Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) fishing, act of catching fish for consumption or display. Fishing—usually by hand, club, spear, net, and (at least as early as 23,000 years ago) by hook—was known to prehistoric people. It was pra...

(Encyclopedia) Limerick, city (1991 pop. 56,083), seat of Co. Limerick, SW Republic of Ireland, at the head of the Shannon estuary. The city has a port with two docks. The primary imports are grain, timber, and coal...

(Encyclopedia) Fraser, chief river of British Columbia, Canada, c.850 mi (1,370 km) long. It rises in the Rocky Mts., at Yellowhead Pass, near the British Columbia–Alta. line and flows northwest through the Rocky ...

(Encyclopedia) mayfly, any insect of the order Ephemeroptera, so named because the adults live for a short time, often only a single day, during which they molt twice, mate, and lay their eggs in freshwater. The adu...

(Encyclopedia) Juneau jo͞oˈnō [key], city (1990 pop. 26,751), state capital, SE Alaska, in the Alaska Panhandle; settled by gold miners 1880, inc. 1900. A port on Gastineau Channel, Juneau is a trade center for t...

(Encyclopedia) Staffordshire stăfˈərdshĭr [key], county (1991 pop. 1,020,300), 1,157 sq mi (2,997 sq km), W central England. The county seat is Stafford. Administratively, Staffordshire is divided into the distr...

(Encyclopedia) Falla, Manuel de mänwĕlˈ dā fäˈlyä [key], 1876–1946, Spanish composer; pupil of Felipe Pedrell. In Paris from 1907 to 1914, he met Debussy, Dukas, and Ravel, and was to some extent influenced...

(Encyclopedia) Fessenden, William Pitt, 1806–69, American politician, b. Boscawen, N.H. Admitted (1827) to the bar, he began practice in Portland in 1829 and by 1835 was regarded as one of the leading lawyers of M...

(Encyclopedia) vase, vessel of pottery, glass, metal, stone, wood, or synthetic material. The pottery vase was anciently employed as a container for water (a hydria), wine and other products (an amphora), or oil (a ...

(Encyclopedia)  CE5 Genetic engineering: Gene-splicing techniques genetic engineering, the use of various methods to manipulate the DNA (genetic material) of cells to change hereditary traits or produce biologica...