage language.

On 12 In October 1888 the last performance in the old house took place. The Burgtheater ensemble moved to the new venue on the ring. The Old Burgtheater had to give way to the completion of Michael's tract of Hofburg. The plans to this end had been drawn almost 200 years before the demolition of the old Burgtheater by Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach.

The "new" K.K. Court Theatre (as the inscription reads today) on the ring opposite the Town Hall, opened on 14th in October 1888 with Esther of Grillparzer and Schiller's Wallenstein's Camp, it was designed in neo-Baroque style by Gottfried Semper (plan) and Karl Freiherr von Hasenauer (facade), who had already designed the Imperial Forum in Vienna together. Construction began on 16 December 1874 and followed through 14 years, in which the architects quarreled. Already in 1876 Semper withdrew due to health problems to Rome and had Hasenauer realized his ideas alone, who in the dispute of the architects stood up for a mainly splendid designed grand lodges theater.

However, created the famous Viennese painter Gustav Klimt and his brother Ernst Klimt and Franz Matsch 1886-1888 the ceiling paintings in the two stairwells of the new theater. The three took over this task order for similar work in the city of Fiume theaters and Karlovy Vary and in the Bucharest National Theatre. In the grand staircase at the café Landtmann side facing the Burgtheater (Archduke stairs) reproduced ​​Gustav Klimt the artists of ancient theater in Taormina in Sicily, in the stairwell on the "People's Garden"-side (Kaiserstiege, because it was reserved for the emperor), the London Globe Theatre and the final scene from William Shakespeare's " Romeo and Juliet" . Above the entrance to the auditorium is Molière's The Imaginary Invalid to discover. In the background the painter immortalized in the company of his two colleagues. Emperor Franz Joseph I liked the ceiling paintings so much that he gave the members of the company of artists of Klimt the Golden Cross of Merit.

The new building resembles externally the Dresden Semper Opera, but even more, due to the for the two theaters absolutely atypical cross wing with the ceremonial stairs, Semper Munich project from the years 1865/1866 for a Richard Wagner Festspielhaus on the Isar. Above the middle section, a loggia, which is framed by two side wings, and is divided from a stage house with a gable roof and auditorium with a tent roof. Across the center house is decorated with a statue of Apollo, the facade, the towers between the Muses of drama and tragedy. Over the main entrances are located friezes with Bacchus and Ariadne. On the exterior round busts can be seen the poet Calderon, Shakespeare, Moliere, Schiller, Goethe, Lessing, Halm, Grillparzer, and Hebbel. The masks are also to be seen here, indicating the ancient theater, also adorn the side wings allegories: love, hate, humility, lust, selfishness, and heroism. Although since 1919, the theater was named the Burgtheater, the old saying KK Hofburgtheater over the main entrance still exists. Some pictures of the old gallery of portraits having been hung in the new building are still visible today - but these images were originally small, they had to be "extended" to make them work better in high space. The locations of these "supplements" are visible as fine lines on the canvas.

The Burgtheater was initially well received due to its magnificent appearance and technical innovations such as electric lighting of the Viennese, but soon criticism of the poor acoustics was loud. Finally, in 1897 the auditorium was rebuilt to reduce the acoustic problems. The new theater was an important meeting place of social life and soon counted among the "sanctuaries" of the Viennese. In November 1918, the supervision on the theater was transferred from the High Steward of the emperor to the new state of German Austria.

1922/1923 the Academy Theatre was opened as a chamber play stage of the Burgtheater. 8th May 1925 was the Burgtheater in Austria's criminal history, as here Mentscha Karnitschewa perpetrated a revolver assassination on Todor Panitza .

The Burgtheater in time of National Socialism

The National Socialist ideas also left traces in the history of the Burgtheater. Appeared in 1939 in Adolf Luser Verlag the strongly anti-Semitic embossed book of theater scientist Heinz Kindermann "The Burgtheater. Heritage and mission of a national theater", in which he, among other things, analyzed the "Jewish influence "on the Burgtheater. On 14 October 1938 was the 50th anniversary of the opening of Burgtheater a production of Don Carlos of Karl-Heinz Stroux shown that served the Hitler's ideology. The role of the Marquis of Posa played the same Ewald Balser, who 'railed in a different Don Carlos production a year earlier (by Heinz Hilpert) at the Deutsches Theater in the same role with the set direction of Joseph Goebbels box: "Enter the freedom of thought". The actor and director Lothar Müthel, who was director of the Burgtheater between 1939 and 1945, staged 1943 Merchant of Venice, in which Werner Kraus Shylock the Jew clearlyanti-Semitic represented. The same director staged after the war Lessing 's parable Nathan the Wise. Adolf Hitler himself visited during the Nazi regime the Burgtheater only once (1938), and later he refused out of fear of an assassination.

For actors and theater staff who were classified according to the Reich Citizenship Law of 1935 as "Jewis ", were quickly imposed banned from performing, they were on leave, fired or arrested within days. The Burgtheater ensemble made ​​between 1938 and 1945 no significant resistance against the Nazi ideology, the game plan was heavily censored, actively just joined the Resistance, as Judith Holzmeister (then also at the National Theatre committed ) or the actor Fritz Lehmann. Although Jewish members of the ensemble indeed have been helped to emigrate, was still an actor, Fritz Strassny, taken to a concentration camp and murdered there.

The Burgtheater end of the war and after the Second World War

In summer 1944, the Burgtheater had to be closed because of the general arranged theater lock. From 1 April 1945 as the Red Army approached Vienna, outsourced a military unit in the house, a portion was used as an arsenal. In a bomb attack the house at the Ring was damaged and burned on 12th April 1945 it burned completely. Auditorium and stage were useless, only the steel structure remained. The ceiling paintings and part of the lobby were almost undamaged.

The Soviet occupying power expected from Viennese City Councillor Viktor Matejka to bring Vienna 's cultural life as soon as possible again. The council called for 23 April (a state government did not yet exist), a meeting of all Viennese cultural workers into the town hall. Result of the discussions was that in late April 1945 eight cinemas and four theaters took up the operation again, including the Burgtheater. The house took over the Ronacher Theater, which was understood by many castle actors as "exile" as a temporary home (and remained there to 1955). This Venue chose the newly appointed director Raoul Aslan, who championed particularly active.

The first performance after the Second World War was on 30 April 1945 by Franz Grillparzer, Sappho, directed by Adolf Rott from 1943 with Maria Eis in the title role. Other productions from the Nazi era were resumed. With Paul Hoerbiger, a Nazi prisoner a few days ago still in mortal danger, was shown the piece of Nestroy Mädl (Girlie) from the suburbs. The Academy Theatre was recorded (the first performance was on 19 April 1945 Hedda Gabler, a production of Rott in 1941) and also in the ball room (Redoutensaal) at the Imperial Palace took performances place. Aslan had the Ronacher rebuilt in the summer because the stage was too small for classical performances. On 25 September 1945, Schiller's Maid of Orleans could be played on the larger stage.

The first new productions are associated with the name of Lothar Müthel: Anyone and Nathan the Wise, in both Raoul Aslan played the main role. The staging of The Merchant of Venice by Müthel to Nazi times seemed to be forgotten.

Great pleasure gave the public the return of the in 1938 from the ensemble expelled Else Wohlgemuth on stage. She performaed after seven years of exile in December 1945 in Clare Biharys The other mother in the Academy Theater. 1951 opened the Burgtheater its doors for the first time, but only the left wing, where the celebrations of the 175th anniversary of the theater took place.

1948, a competition was announced for the reconstruction: Josef Gielen, who was then director, first tended to support the design of ex aequo-ranked Otto Niedermoser, after which the house into a modern theater rank should be rebuilt. Finally, he agreed but then for the project by Michael Engelhardt, whose plan was conservative, but also cost effective. The character of the lodges theater was largely taken into account and maintaining the central royal box has been replaced by two ranks, and with a new slanted ceiling construction in the audience was the acoustics, the weakness of the home, improved significantly.

On 14 October 1955 was happening under Adolf Rott the reopening of the restored house on the Ring. For this occasion Mozart's A Little Night Music was played. On 15 and on 16 In October it was followed by the first performance (for reasons of space as a double premiere) in the restored theater: King Ottokar's Fortune and End of Franz Grillparzer, staged by Adolf Rott. A few months after the signing of the Austrian State Treaty was the choice of this piece, which explores the beginning of Habsburg rule in Austria and Ottokar of Hornecks eulogy on Austria (... it's a good country / Well worth that a prince among thread! / where have you already seen the same?... ) contains highly symbolic. Rott and under his successors Ernst Haeusserman and Gerhard Klingenberg the classic Burgtheater style and the Burgtheater German for German theaters were finally pointing the way .

In the 1950s and 1960s, the Burgtheater participated (with other well-known theaters in Vienna) on the so-called Brecht boycott.

Gerhard Klingenberg internationalized the Burgtheater, he invited renowned stage directors such as Dieter Dorn, Peter Hall, Luca Ronconi, Giorgio Strehler, Roberto Guicciardini and Otomar Krejča. Klingenberg also enabled the castle debuts by Claus Peymann and Thomas Bernhard (1974 world premiere of The Hunting Party). Bernhard Klingenberg's successor was talking, but eventually was appointed Achim Benning, whereupon the writer with the text "The theatrical shack on the ring (how I should become the director of the Burgtheater)" answered.

Benning, the first ensemble representative of the Burgtheater, was appointed Director, continued Klingenberg's way of Europeanization by other means, brought directors such as Adolf Dresen, Manfred Wekwerth or Thomas Langhoff to Vienna, looked with performances of plays of Vaclav Havel in the then politically separated East and took more account of the public taste .

Directorate Claus Peymann 1986-1999

Under the from short-term Minister of Education Helmut Zilk to Vienna fetched Claus Peymann, director from 1986 to 1999, there was further modernization of the match schedule and staging styles. Moreover Peymann was never at a loss for words for critical messages to the public, a hitherto unusual attitude for Burgtheater directors. Therefore, he and his program met with sections of the audience's rejection. The largest theater in Vienna scandal since 1945, this when in 1988 conservative politicians and zealots fiercely fought the premiere of Thomas Bernhard's Heldenplatz (Place of the Heroes) drama. The play deals with the past and illuminates the present management in Austria - with attacks on the then ruling Social Democratic Party - critically. Together with Claus Peymann Bernhard raised after the premiere to a challenge on the stage to applause and boos .

Bernard, to his home country bound in love-hate relationship, prohibited the performance of his plays in Austria before his death in 1989 by will. Peymann , to Bernhard bound in a difficult friendship (see Bernhard's play Claus Peymann buys a pair of pants and goes eating with me) feared harm for the author's work, should his pieces precisely in his home not being shown. First, it was through permission of the executor Peter Fabjan - Bernhard's half-brother - after all, possible the already in the Schedule of the Burgtheater included productions to continue. Finally, shortly before the tenth anniversary of the death of Bernard it came to the revival of the Bernhard piece Before retirement by the opening night director Peymann. The pieces by Bernhard are since continued on the board of the Burgtheater and they are regularly re-released.

In 1993, the sample stage of the castle theater was opened in the arsenal (architect Gustav Peichl) . Since 1999, the castle theater has been run as a limited liability.

Directorate Klaus Bachler 1999-2009

On Peymann followed in 1999 as director Klaus Bachler. He is a trained actor, but was mostly as a cultural manager (director of the Vienna Festival) active. Bachler moved the theater as a cultural event in the foreground and he engaged for this purpose directors such as Luc Bondy, Andrea Breth, Peter Zadek and Martin Kušej.

Were among the unusual "events" of the Directorate Bachler

* The Theatre of Orgies and Mysteries by Hermann Nitsch with the performance of 122 Action (2005 )

* The recording of the MTV Unplugged concert with Die Toten Hosen for the music channel MTV (2005, under the title available only to visit )

* John Irving's reading from his book at the Burgtheater Until I find you (2006)

* The 431 animatographische (animatographical) Expedition by Christoph Schlingensief and a big event of it under the title of Area 7 - Matthew Sadochrist - An expedition by Christoph Schlingensief (2006).

* Daniel Hoevels cut in Schiller's Mary Stuart accidentally his throat ( December 2008). Outpatient care is enough.

Jubilee Year 2005

In October 2005, the Burgtheater celebrated the 50th Anniversary of its reopening with a gala evening and the performance of Grillparzer King Ottokar's Fortune and End, directed by Martin Kušej that had been performed in August 2005 at the Salzburg Festival as a great success. Michael Maertens (in the role of Rudolf of Habsburg ) received the Nestroy Theatre Award for Best Actor for his role in this piece. Actor Tobias Moretti was awarded in 2006 for this role with the Gertrude Eysoldt Ring.

Furthermore, there were on 16th October 2005 the open day on which the 82-minute film "burg/private. 82 miniatures" of Sepp Dreissinger was shown for the first time. The film contains one-minute film "Stand portraits" of Castle actors and guest actors who, without saying a word, try to present themselves as a natural expression. Klaus Dermutz wrote a work on the history of the Burgtheater. As a motto this season was a quotation from Lessing's Minna von Barn-helm: "It's so sad to be happy alone."

The Burgtheater to the Mozart Year 2006

Also the Mozart Year 2006 was thought at the Burgtheater. As Mozart's Singspiel Die Entführung aus dem Serail in 1782 in the courtyard of Castle Theatre was premiered came in cooperation with the Vienna State Opera, the Vienna Festival in May 2006, a new production (directed by Karin Beier ) of this opera to the stage.

Directorate Matthias Hartmann since 2009

Since September 2009, Matthias Hartmann is Artistic Director of the Burgtheater. A native of Osnabrück, he directed the playhouses of Bochum and Zurich. With his directors like Alvis Hermanis, Roland Schimmelpfennig, David Boesch, Stefan Bachmann, Stefan Pucher, Michael Thalheimer and actresses like Dorte Lyssweski, Katharina Lorenz, Sarah Viktoria Frick, Mavie Hoerbiger, Lucas Gregorowicz and Martin Wuttke came firmly to the castle. Matthias Hartmann himself staged around three premieres per season, about once a year, he staged at the major opera houses. For more internationality and "cross-over ", he won the Belgian artist Jan Lauwers and his Need Company as "Artists in Residence" for the castle, the New York group Nature Theater of Oklahoma show their great episode drama live and Times of an annual continuation. For the new look - the Burgtheater presents itself without a solid logo with word games around the BURG - the Burgtheater in 2011 was awarded the Cultural Brand of the Year .

www.mariachiproductions.org/basel2012/index.php/tournamen...

A banana is an edible fruit, botanically a berry, produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus Musa. (In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called plantains.) The fruit is variable in size, color and firmness, but is usually elongated and curved, with soft flesh rich in starch covered with a rind which may be green, yellow, red, purple, or brown when ripe. The fruits grow in clusters hanging from the top of the plant. Almost all modern edible parthenocarpic (seedless) bananas come from two wild species – Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. The scientific names of most cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata, Musa balbisiana, and Musa × paradisiaca for the hybrid Musa acuminata × M. balbisiana, depending on their genomic constitution. The old scientific name Musa sapientum is no longer used.

 

Musa species are native to tropical Indomalaya and Australia, and are likely to have been first domesticated in Papua New Guinea. They are grown in at least 107 countries, primarily for their fruit, and to a lesser extent to make fiber, banana wine and banana beer and as ornamental plants.

 

Worldwide, there is no sharp distinction between "bananas" and "plantains". Especially in the Americas and Europe, "banana" usually refers to soft, sweet, dessert bananas, particularly those of the Cavendish group, which are the main exports from banana-growing countries. By contrast, Musa cultivars with firmer, starchier fruit are called "plantains". In other regions, such as Southeast Asia, many more kinds of banana are grown and eaten, so the simple two-fold distinction is not useful and is not made in local languages.

 

The term "banana" is also used as the common name for the plants which produce the fruit. This can extend to other members of the genus Musa like the scarlet banana (Musa coccinea), pink banana (Musa velutina) and the Fe'i bananas. It can also refer to members of the genus Ensete, like the snow banana (Ensete glaucum) and the economically important false banana (Ensete ventricosum). Both genera are classified under the banana family, Musaceae.

 

DESCRIPTION

The banana plant is the largest herbaceous flowering plant. All the above-ground parts of a banana plant grow from a structure usually called a "corm". Plants are normally tall and fairly sturdy, and are often mistaken for trees, but what appears to be a trunk is actually a "false stem" or pseudostem. Bananas grow in a wide variety of soils, as long as the soil is at least 60 cm deep, has good drainage and is not compacted. The leaves of banana plants are composed of a "stalk" (petiole) and a blade (lamina). The base of the petiole widens to form a sheath; the tightly packed sheaths make up the pseudostem, which is all that supports the plant. The edges of the sheath meet when it is first produced, making it tubular. As new growth occurs in the centre of the pseudostem the edges are forced apart. Cultivated banana plants vary in height depending on the variety and growing conditions. Most are around 5 m tall, with a range from 'Dwarf Cavendish' plants at around 3 m to 'Gros Michel' at 7 m or more. Leaves are spirally arranged and may grow 2.7 metres long and 60 cm wide. They are easily torn by the wind, resulting in the familiar frond look.

 

When a banana plant is mature, the corm stops producing new leaves and begins to form a flower spike or inflorescence. A stem develops which grows up inside the pseudostem, carrying the immature inflorescence until eventually it emerges at the top. Each pseudostem normally produces a single inflorescence, also known as the "banana heart". (More are sometimes produced; an exceptional plant in the Philippines produced five.) After fruiting, the pseudostem dies, but offshoots will normally have developed from the base, so that the plant as a whole is perennial. In the plantation system of cultivation, only one of the offshoots will be allowed to develop in order to maintain spacing. The inflorescence contains many bracts (sometimes incorrectly referred to as petals) between rows of flowers. The female flowers (which can develop into fruit) appear in rows further up the stem (closer to the leaves) from the rows of male flowers. The ovary is inferior, meaning that the tiny petals and other flower parts appear at the tip of the ovary.

 

The banana fruits develop from the banana heart, in a large hanging cluster, made up of tiers (called "hands"), with up to 20 fruit to a tier. The hanging cluster is known as a bunch, comprising 3–20 tiers, or commercially as a "banana stem", and can weigh 30–50 kilograms. Individual banana fruits (commonly known as a banana or "finger") average 125 grams, of which approximately 75% is water and 25% dry matter.

 

The fruit has been described as a "leathery berry". There is a protective outer layer (a peel or skin) with numerous long, thin strings (the phloem bundles), which run lengthwise between the skin and the edible inner portion. The inner part of the common yellow dessert variety can be split lengthwise into three sections that correspond to the inner portions of the three carpels by manually deforming the unopened fruit. In cultivated varieties, the seeds are diminished nearly to non-existence; their remnants are tiny black specks in the interior of the fruit.

 

Bananas are naturally slightly radioactive, more so than most other fruits, because of their potassium content and the small amounts of the isotope potassium-40 found in naturally occurring potassium. The banana equivalent dose of radiation is sometimes used in nuclear communication to compare radiation levels and exposures.

 

ETYMOLOGY

The word banana is thought to be of West African origin, possibly from the Wolof word banaana, and passed into English via Spanish or Portuguese.

 

TAXONOMY

The genus Musa was created by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The name may be derived from Antonius Musa, physician to the Emperor Augustus, or Linnaeus may have adapted the Arabic word for banana, mauz. Musa is in the family Musaceae. The APG III system assigns Musaceae to the order Zingiberales, part of the commelinid clade of the monocotyledonous flowering plants. Some 70 species of Musa were recognized by the World Checklist of Selected Plant Families as of January 2013; several produce edible fruit, while others are cultivated as ornamentals.

 

The classification of cultivated bananas has long been a problematic issue for taxonomists. Linnaeus originally placed bananas into two species based only on their uses as food: Musa sapientum for dessert bananas and Musa paradisiaca for plantains. Subsequently further species names were added. However, this approach proved inadequate to address the sheer number of cultivars existing in the primary center of diversity of the genus, Southeast Asia. Many of these cultivars were given names which proved to be synonyms.

 

In a series of papers published in 1947 onwards, Ernest Cheesman showed that Linnaeus's Musa sapientum and Musa paradisiaca were actually cultivars and descendants of two wild seed-producing species, Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana, both first described by Luigi Aloysius Colla. He recommended the abolition of Linnaeus's species in favor of reclassifying bananas according to three morphologically distinct groups of cultivars – those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa balbisiana, those primarily exhibiting the botanical characteristics of Musa acuminata, and those with characteristics that are the combination of the two. Researchers Norman Simmonds and Ken Shepherd proposed a genome-based nomenclature system in 1955. This system eliminated almost all the difficulties and inconsistencies of the earlier classification of bananas based on assigning scientific names to cultivated varieties. Despite this, the original names are still recognized by some authorities today, leading to confusion.

 

The currently accepted scientific names for most groups of cultivated bananas are Musa acuminata Colla and Musa balbisiana Colla for the ancestral species, and Musa × paradisiaca L. for the hybrid M. acuminata × M. balbisiana.

 

Synonyms of M. × paradisica include:

A large number of subspecific and varietial names of M. × paradisiaca, including M. p. subsp. sapientum (L.) Kuntze

Musa × dacca Horan.

Musa × sapidisiaca K.C.Jacob, nom. superfl.

Musa × sapientum L., and a large number of its varietal names, including M. × sapientum var. paradisiaca (L.) Baker, nom. illeg.

 

Generally, modern classifications of banana cultivars follow Simmonds and Shepherd's system. Cultivars are placed in groups based on the number of chromosomes they have and which species they are derived from. Thus the Latundan banana is placed in the AAB Group, showing that it is a triploid derived from both M. acuminata (A) and M. balbisiana (B). For a list of the cultivars classified under this system see List of banana cultivars.

 

In 2012, a team of scientists announced they had achieved a draft sequence of the genome of Musa acuminata.

 

BANANAS & PLANTAINS

In regions such as North America and Europe, Musa fruits offered for sale can be divided into "bananas" and "plantains", based on their intended use as food. Thus the banana producer and distributor Chiquita produces publicity material for the American market which says that "a plantain is not a banana". The stated differences are that plantains are more starchy and less sweet; they are eaten cooked rather than raw; they have thicker skin, which may be green, yellow or black; and they can be used at any stage of ripeness. Linnaeus made the same distinction between plantains and bananas when first naming two "species" of Musa. Members of the "plantain subgroup" of banana cultivars, most important as food in West Africa and Latin America, correspond to the Chiquita description, having long pointed fruit. They are described by Ploetz et al. as "true" plantains, distinct from other cooking bananas. The cooking bananas of East Africa belong to a different group, the East African Highland bananas, so would not qualify as "true" plantains on this definition.

 

An alternative approach divides bananas into dessert bananas and cooking bananas, with plantains being one of the subgroups of cooking bananas. Triploid cultivars derived solely from M. acuminata are examples of "dessert bananas", whereas triploid cultivars derived from the hybrid between M. acuminata and M. balbinosa (in particular the plantain subgroup of the AAB Group) are "plantains". Small farmers in Colombia grow a much wider range of cultivars than large commercial plantations. A study of these cultivars showed that they could be placed into at least three groups based on their characteristics: dessert bananas, non-plantain cooking bananas, and plantains, although there were overlaps between dessert and cooking bananas.

 

In Southeast Asia – the center of diversity for bananas, both wild and cultivated – the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" does not work, according to Valmayor et al. Many bananas are used both raw and cooked. There are starchy cooking bananas which are smaller than those eaten raw. The range of colors, sizes and shapes is far wider than in those grown or sold in Africa, Europe or the Americas.[35] Southeast Asian languages do not make the distinction between "bananas" and "plantains" that is made in English (and Spanish). Thus both Cavendish cultivars, the classic yellow dessert bananas, and Saba cultivars, used mainly for cooking, are called pisang in Malaysia and Indonesia, kluai in Thailand and chuoi in Vietnam. Fe'i bananas, grown and eaten in the islands of the Pacific, are derived from entirely different wild species than traditional bananas and plantains. Most Fe'i bananas are cooked, but Karat bananas, which are short and squat with bright red skins, very different from the usual yellow dessert bananas, are eaten raw.

 

In summary, in commerce in Europe and the Americas (although not in small-scale cultivation), it is possible to distinguish between "bananas", which are eaten raw, and "plantains", which are cooked. In other regions of the world, particularly India, Southeast Asia and the islands of the Pacific, there are many more kinds of banana and the two-fold distinction is not useful and not made in local languages. Plantains are one of many kinds of cooking bananas, which are not always distinct from dessert bananas.

 

HISTORICAL CULTIVATION

Farmers in Southeast Asia and Papua New Guinea first domesticated bananas. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE. It is likely that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is the region of primary diversity of the banana. Areas of secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long history of banana cultivation in the region.

 

Phytolith discoveries in Cameroon dating to the first millennium BCE triggered an as yet unresolved debate about the date of first cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were known in Madagascar around that time. The earliest prior evidence indicates that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century CE. It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at least to Madagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from South East Asia c. 400 CE.

 

The banana may also have been present in isolated locations elsewhere in the Middle East on the eve of Islam. The spread of Islam was followed by far-reaching diffusion. There are numerous references to it in Islamic texts (such as poems and hadiths) beginning in the 9th century. By the 10th century the banana appears in texts from Palestine and Egypt. From there it diffused into North Africa and Muslim Iberia. During the medieval ages, bananas from Granada were considered among the best in the Arab world. In 650, Islamic conquerors brought the banana to Palestine. Today, banana consumption increases significantly in Islamic countries during Ramadan, the month of daylight fasting.

 

Bananas were certainly grown in the Christian Kingdom of Cyprus by the late medieval period. Writing in 1458, the Italian traveller and writer Gabriele Capodilista wrote favourably of the extensive farm produce of the estates at Episkopi, near modern day Limassol, including the region's banana plantations.

 

Bananas were introduced to the Americas by Portuguese sailors who brought the fruits from West Africa in the 16th century.

 

Many wild banana species as well as cultivars exist in extraordinary diversity in New Guinea, Malaysia, Indonesia, China, and the Philippines.

 

There are fuzzy bananas whose skins are bubblegum pink; green-and-white striped bananas with pulp the color of orange sherbet; bananas that, when cooked, taste like strawberries. The Double Mahoi plant can produce two bunches at once. The Chinese name of the aromatic Go San Heong banana means 'You can smell it from the next mountain.' The fingers on one banana plant grow fused; another produces bunches of a thousand fingers, each only an inch long.

—Mike Peed, The New Yorker

 

In 1999 archaeologists in London discovered what they believed to be the oldest banana in the UK, in a Tudor rubbish tip.

 

PLANTATION CULTIVATION IN THE CARIBBEAN,

CENTRAL & SOUTH AMERICA

In the 15th and 16th centuries, Portuguese colonists started banana plantations in the Atlantic Islands, Brazil, and western Africa. North Americans began consuming bananas on a small scale at very high prices shortly after the Civil War, though it was only in the 1880s that it became more widespread. As late as the Victorian Era, bananas were not widely known in Europe, although they were available. Jules Verne introduces bananas to his readers with detailed descriptions in Around the World in Eighty Days (1872).

 

The earliest modern plantations originated in Jamaica and the related Western Caribbean Zone, including most of Central America. It involved the combination of modern transportation networks of steamships and railroads with the development of refrigeration that allowed bananas to have more time between harvesting and ripening. North America shippers like Lorenzo Dow Baker and Andrew Preston, the founders of the Boston Fruit Company started this process in the 1870s, but railroad builders like Minor C Keith also participated, eventually culminating in the multi-national giant corporations like today's Chiquita Brands International and Dole. These companies were monopolistic, vertically integrated (meaning they controlled growing, processing, shipping and marketing) and usually used political manipulation to build enclave economies (economies that were internally self-sufficient, virtually tax exempt, and export oriented that contribute very little to the host economy). Their political maneuvers, which gave rise to the term Banana republic for states like Honduras and Guatemala, included working with local elites and their rivalries to influence politics or playing the international interests of the United States, especially during the Cold War, to keep the political climate favorable to their interests.

 

PEASANT CULTIVATION FOR EXPORT IN THE CARIBBEAN

The vast majority of the world's bananas today are cultivated for family consumption or for sale on local markets. India is the world leader in this sort of production, but many other Asian and African countries where climate and soil conditions allow cultivation also host large populations of banana growers who sell at least some of their crop.

 

There are peasant sector banana growers who produce for the world market in the Caribbean, however. The Windward Islands are notable for the growing, largely of Cavendish bananas, for an international market, generally in Europe but also in North America. In the Caribbean, and especially in Dominica where this sort of cultivation is widespread, holdings are in the 1–2 acre range. In many cases the farmer earns additional money from other crops, from engaging in labor outside the farm, and from a share of the earnings of relatives living overseas. This style of cultivation often was popular in the islands as bananas required little labor input and brought welcome extra income. Banana crops are vulnerable to destruction by high winds, such as tropical storms or cyclones.

 

After the signing of the NAFTA agreements in the 1990s, however, the tide turned against peasant producers. Their costs of production were relatively high and the ending of favorable tariff and other supports, especially in the European Economic Community, made it difficult for peasant producers to compete with the bananas grown on large plantations by the well capitalized firms like Chiquita and Dole. Not only did the large companies have access to cheap labor in the areas they worked, but they were better able to afford modern agronomic advances such as fertilization. The "dollar banana" produced by these concerns made the profit margins for peasant bananas unsustainable.

 

Caribbean countries have sought to redress this problem by providing government supported agronomic services and helping to organize producers' cooperatives. They have also been supporters of the Fair Trade movement which seeks to balance the inequities in the world trade in commodities.

 

EAST AFRICA

Most farms supply local consumption. Cooking bananas represent a major food source and a major income source for smallhold farmers. In east Africa, highland bananas are of greatest importance as a staple food crop. In countries such as Uganda, Burundi, and Rwanda per capita consumption has been estimated at 45 kilograms per year, the highest in the world.

 

MODERN CULTIVATION

All widely cultivated bananas today descend from the two wild bananas Musa acuminata and Musa balbisiana. While the original wild bananas contained large seeds, diploid or polyploid cultivars (some being hybrids) with tiny seeds are preferred for human raw fruit consumption. These are propagated asexually from offshoots. The plant is allowed to produce two shoots at a time; a larger one for immediate fruiting and a smaller "sucker" or "follower" to produce fruit in 6–8 months. The life of a banana plantation is 25 years or longer, during which time the individual stools or planting sites may move slightly from their original positions as lateral rhizome formation dictates.

 

Cultivated bananas are parthenocarpic, i.e. the flesh of the fruit swells and ripens without its seeds being fertilized and developing. Lacking viable seeds, propagation typically involves farmers removing and transplanting part of the underground stem (called a corm). Usually this is done by carefully removing a sucker (a vertical shoot that develops from the base of the banana pseudostem) with some roots intact. However, small sympodial corms, representing not yet elongated suckers, are easier to transplant and can be left out of the ground for up to two weeks; they require minimal care and can be shipped in bulk.It is not necessary to include the corm or root structure to propagate bananas; severed suckers without root material can be propagated in damp sand, although this takes somewhat longer.In some countries, commercial propagation occurs by means of tissue culture. This method is preferred since it ensures disease-free planting material. When using vegetative parts such as suckers for propagation, there is a risk of transmitting diseases (especially the devastating Panama disease).As a non-seasonal crop, bananas are available fresh year-round.

 

CAVENDISH

In global commerce in 2009, by far the most important cultivars belonged to the triploid AAA group of Musa acuminata, commonly referred to as Cavendish group bananas. They accounted for the majority of banana exports, despite only coming into existence in 1836. The cultivars Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain (Chiquita Banana) gained popularity in the 1950s after the previous mass-produced cultivar, Gros Michel (also an AAA group cultivar), became commercially unviable due to Panama disease, caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum which attacks the roots of the banana plant. Cavendish cultivars are resistant to the Panama Disease but in 2013 there were fears that the Black Sigatoka fungus would in turn make Cavendish bananas unviable.

 

Ease of transport and shelf life rather than superior taste make the Dwarf Cavendish the main export banana.

 

Even though it is no longer viable for large scale cultivation, Gros Michel is not extinct and is still grown in areas where Panama disease is not found. Likewise, Dwarf Cavendish and Grand Nain are in no danger of extinction, but they may leave supermarket shelves if disease makes it impossible to supply the global market. It is unclear if any existing cultivar can replace Cavendish bananas, so various hybridisation and genetic engineering programs are attempting to create a disease-resistant, mass-market banana.

 

RIPENING

Export bananas are picked green, and ripen in special rooms upon arrival in the destination country. These rooms are air-tight and filled with ethylene gas to induce ripening. The vivid yellow color consumers normally associate with supermarket bananas is, in fact, caused by the artificial ripening process. Flavor and texture are also affected by ripening temperature. Bananas are refrigerated to between 13.5 and 15 °C during transport. At lower temperatures, ripening permanently stalls, and the bananas turn gray as cell walls break down. The skin of ripe bananas quickly blackens in the 4 °C environment of a domestic refrigerator, although the fruit inside remains unaffected.

 

"Tree-ripened" Cavendish bananas have a greenish-yellow appearance which changes to a brownish-yellow as they ripen further. Although both flavor and texture of tree-ripened bananas is generally regarded as superior to any type of green-picked fruit, this reduces shelf life to only 7–10 days.Bananas can be ordered by the retailer "ungassed" (i.e. not treated with ethylene), and may show up at the supermarket fully green. Guineos verdes (green bananas) that have not been gassed will never fully ripen before becoming rotten. Instead of fresh eating, these bananas are best suited to cooking, as seen in Mexican culinary dishes.A 2008 study reported that ripe bananas fluoresce when exposed to ultraviolet light. This property is attributed to the degradation of chlorophyll leading to the accumulation of a fluorescent product in the skin of the fruit. The chlorophyll breakdown product is stabilized by a propionate ester group. Banana-plant leaves also fluoresce in the same way. Green bananas do not fluoresce. The study suggested that this allows animals which can see light in the ultraviolet spectrum (tetrachromats and pentachromats) to more easily detect ripened bananas.

 

STORAGE & TRANSPORT

Bananas must be transported over long distances from the tropics to world markets. To obtain maximum shelf life, harvest comes before the fruit is mature. The fruit requires careful handling, rapid transport to ports, cooling, and refrigerated shipping. The goal is to prevent the bananas from producing their natural ripening agent, ethylene. This technology allows storage and transport for 3–4 weeks at 13 °C. On arrival, bananas are held at about 17 °C and treated with a low concentration of ethylene. After a few days, the fruit begins to ripen and is distributed for final sale. Unripe bananas can not be held in home refrigerators because they suffer from the cold. Ripe bananas can be held for a few days at home. If bananas are too green, they can be put in a brown paper bag with an apple or tomato overnight to speed up the ripening process.

 

Carbon dioxide (which bananas produce) and ethylene absorbents extend fruit life even at high temperatures. This effect can be exploited by packing banana in a polyethylene bag and including an ethylene absorbent, e.g., potassium permanganate, on an inert carrier. The bag is then sealed with a band or string. This treatment has been shown to more than double lifespans up to 3–4 weeks without the need for refrigeration.

 

FRUIT

Bananas are a staple starch for many tropical populations. Depending upon cultivar and ripeness, the flesh can vary in taste from starchy to sweet, and texture from firm to mushy. Both the skin and inner part can be eaten raw or cooked. The primary component of the aroma of fresh bananas is isoamyl acetate (also known as banana oil), which, along with several other compounds such as butyl acetate and isobutyl acetate, is a significant contributor to banana flavor.

 

During the ripening process, bananas produce the gas ethylene, which acts as a plant hormone and indirectly affects the flavor. Among other things, ethylene stimulates the formation of amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch into sugar, influencing the taste of bananas. The greener, less ripe bananas contain higher levels of starch and, consequently, have a "starchier" taste. On the other hand, yellow bananas taste sweeter due to higher sugar concentrations. Furthermore, ethylene signals the production of pectinase, an enzyme which breaks down the pectin between the cells of the banana, causing the banana to soften as it ripens.

 

Bananas are eaten deep fried, baked in their skin in a split bamboo, or steamed in glutinous rice wrapped in a banana leaf. Bananas can be made into jam. Banana pancakes are popular amongst backpackers and other travelers in South Asia and Southeast Asia. This has elicited the expression Banana Pancake Trail for those places in Asia that cater to this group of travelers. Banana chips are a snack produced from sliced dehydrated or fried banana or plantain, which have a dark brown color and an intense banana taste. Dried bananas are also ground to make banana flour. Extracting juice is difficult, because when a banana is compressed, it simply turns to pulp. Bananas feature prominently in Philippine cuisine, being part of traditional dishes and desserts like maruya, turrón, and halo-halo or saba con yelo. Most of these dishes use the Saba or Cardaba banana cultivar. Bananas are also commonly used in cuisine in the South-Indian state of Kerala, where they are steamed (puzhungiyathu), made into curries, fried into chips (upperi) or fried in batter (pazhampori). Pisang goreng, bananas fried with batter similar to the Filipino maruya or Kerala pazhampori, is a popular dessert in Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia. A similar dish is known in the United Kingdom and United States as banana fritters.

 

Plantains are used in various stews and curries or cooked, baked or mashed in much the same way as potatoes, such as the Pazham Pachadi prepared in Kerala.

 

Seeded bananas (Musa balbisiana), one of the forerunners of the common domesticated banana, are sold in markets in Indonesia.

 

FLOWER

Banana hearts are used as a vegetable in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, either raw or steamed with dips or cooked in soups, curries and fried foods. The flavor resembles that of artichoke. As with artichokes, both the fleshy part of the bracts and the heart are edible.

 

LEAVES

Banana leaves are large, flexible, and waterproof. They are often used as ecologically friendly disposable food containers or as "plates" in South Asia and several Southeast Asian countries. In Indonesian cuisine, banana leaf is employed in cooking method called pepes and botok; the banana leaf packages containing food ingredients and spices are cooked on steam, in boiled water or grilled on charcoal. In the South Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala in every occasion the food must be served in a banana leaf and as a part of the food a banana is served. Steamed with dishes they impart a subtle sweet flavor. They often serve as a wrapping for grilling food. The leaves contain the juices, protect food from burning and add a subtle flavor. In Tamil Nadu (India) leaves are fully dried and used as packing material for food stuffs and also making cups to hold liquid foods. In Central American countries, banana leaves are often used as wrappers for tamales.

 

TRUNK

The tender core of the banana plant's trunk is also used in South Asian and Southeast Asian cuisine, and notably in the Burmese dish mohinga.

 

FIBER

TEXTILES

The banana plant has long been a source of fiber for high quality textiles. In Japan, banana cultivation for clothing and household use dates back to at least the 13th century. In the Japanese system, leaves and shoots are cut from the plant periodically to ensure softness. Harvested shoots are first boiled in lye to prepare fibers for yarn-making. These banana shoots produce fibers of varying degrees of softness, yielding yarns and textiles with differing qualities for specific uses. For example, the outermost fibers of the shoots are the coarsest, and are suitable for tablecloths, while the softest innermost fibers are desirable for kimono and kamishimo. This traditional Japanese cloth-making process requires many steps, all performed by hand.

 

In a Nepalese system the trunk is harvested instead, and small pieces are subjected to a softening process, mechanical fiber extraction, bleaching and drying. After that, the fibers are sent to the Kathmandu Valley for use in rugs with a silk-like texture. These banana fiber rugs are woven by traditional Nepalese hand-knotting methods, and are sold RugMark certified.

 

In South Indian state of Tamil Nadu after harvesting for fruit the trunk (outer layer of the shoot) is made into fine thread used in making of flower garlands instead of thread.

 

PAPER

Banana fiber is used in the production of banana paper. Banana paper is made from two different parts: the bark of the banana plant, mainly used for artistic purposes, or from the fibers of the stem and non-usable fruits. The paper is either hand-made or by industrial process.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Nice contrast of red RS Cygni and Blue/White Star SAO 69635 which is in itself classified as a double star!

 

Star Details…

Magnitude Range: +6.5 to +9.5

Period (Days): 417

R.A. & DEC: 20 13 23 +38 43 44

Spectral Type: C8 (N0pe)

 

Image details: Date: 27th March 2016

R-Bessell Photometric Filter: 7 seconds x5 exposures, flat fielded, aligned and median combined

G-Bessell Photometric Filter: 14 seconds x5 exposures, flat fielded, aligned and median combined

B-Bessell Photometric Filter: 31 seconds x5 exposures, flat fielded, aligned and median combined

B-V-R folder images were then aligned and stacked to give Master B, V and R images; these were then colour combined in CCDSoft v5

 

CCD Operating Temperature: -35 Degrees Centigrade

Field of View: 46 x 37 arcmins

Pixel Array: 1280 x 1024

Pixel Size: 16um x 16 um

Plate Scale: 2.17 arcsec/pixel

0.2-m SCT+SBIG STL 1301E CCD

f/ratio: 7.6

James Brickworks 1923 –1974 at Beverley is classified as a State Heritage Place.

 

The large shed, image right, holds examples of collectible historic machinery taken from other brickworks in the area.

Around the site are various historic machines including some from Hallett’s Allenby Gardens brickworks prior to its demolition.

 

Brick manufacturing in South Australia started soon after colonisation, with the alluvial plains along the Torrens River providing abundant deposits of good clay.

 

In 1923 Albert E James relocated his brickworks to this site from the Torrens at Welland. A small family run enterprise, the James Brickworks was one of several brickworks in the immediate area. During a boom period in the 1950s, 1.5 million bricks a year were produced at this site.

The former Woodville Council purchased the brickworks in 1974, initially to use the pughole as a rubbish tip, but soon realised the heritage importance of the site.

 

The circular ‘beehive’ kiln was used for the firing of special products, including glazed bricks, special shaped bricks, and earthenware pipes and fittings.

 

Clarence James made several brick industry trips to America.

 

Other brickworks in the area included:

Adelaide Potteries

Barrey’s Brickyard

Chas, Bourne & Son

Coronation Brick Company

Freburg’s Brickworks Limited

J Hallet & Sons

Attiah’s Brickyard

Hounslow’s Brickyard

Standard Brick Company

Willis & Williams

Young’s Brickyard

T J Headdey.

 

In 1924 the State Government’s ‘Thousand Homes Scheme’ commenced, increasing demand for bricks.

 

1939s – 1940s The brick industry slowed, impacted by the Depression and loss of labour during World War Two.

 

1950s Post-war housing boom resulted in brickmaking heyday. Brickworks provided much needed employment and housing for European migrants.

 

1952 saw Albert E James transferring ownership of the James Brickworks to son Clarence.

 

1974 James Brickworks sold to former Woodville Council. One kiln, drying sheds, engine house, moulding shed and the office building were demolished.

 

1994 James Brickworks State Heritage listed.

 

2017 James Brickworks conservation programme commenced.

 

Classified CR by IUCN : www.iucnredlist.org/species/39826/17941247

 

No more than 2 000 individuals in the World ??!!

264 metre gauge steam locomotives of the YL class were built between 1952 and 1956. The first ten engines - including this 5001 - were built by Robert Stephenson & Hawthorns in the United Kingdom. The further 254 were built by Hitachi, Henschel and Mavag.

____________________

 

LOCOMOTIVES OF INDIA

The locomotives of India presently consist of electric and diesel locomotives. Steam locomotives are no longer used in India, except in heritage trains. A locomotive is also called loco or engine.

 

The Bengal Sappers of the Indian Army were the first to run a steam locomotive in India. The steam locomotive named ‘Thomason’ ran with two wagons for carrying earth from Roorkee to Piran Kaliyar in 1851, two years before the first passenger train ran from Bombay to Thane in 1853.

 

CLASSIFICATION OF LOCOMOTIVES

In India, locomotives are classified according to their track gauge, motive power, the work they are suited for and their power or model number. The class name includes this information about the locomotive. It comprises 4 or 5 letters. The first letter denotes the track gauge. The second letter denotes their motive power (Diesel or Electric) and the third letter denotes the kind of traffic for which they are suited (goods, passenger, mixed or shunting). The fourth letter used to denote locomotives' chronological model number. However, from 2002 a new classification scheme has been adopted. Under this system, for newer diesel locomotives, the fourth letter will denote their horsepower range. Electric locomotives don't come under this scheme and even all diesel locos are not covered. For them this letter denotes their model number as usual.

 

A locomotive may sometimes have a fifth letter in its name which generally denotes a technical variant or subclass or subtype. This fifth letter indicates some smaller variation in the basic model or series, perhaps different motors, or a different manufacturer. With the new scheme for classifying diesel locomotives (as mentioned above) the fifth item is a letter that further refines the horsepower indication in 100 hp increments: 'A' for 100 hp, 'B' for 200 hp, 'C' for 300 hp, etc. So in this scheme, a WDP-3A refers to a 3100 hp loco, while a WDM-3F would be a 3600 hp loco.

 

Note: This classification system does not apply to steam locomotives in India as they have become non-functional now. They retained their original class names such as M class or WP class.

 

THE CLASSIFICATION SYNTAXES

THE FIRST LETTER (GAUGE)

- W – Indian broad gauge (the "W" Stands for Wide Gauge - 5 ft 6 in)

- Y – metre gauge (the "Y" stands for Yard Gauge - 3 ft or 1000mm)

- Z – narrow gauge(2 ft 6 in)

- N – narrow gauge (toy gauge) (2 ft)

 

THE SECOND LETTER (MOTIVE POWER)

- D – diesel

- C – DC electric (can run under DC overhead line only)

- A – AC electric (can run under AC overhead line only)

- CA – both DC and AC (can run under both AC and DC overhead line); 'CA' is considered a single letter

- B – Battery electric locomotive (rare)

 

THE THIRD LETTER (JOB TYPE)

- G – goods

- P – passenger

- M – mixed; both goods and passenger

- S – shunting (also known as switching engines or switchers in the USA and some other countries)

- U – multiple units (EMU/DMU)

- R – Railcars

 

For example, in "WDM 3A":

- "W" means broad gauge

- "D" means diesel motive power

- "M" means suitable for both goods and passenger service

- "3A" means the locomotive's power is 3,100 hp ('3' stands for 3000 hp, 'A' denotes 100 hp more)

 

Or, in "WAP 5":

"W" means broad gauge

"A" mean AC electric traction motive power

"P" means suitable for Passenger service

"5" denotes that this locomotive is chronologically the fifth electric locomotive model used by the railways for passenger service.

 

BROAD GAUGE (5 ft 6 in) LOCOMOTIVES USED IN INDIA

STEAM TRACTION

COMPANY DESIGNS

In the nineteenth century, the various railway concessions ordered locomotives to their own specification, usually from British manufacturers. This multiplicity of similar, but different designs, increased manufacturers' costs and slowed production. During the 1890s, British manufacturers had full order books, so Indian railway companies looked to Germany and the United States for locomotives.

 

BENGAL NAGPUR RAILWAY

- Class F – 0-6-0

- Class GM – 2-6-0. Probably modified.

- BNR class HSG – 2-8-0+0-8-2 Garratt homed at Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) now Eastern Railway and South-Eastern Railway. First successful Garratts in India.

- Class M – 4-6-2. Probably modified.

- BNR class N – 4-8-0+0-8-4 Garratt. Largest locomotive to run in India. Highest capacity to hold water as compared to any Garratt in the world. One is preserved at National Rail Museum, Delhi.

- BNR class NM – 4-8-0+0-8-4 Garratt. Similar to N class. Ten built in 1931 by Beyer Peacock. Withdrawn in the late 1960s.

- BNR class P – 4-8-2+2-8-4 Garratt. Four built by Beyer Peacock in 1939. In the early 1970s, they were at Bhilai (BIA) shed before being withdrawn.

 

BOMBAY, BARODA AND CENTRAL INDIAN RAILWAY

- BB&CI class P – 4-6-2;

- Class A - 2-4-0T. Probably an Atlantic. Belonged to Palej shed.

- Class U36 – 0-4-2 used for hauling suburban trains at Mumbai.

- Class D1 – 4-4-0. One of them named Princess May.

- Class M – 4-6-2. Probably modified.

 

EASTERN BENGAL RAILWAY

EAST INDIAN RAILWAY COMPANY

- Class CT – 0-6-4T. Probably converted to Super-heater.

- EIR class G – 2-2-2T. First two named Express and Fairy Queen Built in 1856, the latter is the world's oldest locomotive to be in working order. Later rebuilt by Perambur Loco Works. Housed at E.I.R.

- EIR class P – 4-6-0;

 

GREAT INDIAN PENINSULA RAILWAY

- GIPR classes Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 – 0-8-4T. Used on Thull ghat as bankers (for pushing trains up the ghat).

- GIPR Class F – 2-6-0.

- GIPR Class F3 – 2-6-0.

- GIPR class J1 – 0-6-0

- Class D4 – 4-6-0. One named Hero.

- Class D5 – 4-6-0 Passenger locomotive.

- Class E1 – 4-4-2 Atlantic built by North British Locomotive Co. Ltd between 1907-8. Rebuilt with super-heater between 1925-28.

- Class T – Tank locomotive was used for hauling Mumbai suburban trains on G.I.P.R.

- Class Y – 2-8-4T

- Crane Tank – 0-6-0T. One is preserved at National Rail Museum, New Delhi.

 

MADRAS AND SOUTHERN MAHRATTA RAILWAY

- M&SM class V – 4-4-0. One is preserved.

- Class BTC – 2-6-4T. Based on BESA specifications.

- Class T – 0-4-2 at Madras.

 

NIZAM´S GUARANTEED STATE RAILWAY

- NSR class A - 2-6-0T owned by Nizam State Railway (NSR). One (No. 48) preserved at National Rail Museum,Delhi. Probably an Atlantic.

 

NORTH WESTERN RAILWAY (BRITISH INDIA)

- Class EM – 4-4-2 probably modified. One preserved at National Rail Museum,Delhi.

- NWR class GAS – 2-6-2+2-6-2 Garratt owned by North

Western Railway (NWR) now most of which is in Pakistan. Only one built in 1925. Retired in 1937.

- NWR class P – 2-4-0;

- Class E1 – 4-4-2.

- Class N1 – 4-8-0

 

OUDH AND ROHILKHAND RAILWAY

- Class B26 – 0-6-0. One preserved at National Rail Museum,Delhi.

 

SOUTH INDIAN RAILWAY

OTHERS

- Class B – 2-6-0.

- Class E – 2-4-0.

- Class F – 2-8-2 built between 1926-1950 by Nasmyth Wilson for service on Central Railway (CR).

- Class G – 2-6-0 probably meant for freight.

- Class NA2 –

- Class PTC – 2-6-4T owned by Delhi at Northern Railway (N.R.). Probably Converted Passenger locomotives.

- Class Y2 – 2-8-2T. These are reclassified L2.

- Phoenix – 0-4-0T. One is preserved at National Rail Museum, Delhi

- Ramgotty – 2-2-0T. One is preserved at National Rail Museum, Delhi. Converted to Broad Gauge. Oldest locomotive at National Rail Museum, Delhi.

- Sultan, Sahib and Sindh – These are the ones which hauled the legendary train from VT to Thana in 1853.

 

BRITISH ENGINEERING STANDARDS ASSOCIATION (BESA) DESIGNS

After acrimonious words in The Times and Parliament, the British Engineering Standards Committee (later British Engineering Standards Association or BESA) began to design a series of locomotives for use by all railways in India. The first two designs emerged in 1903: a 4-4-0 passenger, and 0-6-0 goods. The designs were revised in 1905 and 1906 with additional types added due to requests for heavier and more powerful locomotives:

 

- Class SP – Standard Passenger – 4-4-0;

- Class SG – Standard Goods – 0-6-0;

- Class PT – Passenger Tank – 2-6-4T;

- Class HP – Heavy Passenger – 4-6-0;

- Class AP – Atlantic Passenger – 4-4-2;

- Class HG – Heavy Goods – 2-8-0;

- Class HT – Heavy Tank – 2-8-2T.

 

These BESA designs however were advisory, not mandatory, and were customized by the railway companies to their own taste. The railway companies could not even agree to use the same classification system: only the state operated railways used the class designations SP, SG, PT, HP, AP, HG and HT. Once superheating became accepted, superheated versions were classified SPS, SGS, etc. if built with superheaters, and SPC, SGC, etc. if converted from saturated to superheated.

 

INDIAN RAILWAYS STANDARD (IRS) DESIGNS

After World War I, new, larger, more powerful locomotives were designed by the British consulting engineers to the Indian Government. These started to appear from 1927 onwards:

 

- Class XA – branch passenger 4-6-2 design, 12.5-ton axleload;

- Class XB – light passenger 4-6-2 design, 17-ton axleload;

- Class XC – heavy passenger 4-6-2 design, 19.5-ton axleload;

- Class XD – light goods 2-8-2 design, 17-ton axleload;

- Class XE – heavy goods 2-8-2 design, 22.5-ton axleload;

- Class XF – light shunting 0-8-0 design, 18-ton axleload;

- Class XG – heavy shunting 0-8-0 design, 23-ton axleload;

- Class XH – 4-cylinder 2-8-2, 28-ton axleload (none built);

- Class XP – experimental passenger 4-6-2, 18.5-ton axleload;

- Class XS – experimental 4-cylinder 4-6-2, 21.5-ton axleload;

- Class XT – light tank 0-4-2T, 15-ton axleload.

 

WORLD WAR II DESIGNS

During World War II, large numbers of 2-8-2 locomotives were acquired from the United States and Canada, and were designated as classes AWD and CWD respectively. The Baldwin Locomotive Works adapted the USATC S160 Class locomotive design India which became class AWC. 60 broad gauge locomotives were built in 1944 as part of an order of 180 locomotives to the S160 design. In addition to modified frame spreaders, axles, cylinders, and cab, the Indian locomotives had a turbo-generator and electric lighting fitted, which was not included in the standard design for use in Europe. Many parts, including boilers, were identical to those used for the standard gauge locomotives.

 

INDIAN GOVERNMENT RAILWAYS (IGR) STANDARD DESIGNS

Shortly before World War II, new classes were designed; but it would post-war before many of them came into service. These new designs were signalled by the change of broad gauge prefix from 'X' to 'W'. In addition, plans were put into place to start manufacturing locomotives in India. The new classes were:

 

- Class WP – passenger 4-6-2, 18.5-ton axleload;

- Class WG – goods 2-8-2, 18.5-ton axleload;

- Class WL (1st) – light 4-6-2, 16-ton axleload (four for North Western Railway in 1939; all to Pakistan at Partition);

- Class WL (2nd) – light 4-6-2, 16.75-ton axleload;

- Class WM – 2-6-4T, 16.25-ton axleload;

- Class WT – 2-8-4T, 18-ton axleload;

- Class WU – 2-4-2T, 16.5-ton axleload;

- Class WV – 2-6-2T, 16.25-ton axleload;

- Class WW – 0-6-2T, 16.5-ton axleload.

 

All broad gauge steam locomotives in India have been withdrawn from normal service, with only occasional steam specials continuing to operate.

 

DIESEL TRACTION

CLASSIFICATION CODES

- WDM – Wide Diesel Mixed

- WDP – Wide Diesel Passenger

- WDG – Wide Diesel Goods

- WDS – Wide Diesel Shunter

- WCDS – Wide Converted Diesel Shunter

 

MIXED TYPE LOCOMOTIVES

- WDM 1 (First mainline diesel electric locomotives used in India. Introduced in 1957. Imported from ALCO. Out of service now. 1950 hp)

- WDM 2 (Most widely used and first homemade mainline diesel-electric locomotives in India. Original prototypes were made by ALCO. Introduced in 1962. More than 2700 have been made. Rated at 2600 hp)

- WDM 2A,WDM 2B (Technical variants of WDM 2. WDM2A stands are dual braked and WDM2B are air braked usually)

- WDM 2G It is the first Multi-Gen-set locomotive of Indian Railway manufactured by DLMW, Patiala in 2013. As of February 2014 only one loco has entered service and has been numbered as #80000. It has been cleared for a max. speed of 105 km/h.

- WDM 3 (Only 8 were imported. They used hydraulic transmission and are currently non-functional. 2500 hp. 120 km/h. Built in 1970 by Henschel & Son)

WDM 3A (Formerly WDM 2C. Another WDM 2 variant. It is not related to WDM 3. Max speed 120 km/h. 30450kgf of tractive effort. Built since 1994) One of the most heavily used diesel locomotives in India at present.

- WDM 3A R (Formerly WDM 2. It is a rebuilt with DBR fitted on Short Hood. It is not related to WDM 3. They are rebuilt at DLMW, Patiala)

- WDM 3B (Co-Co bogies. Rated at 120 km/h. Homed at Uttar Pradesh sheds. 23 built by DLW. Similar to WDM3D. 3100 hp)

- WDM 3C, WDM 3D (higher powered versions of WDM 3A. 3300 hp. WDM3C is rebuilt from WDM2. WDM3C max speed 120 km/h. WDM3D max speed 160 km/h)

- WDM 3E (Reclassified as WDM 3D. Restricted to freight at 105 km/h. 8 units known. Manufactured by DLW. 3500 hp)

- WDM 3F Manufactured by Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW). 3600 hp. HAHS bogies. Conventional DBR. Air brake only.

- WDM 4 (Entered service along with WDM 2. Prototypes designed by General Motors. Though considered superior to WDM 2 in many ways, these locomotives weren't chosen as General Motors did not agree to a technology transfer agreement. 2600 hp)

- WDM 6 (Very rare class; only two were made; Exported to Sri Lanka. Rated at 1350 hp. Max speed 75 km/h. 19200kgf tractive effort. Fabricated Bo-Bo bogies)

- WDM 7 (Fifteen of these locos were built from June 1987 through 1989, they were designed for branch-line duties, but they are now used mostly for shunting. Rated at 2000 hp)

 

Note: No locomotive class was designated as WDM 5 in India.

 

PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVES

- WDP 1 (Bo-Bo bogies. 80 tons weight. Rated speed of 140 kmph. 12 cylinder engine. 2300 hp. Built by DLW in 1970. Homed at Vijayawada and Tughlakabad sheds only.)

- WDP 2 (New class name WDP 3A. Dedicated passenger diesel locomotive. Entered service in 1998. Max speed 140kmph. Built by DLW. 29.25 tons of tractive effort. 3100 hp)

- WDP 3 (These locomotives are actually prototypes of the class WDP 1 and never entered serial production. Designed in 1996 by DLW. 2300 hp. Co-Co bogies.)

- WDP 4 (EMD (former GM-EMD) GT46PAC, fundamentally a passenger version of the WDG 4 (GT46MAC). 4000 hp)

- WDP 4B (EMD (former GM-EMD) GT46PAC, An improved version of the WDP 4, this is a more powerful version and has 6 traction motors, just like the WDG 4. Also comes with wider cabin to aid visibility and minor exterior design changes.As of now,serial production of the single cab locomotives has been stopped. 4500 hp)

- WDP 4D (EMD (former GM-EMD) GT46PAC, This is basically a - WDP 4B with twin cabs. Minor changes were made to the locomotive to facilitate the addition of a second cabin. This locomotive comes with LCD instrument display and toilet for the drivers. Has entered serial production and regular service. 4500 hp.

 

GOODS LOCOMOTIVES

- WDG 2 (New class name WDG 3A. These class is actually a technically upgraded form of WDM 2. Max speed 100 km/h. Built by DLW)

- WDG 3B, WDG 3C, WDG 3D (Technical upgraded forms of WDG 2 or WDG 3A. WDG 3B and WDG 3C are rebuilt to WDG 3A. WDG 3C is rated at 3330 hp.)

- WDG 4 (Dedicated goods locomotives. These are General motors' GT46MAC models. First units were imported in 1999. They are numbered from #12000 upward till #12999 and #70000 upwards. Local production started in 2002. 4000-4500 hp)

- WDG 4D (Technical variant of WDG4 with dual cabs. IGBT. Max speed 105 km/h restricted to 100 km/h. Air conditioned cabs. First dual cab freight dedicated diesel engine in India)

- WDG 5 (Another Freight dedicated Locomotive developed by Diesel Locomotive Works and Supported by Electro Motive Diesels. First unit was rolled out from DLW on 25 February 2012. They are numbered from #50001 upward (Two produced as of 29 April 2015). Rated at 5500 hp. Equipped with Fire Control System, TFT Display and Driver's Toilet. The locomotive/series is named 'BHEEM', after the strong Pandav brother from epic of Mahabharat. The locomotive has completed its trials and has entered serial production. These locomotives are assigned to the Sabarmati Diesel Loco Shed.

 

SHUNTING LOCOMOTIVES (also known as switching engines)

- WDS 1 (First widely deployed and successful diesel locomotives used in India. Imported in 1944-45. currently out of service. 386 hp)

- WDS 2 (o-C-o bogies. 8 cylinder engine. Homed at Central Railway. Max speed 54 kmph. Built by Kraus Maffei in 1954-55. 440 hp. 15420kgf of tractive effort)

- WDS 3 (All locomotives of this class were rebuilt and reclassified as WDS 4C in 1976-78. 618 hp. 17100kgf of tractive effort. Built in 1961)

- WDS 4,WDS 4A,WDS 4B,WDS 4D (Designed by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. 600-700 hp. C bogies. Built between 1968-97.)

- WDS 4C (Rebuilt by CLW, WDS 3 locos as mentioned above. 700 hp. 18000kgf tractive effort. C bogies. Out of service. Max speed 65kmph.)

- WDS 5 (Some of these locomotives are used for industrial shunting. A few are used on Indian Railways. Rated at 1065 hp)

- WDS 6 (Heavy-haul shunters made in large numbers for industrial concerns as well as for Indian Railways Rated at 1200/1350 hp)

- WDS 6R, WDS 6SL and WDS 6AD (Technical variants of WDS 6. WDS6SL is exported to Sri Lanka. WDS6AD has a max speed of 50 kmph and a 6-cylinder engine.)

- WDS 8 (Only five of these were made by CLW, and all were transferred to steel works 800 hp. Max speed 35kmph. 22000kgf tractive effort)

 

There were also a few hydraulic diesel shunters in use at Integral Coach Factory, Diesel Locomotive Works and Chittaranjan Locomotive Works. These were rated at 250 hp.

 

Note: There is no electric shunting engine in India. Classes from WDS 1 to WDS 4D have hydraulic transmission. The WDS 4, 4B, 4C and 4D are the only still existing broad gauge locomotives with diesel-hydraulic transmission.

 

CONVERTED LOCOMOTIVES

WCDS6 is a converted YDM4 locomotive into a broad gauge locomotive. This rebuilding was carried out by the Golden Rock shed. It was built for large industrial concerns. The first one was delivered to RITES. Rest being same, new water and air lines are added. They also have a modified control stand and dual brake system. Also, they have Broad Gauge bogies and under-frames.

 

DIESEL MUTIPLE UNITS

A few routes in India currently have Diesel multiple unit service. Depending on the transmission system they are classified as DEMU (diesel-electric transmission) or DHMU (diesel-hydraulic transmission). There are diesel railcar service in a few places known as 'railbus'.

 

DC ELECTRIC TRACTION

Note: These locomotives are no longer used, or were used only in sections around and in Mumbai which is the only location in India still or was using DC traction. The power operated is 1500V DC.

 

MIXED TYPE LOCOMOTIVES

- WCM 1 (First electric locomotives with the now familiar Co-Co wheel arrangement to be used in India. Seven built by English Electric at Vulcan Foundry in 1954–55. 3700 hp)

- WCM 2 (Out of service. Co-Co bogies. 120 kmph speed. 12 Built by Vulcan Foundry between 1956-57. Modified by RDSO. 3120 hp)

- WCM 3 (3600 hp. Co-Co – Used in Kolkata, then transferred to Mumbai; three built by Hitachi in 1958. Out of service. Max speed 120kmph)

- WCM 4 (4000 hp. Co-Co – seven built by Hitachi in 1960. Out of service. Rated at 120 kmph. Meant for freight. 31300kgf tractive effort)

- WCM 5 (Built by Chittaranjan locomotive works to RDSO's design specifications. Auxiliaries by Westinghouse and North Boyce. Built in 1962, these are India's first indigenously designed DC electric locomotives. The first was named Lokamanya after the freedom fighter Bal Gangadhar Tilak. 3700 hp Co-Co.)

- WCM 6 (5000 hp, only two were built in 1995 by CLW. Now converted to run on AC power. 105kmph initially now restricted to 65kmph )

 

PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVES

- WCP 1, WCP 2 (GIPR EA/1 and EA/2. Historically very important locomotives as these are the very first electric loco to be used in India. The first locomotive was named as Sir Roger Lumley and is currently preserved in the National Rail Museum, New Delhi. Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (SLM) built one in 1928 and 21 in 1930 (WCP1), and one in 1938 (WCP2). 1′Co2′ wheel arrangement; 2160 hp)

- WCP 3, WCP 4 (GIPR EB/1 and EC/1, these are also among the earliest electric locos used in India. One of each class built by Hawthorn Leslie and Company in 1928; 2′Co2′ wheel arrangement.)

 

GOODS LOCOMOTIVES

- WCG 1 (GIPR EF/1. These are Swiss crocodile locomotives imported in 1928 from Swiss Locomotive and Machine Works (ten) and Vulcan Foundry (30). These are among the earliest electric locos used in India. The first locomotive was named as Sir Leslie Wilson and is currently preserved in the National Rail Museum, New Delhi. 2600–2950 hp)

- WCG 2 (Designed by Chittaranjan locomotive works in 1970. 57 built until 1977. 4200 hp. Max speed 90kmph. 35600kgf tractive effort. Were used extensively around the year 2000 when Mumbai was out of traction power. Out of service.

 

ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNITS

WCU 1 to WCU 15 (Used in Mumbai region only)

 

AC ELECTRIC TRACTION

The 25 kV AC system with overhead lines is used throughout the rest of the country.

 

MIXED TYPE LOCOMOTIVES

- WAM 1 (Among the first AC electric locomotives used in India. Introduced in 1959. Now out of service. 3010 hp. Max speed 112kmph)

- WAM 2 (Out of service. Bo-Bo Bogies. Max speed 112 kmph. Built by Mitsubishi between 1960-64. 2910 hp. 25240kgf tractive effort)

- WAM 3 (Out of service. Bo-Bo bogies. Same as WAM 2 except for reverse pantographs. Built in 1964 by Mitsubishi)

- WAM 4 (Indigenously designed by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in 1970. Highly powerful class. One of the most successful locomotives in India. 3850 hp)

- WAM 4B, WAM 4P, WAM 4PD, WAM 4PR, WAM 4PDBHS, WAM 46PD, WAM 4PDB3P, WAM 42S3P, WAM 46PDBHS, WAM 46PE, WAM 4G, WAM 4H and WAM 4E (Technical variants of WAM4)

 

PASSENGER LOCOMOTIVES

- WAP 1 (Designed by Chittaranjan locomotive works in 1980 for the Kolkata-Delhi Rajdhani Express. A very successful class. 3900 hp. Max speed 130 kmph).

- WAP 2 (Decommissioned in the late 1980s. Similar to WAM2 & 3. 4 built. Also had Flexicoil Mark-ll bogies. 2910 hp. Only 4 units built)

- WAP 3 (Rebuilt to WAP-1. Similar to WAP-1. Approximated speed of 160 kmph restricted to 145 kmph. 5 Built since 1987.)

- WAP 4 (Upgraded from WAP 1 for higher loads by Chittaranjan locomotive works in 1994. One of the most successful locomotives in India. Very powerful class. 5000 hp. Tested for Max speed 160 kmph. Restricted to 140 kmph)

- WAP 5 (Imported in 1995 from Switzerland and used on premier express trains. 5450 hp. Max speed tested for 184 kmph. Restricted to 160 kmph)

- WAP 6 (Most of them rebuilt to WAP-4. Max speed 170 kmph. 16 built by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works in 1997. 5000 hp.)

- WAP 7 (Same design as WAG 9 with modified gear ratio. Highly powerful class. 6000 hp. Tested for 155 kmph. Restricted to 140 kmph. Built by CLW since 2000)

 

GOODS LOCOMOTIVES

- WAG 1 (Out of service after 2002. B-B bogies. Max speed 80 km/h. Built by several builders between 1963-66. 2930 hp. First freight dedicated locomotive under AC traction)

- WAG 1S (Technical variants of WAG 1)

- WAG 2 ( Out of service. B-B bogies. Max speed 80 km/h. WAP 2 are technical variants of WAG 2. Built by several builders between 1964-65. 3450 hp)

- WAG 3 (Out of service. Monomotor bogies. Max speed 80 km/h. 10 Built in 1965. 3590 hp. 30000 kgf tractive effort. Above 6000 tons hauling capacity up to 70 km/h on level track)

- WAG 3A (Technical variant of WAG 3)

- WAG 4 (Out of service. B-B bogies. Max speed 80 km/h. Technical variants are WAG 4A,D. Built by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works between 1966-71. 3590 hp)

- WAG 5 (The most successful electric locomotives in India. Designed by Chittaranjan locomotive works in 1984. More than 1100 were made. 3850 hp)

(WAG 5A, WAG 5B, WAG 5D, WAG 5E, WAG 5H, WAG 5HA, WAG 5HB, WAG 5HD, WAG 5HE, WAG 5PE, WAG 5RH - Technical variants of WAG 5)

- WAG 6A (Imported from Allmänna Svenska Elektriska Aktiebolaget (ASEA). 6110 hp. Max speed 100 km/h. Bo-Bo-Bo Bogies. The most powerful non-3 phase AC electric locomotives in India)

- WAG 6B, WAG 6C (Variants of WAG 3A. Built by Hitachi in 1988. Regenerative brakes. 44950 kgf tractive effort. Upgradeable to 160 km/h)

- WAG 7 (Very successful class. Built by CLW and BHEL. 5350 hp. 41000kgf. Max speed 100kmph. 123tons in weight)

- WAG 7H (Technical variant of WAG7 with 132tons of weight and 45000kgf of tractive effort. Two units built)

- WAG 8 (Out of service. Similar in looks to WCAM 2 and technically to WCAM 3. Built by BHEL in 1998. Experimental class)

- WAG 9 (Currently the most powerful class in India, rated at 6350 hp. Same design as WAP 7 with modified gear ratio. Designed by Adtranz, Switzerland.)

(WAG 9H, WAG9i and WAG9Hi - Technical variants of WAG9. WAG9H is the heavier version. WAG9i is the one fitted with IGBT traction converters. WAG9Hi is probably a combination of WAG9H and WAG9i)

 

ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNITS

- WAU 1 to WAU 4

 

DUAL (both AC and DC) traction

Main article: Indian Railways WCAM class

 

Note: These locomotives are used only in sections around Mumbai. They can run under AC traction too. The main purpose behind the manufacture of these type of locomotives was to provide transportation in and out Mumbai area without changing the engine.

 

-MIXED TYPE LOCOMOTIVES

WCAM 1 (Designed by Chittaranjan Locomotive works, total 53 were built and supplied between 1975-79. All owned by Western Railway) Only locomotive currently used having reverse pantographs. Now decommissioned.

- WCAM 2/2P (Designed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited, total 20 were built and supplied between 1995-96. Tested 135kmph under AC)

- WCAM 3 (50 Designed by Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited. 4600 hp under DC traction and 5000 hp under AC traction. All owned by Central Railway. Most widely used loco in the Mumbai Pune section).

 

GOODS LOCOMOTIVES

- WCAG 1 (12 Designed by Bharat heavy electricals limited between 1999-2000. Similar to the WCAM 3 in outer structure. 4600 hp under DC traction and 5000 hp under AC traction.

 

Note: There is no dedicated dual current passenger locomotive in India, but in Mumbai area, there are some EMUs which can run under dual traction.

 

BATTERY TRACTION

In 1927, English Electric and WBC built 2 shunters for use in yards at Bombay(now Mumbai). They had Bo-Bo bogies. Rated at 240 hp. They weighed 58 tons.

 

METRE GAUGE (3 ft 3⅜ in) LOCOMOTIVES USED IN INDIA

STEAM TRACTION

 

COMPANY TYPES

Nilgiri Mountain Railway X class

 

BESA DESIGNS

Passenger 4-6-0

Mixed-traffic 4-6-0

Goods 4-8-0

Tank 2-6-2T

 

WARTIME DESIGNS

Class MAWD – 2-8-2 USATC S118 Class

Class MWGX – 4-6-2+2-6-4 Garratt

 

INDIAN RAILWAY STADARDS DESIGNS

- Class YA – 4-6-2 with 9-ton axleload (none built);

- Class YB – 4-6-2 with 10-ton axleload

- Class YC – 4-6-2 with 12-ton axleload

- Class YD – 2-8-2 with 10-ton axleload

- Class YE – 2-8-2 with 12-ton axleload (none built)

- Class YF – 0-6-2; later examples were 2-6-2

- Class YK – 2-6-0 version of the 2-6-2 YF

- Class YL – 2-6-2

- Class YT – light 0-4-2T

- Class YG – 2-8-2 goods locomotive

- Class YP – 4-6-2 passenger locomotive

 

DIESEL TRACTION (MIXED TYPE ONLY)

- YDM 1 - The first diesel locomotives on 1,000 mm (3 ft 3 3⁄8 in) metre gauge. Imported from Britain in 1955. They were 20 in number. Mainly found on Western Railway. Phased out by the 1990s.

- YDM 2 - Originally used on Southern Railway. Built by CLW. Only 41 in numbers. Mostly used for shunting purposes or to pull short passenger trains.

- YDM 3 - Produced by GM-EMD in 1961-62. (Model no. GA-12). Mainly found near Ahmedabad. (Sabarmati Loco Shed).

- YDM 4 - Most widely and successful diesel locomotive used in India on meter gauge. 550 units produced by DLW (Varanasi) and Alco. Found in Mhow, Sabarmati Phulera, Lumding, Coonoor, Villupuram, Izatnagar Sheds and many other sheds.

- YDM 4A - The 99 locos supplied by Montreal Locomotive Works in 1964-69.

- YDM 5 - Same specifications as of YDM-3 but an addition of 10 t (9.8 long tons; 11.0 short tons) weight to the axles. Supplied by GM-EMD in 1964.

 

Currently all diesel locomotives except YDM-4 and YDM-4A are supposed to be withdrawn from service.

 

ELECTRIC TRACTION

ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES

- YCG 1 (These locomotives are among the earliest electric locomotives in India. This class was imported to serve the Chennai area in the early 1930s.)

- YAM 1 (These locomotives were in service until 2002 around Chennai. 1740 hp). 20 were Imported from Japan

 

ELECTRIC MULTIPLE UNITS

- YAU class (First EMU service in India. Introduced in the 1920s in Chennai area).

 

NARROW GAUGE (2 ft 6 in and 2 ft) LOCOMOTIVES USED IN INDIA

STEAM TRACTION (2 ft 6 in)

 

COMPANY DESIGNS

- Barsi Light Railway class A – 0-8-4T

- Barsi Light Railway class B – 4-8-4T

- Barsi Light Railway class C – 0-6-0ST

- Barsi Light Railway class D – 0-4-0

- Barsi Light Railway class E – Sentinel railcars

- Barsi Light Railway class F – 2-8-2

- Barsi Light Railway class G – 4-6-4

 

INDIAN RAILWAY STANDARDS DESIGNS

- Class ZA – 2-6-2 with 4.5-ton axleload (none built);

- Class ZB – 2-6-2 with 6-ton axleload;

- Class ZC – 2-8-2 with 6-ton axleload (none built);

- Class ZD – 4-6-2 with 8-ton axleload (none built);

- Class ZE – 2-8-2 with 8-ton axleload;

- Class ZF – 2-6-2T with 8-ton axleload

 

STEAM TRACTION (2 ft)

COMPANY DESIGNS

DARJEELING HIMALAYAN RAILWAY

- DHR A Class – 0-4-0WT;

- DHR B Class – 0-4-0ST; 777 and 778 preserved

- DHR C Class – 4-6-2

- DHR D Class – 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt

 

INDIAN RAILWAY STANDARDS DESIGNS

- QA – 2-6-2 with 4.5-ton axleload (none built).

- QB – 2-6-2 with 6-ton axleload (none built);

- QC – 2-8-2 with 6-ton axleload (none built).

 

DIESEL TRACTION (2 ft 6 in) (mixed type only)

- ZDM 1 (Available at Gwalior Junction)

- ZDM 2

- ZDM 3 (Later rebuilt as ZDM 4C class)

- ZDM 4 (Available at Gwalior Junction)

- ZDM 4A

- ZDM 4B, 4C, 4D

- ZDM 5

 

DIESEL TRACTION (2 ft) (mixed type only)

- NDM-1 - for the Matheran Hill Railway

- NDM-5 - for The Maharaja Railways of India

- NDM-6 – this class is currently in operation on the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Matheran Hill Railway

 

BATTERY TRACTION

- NBM 1 – designed by BHEL in 1987; powered by battery.

 

Note: All narrow gauge locomotives in India are mixed type locomotives.

 

Note: There is no narrow gauge electric locomotive in India.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Composite photo of two distinctive morphs that are presently both classified as Viola trinervata. While the leaf morphology of both forms are more variable than suggested here, they each do trend to vary consistently in the direction of the conspicuously different corolla color morphs.

 

While arguments for declaring these as different species would be difficult to justify, the same is not true for arguing in favor of definable varieties of the same species. I'm in no way an expert on this genus, but this case clearly deserves more careful study.

 

The old name "Viola trinervata forma semialba St. John" can be applied to the plants seen in the lower photo.

Pima County, AZ. This was an unexpected find in an area very much dominated by P. browni. Formerly classified as Phyllorhynchus decurtatus "nubilis," the clouded leaf-nosed snake

Classified

Elderly English man reading his newspaper in a London park.

The English Alphabet Project.

The project will last for 26 days, each day will represent a letter from the English Alphabet, Starting from letter A to Z.

 

In this project

Deema .. & нeүaм & αbduℓℓαн

The Jardin des plantes (French for "Garden of the Plants"), also known as the Jardin des plantes de Paris (French: [ʒaʁdɛ̃ dɛ plɑ̃t də paʁi]) when distinguished from other jardins des plantes in other cities, is the main botanical garden in France. The term Jardin des plantes is the official name in the present day, but it is in fact an elliptical form of Jardin royal des plantes médicinales ("Royal Garden of the Medicinal Plants"), which is related to the original purpose of the garden back in the 17th century.

 

Headquarters of the Muséum national d'histoire naturelle (National Museum of Natural History), the Jardin des plantes is situated in the 5th arrondissement, Paris, on the left bank of the river Seine, and covers 28 hectares (280,000 m2). Since 24 March 1993,[2] the entire garden and its contained buildings, archives, libraries, greenhouses, ménagerie (a zoo), works of art, and specimens' collection are classified as a national historical landmark in France (labelled monument historique).

 

Garden plan

The grounds of the Jardin des plantes include four buildings containing exhibited specimens. These buildings are officially considered as museums following the French law (they are labelled musée de France) and the French Museum of Natural History calls them galeries (French for 'galleries'):

 

The grande galerie de l'Évolution ('Gallery of Evolution') was inaugurated in 1889 as the galerie de Zoologie ('Gallery of Zoology'). In 1994, the gallery was renamed with its current name, grande galerie de l'Évolution, and its exhibited specimens were completely reorganised so that the visitor is oriented by the common thread of the evolution as the major subject treated by the gallery.

The galerie de Minéralogie et de Géologie ('Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology'), a mineralogy museum, built as of 1833, inaugurated in 1837.

The galerie de Paléontologie et d'Anatomie comparée ('Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy'), a comparative anatomy museum in the ground floor and a paleontology museum in the first and second floors. The building was inaugurated in 1898.

The galerie de Botanique ('Gallery of Botany'), inaugurated in 1935 thanks to funds provided by the Rockefeller Foundation, contains botany laboratories and the French Muséum's National Herbarium (the biggest in the world with a collection of almost 8 million samples of plants). The building also contains a small permanent exhibition about botany.[citation needed]

In addition to the gardens and the galleries, there is also a small zoo, the ménagerie du Jardin des plantes, founded in 1795 by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre from animals of the ménagerie royale de Versailles, the menagerie at Versailles, which was dismantled during the French Revolution.[citation needed]

 

The Jardin des plantes maintains a botanical school, which trains botanists, constructs demonstration gardens, and exchanges seeds to maintain biotic diversity. About 4,500 plants are arranged by family on a one hectare (10,000 m2) plot. Three hectares are devoted to horticultural displays of decorative plants. An Alpine garden has 3,000 species with world-wide representation. Specialized buildings, such as a large Art Deco winter garden, and Mexican and Australian hothouses display regional plants, not native to France. The Rose Garden, created in 1990, has hundreds of species of roses and rose trees

 

The garden was formally founded in 1635 as the Royal Garden of Medicinal Plants by an edict of King Louis XIII. The garden was put under the authority of the Physician of the king, Guy de la Brosse. It was staffed by a group of "demonstrateurs", who lectured visitors, particularly future physicians and pharmacists, on botany, chemistry, and geology, illustrated by the garden collections.[3]

 

In 1673, under Louis XIV, and his new royal physician and director of the Garden, Guy-Crescent Fagon, great-nephew of Guy de la Brosse, the garden was given a new amphitheater, where dissections and other medical courses were conducted. The lecturers included the celebrated physician and anatomist Claude Perrault, who was equally famous as the architect; he designed the facade of the Louvre Palace.

 

In the early 18th century, the chateau was given an additional floor to house the collections the royal botanist's medicinal plant collection. This section was gradually turned into galleries to display the royal collection of minerals. At the same time, the greenhouses on the west and south were enlarged, to hold the plants brought back to France by numerous scientific expeditions around the world. New plants were studied, dried, and cataloged. A group of artists made Herbiers, books with detailed illustrations of each new plant, and the plants of the collection were carefully studied for their possible medical or culinary uses.[4] One example was the group of coffee plants brought from Java to Paris, which were raised and studied by Antoine de Jussieu for their possible medical and commercial use. His studies led to the plantation of coffee in the French colonies of North America.

 

The most celebrated head of the garden was Georges-Louis Leclerc, who served as its head from 1739 until his death in 1788. While director of the garden, he also owned and operated a large and successful iron works and foundry in Burgundy, but lived in the garden, in the house that now carries his name. Buffon was responsible for doubling the size of the garden, expanding down to the banks of Seine. He enlarged the Cabinet of Natural History in the main building, and added a new gallery to the south. He also brought into the scientific community of the garden a team of important botanists and naturalists, including Jean Baptiste Lamarck, author of one of the earliest theories of Evolution,[6]

 

Under the sponsorship of Buffon, explorers and botanists were sent to different corners of the world to collect specimens for garden and museum. Michel Adanson was sent to Senegal, and the navigator La Perouse to the islands of the Pacific. They returned with shiploads of specimens, which were carefully studied and classified. This research caused a conflict between the scientists of Royal Gardens and the professors of the Sorbonne over the question of Evolution. The scientists, led by Buffon and his followers, claimed that natural species gradually evolved, while the theologians of the Sorbonne insisted that nature was exactly as it was at the time of the Creation. Since the scientists had the backing of the Royal court, they were able to continue their studies and publish their work

 

On June 7, 1793, in the course of the French Revolution, the new government, the National Convention, ordered a complete transformation of the former royal institutions. They created a new Museum of Arts and Techniques, transformed the Louvre from a royal residence to a museum of art, and joined the Royal Garden of Plants and the Cabinet of Natural Sciences together into a single organization: the Museum of Natural History. It also received a number of important collections which had belonged to members of the aristocracy, such as a famous group of wax models illustrating anatomy which had been created by André Pinson.[8]

 

The Museum and gardens also benefited from the 1798 expedition launched by First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt; the military force was accompanied by one hundred and fifty-four botanists, astronomers, archeologists, chemists, artists and other scholars, including Gaspard Monge, Joseph Fourier, and Claude Louis Berthollet. Drawings and paintings of their findings are found in the collections of the Natural History Museum.[8]

 

The holdings today include 6,963 specimens of the herbarium collection of Joseph Tournefort, donated on his death to the Jardin du Roi.[9]

 

The major addition to the garden in the late 18th century was the Ménagerie du Jardin des plantes. It was proposed in 1792 by Bernardin de Saint-Pierre, the intendant of the gardens, in large part to rescue the animals of the royal menagerie at the Palace of Versailles, who had been largely abandoned during the Revolution. The Duke of Orleans had a similar private zoo, also abandoned. At the same time the government of the Convention ordered the seizure of all the animals put on public display by various circuses in Paris. In 1795, the government acquired the Hôtel de Magné, the large estate of a French nobleman next to the gardens, and installed the large cages that had housed the animals at Versailles. It went through a very difficult early period, when the majority of the animals died, before it was given sufficient funding and more suitable structures by Napoleon. It became the home of animals brought back to France in scientific expeditions in the early 19th century, including a famous giraffe given to King Charles X by the Sultan of Cairo in 1827.[10]

 

On 25 August 1944, Allied American troops (2nd DB) were stationed here for the night after the Liberation of Paris from Nazi Germany.[11]

 

Late 19th–20th century – additions and experiments

Throughout the 19th and early 20th century, the primary mission of the gardens and museums was research. Working in the laboratories there, the chemist Eugene Chevreul first isolated fatty acids and cholesterol, and studied the chemistry of vegetal dyes. The physiologist Claude Bernard studied the functions of the glycogen in the liver. In 1896, the physicist Henri Becquerel, working in a laboratory in the museum, discovered radioactivity. He wrapped uranium salts together with an unexposed photographic plate wrapped in black cloth, to keep out the sunlight. When he unwrapped them, the photographic plate had changed color from exposure to the radiation. He received the Nobel Prize in 1903 for his discovery.[12]

 

The Gallery of Paleontology and of Comparative Anatomy was opened in 1898, replacing structures built between 1795 and 1807, to contain and display the thousands of skeletons the museum had collected. The buildings of menagerie were also expanded, with the construction of immense Bird House, by architect Jules André, 12 meters high, 37 meters long and 25 meters long,[13]

 

The appearance of the gardens changed in late 19th and early 20th century with the construction of new buildings. In 1877, the gallery of zoology, the landmark building that overlooks the formal garden, designed by Jules André, was begun. It was built to contain the immense zoological collections of the museum; the central hall is a landmark of iron construction, comparable to the Grand Palais and the Musée d'Orsay. It was inaugurated in 1888, but thereafter suffered from a long lack of maintenance. It was closed in 1965, In the 1980s, a new home was found for the museum's gigantic collections. The Zoothêque, was constructed between 1980 and 1986 underneath the Esplanade Milne-Edwards, directly in front of the Gallery of Zoology. It is accessible only to researchers, and contains the thirty million specimens of insects, five hundred thousand fish and reptiles, one hundred fifty thousand birds, and seven thousand other animals. The building above underwent a major renovation from 1991 to 1994, to house the updated Grand Gallery of Evolution.[12]

 

National Museum of Natural History

Main article: National Museum of Natural History, France

The National Museum of Natural History has been called "the Louvre of the Natural Sciences." It is contained in a five buildings laid out along the formal garden; the Gallery of Evolution; the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology; the Gallery of Botany; the Gallery of Paleontology and Comparative Anatomy; and the Laboratory of Entomology

 

The Grand Gallery of Evolution was designed by Jules André, whose other works in Paris included, in collaboration with Henri Labrouste. the Beaux-arts Bibliotheque National. He became architect of the museum in 1867, and his works are found throughout the Jardin des Plantes. It opened during the Paris Universal Exposition of 1889, though it was not finished as intended; it still lacks a grand facade on the side of rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire. The main facade, facing the two principal alleys of the formal garden, is flanked by two lantern towers. A series of medallions between the bays on the main facade overlooking the garden honors ten of the notable scientists who have worked in the Museum along with an allegorical statue of a woman holding an open book of knowledge.[15]

 

While the exterior is Beaux-Arts architecture, the interior iron structure was entirely modern, contemporary with the Grand Palais and the new railroad station of the gare d'Orsay (now the Musée d'Orsay). It encloses a rectangular hall 55 meters long, 25 meters wide and 15 meters high, with the glass roof of one thousand square meters supported by rows of slender iron columns. The structure deteriorated, had to be closed in 1965, then underwent extensive restoration between 1991 and 1995. It now presents, through preserved animals and media displays, the evolution of species. It gives special attention to species that has disappeared or are endangered. The collection of preserved animals includes the rhinoceros brought to France in the 18th century by Louis XV.

 

In front of the Gallery of Mineralogy and Geology stands one of the trees of the royal garden, a Sophora Japonica tree planted by Bernard de Jussieu in 1747. The gallery was constructed between 1833 and 1837 by Charles Rohault de Fleury in neoclassical style, with triangular frontons and pillars. The collection inside includes some six hundred thousand stones, gens, and fossils. Among the notable exhibits is the petrified trunk of bald cypress tree from the tertiary geological era, discovered in Essonne region of France in 1986.

 

In front of the Gallery of Botany is the oldest tree in Paris, a "Robinier Faux Acacia" brought to France from America in 1601. The gallery was built in 1930–35 with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation. The gallery keeps the Herbier National, specimens of all known plant species, with 7.5 million plants represented. The ground floor gallery is used for temporary exhibitions.

 

This gallery is sited next to the Iris garden, which contains 260 varieties of Iris. The building was constructed between 1894 and 1897 by Ferdinand Dutert, a specialist in metallic architecture, whose most famous building was the Gallery of Machines at the 1889 Paris Exposition. The gallery was expanded in 1961 with a brick addition by architect Henri Delage. The interior is highly decorated with lace-like iron stairways and detail. It displays a large collection of fossilized skeletons of dinosaurs and other large vertebrates.

 

The garden covers an area of twenty-four hectares (59.3 acres). It is bordered by the River Seine on the east, on the west by the Rue Geofroy-Saint-Hilaire, on the south by the Rue Buffon, and on the north by Rue Cuvier, all streets named for French scientists whose studies were carried out within the garden and its museums.

 

The main entrance is on the east, along the Seine, at Place Valhubert, reaching to the Grand Gallery, which copies its width. It is in the style of a French formal garden and extends for five hundred meters (547 yards) between two geometrically-trimmed rows of platane trees. Its rectangula beds contain over a thousand plants. This part of the garden is bordered on the left by a row of galleries, and on the right by the School of Botany, the Alpine Garden, and greenhouses.[19]

 

The iron grill gateways and fence at Place Valubuert were created in the beginning of the formal garden on the east is a statue of the botanist Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, the director the school of botany beginning in 1788. He is best known for devising the first coherent theory of biological evolution.[20]

 

At the other end of the formal garden, facing the Grand gallery, is a statue of another major figure in the garden's history, the naturalist Buffon, in a dressing gown, seated comfortably in an armchair atop the skin of a lion, holding a bird in his hand. Between the statue and the Gallery is the Esplanade Mine Edwards, beneath which is the Zoothéque, the massive underground storage area for the museum's collections. It is not open to the public.

 

Four large serres chaudes, or greenhouses, are placed in a row to the right front of the Gallery of Evolution. facing onto the Esplanade Milne-Edwards. They replaced the earliest greenhouses, built on the same site in the early 18th century, to house the plants brought to France from tropical climates by French explorers and naturalists. The Mexican greenhouse, which houses succulents, is separated by an alley from the Australian greenhouse, which hosts plants from that country. They were built between 1834 and 1836 by the architect Rohault de Fleury. Each of the two greenhouses is 20 meters by 12 meters in size. Their iron and glass structure was revolutionary for Paris, preceding by fifteen years the similar pavilions built by Victor Baltard for the Paris markets of Les Halles.[22][23]

 

A larger structure, the "Jardin d'hiver" (Winter Garden), covering 750 square meters, was designed by René Berger and completed in 1937. It features an Art Deco entrance, between two illuminated glass and iron pillars built for nighttime visits. The heating system keeps the interior temperature at 22 degrees Celsius year-round, creating a suitable environment for bananas, palms, giant bamboo, and other tropical plants. Its central feature, designed to create a more natural environment, is a fifteen-meter-high waterfall.[

 

The Alpine Garden was created in 1931, and is about three meters higher than the other parts of the garden. It is divided into two zones, connected by a tunnel. It contains several different microclimates, controlled by the water distribution, the orientation toward the sun, the type of soil and the distribution of the rocks. It is home to plants for Corsica, the Caucasus, North America and the Himalayas. The oldest plant is a pistachio tree, planted in about 1700. This tree was the subject of research by the botanist Sebastien Vaillant in the 18th century which confirmed the sexuality of plants. Another ancient tree found there is the metasequoia, or dawn redwood, a primitive conifer.

 

A large section alongside the formal garden, with an entrance on the Allee Bequrerel, belongs to the School of Botany, and is dedicated to plants that have medicinal or economic uses. It was originally created in the 18th century, and now has over three thousand eight hundred specimens, organised by genus and family. Regular tours my museum guides are given of this section. One of its special attractions is the "Pinus nigra" or black pine, of the variety Laricio, from Corsica, which was planted in the garden by Jussieu in the 1770s.

 

The small garden is placed directly behind the Winter Garden greenhouse. Its prominent features are a large platane tree from the Orient, planted by Buffon in 1785, and a Ginkgo biloba, a tree originating in China considered a living fossil, since traces show that these trees existed in the Second Era of living things, as defined by botanists. It was planted in 1811.

 

In the center of the garden is monument to the botanist Bernardin de Saint-Pierre. the last director of the garden named by the King before the French Revolution, and the creator of the menagerie. He is better known in France as the author of a well-known romantic movel, "Paul et Virginie", published in 1788.

 

The Grand Labyrinth features a winding path to the top of the Butte Copeaux, a hill overlooking the garden. It was originally created under Louis XIII, then redone in its present form under Louis XVI, on the site of an old garbage dump. At the beginning of the upward path is a Cedar of Lebanon, planted in 1734 by Jussieu, with a trunk four meters in circumference. The butte was largely planted with trees from the Mediterranean, including an old erable tree from Crete planted in 1702 and still in place. including from in it is topped by a picturesque 18th-century cast-iron viewing platform, the oldest work of iron architecture in Paris. The labyrinth was created under Louis XIII, then redone by the garden director Buffon for Louis XVI.

 

At the top is a neoclassical viewing platform called the Gloriette de Buffon. It was made of cast iron, bronze and copper in 1786-87, using metal from the foundry owned by Buffon. It is considered the oldest metallic structure in Paris.[26] The eight iron columns carry a roof in the shape of a Chinese hat, topped by a lantern with a frieze decorated with swastikas a popular motif in the period. The top is inscribed with a tribute to Louis XVI, honouring his "justice, humanity, and munificence", as well as a quotation from Bouffon, in Latin, translated; "I only count the hours without clouds". It was originally equipped with a precise clock which chimed exactly at noon, but it disappeared in 1795.[26]

 

Nearby is the Lion Fountain, built in 1834 into the wall of a former reservoir. It is decorated with two bronze lions made in 1863 by the noted animal sculptor Henri Jacquemart.

 

The Menagerie is the second-oldest public zoo in the world still in operation (following the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria), founded in 1752.[27] It was laid out in its current form between 1798 and 1836, and occupies 5.5 hectares (13.6 acres). Besides displaying and studying animals, it has the mission, in cooperation with the zoos of other European cities, to preserve the genetic pool of certain endangered species, with the longer-term goal of trying to re-introduce some of these species into nature.[26]

 

The menagerie, in the style of 19th century zoos, is composed of a series of fenced areas, separated by paths, each with "Fabriques" or shelters in pictureesque styles, ranging from rustic to Art Deco. The largest building is the rotunda, built of brick and stone between 1804 and 1812, which unites five separate structures. Its form is said to have been inspired by the medal of the Legion of Honor. It was restored in 1988. It formerly contained the large animals of the collection, including the elephants and the famous giraffe given to King Charles X of France, which lived there for twenty-seven years. The trenches around the rotunda were part of the residence of bears. In 1934, most of the large animals were moved to the new zoo in the Bois de Vincennes, and now the building is used mainly for events and receptions.

 

The major structures in the Menagerie include the neoclassical Grand Volerie, built for flying animals by Louis-Jules André, the designer of the garden's central building, the Gallery of Evolution. It was built in 1888 of iron, stone and wood, in an oval form. Like the main building of the gardens, it features two neoclassical lantern towers. The Palace of Reptiles is also a work of André. It was built between 1870 and 1874. Its decoration includes a bronze statue of "The Snake Charmer" from 1862.

 

The Vivarium is a gallery by Emmanuel Pontremoli from 1926; it is a modernist update of a Classical Greek villa, with an Art Deco portico dating from 1926. Other notable buildings include the Art Deco Ape House from 1934, a ceramic-covered oval building with the cages on the exterior. In 1934, the apes were transferred to Vincennes.

 

The garden has a large collection of fossil plants, collected from around the world. Some of them are displayed in the greenhouses of the garden.

 

The Maison de l'Intendance or Maison de Bouffon, located the entrance to the garden at 36 Rue Geoffroy-Saint-Hilaire, was the residence of the Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, the industrialist, naturalist, and director and chief creator of the gardens from 1739 to his death in 1788. It became part of the garden in 1777–79. (not open to public).[14]

The Cuvier House, next to the Gallery of Comparative Anatomy, was the residence of the scientist Georges Cuvier until his death in 1832. Cuvier was one of the founders of Paleontology, and the first to identify the skeleton of a mastodon as a prehistoric animal. Its facade displays his motto in Latin "The "Transibunt et augebitur scientia" ("The Hours Pass and science progresses"). The house was also the place where, in 1896, Henri Becquerel carried out the experiment in 1893 which led to the discovery of uranium. This event is marked by plaque on the facade. (not open to public).[29]

The Cuvier Fountain is across the street from the garden at the intersection of Rue Linné and Rue Cuvier, across the street from the very decorative wrought iron gates of the garden. The fountain honors George Cuvier, considered the father of comparative anatomy, with his statue surrounded by a varied collection of animals. It was built by the park architect Vigoureux and the sculptor Jean-Jacques Feuchère in 1840.

The Amphitheater near Rue Cuvier in the northwest corner, was constructed in 1787-88 in the garden of the Hôtel de Magny on Rue Cuvier. It was built under the direction of Buffon as a venue for lectures on natural science and the discoveries in the gardens. It was built in a purely neoclassical, or Paladian style. The frontons are decorated with 18th century sculpture depicting the natural sciences. The building was extensively restored in 2002–2003. A large stone vase in front of the amphitheater is a vestige of the Royal Abbey of Saint-Victor, which occupied the site of the amphitheater, and was destroyed during the French Revolution.[29]

The Pavilion of New Converts, in the northwest corner of the garden on the Allée Chevreul, is a vestige of the Convent of New Converts, founded in 1622 by Father Hyacinth of Paris and moved to the site in 1656. It was built to shelter Protestant converts to Catholicism. The surviving north facade, with a fronton in the Louis XIV style, contained the refectory, a parlour and bedrooms. After the French Revolution it became part of the gardens. It was the residence and laboratory of a director of the museum for 28 years, the chemist Eugene Chevreul, who died there in 1899 at the age of 103. Chevreul developed the use of color wheels or chromatic circles to resolve the definition of colors. His theory of colors was used at the Gobelins Manufactory of tapestries, where his laboratory was located, and inspired the palette of colors used by Eugène Delacroix. A statue of Chevreul is placed in the Carré Chevreul in the gardens.[29]

The hôtel de Magny at 57 Rue Cuvier is the administration building of the gardens. It was built in about 1700 under Louis XIV as a residence, designed by the royal architect Pierre Bullet, whose works included the Porte Saint-Martin and mansions in Le Marais and Place Vendôme After the Revolution, it turned into a boarding school; the celebrated actor Talma was one of the students. The house and estates were purchased, by Buffon in 1787 to enlarge the gardens (not open to the public).

 

The Paris Zoological Park was created in 1934 in the Bois de Vincennes, as space in menagerie of the Jardin des Plantes became scarce. It is administered, like the Jardin des Plantes, by the Museum of Natural History. New environments were created there for the larger mammals, including the giraffes, elephants, and hippopotamus. The new zoo covers 14.5 hectares (36 acres). The centrepiece is a large artificial rock, 65 meters (213 feet) high. It also includes a large greenhouse with 4000 square meters (43,000 square feet) of plantations, simulating a tropical rain forest.

The Parc des Clères in the Normandy specialises in birds and certain quadrupeds, including kangaroos and cervids.

The Arboretum de Chèvreloup, located near Versailles was founded in 1927. It covers 222 hectares, and has species raised from seeds collected from botanical gardens around the world. it focuses particularly upon

The Jardin botanique exotique de Menton, is located near Menton in the Alpes-Maritimes province. It specialises in tropical plants and those from the Mediterranean climate.

The Animal Park of la Haute Touche, between Sologne and Berry, specialises in reproducing endangered species in a large natural setting.

The Alpine Garden of Jaysinia at Samoëns in Haut-Savoie specialises in high-altitude plants from around the world, particularly from the Alps.

  

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. With an official estimated population of 2,102,650 residents as of 1 January 2023[2] in an area of more than 105 km2 (41 sq mi) Paris is the fourth-most populated city in the European Union and the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2022. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of the world's major centres of finance, diplomacy, commerce, culture, fashion, and gastronomy. For its leading role in the arts and sciences, as well as its early and extensive system of street lighting, in the 19th century, it became known as the City of Light.

 

The City of Paris is the centre of the Île-de-France region, or Paris Region, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 inhabitants on 1 January 2023, or about 19% of the population of France, The Paris Region had a GDP of €765 billion (US$1.064 trillion, PPP) in 2021, the highest in the European Union. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit Worldwide Cost of Living Survey, in 2022, Paris was the city with the ninth-highest cost of living in the world.

 

Paris is a major railway, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports: Charles de Gaulle Airport (the third-busiest airport in Europe) and Orly Airport. Opened in 1900, the city's subway system, the Paris Métro, serves 5.23 million passengers daily; it is the second-busiest metro system in Europe after the Moscow Metro. Gare du Nord is the 24th-busiest railway station in the world and the busiest outside Japan, with 262 million passengers in 2015. Paris has one of the most sustainable transportation systems and is one of the only two cities in the world that received the Sustainable Transport Award twice.

 

Paris is especially known for its museums and architectural landmarks: the Louvre received 8.9. million visitors in 2023, on track for keeping its position as the most-visited art museum in the world. The Musée d'Orsay, Musée Marmottan Monet and Musée de l'Orangerie are noted for their collections of French Impressionist art. The Pompidou Centre Musée National d'Art Moderne, Musée Rodin and Musée Picasso are noted for their collections of modern and contemporary art. The historical district along the Seine in the city centre has been classified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991.

 

Paris hosts several United Nations organizations including UNESCO, and other international organizations such as the OECD, the OECD Development Centre, the International Bureau of Weights and Measures, the International Energy Agency, the International Federation for Human Rights, along with European bodies such as the European Space Agency, the European Banking Authority and the European Securities and Markets Authority. The football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris. The 80,000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros. The city hosted the Olympic Games in 1900 and 1924, and will host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The 1938 and 1998 FIFA World Cups, the 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup, the 2007 Rugby World Cup, as well as the 1960, 1984 and 2016 UEFA European Championships were also held in the city. Every July, the Tour de France bicycle race finishes on the Avenue des Champs-Élysées in Paris.

 

The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the area's major north–south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, which gradually became an important trading centre. The Parisii traded with many river towns (some as far away as the Iberian Peninsula) and minted their own coins.

 

The Romans conquered the Paris Basin in 52 BC and began their settlement on Paris's Left Bank. The Roman town was originally called Lutetia (more fully, Lutetia Parisiorum, "Lutetia of the Parisii", modern French Lutèce). It became a prosperous city with a forum, baths, temples, theatres, and an amphitheatre.

 

By the end of the Western Roman Empire, the town was known as Parisius, a Latin name that would later become Paris in French. Christianity was introduced in the middle of the 3rd century AD by Saint Denis, the first Bishop of Paris: according to legend, when he refused to renounce his faith before the Roman occupiers, he was beheaded on the hill which became known as Mons Martyrum (Latin "Hill of Martyrs"), later "Montmartre", from where he walked headless to the north of the city; the place where he fell and was buried became an important religious shrine, the Basilica of Saint-Denis, and many French kings are buried there.

 

Clovis the Frank, the first king of the Merovingian dynasty, made the city his capital from 508. As the Frankish domination of Gaul began, there was a gradual immigration by the Franks to Paris and the Parisian Francien dialects were born. Fortification of the Île de la Cité failed to avert sacking by Vikings in 845, but Paris's strategic importance—with its bridges preventing ships from passing—was established by successful defence in the Siege of Paris (885–886), for which the then Count of Paris (comte de Paris), Odo of France, was elected king of West Francia. From the Capetian dynasty that began with the 987 election of Hugh Capet, Count of Paris and Duke of the Franks (duc des Francs), as king of a unified West Francia, Paris gradually became the largest and most prosperous city in France.

 

By the end of the 12th century, Paris had become the political, economic, religious, and cultural capital of France.[36] The Palais de la Cité, the royal residence, was located at the western end of the Île de la Cité. In 1163, during the reign of Louis VII, Maurice de Sully, bishop of Paris, undertook the construction of the Notre Dame Cathedral at its eastern extremity.

 

After the marshland between the river Seine and its slower 'dead arm' to its north was filled in from around the 10th century, Paris's cultural centre began to move to the Right Bank. In 1137, a new city marketplace (today's Les Halles) replaced the two smaller ones on the Île de la Cité and Place de Grève (Place de l'Hôtel de Ville). The latter location housed the headquarters of Paris's river trade corporation, an organisation that later became, unofficially (although formally in later years), Paris's first municipal government.

 

In the late 12th century, Philip Augustus extended the Louvre fortress to defend the city against river invasions from the west, gave the city its first walls between 1190 and 1215, rebuilt its bridges to either side of its central island, and paved its main thoroughfares. In 1190, he transformed Paris's former cathedral school into a student-teacher corporation that would become the University of Paris and would draw students from all of Europe.

 

With 200,000 inhabitants in 1328, Paris, then already the capital of France, was the most populous city of Europe. By comparison, London in 1300 had 80,000 inhabitants. By the early fourteenth century, so much filth had collected inside urban Europe that French and Italian cities were naming streets after human waste. In medieval Paris, several street names were inspired by merde, the French word for "shit".

 

During the Hundred Years' War, Paris was occupied by England-friendly Burgundian forces from 1418, before being occupied outright by the English when Henry V of England entered the French capital in 1420; in spite of a 1429 effort by Joan of Arc to liberate the city, it would remain under English occupation until 1436.

 

In the late 16th-century French Wars of Religion, Paris was a stronghold of the Catholic League, the organisers of 24 August 1572 St. Bartholomew's Day massacre in which thousands of French Protestants were killed. The conflicts ended when pretender to the throne Henry IV, after converting to Catholicism to gain entry to the capital, entered the city in 1594 to claim the crown of France. This king made several improvements to the capital during his reign: he completed the construction of Paris's first uncovered, sidewalk-lined bridge, the Pont Neuf, built a Louvre extension connecting it to the Tuileries Palace, and created the first Paris residential square, the Place Royale, now Place des Vosges. In spite of Henry IV's efforts to improve city circulation, the narrowness of Paris's streets was a contributing factor in his assassination near Les Halles marketplace in 1610.

 

During the 17th century, Cardinal Richelieu, chief minister of Louis XIII, was determined to make Paris the most beautiful city in Europe. He built five new bridges, a new chapel for the College of Sorbonne, and a palace for himself, the Palais-Cardinal. After Richelieu's death in 1642, it was renamed the Palais-Royal.

 

Due to the Parisian uprisings during the Fronde civil war, Louis XIV moved his court to a new palace, Versailles, in 1682. Although no longer the capital of France, arts and sciences in the city flourished with the Comédie-Française, the Academy of Painting, and the French Academy of Sciences. To demonstrate that the city was safe from attack, the king had the city walls demolished and replaced with tree-lined boulevards that would become the Grands Boulevards. Other marks of his reign were the Collège des Quatre-Nations, the Place Vendôme, the Place des Victoires, and Les Invalides.

 

18th and 19th centuries

Empire, and Haussmann's renovation of Paris

Paris grew in population from about 400,000 in 1640, to 650,000 in 1780. A new boulevard named the Champs-Élysées extended the city west to Étoile, while the working-class neighbourhood of the Faubourg Saint-Antoine on the eastern side of the city grew increasingly crowded with poor migrant workers from other regions of France.

 

Paris was the centre of an explosion of philosophic and scientific activity, known as the Age of Enlightenment. Diderot and d'Alembert published their Encyclopédie in 1751, and the Montgolfier Brothers launched the first manned flight in a hot air balloon on 21 November 1783. Paris was the financial capital of continental Europe, and the primary European centre of book publishing, fashion and the manufacture of fine furniture and luxury goods.

 

In the summer of 1789, Paris became the centre stage of the French Revolution. On 14 July, a mob seized the arsenal at the Invalides, acquiring thousands of guns, and stormed the Bastille, which was a principal symbol of royal authority. The first independent Paris Commune, or city council, met in the Hôtel de Ville and elected a Mayor, the astronomer Jean Sylvain Bailly, on 15 July.

 

Louis XVI and the royal family were brought to Paris and incarcerated in the Tuileries Palace. In 1793, as the revolution turned increasingly radical, the king, queen and mayor were beheaded by guillotine in the Reign of Terror, along with more than 16,000 others throughout France. The property of the aristocracy and the church was nationalised, and the city's churches were closed, sold or demolished. A succession of revolutionary factions ruled Paris until 9 November 1799 (coup d'état du 18 brumaire), when Napoleon Bonaparte seized power as First Consul.

 

The population of Paris had dropped by 100,000 during the Revolution, but after 1799 it surged with 160,000 new residents, reaching 660,000 by 1815. Napoleon replaced the elected government of Paris with a prefect that reported directly to him. He began erecting monuments to military glory, including the Arc de Triomphe, and improved the neglected infrastructure of the city with new fountains, the Canal de l'Ourcq, Père Lachaise Cemetery and the city's first metal bridge, the Pont des Arts.

  

The Eiffel Tower, under construction in November 1888, startled Parisians—and the world—with its modernity.

During the Restoration, the bridges and squares of Paris were returned to their pre-Revolution names; the July Revolution in 1830 (commemorated by the July Column on the Place de la Bastille) brought to power a constitutional monarch, Louis Philippe I. The first railway line to Paris opened in 1837, beginning a new period of massive migration from the provinces to the city. In 1848, Louis-Philippe was overthrown by a popular uprising in the streets of Paris. His successor, Napoleon III, alongside the newly appointed prefect of the Seine, Georges-Eugène Haussmann, launched a huge public works project to build wide new boulevards, a new opera house, a central market, new aqueducts, sewers and parks, including the Bois de Boulogne and Bois de Vincennes. In 1860, Napoleon III annexed the surrounding towns and created eight new arrondissements, expanding Paris to its current limits.

 

During the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), Paris was besieged by the Prussian Army. Following several months of blockade, hunger, and then bombardment by the Prussians, the city was forced to surrender on 28 January 1871. After seizing power in Paris on 28 March, a revolutionary government known as the Paris Commune held power for two months, before being harshly suppressed by the French army during the "Bloody Week" at the end of May 1871.

 

In the late 19th century, Paris hosted two major international expositions: the 1889 Universal Exposition, which featured the new Eiffel Tower, was held to mark the centennial of the French Revolution; and the 1900 Universal Exposition gave Paris the Pont Alexandre III, the Grand Palais, the Petit Palais and the first Paris Métro line. Paris became the laboratory of Naturalism (Émile Zola) and Symbolism (Charles Baudelaire and Paul Verlaine), and of Impressionism in art (Courbet, Manet, Monet, Renoir).

 

20th and 21st centuries

World War, Paris between the Wars (1919–1939), Paris in World War II, and History of Paris (1946–2000)

By 1901, the population of Paris had grown to about 2,715,000. At the beginning of the century, artists from around the world including Pablo Picasso, Modigliani, and Henri Matisse made Paris their home. It was the birthplace of Fauvism, Cubism and abstract art, and authors such as Marcel Proust were exploring new approaches to literature.

 

During the First World War, Paris sometimes found itself on the front line; 600 to 1,000 Paris taxis played a small but highly important symbolic role in transporting 6,000 soldiers to the front line at the First Battle of the Marne. The city was also bombed by Zeppelins and shelled by German long-range guns. In the years after the war, known as Les Années Folles, Paris continued to be a mecca for writers, musicians and artists from around the world, including Ernest Hemingway, Igor Stravinsky, James Joyce, Josephine Baker, Eva Kotchever, Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, Sidney Bechet and Salvador Dalí.

 

In the years after the peace conference, the city was also home to growing numbers of students and activists from French colonies and other Asian and African countries, who later became leaders of their countries, such as Ho Chi Minh, Zhou Enlai and Léopold Sédar Senghor.

  

General Charles de Gaulle on the Champs-Élysées celebrating the liberation of Paris, 26 August 1944

On 14 June 1940, the German army marched into Paris, which had been declared an "open city". On 16–17 July 1942, following German orders, the French police and gendarmes arrested 12,884 Jews, including 4,115 children, and confined them during five days at the Vel d'Hiv (Vélodrome d'Hiver), from which they were transported by train to the extermination camp at Auschwitz. None of the children came back. On 25 August 1944, the city was liberated by the French 2nd Armoured Division and the 4th Infantry Division of the United States Army. General Charles de Gaulle led a huge and emotional crowd down the Champs Élysées towards Notre Dame de Paris, and made a rousing speech from the Hôtel de Ville.

 

In the 1950s and the 1960s, Paris became one front of the Algerian War for independence; in August 1961, the pro-independence FLN targeted and killed 11 Paris policemen, leading to the imposition of a curfew on Muslims of Algeria (who, at that time, were French citizens). On 17 October 1961, an unauthorised but peaceful protest demonstration of Algerians against the curfew led to violent confrontations between the police and demonstrators, in which at least 40 people were killed. The anti-independence Organisation armée secrète (OAS) carried out a series of bombings in Paris throughout 1961 and 1962.

 

In May 1968, protesting students occupied the Sorbonne and put up barricades in the Latin Quarter. Thousands of Parisian blue-collar workers joined the students, and the movement grew into a two-week general strike. Supporters of the government won the June elections by a large majority. The May 1968 events in France resulted in the break-up of the University of Paris into 13 independent campuses. In 1975, the National Assembly changed the status of Paris to that of other French cities and, on 25 March 1977, Jacques Chirac became the first elected mayor of Paris since 1793. The Tour Maine-Montparnasse, the tallest building in the city at 57 storeys and 210 m (689 ft) high, was built between 1969 and 1973. It was highly controversial, and it remains the only building in the centre of the city over 32 storeys high. The population of Paris dropped from 2,850,000 in 1954 to 2,152,000 in 1990, as middle-class families moved to the suburbs. A suburban railway network, the RER (Réseau Express Régional), was built to complement the Métro; the Périphérique expressway encircling the city, was completed in 1973.

 

Most of the postwar presidents of the Fifth Republic wanted to leave their own monuments in Paris; President Georges Pompidou started the Centre Georges Pompidou (1977), Valéry Giscard d'Estaing began the Musée d'Orsay (1986); President François Mitterrand had the Opéra Bastille built (1985–1989), the new site of the Bibliothèque nationale de France (1996), the Arche de la Défense (1985–1989) in La Défense, as well as the Louvre Pyramid with its underground courtyard (1983–1989); Jacques Chirac (2006), the Musée du quai Branly.

 

In the early 21st century, the population of Paris began to increase slowly again, as more young people moved into the city. It reached 2.25 million in 2011. In March 2001, Bertrand Delanoë became the first socialist mayor. He was re-elected in March 2008. In 2007, in an effort to reduce car traffic, he introduced the Vélib', a system which rents bicycles. Bertrand Delanoë also transformed a section of the highway along the Left Bank of the Seine into an urban promenade and park, the Promenade des Berges de la Seine, which he inaugurated in June 2013.

 

In 2007, President Nicolas Sarkozy launched the Grand Paris project, to integrate Paris more closely with the towns in the region around it. After many modifications, the new area, named the Metropolis of Grand Paris, with a population of 6.7 million, was created on 1 January 2016. In 2011, the City of Paris and the national government approved the plans for the Grand Paris Express, totalling 205 km (127 mi) of automated metro lines to connect Paris, the innermost three departments around Paris, airports and high-speed rail (TGV) stations, at an estimated cost of €35 billion.The system is scheduled to be completed by 2030.

 

In January 2015, Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula claimed attacks across the Paris region. 1.5 million people marched in Paris in a show of solidarity against terrorism and in support of freedom of speech. In November of the same year, terrorist attacks, claimed by ISIL, killed 130 people and injured more than 350.

 

On 22 April 2016, the Paris Agreement was signed by 196 nations of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in an aim to limit the effects of climate change below 2 °C.

 

World cup summer in Samara, Russia

Cybersex, also called computer sex, Internet sex, netsex, mudsex, TinySex and, colloquially, cybering, is a virtual sex encounter in which two or more persons connected remotely via computer network send each other sexually explicit messages describing a sexual experience. It is a form of sexual roleplay in which the participants pretend they are having actual sex. In one form, this fantasy sex is accomplished by the participants describing their actions and responding to their chat partners in a mostly written form designed to stimulate their own sexual feelings and fantasies.[1]

Cybersex sometimes includes real life masturbation.[2] The quality of a cybersex encounter typically depends upon the participants' abilities to evoke a vivid, visceral mental picture in the minds of their partners. Imagination and suspension of disbelief are also critically important. Cybersex can occur either within the context of existing or intimate relationships, e.g. among lovers who are geographically separated, or among individuals who have no prior knowledge of one another and meet in virtual spaces or cyberspaces and may even remain anonymous to one another. In some contexts cybersex is enhanced by the use of a webcam to transmit real-time video of the partners.

Channels used to initiate cybersex are not necessarily exclusively devoted to that subject, and participants in any Internet chat may suddenly receive a message with any possible variation of the text "Wanna cyber?", "Wanna cam?" or a request for "C2C"/"C4C" ("cam to cam" and "cam for cam", respectively).

Cybersex is commonly performed in Internet chat rooms (such as IRC, talkers or web chats) and on instant messaging systems. It can also be performed using webcams, voice chat systems like Skype, or online games and/or virtual worlds like Second Life. The exact definition of cybersex—specifically, whether real-life masturbation must be taking place for the online sex act to count as cybersex—is up for debate.[3] It is also fairly frequent in online role-playing games, such as MUDs and MMORPGs, though approval of this activity varies greatly from game to game. Some online social games like Red Light Center are dedicated to cybersex and other adult behaviors. These online games are often called AMMORPGs. In other games of the wider MMORPG genre, it ranges from widely accepted to the point of game masters/moderators taking part, such as in Final Fantasy Online[citation needed], to moderated based on player reports, as in World of Warcraft[citation needed], to grounds for a suspension from play or a permanent banishment, as in EVE Online and Anarchy Online[citation needed].

Cybersex may also be accomplished through the use of avatars in a multiuser software environment. It is often called mudsex or netsex in MUDs. In TinyMUD variants, particularly MUCKs, the term TinySex (TS) is very common.[4][5]

Though text-based cybersex has been in practice for decades,[6] the increased popularity of webcams has raised the number of online partners using two-way video connections to "expose" themselves to each other online—giving the act of cybersex a more visual aspect. There are a number of popular, commercial webcam websites that allow people to openly masturbate on camera while others watch them.[7] Using similar sites, couples can also perform on camera for the enjoyment of others.

Cybersex differs from phone sex in that it offers a greater degree of anonymity and allows participants to meet partners more easily. A good deal of cybersex takes place between partners who have just met online.[citation needed] Unlike phone sex, cybersex in chat rooms is rarely commercial. In online worlds like Second Life and via webcam-focused chat services, however, Internet sex workers engage in cybersex in exchange for both virtual and real-life currency.[8] uk.groups.yahoo.com/group/cybersex-contact

 

From the August/September 1988 Edition of School Bus Fleet. I am not claiming ownership for this picture and am only uploading for archival purposes.

Class 108 Driving Motor Brake Second (DMBS) M51927 undergoing classified repair at Derby Litchurch Lane works, 11th August 1979. The first of the class 108 "Derby Lightweight" DMUs emerged from Derby works in 1958. This large class was developed from the earlier series of Derby Lightweight vehicles built in the mid-1950s. Vehicle bodies and underframes were of aluminium construction, except for the headstocks and certain diagonal members behind the buffers. Driving cabs, inner ends and buffer beams were of mild steel and cab roof domes were fibre glass mouldings. The high proportion of aluminium gave a weight saving compared to similar units and hence an improvement in power to weight ratio. They retained the lower side windows but had a new cab design. The class 108 design proved to be flexible and reliable in service, built to what became the mechanical standard. In all three hundred and thirty three vehicles were constructed with production ending in 1961. M51927 was one of a batch of twenty nine power twin sets built at Derby in 1960 for London Midland duties in the North West and was originally formed with Driving Motor Composite Lavatory (DMCL) M52042. It remained on these duties until displaced by new second generation units and transferred to Tyseley around 1987 from where it was withdrawn around 1991/2.

E-I-E-I-OH-MY!

From the August/September 1988 Edition of School Bus Fleet. I am not claiming ownership for this picture and am only uploading for archival purposes.