An anvil is an instrument on which pieces of metal are laid for the purpose of being hammered. The common smith's anvil is generally made of seven pieces, namely, the core or body; the four corners for the purpose of enlarging its base; the projecting end, which contains a square hole for the reception of a set or chisel to cut off pieces of iron; and the beak or conical end, used for turning pieces of iron into a circular form, etc. These pieces are each separately welded to the core and hammered so as to form a regular surface with the whole. When the anvil has received its due form, it is faced with steel, and is then tempered .in cold water. The smith's anvil is generally placed loose upon a wooden block. The anvil for heavy operations, such as the forging of ordnance and shafting, consists of a huge iron block deeply embedded, and resting on piles of masonry. Research Anvil
Horn is a general term applied to all hard and pointed appendages of the head, as in deer, cattle, etc, but as a term denoting a particular kind of substance nothing should be called horn which is not derived from the epidermis or outer, layer of the integument, whether on the trunk, hoofs, or head.
Horn is a tough, flexible, semi-transparent substance, most liberally developed in the horns of bovine animals, but also found in connection with the 'shell' of the tortoise, the nails, claws, and hoofs of animals, the beak of bird and turtle, etc
Horn is softened very completely by heat, so as to become readily flexible, and to adhere to other pieces similarly softened. True horn consists principally of an albuminoid principle, keratin, with a small portion of gelatine and a little phosphate of lime. In some species of animals the males only have horns, as for instance the stag. In cattle both male and female have horns, though there are also hornless cattle.
Horns differ widely in the case of different animals. Thus the horns of deer consist of bone, and are deciduous; those of the giraffe are independent bones, with a covering of hairy skin; those of oxen, sheep, and antelopes consist of a bony core covered by a horny sheath. The horns of the rhinoceros alone consist exclusively of horny matter. The horns of oxen, sheep, goats, and antelopes are never shed, except in the case of the prong-horned antelope. The number never normally exceeds four, and in the case of deer the horns are branched.
The various kinds of horns were formerly employed for many purposes. The principal formerly used in the arts are those of the ox, buffalo, sheep, and goat. Deer horns were almost exclusively employed for the handles of knives and of sticks and umbrellas. Those which furnish true horn can be softened by heat (usually in boiling water), cut into sheets of various thickness, which sheets may be soldered or welded together at the edges so as to form plates of large dimensions, and were formerly polished and dyed so as to imitate the much more expensive tortoise-shell. The clippings of horn may be welded together in the same manner, and were formerly made into snuff-boxes, powder horns, handles for umbrellas, knives, forks, etc. As horn has the valuable property of taking on and retaining a sharp impression from a die, many highly ornamental articles were also turned out. Combs for the hair were made from the flattened sheets, and out of the solid parts of buffalo horns beautiful carvings were made. Research Horn
The committee reported various devices during several years. William Barton, of Philadelphia, was appointed to submit designs. Sir John Prestwich, an English antiquarian, suggested a design to John Adams in 1779.
Combining the various designs of William Barton and John Prestwich, a seal was adopted on June the 20th, 1782. Arms: Paleways of thirteen pieces argent and gules; a chief azure; the escutcheon on the breast of the American eagle displayed proper, holding in his dextertalon an olive branch and in his sinister a bundle of thirteen arrows; and in his beak a scroll with the motto: E Pluribus Unum. Crest: a glory breaking through a cloud proper and surrounding thirteen stars. Reverse: A pyramid unfinished. In the zenith an eye in a triangle, surrounded with a glory proper, over the eye the words, Annuit Coeptis. Beneath the pyramid, MDCCLXXVI, and the words, Novus Ordo Seculorum. Research Seal of the United States
The Accipitres (Accipitridae) are the birds of prey order of the Aves (birds) class of animals. They are characterised by a strong, crooked beak with an acute, downward curving point with sharp edges. The base of the beak is enveloped in a naked skin (the cere) in which the nostrils are placed. The feet are muscular. The toes are armed with powerful talons, long, curved and pointed, of which those of the hind and innermost toes are the strongest. The wings are adapted for vigorous, lofty and long-sustained flight. Research Accipitres
The Accipitrinoe is a sub-family of the Falconidae family of birds, including the Goshawk and the Sparrowhawk. The beak is strong, short and curved from the base. The upper mandible bears a prominentfestoon beyond the middle. The nostrils are oval. The wings are rounded and short reaching only to the middle of the tail and the middle toe is much the longest. Research Accipitrinoe
The African Crowned Crane (Balerica reguorum gibbericeps) is a colourful bird found in the wetlands and open grassland of Uganda, northern Kenya, Zimbabwe and northern Mozambique. The African Crowned Crane has large wings, a straight beak and is noticeable by an orange-coloured 'crown' on its head. The African Crowned Crane feeds on the seed heads of plants, the fresh tips of grasses, insects, frogs and crabs, being active during the day, roosting at night in water, trees or on man-erected tall poles such as telegraph poles. The nest is constructed by both the male and female and comprises uprooted grasses piled into a circle and flattened, both parents taking turns to incubate the eggs and rear the young. After reaching sexual maturity at the age of two or three, the birds form pairs which usually last a life time, breeding together each year, with an average of two eggs being laid each year. Research African Crowned Crane
Alecdinidae is the kingfishers family of Fissirostral birds. They have a long, stout, pointed beak with angular sides. The feet are small and feeble with the middle and outer toes united to the last joint. The wings are rounded and hollow, ill adapted for protracted flight. The birds have a robust form with a large head and usually a short tail. They are predatory, feeding on fish, insects, and even reptiles, birds, and small quadrupeds. The members of the family are found all over the world, but Australia and South America contain the greatest number of species. Research Alecdinidae
Ampelidae is the chatterers family of Passerine birds. They have a stout beak with the upper mandible somewhat broad at the base, flat with the upper edge more or less angular and ridged, and the tip distinctly notched. The feet are usually stout, with the outer toe united to the middle one as far as, or beyond the first joint. They feed principally on berries and other soft fruits, and occasionally also on insects. Research Ampelidae
Anatidae is the duck, geese and swan family of birds of the order Natatores. They are characterized by a thick, broad beak, high at the base, covered with a thin membranous skin and ending in a nail-like horny tip; the edges of the mandibles are cut into thin parallel ridges, or toothed; the wings are moderate; the legs placed not very far behind; the feet are four-toed and palmated; the hind toe is free, placed high on the tarsus. They feed on grass and aquatic weeds, worms, insects, molluscs and small fish. Research Anatidae
Aphis is a genus of insects (called plant-lice) of the order Hemiptera, the type of the family Aphides. The species are very numerous and destructive. The Aphis rosae lives on the rose; the Aphis fabae on the bean; the Aphis humuli is injurious to the hop, the Aphis granaria to cereals, the Aphis lanigera or woolly aphis equally so to apple-trees. The aphides are furnished with an inflected beak, and feelers longer than the thorax. In the same species some individuals have four erect wings and others are entirely without wings. The feet are of the ambulatory kind, and the abdomen usually ends in two horn-like tubes, from which is ejected the substance called honey-dew, a favourite food of ants. The aphides illustrate parthenogenesis; hermaphrodite forms produced from eggs produce viviparous wingless forms, which again produce others like themselves, and thus multiply during summer, one individual giving rise to millions. Winged sexual forms appear late in autumn, the females of which, being impregnated by the males, produce eggs. Research Aphis
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
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