Alphabet (from Alpha, and Beta, the two first letters of the Greek alphabet), is the series of characters used in writing a language, and intended to represent the sounds of which it consists.
The English alphabet, like most of those of modern Europe, is derived directly from the Latin, the Latin from the ancient Greek, and that from the Phoenician, which again is believed to have had its origin in the Egyptian hieroglyphics, the Hebrew alphabet also having the same origin. The names of the letters in Phoenician and Hebrew must have been almost the same, for the Greek names, which, with the letters, were borrowed from the former, differ little from the Hebrew. By means of the names we may trace the process by which the Egyptian characters were transformed into letters by the Phoenicians. Some Egyptian character would, by its form, recall the idea of a house, for example, in Phoenician or Hebrew beth. This character would subsequently come to be used wherever the sound b occurred. Its form might be afterwards simplified, or even completely modified, but the name would still remain, as beth still continues the Hebrew name for b, and beta the Greek. Our letter m, which in Hebrew was called mim, water, has still a considerable resemblance to the zigzag wavy line which had been chosen to represent water, as in the zodiacal symbol for Aquarius.
The letter o, of which the Hebrew name means eye, no doubt originally intended to represent that organ. While the ancient Greek alphabet gave rise to the ordinary Greek alphabet and the Latin, the Greek alphabet of later times furnished elements for the Coptic, the Gothic, and the old Slavic alphabets. The Latin characters are now employed by a great many nations, such as the Italian, the French, the Spanish, the Portuguese, the English, the Dutch, the German, the Hungarian, the Polish, etc, each nation having introduced such modifications or additions as are necessary to express the sound of the language peculiar to it. The Greek alphabet originally possessed only sixteen letters, though the Phoenician had twenty-two.
The original Latin alphabet, as it is found in the oldest inscriptions, consisted of twenty-one letters; namely, the vowels a, e, i, o, and u (v), and the consonants b, c, d, f, h, k, l, m, n, p, q, r, s, t, x, z. The Anglo-Saxon alphabet had two characters for the digraph th, which were unfortunately not retained in later English; it had also the character ae. It wanted j, v, y (consonant), and z. The German alphabet consists of the same letters as the English, but the sounds of some of them are different.
Anciently certain characters called Runic were made use of by the Teutonic nations, to which some would attribute an origin independent of the Greek and Latin alphabets. While the alphabets of the west of Europe are derived from the Latin, the Russian, which is very complete, is based on the Greek, with some characters borrowed from the Armenian, etc. Among Asiatic alphabets, the Arabian (ultimately of Phoenician origin) has played a part analogous to that of the Latin in Europe, the conquests of Mohammedanism having imposed it on the Persian, the Turkish, the Hindustani, etc. The Sanskrit or Devanagari alphabet is one of the most remarkable alphabets of the world. As now used it has fourteen characters for the vowels and diphthongs, and thirty-three for the consonants, besides two other symbols. Our alphabet is a very imperfect instrument for what it has to perform, being both defective and redundant. An alphabet is not essential to the writing of a language, since ideograms or symbols may be used instead, as in Chinese.
In the English language there are twenty-six letters, A,B,C,D,E,F,G,H,I,J,K,L,M,N,O,P,Q,R,S,T,U,V,W,X,Y and Z, these twenty-six letters occur in use most disproportionately. At the start of the 20th century the proportion of use was as follows, but this will vary as new words, particularly scientific names are added to the English language:
E - 1000 , T - 770, A - 728, I - 704, S - 680, O - 672, N - 670, H - 540, R - 528, D - 392, L - 360, U - 296, C - 280, M - 272, F - 236, W - 190, Y - 184, P - 168, G - 168, B - 158, V - 120, K - 88, J - 55, Q - 50, X - 46, Z - 22
However, as an initial letter, the proportionate use was very different, with the most popular initial letters being:
S - 1194, C - 937, P - 804, A - 574, T - 571, D - 505, B - 463, M - 439, F - 388, I - 377, E- 340, H - 308, L - 298 and R - 291.
The most commonly occurring end letters are R, S, T, and D. Research Alphabet
The Benjamin order (from the case of Benjamin in 1902) is an English law order made by the court for the distribution of assets on death when it is uncertain whether or not a beneficiary is alive. The order authorises the personal representatives of the deceased (who will be administering the estate) to distribute the property on the basis that the beneficiary is dead (or on some other basis); the personal representatives are thus protected from being sued if the beneficiary is in fact alive and entitled. The beneficiary may, however, trace the trust property. Research Benjamin Order
Kinship is human relations based on biological descent and marriage. Kinship is founded on social differences and cultural creations. In all societies, the links between blood relatives and relatives by marriage are assigned certain legal, political, and economic significance that does not depend on biology. At the basis of kinship is the primary mother-child bond to which diverse cultures have added different familial relations. Additional kin are recruited to this basic unit by the principle of descent, which connects one generation to the other in a systematic way and which determines certain rights and obligations across generations. Descent groups can be traced through both sexes (that is, ambilaterally) or through only the male or the female link (unilaterally). In unilaterally traced groups the descent is known as patrilineal if the connection is through the male line or matrilineal if it is through the female line.
Less frequent forms for tracing descent are the parallel system, in which males and females each trace their ancestry through their own sex; and the cognatic method, in which the relatives of both sexes are considered, with little formal distinction between them. The study of kinship has directed much attention to the terms people use to classify and identify their relatives. Kin are everywhere categorised into distinct groups with specific roles and behaviour. The way in which people classify their kin has many practical applications. Thus, the familial relationships peculiar to a society will largely determine the allocation of rights and their transmission from one generation to the next. The succession of office and titles and the inheritance of property are implicit in the kinship system. Property can pass across generations in several ways, as, for example, from the mother's brother to the sister's son (in matrilineal societies); from the father to the father's younger brother (in some patrilineal cultures); or from the father to his son (in many patrilineal societies).
In some societies, kinship terms may also indicate how the family is split over the inheritance of goods and property. The Iatmul of New Guinea, for instance, assign five different terms to designate the first, second, third, fourth, and fifth child. In any quarrels over patrimony, the first and third children are expected to join forces against the second and the fourth. The evolution of kinship and its terminology has interested anthropologists since the mid- 1800s, when the American anthropologist Lewis Henry Morgan developed his theory of kinship. He held that kinship terminology used in non-literate societies reflected a low level of culture and that the terminology common in civilised societies indicated an advanced stage of development. This theory was abandoned when the discovery was made that the limited number of kinship systems in use are found among both technologically simple and advanced peoples.
Some non-evolutionary theories see kinship terms as a result of culture borrowings and modifications, as a means of understanding aspects of the history of a particular society, or even as a linguistic phenomenon. The most common anthropological view, however, is a functional one that relates kinship terms to contemporary behaviour. In this theory, the terms are considered tools for understanding the ties between-and values of- people in any given society. Kinship is important in anthropological study because it is universal. It connotes certain basic human attachments made by all people, and it reflects the way in which people give meaning and ascribe importance to human interactions. Research Kinship
The Dog (Canis vulgaris) is a digitigrade, carnivorousanimal, forming the type of the genus Canis, which includes also the wolf, the jackal, and, as a sub-genus, the fox. The origin of the dog is a much-debated question, some considering the breed derived from the wolf, an opinion which is based on resemblances of structure, the susceptibility which the wolf shows of being domesticated, the fact of the two animals breeding together and producing fertile young, and the equality in the period of gestation. But all those points are subject to exceptions and reservations which make the matter doubtful. It is generally agreed that no trace of the dog is to be found in a primitive state, the dhole of India, and dingo of Australia being believed to be wild descendants from domesticated ancestors.
Several attempts to make a systematic classification of the varieties of dogs have been made but without much success, it being difficult in many cases to determine what are to be regarded as types, and what as merely mongrels and cross-breeds. Colonel Hamilton Smith divided dogs into six groups as follows: (1) Wolf-dogs, including the Newfoundland, Esquimaux, St Bernard, shepherd's dog, etc; (2) Watchdogs and Cattle-dogs, including the German boar-hound, the Danish dog, the matin dog, etc; (3) Greyhounds, the lurcher, Irish hound, etc; (4) Hounds, the bloodhound, staghound, foxhound, setter, pointer, spaniel, cocker, poodle, etc; (5) Cur-dogs, including the terrier and its allies; (6) Mastiffs, including the different kinds of mastiffs, bull-dog, pug-dog, etc.
Dogs have in the upper jaw six incisors, two strong curved canines, and six molars on each side, the first three, which are small and have cutting edges, being called false molars; in the lower jaw are six incisors, two canines, and on each side seven molars. The fore-feet have five toes, the hind-feet four or five; the claws are strong, blunt, and formed for digging, and are not retractile. The tail is generally long, and is curled upwards. The female has six to ten mammae; she goes with young nine weeks as a rule. The young are born blind, their eyes opening in ten to twelve days; their growth ceases at two years of age. The dog commonly lives about ten or twelve years, at the most twenty. Research Dog
Exostemma is a genus of plants of the natural order Cinchonaceae. The species are trees or shrubs, natives of tropical America and the West Indies. Exostemma caribceum and Exostemma floribunda possess properties similar to those of the true cinchona, but without any trace of either cinchonine or quinine. Research Exostemma
Magilus is a genus of gastropod molluscs, the members of which live among corals. The become gradually sunk in the coral, and would soon be entirely buried were it not that they possess the ability of producing the shell into a tube whose growth keeps pace with that of the coral. The process continues until the shell loses all trace of its original shape, its whorls being filled up with lime, while the animal occupies the tubular prolongation. Research Magilus
Nutrition is the strategy adopted by an organism to obtain the chemicals it needs to live, grow, and reproduce. The term is also applied to the science of food, and its effect on human and animal life, health, and disease.
Nutrition involves the study of the basic nutrients required to sustain life, their bio-availability in foods and overall diet, and the effects upon them of cooking and storage. It is also concerned with dietary deficiency diseases. There are six classes of nutrients: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Water is involved in nearly every body process. Animals and humans will succumb to water deprivation sooner than to starvation. Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The major groups are starches, sugars, and cellulose and related material (or ' roughage'). The prime function of the carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body; they also serve as efficient sources of glucose, which the body requires for brain functioning, utilisation of foods, maintenance of body temperature. Roughage includes the stiff structural materials of vegetables, fruits, and cereal products. Proteins are made up of smaller units, amino acids. The primary function of dietary protein is to provide the amino acids
required for growth and maintenance of body tissues. Both vegetable and animal foods are protein sources. Fats serve as concentrated sources of energy, and protect vital organs such as the kidneys and skeleton. Saturated fats derive primarily from animal sources; unsaturated fats from vegetable sources such as nuts and seeds. Vitamins are essential for normal growth, and are either fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins include A, essential to the maintenance of mucous membranes, particularly the conjunctiva of the eyes; D, important to the absorption of calcium; E, an antioxidant; and K, which aids blood clotting. Water-soluble vitamins are the B complex, essential to metabolic reactions, and C, for maintaining connective tissue and cell functioning. Minerals are vital to normal development; calcium and iron are particularly important as they are required in relatively large amounts. Minerals required by the body in trace amounts include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc. Research Nutrition
In botany, the perianth is the outer floral envelope - calyx and corolla - which surrounds and to some extent protects the essential organs of generation in a flower. As a rule it consists of an outer layer of greenish parts called sepals, and an inner layer of brightly coloured parts called petals; but sometimes one or other of these layers is missing, and sometimes though they are both present, they are indistinguishable from each other. Many plants, especially trees, contain no trace of a perianth in their flowers, and these are usually wind propagated. Research Perianth
Spots (formerly known as spotted swine) is a breed of domestic swine. The present day Spots descend from the Spotted hogs which trace a part of their ancestry to the original Poland China, which consisted of six separate breeds and was referred to as the 'Warren County Hog' of Ohio. One such breed imported into Ohio in the early 1880's was a breed called the 'Big China', which was mostly white in colour, but having some black spots. They were good feeders, matured early, were very prolific and produced these characteristics in their offspring. Three men from Indiana, brought boars and sows back from Ohio to cross with their own good hogs; and thus developed a breed all their own from this background which kept the characteristic colour of large black and white spots.
Epictetus was a Greek Stoic philosopher. He was born about 60 at Phrygia. He lived for a long time at Rome, where, in his youth, he was a slave. Though nominally a Stoic, he was not interested in Stoicism as an intellectual system; he adopted its terminology and its moral doctrines, but in his discourses he appeared rather as a moral and religious teacher than as a philosopher. His doctrines approach more nearly to Christianity than those of any of the earlier Stoics, and although there is no trace in what is recorded of them of his having been directly acquainted with Christianity, it is at least probable that the ideas diffused by Christian teachers may have indirectly influenced them. The excellence of his system was universally acknowledged. When Domitian banished the philosophers from Rome in 94 Epictetus retired to Epirus, where he is supposed to have died. His disciple Arrian collected his opinions, which are preserved in two treatises called the Discourses of Epictetus, and the Manual or Enchiridion. Research Epictetus
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Matt and Leela Probert
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