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William Kerr (gardener)
William Kerr (died 1814) was a Scottish gardener and plant hunter, the first Western professional full-time plant collector active in China. He also collected in Java and Luzon in the Philippines. Among the plants he sent back to Kew Gardens was the vigorous shrub, at first cosseted in greenhouses, named in his honour, '' Kerria''. Kerr sent back to Britain examples of 238 plants new to European gardeners and to science, without, it appears, stirring far from the European trading sites of Canton and Macao, or Manila. A native of Hawick in the Scottish Borders, he was a gardener at Kew, where he was noted by Sir Joseph Banks, and, following instruction by Banks, sent to China in 1804. He remained eight years. Kerr's finds, discovered in local Chinese gardens and plant nurseries, included '' Euonymus japonicus'', '' Lilium lancifolium'', '' Pieris japonica'', '' Nandina domestica'', '' Begonia grandis'' and the white-flowered '' Rosa banksiae'', named for his patron's wife. Sent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
CRC Press
The CRC Press, LLC is an American publishing group that specializes in producing technical books. Many of their books relate to engineering, science and mathematics. Their scope also includes books on business, forensics and information technology. CRC Press is now a division of Taylor & Francis, itself a subsidiary of Informa. History The CRC Press was founded as the Chemical Rubber Company (CRC) in 1903 by brothers Arthur, Leo and Emanuel Friedman in Cleveland, Ohio, based on an earlier enterprise by Arthur, who had begun selling rubber laboratory aprons in 1900. The company gradually expanded to include sales of laboratory equipment to chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a graduated scientist trained in the study of chemistry, or an officially enrolled student in the field. Chemists study the composition of ...s. In 1913 the CRC offered a short (116-page) manual called the ''Rubber Handboo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the west, and the English Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial counties of Cumbria and Northumberland to the south. The largest settlement is Galashiels, and the administrative centre is Newtown St Boswells. The term "Scottish Borders" is also used for the areas of southern Scotland and northern England that bound the Anglo-Scottish border, namely Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, Northumberland, and Cumbria. The council area occupies approximately the same area as the Shires of Scotland, historic shires of Berwickshire, Peeblesshire, Roxburghshire, and Selkirkshire. History The term Border country, Borders sometimes has a wider use, referring to all of the Counties of Scotland, counties adjoining the English border, also includin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Year Of Birth Missing
A year is a unit of time based on how long it takes the Earth to orbit the Sun. In scientific use, the tropical year (approximately 365 solar days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, 45 seconds) and the sidereal year (about 20 minutes longer) are more exact. The modern calendar year, as reckoned according to the Gregorian calendar, approximates the tropical year by using a system of leap years. The term 'year' is also used to indicate other periods of roughly similar duration, such as the lunar year (a roughly 354-day cycle of twelve of the Moon's phasessee lunar calendar), as well as periods loosely associated with the calendar or astronomical year, such as the seasonal year, the fiscal year, the academic year, etc. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by changes in weather, the hours of daylight, and, consequently, vegetation and soil fertility. In temperate and subpolar regions around the planet, four seasons are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1814 Deaths
Events January * January 1 – War of the Sixth Coalition – The Royal Prussian Army led by Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher crosses the Rhine. * January 3 ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Cattaro: French garrison surrenders to the British after ten days of bombardment. ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Metz: Allied armies lay siege to the French city and fortress of Metz. * January 5 – Mexican War of Independence – Battle of Puruarán: Spanish Royalists defeat Mexican Rebels. * January 11 – War of the Sixth Coalition – Battle of Hoogstraten: Prussian forces under Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von Bülow defeat the French. * January 14 ** Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark cedes the Kingdom of Norway into personal union with Sweden, in exchange for west Pomerania. This marks the end of the real union of Denmark-Norway. ** War of the Sixth Coalition – Siege of Antwerp: Allied forces besiege Fre ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
19th-century Scottish Botanists
The 19th century began on 1 January 1801 (represented by the Roman numerals MDCCCI), and ended on 31 December 1900 (MCM). It was the 9th century of the 2nd millennium. It was characterized by vast social upheaval. Slavery was abolished in much of Europe and the Americas. The First Industrial Revolution, though it began in the late 18th century, expanded beyond its British homeland for the first time during the 19th century, particularly remaking the economies and societies of the Low Countries, France, the Rhineland, Northern Italy, and the Northeastern United States. A few decades later, the Second Industrial Revolution led to ever more massive urbanization and much higher levels of productivity, profit, and prosperity, a pattern that continued into the 20th century. The Catholic Church, in response to the growing influence and power of modernism, secularism and materialism, formed the First Vatican Council in the late 19th century to deal with such problems and confirm ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Opium
Opium (also known as poppy tears, or Lachryma papaveris) is the dried latex obtained from the seed Capsule (fruit), capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which is processed chemically to produce heroin and other synthetic opioids for medicinal use and for the illegal drug trade. Opium's main psychoactive alkaloids, primarily morphine, act on μ-opioid receptors, causing analgesia and addiction with long-term use leading to tolerance, dependence, and increased cancer risk. The latex also contains the closely related opiates codeine and thebaine, and non-analgesic alkaloids such as papaverine and noscapine. The traditional, labor-intensive method of obtaining the latex is to scratch ("score") the immature seed pods (fruits) by hand; the latex leaks out and dries to a sticky yellowish residue that is later scraped off and dehydrated. The English word for opium is loan word, borrowed fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Chinese Repository
''The Chinese Repository'' was a periodical published in Canton between May 1832 and 1851 to inform Protestant missionaries working in Asia about the history and culture of China, of current events, and documents. The world's first major journal of Sinology, it was the brainchild of Elijah Coleman Bridgman, the first American Protestant missionary appointed to China. Bridgman served as its editor until he left for Shanghai in 1847, but continued to contribute articles. James Granger Bridgman succeeded him as editor, until September 1848, when Samuel Wells Williams took charge. 2008. References Further reading * * * Ext ...
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Colombo
Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the financial centre of the island and a tourist destination. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to the Greater Colombo area which includes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the legislative capital of Sri Lanka, and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. Colombo is often referred to as the capital since Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is situated within the Colombo metro area. It is also the administrative capital of the Western Province and the district capital of Colombo District. Colombo is a busy and vibrant city with a mixture of modern life, colonial buildings and monuments. It was made the capital of the island when Sri Lanka was ceded to the British Empire in 1815, retaining its capital status when Sri Lanka gained independence in 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rosa Banksiae
Rosa or De Rosa may refer to: Plants and animals * ''Rosa'' (plant), the genus of roses * Rosa (sea otter), a sea otter that has become popular on the internet *Rosa (cow), a Spanish-born cow People * Rosa (given name) * Rosa (surname) * Santa Rosa (female given name from Latin-a latinized variant of Rose) Places *223 Rosa, an asteroid *Rosa, Alabama, a town, United States * Rosa, Germany, in Thuringia, Germany *Rösa, a village and former municipality in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany * Rosà a town in the province of Vicenza, Veneto, Italy *Monte Rosa, the second highest mountain in the Alps and Western Europe *Republic of South Africa, a southernmost country in Africa. Film and television * ''Rosa'' (1986 film), a Hong Kong film released by Bo Ho Films *''Rosa – A Horse Drama'', a 1993-94 opera by Louis Andriessen on a libretto by Peter Greenaway * "Rosa" (''Doctor Who''), an episode of the eleventh series of ''Doctor Who'' Music *"Rosa", a song by Pixinguinha *De Rosa (band), ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Begonia Grandis
''Begonia grandis'', the hardy begonia, is a species of flowering plant in the family Begoniaceae. This herbaceous perennial has alternate, simple leaves on arching stems. The flowers are pink or white, borne in dichotomously branching cymes from late summer through fall in USDA U.S. Hardiness Zone 7. As the common name "hardy begonia" implies, it is winter hardy in some temperate regions. It can overwinter well in hardiness zone 9a in southwestern Japan as tuberous roots or bulbils (bulbils are formed in axils). Above-ground parts of this plant eventually die as temperature lowers. However, it is generally regarded as hardy to zones 5-6. The varietIes ''Begonia grandis'' subsp. ''evansiana'' and ''Begonia grandis'' subsp. ''evansiana'' var. ''alba'' have gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plan ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nandina Domestica
''Nandina domestica'' ( ) commonly known as nandina, heavenly bamboo or sacred bamboo, is a species of flowering plant in the family Berberidaceae, native to eastern Asia from the Himalayas to Japan. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Nandina''. It is widely grown in gardens as an ornamental plant with a number of cultivars that display bright-red fall foliage in the cool months, and attractive new foliage growth in spring. Although a popular ornamental shrub, the berries are toxic to birds, especially towards the end of the winter when other food sources become scarce. The Latin genus name ''Nandina'' is derived from the Japanese name .Gledhill, David (2008). "The Names of Plants". Cambridge University Press. (hardback), (paperback). pp 145, 268 The specific epithet ''domestica'' means 'domesticated', or 'of the household'. Description Despite the common name "sacred bamboo", it is not a bamboo but an erect evergreen shrub up to tall by wide, with numerous, us ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pieris Japonica
''Pieris japonica'', the Japanese andromeda or Japanese pieris, is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae. It is native to eastern China, Taiwan, and Japan, where it grows in mountain thickets. This medium-sized evergreen shrub or tree is widely cultivated in gardens. Description It grows to tall, occasionally up to 10 metres. Its leaves are arranged alternately and are simple, obovate to oblanceolate in shape, 3 to 9 cm long, with serrated margins. They are lustrous and leathery in texture and dark green in color while new growth is a conspicuous bronze or red eventually turning green. It blooms from early to late spring with drooping trusses of fragrant, white or pink urn-shaped flowers about 10 cm long hanging from the tips of the branches. Each flower is about 5 to 6 mm long and its clusters with their long blooming season provide a decorative effect against the young red leaves. The flowers usually last two or three weeks. The plant is poisonous if cons ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
