1.
Solstice
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The Solstice occurs twice each year as the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. The seasons of the year are directly connected to both the solstices and the equinoxes, the term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of the solstice has either the most sunlight of the year or the least sunlight of the year for any other than the equator. Alternative terms, with no ambiguity as to which hemisphere is the context, are June solstice and December solstice, at latitudes outside the tropics, the summer solstice marks the day when the sun appears highest in the sky. Within the tropics, the sun directly overhead from days to months before the solstice and again after the solstice. For an observer on the North Pole, the sun reaches the highest position in the sky once a year in June, the day this occurs is called the June solstice day. Similarly, for an observer on the South Pole, the sun reaches the highest position on December solstice day, when it is the summer solstice at one Pole, it is the winter solstice on the other. The suns westerly motion never ceases as the Earth is continually in rotation, however, the suns motion in declination comes to a stop at the moment of solstice. In that sense, solstice means sun-standing and this modern scientific word descends from a Latin scientific word in use in the late Roman republic of the 1st century BC, solstitium. Pliny uses it a number of times in his Natural History with a meaning that it has today. It contains two Latin-language morphemes, sol, sun, and -stitium, stoppage, the Romans used standing to refer to a component of the relative velocity of the Sun as it is observed in the sky. Relative velocity is the motion of an object from the point of view of an observer in a frame of reference, from a fixed position on the ground, the sun appears to orbit around the Earth. To an observer in a frame of reference, the planet Earth is seen to rotate about an axis. The Earths axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earths orbit, an observer on Earth therefore sees a solar path that is the result of both rotation and revolution. At maximum or minimum elevation, the relative motion of the Sun perpendicular to the horizon stops. Outside of the tropics, the maximum occurs at the summer solstice. The path of the Sun, or ecliptic, sweeps north and south between the northern and southern hemispheres, the days are longer around the summer solstice and shorter around the winter solstice. When the Suns path crosses the equator, the length of the nights at latitudes +L° and -L° are of equal length and this is known as an equinox
2.
Brotze
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Johann Christoph Brotze was a German pedagogue, artist and ethnographer. Brotze was born in Görlitz, Electorate of Saxony and he studied theology and philosophy at the universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg, and was also skilled at technical drawing. He went to Riga in Livonia in 1768 and spent the next 46 years as a teacher at the Riga Imperial Lyceum, today his works are considered an extremely valuable source of information for historians. Zeichnungen und deren Beschreibungen Ethnography Media related to Johann Christoph Brotze at Wikimedia Commons Digital collection of Johann Christoph Brotze drawings at the Latvian Academic Library
3.
Herbaceous plant
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Herbaceous plants are plants that have no persistent woody stem above ground. Herbaceous plants may be annuals, biennials or perennials, annual herbaceous plants die completely at the end of the growing season or when they have flowered and fruited, and they then grow again from seed. Herbaceous perennial and biennial plants may have stems that die at the end of the growing season, but parts of the plant survive under or close to the ground from season to season. New growth develops from living tissues remaining on or under the ground, including roots, examples of herbaceous biennials include carrot, parsnip and common ragwort, herbaceous perennials include potato, peony, hosta, mint, most ferns and most grasses. Some relatively fast-growing herbaceous plants are pioneers, or early-successional species, others form the main vegetation of many stable habitats, occurring for example in the ground layer of forests, or in naturally open habitats such as meadow, salt marsh or desert. Some herbaceous plants can grow large, such as the Musa genus. The age of some herbaceous plants can be determined by analyzing annual growth rings in the secondary root xylem
4.
Bedstraw
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Galium is a large genus of annual and perennial herbaceous plants in the family Rubiaceae, occurring in the temperate zones of both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Some species are known as bedstraw. There are over 600 species of Galium, with estimates of 629 to 650 as of 2013, the field madder, Sherardia arvensis, is a close relative and may be confused with a tiny bedstraw. Asperula is also a related genus, some species of Galium are occasionally placed therein. List of Lepidoptera that feed on Galium List of Galium species Media related to Galium at Wikimedia Commons Data related to Galium at Wikispecies World Checklist of Rubiaceae UniProt
5.
Melampyrum
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Melampyrum is a genus of about 20 species of herbaceous flowering plants in the family Orobanchaceae known commonly as cow wheat. They are native to regions of the Northern Hemisphere. They are hemiparasites on other plants, obtaining water and nutrients from host plants, melampyrum species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the mouse moth
6.
Lathyrus
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Lathyrus /ˈlæθᵻrəs/ is a genus in the legume family Fabaceae and contains approximately 160 species. They are native to areas, with a breakdown of 52 species in Europe,30 species in North America,78 in Asia,24 in tropical East Africa. There are annual and perennial species which may be climbing or bushy and this genus has numerous sections, including Orobus, which was once a separate genus. Many species are cultivated as garden plants, the genus includes the garden sweet pea and the perennial everlasting pea. Flowers on these species may be rose, red, maroon, pink, white, yellow, purple or blue. They are also grown for their fragrance, cultivated species are susceptible to fungal infections including downy and powdery mildew. Other species are grown for food, including the Indian pea and the red pea, the tuberous pea is grown as a root vegetable for its starchy edible tuber. The seeds of some Lathyrus species contain the amino acid oxalyldiaminopropionic acid and if eaten in large quantities can cause lathyrism. Lathyrus species are used as food plants by the larvae of some Lepidoptera species, including the Grey Chi, calflora Database, Lathyrus species index Jepson Flora Project, Key to Lathyrus
7.
Clover
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Clover or trefoil are common names for plants of the genus Trifolium, consisting of about 300 species of plants in the leguminous pea family Fabaceae. They are small annual, biennial, or short-lived perennial herbaceous plants. The leaves are trifoliate, with adnate to the leaf-stalk, and heads or dense spikes of small red, purple, white, or yellow flowers. Other closely related genera often called clovers include Melilotus and Medicago, several species of clover are extensively cultivated as fodder plants. The most widely cultivated clovers are white clover Trifolium repens and red clover Trifolium pratense, in many areas, particularly on acidic soil, clover is short-lived because of a combination of insect pests, diseases and nutrient balance, this is known as clover sickness. When crop rotations are managed so that clover does not recur at intervals shorter than eight years, clover sickness in more recent times may also be linked to pollinator decline, clovers are most efficiently pollinated by bumblebees, which have declined as a result of agricultural intensification. Honeybees can also pollinate clover, and beekeepers are often in demand from farmers with clover pastures. Farmers reap the benefits of increased reseeding that occurs with increased bee activity, beekeepers benefit from the clover bloom, as clover is one of the main nectar sources for honeybees. Trifolium repens, white or Dutch clover, is a perennial abundant in meadows, the flowers are white or pinkish, becoming brown and deflexed as the corolla fades. Trifolium hybridum, alsike or Swedish clover, is a perennial which was introduced early in the 19th century and has now become naturalized in Britain, the flowers are white or rosy, and resemble those of the last species. Trifolium medium, meadow or zigzag clover, a perennial with straggling flexuous stems, clovers occasionally have four leaflets, instead of the usual three. These four-leaf clovers, like other rarities, are considered lucky, clovers can also have five, six, or more leaflets, but these are rarer. The record for most leaflets is 56, set on 10 May 2009 and this beat the 21-leaf clover, a record set in June 2008 by the same discoverer, who had also held the prior Guinness World Record of 18. A common idiom is to be in clover, meaning to live a life of ease, comfort. The cloverleaf interchange is named for the resemblance to the leaflets of a clover when viewed from the air, quattrofolium Edibility of clover, Edible parts and visual identification of wild clover
8.
Rowan
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The rowans or mountain-ashes are shrubs or trees in the genus Sorbus of the rose family Rosaceae. The name rowan was originally applied to the species Sorbus aucuparia and is used for other species in the Sorbus subgenus Sorbus. Rowans are unrelated to the ash trees, which belong to the genus Fraxinus, family Oleaceae. Formerly, when a variety of fruits were commonly eaten in Europe and North America. It is still used in countries, but Sorbus domestica, for example, is now all but extinct in Britain. Natural hybrids, often including Sorbus aucuparia and the whitebeam, Sorbus aria, the traditional names of the rowan are those applied to the species Sorbus aucuparia, Sorbus torminalis, and Sorbus domestica. The Latin name sorbus was borrowed into Old English as syrfe, the name service-tree for Sorbus domestica is derived from that name by folk etymology. The Latin name sorbus is from a root for red, reddish-brown, English sorb is attested from the 1520s in the fruit of the service tree. Sorbus domestica is also known as whitty pear, the adjective whitty meaning pinnate, Sorbus torminalis is also known as chequer tree, its fruits, formerly used to flavour beer, are called chequers, perhaps from the spotted pattern of the fruit. The name rowan is recorded from 1804, detached from an earlier rowan-tree, rountree, attested from the 1540s in northern dialects of English and Scots. It is from a North Germanic source, derived from Old Norse reynir, ultimately from the Germanic verb *raud-inan to redden, various dialectal variants of rowan are found in English, including ran, roan, rodan, royan, royne, round, rune. The Old English name of the rowan is cwic-beám, which survives in the name quickbeam, the Old Irish name is cairtheand, reflected in Modern Irish caorann. The arboreal Bríatharogam in the Book of Ballymote associates the rowan with the letter luis, with the gloss delightful to the eye is luis, i. e. rowan, owing to the beauty of its berries. Due to this, delight of the eye has been reported as a name of the rowan by some commentators, in the Canadian provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia, this species is commonly referred to as a dogberry tree. In German, Sorbus aucuparia is known as the Vogelbeerbaum or as Eberesche, the Welsh name criafol refers to the tree as lamenting fruit, associating the red fruit with the blood of Christ, as Welsh tradition believed the Cross was carved from the wood of this tree. Rowans are mostly deciduous trees 10–20 m tall, though a few are shrubs. The leaves are arranged alternately, and are pinnate, with 11–35 leaflets, the flowers are borne in dense corymbs, each flower is creamy white, and 5–10 mm across with five petals. The fruit is a small pome 4–8 mm diameter, bright orange or red in most species, the fruit are soft and juicy, which makes them a very good food for birds, particularly waxwings and thrushes, which then distribute the rowan seeds in their droppings
9.
Quercus robur
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Quercus robur, commonly known as pedunculate oak or English oak, is a species of flowering plant in the beech and oak family Fagaceae. It is native to most of Europe west of the Caucasus, the tree is widely cultivated in temperate regions and has escaped into the wild in scattered parts of China and North America. Quercus robur is the species of the genus, and a member of the white oak section Quercus section Quercus. The populations in Italy, southeast Europe, and Asia Minor, a close relative is the sessile oak, which shares much of its range. Q. robur is distinguished from this species by its leaves having only a short stalk 3–8 mm long. The two often hybridise in the wild, the hybrid being known as Quercus × rosacea, Q. robur should not be confused with Q. rubra, the red oak, which is a native of North America and only distantly related. Quercus robur is a deciduous tree, with circumference of grand oaks from 4 m to exceptional 12 m. The Majesty Oak with a circumference of 12.2 m is the thickest tree in Great Britain, Quercus robur has lobed and nearly sessile leaves 7–14 cm long. Flowering takes place in mid spring, and their fruit, called acorns, the acorns are 2–2.5 cm long, pedunculate with one to four acorns on each peduncle. Q. robur is very tolerant to soil conditions and the climate but it prefers fertile. It is a tree, with a large wide spreading crown of rugged branches. While it may live to an age of a few centuries, many of the oldest trees are pollarded or coppiced. Yet another can be found in Kvilleken, Sweden, that is over 1,000 years old and 14 metres around, of maiden specimens, one of the oldest is the great oak of Ivenack, Germany. Tree-ring research of this tree and other oaks nearby gives an age of 700 to 800 years. Also the Bowthorpe Oak in Lincolnshire, England is estimated to be 1,000 years old, making it the oldest in the UK, highest density of the grand oak trees Q. robur with a circumference 4 metres and more is in Latvia. Within its native range Q. robur is valued for its importance to insects, numerous insects live on the leaves, buds, and in the acorns. Q. robur supports the highest biodiversity of insect herbivores of any British plant, the acorns form a valuable food resource for several small mammals and some birds, notably Eurasian jays Garrulus glandarius. Mammals, notably squirrels who tend to hoard acorns and other nuts most often leave them too abused to grow in the action of moving or storing them
10.
Tilia
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Tilia is a genus of about 30 species of trees native throughout most of the temperate Northern Hemisphere. Commonly called lime trees in the British Isles, they are not related to the lime fruit, other names include linden, and basswood for the North American species. The genus occurs in Europe and eastern North America, but the greatest species diversity is found in Asia, Tilia species are mostly large, deciduous trees, reaching typically 20 to 40 metres tall, with oblique-cordate leaves 6 to 20 centimetres across. As with elms, the number of species is uncertain, as many if not most of the species will hybridise readily. Limes are hermaphroditic, having perfect flowers with male and female parts, pollinated by insects. The genus is called lime or linden in Britain and linden, lime. Within Germanic languages, English lithe, German lind lenient, yielding are from the same root, neither the name nor the tree is related to the citrus fruit called lime. Another common name used in North America is basswood, derived from bast, teil is an old name for the lime tree. Latin tilia is cognate to Greek πτελέᾱ, ptelea, elm tree, τιλίαι, tiliai, black poplar, ultimately from a Proto-Indo-European word *ptel-ei̯ā with a meaning of broad, perhaps broad-leaved or similar. The Tilias sturdy trunk stands like a pillar and the divide and subdivide into numerous ramifications on which the twigs are fine. In summer, these are profusely clothed with large leaves and the result is a head of abundant foliage. The flowers of the European and American Tilia species are similar, except the American bears a petal-like scale among its stamens, all of the Tilia species may be propagated by cuttings and grafting, as well as by seed. They grow rapidly in rich soil, but are subject to the attack of many insects, Tilia is notoriously difficult to propagate from seed unless collected fresh in the fall. If allowed to dry, the seeds will go into a deep dormancy, cars left under the trees can quickly become coated with a film of the syrup thus dropped from higher up. The ant/aphid farming process does not appear to any serious damage to the trees. In Europe, some linden trees reached considerable ages, a coppice of T. cordata in Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire is estimated to be 2,000 years old. In the courtyard of the Imperial Castle at Nuremberg is a Tilia which, by tradition recounted in 1900, was planted by the Empress Cunigunde, the Tilia of Neuenstadt am Kocher in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, was estimated at 1000 years old when it fell. The Alte Linde tree of Naters, Switzerland, is mentioned in a document in 1357, a plaque at its foot mentions that in 1155 a linden tree was already on this spot
11.
Birch
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A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus Betula, in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech-oak family Fagaceae, the genus Betula contains 30 to 60 known taxa of which 11 are on the IUCN2011 Green List of Threatened Species. They are a typically rather short-lived pioneer species widespread in the Northern Hemisphere, particularly in northern temperate, Birch species are generally small to medium-sized trees or shrubs, mostly of northern temperate and boreal climates. The simple leaves are alternate, singly or doubly serrate, feather-veined and they often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. The fruit is a samara, although the wings may be obscure in some species. They differ from the alders in that the female catkins are not woody and disintegrate at maturity, falling apart to release the seeds, unlike the woody, cone-like female alder catkins. The bark of all birches is characteristically marked with long, horizontal lenticels and its decided color gives the common names gray, white, black, silver and yellow birch to different species. The buds form early and are grown by midsummer, all are lateral, no terminal bud is formed. The wood of all the species is close-grained with satiny texture, staminate aments are pendulous, clustered or solitary in the axils of the last leaves of the branch of the year or near the ends of the short lateral branchlets of the year. They form in autumn and remain rigid during the winter. The scales of the staminate aments when mature are broadly ovate, rounded, yellow or orange color below the middle, each scale bears two bractlets and three sterile flowers, each flower consisting of a sessile, membranaceous, usually two-lobed, calyx. Each calyx bears four short filaments with one-celled anthers or strictly, the pistillate aments are erect or pendulous, solitary, terminal on the two-leaved lateral spur-like branchlets of the year. The pistillate scales are oblong-ovate, three-lobed, pale yellow green often tinged with red and these scales bear two or three fertile flowers, each flower consisting of a naked ovary. The ovary is compressed, two-celled, and crowned with two styles, the ovule is solitary. Each scale bear a small, winged nut that is oval. Betula species are organised into five subgenera, pendula and B. pubescens confused, though they are distinct species with different chromosome numbers. This root is derived from *bʰreh₁ǵ- ‘to shine’, in reference to the birchs white bark. The Proto-Germanic rune berkanan is named after the birch, the generic name betula is from Latin, which is a diminutive borrowed from Gaulish betua
12.
Barn
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A barn is an agricultural building usually located on farms and used for various purposes. In the North American area, a barn refers to structures that house livestock, including cattle and horses, as well as equipment and fodder, and often grain. As a result, the barn is often qualified e. g. tobacco barn, dairy barn, sheep barn. On the Continent, however, barns were often part of integrated structures known as byre-dwellings, in addition, barns may be used for equipment storage, as a covered workplace, and for activities such as threshing. The word barn comes from the Old English bere, for barley, and aern, for a storage place—thus, “Another word for barn in Old English was beretun, barley enclosure (from tun, enclosure, house, or beretun, also meaning a threshing floor. In historical times, the barn was to be distinguished from the granary, now, however, the common English name for a grain storage building is granary. The modern barn largely developed from the three aisled barn, commonly known as tithe barn or monastic barn. This, in turn, originated in a 12th-century building tradition, also applied in halls, in the 15th century several thousands of these huge barns were to be found in Western-Europe. In the course of time, its method was adopted by normal farms and it gradually spread to simpler buildings. As a rule, the barn had large entrance doors. The storage floors between the posts or in the aisles were known as bays or mows. The main types were large barns with sideway passages, compact barns with a central entrance, the latter also spread to Eastern Europe. Whenever stone walls were applied, the timber frame often gave way to single-naved buildings. A special type were byre-dwellings, which included living quarters, byres and stables, such as the Frisian farmhouse or Gulf house, not all, however, evolved from the medieval barn. Other types descended from the prehistoric longhouse or other building traditions, one of the latter was the Low German house, in which the harvest was stored in the attic. In many cases, the New World colonial barn evolved from the Low German house, in the mid to late 19th century in the U. S. barn framing methods began to shift away from traditional timber framing to truss framed or plank framed buildings. Truss or plank framed barns reduced the number of timbers instead using dimensional lumber for the rafters, joists, the joints began to become bolted or nailed instead of being mortised and tenoned. The inventor and patentee of the Jennings Barn claimed his design used less lumber, less work, less time, concrete block began to be used for barns in the early 20th century in the U. S
13.
Herbal tea
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Herbal teas — much less commonly called herb teas or tisanes — and fruit teas are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, fruits, or other plant material in hot water. They do not usually contain caffeine, the tea industry often confusingly uses the term fruit tea to refer to what are in fact fruit-flavored black teas, not fruit teas. Herbal teas and fruit teas should not be confused with true teas, as well as from decaffeinated tea, like beverages made from true teas, herbal teas can be served hot or cold. Documents have been recovered dating back to ancient Egypt and ancient China that discuss the enjoyment, among the Chinese, herbal teas are commonly known as liang cha. In any case, the herbal tea is very well established. The word tisane was rare in its modern sense before the 20th century, the word had already existed in late Middle English in the sense of medicinal drink and had already been borrowed from French. As herbal teas can be composed of any plant material, including plants that are known to be toxic. Most retail herbal teas sold as beverages could be considered safe, while most herbal teas are safe for regular consumption, some herbs have toxic or allergenic effects. The deadly foxglove, for example, can be mistaken for the more benign comfrey. The UK does not require herbal teas to have any evidence concerning their efficacy, mint and peppermint herbal teas have significantly stronger ferrous ion chelating ability than true teas. Depending on the source of the ingredients, herbal teas, like any crop. In addition to the mentioned above which are toxic to all people, several medicinal herbs are considered abortifacients. These include common ingredients like nutmeg, mace, papaya, bitter melon, verbena, saffron, slippery elm and it also includes more obscure herbs, like mugwort, rue, pennyroyal, wild carrot, blue cohosh, tansy, and savin. In Egypt, herbal teas such as hibiscus tea are very popular, the Chinese term liang cha, means cooling tea, and the Chinese drink it to cool down the body when it has become overheated due to weather or sickness. In Sri Lanka, herbal teas have a history within the local tradition of indigenous medicine. Iramusu, beli, ranawara, polpala, weniwel, and kothala-himbutu are among the plant species used to make herbal teas. Herbal teas can be made fresh or dried flowers, leaves, seeds or roots, generally by pouring boiling water over the plant parts. Seeds and roots can also be boiled on a stove, the herbal tea is then strained, sweetened if so desired, and served
14.
Beer
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Beer is the worlds oldest and most widely consumed alcoholic drink, it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. Most beer is flavoured with hops, which add bitterness and act as a natural preservative, the fermentation process causes a natural carbonation effect, although this is often removed during processing, and replaced with forced carbonation. Beer is sold in bottles and cans, it may also be available on draught, particularly in pubs, the brewing industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies and many thousands of smaller producers ranging from brewpubs to regional breweries. The strength of beer is usually around 4% to 6% alcohol by volume, archaeologists speculate that beer was instrumental in the formation of civilisations. Approximately 5000 years ago, workers in the city of Uruk were paid by their employers in beer, the earliest known chemical evidence of barley beer dates to circa 3500–3100 BC from the site of Godin Tepe in the Zagros Mountains of western Iran. The Ebla tablets, discovered in 1974 in Ebla, Syria, a fermented beverage using rice and fruit was made in China around 7000 BC. Unlike sake, mould was not used to saccharify the rice, almost any substance containing sugar can naturally undergo alcoholic fermentation. It is likely that many cultures, on observing that a liquid could be obtained from a source of starch. Bread and beer increased prosperity to a level that allowed time for development of other technologies, Beer was spread through Europe by Germanic and Celtic tribes as far back as 3000 BC, and it was mainly brewed on a domestic scale. The product that the early Europeans drank might not be recognised as beer by most people today, alongside the basic starch source, the early European beers might contain fruits, honey, numerous types of plants, spices and other substances such as narcotic herbs. What they did not contain was hops, as that was an addition, first mentioned in Europe around 822 by a Carolingian Abbot. Beer produced before the Industrial Revolution continued to be made and sold on a scale, although by the 7th century AD, beer was also being produced. During the Industrial Revolution, the production of beer moved from artisanal manufacture to industrial manufacture, the development of hydrometers and thermometers changed brewing by allowing the brewer more control of the process and greater knowledge of the results. Today, the industry is a global business, consisting of several dominant multinational companies. As of 2006, more than 133 billion litres, the equivalent of a cube 510 metres on a side, of beer are sold per year, the process of making beer is known as brewing. A dedicated building for the making of beer is called a brewery, a company that makes beer is called either a brewery or a brewing company. Beer made on a scale for non-commercial reasons is classified as homebrewing regardless of where it is made. Brewing beer is subject to legislation and taxation in developed countries, however, the UK government relaxed legislation in 1963, followed by Australia in 1972 and the US in 1978, allowing homebrewing to become a popular hobby
15.
Cheese
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Cheese is a food derived from milk that is produced in a wide range of flavors, textures, and forms by coagulation of the milk protein casein. It comprises proteins and fat from milk, usually the milk of cows, buffalo, goats, during production, the milk is usually acidified, and adding the enzyme rennet causes coagulation. The solids are separated and pressed into final form, Some cheeses have molds on the rind, the outer layer, or throughout. Most cheeses melt at cooking temperature, hundreds of types of cheese from various countries are produced. Their styles, textures and flavors depend on the origin of the milk, whether they have been pasteurized, the content, the bacteria and mold, the processing. Herbs, spices, or wood smoke may be used as flavoring agents, the yellow to red color of many cheeses, such as Red Leicester, is produced by adding annatto. Other ingredients may be added to some cheeses, such as pepper, garlic. For a few cheeses, the milk is curdled by adding acids such as vinegar or lemon juice, most cheeses are acidified to a lesser degree by bacteria, which turn milk sugars into lactic acid, then the addition of rennet completes the curdling. Vegetarian alternatives to rennet are available, most are produced by fermentation of the fungus Mucor miehei, cheesemakers near a dairy region may benefit from fresher, lower-priced milk, and lower shipping costs. Cheese is valued for its portability, long life, and high content of fat, protein, calcium, generally speaking, hard cheeses, such as parmesan last longer than soft cheeses, such as Brie or goats milk cheese. The long storage life of some cheeses, especially when encased in a protective rind, There is some debate as to the best way to store cheese, but some experts say that wrapping it in cheese paper provides optimal results. Cheese paper is coated in a plastic on the inside. A specialist seller of cheese is known as a cheesemonger. Becoming an expert in this field requires some formal education and years of tasting and hands-on experience, the cheesemonger is responsible for all aspects of the cheese inventory, selecting the cheese menu, purchasing, receiving, storage, and ripening. The word cheese comes from Latin caseus, from which the modern word casein is also derived, the earliest source is from the proto-Indo-European root *kwat-, which means to ferment, become sour. The word cheese comes from chese and cīese or cēse, the Online Etymological Dictionary states that cheese comes from Old English cyse, cese. from West Germanic *kasjus, from Latin caseus cheese. The Online Etymological Dictionary states that the word is of. unknown origin, perhaps from a PIE root *kwat- to ferment, Old Norse ostr, Danish ost, Swedish ost are related to Latin ius broth, sauce, juice. When the Romans began to make hard cheeses for their legionaries supplies and it is from this word that the French fromage, proper Italian formaggio, Catalan formatge, Breton fourmaj, and Provençal furmo are derived
16.
Barley
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Barley, a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains, particularly in Eurasia as early as 10,000 years ago, Barley has been used as animal fodder, as a source of fermentable material for beer and certain distilled beverages, and as a component of various health foods. It is used in soups and stews, and in barley bread of various cultures, Barley grains are commonly made into malt in a traditional and ancient method of preparation. In 2014, barley was ranked fourth among grains in quantity produced behind corn, rice, the Old English word for barley was bære, which traces back to Proto-Indo-European and is cognate to the Latin word farina flour. The direct ancestor of modern English barley in Old English was the derived adjective bærlic, the first citation of the form bærlic in the Oxford English Dictionary dates to around 966 CE, in the compound word bærlic-croft. The underived word bære survives in the north of Scotland as bere, the word barn, which originally meant barley-house, is also rooted in these words. Barley is a member of the grass family and it is a self-pollinating, diploid species with 14 chromosomes. The wild ancestor of domesticated barley, Hordeum vulgare subsp, spontaneum, is abundant in grasslands and woodlands throughout the Fertile Crescent area of Western Asia and northeast Africa, and is abundant in disturbed habitats, roadsides and orchards. Outside this region, the barley is less common and is usually found in disturbed habitats. However, in a study of genome-wide diversity markers, Tibet was found to be a center of domestication of cultivated barley. Wild barley has a spike, upon maturity, the spikelets separate. Domesticated barley has nonshattering spikes, making it easier to harvest the mature ears. The nonshattering condition is caused by a mutation in one of two linked genes known as Bt1 and Bt2, many cultivars possess both mutations. The nonshattering condition is recessive, so varieties of barley that exhibit this condition are homozygous for the mutant allele, spikelets are arranged in triplets which alternate along the rachis. In wild barley, only the central spikelet is fertile, while the two are reduced. This condition is retained in certain cultivars known as two-row barleys, a pair of mutations result in fertile lateral spikelets to produce six-row barleys. Recent genetic studies have revealed that a mutation in one gene, two-row barley has a lower protein content than six-row barley, thus a more fermentable sugar content. High-protein barley is best suited for animal feed, Malting barley is usually lower protein which shows more uniform germination, needs shorter steeping, and has less protein in the extract that can make beer cloudy
17.
Fern flower
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The fern flower is a magic flower in Slavic mythology, in Baltic mythology and in Estonian mythology. According to the myth, this flower blooms for a short time on the eve of the Summer solstice The flower brings fortune to the person who finds it. In various versions of the tale, the fern flower brings luck, wealth, in addition to the idea that the finder of the fern flower will become rich or happy, here, the fern flower is sometimes perceived a symbol of fertility. During this supposedly magical night, young couples go into the woods seeking the fern flower, sex can lead to pregnancy, the child could be thought of as the fern flower. Referring to this tradition, Papardes zieds is the name of an NGO in Latvia that promotes education about matters pertaining to sexuality, fertility, in Ukraine, Belarus and Poland, the holiday is practiced on the eve of Ivan Kupala Day. Young girls wear wreaths in their hair and couples go into the woods searching for the fern flower, when they come out of the woods, if the male is wearing the girls wreath, it means the couple is engaged to be married. According to folklore, the flower is Chervona Ruta, the flower is yellow, but according to legend, it turns red on the eve of Ivan Kupala Day. In fact, ferns are not flowering plants, however some experts think that the flowering fern myth has roots in reality. In the past, the grouping of plants was not as exact as modern taxonomic ones, numerous flowering plants resemble ferns, or have fern-like foliage, and some of them indeed open flowers during night time. Also, certain true ferns, e. g. Osmunda regalis have sporangia in tight clusters, which may appear in flower-like clusters, and as a result, they are commonly known as flowering ferns
18.
John the Baptist
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John the Baptist, also known as John the Baptizer, was a Jewish itinerant preacher in the early first century AD. John is revered as a religious figure in Christianity, Islam, the Baháí Faith. He is called a prophet by all of these traditions, and is honoured as a saint in many Christian traditions, John used baptism as the central symbol or sacrament of his messianic movement. Most scholars agree that John baptized Jesus, scholars generally believe Jesus was a follower or disciple of John and several New Testament accounts report that some of Jesus early followers had previously been followers of John. John the Baptist is also mentioned by the Jewish historian Josephus, according to the New Testament, John anticipated a messianic figure greater than himself. Christians commonly refer to John as the precursor or forerunner of Jesus, John is also identified with the prophet Elijah. John the Baptist is mentioned in all four canonical Gospels and the non-canonical Gospel of the Nazarenes, the Synoptic Gospels describe John baptising Jesus, in the Gospel of John it is implied in John 1, 32-34. The Gospel of Mark introduces John as a fulfilment of a prophecy from the Book of Isaiah about a messenger being sent ahead, John is described as wearing clothes of camels hair, living on locusts and wild honey. John proclaims baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sin, and says another will come after him who will not baptize with water, Jesus comes to John, and is baptized by him in the river Jordan. The account describes how, as he emerges from the water, the heavens open, a voice from heaven then says, You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well pleased. Later in the gospel there is an account of Johns death and it is introduced by an incident where the Tetrarch Herod Antipas, hearing stories about Jesus, imagines that this is John the Baptist raised from the dead. It then explains that John had rebuked Herod for marrying Herodias, Herodias demands his execution, but Herod, who liked to listen to John, is reluctant to do so because he fears him, knowing he is a righteous and holy man. The account then describes how Herods daughter Herodias dances before Herod, when the girl asks her mother what she should request, she is told to demand the head of John the Baptist. Reluctantly, Herod orders the beheading of John, and his head is delivered to her, at her request, Johns disciples take the body away and bury it in a tomb. There are a number of difficulties with this passage, the Gospel wrongly identifies Antipas as King and the ex-husband of Herodias is named as Philip, but he is known to have been called Herod. Although the wording clearly implies the girl was the daughter of Herodias, many texts describe her as Herods daughter, Herodias. Since these texts are early and significant and the reading is difficult, many see this as the original version, corrected in later versions and in Matthew. Josephus says that Herodias had a daughter by the name of Salome, scholars have speculated about the origins of the story
19.
Balthasar Russow
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Balthasar Russow was one of the most important Livonian and Estonian chroniclers. Russow was born in Reval, Livonia and he was educated at an academy in Stettin, Pomerania. He was the Lutheran pastor of the Estonian congregation at the Holy Spirit Church in Reval from 1566 until his death, the chronicle was first printed in Rostock in Mecklenburg in 1578 and quickly sold out. The revised edition was printed in 1584, in his work Russow was highly critical of the squander and immorality of the Livonian upper classes. He also complained about the beliefs and pagan traditions of the Estonian peasants. He praised the rule of the new power, Sweden. Russow is the character in Between Three Plagues, a four-part historical novel by modern Estonian writer Jaan Kross
20.
Johann Steinhauer
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Johann Steinhauer was a Latvian entrepreneur, social reformer and landowner, who made significant contributions to the Latvian civil rights throughout the 18th century. Jānis Akmeņkalis was the son of Matīss Akmeņkalis, a runaway Latvian serf turned into a merchant who transported cargo for the Swedes during the Swedish rule of Riga and he was born about 1680 and emigrated to Riga from Courland on the turn of the century. In 1704 he married Johanns mother Margareta Schugge, a Riga Latvian, matthis possessed and exceptional talent for judging the quality of timber and built an international reputation as an assessor of ships masts. He engaged the Unitas Fratrum or Moravian Brethren, becoming one of their most prominent members in Riga, and he had 10 known children all born in St Johns parish in Riga. Johann Steinhauer became Mast Inspector like his father and accomplished a considerable fortune in a short time and he traded timber and he was known for the quality of his products. He founded sawmill at Hermelingshof and the first paper factory in Riga and he owned estates, manors, and land in Riga and the rest of Latvia becoming the wealthiest man in Riga in the 17th Century. Manors and Estates that belonged to Johann Steinhauer and his Family, Sassenhof or Zasumuiža and it operated both by wind and water. The mills produced various grades of paper, and raw materials for the Clothing and Printing Industries, Hermelingshof, At this manor Steinhauer build a sawmill driven by a windmill that supplied the ships arriving at the port of Riga. Möllershof or Mühlenhof by Riga Wohlershof or Voleri at Dünamünde The meadows, here he built his own Port to transport timber. He became the leader of the Moravian Society in Riga and his home, after his fathers death Johann took his place in Rigas Moravian Society, and when the Herrnhuters were outlawed he continued to support the church and its missionary effort in secret. One of his Manors, Sassenhof, became the center for the underground Moravian Church in Riga, in 1754 he bought 4,000 acres in Wachovia, North Carolina in support of the Moravian Church efforts to create a Moravian Colony there. This land was sold to the Moravian Church and colonists who emigrated there. Throughout his live he promoted religious understanding and freedom in Riga, the case of Steinhauer versus the Great Guild and the Magistrature of Riga was a significant event in the history of race relations in Riga. With time the Steinhauers were able to amass a considerable fortune, in 1747 the Steinhauers brought the case before Rigas Senate but in 1753 it issued its verdict against the appellants. After the Senates Decision, new restrictions against the Latvians were enacted, in 1757 the Senates previous ruling was dismissed, under the auspices of Katherina the Great, and ordered the Guild to accept his membership. The senate ruling had far reaching consequences for it established the right of any worthy inhabitant of Riga, regardless of origin, to trade. Johann Steinhauers entrepreneurial successes, his efforts to bring about the right of ownership and freedom of worship on behalf of the native Latvians and serfs had far reaching consequences. Partly because of his support of the Moravian Church, it became an accepted and popular religious movement among Latvians
21.
Midsummer
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The exact dates vary between different cultures. The Christian Church designated June 24 as the feast day of the early Christian martyr St John the Baptist, and these are commemorated by many Christian denominations. In Sweden the Midsummer is such an important festivity that there have been discussions to make the Midsummers Eve into the National Day of Sweden. It may also be referred to as St. Hans Day, european midsummer-related holidays, traditions, and celebrations are pre-Christian in origin. The fire festival or Litha – Summer solstice – is a tradition for many neopagans, Solstice celebrations still centered on the day of the astronomical summer solstice. Some choose to hold the rite on June 21, even when this is not the longest day of the year, and some celebrate June 24, in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Quebec, the traditional Midsummer day, June 24, is a public holiday. So it was also in Sweden and Finland, but in these countries it was, in the 1950s. In Wicca, practitioners celebrate on the longest day and shortest night of the year which has not had a set date since the retirement of the 13-month Celtic calendar, the celebration of Midsummers Eve was from ancient times a festival of the summer solstice. Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits which were believed to roam freely when the sun was turning southward again, in later years, witches were also thought to be on their way to meetings with other powerful beings. The solstice itself has remained a special moment of the cycle of the year since Neolithic times. In Sweden, Finland, Latvia and Estonia, Midsummers Eve is the greatest festival of the year, comparable only with Walpurgis Night, Christmas Eve, Ancient Romans would hold a festival to honor the god Summanus on June 20. In the 7th century, Saint Eligius warned the recently converted inhabitants of Flanders against the pagan solstice celebrations. According to the Vita by his companion Ouen, hed say, on St. Johns Eve in certain regions the boys collect bones and certain other rubbish, and burn them, and therefrom a smoke is produced on the air. They also make brands and go about the fields with the brands, thirdly, the wheel which they roll. The fires, explained the monk of Winchcombe, were to drive away dragons, on St Johns Day 1333 Petrarch watched women at Cologne rinsing their hands and arms in the Rhine so that the threatening calamities of the coming year might be washed away by bathing in the river. In Austria the midsummer solstice is celebrated each year with a procession of ships down the Danube River as it flows through the wine-growing Wachau Valley just north of Vienna. Up to 30 ships sail down the river in line as fireworks erupt from the banks and hill tops while bonfires blaze, lighted castle ruins also erupt with fireworks during the 90-minute cruise downstream. This nationwide festival, called Festa Junina, or São João, rural life is celebrated through typical clothing, food, and dance
22.
Northern Europe
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Northern Europe is the northern part or region of Europe. However, narrower definitions may also be used based on geographical factors, such as climate. Greenland, geographically a part of North America, is politically a part of the Kingdom of Denmark, while Northern Europe overlaps with most of Northwestern Europe, north-Central Europe, and Northeastern Europe, it does not border Southern Europe. Countries which are central-western, central-central, or central-eastern are generally considered part of neither Northern Europe or Southern Europe. Historically, when Europe was dominated by the Mediterranean region, everything not near this sea was termed Northern Europe, including southern Germany, all of the Low Countries and this meaning is still used today in some contexts, such as in discussions of the Northern Renaissance. In medieval times, the term Thule was used to mean a place in the extreme northern reaches of the continent. The region has a south west extreme of around 50 degrees north, the entire regions climate is mildly affected by the Gulf Stream. From the west climates vary from maritime and maritime subarctic climates, in the north and central climates are generally subarctic or Arctic and to the east climates are mostly subarctic and temperate/continental. With the exception of the United Kingdom and Ireland, Northern European countries are known for harsh winters with temperatures reaching as low as minus 50 degrees Celsius in some parts. Countries in Northern Europe have large, developed economies and some of the highest standards of living in the world and they often score highly on surveys measuring quality of life, such as the Human Development Index
23.
Cornwall
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Cornwall is a ceremonial county and unitary authority area of England within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, Cornwall has a population of 551,700 and covers an area of 3,563 km2. Cornwall forms the westernmost part of the south-west peninsula of the island of Great Britain, and this area was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods. It continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age peoples, there is little evidence that Roman rule was effective west of Exeter and few Roman remains have been found. In the mid-19th century, however, the tin and copper mines entered a period of decline, subsequently, china clay extraction became more important and metal mining had virtually ended by the 1990s. Traditionally, fishing and agriculture were the important sectors of the economy. Railways led to a growth of tourism in the 20th century, however, the area is noted for its wild moorland landscapes, its long and varied coastline, its attractive villages, its many place-names derived from the Cornish language, and its very mild climate. Extensive stretches of Cornwalls coastline, and Bodmin Moor, are protected as an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, Cornwall is the homeland of the Cornish people and is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, retaining a distinct cultural identity that reflects its history. Some people question the present constitutional status of Cornwall, and a nationalist movement seeks greater autonomy within the United Kingdom in the form of a devolved legislative Cornish Assembly. On 24 April 2014 it was announced that Cornish people will be granted minority status under the European Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities. The modern English name Cornwall derives from the concatenation of two ancient demonyms from different linguistic traditions, Corn- records the native Brythonic tribe, the Cornovii. The Celtic word kernou is cognate with the English word horn. -wall derives from the Old English exonym walh, the Ravenna Cosmography first mentions a city named Purocoronavis in the locality. This is thought to be a rendering of Duro-cornov-ium, meaning fort of the Cornovii. The exact location of Durocornovium is disputed, with Tintagel and Carn Brea suggested as possible sites, in later times, Cornwall was known to the Anglo-Saxons as West Wales to distinguish it from North Wales. The name appears in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in 891 as On Corn walum, in the Domesday Book it was referred to as Cornualia and in c.1198 as Cornwal. Other names for the county include a latinisation of the name as Cornubia, the present human history of Cornwall begins with the reoccupation of Britain after the last Ice Age. The area now known as Cornwall was first inhabited in the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods and it continued to be occupied by Neolithic and then Bronze Age people. The Common Brittonic spoken at the time developed into several distinct tongues
24.
Quebec
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Quebec is the second-most populous province of Canada and the only one to have a predominantly French-speaking population, with French as the sole provincial official language. Quebec is Canadas largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division and it also shares maritime borders with Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, and Nova Scotia. Quebec is Canadas second-most populous province, after Ontario, most inhabitants live in urban areas near the Saint Lawrence River between Montreal and Quebec City, the capital. Approximately half of Quebec residents live in the Greater Montreal Area, the Nord-du-Québec region, occupying the northern half of the province, is sparsely populated and inhabited primarily by Aboriginal peoples. Even in central Quebec at comparatively southerly latitudes winters are severe in inland areas, Quebec independence debates have played a large role in the politics of the province. Parti Québécois governments held referendums on sovereignty in 1980 and 1995, in 2006, the House of Commons of Canada passed a symbolic motion recognizing the Québécois as a nation within a united Canada. These many industries have all contributed to helping Quebec become an economically influential province within Canada, early variations in the spelling of the name included Québecq and Kébec. French explorer Samuel de Champlain chose the name Québec in 1608 for the colonial outpost he would use as the seat for the French colony of New France. The province is sometimes referred to as La belle province, the Province of Quebec was founded in the Royal Proclamation of 1763 after the Treaty of Paris formally transferred the French colony of Canada to Britain after the Seven Years War. The proclamation restricted the province to an area along the banks of the Saint Lawrence River, the Treaty of Versailles ceded territories south of the Great Lakes to the United States. After the Constitutional Act of 1791, the territory was divided between Lower Canada and Upper Canada, with each being granted an elected legislative assembly, in 1840, these become Canada East and Canada West after the British Parliament unified Upper and Lower Canada into the Province of Canada. This territory was redivided into the Provinces of Quebec and Ontario at Confederation in 1867, each became one of the first four provinces. In 1898, the Canadian Parliament passed the first Quebec Boundary Extension Act that expanded the provincial boundaries northward to include the lands of the aboriginal peoples. This was followed by the addition of the District of Ungava through the Quebec Boundaries Extension Act of 1912 that added the northernmost lands of the Inuit to create the modern Province of Quebec. In 1927, the border between Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador was established by the British Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Located in the part of Canada, and part of Central Canada. Its topography is very different from one region to another due to the composition of the ground, the climate. The Saint Lawrence Lowland and the Canadian Shield are the two main regions, and are radically different
25.
Latvia
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Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe, one of the three Baltic states. It is bordered by Estonia to the north, Lithuania to the south, Russia to the east, Latvia has 1,957,200 inhabitants and a territory of 64,589 km2. The country has a seasonal climate. Latvia is a parliamentary republic established in 1918. The capital city is Riga, the European Capital of Culture 2014, Latvia is a unitary state, divided into 119 administrative divisions, of which 110 are municipalities and 9 are cities. Latvians and Livs are the people of Latvia. Latvian and Lithuanian are the two surviving Baltic languages. Despite foreign rule from the 13th to 20th centuries, the Latvian nation maintained its identity throughout the generations via the language, Latvia and Estonia share a long common history. Until World War II, Latvia also had significant minorities of ethnic Germans, Latvia is historically predominantly Protestant Lutheran, except for the Latgale region in the southeast, which has historically been predominantly Roman Catholic. The Russian population has brought a significant portion of Eastern Orthodox Christians. The Republic of Latvia was founded on 18 November 1918, however, its de facto independence was interrupted at the outset of World War II. The peaceful Singing Revolution, starting in 1987, called for Baltic emancipation of Soviet rule and it ended with the Declaration on the Restoration of Independence of the Republic of Latvia on 4 May 1990, and restoring de facto independence on 21 August 1991. Latvia is a democratic and developed country and member of the European Union, NATO, the Council of Europe, the United Nations, CBSS, the IMF, NB8, NIB, OECD, OSCE, and WTO. For 2014, Latvia was listed 46th on the Human Development Index and it used the Latvian lats as its currency until it was replaced by the euro on 1 January 2014. The name Latvija is derived from the name of the ancient Latgalians, one of four Indo-European Baltic tribes, henry of Latvia coined the Latinisations of the countrys name, Lettigallia and Lethia, both derived from the Latgalians. The terms inspired the variations on the name in Romance languages from Letonia. Around 3000 BC, the ancestors of the Latvian people settled on the eastern coast of the Baltic Sea. The Balts established trade routes to Rome and Byzantium, trading local amber for precious metals, by 900 AD, four distinct Baltic tribes inhabited Latvia, Curonians, Latgalians, Selonians, Semigallians, as well as the Livonians speaking a Finnic language
26.
Easter in Latvia
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The Christian festival of Easter is celebrated in Latvia as Lieldienas. Lieldienas enters Holy Week with Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday, second Lieldienas is on Monday of the following week. Each day has a special significance, also, many pagan elements of celebrating Lieldienas have become a tradition. Nowadays, the date of Lieldienas is the first Sunday after the first full moon. Thus, the Western Christian Church Lieldienas falls on a date between 22 March and 25 April, in Eastern Orthodox Churches, which used the Julian calendar, Lieldienas falls on a date between 4 April and 8 May in Gregorian calendar. Before the arrival of Christianity, Lieldienas was a spring solstice event, although dainas have no conclusive indication of egg painting tradition in ancient times, the majority of them mention golden, silver and white eggs. Therefore, it can be concluded that egg painting is more of a modern tradition, in order for eggs to be diverse, they were boiled with colorful cloth. In one area, grits are poured in, while in other, people added colorful birch leaves, fir needles, cells, every family have a different way of following this tradition. Wizards also colored eggs in ancient times, and laid them under the horse or cattles troughs, people were afraid of such wizards eggs. People believed that magical power was inherent even in water. They believed it helped to ward off hawks from chickens, the swishing sauna whisks were hooked between the poles on Lieldienas morning and were filled with water which was used to boil eggs. While eating an egg, people watched how the eggshell separated - if it came off well, it meant the flax will grow well, if it shed badly, then it meant a bad flax harvest. Eggs also involved in a lot of beliefs, Who steals a Lieldienas egg - will remain naked like an egg. Who eats a Lieldienas egg without salt - will lie all summer, exchange eggs during Lieldienas - otherwise chickens will not lay and chicks will not hatch. Hanging swings and selecting a place was a special honorable duty, swings were usually made from oak or ashen poles. Swings location was chosen on the hill, between 2 oak trees, along with the swinging occurred a great singing. Guys, who swung with girls, were gifted with eggs, swinging lasts for 1 week after Lieldienas, and then the swings were burned, so witches could not swing on them. The celebration could not go on without beating eggs, each received their egg in their hands and thought of a wish, then 2 people clapped their eggs with thin ends together
