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Bass Strait

(Encyclopedia)Bass Strait băs [key], channel, 80 to 150 mi (129–241 km) wide, between Tasmania and Victoria, SE Australia, connecting the Indian Ocean and Tasman Sea; Port Phillip Bay and Melbourne are on the no...

Raichur

(Encyclopedia)Raichur rīˈcho͞or [key], city (1991 pop. 170,577), Karnataka state, S central India. It is a district administrative center and a market for sesame, sorghum, cotton, pulses, and chilies. Copper and...

Scott, Duncan Campbell

(Encyclopedia)Scott, Duncan Campbell, 1862–1947, Canadian poet, b. Ottawa. He was a civil servant in the Dept. of Indian Affairs from 1879 to 1932, becoming its head in 1913. Scott began publication with The Magi...

saprophyte

(Encyclopedia)saprophyte săpˈrəfītˌ [key], any plant that depends on dead plant or animal tissue for a source of nutrition and metabolic energy, e.g., most fungi (molds) and a few flowering plants, such as Ind...

dogbane

(Encyclopedia)dogbane, common name for some members of the Apocynaceae, a family of herbs, shrubs, and trees found in most parts of the world but especially in the tropics, where they are often climbing forms. Many...

chikungunya

(Encyclopedia)chikungunya chĭkən-go͞onˈyä [key], viral disease transmitted by the bite of an infected female Aedes mosquito. Symptoms appear after an incubation period of four to eight days and include sudden ...

Jaffna

(Encyclopedia)Jaffna jăfˈnə [key], peninsula, northernmost part of Sri Lanka, separated from India by Palk Strait. The peninsula is densely inhabited, largely by Tamil-speaking people. Jaffna suffered under the ...

mahogany

(Encyclopedia)mahogany, common name for the Meliaceae, a widely distributed family of chiefly tropical shrubs and trees, often having scented wood. The valuable hardwood called mahogany is obtained from many member...

Catlin, George

(Encyclopedia)Catlin, George, 1796–1872, American traveler and artist, b. Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Educated as a lawyer, he practiced in Philadelphia for two years but turned to art study and became a portrait painter i...

Roy, Rammohun

(Encyclopedia)Roy, Rammohun räm-mōˈhən roi [key], 1772–1833, Indian religious and educational reformer. Sometimes called the father of modern India, Roy was born to a wealthy and devout Brahman family in Beng...