Water Plantain

Any freshwater perennial herb of the genus Alisma, commonly found in lakes, ponds, and ditches. The three or four species are widely distributed throughout the North Temperate Zone and Australia. Water-plantain leaves float or extend out of the water. They are sometimes ribbonlike or grasslike, are without lobes, and are often heart-shaped

Mason, Bobbie Ann

Mason was reared on a dairy farm and first experienced life outside rural Kentucky when she traveled throughout the Midwest as the teenage president of the fan club for a pop quartet, the Hilltoppers. She graduated from the University of Kentucky, Lexington

Quadrilateral

Famous combination of four fortresses mutually supporting one another, during the Austrian rule of northern Italy. The four fortified towns were Mantua, Peschiera, Verona, and Legnago, lying between Lombardy and Venetia; the former two were on the Mincio and the latter two on the Adige. The real value of the Quadrilateral, which gave Austria such a firm hold on Lombardy,

Polk, James K.

During his campaign Polk surprised the country by taking a positive stand on two burning issues of the day. Whereas other candidates hedged on the question of whether to annex Texas, which had been independent of Mexico since 1836, he demanded annexation. Whereas other candidates evaded the problem of joint occupancy of Oregon with England, he openly laid claim to the whole territory that extended as far north as latitude 54°40¢ with the campaign slogan “Fifty-four forty or fight.” His election was close, but it was decisive—a popular plurality of about 38,000 votes and 170 electoral votes against 105 for Clay.

Electronics, Conduction in semiconductors

In semiconductors such as silicon (which is used as the example here), each constituent atom has four outer electrons, each of which pairs with an electron from one of four neighbouring atoms to form the interatomic bonds. Completely pure silicon thus has essentially no electrons available at room temperature for electronic conduction, making it a very poor conductor.

Juan De Fuca Strait

From Cape Flattery and the open Pacific, the strait stretches 80–100 miles (130–160 km) east to join with Haro Strait and touches Whidbey

France, History Of, Philip Augustus

Philip's outstanding achievement was to wrest control from the Plantagenets of most of the domains they held in France. Intervening in struggles between Henry II of England and his sons, Philip won preliminary concessions in 1187 and 1189. He acquired strategic lands on the Norman borders following wars with Henry's sons, King Richard and King John (1196 and 1200). And when, in 1202, John failed

Ramananda

Ramananda left home as a youth and became a sannyasin (ascetic) before settling in Varanasi (Benares) to study Vedic texts, Ramanuja's philosophy,

Tar-baby

In Harris' version,

Scandinavian Literature, Swedish poetry and prose

In the first half of the 17th century, Swedish literature remained limited in scope and quantity. A unique contribution, however, was made by Lars Wivallius, whose lyrics revealed a feeling for nature new to Swedish poetry. With its intervention in the Thirty Years' War, Sweden established itself as a European power, and this led to a development of national pride and culture,

Japanese Deer

Hoofed mammal, a subspecies of sika (q.v.).

Thompson

City, north-central Manitoba, Canada. It lies along the Burntwood River, in the Mystery-Moak lakes area, 130 miles (210 km) north of Lake Winnipeg. Planned in 1956 by the International Nickel Company of Canada and named for John F. Thompson, the company chairman, the community was completed in 1961. Its integrated nickel mining-smelting-refining plant was the first in the Western Hemisphere.

Lauterbrunnen

Town, Bern canton, south-central Switzerland, in the Bernese Oberland, on the Lütschine River, south of Interlaken. The river valley is bounded by impressive cliffs of 1,000–1,500 feet (300–450 m) and is noted for its Alpine streams and waterfalls, from which the name Lauterbrunnen (“Clear Fountains”) is derived. The most notable falls are the Staubbach and the Trümmelbach. The town is a year-round

Han River

Korean  Han-gang  river, northern South Korea, rising in the western slopes of the T'aebaek-sanmaek (mountains) and flowing generally westward across the peninsula through the provinces of Kangwon, Kyonggi, and North Ch'ungch'ong and through the city of Seoul to the Yellow Sea. Of its 319-mile (514-kilometre) length, 200 miles (320 km) are navigable, and it has been a valuable river transportation route since

France, History Of, The prewar years

From 1899 to 1905 a fairly coherent coalition of left-wing and centre parties (the so-called Bloc Républicain) provided France with stable government. The Cabinets headed by Waldeck-Rousseau in 1899–1902 and Émile Combes in 1902–1905 managed to liquidate the Dreyfus affair and to carry through the anticlerical reforms that culminated in the separation of church and state. The Entente Cordiale