Top 100 Teams
International League (Triple-A)
By Bill Weiss & Marshall Wright, Baseball Historians
|1918 TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS|
In 1918, due to wartime travel restrictions caused by America’s involvement in World War I, every minor league in the land, save one, stopped play in June or July. The one league that continued on to its scheduled conclusion was the International. Its champion in 1918 was the Toronto club, although the MapleLeafs wouldn’t win the laurels without a struggle.
The city of Toronto, located on the north shore of Lake Ontario in the Canadian province of Ontario, entered teams in several professional 19th century leagues. Among them were the Canadian(1885) and Eastern Leagues (1886-90). The team, which was called the Canucks, won one flag during this time, besting Buffalo by three games in 1887.
In 1895, Toronto rejoined the Eastern League, remaining in the loop through the league’s change of name to International in 1912. The team, now named the Maple Leafs after Canada’s national symbol, finished first in 1902, with a top 100 team, and in 1907. As World War I engulfed the globe, the team won another flag in 1917, setting the stage for even a better champion the following season.
Minor league baseball entered the 1918 season with ten leagues in operation. However, the United States had a “work or fight” order in place, stating that non-essential workers like baseball players would have to join the war effort either as a part of the armed services or a war-related industry. In addition, travel, a necessity for baseball leagues, was severly restricted. With this collar in place, the ten leagues began to fall by the wayside. In June, the Blue Ridge and Virginia Leagues as well as the Southern Association suspended operations. The Pacific Coast, Western, Eastern, Pacific Coast International, Texas and American Association followed suit in July. That left only the International League standing, with the stipulation that their season would end three weeks early, on September 2.
At this time, Toronto played its home games at 18,000-seat Maple leaf Park, located at Hanlan’s Point, adjacent to an amusement park and a zoo on an island in Lake Ontario. It was the third facility on the site, opened in 1910, after two earlier wooden ballparks had burned down. Fans reached the park by ferry.
All through the abbreviated 1918 campaign, Toronto and an upstart franchise from Binghamton, known as the Bingoes, battled for the bunting. Binghamton got out to an early lead and by the end of June was 32-9, 7.5 ahead of Rochester. Toronto started out slowly, but had a hot July, pulling within percentage points of the Bingoes by the end of the month. The two clubs raced neck-and-neck through August and by September were in a virtual tie. After the games of Saturday, August 31, Binghamton held a one point lead over the Maple Leafs, 82-37, .689 to 86-39, .688. On Sunday, Binghamton took a double-header from Baltimore 4-1 and 2-0, while Toronto was idle. Both teams had morning-afternoon double-headers scheduled for closing day, the Bingoes at home against the Orioles, the Maple Leafs at home against Buffalo. Both teams won the morning games, Toronto, 4-1 behind Fred (Bugs) Hersche, who won his 21st game, and Binghamton, 2-1, although Baltimore collected 11 hits off John Verbout. If the Bingoes won the afternoon contest, they won the pennant. Toronto’s only hope was a Binghamton loss while the Leafs defeated Buffalo. At Binghamton, the two staff aces faced one another, Ralph Worrell, the league’s top hurler going for his 25th victory, for the Orioles and Johnny Beckvermit (17-3) for the Bingoes. Beckvermit was working with only one day’s rest. On Saturday he had pitched a 3-0 shutout over Baltimore. The Orioles scored single runs in the first and second innings and Worrell made them stand up. Although he gave up nine hits, Binghamton scored only once, in the fourth. That game was over while the Leafs and Bisons were still playing and the result was posted on the Toronto scoreboard. Each team scored two runs in the fourth and one in the fifth and that’s the way it stood after nine innings. Buffalo scored one run in the tenth and the Leafs tied it once again. In the bottom of the 12th, Toronto had runners on first and second with one out. Leo Callahan was walked intentionally to load the bases. Then, Fred (King) Lear hit a long drive to deep center field to score the winning run and give Toronto the pennant. Lear’s hit climaxed a great day. He went 3-for-6, drove in four of Toronto’s five runs, stole three bases and handled 20 putouts at first base. As a result, the Leafs claimed the pennant by a razor-thin .693 to .691 margin.
The ’18 Leafs were managed by 32-year-old Dapper Dan Howley, who also served as the team’s number two catcher. Howley, a life-long resident of Weymouth, MA, had jumped from semi-pro ball to Indianapolis of the American Association at the age of 20 in 1906. In his first professional appearance he caught an exhibition game against the World Champion New York Giants, which Indianapolis lost to Christy Mathewson 2-1, and threw out three runners trying to steal. Howley caught for Indianapolis for four years, then for Utica and Portland (PCL) before reaching the majors in 1913 with the Phillies. He appeared in only 26 games, batting just .125 and was traded to Montreal. In mid-1914, Dan was appointed Montreal manager at the age of 28 and led the Royals through the 1917 season. He was then appointed manager of Toronto and had some big shoes to fill. In 1917, the immortal Nap Lajoie had led the Maple Leafs to the pennant while hitting a league-leading .380, but he resigned in a salary dispute and went to Indianapolis in 1918. Toronto had to rebuild their team as well. By the time the 1918 season started, only two members of the ’17 champions, pitchers Jack Warhop and Hal Justin, remained. After winning the 1918 title, Howley was appointed coach at Detroit, but after a disagreement with manager Hugh Jennings, he left to manage Hartford in 1920. Ty Cobb replaced Jennings in 1921 and re-hired his friend Howley as coach. After two years, Howley returned to Toronto to manage in 1923 and finished fourth, second and second the next three seasons. In 1926, as the Maple Leafs opened their new mainland stadium, Howley led the team to another International League pennant, dethroning Baltimore after the Orioles had won seven consecutive championships. The Leafs capped the season by defeating Louisville (American Association) five straight games in the Junior World Series. In 1927, Howley moved up to the majors to become manager of the St. Louis Browns, finishing seventh, third and fourth in his three seasons there. His 1929 team was the last Browns club to reach the first division until 1942. He left St. Louis to take over the reins at Cincinnati, but with little money to spend, the Reds finished seventh once and eighth twice during his tenure. Howley returned to Toronto in 1933, but left after a salary dispute following one fifth-place season. He came back to the Maple Leafs once more in 1937-38, but after two second-division finishes he retired from managing. Howley later became a scout for the Red Sox and was serving in that capacity when he suffered a fatal heart attack in March, 1944.
Holding down first base for the Leafs was 25-year-old left-handed hitting Ed Onslow (.318), one of the all-time greats in International League history. After hitting .235 in 52 games for Detroit in 1912-13, he joined Providence for the first of 17 consecutive seasons in the International League. Playing for five different teams including Toronto, Rochester, Baltimore and Newark, he set the league’s career records for most years, games (2,109), hits (2,445) and triples (128). Ironically, he never was a season leader in those or any other offensive departments. After five years with Providence, Onslow moved to Toronto for seven consecutive seasons interrupted only by two games with Cleveland at the end of 1918. In 1922 he replaced Lena Blackburne as Toronto manager. After a fifth place finish, he returned to the playing ranks when Howley came back in 1923. Onslow had one more shot at the majors, hitting .222 in nine games for Washington in 1927. His last season as a player was 1929 when he hit .308 for Baltimore and Newark. Onslow had a career minor league average of.327 with 2,712 hits in 2,326 games. He managed for 11 years, starting in 1930, and later scouted for the White Sox and Athletics (1949-53). Eddie’s older brother, Jack Onslow, a former catcher, managed the White Sox in 1949-50.
Lear was the Maple Leafs’ leading hitter at .345, fourth in the league, and was second in walks (60). He had been a star athlete at Villanova where he suffered an arm injury playing football that bothered him throughout his baseball career. He went from college to the Athletics for two games in 1915, then was sent to the minors. The Cubs acquired him in 1918 and optioned him to Toronto. He played for Chicago in 1919 and the Giants in 1920 with a .235 major league average in 75 games. Lear’s best years were with Milwaukee, hitting .358, .354 and .297 in 1921-22-23. He played three seasons of outlaw baseball for Kenosha in the Midwest League before returning for one final season in Organized Baseball with Milwaukee in 1927. He later scouted for the Pirates and White Sox. Lear called himself “the last of the choke hitters.” Off the field, he was well known as a raconteur and pianist.
One of the Leafs’ most interesting players was speedy outfielder Alex “Midget” Reilley, who came from Indianapolis in mid-season. Reilley, a switch-hitter, stood only 5’4 ½ “ tall and weighed 148 pounds. In a 19-year minor league career (1905-23) he stole 676 bases, the seventh highest total in minor league history. His only appearance in the majors was in 1909 when he bated .210 in 20 games for Cleveland.
The third baseman was 32-year-old Billy Purtell (.311) whose playing career spanned 25 years (1904-28). In 1910, Purtell set one of the majors’ most unusual records, one that still stands. While batting .210 in 151 games for the White Sox and Red Sox, he hit only 6 doubles, the fewest by any major league player in 150 or more games. He did have 5 triples and two home runs! Purtell hit .227 in 335 major league games in five seasons with Chicago, Boston and Detroit (1908-11, 1914). He played in the International League for six years between 1912 and 1920 for Jersey City, Montreal, Toronto and Akron. His younger brother Marty, a shortstop during most of his career, was a player for 15 years and a player-manager for 16 more although he never reached the majors. Marty got into a few games at the age of 50, in 1939. He scouted for the Giants, Braves Yankees and Pirates for 13 years.
Outfielder Dave Callahan (.317) hit .200 in 19 games for Cleveland in 1910 and 1911. Outfielder Johnny Mokan batted only .212 for Toronto, but later had a seven-year .291 average for the Pirates and Phillies (1921-27), three times hitting over .300.
Hersche, a 31-year-old, stocky, 5’8” right-hander from Parker’s Landing, PA, was the Leafs’ best pitcher (21-6, 1.88), third in the league in wins and seventh in ERA. He pitched 25 complete games in 29 starts. This was his first year in Toronto and his best season in a career going back to 1910. He was with the Leafs again in 1919 (16-5, 3.13), his last year in Organized Baseball. Neither Hersche nor Toronto’s other two big winners, Hal Justin (19-10) and Alex Peterson (18-8) ever pitched in the majors.
The best known of the Toronto pitchers was 34-year-old Jack Warhop (4-2, 3.73) who had a 69-93, 3.09 record in 7+ years with the New York Highlanders/Yankees from 1908-15. He is forever enshrined in baseball history as the pitcher off whom Babe Ruth hit his first two major league home runs, on May 6 and June 2, 1915 when Ruth was a Red Sox hurler. Warhop also is one of only four major league pitchers to steal home twice during their careers. A 1915 “Baseball Magazine” article about Warhop was titled “The Unluckiest Pitcher in the American League.” In 1912 his ERA was 2.86 with a 10-19 record and in 1914 it was 2.36 with an 8-15 mark. Typical was a 1914 game against the White Sox; he shut them out for 12 innings only to lose 1-0 in the 13th on an error, a sacrifice and a single. Warhop was one of the few pitchers with an underhand delivery to reach the majors. Contemporary articles describe him as “diminutive”, although the record books list him as 5’9”, 160-165 pounds. New York writer Tom Meany, describing Warhop at a 1951 old-timers reunion, referred to him as a “tiny wisp of a man.” His nicknames included “The Flea,” because of his size, and “The Crab,” because he was always complaining (perhaps justified if it was due to lack of support by his teammates). He was sometimes called “Chief” by people who thought he was of Indian ancestry because of his last name and his high cheekbones. However, Jack said he was of French-Irish descent and the family name originally Wauhop.
In his three years before joining New York, Warhop won 82 and lost only 20: 29-7 for Freeport (Wisconsin-Illinois) in 1906, 30-6 for the same team in 1907 and 29-7 for Williamsport (Tri-State) in 1908. In 1907 he struck out 330 and his 13 shutouts were the second most in a season in minor league history. After he left the Yankees, Warhop pitched for Salt Lake City and Baltimore before arriving in Toronto during the 1917 season. He was out of Organized Baseball in 1919, pitched for Norfolk and Columbia in 1920-21-22 and played semi-pro ball from 1923-26. On June 8, 1927, six weeks into the season, Warhop signed with Bridgeport (Eastern). In his third start for the Bears, June 22, two weeks before his 43rd birthday, he pitched a complete 17-inning game, losing to Hartford 4-3. On August 10 he became possibly the oldest man to pitch and win a complete double-header. In the first game he beat Albany, 5-3 in nine innings, then pitched a ten-inning 1-0 six-hitter in the nightcap. For the season he was 11-7, 2.49, ninth in ERA, pitched 177 innings and completed 15 of his 18 starts. Warhop pitched one more season before retiring.
During its last 50 years in the league, Toronto won its share of honors, placing three more teams (1920, 1926 and 1960) in the top 100 list. In 1967, the Maple Leafs left the International League. Nine years later, the Toronto Blue Jays joined the American League, where they remain today.
In a war-strained year, the 1918 Leafs, after surviving a frantic pennant chase, represented the year’s sole surviving minor league with honor. In addition, of the four Toronto first place teams in the top 100, none have finished with a better mark then the 1918 champions.
|1918 International League Standings|
|1918 Toronto Maple Leafs batting statistics|
|1918 Toronto Maple Leafs pitching statistics|


Mintzberg's 5 Ps of Strategy
Developing a Better Strategy
What's your approach to developing strategy?
Many of us brainstorm opportunities, and then plan how we'll take advantage of them.
Unfortunately, while this type of approach is important, we need to think about much more than this if we want to be successful. After all, there's no point in developing a strategy that ignores competitors' reactions, or doesn't consider the culture and capabilities of your organization. And it would be wasteful not to make full use of your company's strengths – whether these are obvious or not.
Management expert, Henry Mintzberg, argued that it's really hard to get strategy right. To help us think about it in more depth, he developed his 5 Ps of Strategy – five different definitions of (or approaches to) developing strategy.
About the 5 Ps
Mintzberg first wrote about the 5 Ps of Strategy in 1987. Each of the 5 Ps is a different approach to strategy. They are:
By understanding each P, you can develop a robust business strategy that takes full advantage of your organization's strengths and capabilities.
In this article, we'll explore the 5 Ps in more detail, and we'll look at tools that you can use in each area.
1. Strategy as a Plan
Planning is something that many managers are happy with, and it's something that comes naturally to us. As such, this is the default, automatic approach that we adopt – brainstorming options and planning how to deliver them.
This is fine, and planning is an essential part of the strategy formulation process.
Our articles on PEST Analysis , SWOT Analysis and Brainstorming help you think about and identify opportunities; the article on practical business planning looks at the planning process in more detail; and our sections on change management and project management teach the skills you need to deliver the strategic plan in detail.
The problem with planning, however, is that it's not enough on its own. This is where the other four Ps come into play.
2. Strategy as Ploy
Mintzberg says that getting the better of competitors, by plotting to disrupt, dissuade, discourage, or otherwise influence them, can be part of a strategy. This is where strategy can be a ploy, as well as a plan.
For example, a grocery chain might threaten to expand a store, so that a competitor doesn't move into the same area; or a telecommunications company might buy up patents that a competitor could potentially use to launch a rival product.
Here, techniques and tools such as the Futures Wheel , Impact Analysis and Scenario Analysis can help you explore the possible future scenarios in which competition will occur. Our article on Game Theory then gives you powerful tools for mapping out how the competitive "game" is likely to unfold, so that you can set yourself up to win it.
3. Strategy as Pattern
Strategic plans and ploys are both deliberate exercises. Sometimes, however, strategy emerges from past organizational behavior. Rather than being an intentional choice, a consistent and successful way of doing business can develop into a strategy.
For instance, imagine a manager who makes decisions that further enhance an already highly responsive customer support process. Despite not deliberately choosing to build a strategic advantage, his pattern of actions nevertheless creates one.
To use this element of the 5 Ps, take note of the patterns you see in your team and organization. Then, ask yourself whether these patterns have become an implicit part of your strategy; and think about the impact these patterns should have on how you approach strategic planning.
Tools such as USP Analysis and Core Competence Analysis can help you with this. A related tool, VRIO Analysis, can help you explore resources and assets (rather than patterns) that you should focus on when thinking about strategy.
4. Strategy as Position
"Position" is another way to define strategy – that is, how you decide to position yourself in the marketplace. In this way, strategy helps you explore the fit between your organization and your environment, and it helps you develop a sustainable competitive advantage .
For example, your strategy might include developing a niche product to avoid competition, or choosing to position yourself amongst a variety of competitors, while looking for ways to differentiate your services.
When you think about your strategic position, it helps to understand your organization's "bigger picture" in relation to external factors. To do this, use PEST Analysis , Porter's Diamond , and Porter's Five Forces to analyze your environment – these tools will show where you have a strong position, and where you may have issues.
As with "Strategy as a Pattern," Core Competence Analysis , USP Analysis , and VRIO Analysis can help you craft a successful competitive position. You can also use SWOT Analysis to identify what you do well, and to uncover opportunities.
There can be a lot of overlap between "Strategy as Position" and other elements of the 5 Ps. For instance, you can also achieve a desired position through planning, and by using a ploy. Don't worry about these overlaps – just get as much value as you can from the different approaches.
5. Strategy as Perspective
The choices an organization makes about its strategy rely heavily on its culture – just as patterns of behavior can emerge as strategy, patterns of thinking will shape an organization's perspective, and the things that it is able to do well.
For instance, an organization that encourages risk-taking and innovation from employees might focus on coming up with innovative products as the main thrust behind its strategy. By contrast, an organization that emphasizes the reliable processing of data may follow a strategy of offering these services to other organizations under outsourcing arrangements.
Using the 5 Ps
Instead of trying to use the 5 Ps as a process to follow while developing strategy, think of them as a variety of viewpoints that you should consider while developing a robust and successful strategy.
As such, there are three points in the strategic planning process where it's particularly helpful to use the 5 Ps:
- When you're gathering information and conducting the analysis needed for strategy development, as a way of ensuring that you've considered everything relevant.
- When you've come up with initial ideas, as a way of testing that that they're realistic, practical and robust.
- As a final check on the strategy that you've developed, to flush out inconsistencies and things that may not have been fully considered.
Using Mintzberg's 5 Ps at these points will highlight problems that would otherwise undermine the implementation of your strategy.
After all, it's much better to identify these problems at the planning stage than it is to find out about them after you've spent several years – and millions of dollars – implementing a plan that was flawed from the start.
The 5 Ps of Strategy were created by Henry Mintzberg in 1987. Each of the 5 Ps stands for a different approach to strategy:
As a Plan, strategy needs to be developed in advance and with purpose. As a Ploy, strategy is a means of outsmarting the competition.
With strategy as a Pattern, we learn to appreciate that what was successful in the past can lead to success in the future.
With Position, strategy is about how the organization relates to its competitive environment, and what it can do to make its products unique in the marketplace.
Perspective emphasizes the substantial influence that organizational culture and collective thinking can have on strategic decision making within a company.
Understanding and using each element helps you develop a robust, practical and achievable business strategy.
This site teaches you the skills you need for a happy and successful career; and this is just one of many tools and resources that you'll find here at Mind Tools. Subscribe to our free newsletter, or join the Mind Tools Club and really supercharge your career!


A sluice is generally defined as an artificial channel through which flows controlled amounts of water. In gold placering, the sluice includes sluice-boxes which collect the gold by means of various configurations of riffles, corrugations, mats, expanded metal, or the like, which trap the heavier particles while allowing the waste to continue through.
An important part of any sluicing operation is its water supply, and where water is not plentiful, pumps, pipelines, or even dams with special head-gates may be required.
Small-scale sluicing by hand methods has been called quite appropriately shovelling -into-boxes. In contrast, in ground sluicing, usually a more efficient operation, most of the excavation is accomplished by the action of water flowing openly over the materials to be mined. In either case, the materials pass through a sluice, where gold is collected behind riffles. A variation of the sluicing technique, where water is stored and released against or across the materials intermittently, is called booming.
The sluice-box in its simplest form might be a 12-foot-long plank of 1- by 2-inch pine lumber, to which sides about 10 to 12 inches high are nailed, with braces secured at several places across the top. Larger sluices can be made with battens to cover joints between boards where gold might slip out, and with braces built around the outsides of the box for greater rigidity. To provide for a series of boxes, the ends should be bevelled or the units tapered so that one will slip into the other in descending order and form a tight joint. Four to eight such boxes in series would be a typical installation. Two men hand-shovelling into sluice-boxes can wash 5 to 10 times as much gravel as could be put through a rocker in a day. The slope of the sluice and the supply of water must be adjusted so that the gravel, including larger cobbles, will keep moving through the boxes and on out. Slopes of 4 to 12 inches per 12-foot box are normal, but if water is in short supply the slope may be increased. Trestles are necessary to support the boxes over excavated ground, galleys, or swales.
Inside the boxes, various kinds of riffles may be employed, depending upon availability of material and personal preference. The riffles, which go on the bottom, are usually set crosswise in the box, but they can also be effective when placed lengthwise, the concentrates settling between them. They may be of wood, or of strap or angle iron, or a combination of the two. Straight, round poles or a pattern of square blocks or stones can serve for riffles. Rubber or plastic strips have even been used. Durability is important for prolonged operations, so wood may be armoured with metal. Expanded metal, heavy wire screen, or cocoa mats make good riffles for collecting fine gold.
A common height for riffles is 1-1/2 inches; they may be placed from one-half to several inches apart. Fastening the riffles to a rack, which is then wedged into place in the box, permits their removal. A tapered shape on the cross riffle, with the thinnest edge to the bottom, tends to create an eddying action that is favourable for concentration. Another way to achieve this eddying action is to cant the riffle or even just the top of the riffle. Burlap or blanket material is commonly placed under the riffles to help in collecting fine gold.
Sluice cleanups should be made at fairly regular intervals. After running clear water until the sluice is free of gravel, riffles are removed in sections starting at the upper end. With a thin stream of water, the lighter of the remaining material is washed to the sections below. Mercury may be used to amalgam fine gold from concentrate, but care must be taken to prevent escape of the mercury. The gold, heavy sands, and amalgam, if mercury has been used, can be panned or cleaned up in a rocker to obtain a final concentrate or amalgam.
Feeding the Sluice
It is common in a small operation, when feeding the sluice, to place a heavy screen or closely spaced bars of some sort across the section where the gravels enter, to eliminate the larger particles, which are probably barren anyway. The screen or bars (a "grizzly") should be sloped so the oversize material rolls off to the side. The size of mesh or spacing will depend upon the gradation of feed, but would generally be in the range of 1/4 to 1 inch, with 3/8 inch being a common size. In larger operations a rotating screen, or trommel, might be used. In a ground sluicing operation, possibly all materials would be run through the sluice-boxes. Provisions must be made for removing the oversize material, and, if required, stacking it away from the work area.
If the gravel contains much clay it may be desirable to use a puddling box at the head of the string of sluice-boxes. This may be any convenient size--for instance, 3 feet wide by 6 feet long, with 6- to 8-inch sides. The clayey material is shovelled into this box and broken up with a hoe or rake before being allowed to pass into the sluice. The importance of this step is that if allowed through the sluice, the unbroken clay lumps may pick up and carry away gold particles already deposited.
Usually, the shovelling -in method proceeds as follows: After the boxes are set, shovelling begins at an advantageous point. Experienced miners work out the ground in regular cuts and in an orderly fashion. Enough faces are provided so that shovellers will not interfere with one another. Provision is made to keep bedrock drained, and boulders and stumps are moved a minimum number of times. Cuts are taken of such a width and length that shovelling is made as easy as possible. The boxes are kept as low as possible so a minimum lift of gravel is necessary. At the same time an adequate slope must be maintained for the gravel to run through the boxes under the limitations of the available water. Allowance for dump room must also be provided at the tail end of the sluice. Leaks in the sluice are stopped promptly, and shovelling is done in such a manner that the sluice does not become clogged nor does water splash out (Water in the pit hampers shovelling.)
All material of a size that will run through the sluice is shovelled in, and the oversize material is thrown to one side. Boulders from the first cut should be stacked outside the pit, on barren ground if possible. The width of a cut is usually limited to the distance a man can shovel in one operation. When shovelling from more than several feet away, it is best to set boards above and on the opposite side of the box; this increases the efficiency of the shovellers. The greatest height a man can shovel into a box is 7 to 8 feet, and above 5 or 6 feet the efficiency of the shoveller is markedly reduced. If the gravel is over 3 or 4 feet deep, it usually is excavated in benches to facilitate digging and to permit the upper layers to be raised a minimum shovelling height. Where the gravel is shallow, wheelbarrows may be used. Another way is to shovel the gravel onto a conveyor belt that discharges into a trommel, discarding the oversize material and running the undersize material through the sluice. Where two or more persons are working in the same cut, the height of succeeding benches is governed by the character of the material being dug and the distance the gravel has to be lifted.
The sluice may be maintained on the surface of unworked ground or supported on bents on the opposite side of the cut. After the first cut the boulders are thrown onto the cleaned-up bedrock. Where cuts are run on both sides of the sluice, the boxes are supported on bents as the ground underneath them is dug out. At other places the boxes may be set on bedrock and the dirt may be shovelled into the head of the sluice from short transverse cuts at the upper end of the pit. Work usually begins at the lower end of a deposit so that bedrock may be kept drained, and then proceeds across the deposit by regular cuts. The length and order of the cuts will depend upon local conditions. As heavy sands and gravel build up deposits between the riffles in the sluice, it may be necessary to stir these up to prevent packing and the consequent override of gold particles. A tined implement such as a pitchfork is often convenient for this. Larger stones that lodge in the sluiceway may be similarly removed.
The quantity of water available will influence the scale of operations and the size of sluice used. A minimum flow of 15 to 20 miner's inches (170 to 225 gallons per minute) is required for a 12-inch-wide sluice-box with a steep grade. Smaller flows than this can be utilized by storing the water in some kind of reservoir and using the supply intermittently. A common practice followed where the quantity of water is limited is to use a grizzly or screen over the sluice to eliminate oversize material and thus increase the duty of the water. Reduction in the amount of material to be treated by first running it through a trommel to wash and screen out the coarse size is another effective way to lower the water requirements.
Water usually is conducted via ditch to the sluice. However, if the ground is rich enough it may be practicable to pump water for the sluice. The feasibility of obtaining a gravity flow should first be investigated, as the expense of pumping may be more than the cost of a long ditch, when the cost is distributed over the yardage of gravel moved. A suitable number of sluice-boxes or some other removal system may be used to transport the tailings to a dumping ground away from the working area. A tailings or settling pond may be required to maintain downstream water quality.
Ground sluicing utilizes the cascading effect of water to break down the gravel; hence, the requirements for water are much greater. The chief application of ground sluicing is to streambed deposits. Pipelines, flumes, or ditches would be necessary if ground sluicing were applied to gravels higher up on banks or terraces, and the larger scale hydraulic methods would then become more favourable. If booming is to be done, a dam and reservoir are needed. The dam is usually equipped with a gate mechanism that permits either automatic or manual control and quick release of the impounded water for maximum washing effect. The water may be passed over the upper face of a gravel bank or diverted against the bottom in order to undercut and carry away the gravel as the face of the bank breaks down. All materials are channelled toward the sluice.
The natural flow of a stream can be used by diverting the current with boards or simply with piled boulders. "Shears" can be constructed of 1- or 2-inch-thick boards 12 feet long nailed to pairs of tripods so that the boards slope back from the water flow at an angle of about 60 degrees. The tripods are built in such a way that boulders can be piled inside the base to hold them in place. A row of these shears may be used to divert the force of the water against a bank, or two rows may be used to form a flume.
The seasonal nature of stream flow in different areas must be kept in mind when planning any placer operation. State and Federal agencies can provide information on stream runoff for many of the more important streams, information which will indicate the limitations in water supply that might be expected due to seasonal changes.
From: Bureau of Mines Information Circular 8517 by J.M. West, released in 1971.
Rafal Swiecki, geological engineer email contact
This document is in the public domain.


DETROIT, MI- Today marks the 60th anniversary of General Motors Co. starting production of arguably the most iconic vehicle ever, the Chevrolet Corvette.
The sports car, now in its seventh-generation, is Americana. Since its inception, many of the more than 1.5 million Corvettes produced by GM have found their way onto the big screen and hearts of car-lovers worldwide.
“During the past six decades, the Corvette has been woven into the fabric of American culture, as the sports car of choice for movie stars, musicians and astronauts,” said Chris Perry, vice president, Chevrolet marketing, in a statement. “The very best Corvettes represent the state-of-the-art for their eras in terms of design, technology and performance.”
As production hits the 60th-anniversary mark, the Detroit-based automaker appears to have no thoughts of retiring the iconic nameplate.
Earlier this year, GM unveiled the seventh-generation Corvette, named the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.
The highly-anticipated vehicle features an all-new small-block, LT1 6.2-liter V8 engine that delivers an estimated 450-horsepower and achieve 0-60 in less than four seconds.
GM resurrected the iconic Stingray moniker for the 2014 Corvette, which features a modern, more defined look.
The Stingray, or “Sting Ray” from 1963-67, has only been used on two other generations of production Corvettes in the vehicle’s 60-year history.
Stingray was last used four generations ago on the Detroit-based automaker’s generation 3 Corvette from 1968-82. The name was first used on the 1959 racing car and again for the second-generation Corvette from 1963-67.
Here’s a look at more key facts highlighting 60 years of Corvette history:
- Corvette is the world’s longest-running, continuously produced passenger car. The longest-running vehicle of any type is the Chevrolet Suburban.
- Corvette made its debut as a concept vehicle at the General Motors Autorama in New York City on Jan. 17, 1953. It was such a success that a limited run of 300 production Corvettes began on June 30 of that year.
- All 1953 models were Polo White with a red interior and they were priced at $3,498. In 2006, the third 1953 Corvette produced sold for a record $1.06 million at auction.
- Corvette was exclusively available with an inline six-cylinder engine until 1955. That year, the optional V-8 engine was ordered by 90 percent of buyers. The six-cylinder was dropped in 1956. Corvette has been available exclusively with V-8 power since.
- Corvette was produced only as a convertible for its first 10 years. The fixed-roof 1963 “split-window” Corvette Sting Ray coupe launched the second-generation Corvette. Sales doubled and it became a year-round car for drivers in colder climates.
- Approximately 1.56 million Corvettes have been produced since June 30, 1953. The 500,000th Corvette was built in 1977; the 1 millionth was built in 1992, and the 1.5 millionth Corvette rolled off the line in 2009.
- Corvettes have been produced at three facilities: Flint, Mich. (1953); St. Louis, Mo., (1954-1981); and Bowling Green, Ky. (1981-2014). The change from St. Louis to Bowling Green happened during the production year. The first 1981 Corvette was built in St. Louis, and the last 1981 Corvette was built in Bowling Green.
- No 1983 Corvettes were sold to the public. The model year was skipped in preparation for the all-new 1984 Corvette, which launched the C4 generation. Forty-four Corvette prototypes were built as 1983 models. Only one remains, and it is on display at the National Corvette Museum, in Bowling Green, Ky.
Click here for all the most-recent news regarding the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette Stingray.


The Holland-Grand Haven and Detroit areas had the fastest growing real gross domestic product in 2011 among 14 metro areas in Michigan.
The Niles-Benton Harbor and Battle Creek areas, however, had some of the biggest decreases among all metro areas nationwide.
“The growth is mixed across metro areas in Michigan, and I would say that most of all, the diversity of the industry mix of the local economies is going to be a key determinant into whether or not the metro area is going to grow or see declines in real GDP,” said Sharon Panek, an economist with the BEA.
Eight Michigan metro areas increased their real GDP from 2010 to 2011, while six contracted, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. On average, the 14 metropolitan statistical areas increased their real GDP by 0.7 percent, compared to a national metropolitan average of 1.6 percent growth.
Real GDP is an inflation-adjusted measure of an area’s gross product that is based on national prices for the goods and services produced within the metropolitan area, according to the BEA.
Michigan had the 6th fastest-growing GDP in the nation in 2011, marking two consecutive years of strong growth after years of declines.
“Similar to what we’re seeing at the national level, the trends in the areas across Michigan were driven by manufacturing and professional and business services,” Panek said.
The Holland-Grand Haven area’s GDP grew 4.2 percent, the biggest increase in Michigan and 21st best among 366 metro areas nationwide. Detroit’s growth of 3.5 percent was second-highest in Michigan and 34th highest in the country. Both have rebounded from double-digit declines in 2009.
“Metro Detroit is more economically tied to how auto sales are doing, so they do way worse than the rest of the country when things are going down, and they do better than the rest of the country when things are going up,” said Alex Rosaen, a consultant with Anderson Economic Group in East Lansing.
Meanwhile, the Niles-Benton Harbor area’s GDP shrunk by 3.1 percent, the biggest decline in Michigan and 8th worst nationwide. Battle Creek didn’t fare much better, dropping 2.3 percent, the 15th worst in the country. The declines come after both areas posted sizable increases in 2010.
Contraction in the natural resources/mining and transportation/utilities sectors contributed to the Niles-Benton Harbor decline. The Battle Creek area saw declines in nondurable goods manufacturing, natural resources/mining and professional and business services sectors.


BURTON, Michigan -- Rain and fast-melting snow caused a sanitary sewer backup at about noon today at the corner of Bristol and Fenton roads.
Flooding on the south side of Bristol created traffic slowdowns, with Burton police diverting cars to two lanes on the north side of Bristol, just east of Fenton.
The backup was caused by rain and melted snow infiltrating the sanitary sewer system, said John O'Brien of the Genesee County Water and Waste Division.
O'Brien said county crews were headed to the corner -- the center of the county's sewer system -- at about 1 p.m. to make repairs.
A flood watch was still in effect this afternoon, but no serious traffic accidents were reported.
Flooding occurred sporadically throughout the area, including at the corner of Pierson Road and Dupont Street. Standing water was reported in some yards in Clio.
The county saw less than one inch of rain overnight and this morning, said Danny Costello, meteorologist at the National Weather Service in White Lake Township.
Heavy fog throughout the county lifted at about 11 a.m., he said. Costello predicted rain showers on and off Saturday, with temperatures dropping to the 30s tonight.
High winds and some snow were expected Sunday, he said.


LANSING, MI - Michigan's ban against affirmative action in public university admissions will remain in place while the state awaits whether the Supreme Court will take its appeal.
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals earlier this month struck down the 2006 voter-approved constitutional amendment known as the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative, or Proposal 2, which banned the use of race, gender or ethnicity in college admissions.
But on Friday the court granted Attorney General Bill Schuette's request to stay its ruling until the Supreme Court disposes of the case. The Republican on Thursday filed his appeal to the high court.
The appeals court in Cincinnati said having supporters and opponents debate affirmative action through the governing boards of each public university would be much fairer than cementing a ban in the constitution, which it referred to as home of "the highest level" of public policy.
The decision is limited to states in the 6th Circuit, which includes Kentucky, Ohio and Tennessee. But it also raises the odds that the Supreme Court may get involved.
A very similar law in California was upheld by a San Francisco-based appeals court, and the Supreme Court could choose to resolve the conflicting decisions of the 9th Circuit and the 6th Circuit on voter-approved bans.
The University of Michigan's admissions policies were the basis of a landmark 2003 Supreme Court ruling that prohibited quotas for certain racial groups at universities but allowed applicants' race to be a factor.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.


Got an old V-8-powered clunker lying around? The government says it could be worth $4,500 towards the purchase of your next SUV — and it’s OK if it only gets marginally better gas mileage. I love the idea of the federal cash-for-clunkers law, but I hate the way it is shaping up in Washington, the city where dreams go to die.
But the compromise worked out between the House of Representatives has resulted in a bill that doesn’t make much sense, especially when it comes to trucks. The clunker has to get 18 mpg or worse, but the trade-in can be only two mpg better and you still get a $3,500 voucher. For $4,500, it only has to be five mpg better. This is not a misprint — two and five mpg — we’re not saving the planet with tiny increments this way.
The bill is a bit better for cars — it has to be 10 mpg better for you to clear the $4,500 voucher, but even if there’s only a four mpg improvement you’re good for $3,500. Thanks, Captain Planets of the U.S. House of Representatives!
The American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy says the scrappage program “needs repair.” According to Therese Langer, ACEEE’s transportation program director, “I can’t see using taxpayer dollars to sell a Hummer H3T [which meets the 15-mpg large truck threshold].”
There’s a better bill, introduced in the Senate by Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Susan Collins (R-ME) and Charles Schumer (D-NY).
This one would achieve 32 to 38 percent greater fuel savings than the House compromise, and would demand that the car you buy has above-average fuel economy in its class. The trade-in will have to be 17-mpg or worse, which may raise the price on ’74 Cadillac Eldorados. New cars under their version of the program will have to get at least 24 mpg and trucks 20 mpg. The new car will have to be at least seven mpg better than the one traded in, and the new truck at least three mpg.
The senators think their version would save 176 gallons of gas per vehicle per year (compared to 133 gallons in the House bill) and 11,451 barrels of oil per day (House: 8,706 barrels). Feinstein says the House compromise would “allow for the scrapping of perfectly adequate vehicles in return for federal incentives to purchase gas-guzzling vehicles. That’s unacceptable.”
It’s not surprising that the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers likes the Senate version of the bill backed by Deborah Stabenow (D-MI) and Sam Brownback (R-KA). It’s much friendlier to SUVs and other cars Detroit is still stuck with. New cars have to get 22 mpg instead of 24, and trucks 18 mpg instead of 20. Brownback and Stabenow say it will sell a million vehicles over its one-year life. That’s great for Stabenow’s state of Michigan, but what kind of cars will they be?
According to Alliance President and CEO Dave McCurdy, “With just-released May auto sales reporting a continued decline towards numbers that haven’t been seen in a quarter century it is imperative to consumers, dealers, manufacturers and the communities they represent that a fleet modernization proposal be passed by Congress and quickly signed into law by the President.” That's their emphasis.
Jack Hidary, one of the authors of the Center for American Progress white paper and the chairman of Smarttransportation.org, says the compromise bill came about because lawmakers needed the vote of powerful Michigan Congressman John Dingell on the climate bill, and "he demanded a much lower bar because U.S. automakers produce so few fuel-efficient cars."
U.S. automakers currently have a million cars in inventory, so action is needed fast. Ten other countries, including Germany and Italy, have instituted their own version of clunker bills, and they're already producing increased car sales.
Let’s get rid of the clunker of a bill now moving forward. The reform bill would actually help, compared to legislation that is a big wet kiss to auto states and car dealers. It is still early in the process, Hidary says, and it is possible that the legislation that actually gets passed will be a further compromise — between the Stabenow and Feinstein versions of the Senate bills. The differences could be worked out in a Senate conference.
Here's a bit more of an explanation of how cash for clunker bills work, from Cars.com:
The opinions expressed by MNN Bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of MNN.com. While we have reviewed their content to make sure it complies with our Terms and Conditions, MNN is not responsible for the accuracy of any of their information.


Also known as gluten enteropathy, coeliac disease is a problem in the intestine which is cause by an abnormal immune response to gluten. Gluten is a protein that most commonly is found in cereal grains like wheat, barley and rye.
Essentially coeliac disease causes damage to the lining of the small intestine and occasionally can also affect organs such as the pancreas, thyroid glands and the nervous system. This tendency to affect organs beyond the small intestine mean coeliac disease can lead to an increased risk of diabetes, thyroid disease and neurological disorders respectively.
Most worryingly, a person can suffer coeliac disease and not show any symptoms, however, some things to be aware of that do show up in coeliac disease patients are:
As well as the physical symptoms listed above, coeliac disease has also been known to cause some emotional problems such as anxiety and depression.
As coeliac disease is triggered by gluten the best advice for suffers or people who suspect they may have coeliac disease is to work with a health professional and go gluten free. You should also go for regular check up’s to monitor coeliac disease and check for anaemia and bone health as well as nutritional deficiencies which may arise.
|Calcium||Coeliac disease can cause mal-absorption which can lead to numerous nutritional deficiencies which taking calcium could help correct.|
|Vitamin B12||Vitamin B12 can be beneficial for people who struggle with depression resulting from coeliac disease.|


The popular social networking site Facebook asks users to make commitments to register and maintain a Facebook account. One of these commitments reads “You will not use Facebook if you are under 13” yet according to a January report in Network World, 79% of social networkers under the age of 15 admitted to having a profile on the site.
If you have a child who is under 13 that has a Facebook account, or if your preteen is begging you to use Facebook, in addition to breaking the rules, allowing him access to the site sets three precedents that you may want to ponder.
1. It’s Okay to Lie When You Really Want Something
Do you really want to get into the world of color coding lies? While some people may consider fudging your age to gain access to Facebook a white lie, to young children, a lie is simply a lie. Children learn by example. Allowing your child to fake it until he makes it, sends a strong message that if you want something bad enough, it’s okay to put to the truth behind you and say what you need to in order to get what you want.
2. The Rules Don’t Apply to Me
When you allow your child to break a rule that is designed for everyone, you’re sending the message that the rules were created for everyone else but your child. Teaching your child that he only has to follow the rules when he wants to, sends him down a slippery slope that can lead to rejecting authority from teachers or others.
3. It, It Must Be If Everyone Else is Doing Okay
All his twelve year old friends have Facebook, so your child should too, right? Take this opportunity to teach your child that following the crowd isn’t always the right thing to do. Teaching your child that following the rules, even when others aren’t or when he does not want to, is a life lesson that is worth teaching.
While allowing your child to use Facebook prior to turning 13 isn’t the worst parental decision you can make, it definitely can have more consequences then you may think. Before allowing your preteen to sign up, ponder the precedents that doing so may set.


‘Prime Minister John Howard says he is opposed to gay couples adopting children and heterosexual adoption is a benchmark society should maintain.
But he said that didn’t mean gay and lesbian people had no affection for children.
The Victorian Law Reform Commission has recommended to the Victorian Parliament that gay couples be allowed to adopt and lesbians have access to IVF treatment.
Mr Howard said today he believed children should ideally have a mother and a father.
“It gives children the best opportunity in life,” he said on Southern Cross radio.’


Definition of laparotomy
n. - A cutting through the walls of the abdomen, as in the Caesarean section. 2
The word "laparotomy" uses 10 letters: A A L M O O P R T Y.
No direct anagrams for laparotomy found in this word list.
Adding one letter to laparotomy does not form any other word in this word list.Words within laparotomy not shown as it has more than seven letters.
All words formed from laparotomy by changing one letter
Browse words starting with laparotomy by next letter


Thursday, March 20, 2014
Have you always wanted to try your hand at gardening, but feel you lack a green thumb or necessary space? Maybe you're looking for a fun way to liven up your home cooking or just a simple hobby for spring. Well, starting your own herb garden might be the thing for you.
If you're like me, the idea of starting a garden of your own can seem daunting. You may see the neighbors cultivating beautiful, lush gardens and think, “All I can grow is tired and frustrated.” If this sounds familiar, don't fret; you just need to start small.
Herb gardens can be simple projects, taking up no more space than a windowsill, but the rewards can be major. Growing your own fresh Basil, Cilantro and Thyme can add that special something to any dish, while also building up your skills as a home gardener. But before we get started, we'll need a few basic essentials.
First, you'll need to clear off a dedicated space to serve as the site of your future garden. It can be a sunny, south-facing kitchen windowsill or a covered space on your porch, just make sure the location recieves adequate sunlight (at least five hours a day) and isn't a high-traffic area. The last thing you want is for your fledgling garden to fall prey to your family's early morning rush or the curiosity of a house pet. Next you'll need to take a trip to the local nursery or garden supply store. There you'll want to pick up seeds (or an already established starter plant), six- to 12-inch draining pots in which to house your herbs, and a well-draining potting soil. One of the store's employees should be able to help you find what's right for you. Herbs are especially susceptible to diseases in the soil, so a store-bought brand is probably preferable to the soil you'd find in your yard. If you are starting out with seeds, you'll also need to purchase a peat pot.
Once you have everything you need, it's time to get your hands dirty. If you're working with a starter plant, begin by filling each pot with about three inches of soil. Then place the plant atop the soil and fill the pot until there is about one inch remaining between the surface of the soil and the top of the pot. You'll want to keep your pot in a saucer of some kind to catch all the excess water that drains out after watering. Be careful not to overwater or else you'll up with a case of rot.
If you've decided to go the cheaper route and are starting out with seeds, things are going to be a bit more complicated and require a little more tlc. Start by filling your peat pot with potting mix and then insert the seeds into the top of the soil. They wont need to go much deeper than a few centimeters below the surface. Now place the peat in a small bowl of water and let it sit there until it has fully absorded the contents. Once the water is absorded and the seeds are in place, loosely cover the pot in plastic to create a sort of small greenhouse. Keep an eye on the seedlings and once they reach a healthy size, they can be trasplanted into the 6-inch pot.
After your herb garden is established and begins to thrive, feel free to snip off a few sprigs of oregano, basil or mint to throw in the pot as you cook or just sit back, relax and enjoy a job well done.
Dustin Waters is one of our staff reporters and the staff copy editor. Follow Dustin on Twitter @MNreports for more news updates.


My taste for drug-riddled crime movies may be far too indulgent. Perhaps it’s time that I stopped viewing such movies (the British movie Pusher qualifies as a recent example) as viable forms of entertainment. I reached no conclusions, but thought about the matter while watching Eugene Jarecki’s potent new documentary The House I Live In.
For 27 years, Robert Denerstein was the film critic at The Rocky Mountain News. Read more of Robert's reviews at Denerstein Unleashed.
Jarecki has taken a persuasive look at ravages inflicted on many Americans by the country’s apparently endless and extremely costly war on drugs. Some of the movie’s tilt derives from Michelle Alexander’s book, The New Jim Crow, Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness. Alexander, who teaches law at Ohio State University, is interviewed in Jarecki’s movie, along with many others, including David Simon. (The title of Alexander’s book gives you a decent idea of where she stands.) Before creating The Wire, Simon reported on cops and crime in Baltimore, which is to say he has been a war correspondent in America’s battle against drugs.
Jarecki began the movie when he decided to learn more about Nannie Jeter, a woman who worked for his family as a housekeeper in New Haven, Conn. Jarecki says he thought of Jeter as a kind of second mother. As it turns out, Jeter lost a drug-addicted son. Jarecki effectively lifts his movie from the anecdotal to the global, augmenting the movie’s personal focus with lots of beefy information about the ways in which the drug war has masked consequences that have ravaged minority communities and, more recently, working class white communities.
I don’t know if it’s fair to go quite as far as someone such as Simon, who calls the drug war a slow holocaust, but there’s little question that the U.S. war on drugs — which has been going on longer than any other war the country has fought — has been a failure, leading mostly to the creation of a profitable prison-based economy that keeps a variety of small towns thriving and also has led to the establishment of private corrections firms. In the face of the failure of so many of its stated goals, it’s difficult not to wonder why the drug war persists. This steadfast commitment to failed policy makes the conclusions Jarecki reaches powerfully plausible — and deeply unsettling.


Here's my question. I have a Nokia cellphone that I'd like to connect to my carputer. I want to be able to dial numbers and also to use computer's microphone and audio as a speakerphone. I know it requires two separate connections - one through the COM port for dialing and another one for audio.
Since my Nokia doesn't have a bluetooth I'm using USB data cable for dialing numbers, but I don't know how to connect audio. Does anyone tried it? The phone has only one audio input, how do you connect it to board's microphone and audio output?
Thank you for any help!


Mel Bay Learn to Burn: Uke
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The ukulele is an increasingly popular instrument, appearing in everything from rock albums to traditional music. With Learn to Burn: Uke, you can quickly learn to play this versatile instrument. Strumming, chords, scales, and left hand techniques are all included. Each concept in the book is first presented in easy-to-master steps and then expanded upon in play-along pieces. The music is written in both standard notation and tablature, and the accompanying audio includes a variety of styles.
Learn to Burn: Uke Specifications:
- Product Number:30031BCD
- Format:Book/CD Set
- Skill Level:Beginning-Intermediate
- Binding:Saddle Stitched
- Size:8.75 x 11.75
- Series:Learn to Burn
- Publisher:Mel Bay Publications, Inc.


Six to Seven
Erwin SCHULHOFF (1894-1942)
String Sextet (1924) [22:21]
Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Metamorphosen (1945) arr. Rudolf Leopold [27:00]
Hyperion Ensemble (Annelie Gahl and Gunde Jäch-Micko (violins),
Firmian Lermer and Jörg Steinkrauß (violas), Detlef Mielke
and Astrid Sulz (cellos), Martin Heinze (double bass on Strauss)
rec. St Konrad, Abersee, Austria, 1997
PALADINO MUSIC PMR 0010 [49:21]
The two works on this disc are two composer’s
responses to the experience of war, one by Schulhoff who was profoundly
affected by his time as a serving soldier during the First World War.
He ended up in an Italian POW Camp. His life was cruelly cut short during
the Second World War. The other is by Strauss who watched as his beloved
country fell into ruins through allied bombardment and with it his world.
Schulhoff’s work sounds very modern for something written almost
ninety years ago; the first movement is the most expressionist which
makes the second slow movement sound dreamy with an austere beauty that
is quite irresistible. The third short movement marked Burlesca.
Allegro molto con spirito and based on a Slav folk melody is delicious;
a welcome relief from the general bleakness of the work as a whole.
The final movement Molto adagio reminds the listener what drove
Schulhoff to compose the work. Its suitably dark nature rounds off a
powerful musical statement on war. Schulhoff was friends with Janaček
and, interestingly, just as Paul Hindemith was the violinist in the
first performance abroad of Janaček’s sonata for violin and
piano in 1923, he was also a member of the sextet that first performed
Schulhoff’s work the following year. I was surprised to learn
that the sextet was only published for the first time in 1978 for there
is no doubt after hearing it that it is a major contribution to the
corpus of 20th century chamber music. Repeated hearings will make it
a favourite with any lover of such repertoire. The Hyperion Ensemble
which came together precisely to present the two works on this disc
for a festival concert in 1996, and has since stayed together, are clearly
committed performers of this work and have done Schulhoff good service
Reading something of Richard Strauss reveals him as a pathetic character
far from the willing tool of the Nazis as has often been the impression.
Rather he was a true believer in the nature of art and the German contribution
to its history. Choosing to stay after Hitler took power resulted in
difficult choices when trying to steer a path through those turbulent
times. His efforts to protect his Jewish daughter-in-law and Jewish
grandchildren led to compromises that, perhaps, in other circumstances
he would not have made. He was resolute in his determination to continue
to perform the music of banned composers such as Mahler and Mendelssohn.
In 1933 he wrote in his private notebook “I consider the Streicher-Goebbels
Jew-baiting as a disgrace to German honour, as evidence of incompetence
- the basest weapon of untalented, lazy mediocrity against a higher
intelligence and greater talent”. Strauss had hoped that since
Hitler, an ardent lover of Wagner, had admired Strauss’s opera
Salome that he would support and champion German culture. Goebbels
on the other hand had no time for Strauss’s music and wrote that
once “we have our own music ... we shall no further need of this
decadent neurotic”. There is plenty more evidence of his hatred
for the regime not least the entry in his diary following the end of
the war that reads “The most terrible period of human history
is at an end, the twelve year reign of bestiality, ignorance and anti-culture
under the greatest criminals, during which Germany's 2000 years of cultural
evolution met its doom”.
Strauss’s Metamorphosen was written in 1945 amid the blackest
days of the war during which he witnessed the destruction of every major
opera house. This music is the starkest representation of the grief
he must have felt at what seemed to him to be the destruction of German
culture itself. Originally composed as a work for septet it was Paul
Sacher that great “artpreneur” who commissioned it to be
turned into a work for 23 strings. Here in a version by Rudolf Leopold
we can hear it as originally intended. The greatest of Strauss’s
gifts is his incredible imagination when it comes to orchestration.
His use of strings is almost unparalleled in the music of the twentieth
century and this work is proof of that. Gorgeous harmonies abound with
sounds that reach upwards toward the heavens all tinged with sad reflections
on the folly of Man and its pernicious results.
Strauss wrote in 1947 that "I may not be a first-rate composer, but
I am a first-class second-rate composer." I and millions of others would
beg to differ and indeed his reputation as one of the greatest composers
of the first half of the 20th century is assured. This work
is among those that caused that assessment and deservedly so. The performance
here is sumptuous but with Strauss’s uncanny ability to write
fabulous melodies that could hardly be otherwise.
This disc presents two very different reactions to the experience of
war, the earlier one more advanced in experimental terms, the later
more conventionally “classical” but both equally effective


Compelling Vocal Drama
LAWRENCE BUDMEN listens to
and the New World Symphony
The New World Symphony presented a program of early twentieth century music from Paris and Vienna on 19 December 2009 at the Lincoln Theater in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. With the gifted British conductor Mark Wigglesworth in charge of most of the podium duties, the highlight of the evening was Alban Berg's exquisite, too rarely heard Seven Early Songs in a spellbinding performance by Canadian soprano Measha Brueggergosman, an artist of remarkable expressive range and compelling vocal drama. Indeed her achievement was one of the finest musical events witnessed by this critic in 2009.
The young Berg was a prolific composer of art songs. By the time he was in his early twenties and began studying with Arnold Schoenberg (a pivotal moment in his career), Berg had produced some eighty songs. The Seven Early Songs were composed between 1905 and 1908 and then orchestrated as a cycle for a November 1928 première. (By that time Berg had achieved celebrity as a leading avant garde composer and Schoenberg protégé with the first performance of his opera Wozzeck in 1925.) The songs reveal a young composer under the spell of Richard Strauss. Expansive vocal lines, surges of impassioned and haunting song and subtle variations of dynamics are woven into this mercurial cycle. In the final song Summer Days, Berg produced an outburst of poignant lyricism that foretells the elderly Strauss' Four Last Songs. The composer has encased these memorable vocal ruminations in a rich orchestral fabric, the string writing particularly deep and passionate.
Brueggergosman, one of the most distinctive vocalists on the contemporary opera and concert scene, gave an extraordinary reading of these neglected gems. Generous in beauty of tone and intensity of feeling, the soprano exhibited dark, smoky richness of timbre and pure, dulcet high tones that entranced the ear. Her deep emotional penetration made each song come vividly alive as mini vocal drama. Indeed Brueggergosman's performance would be hard to surpass, vocally or interpretively. A memorable fusion of music and artistry. Wigglesworth is a vastly experienced opera conductor whose resumé includes appearances at the English National Opera and New York's Metropolitan Opera. He drew gorgeous string textures from the eager young players and provided a soaring wave of orchestral luminescence beneath Brueggergosman's vocal velvet.
New World conducting fellow Edward Abrams opened the French portion of the program with a snappy, jazz inflected rendition of Darius Milhaud's 1923 ballet score La creation du monde ('The Creation of the World'), Op 81. A meticulous craftsman, the talented Abrams led an idiomatic performance that captured the jazzy 1920s musical panorama but did not slight the contrasting moments of lyricism and songful repose. The seventeen instrumentalists played superbly with especially dynamic solo piano and saxophone riffs. Written a year before Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue, Milhaud's score remains a musical landmark. It was a pleasure to encounter such a vital performance.
Wigglesworth emphasized instrumental transparency and magical impressionistic colors in a luminous reading of Ravel's Mother Goose Suite. The conductor found the perfect sound for each movement: softly surreal for the opening Pavane of the Sleeping Beauty; light and bright for Tom Thumb; rich extravagance of colors and timbres for Empress of the Pagodas (delivered with bracing orchestral panache); sensuous string hues for Conversations of Beauty and the Beast; and soaring, gorgeous climactic radiance for The Enchanted Garden. Wigglesworth's lucid conducting produced an enchanted performance of a masterpiece taken too easily for granted. The New World musicians played their hearts out, producing a glorious stream of orchestral paintings -- musical impressionism at its most intoxicating.
Wigglesworth commanded the lilt and orchestral shimmer of Strauss' Suite from Der Rosenkavalier, Op 59. The Viennese waltzes danced in felicitous syncopation. Wigglesworth understands the trick of that slight hesitation that distinguishes a waltz from Vienna. The Presentation of the Rose music glowed in lush, captivating sounds. Wigglesworth miscalculated some of the climaxes. In the Lincoln Theater's super bright acoustics, fortissimos were overwrought. Also the music of the final trio was rushed, lacking poetry and eloquence. The vivacious playing of the youthful orchestral academy members remained hard to resist. Strauss' poignant backward glance at the era of the Viennese waltz kings proved the perfect holiday musical champagne toast.
Copyright © 24 December 2009
Miami Beach, USA
New World Symphony members play Martinu's Nonet, Britten's Phantasy Quartet, Rzewski's Moonrise with Memories and Stravinsky's Suite from The Soldier's Tale on 15 January 2010 at the Lincoln Theater in Miami Beach, Florida, USA. Violist and Curtis Institute of Music president Roberto Diaz is guest artist for a chamber matinée musicale on 17 January featuring Hindemith's Clarinet Quintet and Trauermusik and Beethoven's Viola Quintet (Storm).
On January 23 Susanna Malkki conducts The Finish Line in the Sounds of the Times series with cello soloist Anssi Karttunen in a program of Saariaho's Notes on Light, Murail's Gondwana and Lindberg's Feria. On 5 and 6 February French conductor Ludovic Morlot leads Berlioz's Les Francs-juges Overture, Stravinsky's Petrouchka and John Adams' Violin Concerto with Jennifer Koh as soloist.
Robert Spano conducts Gershwin's American in Paris, Rachmaninov's Symphony No 3 and Barber's Violin Concerto with Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg on 20 February at the Adrienne Arsht Center in Miami. For information see www.nws.edu


On October 17, 2011 the EPA approved revisions to Oregon's water quality standards for toxic substances that determine how much fish humans can safely consume. The standards for toxics were already stringent and the further decrease will require more advanced treatment technologies and systems. Regional program staff were actively engaged in the review process with the DEQ to provide accurate information on potential impacts to municipal wastewater treatment facilities.
On June 1, 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) disapproved Oregon's New and Revised Human Health Water Quality Criteria for Toxics, which cleared the way for Oregon to continue the rulemaking process whereby the "Fish Consumption Rate" has been increased to the highest levels in the United States.
The 6.5 g/day fish consumption rate has been increased to 175 g/day (24- 8 ounce meals a month).
For more information visit the DEQ website.


About ESF 4 / ESF 9
The Division of State Fire Marshal is the lead agency for two Emergency Support Functions (ESF) at the State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC) during a disaster or state emergency. The Division is responsible for the management and staffing of ESF 4 (Firefighting) and ESF 9 (Search and Rescue) at the SEOC as mandated by the State of Florida Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan.
The Division accomplishes this responsibility through a partnership with the Florida Division of Forestry and the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association, both of which supply personnel at the SEOC as part of the staffing plan. Personnel are assigned from all of the Division's Bureaus and are responsible for:
Ensuring relief is provided for any resource necessary for an extended operation.
In addition, State Fire Marshal personnel assigned to the SEOC coordinate with Law Enforcement (ESF 16), Military Support (ESF 13), Health and Medical (ESF 8) and Hazardous Materials (ESF 10). There are other ESFs in the SEOC that either supply information or receive information from ESF's 4 and 9.
The coordinated response and management of statewide fire service resources is accomplished using the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association Statewide Emergency Response Plan (SERP). This plan was developed shortly after Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and has been used extensively since that time. Every year this plan is reviewed for necessary revisions by a committee designated by the President of the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association. The Division of State Fire Marshal uses the Incident Management System as a standard for SEOC operations. Training in emergency management is an ongoing, cooperative effort with the four partners: the Division of State Fire Marshal, the Florida Forest Service, the Florida Fire Chiefs' Association and the Division of Emergency Management.
In addition to responsibilities at the SEOC, the Division of State Fire Marshal also staffs multiple teams of Division personnel to respond to the disaster area and perform search and rescue duties, debris removal, road clearing and damage assessment. These teams are comprised of personnel from all three bureaus of the Division and are provided with fire apparatus from the Fire College and communication vans and bobcat tractors from the Bureau of Fire and Arson Investigations. The teams are self-sufficient for a minimum period of 72 hours. After which, support for the teams is supplied by either the Division or through the SEOC.
Division personnel at the SEOC are also responsible for providing current information concerning any disaster or emergency to the management of the Department of Insurance and other organizations with responsibility for providing disaster assistance. This is accomplished through the Department of Insurance statewide network as well as internet e-mail. This computer link assures that the Department receives timely and accurate information concerning the disaster.
EMAC: Emergency Management Assistance Compact
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency
FFCA: Florida Fire Chiefs' Association
FMAG : Fire Management Assistance Grant
SAR: Search and Rescue
SERP: State Emergency Response Plan (FFCA).
SMAA: Statewide Mutual Aid Agreement


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Owning miniature Yorkshire terriers can be great fun! Yet not everyone is up to the task of caring for them. They are extremely small dogs, no more than five pounds. The smallest ones are about three pounds.
If you love the way the miniature teacup Yorkie looks then you need to make sure you can properly care for it. They require a great deal of protection so they won't be injured.
You also need to make sure you have the right food for it, understand grooming needs, and get it ongoing medical care.
These Toy dogs are very expensive though so not everyone can purchase them. They are usually at least two thousand dollars from a breeder. You can sometimes get lucky though and get them from private individuals.
You may be able to get one from a rescue centre as well, although you will have to be very lucky. This will allow you to save a lot of money on the cost of buying one.
If you enjoy dog shows, miniature Yorkshire terriers are a great breed to enter. They are adorable and will certainly gain the attention of the judges. It does take some time and effort though to train them to perform well at these shows.
Yet the recognition for the top contenders is well worth it. Their offspring can also merit a very high price on the market due to their lineage.
There is no question that owning one of these special dogs can be great fun. However, you need to evaluate all of the issues and make sure you are up to the task.
Too many people purchase this breed of dog for the way it looks. They don't have a clue that it has special needs.
Therefore they aren't able to enjoy it to the fullest. You need to make sure you don't find yourself falling into this trap.
The more information you have about miniature Yorkshire terriers before you look for one the better. You will have an idea of what to look for and where to get one that is very good quality.
Since they are so expensive you don't want to get taken advantage of. Most breeders are quite honest but some of them aren't.
Those who aren't ethical may take you for a ride because they don't think you know any better. There are also puppy mills out there pretending to be quality breeders and you need to be able to tell the difference.
It is very important to understand that this dog breed make very demanding pets. They need to have constant interaction.
This isn't a good breed of dog for someone who isn't home very much. If you aren't dedicated to spending a great deal of your time with your pet then it isn't going to work, and this breed is not for you.
They also are prone to severe medical problems. You need to be committed to seeing a great vet from the very start. Keep up on routine checkups, shots, and taking your dog in when something doesn't seem right.
Your vet can also help you develop a good diet and exercise plan to keep your miniature puppy as healthy as possible.
Below are more articles about Teacup Yorkie Puppies;
All The best


ACT NOW! Rockford Police Shooting Shows Need for Federal StandardsDecember 31, 1969
It has been two months since Mark Barmore was shot down by police officers at a Rockford, Illinois daycare center. Witness reports indicate that he was shot three times in the back, in full view of the children at the center. Mr. Barmore’s death has become a symbol of a startling lack of accountability in far too many local police forces.
You Can Help! On Saturday, October 3rd, join NAACP President Benjamin Jealous, along with the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, Amnesty International, the National Baptist Convention, the NAACP Illinois State Conference and the NAACP Rockford Branch for a major mobilization to combat police violence. Click here for details. We will be marching for:
- Justice for Mark Barmore,
- Counseling for the children who witnessed shooting, and
- Legislation to create Federal use-of-force standards.
We hope you can join us, but if you cannot make it to the event, you can still help:
- Sign our petition demanding a full investigation into the shooting by the Department of Justice, and legislation to mandate federal standards for the use of force by police officers, and
- Sign on to our Facebook page for the latest news, photos and action opportunities from the Rockford rally.


Our "NanoTube" collection of informative and noteworthy videos
in the areas of nanosciences and nanotechnology
Individual silver atoms are pulled out from a nanosized silver cluster on a Ag(111) surface at 6 K using a scanning tunneling microscope tip. Just by approaching the tip close to a protruding part of the cluster, the binding energy of the topmost cluster atom is greatly reduced. When the STM-tip laterally moves, the atom breaks the bond with the neighboring atoms within the cluster, and follows the tip trajectory. This process involves manipulation of atom along rough terrains of the 3-D cluster surface.


01.03.2013 - Astronomers using data from NASA's Kepler mission estimate that at least 100 billion planets populate the galaxy.
11.20.2012 - After discovering the spacecraft was not collecting precision data, Kepler engineers succeeded in returning the spacecraft to science data collection.
11.14.2012 - Today NASA marks two milestones in the search for planets like Earth.
10.26.2012 - The Kepler team has completed two more science data downloads marking the successful completion of Quarter 14 flight operations.
10.15.2012 - The discovery of planets continues to expand beyond the domain of professional astronomers.
09.14.2012 - The Kepler team completed another monthly science data download, August 29-30, completing Quarter 14 month 2 science data collection.
08.28.2012 - Kepler-47 is the first double-star system discovered containing multiple planets, one of which is orbiting in the so-called "habitable zone."
08.22.2012 - Two newly submitted studies verify 41 new transiting planets in 20 star systems.
08.01.2012 - The Kepler team completed another monthly science data download over July 29-30, 2012.
07.24.2012 - As reported earlier, on July 14, 2012, the Kepler spacecraft experienced an anomaly in the reaction wheel assembly (RWA) of the Attitude and Determination Control Subsystem (ADCS).
07.20.12 - On July 14, 2012, the Kepler spacecraft experienced a disruption in science data collection due to a pointing error.
07.10.12 - Since the last update the team has had two science data downlinks.
06.21.2012 - Astronomers have discovered a pair of neighboring planets with dissimilar densities orbiting very close to each other.
06.13.12 - The formation of small worlds like Earth previously was thought to occur mostly around stars rich in heavy elements such as iron and silicon.
06.05.2012 - It's the final opportunity of the century to witness the rare astronomical reunion of the sun, Venus and Earth.
05.31.12 - News media and the public are invited to observe the transit of Venus broadcast live from atop Mauna Kea, Hawaii, beginning at 3:04 p.m. PDT Tuesday, June 5, 2012 in the Exploration Center at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. The June 5th transit will be the final opportunity to witness the rare astronomical reunion until 2117.
05.18.12 - Astronomers may have detected evidence of a possible planet disintegrating under the searing heat of its host star located 1,500 light-years from Earth.
05.15.2012 - April was a momentous time for the mission! The team received approval for a mission extension through fiscal year 2016.
4.04.12 - NASA's Kepler mission has been approved for extension through fiscal year 2016.
04.01.2012 - On March 31 and April 1, team members from NASA Ames and the Kepler mission will participate in the first SpaceUp San Francisco event held at Citizen Space.


The Cabinet Secretaries' Notebooks (CAB 195/8)
Convention on Human Rights
Convention on Human Rights
Convention must be adopted – we couldn't oppose it in principle.
Further amendmt. won't get us anything better than this draft.
The European Court is based on optional clause: we don't need to be bound by it.
Will this be a paid body? Watch that.
This Convention makes a planned economy impossible. Eg. inspection of premises. Arts. 4, 5, 8, 13. Policy twds. Communists in Civil Service wd. also be barred.
All the Greeks etc. will vote for it, even tho' they won't carry it out.
We shall look v. foolish if we vote v. it.
Is Council/Europe the right place for this sort of thing. Tories wd. enjoy supportg. somethg. embarrassing to "planning" Govts.
I was briefed by F.O. to stall on this in E.C.O.S.O.C.
Can we take an opposite line at Strasbourg.
This Convn wd. enable U.K. co. to object at this court to a planning Reg.
Policy of workg. for a Convention has gone on too long to reverse it now.
This draft follows what U.K. repves proposed.
We cd. meet R.S.C.'s view by small amendment of Art. 8.
All these Conventns will be apt to be out of tune with letter of municipal law. Enough if consistent with genl. principle and substance of our law.
Opposed to that view. We shall be jockeyed into accepting the court – wh. administers no known law but only generalities – and overriding our courts and our legislature.
We shd. be surrendering to the Commn and the Court control over our law.
No pol. advantage. For Russians and others won't pay the slightest attention to Convention and we shall feel obliged to.
Political diffy. is tht. we shall have to oppose it in public in Assembly. Hope therefore we may take opportunity of seeking amendments in the Council of Ministers, in private. Esp. Art. 23.
Parallel Convention under discn in U.N. That restricts right of petition to States. If this is carried in C/Europe same principle may be inserted in U.N. draft.
Urge therefore omission of Art. 23. or at least its modification.
But can we go back on genl. policy of support for a Convention.
We can either a) say that havg. seen the draft we don't like it. b) U.N. are doing one: no sense in having two.
How come we to put fwd. such a draft as this – inconsistent with planned economy.
Don't accept that it does.
Take the line tht. U.N. shd. do this, and C/Europe shd. leave it alone.
We cd. have said that a year ago – and didn't. What new reason for saying it now. Only hope is to try to reduce it to a declaration. Or kill it by a 1.000 cuts at particular provisions – eg. Art. 23 and Court.
Are you going to have a Commn.
There's bn. a declaration already. Too late for that line.
We have agreed to go ahead with Conventn.
If we oppose it now, we shall be alone with the Greeks.
x/ Best line wd. be to stall on this, on drafting grounds.
M'while let J. explain the legal diffies to Maxwell Fyfe.
Cab. shd. realise it will be seen, at Assembly stage, tht. we have made volte face.
Agreed as at x/.
Can we have a memo. showg. how this came about.
Yes. Shdn't anyway have come up so late.
Taken from C.M. 52(50) - Meeting held on 1 August 1950.


Where's Elmer Fudd when you need him? Although, the folks at San Juan Island National Historical Park, who have a rabbit problem on their hands, could use a hunter who's a little more successful than Bugs Bunny's archenemy ever was.
The problem at this small park (which usually is more connected with pigs, than rabbits, but that's another story) off the coast of Washington state are European rabbits, a non-native breed that, according to park officials, "over the years has turned portions of the American Camp prairie into a moonscape."
According to an environmental assessment the park prepared on a rabbit eradication plan, "European rabbits were first documented on San Juan Island in 1929, but are thought to have been introduced much earlier between 1875 and 1895."
While they provide a food source of a non-native species of fox, the rabbits have few redeeming attributes, according to the park.
European rabbits construct extensive systems of subterranean burrows known as warrens consisting of multiple entrances, tunnels, and chambers. Stevens (1975) measured one warren at American Camp with 92 m (301.8 feet) of subterranean tunnels, and recorded that warrens ranged from 0 to 56 entrances with an average of 9.35 entrances per warren. In 2006, there were 3,440 active burrows at American Camp in the core colony area. One partially collapsed burrow observed by park staff near the dunes in 2009 was nearly three feet in diameter and five feet deep. Excavated tailings from lower soil horizons are piled at entrances to burrows burying the rich prairie topsoil. These extensive systems of warrens also significantly alter the hydrologic regime at American Camp by altering absorption, runoff, retention, and evaporation rates of rainwater, as well as greatly exacerbating soil susceptibility to wind and water erosion.
The rabbits also impact native wildlife, such as western meadowlarks (which like to nest in grasslands), and voles, and are wiping out stands of the hookedspur violet, which is "an important host plant for the valley silverspot butterfly."
“The goal is to eliminate European rabbits from and prevent their recolonization in the park, which will allow us to protect important natural and cultural resources threatened by this non-native species,” said Superintendent Peter Dederich when he released the EA for public comment on July 8. “It also will afford us the opportunity to mitigate past damage caused by the rabbits.”
According to park biologists, more than 470 non-native rabbits inhabit approximately 150 acres of American Camp today—down from an estimated high of 50 rabbits per acre in the 1970s and approximately 23 rabbits per acre in 2005. The long-term effects have been devastating to American camp’s unique prairielands.
“European rabbits exclude native wildlife and destroy wildlife habitat, damage native plant communities, and confound efforts to restore native species,” Superintendent Dederich said. “Through their burrowing, they also damage important cultural resources the park was established to protect. Most recently rabbits re-established warrens in the Redoubt at American Camp, one of the best remaining examples of Civil War-era earthen fortification in the United States.”
While the park reviewed a number of options for dispatching the rabbits, such as fumigation, live trapping, and even dogs, "(S)hooting is generally considered one of the most effective techniques for rabbit removal and is the primary method recommended in the feasibility study conducted for the park by Island Conservation in 2006."
"To minimize potential conflicts with park users during daylight hours, shooting would be carried out primarily during nighttime hours. However, park facilities could be temporarily closed for public safety if control activities are required at dawn or dusk," the EA notes. "All shooting operations would be conducted by trained professionals with experience in shooting for conservation purposes. Trained professionals are defined as individuals that have received training in firearms handling, are skilled in precision shooting, and are considered a marksman. Typically, shooting would be done with a small-caliber rifle, though other firearms could be used depending on circumstances. Lead-free ammunition would be used to eliminate risks to non-target species, such as raptors that may scavenge carcasses, as well as to avoid the general adverse environmental effects of lead."
A 30-day public review and comment period for the EA runs to August 12. An open-house public meeting is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m., on Tuesday, July 27, at the Mullis Senior Center in Friday Harbor, Washington.
To read and comment on the 145-page EA, head to this site. Or you can write the superintendent at San Juan Island NHP, PO Box 429, Friday Harbor, WA 98250.


A potted biography of Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter was born in London on 28 July 1866 - as Helen Beatrix Potter. She lived with her mother Helen, her father Rupert, and her younger brother Bertram.
The families of both her parents had their origins in the industrialised North of England. The money inherited from the Lancashire cotton industry enabled the Potters to live comfortably in Bolton Gardens, an elegant square in Kensington, London.
Rupert Potter was a qualified barrister who chose not to practice his profession but to pursue his passion for art and photography. As a young child, Beatrix showed signs of having inherited the artistic talent of her parents and was frequently treated to gallery trips or visits to her father’s notable friends: William Gaskell, husband of Elizabeth Gaskell the novelist, and John Everett Millais, the painter.
Typical of many middleclass young girls in the Victorian period, Beatrix had little real contact with her parents. Her childhood was rather lonely, with few friends and only a governess for company. Her fascination for painting and drawing occupied most of her spare time outside lessons and she loved to sketch plants and animals. This interest would later become the inspiration for her stories.
The Potters took long holidays each year to the countryside in Scotland and the Lake District, where Beatrix indulged in her interest in nature, spending hours exploring and sketching the wildlife. Her first visit to the Lake District was in 1882 when she visited Wray Castle, a Victorian gothic mansion. They also stayed in Lingholm, Fawe Park, Holehird, and Lakefield (now Ees Wyke).
Beatrix frequently returned from holiday with animals such as mice, rabbits, newts, caterpillars and birds which formed an entire menagerie that lived in the schoolroom.
The Tale of Peter Rabbit and the first children’s books
Beatrix had been painting for her own amusement for many years but in 1890 she had her first commercial success with rabbit pictures she sold as Christmas card designs to Hildesheimer & Faulkener.
Beatrix had become close friends with her former governess, Annie Moore. She was particularly fond of Annie’s young children, regularly writing amusing picture letters for them about the many pets she kept.
Several years later Beatrix turned one of the tales into a picture book. It was rejected by several publishers, so she privately printed 250 copies of it herself. The Tale of Peter Rabbit was a great success with family and friends.
In 1902, Frederick Warne & Co agreed to publish an initial quantity of 8,000. They sold out instantly and Beatrix’s career as a storyteller was launched.
By 1905, Warne had published six of Beatrix Potter’s books, including The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle. She used the profits to buy her first farm, Hill Top Farm in Near Sawrey village in the Lake District.
In the summer of that year, Norman Warne proposed marriage and she accepted. But tragically, Norman fell ill and died four weeks later. Beatrix threw herself into the running of her farm whilst working on more ‘little books’. The Tale of Tom Kitten and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck were both set in and around Hill Top.
In 1903 Beatrix Potter designed and patented a Peter Rabbit doll – making Peter Rabbit the world’s oldest licensed character.
With her approval a range slippers, handkerchiefs and china tea sets were designed and by the 1940s Wedgwood and Royal Doulton had begun to create pottery with scenes from the tales.
Beatrix and the Lake District
Beatrix loved life in the Lake District and as a prominent member of the farming community she won prizes for breeding sheep, especially the Herdwick breed. She did much to promote the breed and was the first woman to be elected president of the Herdwick Sheep Breeders Association (although she died before she took up the chair). She also became a fierce campaigner on local conservation issues. She was passionate about preserving a way of life, but she was an astute and forward thinking business woman, not afraid of making changes where necessary.
During the next few years Beatrix purchased a considerable amount of land in the Lake District and was advised by local solicitor William Heelis who she later married. She and William lived in Castle Cottage, Near Sawrey, from 1913 until her death. Only a few books were produced for Frederick Warne after their marriage.
Beatrix and the National Trust
She worked closely with the National Trust, helping it to acquire land and manage farms with a view to long-term preservation. In one of her letters to Eleanor Rawnsley in 1934, she wrote 'I wish there may be a sufficient representative number of the old farms in the hands of the Trust.'
Beatrix was a friend of Canon Hardwicke Drummond Rawnsley – one of the three founder members of the National Trust. When she died in 1943, she left 4000 acres of land and countryside to the National Trust, as well as 14 farms.
All of these farms are still working farms managed by tenant farmers, in accordance with her wishes, and we continue her conservation work in the Lake District to this day.