Columbia Encyclopedia

(Encyclopedia) Black Forest, Ger. Schwarzwald, mountain range, SW Germany, extending 90 mi (145 km) between the Rhine and Neckar rivers. Feldberg is the highest (4,898 ft/1,493 m) peak. The range is covered by dark ...

(Encyclopedia) Huysmans, Cornelis kōrˈnālĭs hoisˈmäns [key], 1648–1727, Flemish painter of landscapes and religious subjects. Most of his life was spent in Malines. His landscapes, painted with a broad brush...

(Encyclopedia) junco or snowbird, small seed-eating bird of North America closely related to the sparrows. Juncos have white underparts and gray (sometimes also brown) backs. They travel in flocks. The dark-eyed jun...

(Encyclopedia) Wollaston, William Hyde, 1766–1828, English scientist, M.D. Cambridge, 1793. His wide-ranging scientific achievements include the discovery (1802) of the dark lines (Fraunhofer lines) in the solar s...

(Encyclopedia) Belluschi, Pietro pyĕˈtrō bəlo͞oˈskē [key], 1899–1994, Italian-American civil engineer, designer, and architect. Belluschi served as dean and professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Techn...

(Encyclopedia) umkokola, small, thorny S and E African tree (Dovyalis caffra, also called kei-apple), widely cultivated in its native area for the round or oval bright yellow fruits. Their juicy pulp, acid in flavor...

(Encyclopedia) Pierce, Franklin, 1804–69, 14th President of the United States (1853–57), b. Hillsboro, N.H., grad. Bowdoin College, 1824. Admitted to the bar in 1827, he entered politics as a Jacksonian Democrat...

(Encyclopedia) black-eyed Susan or yellow daisy, North American daisylike wildflower (Rudbeckia hirta) of the family Asteraceae (aster family) with yellow rays and a dark brown center. It is a weedy biennial or annu...

(Encyclopedia) Welsh springer spaniel, breed of medium-sized sporting dog developed several centuries ago in Wales. It stands about 17 in. (43.2 cm) high at the shoulder and weighs between 30 and 40 lb (13.6–18.1 ...

(Encyclopedia) podzol pŏdˈsŏl [key] or podzolic soil, member of a group of soils that are gray in color, have an ashy appearance, and extend immediately south of the tundra regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Alt...