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toad

(Encyclopedia)toad, name applied to certain members of the amphibian order Anura, which also includes the frog. Although there is no clear-cut distinction between toads and frogs, the name toad commonly refers to t...

Murad IV

(Encyclopedia)Murad IV, 1612?–1640, Ottoman sultan (1623–40), nephew and successor of Mustafa I. He recovered (1638) Baghdad, which Shah Abbas I of Persia had seized. On his victory he sent an order to murder h...

Davis, James John

(Encyclopedia)Davis, James John, 1873–1947, American public official, b. Wales. After emigrating (1881) to the United States, he worked as a puddler in ironworks in Pennsylvania and, moving to Elwood, Ind., becam...

ribbon grass

(Encyclopedia)ribbon grass, ornamental perennial grass (Phalaris arundinacea var. picta), a variety of the reed canary grass. It has green leaves striped with white and is often cultivated in gardens; it is also kn...

rook

(Encyclopedia)rook, term used for a common Eurasian bird (genus Corvus) of the family Corvidae (Crow family), smaller than the American crow. The jackdaw is a European species of the genus. Rooks nest in large colo...

sea nettle

(Encyclopedia)sea nettle, any one of several species of stinging jellyfish, common along coasts and much feared by swimmers. Most stings are painful but are not dangerous to man; however, certain jellyfish of the o...

Porson, Richard

(Encyclopedia)Porson, Richard, 1759–1808, English classical scholar, b. Norfolk. A poor boy, he showed such astonishing powers of memory that patrons sent him through Eton and Cambridge. He was appointed regius p...

pink bollworm

(Encyclopedia)pink bollworm, destructive larva of a moth, Pectinophora gossypiella. Probably of Native American origin, it is a serious pest of cotton in the S United States, chiefly along the Mexican border. The l...

peddler

(Encyclopedia)peddler or hawker, itinerant vendor of small goods. In rural America peddlers carried their packs or drove a horse and cart from door to door. While the importance of peddlers to the small American co...

Olney, Jesse

(Encyclopedia)Olney, Jesse ŏlˈnē, ōlˈnē [key], 1798–1872, American geographer and teacher. His Practical System of Modern Geography (1828), a standard work for decades, revolutionized the teaching of geogra...
 

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