across the steppe lands at the center of eurasia, across lake baikal, and on to the amur. unfortunately, the steppe lands were controlled by kirghiz nomads and unsafe for russian merchants. for this reason, ides ' caravan had to take a much more roundabout path to baikal that took them across the urals on the same path as ermak a century before, down the irtysh river to its junction with the ob, up the ob and its tributary the ket, to a portage into the yenisei basin, and up the angara river to baikal. by october, the mission had only reached the way station of makofskoi on the ket portage. it was here that ides had had his encounter with fossil mammoths. amongst the hills, which are situate north - east of [ makofskoi ], and not far from hence, the mammuts tongues and legs are found ; as they are also particularly on the shores of the rivers jenize, trugan [ lower tunguska ], mongamsea [ taz ], lena, and near jakutskoi [ yakutsk ], even as far as the frozen sea.... i had a person with me to china, who had annually went out in search of these bones ; he told me, as a certain truth, that he and his companions found the head of one of these animals, which was discovered by the fall of such a frozen piece of earth. as soon as he opened it, he found the greatest part of the flesh rotten, but it was not without difficulty that they broke out his teeth, which were placed before his mouth, as those of the elephants are ; they also took some bones out of his head, and afterwards came to his fore - foot, which they cut off, and, carried part of it to the city of trugan [ turukhansk ], the circumference of it being as large as that of the wast of an ordinary man. the bones of the head appeared somewhat red, as tho ' they were tinctured with blood. this account by ides is the first western description of a frozen mammoth and the beginning of a scientific and popular fascination that hasn ' t ended over three hundred years later. locating the mammoth to which ides ' unnamed traveling companion referred is a little tricky. makofskoi was, and still is, a small town on the western end of the


popular fascination that hasn ' t ended over three hundred years later. locating the mammoth to which ides ' unnamed traveling companion referred is a little tricky. makofskoi was, and still is, a small town on the western end of the portage between the ob and yenisei rivers. ides gave no indication of how far he meant when he said mammoth remains were found in the hills to the northeast. my conclusion, based on ides ' phrase " not far from hence, " is that the find must have been close to makofskoi. the explorer adolf nordenskiold, who traveled along the arctic coast in the late nineteenth century, thought, because the hunter took the mammoth ' s foot to turukhansk, that the find must have been close to that place. turukhansk is 450 miles north of makofskoi, which is not " not far from hence. " in ides ' day there were two major towns on the yenesei where his companion might have sold the ivory, turukhansk and yeneseisk, which is only eighty miles from makofskoi. that argues in nordenskiold ' s favor. if the find was closer to yeneseisk the only reasons the hunter would have had for going all the way to turukhansk would have been if turukhansk was offering a better price for ivory or if he had other business there. without more evidence there ' s no way to settle the matter. if we split the difference between makofskoi and turukhansk we arrive at the stony tunguska river. maybe the site was blown up in 1908 by the tunguska meteorite. ides goes on to report what the locals believed about the remains. concerning this animal there are very different reports. the heathens of jakuti, tungusi, and ostiacki, say that they continually, or at least, by reason of the very hard frosts, mostly live under ground, where they go backwards and forwards ; to confirm which they tell us, that they have often seen the earth heaved up when one of these beasts was on the march, and after he was past, the place sink in, and thereby make a deep pit. they further believe, that if this animal comes so near to the surface of the frozen earth as to smell, or discern the air, he immediately dies, which they say is the reason that several of them are found dead, on the high


. they further believe, that if this animal comes so near to the surface of the frozen earth as to smell, or discern the air, he immediately dies, which they say is the reason that several of them are found dead, on the high banks of the river, where they unawares came out of the ground. this is the opinion of the infidels concerning these beasts, which are never seen. but the old siberian russians affirm, that the mammuth is very like the elephant, with this only difference, that the teeth of the former are firmer, and not so straight as those of the latter. they also are of opinion, that there were elephants in this country before the deluge, when this climate was warmer, and that their drowned bodies floating on the surface of the water of that flood, were at last wash ' d and forced into subterranean cavities... the description of the mammoth as a subterranean animal that dies on exposure to surface air is almost identical to that given by the chinese writer tung - fang so in the second century bc. the three " heathen " tribes that ides mentions are names given by the russian conquerors and used to lump together all of the peoples of the lower irtysh, ob, yenisei, and lena river basins. that is to say, he was ascribing the belief in the mammoth as a giant mole to most of the people of western and central siberia. later travelers ascribed different beliefs to many of these peoples. still other travelers confirmed ides ' observations. when ides traveled across siberia, most of these peoples had been under russian rule for a century, giving them plenty of time to have heard about the ideas of tribes with which they had had very little contact and to have learned the biblical stories of noah and behemoth. today, it is virtually impossible to sort out which tribes believed what before their contact with the russians. while ides was the first educated european to travel in siberia and report firsthand information on the collection of fossil ivory, he wouldn ' t be the last. peter the great ' s diplomacy, wars, economic needs, and personal curiosity would send a constant stream of educated europeans into his eastern realms. they in turn would send back a constant stream of information that would be eagerly consumed by a europe that was looking at the world through an increasingly scientific lens. hmmm. i still seem to be having trouble with that " keep your blog posts under a thousand words " thing. oh well... *


that would be eagerly consumed by a europe that was looking at the world through an increasingly scientific lens. hmmm. i still seem to be having trouble with that " keep your blog posts under a thousand words " thing. oh well... * ides nationality and name have been the source of much confusion over the years. accounts of his journey describe him variously as dutch, german, and danish. in the opening quote he implies that he considers himself to be german, but the first edition of his book was published in dutch. the confusion comes from the fact that his parents were dutch immigrants to holstein, a german - speaking province that is the home of many cows and was then ruled by the king of denmark. it ' s likely that ides was fluent in both german and dutch. the possible spellings given for his first and middle names are even more varied than his nationality. because his middle name is sometimes spelled ysbrand, some writers have assumed that he and the mission ' s secretary, adam brand, were one person. adding to that confusion was the fact that both of them published memoirs of the journey, which the same writers who thought they were the same person assumed were merely different editions of the same book. they weren ' t, it wasn ' t, and that ' s that.


there ' s this kid who gets bullied a lot by everyone. what should i do? hooray for the person who sent this question in to us! there are a lot more kids who witness bullying than there are victims of bullying. often, people who see something happen are called bystanders. wouldn ' t it be excellent if those bystanders would do something to help someone who ' s being bullied? but how exactly do you find your courage and do it? first, be sure to let an adult know what ' s going on. if it ' s happening at school, have a talk with a teacher or school counselor about it. if it happens at camp, the camp counselor is the one to talk to. approach the adult and say you need to talk. explain what ' s been going on the best you can. give details. the adult can take steps to stop the bullying. plus, once they know about bullying, adults can do things to help the kid who ' s been bullied feel better and stronger. adults can also help the kid who bullies learn to treat others with respect, friendship, and kindness. after talking to an adult, here are some other things you can do. be friendly to the kid who gets bullied. for example, say " hi " at the lockers or bus line, include that kid at your lunch table, or invite the kid to play at recess or to be in your group for a project. this helps for two reasons : any kid who gets bullied is likely to feel left out and alone. your friendship helps that kid feel included and welcome. friendship also helps prevent bullying because bullies are less likely to pick on kids when they are with friends. and when you see the bully acting mean, you can say, " hey, knock it off, that ' s not cool, " and invite the kid who ' s being picked on to walk away with you. you can just say, " c ' mon, let ' s go. " this can work even better if you get a couple of your friends to join you in standing up for the kid. tell your friends ahead of time : " i ' m going to stick up for that kid. will you do it with me? " be sure to update the adult about what ' s going on until the problem is solved. this is also a very good thing to talk to parents about. your parent will want to know about all this and can give you more advice and support. plus, your mom


you may associate pneumonia with the melodrama of a soap opera : prolonged hospital stays, oxygen tents, and family members whispering in bedside huddles. it ' s true that pneumonia can be serious. but more often pneumonia is an infection that can be easily treated at home without a hospital stay. what is pneumonia? pneumonia ( pronounced : noo - mow - nyuh ) is an infection of the lungs. when someone has pneumonia, lung tissue can fill with pus and other fluid, which makes it difficult for oxygen in the lung ' s air sacs to reach the bloodstream. with pneumonia, a person may have difficulty breathing and have a cough and fever ; occasionally, chest or abdominal pain and vomiting are symptoms, too. pneumonia is commonly caused by viruses, such as the influenza virus ( flu ) and adenovirus. other viruses, such as respiratory syncytial virus ( rsv ), are common causes of pneumonia in young children and infants. bacteria such as streptococcus pneumoniae can cause pneumonia, too. people with bacterial pneumonia are usually sicker than those with viral pneumonia, but can be effectively treated with antibiotic medications. you might have heard the terms " double pneumonia " or " walking pneumonia. " double pneumonia simply means that the infection is in both lungs. it ' s common for pneumonia to affect both lungs, so don ' t worry if your doctor says this is what you have — it doesn ' t mean you ' re twice as sick. walking pneumonia refers to pneumonia that is mild enough that you may not even know you have it. walking pneumonia ( also called atypical pneumonia because it ' s different from the typical bacterial pneumonia ) is common in teens and is often caused by a tiny microorganism, mycoplasma pneumoniae. like the typical bacterial pneumonia, walking pneumonia also can be treated with antibiotics. what are the signs and symptoms? many symptoms are associated with pneumonia ; some of them, like a cough or a sore throat, are also common with other common infections. often, people get pneumonia after they ' ve had an upper respiratory tract infection like a cold. symptoms of pneumonia can include : unusually rapid breathing chest or abdominal pain loss of appetite vomiting and dehydration symptoms vary from person to person, and few people get all of them. when pneumonia is caused by bacteria, a person tends to become sick quickly and develops a high fever and has difficulty breathing. when it ' s caused by a virus, symptoms generally appear more gradually and might be less severe


few people get all of them. when pneumonia is caused by bacteria, a person tends to become sick quickly and develops a high fever and has difficulty breathing. when it ' s caused by a virus, symptoms generally appear more gradually and might be less severe. someone ' s symptoms can help the doctor identify the type of pneumonia. mycoplasma pneumoniae, for example, often causes headaches, sore throats, and rash in addition to the symptoms listed above. the routine vaccinations that most people receive as kids help prevent certain types of pneumonia and other infections. if you have a chronic illness, such as sickle cell disease, you may have received additional vaccinations and disease - preventing antibiotics to help prevent pneumonia and other infections caused by bacteria. people with diseases that affect their immune system ( like diabetes, hiv infection, or cancer ), are 65 or older, or are in other high - risk groups should receive a pneumococcal vaccination. they also may receive antibiotics to prevent pneumonia that can be caused by organisms they ' re especially susceptible to. in some cases, antiviral medication might be used to prevent viral pneumonia or to lessen its effects. doctors recommend that everyone 6 months and older gets a flu vaccine. that ' s because pneumonia often happens as a complication of the flu. call your doctor ' s office to see when these vaccines are available. because pneumonia is often caused by germs, a good way to prevent it is to keep your distance from anyone you know who has pneumonia or other respiratory infections. use separate drinking glasses and eating utensils ; wash your hands frequently with warm, soapy water ; and avoid touching used tissues and paper towels. you also can stay strong and help avoid some of the illnesses that might lead to pneumonia by eating as healthily as possible, getting a minimum of 8 to 10 hours of sleep a night, and not smoking. how long does it last? the length of time between exposure and feeling sick ( called the incubation period ) depends on many factors, particularly the type of pneumonia involved. with influenza pneumonia, for example, someone may become sick as soon as 12 hours or as long as 3 days after exposure to the flu virus. but with walking pneumonia, a person may not have symptoms until 2 to 3 weeks after becoming infected. most types of pneumonia resolve within a week or two, although a cough can linger for several weeks more. in severe cases, it may take longer to completely recover. if you think you


may not have symptoms until 2 to 3 weeks after becoming infected. most types of pneumonia resolve within a week or two, although a cough can linger for several weeks more. in severe cases, it may take longer to completely recover. if you think you may have pneumonia, tell a parent or other adult and be sure you see a doctor. be especially aware of your breathing ; if you have chest pain or trouble breathing or if your lips or fingers look blue, you should go to a doctor ' s office or to a hospital emergency department right away. how is pneumonia treated? if pneumonia is suspected, the doctor will perform a physical exam and might order a chest x - ray and blood tests. people with bacterial or atypical pneumonia will probably be given antibiotics to take at home. the doctor also will recommend getting lots of rest and drinking plenty of fluids. some people with pneumonia need to be hospitalized to get better — usually babies, young kids, and people older than 65. however, hospital care may be needed for a teen who : already has immune system problems has cystic fibrosis is dangerously dehydrated or is vomiting a lot and can ' t keep fluids and medicine down has had pneumonia frequently has skin that ' s blue or pale in color, which reflects a lack of oxygen when pneumonia patients are hospitalized, treatment might include intravenous ( iv ) antibiotics ( delivered through a needle inserted into a vein ) and respiratory therapy ( breathing treatments ). antiviral medications approved for adults and teens can reduce the severity of flu infections if taken in the first 1 to 2 days after symptoms begin. they ' re usually prescribed for teens who have certain underlying illnesses such as asthma or who have pneumonia or breathing difficulty. if you have been exposed to influenza and you begin to develop symptoms of pneumonia, call a doctor. if your doctor has prescribed medicine, be sure to follow the directions carefully. you may feel better in a room with a humidifier, which increases the moisture in the air and soothes irritated lungs. make sure you drink plenty of fluids, especially if you have a fever. if you have a fever and feel uncomfortable, ask the doctor whether you can take over - the - counter medicine such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen to bring it down. but don ' t take any medicine without checking first with your doctor — a cough suppressant, for example, may not allow your lungs to clear themselves of mucus. and finally, be sure to rest. this is a good time to sleep, watch tv


it ' s normal for parents to disagree and argue from time to time. parents might disagree about money, home chores, or how to spend time. they might disagree about big things — like important decisions they need to make for the family. they might even disagree about little things that don ' t seem important at all — like what ' s for dinner or what time someone gets home. sometimes parents can disagree with each other and still manage to talk about it in a calm way, where both people get a chance to listen and to talk. but many times when parents disagree, they argue. an argument is a fight using words. most kids worry when their parents argue. loud voices and angry words parents might use can make kids feel scared, sad, or upset. even arguments that use silence — like when parents act angry and don ' t talk to each other at all — can be upsetting for kids. if the argument has anything to do with the kids, kids might think they have caused their parents to argue and fight. if kids think it ' s their fault, they might feel guilty or even more upset. but parents ' behavior is never the fault of kids. what does it mean when parents fight? kids often worry about what it means when parents fight. they might jump to conclusions and think arguments mean their parents don ' t love each other anymore. they might think it means their parents will get a divorce. but parents ' arguments usually don ' t mean that they don ' t love each other or that they ' re getting a divorce. most of the time the arguments are just a way to let off steam when parents have a bad day or feel stressed out over other things. most people lose their cool now and then. just like kids, when parents get upset they might cry, yell, or say things they don ' t really mean. sometimes an argument might not mean anything except that one parent or both just lost their temper. just like kids, parents might argue more if they ' re not feeling their best or are under a lot of stress from a job or other worries. kids usually feel upset when they see or hear parents arguing. it ' s hard to hear the yelling and the unkind words. seeing parents upset and out of control can make kids feel unprotected and scared. kids might worry about one parent or the other during an argument. they might worry that one parent may feel especially sad or hurt because of being yelled at by the other parent. they might worry that one parent seems angry enough to lose control.


scared. kids might worry about one parent or the other during an argument. they might worry that one parent may feel especially sad or hurt because of being yelled at by the other parent. they might worry that one parent seems angry enough to lose control. they might worry that their parent might be angry with them, too, or that someone might get hurt. sometimes parents ' arguments make kids cry or give them a stomachache. worry from arguments can even make it hard for a kid to go to sleep or go to school. what to do when parents fight it ' s important to remember that the parents are arguing or fighting, not the kids. so the best thing to do is to stay out of the argument and go somewhere else in the house to get away from the fighting or arguing. so go to your room, close the door, find something else to do until it is over. it ' s not the kid ' s job to be a referee. when parents ' fighting goes too far when parents argue, there can be too much yelling and screaming, name calling, and too many unkind things said. even though many parents may do this, it ' s never ok to treat people in your family with disrespect, use unkind words, or yell and scream at them. sometimes parents ' fighting may go too far, and include pushing and shoving, throwing things, or hitting. these things are never ok. when parents ' fights get physical in these ways, the parents need to learn to get their anger under control. they might need the help of another adult to do this. kids who live in families where the fighting goes too far can let someone know what ' s going on. talking to other relatives, a teacher, a school counselor, or any adult you trust about the fighting can be important. sometimes parents who fight can get so out of control that they hurt each other, and sometimes kids can get hurt, too. if this happens, kids can let an adult know, so that the family can be helped and protected from fighting in a way that hurts people. if fighting is out of control in a family, if people are getting hurt from fighting, or if people in the family are tired of too much fighting, there is help. family counselors and therapists know how to help families work on problems, including fighting. they can help by teaching family members to listen to each other and talk about feelings without yelling and screaming. though it may take some work, time, and practice, people in families can always


know how to help families work on problems, including fighting. they can help by teaching family members to listen to each other and talk about feelings without yelling and screaming. though it may take some work, time, and practice, people in families can always learn to get along better. is it ok for parents to argue sometimes? having arguments once in a while can be healthy if it helps people get feelings out in the open instead of bottling them up inside. it ' s important for people in a family to be able to tell each other how they feel and what they think, even when they disagree. the good news about disagreeing is that afterward people usually understand each other better and feel closer. parents fight for different reasons. maybe they had a bad day at work, or they ' re not feeling well, or they ' re really tired. just like kids, when parents aren ' t feeling their best, they can get upset and might be more likely to argue. most of the time, arguments are over quickly, parents apologize and make up, and everyone feels better again. happy, healthy families no family is perfect. even in the happiest home, problems pop up and people argue from time to time. usually, the family members involved get what ' s bothering them out in the open and talk about it. everyone feels better, and life can get back to normal. being part of a family means everyone pitches in and tries to make life better for each other. arguments happen and that ' s ok, but with love, understanding, and some work, families can solve almost any problem.


you baby ' s development after many weeks of anticipation and preparation, your baby is here! or maybe not — only 5 % of women deliver on their estimated due dates, and many first - time mothers find themselves waiting up to 2 weeks after their due date for their baby to arrive. a baby born at 40 weeks weighs, on average, about 7 pounds, 4 ounces ( 3, 300 grams ) and measures about 20 inches ( 51 cm ). don ' t expect your baby to look like the gerber baby right off the bat — newborns often have heads temporarily misshapen from the birth canal and may be covered with vernix and blood. your baby ' s skin may have skin discolorations, dry patches, and rashes — these many variations are completely normal. because of the presence of your hormones in your baby ' s system, your baby ' s genitals ( scrotum in boys and labia in girls ) may appear enlarged. your baby, whether a boy or a girl, may even secrete milk from the tiny nipples. this should disappear in a few days and is completely normal. right after birth, your health care provider will suction mucus out of your baby ' s mouth and nose, and you ' ll hear that long - awaited first cry. your baby may then be placed on your stomach, and the umbilical cord will be cut — often by the baby ' s dad, if he chooses to do the honors! a series of quick screening tests, such as the apgar score, will be performed to assess your baby ' s responsiveness and vital signs, and he or she will be weighed and measured. if your pregnancy was high risk, or if a cesarean section was necessary, a neonatologist ( a doctor who specializes in newborn intensive care ) will be present at your delivery to take care of your baby right away. if your baby needs any special care to adjust to life outside the womb, it will be given — and then your newborn will be placed in your waiting arms. this week you ' ll experience the moment you ' ve been anticipating — your introduction to your baby! before you can meet your baby, though, you have to go through labor and delivery. you may have learned about the three stages of birth in your prenatal classes. the first stage of labor works to thin and stretch your cervix by contracting your uterus at regular intervals. the second stage of labor is when you push your baby into the vaginal canal and out


birth in your prenatal classes. the first stage of labor works to thin and stretch your cervix by contracting your uterus at regular intervals. the second stage of labor is when you push your baby into the vaginal canal and out of your body. the third and final stage of labor is when you deliver the placenta. if you don ' t go into labor within a week of your due date, your health care provider may recommend you receive a nonstress test, which monitors fetal heart rate and movement to be sure that the baby is receiving adequate oxygen and that the nervous system is responding. talk to your health care provider to find out more about this test. sometimes mother nature may need a little coaxing. if your labor isn ' t progressing, or if your health or your baby ' s health requires it, your health care provider may induce labor by artificially rupturing the membranes or by administering the hormone oxytocin or other medications. if your pregnancy is high risk, or if there are any other potential complications, you may require a cesarean section delivery. some women know ahead of time that they will be delivering via cesarean section and are able to schedule their baby ' s " birth day " well in advance. if you ' re one of them, you ' ve probably been able to prepare yourself emotionally and mentally for the birth — which can help to lessen the feelings of disappointment that many mothers who are unable to deliver vaginally experience. but even if you have to undergo a cesarean section that wasn ' t planned, rest assured that you ' ll still be able to bond with your baby. it might not be the birth experience you imagined, but your beautiful newborn has arrived nonetheless. the months of waiting are over! good luck with your baby!


what is it? fertility awareness is a way to prevent pregnancy by not having sex around the time of ovulation ( the release of an egg during a girl ' s monthly cycle ). couples who do want to have a baby can also use this method to have sex during the time that they are most likely to conceive. fertility awareness can include methods such as natural family planning, periodic abstinence, and the rhythm method. how does it work? if a couple doesn ' t have sex around the time of ovulation, the girl is less likely to get pregnant. the trick is knowing when ovulation happens. couples use a calendar, a thermometer to measure body temperature, the thickness of cervical mucus, or a kit that tests for ovulation. the ovulation kits are more useful for couples who are trying to get pregnant. the fertile period around ovulation lasts 6 to 9 days and during this time the couple using only fertility awareness for birth control who does not want to get pregnant should not have sex. how well does it work? fertility awareness is not a reliable way to prevent pregnancy for most teens. over the course of 1 year, as many as 25 out of 100 typical couples who rely on fertility awareness to prevent pregnancy will have an accidental pregnancy. of course, this is an average figure, and the chance of getting pregnant depends on whether a couple uses one or more of the fertility awareness methods correctly and consistently and does not have unprotected sex during the fertile period. in general, how well each type of birth control method works depends on a lot of things. these include whether a person has any health conditions, is taking any medications that might interfere with its use, whether the method chosen is convenient — and whether it is used correctly all the time. in the case of fertility awareness, it also depends on how consistent a woman ' s ovulatory cycle is, how accurately a couple keeps track of when she could be ovulating, and how reliably unprotected sex is avoided during the fertile period. protection against stds abstinence ( not having sex ) is the only method that always prevents pregnancy and stds. who uses it? fertility awareness is not a reliable way to prevent pregnancy for most teens. it is often very difficult to tell when a girl is fertile. because teens often have irregular menstrual cycles, it makes predicting ovulation much more difficult. even people who have previously had regular cycles can have irregular timing of o


teens. it is often very difficult to tell when a girl is fertile. because teens often have irregular menstrual cycles, it makes predicting ovulation much more difficult. even people who have previously had regular cycles can have irregular timing of ovulation when factors such as stress or illness are involved. fertility awareness also requires a commitment to monitoring body changes, keeping daily records, and above all not having sex during the fertile period. how do you get it? for couples interested in this method, it is best to talk to a doctor or counselor who is trained in fertility awareness. he or she can then teach the couple the skills they need to know to practice this birth control method accurately. how much does it cost? the tools needed for fertility awareness — such as ovulation detection kits and thermometers, for example — are available in drugstores. but they can be expensive. again, it ' s best to talk to a doctor for advice on using this method. reviewed by : larissa hirsch, md date reviewed : april 2010 share this page using : note : all information on teenshealth® is for educational purposes only. for specific medical advice, diagnoses, and treatment, consult your doctor. © 1995 - the nemours foundation. all rights reserved.


by irene klotz cape canaveral, florida ( reuters ) - despite searing daytime temperatures, mercury, the planet closest to the sun, has ice and frozen organic materials inside permanently shadowed craters in its north pole, nasa scientists said on thursday. earth - based telescopes have been compiling evidence for ice on mercury for 20 years, but the finding of organics was a surprise, say researchers with nasa ' s messenger spacecraft, the first probe to orbit mercury. both ice and organic materials, which are similar to tar or coal, were believed to have been delivered millions of years ago by comets and asteroids crashing into the planet. " it ' s not something we expected to see, but then of course you realize it kind of makes sense because we see this in other places, " such as icy bodies in the outer solar system and in the nuclei of comets, planetary scientist david paige, with the university of california, los angeles, told reuters. unlike nasa ' s mars rover curiosity, which will be sampling rocks and soils to look for organic materials directly, the messenger probe bounces laser beams, counts particles, measures gamma rays and collects other data remotely from orbit. the discoveries of ice and organics, painstakingly pieced together for more than a year, are based on computer models, laboratory experiments and deduction, not direct analysis. " the explanation that seems to fit all the data is that it ' s organic material, " said lead messenger scientist sean solomon, with columbia university in new york. added paige, " it ' s not just a crazy hypothesis. no one has got anything else that seems to fit all the observations better. " scientists believe the organic material, which is about twice as dark as most of mercury ' s surface, was mixed in with comet - or asteroid - delivered ice eons ago. the ice vaporized, then re - solidified where it was colder, leaving dark deposits on the surface. radar imagery shows the dark patches subside at the coldest parts of the crater, where ice can exist on the surface. the areas where the dark patches are seen are not cold enough for surface ice without the overlying layer of what is believed to be organics. so remote was the idea of organics on mercury that messenger got a relatively easy pass by nasa ' s planetary protection protocols that were established to minimize the chance of contaminating any indigenous life - potential material with hitchhiking microbes from earth. scientists don ' t believe mercury is or was suitable for ancient life, but the discovery of organics


s planetary protection protocols that were established to minimize the chance of contaminating any indigenous life - potential material with hitchhiking microbes from earth. scientists don ' t believe mercury is or was suitable for ancient life, but the discovery of organics on an inner planet of the solar system may shed light on how life got started on earth and how life may evolve on planets beyond the solar system. " finding a place in the inner solar system where some of these same ingredients that may have led to life on earth are preserved for us is really exciting, " paige said. messenger, which stands for mercury surface, space environment, geochemistry and ranging, is due to complete its two - year mission at mercury in march. scientists are seeking nasa funding to continue operations for at least part of a third year. the probe will remain in mercury ' s orbit until the planet ' s gravity eventually causes it to crash onto the surface. whether the discovery of organics now prompts nasa to select a crash zone rather than leave it up to chance remains to be seen. microbes that may have hitched a ride on messenger likely have been killed off by the harsh radiation environment at mercury. the research is published in this week ' s edition of the journal science. ( editing by kevin gray and vicki allen )


this “ the best … ” list is a companion to the best sites to learn about the u. s. financial crisis. those sites tried to explain how we got into this mess. the resources on this list share what is happening to us as a result. these sites try to give a picture of the recession ’ s effects throughout the world. these sites, all relatively accessible to english language learners, are divided into three sections. the first are some narrative reports on what is occurring. the second are interactive charts or graphs that show “ the numbers. ” the third are multimedia presentations giving a human face to the recession ( of course, most of my students are experiencing that human face directly in their own lives ). here are my picks for the best sites to learn about the recession : voice of america ’ s special english has a report ( with audio support for the text ) titled trying to live with a recession in the world ’ s largest economy. breaking new english has a lesson ( again, with audio support for the text ) called huge u. s. job losses spark recession fears. esl podcast blog has an engaging report on ways a recession affects society cbbc has a good report on the recession in the united kingdom. charts & graphs : where does your state rank? is a map from cnn showing the recession ’ s effect across the united states. layoffs pile - up is a graph from the wall street journal showing what economic sectors are experiencing the worst job loss. usa today has a very complete analysis on jobs loss and growth in the united states. the national conference of state legislatures also has an interactive map on the effects of the recession in all fifty states. these would require some teacher explanation, but are intriguing nevertheless. they ’ re are two infographics showing how the proposed economic stimulus would be used — one from the washington post and the other from credit loan. cnn has a new interactive on the compromise that the senate and house just agreed to. the obamameter is a regularly updated visual representation of different aspects of the u. s. economy. it would be accessible to intermediate english language learners with some explanation. finviz shows the stock market in a vivid color - code. the economy tracker from cnn shows the latest economic data on a map, and combines that with personal stories of those affected. the geography of a recession comes from the new york times and shows, in detail, unemployment rates throughout the united states. maplibs has a color - coded world map that shows international financial centers. the key is the color — if


those affected. the geography of a recession comes from the new york times and shows, in detail, unemployment rates throughout the united states. maplibs has a color - coded world map that shows international financial centers. the key is the color — if it ’ s shown in red then it ’ s down, if it ’ s shown in green then it ’ s up. the sacramento bee has a scary map of unemployment in california. economic reality check is from cnn and provide short facts about different aspects of the recession. the sacramento bee has just published an income gap interactive graphic. it ’ s based on sacramento data, but i suspect the information is similar across the united states. it vividly, and in a way that ’ s accessible to english language learners, shows how long it takes for different people ( by occupation, ethnicity, and educational background ) to earn $ 100, 000. msnbc has developed what they call an adversity index. it ’ s an animated map that “ measures the economic health of 381 metro areas and all 50 states. ” it ’ s pretty intriguing, though would probably require some initial explanation before english language learners could fully decipher it. right below the adversity map, you can also find a “ map : recession - resistant areas ” that highlights communities in the u. s. that have escaped the recession ’ s effects. the san francisco chronicle published a simple and very accessible chart today titled unemployment characteristics. it “ breaks down ” unemployment data by race, gender, and education background. great depression comparison is an excellent interactive comparing the depression to our present recession. here ’ s a very accessible infographic that shows the change in unemployment in major us cities over the past year. the associated press has an economic stress index which shows, in an interactive graphic form, what is happening to every county in the united states economically. it measures bankruptcies, home foreclosures, and unemployment, and then interprets it into what they call a “ stress index. ” the new york times has published an interactive graphic titled broad unemployment across the u. s. it shows both the official unemployment rate, and what the rate would be if it included “ ipart - time workers who want to work full time, as well some people who want to work but have not looked for a job in the last four weeks. ” moody ’ s has put together an impressive and accessible global recession map showing how all the economies in the world are going. “ food assistance ” is a very simple and visual infographic from good


not looked for a job in the last four weeks. ” moody ’ s has put together an impressive and accessible global recession map showing how all the economies in the world are going. “ food assistance ” is a very simple and visual infographic from good magazine tracking the rise of food stamps over the past year. times of crisis is an extraordinary interactive timeline showing the critical events of the economic recession over the past 365 days. the geography of jobs is an excellent animated map demonstrating the loss of jobs in different parts of the united states during the recession. flowing data has some maps that very visually show where unemployment has increased over the past few years. the unemployed states of america, a nice infographic ( in terms of accessibility, not because it shares good news ) how the great recession reshaped the u. s. job market, an informative ( and a bit “ busy ” looking ) interactive from the wall street journal. “ america ’ s 35 hardest - hit cities ” is a very accessible infographic showing the communities around the u. s. with the highest unemployment rates. quite a few of them are located right here in california ’ s central valley. comparing this recession to previous ones : job changes is a new york times graphic that very clearly shows we ’ re not doing so great right now. “ how the great recession has changed life in america ” is an interactive from the pew center. who ’ s hurting? is a wall street journal interactive showing which economic sector is losing / gaining jobs how do americans feel about the recession? is an infographic from mint. it has some interesting information, and a teacher could ask similar questions of their students. “ decline and fall of the california job market ” is a very good interactive from the sacramento bee showing the chronological progress of the monthly unemployment rate for each county in the state over the past three years. visual economics has published two good infographics in one place : “ cities that have missed the recovery ” and “ cities that are having a great recovery. ” “ how the recession has changed us ” is what i think is a pretty amazing infographic from the atlantic. where are the jobs? is a very good interactive infographic from the washington post showing which economic sectors are increasing jobs and which are not doing so well. good has just published a very good series of infographics explaining the economy. it ’ s called all about the benjamins. videos & slideshows : boomtown to bust is a new york times slideshow on the recession ’ s effect in florida. the sacramento bee


very good series of infographics explaining the economy. it ’ s called all about the benjamins. videos & slideshows : boomtown to bust is a new york times slideshow on the recession ’ s effect in florida. the sacramento bee has a series of photos chronicling the economic downturn. long lines of job seekers continue is a slideshow from the washington post. downturn leaves more families homeless is another slideshow from the washington post. the wall street journal has excerpts from recent songs that have been written about the recession. following a closing, the struggle to find work is another slideshow from the new york times. a community facing hunger is a video from the new york times. out of work in china is a video showing the effects of the recession in that country. a painful return is a slideshow discussing the recession ’ s effects in china. tough times for summitville tiles is a wall street journal slideshow about the closing of a factory. black thursday in france is a wall street journal slideshow about protests in that country demanding that the government do more to stop the recession. ohio town faces economic collapse is a slideshow from pixcetra. the american economy : down and out is a slideshow from time magazine. tough times in cleveland is another time slideshow. an audio slideshow from the new york times called in economic vise, pontiac struggles. there goes retirement is an online video from the wall street journal. the progressive magazine the nation has a useful slideshow called the great recession. it ’ s a bit ideological, but provides a different kind of analysis and response to the recession. it also includes links to articles that would not be accessible to ell ’ s. however, the images, teacher modifications of the articles, and lesson ideas provided by them could offer some good opportunities for student discussion and higher order thinking. the faces of the unemployed is a slideshow from the new york times. searching for a job is a series of photos from the sacramento bee. looking for work is an audio slideshow from reuters. desperately seeking a salary is another audio slideshow from reuters. job seekers flood local job fair is a slideshow from the sacramento bee. recession hits the saddle is a slideshow from the new york times. auto town struggles with unemployment is a slideshow from the new york times. dark stores from time magazine. the new york times has an audio slideshow about people looking for work in the state of tennessee. inside california ’ s tent cities is the newest addition to this list. it


a slideshow from the new york times. dark stores from time magazine. the new york times has an audio slideshow about people looking for work in the state of tennessee. inside california ’ s tent cities is the newest addition to this list. it ’ s a new york times slideshow on the growing number of homeless encampments around the united states, particularly here in sacramento ( which was recently featured on oprah winfrey ’ s show ) and in fresno. the death of the american mall is a slideshow from the wall street journal. stimulus watch is a site that doesn ’ t really fit into any of the categories on this list, but it ’ s intriguing. it supposedly lists all the projects different governmental projects have proposed to do with stimulus money, and then people can vote which ones they think are best. they ’ re categorized by community, so they ’ re very accessible. the only drawback to it is since it ’ s a wiki, even though all the projects are listed, many don ’ t have detailed information yet on what the project entails. nevertheless, its interactivity could offer some good possibilities for student engagement. how do you feel about the economy? is a great interactive graphic — especially for english language learners — from the new york times. you ’ re supposed to be able to enter a word that indicates how you ’ re filling, and you ’ re given many choices. it ’ s a good opportunity for vocabulary development. picturing the recession is yet another exceptional interactive from the new york times. it ’ s composed of photos contributed by readers, including captions, divided by topic or location. adapting to job loss is a slideshow from the washington post. survival strategies is a new interactive feature from the new york times. people offer brief ideas on how they ’ re saving money now in the recession. readers can vote on which ones they think are best. you have to register in order to vote, offer suggestions, or contribute your own. forced from home is a slideshow from the wall street journal. ghost factories is a slideshow from the new york times. “ the long - term unemployed ” is a multimedia interactive from the wall street journal. “ america out of work ” is ongoing series of video interviews the los angeles times is doing with the unemployed. america at work is slideshow from the atlantic. as always, feedback is welcome.


even though the cnc machines require little human intervention in the development process of the end desired product, human intervention is still needed when it comes to the computer software programming for the cnc machines. a cnc machine programmer must understand the programming, so that they are capable of accurately telling the machine what to do. cnc machines a programmed through a sentence like structure that is written in a code that it understands. each axes that the machine uses, requires instructions for the development of the final project. if you forget to program one of the axes, the product will not turn out ; in the same terms, if you program wrong, the axes will do what the program tells them and not what you want them to do. a cnc machine operator helps on the other end. the programmer writes the code for the machine, but the operator is responsible for downloading the program into the machine and getting the machine set up to properly do the job. the operator may have to set up the tools in the tool holder for the machine, position the material that is needed for the job in the machine, and then start the machine. if the cnc machine operator is experienced, they will begin to learn the different sounds that the machine makes and will be able to tell just by the sound whether there is a problem with the machine. a more experienced cnc machine operator is required to do this type of work. once the machine completes the program and the work progress is done, operators may be switched. at this point in time, a less experienced operator can take over from here. usually cnc machine operators will start out at the lower level and gradually work their way up as they become more experienced in this type of machining. experienced cnc machine operators can detect program flaws and can usually make the modifications to the program themselves. if they notice that the end product is not to the specifications needed, they can fix the problem in the program and continue on with the job. they will not have to take the time to contact the programmer and wait for the program to be fixed. limited input from the operator is needed to operate a cnc machine. it is because of this reason that one operator may be able to watch multiple machines. the machines do all of the work and only one person is required to do the set up of the machines. this enables companies to employ fewer people and saves them in the payroll department. cnc machine operators must adhere to safety precautions just like they would in any other machine shop. even though the cnc machines are usually completely


a nuzzle of the neck, a stroke of the wrist, a brush of the knee — these caresses often signal a loving touch, but can also feel highly aversive, depending on who is delivering the touch, and to whom. interested in how the brain makes connections between touch and emotion, neuroscientists at the california institute of technology ( caltech ) have discovered that the association begins in the brain ’ s primary somatosensory cortex, a region that, until now, was thought only to respond to basic touch, not to its emotional quality. “ we demonstrated for the first time that the primary somatosensory cortex — the brain region encoding basic touch properties such as how rough or smooth an object is — also is sensitive to the social meaning of a touch, ” explains michael spezio, a visiting associate at caltech who is also an assistant professor of psychology at scripps college in claremont, california. “ it was generally thought that there are separate brain pathways for how we process the physical aspects of touch on the skin and for how we interpret that touch emotionally — that is, whether we feel it as pleasant, unpleasant, desired, or repulsive. our study shows that, to the contrary, emotion is involved at the primary stages of social touch. ”


we have in this chapter to consider why the females of many birds have not acquired the same ornaments as the male ; and why, on the other hand, both sexes of many other birds are equally, or almost equally, ornamented? in the following chapter we shall consider the few cases in which the female is more conspicuously coloured than the male. in my origin of species * i briefly suggested that the long tail of the peacock would be inconvenient and the conspicuous black colour of the male capercailzie dangerous, to the female during the period of incubation : and consequently that the transmission of these characters from the male to the female offspring had been checked through natural selection. i still think that this may have occurred in some few instances : but after mature reflection on all the facts which i have been able to collect, i am now inclined to believe that when the sexes differ, the successive variations have generally been from the first limited in their transmission to the same sex in which they first arose. since my remarks appeared, the subject of sexual colouration has been discussed in some very interesting papers by mr. wallace, * ( 2 ) who believes that in almost all cases the successive variations tended at first to be transmitted equally to both sexes ; but that the female was saved, through natural selection, from acquiring the conspicuous colours of the male, owing to the danger which she would thus have incurred during incubation. * fourth edition, 1866, p. 241. * ( 2 ) westminster review, july, 1867. journal of travel, vol. i., 1868, p. 73. this view necessitates a tedious discussion on a difficult point, namely, whether the transmission of a character, which is at first inherited by both sexes can be subsequently limited in its transmission to one sex alone by means of natural selection. we must bear in mind, as shewn in the preliminary chapter on sexual selection, that characters which are limited in their development to one sex are always latent in the other. an imaginary illustration will best aid us in seeing the difficulty of the case ; we may suppose that a fancier wished to make a breed of pigeons, in which the males alone should be coloured of a pale blue, whilst the females retained their former slaty tint. as with pigeons characters of all kinds are usually transmitted to both sexes equally, the fancier would have to try to convert this latter form of inheritance into sexually - limited transmission. all that he could do would be to persevere in selecting


the female soemmerring pheasant with her short tail were crossed with the male common pheasant, there can be no doubt that the male hybrid offspring would have a much longer tail than that of the pure offspring of the common pheasant. on the other hand, if the female common pheasant, with a tail much longer than that of the female soemmerring pheasant, were crossed with the male of the latter, the male hybrid offspring would have a much shorter tail than that of the pure offspring of soemmerring ' s pheasant. * * temminck says that the tail of the female phasianus soemmerringii is only six inches long, planches coloriees, vol. v., 1838, pp. 487 and 488 : the measurements above given were made for me by mr. sclater. for the common pheasant, see macgillivray, history of british birds, vol. i., pp. 118 - 121. our fancier, in order to make his new breed with the males of a pale - blue tint, and the females unchanged, would have to continue selecting the males during many generations ; and each stage of paleness would have to be fixed in the males, and rendered latent in the females. the task would be an extremely difficult one, and has never been tried, but might possibly be successfully carried out. the chief obstacle would be the early and complete loss of the pale - blue tint, from the necessity of reiterated crosses with the slaty female, the latter not having at first any latent tendency to produce pale - blue offspring. on the other hand, if one or two males were to vary ever so slightly in paleness, and the variations were from the first limited in their transmission to the male sex, the task of making a new breed of the desired kind would be easy, for such males would simply have to be selected and matched with ordinary females. an analogous case has actually occurred, for there are breeds of the pigeon in belgium * in which the males alone are marked with black striae. so again mr. tegetmeier has recently shewn * ( 2 ) that dragons not rarely produce silver - coloured birds, which are almost always hens ; and he himself has bred ten such females. it is on the other hand a very unusual event when a silver male is produced ; so that nothing would be easier, if desired, than to make a


coloured birds, which are almost always hens ; and he himself has bred ten such females. it is on the other hand a very unusual event when a silver male is produced ; so that nothing would be easier, if desired, than to make a breed of dragons with blue males and silver females. this tendency is indeed so strong that when mr. tegetmeier at last got a silver male and matched him with one of the silver females, he expected to get a breed with both sexes thus coloured ; he was however disappointed, for the young male reverted to the blue colour of his grandfather, the young female alone being silver. no doubt with patience this tendency to reversion in the males, reared from an occasional silver male matched with a silver hen, might be eliminated, and then both sexes would be coloured alike ; and this very process has been followed with success by mr. esquilant in the case of silver turbits. * dr. chapius, le pigeon voyageur belge, 1865, p. 87. * ( 2 ) the field, sept., 1872. with fowls, variations of colour, limited in their transmission to the male sex, habitually occur. when this form of inheritance prevails, it might well happen that some of the successive variations would be transferred to the female, who would then slightly resemble the male, as actually occurs in some breeds. or again, the greater number, but not all, of the successive steps might be transferred to both sexes, and the female would then closely resemble the male. there can hardly be a doubt that this is the cause of the male pouter pigeon having a somewhat larger crop, and of the male carrier pigeon having somewhat larger wattles, than their respective females ; for fanciers have not selected one sex more than the other, and have had no wish that these characters should be more strongly displayed in the male than in the female, yet this is the case with both breeds. the same process would have to be followed, and the same difficulties encountered, if it were desired to make a breed with the females alone of some new colour. lastly, our fancier might wish to make a breed with the two sexes differing from each other, and both from the parent species. here the difficulty would be extreme, unless the successive variations were from the first sexually limited on both sides, and then there would be no difficulty. we see this with the fowl ; thus the two sexes of the pencilled hamburghs differ greatly from each


difficulty would be extreme, unless the successive variations were from the first sexually limited on both sides, and then there would be no difficulty. we see this with the fowl ; thus the two sexes of the pencilled hamburghs differ greatly from each other, and from the two sexes of the aboriginal gallus bankiva ; and both are now kept constant to their standard of excellence by continued selection, which would be impossible unless the distinctive characters of both were limited in their transmission. the spanish fowl offers a more curious case ; the male has an immense comb, but some of the successive variations, by the accumulation of which it was acquired, appear to have been transferred to the female ; for she has a comb many times larger than that of the females of the parent species. but the comb of the female differs in one respect from that of the male, for it is apt to lop over ; and within a recent period it has been ordered by the fancy that this should always be the case, and success has quickly followed the order. now the lopping of the comb must be sexually limited in its transmission, otherwise it would prevent the comb of the male from being perfectly upright, which would be abhorrent to every fancier. on the other hand, the uprightness of the comb in the male must likewise be a sexually - limited character, otherwise it would prevent the comb of the female from lopping over. from the foregoing illustrations, we see that even with almost unlimited time at command, it would be an extremely difficult and complex, perhaps an impossible process, to change one form of transmission into the other through selection. therefore, without distinct evidence in each case, i am unwilling to admit that this has been effected in natural species. on the other hand, by means of successive variations, which were from the first sexually limited in their transmission, there would not be the least difficulty in rendering a male bird widely different in colour or in any other character from the female ; the latter being left unaltered, or slightly altered, or specially modified for the sake of protection. as bright colours are of service to the males in their rivalry with other males, such colours would be selected whether or not they were transmitted exclusively to the same sex. consequently the females might be expected often to partake of the brightness of the males to a greater or less degree ; and this occurs with a host of species. if all the successive variations were transmitted equally to both sexes, the females would be indistinguishable from the males


to partake of the brightness of the males to a greater or less degree ; and this occurs with a host of species. if all the successive variations were transmitted equally to both sexes, the females would be indistinguishable from the males ; and this likewise occurs with many birds. if, however, dull colours were of high importance for the safety of the female during incubation, as with many ground birds, the females which varied in brightness, or which received through inheritance from the males any marked accession of brightness, would sooner or later be destroyed. but the tendency in the males to continue for an indefinite period transmitting to their female offspring their own brightness, would have to be eliminated by a change in the form of inheritance ; and this, as shewn by our previous illustration, would be extremely difficult. the more probable result of the long - continued destruction of the more brightly - coloured females, supposing the equal form of transmission to prevail would be the lessening or annihilation of the bright colours of the males, owing to their continual crossing with the duller females. it would be tedious to follow out all the other possible results ; but i may remind the reader that if sexually limited variations in brightness occurred in the females, even if they were not in the least injurious to them and consequently were not eliminated, yet they would not be favoured or selected, for the male usually accepts any female, and does not select the more attractive individuals ; consequently these variations would be liable to be lost, and would have little influence on the character of the race ; and this will aid in accounting for the females being commonly duller - coloured than the males. in the eighth chapter instances were given, to which many might here be added, of variations occurring at various ages, and inherited at the corresponding age. it was also shewn that variations which occur late in life are commonly transmitted to the same sex in which they first appear ; whilst variations occurring early in life are apt to be transmitted to both sexes ; not that all the cases of sexually - limited transmission can thus be accounted for. it was further shewn that if a male bird varied by becoming brighter whilst young, such variations would be of no service until the age for reproduction had arrived, and there was competition between rival males. but in the case of birds living on the ground and commonly in need of the protection of dull colours, bright tints would be far more dangerous to the young and inexperienced than to the adult males. consequently the males which


was competition between rival males. but in the case of birds living on the ground and commonly in need of the protection of dull colours, bright tints would be far more dangerous to the young and inexperienced than to the adult males. consequently the males which varied in brightness whilst young would suffer much destruction and be eliminated through natural selection ; on the other hand, the males which varied in this manner when nearly mature, notwithstanding that they were exposed to some additional danger, might survive, and from being favoured through sexual selection, would procreate their kind. as a relation often exists between the period of variation and the form of transmission, if the bright - coloured young males were destroyed and the mature ones were successful in their courtship, the males alone would acquire brilliant colours and would transmit them exclusively to their male offspring. but i by no means wish to maintain that the influence of age on the form of transmission, is the sole cause of the great difference in brilliancy between the sexes of many birds. when the sexes of birds differ in colour, it is interesting to determine whether the males alone have been modified by sexual selection, the females having been left unchanged, or only partially and indirectly thus changed ; or whether the females have been specially modified through natural selection for the sake of protection. i will therefore discuss this question at some length, even more fully than its intrinsic importance deserves ; for various curious collateral points may thus be conveniently considered. before we enter on the subject of colour, more especially in reference to mr. wallace ' s conclusions, it may be useful to discuss some other sexual differences under a similar point of view. a breed of fowls formerly existed in germany * in which the hens were furnished with spurs ; they were good layers, but they so greatly disturbed their nests with their spurs that they could not be allowed to sit on their own eggs. hence at one time it appeared to me probable that with the females of the wild gallinaceae the development of spurs had been checked through natural selection, from the injury thus caused to their nests. this seemed all the more probable, as wing - spurs, which would not be injurious during incubation, are often as well developed in the female as in the male ; though in not a few cases they are rather larger in the male. when the male is furnished with leg - spurs the female almost always exhibits rudiments of them, - the rudiment sometimes consisting of a mere scale, as in gallus. hence it might be argued that the females had


larger in the male. when the male is furnished with leg - spurs the female almost always exhibits rudiments of them, - the rudiment sometimes consisting of a mere scale, as in gallus. hence it might be argued that the females had aboriginally been furnished with well - developed spurs, but that these had subsequently been lost through disuse or natural selection. but if this view be admitted, it would have to be extended to innumerable other cases ; and it implies that the female progenitors of the existing spur - bearing species were once encumbered with an injurious appendage. * bechstein, naturgeschichte deutschlands, 1793, b. iii., 339. in some few genera and species, as in galloperdix, acomus, and the javan peacock ( pavo muticus ), the females, as well as the males, possess well - developed leg - spurs. are we to infer from this fact that they construct a different sort of nest from that made by their nearest allies, and not liable to be injured by their spurs ; so that the spurs have not been removed? or are we to suppose that the females of these several species especially require spurs for their defence? it is a more probable conclusion that both the presence and absence of spurs in the females result from different laws of inheritance having prevailed, independently of natural selection. with the many females in which spurs appear as rudiments, we may conclude that some few of the successive variations, through which they were developed in the males, occurred very early in life, and were consequently transferred to the females. in the other and much rarer cases, in which the females possess fully developed spurs, we may conclude that all the successive variations were transferred to them ; and that they gradually acquired and inherited the habit of not disturbing their nests. the vocal organs and the feathers variously modified for producing sound, as well as the proper instincts for using them, often differ in the two sexes, but are sometimes the same in both. can such differences be accounted for by the males having acquired these organs and instincts, whilst the females have been saved from inheriting them, on account of the danger to which they would have been exposed by attracting the attention of birds or beasts of prey? this does not seem to me probable, when we think of the multitude of birds which with impunity gladden the country with their voices during the spring. * it is a safer conclusion that, as vocal and


of birds or beasts of prey? this does not seem to me probable, when we think of the multitude of birds which with impunity gladden the country with their voices during the spring. * it is a safer conclusion that, as vocal and instrumental organs are of special service only to the males during their courtship, these organs were developed through sexual selection and their constant use in that sex alone - the successive variations and the effects of use having been from the first more or less limited in transmission to the male offspring. * daines barrington, however, thought it probable ( philosophical transactions, 1773, p. 164 ) that few female birds sing, because the talent would have been dangerous to them during incubation. he adds, that a similar view may possibly account for the inferiority of the female to the male in plumage. many analogous cases could be adduced ; those for instance of the plumes on the head being generally longer in the male than in the female, sometimes of equal length in both sexes, and occasionally absent in the female, - these several cases occurring in the same group of birds. it would be difficult to account for such a difference between the sexes by the female having been benefited by possessing a slightly shorter crest than the male, and its consequent diminution or complete suppression through natural selection. but i will take a more favourable case, namely the length of the tail. the long train of the peacock would have been not only inconvenient but dangerous to the peahen during the period of incubation and whilst accompanying her young. hence there is not the least a priori improbability in the development of her tail having been checked through natural selection. but the females of various pheasants, which apparently are exposed on their open nests to as much danger as the peahen, have tails of considerable length. the females as well as the males of the menura superba have long tails, and they build a domed nest, which is a great anomaly in so large a bird. naturalists have wondered how the female menura could manage her tail during incubation ; but it is now known * that she " enters the nest head first, and then turns round with her tail sometimes over her back, but more often bent round by her side. thus in time the tail becomes quite askew, and is a tolerable guide to the length of time the bird has been sitting. " both sexes of an australian kingfisher ( tanysiptera sylvia ) have the


by her side. thus in time the tail becomes quite askew, and is a tolerable guide to the length of time the bird has been sitting. " both sexes of an australian kingfisher ( tanysiptera sylvia ) have the middle tail - feathers greatly lengthened, and the female makes her nest in a hole ; and as i am informed by mr. r. b. sharpe these feathers become much crumpled during incubation. * mr. ramsay, in proc. zoolog. soc., 1868, p. 50. in these two latter cases the great length of the tail - feathers must be in some degree inconvenient to the female ; and as in both species the tail - feathers of the female are somewhat shorter than those of the male, it might be argued that their full development had been prevented through natural selection. but if the development of the tail of the peahen had been checked only when it became inconveniently or dangerously great, she would have retained a much longer tail than she actually possesses ; for her tail is not nearly so long, relatively to the size of her body, as that of many female pheasants, nor longer than that of the female turkey. it must also be borne in mind that, in accordance with this view, as soon as the tail of the peahen became dangerously long, and its development was consequently checked, she would have continually reacted on her male progeny, and thus have prevented the peacock from acquiring his present magnificent train. we may therefore infer that the length of the tail in the peacock and its shortness in the peahen are the result of the requisite variations in the male having been from the first transmitted to the male offspring alone. we are led to a nearly similar conclusion with respect to the length of the tail in the various species of pheasants. in the eared pheasant ( crossoptilon auritum ) the tail is of equal length in both sexes, namely sixteen or seventeen inches ; in the common pheasant it is about twenty inches long in the male and twelve in the female ; in soemmerring ' s pheasant, thirty - seven inches in the male and only eight in the female ; and lastly in reeve ' s pheasant it is sometimes actually seventy - two inches long in the male and sixteen in the female. thus in the several species, the tail of the female differs much in length, irrespectively of that of the male ;


' s pheasant it is sometimes actually seventy - two inches long in the male and sixteen in the female. thus in the several species, the tail of the female differs much in length, irrespectively of that of the male ; and this can be accounted for, as it seems to me, with much more probability, by the laws of inheritance, - that is by the successive variations having been from the first more or less closely limited in their transmission to the male sex than by the agency of natural selection, resulting from the length of tail being more or less injurious to the females of these several allied species. we may now consider mr. wallace ' s arguments in regard to the sexual colouration of birds. he believes that the bright tints originally acquired through sexual selection by the males would in all, or almost all cases, have been transmitted to the females, unless the transference had been checked through natural selection. i may here remind the reader that various facts opposed to this view have already been given under reptiles, amphibians, fishes and lepidoptera. mr. wallace rests his belief chiefly, but not exclusively, as we shall see in the next chapter, on the following statement, * that when both sexes are coloured in a very conspicuous manner, the nest is of such a nature as to conceal the sitting bird ; but when there is a marked contrast of colour between the sexes, the male being gay and the female dull - coloured, the nest is open and exposes the sitting bird to view. this coincidence, as far as it goes, certainly seems to favour the belief that the females which sit on open nests have been specially modified for the sake of protection ; but we shall presently see that there is another and more probable explanation, namely, that conspicuous females have acquired the instinct of building domed nests oftener than dull - coloured birds. mr. wallace admits that there are, as might have been expected, some exceptions to his two rules, but it is a question whether the exceptions are not so numerous as seriously to invalidate them. * journal of travel, edited by a. murray, vol. i., 1868, p. 78. there is in the first place much truth in the duke of argyll ' s remark * that a large domed nest is more conspicuous to an enemy, especially to all tree - haunting carnivorous animals, than a smaller open nest. nor must we forget that with many birds which build open nests, the male sits on the eggs and aids the female in feeding the


nest is more conspicuous to an enemy, especially to all tree - haunting carnivorous animals, than a smaller open nest. nor must we forget that with many birds which build open nests, the male sits on the eggs and aids the female in feeding the young : this is the case, for instance, with pyranga aestiva, * ( 2 ) one of the most splendid birds in the united states, the male being vermilion, and the female light brownish - green. now if brilliant colours had been extremely dangerous to birds whilst sitting on their open nests, the males in these cases would have suffered greatly. it might, however, be of such paramount importance to the male to be brilliantly coloured, in order to beat his rivals, that this may have more than compensated some additional danger. * journal of travel, edited by a. murray, vol. i., 1868, p. 281. * ( 2 ) audubon, ornithological biography, vol. i., p. 233. mr. wallace admits that with the king - crows ( dicrurus ), orioles, and pittidae, the females are conspicuously coloured, yet build open nests ; but he urges that the birds of the first group are highly pugnacious and could defend themselves ; that those of the second group take extreme care in concealing their open nests, but this does not invariably hold good ; * and that with the birds of the third group the females are brightly coloured chiefly on the under surface. besides these cases, pigeons which are sometimes brightly, and almost always conspicuously coloured, and which are notoriously liable to the attacks of birds of prey, offer a serious exception to the rule, for they almost always build open and exposed nests. in another large family, that of the humming - birds, all the species build open nests, yet with some of the most gorgeous species the sexes are alike ; and in the majority, the females, though less brilliant than the males, are brightly coloured. nor can it be maintained that all female humming - birds, which are brightly coloured, escape detection by their tints being green, for some display on their upper surfaces red, blue, and other colours. * ( 2 ) * jerdon, birds of india, vol. ii., p. 108. gould ' s handbook of the birds of australia, vol. i., p. 463. * ( 2 ) for instance, the female eupetomena macroura has the head and tail dark blue with reddish


., p. 108. gould ' s handbook of the birds of australia, vol. i., p. 463. * ( 2 ) for instance, the female eupetomena macroura has the head and tail dark blue with reddish loins ; the female lampornis porphyrurus is blackish - green on the upper surface, with the lores and sides of the throat crimson ; the female eulampis jugularis has the top of the head and back green, but the loins and the tail are crimson. many other instances of highly conspicuous females could be given. see mr. gould ' s magnificent work on this family. in regard to birds which build in holes or construct domed nests, other advantages, as mr. wallace remarks, besides concealment are gained, such as shelter from the rain, greater warmth, and in hot countries protection from the sun ; * so that it is no valid objection to his view that many birds having both sexes obscurely coloured build concealed nests. * ( 2 ) the female horn - bill ( buceros ), for instance, of india and africa is protected during incubation with extraordinary care, for she plasters up with her own excrement the orifice of the hole in which she sits on her eggs, leaving only a small orifice through which the male feeds her ; she is thus kept a close prisoner during the whole period of incubation ; * ( 3 ) yet female horn - bills are not more conspicuously coloured than many other birds of equal size which build open nests. it is a more serious objection to mr. wallace ' s view, as is admitted by him, that in some few groups the males are brilliantly coloured and the females obscure, and yet the latter hatch their eggs in domed nests. this is the case with the grallinae of australia, the superb warblers ( maluridae ) of the same country, the sun - birds ( nectariniae ), and with several of the australian honey - suckers or meliphagidae. * ( 4 ) * mr. salvin noticed in guatemala ( ibis, 1864, p. 375 ) that humming - birds were much more unwilling to leave their nests during very hot weather, when the sun was shining brightly, as if their eggs would be thus injured, than during cool, cloudy, or rainy weather. * ( 2 ) i may specify, as instances of dull - coloured birds building concealed nests, the species belonging to eight australian genera described in gould


brightly, as if their eggs would be thus injured, than during cool, cloudy, or rainy weather. * ( 2 ) i may specify, as instances of dull - coloured birds building concealed nests, the species belonging to eight australian genera described in gould ' s handbook of the birds of australia, vol. i., pp. 340, 362, 365, 383, 387, 389, 391, 414. * ( 3 ) mr. c. horne, proc. zoolog. soc., 1869. p. 243. * ( 4 ) on the nidification and colours of these latter species, see gould ' s handbook of the birds of australia, vol. i., pp. 504, 527. if we look to the birds of england we shall see that there is no close and general relation between the colours of the female and the nature of the nest which is constructed. about forty of our british birds ( excluding those of large size which could defend themselves ) build in holes in banks, rocks, or trees, or construct domed nests. if we take the colours of the female goldfinch, bullfinch, or black - bird, as a standard of the degree of conspicuousness, which is not highly dangerous to the sitting female, then out of the above forty birds the females of only twelve can be considered as conspicuous to a dangerous degree, the remaining twenty - eight being inconspicuous. * nor is there any close relation within the same genus between a well - pronounced difference in colour between the sexes, and the nature of the nest constructed. thus the male house sparrow ( passer domesticus ) differs much from the female, the male tree - sparrow ( p. montanus ) hardly at all, and yet both build well - concealed nests. the two sexes of the common fly - catcher ( muscicapa grisola ) can hardly be distinguished, whilst the sexes of the pied fly - catcher ( m. luctuosa ) differ considerably, and both species build in holes or conceal their nests. the female blackbird ( turdus merula ) differs much, the female ring - ouzel ( t. torquatus ) differs less, and the female common thrush ( t. musicus ) hardly at all from their respective males ; yet all build open nests. on the other hand, the not very distantly - allied water - ouzel ( cinclus aquaticus ) builds a domed nest, and the sexes differ about as much


) hardly at all from their respective males ; yet all build open nests. on the other hand, the not very distantly - allied water - ouzel ( cinclus aquaticus ) builds a domed nest, and the sexes differ about as much as in the ring - ouzel. the black and red grouse ( tetrao tetrix and t. scoticus ) build open nests in equally well - concealed spots, but in the one species the sexes differ greatly, and in the other very little. * i have consulted, on this subject, macgillivray ' s british birds, and though doubts may be entertained in some cases in regard to the degree of concealment of the nest, and to the degree of conspicuousness of the female, yet the following birds, which all lay their eggs in holes or in domed nests, can hardly be considered, by the above standard, as conspicuous : passer, 2 species ; sturnus, of which the female is considerably less brilliant than the male ; cinclus ; motallica boarula (? ) ; erithacus (? ) ; fruticola, 2 sp. ; saxicola ; ruticilla, 2 sp. ; sylvia, 3 sp. ; parus, 3 sp. ; mecistura anorthura ; certhia ; sitta ; yunx ; muscicapa, 2 sp. ; hirundo, 3 sp. ; and cypselus. the females of the following 12 birds may be considered as conspicuous according to the same standard, viz., pastor, motacilla alba, parus major and p. caeruleus, upupa, picus, 4 sp., coracias, alcedo, and merops. notwithstanding the foregoing objections, i cannot doubt, after reading mr. wallace ' s excellent essay, that looking to the birds of the world, a large majority of the species in which the females are conspicuously coloured ( and in this case the males with rare exceptions are equally conspicuous ), build concealed nests for the sake of protection. mr. wallace enumerates * a long series of groups in which this rule bolds good ; but it will suffice here to give, as instances, the more familiar groups of kingfishers, toucans, trogons, puff - birds ( capitonidae ), plantain - eaters ( musophagae, woodpeckers, and parrots. mr. wallace believes


more familiar groups of kingfishers, toucans, trogons, puff - birds ( capitonidae ), plantain - eaters ( musophagae, woodpeckers, and parrots. mr. wallace believes that in these groups, as the males gradually acquired through sexual selection their brilliant colours, these were transferred to the females and were not eliminated by natural selection, owing to the protection which they already enjoyed from their manner of nidification. according to this view, their present manner of nesting was acquired before their present colours. but it seems to me much more probable that in most cases, as the females were gradually rendered more and more brilliant from partaking of the colours of the male, they were gradually led to change their instincts ( supposing that they originally built open nests ), and to seek protection by building domed or concealed nests. no one who studies, for instance, audubon ' s account of the differences in the nests of the same species in the northern and southern united states, * ( 2 ) will feel any great difficulty in admitting that birds, either by a change ( in the strict sense of the word ) of their habits, or through the natural selection of so - called spontaneous variations of instinct, might readily be led to modify their manner of nesting. * journal of travel, edited by a. murray, vol. i., p. 78. * ( 2 ) see many statements in the ornithological biography. see also some curious observations on the nests of italian birds by eugenio bettoni, in the atti della societa italiana, vol. xi., 1869, p. 487. this way of viewing the relation, as far as it holds good, between the bright colours of female birds and their manner of nesting, receives some support from certain cases occurring in the sahara desert. here, as in most other deserts, various birds, and many other animals, have had their colours adapted in a wonderful manner to the tints of the surrounding surface. nevertheless there are, as i am informed by the rev. mr. tristram, some curious exceptions to the rule ; thus the male of the monticola cyanea is conspicuous from his bright blue colour, and the female almost equally conspicuous from her mottled brown and white plumage ; both sexes of two species of dromolaea are of a lustrous black ; so that these three species are far from receiving protection from their colours, yet they are able to survive,


equally conspicuous from her mottled brown and white plumage ; both sexes of two species of dromolaea are of a lustrous black ; so that these three species are far from receiving protection from their colours, yet they are able to survive, for they have acquired the habit of taking refuge from danger in holes or crevices in the rocks. with respect to the above groups in which the females are conspicuously coloured and build concealed nests, it is not necessary to suppose that each separate species had its nidifying instinct specially modified ; but only that the early progenitors of each group were gradually led to build domed or concealed nests, and afterwards transmitted this instinct, together with their bright colours, to their modified descendants. as far as it can be trusted, the conclusion is interesting, that sexual selection together with equal or nearly equal inheritance by both sexes, have indirectly determined the manner of nidification of whole groups of birds. according to mr. wallace, even in the groups in which the females, from being protected in domed nests during incubation, have not had their bright colours eliminated through natural selection, the males often differ in a slight, and occasionally in a considerable degree from the females. this is a significant fact, for such differences in colour must be accounted for by some of the variations in the males having been from the first limited in transmission to the same sex ; as it can hardly be maintained that these differences, especially when very slight, serve as a protection to the female. thus all the species in the splendid group of the trogons build in holes ; and mr. gould gives figures * of both sexes of twenty - five species, in all of which, with one partial exception, the sexes differ sometimes slightly, sometimes conspicuously, in colour, - the males being always finer than the females, though the latter are likewise beautiful. all the species of kingfishers build in holes, and with most of the species the sexes are equally brilliant, and thus far mr. wallace ' s rule holds good ; but in some of the australian species the colours of the females are rather less vivid than those of the male ; and in one splendidly - coloured species, the sexes differ so much that they were at first thought to be specifically distinct. * ( 2 ) mr. r. b. sharpe, who has especially studied this group, has shewn me some american species ( ceryle ) in which the breast of the male is belted with black. again, in carcineutes, the difference


mr. r. b. sharpe, who has especially studied this group, has shewn me some american species ( ceryle ) in which the breast of the male is belted with black. again, in carcineutes, the difference between the sexes is conspicuous : in the male the upper surface is dull - blue banded with black, the lower surface being partly fawn - coloured, and there is much red about the head ; in the female the upper surface is reddish - brown banded with black, and the lower surface white with black markings it is an interesting fact, as shewing how the same peculiar style of sexual colouring often characterises allied forms, that in three species of dacelo the male differs from the female only in the tail being dull - blue banded with black, whilst that of the female is brown with blackish bars ; so that here the tail differs in colour in the two sexes in exactly the same manner as the whole upper surface in the two sexes of carcineutes. * see his monograph of the trogonidae, 1st edition. * ( 2 ) namely, cyanalcyon. gould ' s handbook of the birds of australia, vol. i., p. 133 ; see, also, pp. 130, 136. with parrots, which likewise build in holes, we find analogous cases : in most of the species, both sexes are brilliantly coloured and indistinguishable, but in not a few species the males are coloured rather more vividly than the females, or even very differently from them. thus, besides other strongly - marked differences, the whole under surface of the male king lory ( aprosmictus scapulatus ) is scarlet, whilst the throat and chest of the female is green tinged with red : in the euphema splendida there is a similar difference, the face and wing coverts moreover of the female being of a paler blue than in the male. * in the family of the tits ( parinae ), which build concealed nests, the female of our common blue tomtit ( parus caeruleus ), is " much less brightly coloured " than the male : and in the magnificent sultan yellow tit of india the difference is greater. * ( 2 ) * every gradation of difference between the sexes may be followed in the parrots of australia. see gould, op. cit., vol. ii., pp. 14 - 102. * ( 2 ) macgillivray ' s british


every gradation of difference between the sexes may be followed in the parrots of australia. see gould, op. cit., vol. ii., pp. 14 - 102. * ( 2 ) macgillivray ' s british birds, vol. ii., p. 433. jerdon, birds of india, vol. ii., p. 282. again, in the great group of the woodpeckers, * the sexes are generally nearly alike, but in the megapicus validus all those parts of the head, neck, and breast, which are crimson in the male are pale brown in the female. as in several woodpeckers the head of the male is bright crimson, whilst that of the female is plain, it occurred to me that this colour might possibly make the female dangerously conspicuous, whenever she put her head out of the hole containing her nest, and consequently that this colour, in accordance with mr. wallace ' s belief, had been eliminated. this view is strengthened by what malherbe states with respect to indopicus carlotta ; namely, that the young females, like the young males, have some crimson about their heads, but that this colour disappears in the adult female, whilst it is intensified in the adult male. nevertheless the following considerations render this view extremely doubtful : the male takes a fair share in incubation, * ( 2 ) and would be thus almost equally exposed to danger ; both sexes of many species have their heads of an equally bright crimson ; in other species the difference between the sexes in the amount of scarlet is so slight that it can hardly make any appreciable difference in the danger incurred ; and lastly, the colouring of the head in the two sexes often differs slightly in other ways. * all the following facts are taken from m. malherbe ' s magnificent monographie des picidees, 1861. * ( 2 ) audubon ' s ornithological biography, vol. ii., p. 75 ; see also the ibis, vol. i., p. 268. the cases, as yet given, of slight and graduated differences in colour between the males and females in the groups, in which as a general rule the sexes resemble each other, all relate to species which build domed or concealed nests. but similar gradations may likewise be observed in groups in which the sexes as a general rule resemble each other, but which build open nests. as i have before instanced the australian parrots,


relate to species which build domed or concealed nests. but similar gradations may likewise be observed in groups in which the sexes as a general rule resemble each other, but which build open nests. as i have before instanced the australian parrots, so i may here instance, without giving any details, the australian pigeons. * it deserves especial notice that in all these cases the slight differences in plumage between the sexes are of the same general nature as the occasionally greater differences. a good illustration of this fact has already been afforded by those kingfishers in which either the tail alone or the whole upper surface of the plumage differs in the same manner in the two sexes. similar cases may be observed with parrots and pigeons. the differences in colour between the sexes of the same species are, also, of the same general nature as the differences in colour between the distinct species of the same group. for when in a group in which the sexes are usually alike, the male differs considerably from the female, he is not coloured in a quite new style. hence we may infer that within the same group the special colours of both sexes when they are alike, and the colours of the male, when he differs slightly or even considerably from the female, have been in most cases determined by the same general cause ; this being sexual selection. * gould ' s handbook of the birds of australia, vol. ii., pp. 109 - 149. it is not probable, as has already been remarked, that differences in colour between the sexes, when very slight, can be of service to the female as a protection. assuming, however, that they are of service, they might be thought to be cases of transition ; but we have no reason to believe that many species at any one time are undergoing change. therefore we can hardly admit that the numerous females which differ very slightly in colour from their males are now all commencing to become obscure for the sake of protection. even if we consider somewhat more marked sexual differences, is it probable, for instance, that the head of the female chaffinch, - the crimson on the breast of the female bullfinch, - the green of the female greenfinch, - the crest of the female golden - crested wren, have all been rendered less bright by the slow process of selection for the sake of protection? i cannot think so ; and still less with the slight differences between the sexes of those birds which build concealed nests. on the other hand, the differences in colour between the sexes, whether great or small