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The Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array (VLA), a component of the National Radio Astronomy Observatory (NRAO), in Socorro County, New Mexico. The VLA was completed in 1980. In 2011, a major upgrade of the 1970s era electronics was completed increasing the capabilities of the VLA. The site was renamed the "Karl G. Jansky Very Large Array" in 2012.
The astronomical radio observatory consists of 27 radio antennas in a Y-shaped array. Each antenna is 82 ft (25 m) in diameter. The massive telescopes can be moved by railroad tracks to one of four configurations for studies.
PictionID:44808664 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014202 - Filename:14_014202.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
This alternate pusher component is designed to secure to the sliding table with a lever actuated clamping post. The bumper component has the same rubberized gasketing material along one edge to help secure stock wedged between the two plywood components that make up the system. Also shown in this photo is an alternate plywood "bumper" component.
This is the "pusher" half the the RUWI component system. It is a plywood panel approximately 1-inch thick with a handle and rubberized gasketing applied to the front edge, and an adjustable mechanism for setting the angle of the panel and securing it to the sliding table. Unlike a Fritz & Franz design, this component pivots which I consider a disadvantage.
1 UNCOMPROMISING IMAGE QUALITY
2 COMPATIBILITY AS A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE
3 ENDURING PERFORMANCE AND VALUE
4 SILENCE AND DISCRETION
5 SPEED AND FLEXIBILITY
6 COMPLETE CONTROL OF ALL PICTURE PARAMETERS
With its extremely high-resolution image sensor in full-frame 35-mm format and cutting-edge image-processing system, the Leica M9 is uncompromisingly dedicated to capturing images of the very highest quality. The photographer may choose between image storage in JPEG format for fast processing, or as raw data in DNG format that supports a multitude of post-processing options. Alternatively, both formats may be stored simultaneously. In the DNG format, photo- graphers may also choose between a compressed, but faster and greater space-saving option, or an uncompressed version that preserves maximum image quality.
Of course the Leica M9 offers photographers access to the complete Leica M lens system lenses, long acclaimed by experts and users as the best in the world. Its development began in 1954, and the M-System has been continually advanced and improved ever since. The high-resolution, full-format image sensor of the M9 fully exploits the performance of legendary Leica lenses from corner to corner.
It is hardly unusual that a Leica, once owned, becomes a lifelong companion. This also applies to the digital M9: Its closed, full-metal housing, crafted from a high-strength magnesium alloy, and its top deck and bottom plate machined from large blocks of brass, provide perfect protec- tion for its precious inner mechanisms. The digital components and shutter assembly of the M9 are similarly constructed with endurance in mind. Free firmware updates ensure that the camera benefits from the latest technology. In short: The Leica M9 is an investment for a lifetime.
Discretion and unobtrusiveness are particular strengths of the M-system. In operation, the shutter of the M9 is as quiet as a whisper. An extremely low noise level when cocking the shutter is ensured by a sophisticated motor and gearing system. In discreet mode, the shutter is only cocked after the photographer‘s finger is lifted from the shutter release button when, for instance, the camera is concealed under a jacket. When shooting handheld at long exposure times, or whenever extreme steadiness is essential, slight pressure on the shutter release button in ‘soft release’ mode is sufficient to trigger the camera. In addition to these advantages, the fact that the combination of camera and lens is significantly more compact than any other full-frame camera system contributes to the fact that M photographers are frequently unnoticed and often simply blend into the background.
The Leica M9 adapts to its intended uses in a seamlessly flexible manner. Its sensitivity ranges from ISO 80 for wide-open apertures on bright days to ISO 2500 for low-light image capture. Very low noise levels and finely detailed images are achieved throughout the sensitivity range, even at the highest ISO settings. Very low image noise characteristics, an extremely bright viewfinder/rangefinder, low-vibration shutter and the availability of super fast lenses make the M9 the perfect camera for available-light photography.
The Leica M9 aids photographers with automatic functions whenever they’re required, but it never dictates how to shoot or interferes with the picture-taking process. Depending on the light level, the automatic ISO shift function increases the sensitivity of the camera as soon as the shutter speed falls below a hand-holdable value. At the same time, it also limits the shift to a maximum value determined by the photographer. This means that correct exposure without camera shake and the lowest possible sensitivity is always available to guarantee the best possible image quality in all situations. In addition, the M9 also offers automatic exposure bracketing with a user-selectable number of shots and exposure increments. This function ensures that even high-contrast subjects are perfectly captured.
Like every M camera of the past half century, the M9 is concentrated, by design, on the most photographically relevant functions. Its manual focusing – based on the combined viewfinder and rangefinder concept – and aperture priority exposure mode enable photographers to achieve maximum creative expression without imposing any limitations on their creative freedom. In combination with the 2.5-inch LCD monitor on the back, the simple, intuitive menu navigation system controlled by only a few buttons ensures rapid access to the entire range of camera functions.
7 FULL FRAME 24 × 36 MM – WITHOUT ANY COMPROMISES
8 OPTIMIZED SENSOR
9 INTUITIVE CONTROLS
10 ALL INFORMATION AT THE PUSH
OF A BUTTON
The CCD image sensor in the M9 was specifically designed and developed for this camera and offers full 35-mm film format without any compromises. All M lenses mounted on the M9 offer the same exact angle of view they had when shooting film material and therefore can now be used to an optimum effect. In other words, all the outstanding characteristics of Leica M lenses are now fully maintained for digital photography as well. In short, the high resolution and superior image quality of the M9 has the ability to fully exploit the enormous potential of M lenses.
In the case of the M9, it wasn’t a matter of modifying the lenses to match the image sensor, but rather the other way around. Our dedication to further developing the image sensor has resulted in a component perfectly matched to its intended role in the very compact M-System as well as to the performance of M lenses. The special layout of the micro lenses found in the M9 sensor makes it tolerant of oblique light rays impinging on its surface, thus assuring uniform exposure and extreme sharpness from corner to corner in every image. As a result, future Leica M lenses can be designed and optimized with uncompromising dedication to the achievement of the highest performance and compact construction. A newly developed sensor filter ensures the suppression of undesirable infrared light. The conscious decision to do without a moiré filter, a cause of image deterioration through loss of resolution, ensures maximum resolution of fine detail. The optimized signal-noise ratio of the CCD image sensor reduces the need for digital post-processing and ensures that M9 images possess an unrivaled and natural visual impact.
The key control element of the M9 is an intuitive four-way switch and dial combination used in conjunction with the 2.5-inch LCD monitor on the back. To set the ISO sensitivity, simply maintain light pressure on the ISO button while simultaneously turning the dial to select the required setting. All other functions important for everyday situations are quickly and easily accessible by pressing the set button: white balance, image-data compression, resolution, exposure correction, exposure bracketing, and programmable user profiles. The user profiles can be programmed with any combination of camera and shooting settings, stored under an assigned name, and accessed quickly whenever required for a particular situation. An additional pre-defined snapshot profile is also available. In snapshot mode, the M9 automa- tically sets as many settings as possible, thus providing a valuable aid to spontaneous and discreet photography. All other functions – from automatic lens recognition via six-bit lens- mount coding and selection of the required color space to cleaning of the sensor – are easily found in the clearly arranged main camera menu.
Pressing the “info” button in shooting mode displays the precise charge level of the battery, the remaining number of frames on the installed memory card, and the most important basic shooting settings, for example the shutter speed, on the camera’s brilliant 2.5-inch LCD monitor. In image-view mode, users can switch between an image-only view (with a zoom option up to single pixel level) or access other information by simply turning the dial. The available data includes information on the ISO sensitivity setting and shutter speed in use, plus a precise histogram display.
The Leica M9 embodies the heritage and amassed experience of more than five decades of the M-System. It is also, simultaneously, a digital system camera at the absolute pinnacle of modern technology. For Leica designers, photography has always been their prime concern – whether film or digital. The combination of an extremely efficient image sensor, the latest digital components, and the classic viewfinder/rangefinder principle – consistently optimized over many years – make the Leica M9 absolutely unique in all the world.
1
WORKFLOW SOFTWARE IS INCLUDED
The digital image processing workflow solution Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® is included in the M9 package.
The M9 is supplied complete with Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom®, a professional digital work- flow solution for Apple Mac® OS X and Microsoft Windows®. The software is available as a free of charge online download for all Leica M9 customers. This also ensures that the latest release is always readily available. Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® offers a vast range of functions for the administration, processing, and exporting of digital images. If the images from the M9 are saved as raw data in the standardized and future-proof Adobe Digital Negative Format (DNG), then the sophisticated and precise processing options of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® guarantee direct and extremely high-quality image processing with maximum image quality. At the same time, the 16-bit per channel color information captured by the image sensor is maintained throughout the processing workflow from image import to image export, ensuring that the most delicate tonal differentiations are preserved in maximum quality after completion of the post-processing sequence.
The Leica M9 can display a precise RGB tonal value histogram of the captured image after each shot, and also offers optional integration of the histogram in the automatic image view display. The clipping warning display over- and underexposed zones in each image, warning the photographer of potentially unusable images. An innovative feature is that the histogram is recalculated every time a new part of the image is viewed, thus enabling a precise quality assessment of small image areas and even the finest image details.
Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal. The Taj Mahal is widely recognized as "the jewel of Muslim art in India and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage." Taj Mahal is the finest example of Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Turkish and Indian architectural styles. In 1983, the Taj Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site. While the white domed marble mausoleum is the most familiar component of the Taj Mahal, it is actually an integrated complex of structures. The construction began around 1632 and was completed around 1653, employing thousands of artisans and craftsmen.
Soon after the Taj Mahal's completion, Shah Jahan was deposed by his son Aurangzeb and put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Upon Shah Jahan's death, Aurangzeb buried him in the mausoleum next to his wife.
Iridescent vapour trails trailing UAL928, Boeing 767-322 reg: N658UA travelling from London to Chicago
12:46 UT / 13:46 BST 9th October
This effect is caused when supercooled droplets of water vapour condense out over the aircraft wings and when the Sun is in the right position, the water droplets cause diffraction and that disperses the sunlight into its component colours.
I haven't had photos of this effect for ages but this is the second time in two days that I've managed to get some clear photos of it.
Taken with a Canon 1100D with Canon 300mm zoom lens. Hand-held, manual focus
A technician with the John C. Stennis Space Center's Fluid Component Facility studies samples to determine cleanliness of valves and fittings used on pipes that transport liquid fuel and propellants. The clean room where the technicians work is similar to a hospital surgical room.
Credit: NASA
Image Number: 95-081-19
Date: 1995
Crawler crane with telescopic boom, based on the components of the Liebherr LTM 1800 (boom and upper structure) and LR 1550 (crawler undercarriage).
I built this model many years ago. It is still based on the old 9V components with geared and non-geared motors, as well as micromotors.
Motorized functions include:
- Independent drive of left and right crawlers
- Four support rams
- Two support rams on long cantilevered support beams for the erection of long boom systems.
- Slewing of the upper structure
- Four winches
- Independent extension of first and second telescopic boom stage.
- The cab can swing out from transport position
- Auxiliary winch on the front end of the upper structure
Further functions include:
- Variable counterweight of more than 4.5 kg, consisting of 12x250g, 4x285g and a base plate of about 500g
- Openable sliding door on tiltable cab
The crane can be set up with the telescopic boom alone. Height is then up to 2.4m. A luffing jib can be added, but the boom can't be extended in this mode. Height is also somewhere around 2.4m with a reach of about 1.7m.
PictionID:44808603 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014197 - Filename:14_014197.TIF - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
Northeast corner of the square and Sternstraße.
"The Palais Walderdorff in the city of Trier is a building complex that extends opposite Trier Cathedral to the west and north of the Domfreihof. One component also extends along Sternstrasse to the main market. The oldest component of the complex is the Jerusalem Tower from the 11th century. The largest and most striking part of the entire complex was built by the Trier Archbishop and Elector Johann IX. Philipp von Walderdorff built as a cathedral provost.
Former main guard: baroque mansard roof building with arcade that characterizes the square, built in 1774/76 as the last of the buildings built during the time of the electors, architect JJ Steinem. The building was built in place of a Gothic gabled house that already housed the main guard station and was demolished in 1774. Seen from the main market, on the right of the building there is a copy of a Madonna and child, and on the left opposite is the memorial plaque for Cläre Prem. The building was later used by the city of Trier, among others, and was gutted in 1998 and housed a branch of the textile discounter H & M until 2019.
The main market of Trier is the central and one of the largest squares in the city.
It is located in the historic city center directly in front of the cathedral city in today's Mitte/Gartenfeld district. The most important urban commercial streets come together here. In 958, Archbishop Henry I equipped the main market with the market cross as a symbol of sovereignty. The main market was a place for selling goods and trading in the medieval city.
Two thirds of the market conversion with houses from the Renaissance, Baroque, Classicism and Late Historicism have been preserved. Today, numerous large and representative urban buildings are characteristic, including the Hauptwache and the former cathedral hotel in the Neo-Renaissance style of German style. There is also the Steipe, a town house built around 1430 and (after complete destruction in the Second World War) rebuilt in the 20th century with the help of “creative monument preservation” (Dehio) and today the representative house of the city council as well as the Red House with the saying about the legendary founding Triers through Trebeta. The Church of St. Gangolf is only accessible from the market through a baroque gate and is otherwise completely rebuilt.
From the main market you can go through the Judenpforte into Judengasse and thus come to the former Jewish quarter of the city.
Trier (/trɪər/ TREER, German: [tʁiːɐ̯]; Luxembourgish: Tréier [ˈtʀəɪɐ]), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves (/trɛv/ TREV, French: [tʁɛv]) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the west of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, near the border with Luxembourg and within the important Moselle wine region.
Founded by the Celts in the late 4th century BC as Treuorum and conquered 300 years later by the Romans, who renamed it Augusta Treverorum ("The City of Augustus among the Treveri"), Trier is considered Germany's oldest city. It is also the oldest seat of a bishop north of the Alps. Trier was one of the four capitals of the Roman Empire during the Tetrarchy period in the late 3rd and early 4th centuries. In the Middle Ages, the archbishop-elector of Trier was an important prince of the Church who controlled land from the French border to the Rhine. The archbishop-elector of Trier also had great significance as one of the seven electors of the Holy Roman Empire. Because of its significance during the Roman and Holy Roman empires, several monuments and cathedrals within Trier are listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
With an approximate population of 110,000, Trier is the fourth-largest city in its state, after Mainz, Ludwigshafen, and Koblenz. The nearest major cities are Luxembourg City (50 km or 31 mi to the southwest), Saarbrücken (80 kilometres or 50 miles southeast), and Koblenz (100 km or 62 mi northeast).
The University of Trier, the administration of the Trier-Saarburg district and the seat of the ADD (Aufsichts- und Dienstleistungsdirektion), which until 1999 was the borough authority of Trier, and the Academy of European Law (ERA) are all based in Trier. It is one of the five "central places" of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Along with Luxembourg, Metz and Saarbrücken, fellow constituent members of the QuattroPole union of cities, it is central to the greater region encompassing Saar-Lor-Lux (Saarland, Lorraine and Luxembourg), Rhineland-Palatinate, and Wallonia." - 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.
PictionID:44811627 - Title:Atlas Payload Component - Catalog:14_014445 - Filename:14_014445.TIF - - - - Image from the Convair/General Dynamics Astronautics Atlas Negative Collection. The processing, cataloging and digitization of these images has been made possible by a generous National Historical Publications and Records grant from the National Archives and Records Administration---Please Tag these images so that the information can be permanently stored with the digital file.---Repository: San Diego Air and Space Museum
not so grainy on larger size [all sizes]
constructive components made of paper tubes, rolls of aluminum (offset) rubber and some wire, exceeds of the press of a newspaper
sort of shigeru ban
This is the boat deck of the Mauretania.
The Mauretania was built by the shipbuilders Swan Hunter and Wigham Richardson Ltd, at the Wallsend shipyard.
RMS MAURETANIA was one of the most famous ships ever built on Tyneside.
Ref number: TWAS:DS.SWH/4/PH/7/6/51
(Copyright) We're happy for you to share this digital image within the spirit of The Commons. Please cite 'Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums' when reusing. Certain restrictions on high quality reproductions and commercial use of the original physical version apply though; if you're unsure please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk.
To purchase a hi-res copy please email archives@twmuseums.org.uk quoting the title and reference number.
Universal Studios Florida is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. Opened on June 7, 1990, the park's theme is the entertainment industry, in particular movies and television. Universal Studios Florida inspires its guests to "ride the movies", and it features numerous attractions and live shows. The park is one component of the larger Universal Orlando Resort.
In 2013, the park hosted an estimated 7.06 million guests, ranking it the eighth-most visited theme park in the United States, and ranking it sixteenth worldwide.[2]
Contents [hide]
1 History 1.1 Park history
1.2 Branding
1.3 Timeline
1.4 Previous attractions
2 Park design 2.1 Production Central
2.2 New York
2.3 San Francisco
2.4 London/Diagon Alley
2.5 World Expo
2.6 Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone
2.7 Hollywood
3 Character appearances
4 Production facilities
5 Annual events 5.1 Grad Bash and Gradventure
5.2 Halloween Horror Nights
5.3 Macy's Holiday Parade
5.4 Mardi Gras
5.5 Rock the Universe
5.6 Summer Concert Series
6 Universal's Express Pass
7 Attendance
8 See also
9 References
10 External links
History[edit]
This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)
The original entrance to the theme park.
Over the years, Universal Studios Florida has not limited itself to attractions based on its own vast film library. It has occasionally licensed popular characters from other rival studios, many of whom did not operate theme parks themselves. Some examples include Ghostbusters and Men in Black, (Sony's Columbia Pictures), The Simpsons (20th Century Fox) and Shrek (DreamWorks Animation).
Many of the park's past and present attractions were developed with the actual creators of the films they were based on, and feature the original stars as part of the experience. Steven Spielberg helped create E.T. Adventure and was a creative consultant for Back to the Future: The Ride, Twister...Ride it Out, An American Tail Theatre, Jaws, Men in Black: Alien Attack and Transformers: The Ride.
In many current rides, the original stars reprised their film roles including: Rip Torn and Will Smith in Men in Black: Alien Attack, Brendan Fraser for Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride, Bill Paxton and Helen Hunt in Twister...Ride it Out, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong and Linda Hamilton reprised their roles for Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time, Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz, and John Lithgow for Shrek 4D, Steve Carell, Miranda Cosgrove, Dana Gaier, and Elsie Fisher reprised their roles from Despicable Me for Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, and Peter Cullen and Frank Welker reprised their roles as Optimus Prime and Megatron for Transformers: The Ride.
In many former rides, the many original stars were also to reprise their film roles such as: Christopher Lloyd and Thomas F. Wilson in Back to the Future: The Ride, Roy Scheider recorded a voice over for the conclusion of Jaws, Alfred Hitchcock and Anthony Perkins appeared in Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies, additionally, various Nicktoon voice actors reprised their roles in Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast.
Park history[edit]
From its inception in 1982,[3] Universal Studios Florida was designed as a theme park and a working studio. It was also the first time that Universal Studios had constructed an amusement park "from the ground up." However, the proposed project was put on hold until 1986, when a meeting between Steven Spielberg, a co-founder for the park, and Peter N. Alexander prompted for the creation of a Back to the Future simulator ride in addition to the already planned King Kong based ride.[4]
A major component of the original park in Hollywood is its studio tour, which featured several special-effects exhibits and encounters built into the tour, such as an attack by the great white shark from the film Jaws. For its Florida park, Universal Studios took the concepts of the Hollywood tour scenes and developed them into larger, stand-alone attractions. As an example, in Hollywood, the studio tour trams travel close to a shoreline and are "attacked" by Jaws before they travel to the next part of the tour. In Florida, guests entered the "Jaws" attraction and would board a boat touring the fictitious Amity Harbor, where they encountered the shark, then exited back into the park at the conclusion of the attraction. Universal Studios Florida originally had a Studio Tour attraction that visited the production facilities, but that tour has since been discontinued.
Branding[edit]
Previous slogans for Universal Studios Florida were: See the Stars. Ride the Movies. (1990 - 1998); No one makes believe like we do! (1990 - 1998); Ride the Movies (1998 - 2008); Jump into the Action (2008–2012). The current slogan is: Experience the Movies (2012–present).
Timeline[edit]
1986: Land clearing takes place on the swamp land purchased by MCA/Universal that would hold the park.
1987: Universal Studios Florida is announced at a press conference on the Hollywood property, with a planned opening date of December 1989.
1988: Universal Studios Florida's opening date is delayed from December, 1989 to May 1, 1990. Shortly following, MCA/Universal releases a video detailing the future park, which stars Christopher Lloyd as the Universal character Doc Brown interacting with the various attractions at the Florida park.[5] Universal Studios allows guests to witness the production of television shows and motion pictures in the Florida park's soundstages in middle 1988, while the rest of the studio/park is still under construction.[6]
1989: MCA/Universal Studios claims that The Walt Disney Company and its CEO, Michael Eisner copied several concepts of the Universal Studios Florida park, and integrated them into Disney's recently opened Disney/MGM Studios park.[7]
1990: On January 31, Universal Studios Florida's opening date is again delayed from May 1, 1990 to June 7, 1990.[8] Universal Studios Florida begins soft openings for the general public in late May.[9] Many of the park's attractions are not yet open at the time, and still under testing. Universal Studios Florida is officially opened with a grand opening style ceremony on June 7.[10] The park opens with five themed areas: The Front Lot (entrance area), Production Central, New York, San Francisco/Amity, Expo Center, Hollywood as well as a Lagoon located in the center of the park. The Front Lot and Production Central areas are referred to as "In Production", the New York section is referred to as "Now Shooting", the San Francisco and Amity sections are referred to as "On Location" and the Expo Center area is referred to as "The World of CineMagic Center". Nickelodeon Studios also opened on this day where there was a grand opening ceremony hosted by Marc Summers. Due to massive technical problems with the original Kongfrontation, Earthquake: The Big One and Jaws rides, Universal begins a temporary voucher service to allow guests to re-visit the studio/park when the attractions are operating.[10] Jaws is temporarily closed by Universal on September 30 due to persistent major technical problems. During the shut-down, Universal sues the original designer of the Jaws ride,[11] Ride & Show Engineering, and hires Totally Fun Company to create a re-designed version of most of the ride.
1991: Universal adds four new attractions to the park: The Blues Brothers Show, StreetBusters, The Screen Test Home Video Adventure and How to Make a Mega Movie Deal.[12] Back to the Future: The Ride officially opens in the World Expo Center area of the park, in a grand opening ceremony.[13] The ride is considered to be a success, and receives positive reception from theme park critics.[14] Fright Nights debuts at the park. In 1992, it is renamed to Halloween Horror Nights.
1993: Jaws is re-opened, with many scenes altered. MCA/Universal announces plans to expand Universal Studios Florida into the Universal City, Florida resort complex, including a second theme park and multiple hotels.[15]
1995: Universal Studios Florida celebrates its 5th anniversary. A Day in the Park with Barney opens in the World Expo area. The Production Studio Tour is closed due to a dwindle in the studios' recent Film/TV production.
1996: Terminator 2: 3-D Battle Across Time opens in the Hollywood area.[16]
1997: Universal announces that Ghostbusters Spooktacular will be replaced by Twister...Ride it Out, with a planned opening date of Spring 1998[17] Universal Studios announces that the sole Studio park will be expanded into the Universal Studios Escape, including the Islands of Adventure park, Universal CityWalk Orlando and multiple hotels. The Islands of Adventure Preview Center opens in the New York area, replacing The Screen Test Home Video Adventure. It is meant to give guests a preview of the up-coming Islands of Adventure park, as well as expansion of the Studio park into the Universal Studios Escape resort.
1998: The expansion begins as the original open parking lot for Universal Studios Florida is demolished and replaced by CityWalk and a parking garage complex.[18] Universal delays the opening of Twister...Ride it Out from March, 1998 to May 4, 1998 out of respect for the 42 deaths caused by a recent El Nino outbreak of tornadoes in the central Florida area. Twister...Ride it Out opens in the New York area, replacing Ghostbusters Spooktacular.[19] A new area of the park, Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone, is officially opened, holding the attractions Curious George Goes to Town, StarToons and the previously opened Fievel's Playland, E.T. Adventure, Animal Actors Stage and A Day in the Park with Barney; CityWalk opens outside of the park.
1999: Woody Woodpecker's Nuthouse Coaster opens in the Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone area. Islands of Adventure opens next door to Universal Studios Florida.[20]
2000: Men in Black: Alien Attack opens in the World Expo area, on the former site of The Swamp Thing Set. Universal Studios Florida's 10th anniversary celebration.
2001: Animal Planet Live opens, replacing Animal Actors Stage.
2002: Universal Studios Escape is renamed Universal Orlando Resort. Kongfrontation closes in a closing ceremony. Halloween Horror Nights is moved to Islands of Adventure. Macy's Holiday Parade debuts at the park.
2003: Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast opens, replacing The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera.[21] Shrek 4-D opens with Donkey's Photo Finish, replacing Alfred Hitchcock: The Art of Making Movies and Stage 54 respectively.[22]
2004: Revenge of the Mummy: The Ride opens, replacing Kongfrontation.[23] Halloween Horror Nights takes place in both Universal Studios Florida and Islands of Adventure.
2005: Universal Express Plus is introduced, replacing Universal Express. Nickelodeon Studios closes after nearly 15 years. Fear Factor Live opens, replacing The Wild Wild Wild West Stunt Show. Universal Studios Florida celebrates its 15th anniversary.
2006: Delancey Street Preview Center opens in the New York area. Universal 360: A Cinesphere Spectacular opens, replacing Dynamite Nights Stunt Spectacular. Animal Planet Live is closed, and replaced by Animal Actors on Location. Halloween Horror Nights returns to Universal Studios Florida for its "Sweet 16".
2007: Back to the Future: The Ride closes on March 30.[24] Blue Man Group Sharp Aquos Theatre opens in CityWalk, replacing Nickelodeon Studios. Earthquake: The Big One closes in the San Francisco area on November 5.
2008: Disaster!: A Major Motion Picture Ride...Starring You! opens, replacing Earthquake: The Big One.[25] Universal announces Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, with a planned opening of Spring 2009. The Simpsons Ride opens, replacing Back to the Future: The Ride.[26]
2009: The Universal Music Plaza Stage opens, replacing The Boneyard. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit opens.
2010: The 20th anniversary of Universal Studios Florida in June, as well as Halloween Horror Nights in October.
2011: The 10th anniversary of Macy's Holiday Parade at the park.[27]
2012: Jaws and the surrounding Amity themed area closes, as announced on December 2, 2011.[28] Universal announces the additions of Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories and Universal's Superstar Parade to the park, with openings on May 8, 2012.[29] Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem, opens replacing Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast; as announced on March 14, 2011 as "...one of many exciting things planned for the next couple of years".[30] Universal Orlando Resort announced Transformers: The Ride will officially open in the summer of 2013, replacing Soundstages 44 and 54, which were demolished on June 24, 2012.[31] SpongeBob StorePants,a gift shop themed after SpongeBob SquarePants opened in Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone replacing the Universal Cartoon Store
2013: The opening date for Transformers The Ride is announced for June 20, 2013. Details of The Wizarding World of Harry Potter expansion are officially announced. Details for the new Simpsons Land are announced and expected to open in the summer of 2013. Transformers: The Ride officially opens in the Production Central area replacing Soundstage 44. Simpsons Fast Food Boulevard (renamed Springfield U.S.A.) concludes its expansion as it includes one new ride: Kang and Kodos Twirl 'n' Hurl.
2014: The opening date for The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Diagon Alley is announced for July 8, 2014 amid the Diagon Alley preview red carpet premiere on June 18, 2014 with Domhnall Gleeson, Bonnie Wright, Evanna Lynch, Matthew Lewis, James and Oliver Phelps, Tom Felton, Robbie Coltrane, Warwick Davis and Helena Bonham Carter attending the premiere. King's Cross station opens on July 1, 2014 as well as the Hogwarts Express Hogsmeade station at Universal's Islands of Adventure, connecting park visitors to both theme Harry Potter theme parks via a full scale replica of the train that appears in the Harry Potter film series. Diagon Alley officially opens, replacing Jaws and the Amity section of the park.
Previous attractions[edit]
Main article: List of former Universal Studios Florida attractions
The previous icon of the Jaws ride is still a popular photo spot.
Like all theme parks, attractions are sometimes closed due to aging and replaced with more contemporary attractions. Universal has seen this happen several times. Some notable closures include Kongfrontation, Back to the Future: The Ride, The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera and Jaws. The closures of Kongfrontation, Back to the Future, and Jaws have been given homages by the park to honor veteran visitors who revered the former rides.
Park design[edit]
Main article: List of Universal Studios Florida attractions
Universal Studios Florida features seven themed areas all situated around a large lagoon. In 2012, this lagoon was the site of Universal’s Cinematic Spectacular: 100 Years of Movie Memories, a thematic display that showcased scenes from various Universal films, featuring lasers, projectors and fountains, and pyrotechnics.
The seven surrounding themed areas, clockwise from the entrance, are Production Central, New York, San Francisco, London/Diagon Alley, World Expo, Woody Woodpecker's Kidzone and Hollywood. Each area features a combination of rides, shows, attractions, character appearances, dining outlets and merchandise stores. A new area, based on Harry Potter's Diagon Alley was added to the park in the July of 2014.
Production Central[edit]
Ride
Year opened
Manufacturer
Despicable Me: Minion Mayhem 2012 Intamin
Shrek 4-D 2003 PDI/DreamWorks
Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit 2009 Maurer Söhne
Transformers: The Ride 3D 2013 Oceaneering International
The Universal Music Plaza Stage 2009
The area is also home to a variety of dining outlets and merchandise shops. Food and beverage items can be purchased from Beverly Hills Boulangerie or Universal Studios' Classic Monsters Cafe while merchandise can be bought from a variety of themed stores including Universal Studios Store, Studio Sweets, It's a Wrap!, Super Silly Stuff, Shrek's Ye Olde Souvenir Shoppe, and Transformers: Supply Vault.[32][33]
Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport. Maia - Portugal
Olympus XA2 + Fujichrome Velvia 50 (Expired April 2004)
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the genus Ulmus in the family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North America and Eurasia, presently ranging southward in the Middle East to Lebanon and Israel, and across the Equator in the Far East into Indonesia.
Elms are components of many kinds of natural forests. Moreover, during the 19th and early 20th centuries, many species and cultivars were also planted as ornamental street, garden, and park trees in Europe, North America, and parts of the Southern Hemisphere, notably Australasia. Some individual elms reached great size and age. However, in recent decades, most mature elms of European or North American origin have died from Dutch elm disease, caused by a microfungus dispersed by bark beetles. In response, disease-resistant cultivars have been developed, capable of restoring the elm to forestry and landscaping.
Description
The genus is hermaphroditic, having apetalous perfect flowers which are wind-pollinated. Elm leaves are alternate, with simple, single- or, most commonly, doubly serrate margins, usually asymmetric at the base and acuminate at the apex. The fruit is a round wind-dispersed samara flushed with chlorophyll, facilitating photosynthesis before the leaves emerge. The samarae are very light, those of British elms numbering around 50,000 to the pound (454 g). (Very rarely anomalous samarae occur with more than two wings.) All species are tolerant of a wide range of soils and pH levels but, with few exceptions, demand good drainage. The elm tree can grow to great height, the American elm in excess of 30 m (100 ft), often with a forked trunk creating a vase profile.
Taxonomy
There are about 30 to 40 species of Ulmus (elm); the ambiguity in number results from difficulty in delineating species, owing to the ease of hybridization between them and the development of local seed-sterile vegetatively propagated microspecies in some areas, mainly in the Ulmus field elm (Ulmus minor) group. Oliver Rackham describes Ulmus as the most critical genus in the entire British flora, adding that 'species and varieties are a distinction in the human mind rather than a measured degree of genetic variation'. Eight species are endemic to North America and three to Europe, but the greatest diversity is in Asia with approximately two dozen species. The oldest fossils of Ulmus are leaves dating Paleocene, found across the Northern Hemisphere.
The classification adopted in the List of elm species is largely based on that established by Brummitt. A large number of synonyms have accumulated over the last three centuries; their currently accepted names can be found in the list of Elm synonyms and accepted names.
Botanists who study elms and argue over elm identification and classification are called "pteleologists", from the Greek πτελέα (elm).
As part of the suborder urticalean rosids, they are distantly related to cannabis, mulberries, figs, hops, and nettles.
Elm propagation methods vary according to elm type and location, and the plantsman's needs. Native species may be propagated by seed. In their natural setting, native species, such as wych elm and European white elm in central and northern Europe and field elm in southern Europe, set viable seed in "favourable" seasons. Optimal conditions occur after a late warm spring. After pollination, seeds of spring-flowering elms ripen and fall at the start of summer (June); they remain viable for only a few days. They are planted in sandy potting soil at a depth of 1 cm, and germinate in three weeks. Slow-germinating American elm will remain dormant until the second season. Seeds from autumn-flowering elms ripen in the fall and germinate in the spring. Since elms may hybridize within and between species, seed propagation entails a hybridisation risk. In unfavourable seasons, elm seeds are usually sterile. Elms outside their natural range, such as English elm U. minor 'Atinia', and elms unable to pollinate because pollen sources are genetically identical, are sterile and are propagated by vegetative reproduction. Vegetative reproduction is also used to produce genetically identical elms (clones). Methods include the winter transplanting of root suckers; taking hardwood cuttings from vigorous one-year-old shoots in late winter, taking root cuttings in early spring; taking softwood cuttings in early summer; grafting; ground and air layering; and micropropagation. A bottom heat of 18 °C and humid conditions are maintained for hard- and softwood cuttings. The transplanting of root suckers remains the easiest most and common propagation method for European field elm and its hybrids. For specimen urban elms, grafting to wych-elm rootstock may be used to eliminate suckering or to ensure stronger root growth. The mutant-elm cultivars are usually grafted, the "weeping" elms 'Camperdown' and 'Horizontalis' at 2–3 m (7–10 ft), the dwarf cultivars 'Nana' and 'Jacqueline Hillier' at ground level. Since the Siberian elm is drought tolerant, in dry countries, new varieties of elm are often root-grafted onto this species.
Dutch elm disease (DED) devastated elms throughout Europe and much of North America in the second half of the 20th century. It derives its name "Dutch" from the first description of the disease and its cause in the 1920s by Dutch botanists Bea Schwarz and Christina Johanna Buisman. Owing to its geographical isolation and effective quarantine enforcement, Australia has so far remained unaffected by DED, as have the provinces of Alberta and British Columbia in western Canada.
DED is caused by a microfungus transmitted by two species of Scolytus elm-bark beetles, which act as vectors. The disease affects all species of elms native to North America and Europe, but many Asiatic species have evolved antifungal genes and are resistant. Fungal spores, introduced into wounds in the tree caused by the beetles, invade the xylem or vascular system. The tree responds by producing tyloses, effectively blocking the flow from roots to leaves. Woodland trees in North America are not quite as susceptible to the disease because they usually lack the root grafting of the urban elms and are somewhat more isolated from each other. In France, inoculation with the fungus of over 300 clones of the European species failed to find a single variety that possessed of any significant resistance.
The first, less aggressive strain of the disease fungus, Ophiostoma ulmi, arrived in Europe from Asia in 1910, and was accidentally introduced to North America in 1928. It was steadily weakened by viruses in Europe and had all but disappeared by the 1940s. However, the disease had a much greater and longer-lasting impact in North America, owing to the greater susceptibility of the American elm, Ulmus americana, which masked the emergence of the second, far more virulent strain of the disease Ophiostoma novo-ulmi. It appeared in the United States sometime in the 1940s, and was originally believed to be a mutation of O. ulmi. Limited gene flow from O. ulmi to O. novo-ulmi was probably responsible for the creation of the North American subspecies O. novo-ulmi subsp. americana. It was first recognized in Britain in the early 1970s, believed to have been introduced via a cargo of Canadian rock elm destined for the boatbuilding industry, and rapidly eradicated most of the mature elms from western Europe. A second subspecies, O. novo-ulmi subsp. novo-ulmi, caused similar devastation in Eastern Europe and Central This subspecies, which was introduced to North America, and like O. ulmi, is thought to have originated in Asia. The two subspecies have now hybridized in Europe where their ranges have overlapped. The hypothesis that O. novo-ulmi arose from a hybrid of the original O. ulmi and another strain endemic to the Himalayas, Ophiostoma himal-ulmi, is now discredited.
No sign indicates the current pandemic is waning, and no evidence has been found of a susceptibility of the fungus to a disease of its own caused by d-factors: naturally occurring virus-like agents that severely debilitated the original O. ulmi and reduced its sporulation.
Elm phloem necrosis
Elm phloem necrosis (elm yellows) is a disease of elm trees that is spread by leafhoppers or by root grafts. This very aggressive disease, with no known cure, occurs in the Eastern United States, southern Ontario in Canada, and Europe. It is caused by phytoplasmas that infect the phloem (inner bark) of the tree. Infection and death of the phloem effectively girdles the tree and stops the flow of water and nutrients. The disease affects both wild-growing and cultivated trees. Occasionally, cutting the infected tree before the disease completely establishes itself and cleanup and prompt disposal of infected matter has resulted in the plant's survival via stump sprouts.
Most serious of the elm pests is the elm leaf beetle Xanthogaleruca luteola, which can decimate foliage, although rarely with fatal results. The beetle was accidentally introduced to North America from Europe. Another unwelcome immigrant to North America is the Japanese beetle Popillia japonica. In both instances, the beetles cause far more damage in North America owing to the absence of the predators in their native lands. In Australia, introduced elm trees are sometimes used as food plants by the larvae of hepialid moths of the genus Aenetus. These burrow horizontally into the trunk then vertically down. Circa 2000, the Asian Zig-zag sawfly Aproceros leucopoda appeared in Europe and North America, although in England, its impact has been minimal and it is no longer monitored.
One of the earliest of ornamental elms was the ball-headed graft narvan elm, Ulmus minor 'Umbraculifera', cultivated from time immemorial in Persia as a shade tree and widely planted in cities through much of south-west and central Asia. From the 18th century to the early 20th century, elms, whether species, hybrids, or cultivars, were among the most widely planted ornamental trees in both Europe and North America. They were particularly popular as a street tree in avenue plantings in towns and cities, creating high-tunnelled effects. Their quick growth and variety of foliage and forms, their tolerance of air-pollution, and the comparatively rapid decomposition of their leaf litter in the fall were further advantages.
In North America, the species most commonly planted was the American elm (U. americana), which had unique properties that made it ideal for such use - rapid growth, adaptation to a broad range of climates and soils, strong wood, resistance to wind damage, and vase-like growth habit requiring minimal pruning. In Europe, the wych elm (U. glabra) and the field elm (U. minor) were the most widely planted in the countryside, the former in northern areas including Scandinavia and northern Britain, the latter further south. The hybrid between these two, Dutch elm (U. × hollandica), occurs naturally and was also commonly planted. In much of England, the English elm later came to dominate the horticultural landscape. Most commonly planted in hedgerows, it sometimes occurred in densities over 1000/km2. In south-eastern Australia and New Zealand, large numbers of English and Dutch elms, as well as other species and cultivars, were planted as ornamentals following their introduction in the 19th century, while in northern Japan Japanese elm (U. davidiana var. japonica) was widely planted as a street tree. From about 1850 to 1920, the most prized small ornamental elm in parks and gardens was the 'Camperdown' elm (U. glabra 'Camperdownii'), a contorted, weeping cultivar of the wych elm grafted on to a nonweeping elm trunk to give a wide, spreading, and weeping fountain shape in large garden spaces.
In northern Europe, elms were, moreover, among the few trees tolerant of saline deposits from sea spray, which can cause "salt-burning" and die-back. This tolerance made elms reliable both as shelterbelt trees exposed to sea wind, in particular along the coastlines of southern and western Britain and in the Low Countries, and as trees for coastal towns and cities.
This belle époque lasted until the First World War, when as a consequence of hostilities, notably in Germany, whence at least 40 cultivars originated, and of the outbreak at about the same time of the early strain of DED, Ophiostoma ulmi, the elm began its slide into horticultural decline. The devastation caused by the Second World War, and the demise in 1944 of the huge Späth nursery in Berlin, only accelerated the process. The outbreak of the new, three times more virulent, strain of DED Ophiostoma novo-ulmi in the late 1960s, brought the tree to its nadir.
Since around 1990, the elm has enjoyed a renaissance through the successful development in North America and Europe of cultivars highly resistant to DED. Consequently, the total number of named cultivars, ancient and modern, now exceeds 300, although many of the older clones, possibly over 120, have been lost to cultivation. Some of the latter, however, were by today's standards inadequately described or illustrated before the pandemic, and a number may survive, or have regenerated, unrecognised. Enthusiasm for the newer clones often remains low owing to the poor performance of earlier, supposedly disease-resistant Dutch trees released in the 1960s and 1970s. In the Netherlands, sales of elm cultivars slumped from over 56,000 in 1989 to just 6,800 in 2004, whilst in the UK, only four of the new American and European releases were commercially available in 2008.
Efforts to develop DED-resistant cultivars began in the Netherlands in 1928 and continued, uninterrupted by World War II, until 1992. Similar programmes were initiated in North America (1937), Italy (1978), and Spain (1986). Research has followed two paths:
Species and species cultivars
In North America, careful selection has produced a number of trees resistant not only to DED, but also to the droughts and cold winters that occur within the continent. Research in the United States has concentrated on the American elm (U. americana), resulting in the release of DED-resistant clones, notably the cultivars 'Valley Forge' and 'Jefferson'. Much work has also been done into the selection of disease-resistant Asiatic species and cultivars.
In 1993, Mariam B. Sticklen and James L. Sherald reported the results of experiments funded by the U.S. National Park Service and conducted at Michigan State University in East Lansing that were designed to apply genetic engineering techniques to the development of DED-resistant strains of American elm trees. In 2007, A. E. Newhouse and F. Schrodt of the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse reported that young transgenic American elm trees had shown reduced DED symptoms and normal mycorrhizal colonization.
In Europe, the European white elm (U. laevis) has received much attention. While this elm has little innate resistance to DED, it is not favoured by the vector bark beetles. Thus it only becomes colonized and infected when no other elms are available, a rare situation in western Europe. Research in Spain has suggested that it may be the presence of a triterpene, alnulin, which makes the tree bark unattractive to the beetle species that spread the disease. This possibility, though, has not been conclusively proven. More recently, field elms Ulmus minor highly resistant to DED have been discovered in Spain, and form the basis of a major breeding programme.
Hybrid cultivars
Owing to their innate resistance to DED, Asiatic species have been crossed with European species, or with other Asiatic elms, to produce trees that are both highly resistant to disease and tolerant of native climates. After a number of false dawns in the 1970s, this approach has produced a range of reliable hybrid cultivars now commercially available in North America and Europe. Disease resistance is invariably carried by the female parent.
Some of these cultivars, notably those with the Siberian elm (Ulmus pumila) in their ancestry, lack the forms for which the iconic American elm and English elm were prized. Moreover, several exported to northwestern Europe have proven unsuited to the maritime climate conditions there, notably because of their intolerance of anoxic conditions resulting from ponding on poorly drained soils in winter. Dutch hybridizations invariably included the Himalayan elm (Ulmus wallichiana) as a source of antifungal genes and have proven more tolerant of wet ground; they should also ultimately reach a greater size. However, the susceptibility of the cultivar 'Lobel', used as a control in Italian trials, to elm yellows has now (2014) raised a question mark over all the Dutch clones.
Several highly resistant Ulmus cultivars have been released since 2000 by the Institute of Plant Protection in Florence, most commonly featuring crosses of the Dutch cultivar 'Plantijn' with the Siberian elm to produce resistant trees better adapted to the Mediterranean climate.
Cautions regarding novel cultivars
Elms take many decades to grow to maturity, and as the introduction of these disease-resistant cultivars is relatively recent, their long-term performance and ultimate size and form cannot be predicted with certainty. The National Elm Trial in North America, begun in 2005, is a nationwide trial to assess strengths and weaknesses of the 19 leading cultivars raised in the US over a 10-year period; European cultivars have been excluded. Meanwhile, in Europe, American and European cultivars are being assessed in field trials started in 2000 by the UK charity Butterfly Conservation.
The oldest American elm trees in New York City's Central Park were planted in the 1860s by Frederick Law Olmsted, making them among the oldest stands of American elms in the world. Along the Mall and Literary Walk four lines of American elms stretch over the walkway forming a cathedral-like covering. A part of New York City's urban ecology, the elms improve air and water quality, reduce erosion and flooding, and decrease air temperatures during warm days.
While the stand is still vulnerable to DED, in the 1980s the Central Park Conservancy undertook aggressive countermeasures such as heavy pruning and removal of extensively diseased trees. These efforts have largely been successful in saving the majority of the trees, although several are still lost each year. Younger American elms that have been planted in Central Park since the outbreak are of the DED-resistant 'Princeton' and 'Valley Forge' cultivars.
Several rows of American elm trees that the National Park Service (NPS) first planted during the 1930s line much of the 1.9-mile-length (3 km) of the National Mall in Washington, DC. DED first appeared on the trees during the 1950s and reached a peak in the 1970s. The NPS used a number of methods to control the epidemic, including sanitation, pruning, injecting trees with fungicide, and replanting with DED-resistant cultivars. The NPS combated the disease's local insect vector, the smaller European elm bark beetle (Scolytus multistriatus), by trapping and by spraying with insecticides. As a result, the population of American elms planted on the Mall and its surrounding areas has remained intact for more than 80 years.
Elm wood is valued for its interlocking grain, and consequent resistance to splitting, with significant uses in wagon-wheel hubs, chair seats, and coffins. The bodies of Japanese Taiko drums are often cut from the wood of old elm trees, as the wood's resistance to splitting is highly desired for nailing the skins to them, and a set of three or more is often cut from the same tree. The elm's wood bends well and distorts easily. The often long, straight trunks were favoured as a source of timber for keels in ship construction. Elm is also prized by bowyers; of the ancient bows found in Europe, a large portion are elm. During the Middle Ages, elm was also used to make longbows if yew were unavailable.
The first written references to elm occur in the Linear B lists of military equipment at Knossos in the Mycenaean period. Several of the chariots are of elm (" πτε-ρε-ϝα ", pte-re-wa), and the lists twice mention wheels of elmwood. Hesiod says that ploughs in Ancient Greece were also made partly of elm.
The density of elm wood varies between species, but averages around 560 kg/m3.
Elm wood is also resistant to decay when permanently wet, and hollowed trunks were widely used as water pipes during the medieval period in Europe. Elm was also used as piers in the construction of the original London Bridge, but this resistance to decay in water does not extend to ground contact.
Viticulture
The Romans, and more recently the Italians, planted elms in vineyards as supports for vines. Lopped at 3 m, the elms' quick growth, twiggy lateral branches, light shade, and root suckering made them ideal trees for this purpose. The lopped branches were used for fodder and firewood. Ovid in his Amores characterizes the elm as "loving the vine": ulmus amat vitem, vitis non deserit ulmum (the elm loves the vine, the vine does not desert the elm), and the ancients spoke of the "marriage" between elm and vine.
Medicinal products
The mucilaginous inner bark of the slippery elm (Ulmus rubra) has long been used as a demulcent, and is still produced commercially for this purpose in the U.S. with approval for sale as a nutritional supplement by the Food and Drug Administration.
Fodder
Elms also have a long history of cultivation for fodder, with the leafy branches cut to feed livestock. The practice continues today in the Himalaya, where it contributes to serious deforestation.
Biomass
As fossil fuel resources diminish, increasing attention is being paid to trees as sources of energy. In Italy, the Istituto per la Protezione delle Piante is (2012) in the process of releasing to commerce very fast-growing elm cultivars, able to increase in height by more than 2 m (6 ft) per year.
Food
Elm bark, cut into strips and boiled, sustained much of the rural population of Norway during the great famine of 1812. The seeds are particularly nutritious, containing 45% crude protein, and less than 7% fibre by dry mass.
Elm has been listed as one of the 38 substances that are used to prepare Bach flower remedies, a kind of alternative medicine.
Bonsai
Chinese elm (Ulmus parvifolia) is a popular choice for bonsai owing to its tolerance of severe pruning.
Genetic resource conservation
In 1997, a European Union elm project was initiated, its aim to coordinate the conservation of all the elm genetic resources of the member states and, among other things, to assess their resistance to Dutch elm disease. Accordingly, over 300 clones were selected and propagated for testing.
Culture
Notable elm trees
Many elm trees of various kinds have attained great size or otherwise become particularly noteworthy.
In art
Many artists have admired elms for the ease and grace of their branching and foliage, and have painted them with sensitivity. Elms are a recurring element in the landscapes and studies of, for example, John Constable, Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller, Frederick Childe Hassam, Karel Klinkenberg, and George Inness.
In Greek mythology, the nymph Ptelea (Πτελέα, Elm) was one of the eight hamadryads, nymphs of the forest and daughters of Oxylos and Hamadryas. In his Hymn to Artemis, poet Callimachus (third century BC) tells how, at the age of three, the infant goddess Artemis practised her newly acquired silver bow and arrows, made for her by Hephaestus and the Cyclopes, by shooting first at an elm, then at an oak, before turning her aim on a wild animal:
πρῶτον ἐπὶ πτελέην, τὸ δὲ δεύτερον ἧκας ἐπὶ δρῦν, τὸ τρίτον αὖτ᾽ ἐπὶ θῆρα.
The first reference in literature to elms occurs in the Iliad. When Eetion, father of Andromache, is killed by Achilles during the Trojan War, the mountain nymphs plant elms on his tomb ("περί δὲ πτελέας ἐφύτευσαν νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες, κoῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχoιo"). Also in the Iliad, when the River Scamander, indignant at the sight of so many corpses in his water, overflows and threatens to drown Achilles, the latter grasps a branch of a great elm in an attempt to save himself ("ὁ δὲ πτελέην ἕλε χερσὶν εὐφυέα μεγάλην".
The nymphs also planted elms on the tomb in the Thracian Chersonese of "great-hearted Protesilaus" ("μεγάθυμου Πρωτεσιλάου"), the first Greek to fall in the Trojan War. These elms grew to be the tallest in the known world, but when their topmost branches saw far off the ruins of Troy, they immediately withered, so great still was the bitterness of the hero buried below, who had been loved by Laodamia and slain by Hector. The story is the subject of a poem by Antiphilus of Byzantium (first century AD) in the Palatine Anthology:
Θεσσαλὲ Πρωτεσίλαε, σὲ μὲν πολὺς ᾄσεται αἰών,
Tρoίᾳ ὀφειλoμένoυ πτώματος ἀρξάμενoν•
σᾶμα δὲ τοι πτελέῃσι συνηρεφὲς ἀμφικoμεῦση
Nύμφαι, ἀπεχθoμένης Ἰλίoυ ἀντιπέρας.
Δένδρα δὲ δυσμήνιτα, καὶ ἤν ποτε τεῖχoς ἴδωσι
Tρώϊον, αὐαλέην φυλλοχoεῦντι κόμην.
ὅσσoς ἐν ἡρώεσσι τότ᾽ ἦν χόλoς, oὗ μέρoς ἀκμὴν
ἐχθρὸν ἐν ἀψύχoις σώζεται ἀκρέμoσιν.
[:Thessalian Protesilaos, a long age shall sing your praises,
Of the destined dead at Troy the first;
Your tomb with thick-foliaged elms they covered,
The nymphs, across the water from hated Ilion.
Trees full of anger; and whenever that wall they see,
Of Troy, the leaves in their upper crown wither and fall.
So great in the heroes was the bitterness then, some of which still
Remembers, hostile, in the soulless upper branches.]
Protesilaus had been king of Pteleos (Πτελεός) in Thessaly, which took its name from the abundant elms (πτελέoι) in the region.
Elms occur often in pastoral poetry, where they symbolise the idyllic life, their shade being mentioned as a place of special coolness and peace. In the first Idyll of Theocritus (third century BC), for example, the goatherd invites the shepherd to sit "here beneath the elm" ("δεῦρ' ὑπὸ τὰν πτελέαν") and sing. Beside elms, Theocritus places "the sacred water" ("το ἱερὸν ὕδωρ") of the Springs of the Nymphs and the shrines to the nymphs.
Aside from references literal and metaphorical to the elm and vine theme, the tree occurs in Latin literature in the Elm of Dreams in the Aeneid. When the Sibyl of Cumae leads Aeneas down to the Underworld, one of the sights is the Stygian Elm:
In medio ramos annosaque bracchia pandit
ulmus opaca, ingens, quam sedem somnia vulgo
uana tenere ferunt, foliisque sub omnibus haerent.
:Spreads in the midst her boughs and agéd arms
an elm, huge, shadowy, where vain dreams, 'tis said,
are wont to roost them, under every leaf close-clinging.]
Virgil refers to a Roman superstition (vulgo) that elms were trees of ill-omen because their fruit seemed to be of no value. It has been noted that two elm-motifs have arisen from classical literature: the 'Paradisal Elm' motif, arising from pastoral idylls and the elm-and-vine theme, and the 'Elm and Death' motif, perhaps arising from Homer's commemorative elms and Virgil's Stygian Elm. Many references to elm in European literature from the Renaissance onwards fit into one or other of these categories.
There are two examples of pteleogenesis (:birth from elms) in world myths. In Germanic and Scandinavian mythology the first woman, Embla, was fashioned from an elm, while in Japanese mythology Kamuy Fuchi, the chief goddess of the Ainu people, "was born from an elm impregnated by the Possessor of the Heavens".
The elm occurs frequently in English literature, one of the best known instances being in Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, where Titania, Queen of the Fairies, addresses her beloved Nick Bottom using an elm-simile. Here, as often in the elm-and-vine motif, the elm is a masculine symbol:
Sleep thou, and I will wind thee in my arms.
... the female Ivy so
Enrings the barky fingers of the Elm.
O, how I love thee! how I dote on thee!
Another of the most famous kisses in English literature, that of Paul and Helen at the start of Forster's Howards End, is stolen beneath a great wych elm.
The elm tree is also referenced in children's literature. An Elm Tree and Three Sisters by Norma Sommerdorf is a children's book about three young sisters who plant a small elm tree in their backyard.
In politics
The cutting of the elm was a diplomatic altercation between the kings of France and England in 1188, during which an elm tree near Gisors in Normandy was felled.
In politics, the elm is associated with revolutions. In England after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, the final victory of parliamentarians over monarchists, and the arrival from Holland, with William III and Mary II, of the Dutch elm hybrid, planting of this cultivar became a fashion among enthusiasts of the new political order.
In the American Revolution, the Liberty Tree was an American white elm in Boston, Massachusetts, in front of which, from 1765, the first resistance meetings were held against British attempts to tax the American colonists without democratic representation. When the British, knowing that the tree was a symbol of rebellion, felled it in 1775, the Americans took to widespread Liberty Elm planting, and sewed elm symbols on to their revolutionary flags. Elm planting by American Presidents later became something of a tradition.
In the French Revolution, too, Les arbres de la liberté (Liberty Trees), often elms, were planted as symbols of revolutionary hopes, the first in Vienne, Isère, in 1790, by a priest inspired by the Boston elm. L'Orme de La Madeleine (:the Elm of La Madeleine), Faycelles, Département de Lot, planted around 1790 and surviving to this day, was a case in point. By contrast, a famous Parisian elm associated with the Ancien Régime, L'Orme de Saint-Gervais in the Place St-Gervais, was felled by the revolutionaries; church authorities planted a new elm in its place in 1846, and an early 20th-century elm stands on the site today. Premier Lionel Jospin, obliged by tradition to plant a tree in the garden of the Hôtel Matignon, the official residence and workplace of Prime Ministers of France, insisted on planting an elm, so-called 'tree of the Left', choosing the new disease-resistant hybrid 'Clone 762' (Ulmus 'Wanoux' = Vada). In the French Republican Calendar, in use from 1792 to 1806, the 12th day of the month Ventôse (= 2 March) was officially named "jour de l'Orme", Day of the Elm.
Liberty Elms were also planted in other countries in Europe to celebrate their revolutions, an example being L'Olmo di Montepaone, L'Albero della Libertà (:the Elm of Montepaone, Liberty Tree) in Montepaone, Calabria, planted in 1799 to commemorate the founding of the democratic Parthenopean Republic, and surviving until it was brought down by a recent storm (it has since been cloned and 'replanted'). After the Greek Revolution of 1821–32, a thousand young elms were brought to Athens from Missolonghi, "Sacred City of the Struggle" against the Turks and scene of Lord Byron's death, and planted in 1839–40 in the National Garden. In an ironic development, feral elms have spread and invaded the grounds of the abandoned Greek royal summer palace at Tatoi in Attica.
In a chance event linking elms and revolution, on the morning of his execution (30 January 1649), walking to the scaffold at the Palace of Whitehall, King Charles I turned to his guards and pointed out, with evident emotion, an elm near the entrance to Spring Gardens that had been planted by his brother in happier days. The tree was said to be still standing in the 1860s.
The International Docking Adapter 3, a critical component for future crewed missions to the International Space Station, is carefully packed away in the unpressurized “trunk” section of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft at the SpaceX facility on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on June 19. It will launch to the orbiting laboratory in July on the company’s 18th commercial resupply mission. The adapter will support future U.S. crewed vehicles visiting the station. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
I think I have a new addiction. These crusty, grungy Rustic Components are my latest creation. I'm having fun dreaming up new color combinations to try. I blogged about it here.
Copyright © 2013 by Ginger Davis Allman The Blue Bottle Tree, all rights reserved.
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