Colt's-foot (Tussildgo Farfara) is a British weed of the order Compositae, the leaves of which were once much employed as a remedy for asthma and coughs. The name is given from the leaf somewhat resembling the foot of a colt, being broad and heart-shaped; the flowers are yellow. Research Colt's-Foot
The horse (Equus caballus) is a hoofed, odd toed grass eating mammal of the family Equidae subdivision Perissodactyla (odd-toed); characterized by an undivided hoof formed by the third toe and its enlarged horny nail, a simple stomach, a mane on the neck, and by six incisor teeth in each jaw, seven molars on either side of both jaws, and by two small canine teeth in the upper jaw of the male, rarely in the female.
There are a number of varieties of horse, popularly known as breeds. The adult male horse is called a stallion, the adult female a mare. A stallion used for breeding is known as a stud. A castrated stallion is popularly called a gelding. A young horse is called a foal, with a male foal being called a colt and a female foal being called a filly.
Horses are among the best adapted of the 'flight' mammals. They have very large eyes capable of seeing in two directions at once, ears which can rotate through 180 degrees and judge distance to a perceived sound, and can reach a speed of 30 mph from a standing still position in less than one second. The horse has a very large heart and enormous lungs powering very large rear leg muscles which allow it to run very fast to escape danger. The horse's long head allows it to graze and see over the top of the grass at the same time, keeping watch for approaching danger. The horse's tail is used as a rudder to help with stearing when running fast, and also as a fly-whisk to whip away flies and other irritations.
When bored or agitated, horses' paw the ground with their rear leags. Stallions fight with their front legs and also bite, trying to ham string their opponent. When a horse wants to harm an opponent, or person, they use their front legs. The rear legs may be used to brush away irritations, and while powerful and dangerous are not used with the intention of causing real harm. War horses, used by mounted soldiers in the Mediaeval period, were trained to attack the enemy and would bite the face off foot soldiers who got close. Research Horse
John Mahlon Marlin was an American gunsmith. He was born in 1836 at Connecticut and died in 1901. After studying as an apprentice toolmaker he worked at the Coltfactory at Hertford before in 1870 starting his own company making revolvers, pistols, derringers and rifles. Marlin rifles were used by both Buffalo Bill and Annie Oakley in their Wild West shows. Research John Marlin
Samuel Colt was an American inventor. He was born in 1814 at Hartford, Connecticut and died in 1862. He ran away from home and joined the navy, and later patented the first successful percussion revolver first in England in 1835 and later in America in 1836. Research Samuel Colt
The .380 Auto is an American pistol cartridge developed in 1908 by Colt and adopted by FN as the 9 mm Short in 1910. The .380 Auto is a 9mm x 17 round widely adopted in Central Europe as a police and military cartridge during the period 1920 to 1940. The .380 Auto is low powered, but combines reasonable stopping power with a low velocity which reduces the risks from ricochets. Research .380 Auto
The .45 ACP (.45 Auto Colt Pistol) is an American standard service pistol cartridge developed in 1907 and adopted into military use in 1911. The .45 ACP is renowned for its power and accuracy, but also for its powerful recoil and the difficulty of teaching people to shoot with it. Research .45 ACP
The AMT Hardballer is a faithful stainless steel copy of the full sized Colt Government 1911-A1 pistol with a magazine capacity of seven rounds of .45 ACPammunition which started production in 1977. Research AMT Hardballer
The Armalite AR-15 (also known as the Colt M16) was an American gas direct action selective fire assaultrifle derived from the Armalite AR-10 and designed by Eugene Stoner in response to requirements from the Infantry Board at Fort Benning for a lightweight selective fire assaultrifle which could penetrate body armour or a steelhelmet at 500 yards with accuracy at least as good as that of the M1 Carbine at 500 yards. Eugene Stoner's response was to design a lightweight, low impulse rifle firing a light-weight bullet at a high velocity, and this was first demonstrated to the Infantry Board in 1958. The Armalite AR-15 was chambered for the 5.56 mm x 45 cartridge which it took from a 20- or 30-round box magazine and fired at a muzzle velocity of 1000 metres per second at a cyclic rate of between 700 and 950 rounds per minute to an effective range of 400 metres. The Armalite AR-15 had a 508 mm long barrel and was fitted with a cylinder foresight and a flip aperture rearsight Research Armalite AR-15
The Probert Encyclopaedia was designed, edited and programed by
Matt and Leela Probert
Abbreviations
Research Hogget
