Columbia Encyclopedia

Search results

486 results found

Atwater, Wilbur Olin

(Encyclopedia)Atwater, Wilbur Olin, 1844–1907, American agricultural chemist, b. Johnsburg, N.Y. He was professor at several American universities and helped to set up and later became director of the first state...

Leominster

(Encyclopedia)Leominster lĕmˈĭnstər [key], city (1990 pop. 38,145), Worcester co., N central Mass.; set off from Lancaster 1740, inc. as a city 1915. Plastics, fabricated metals, locks, processed foods, and che...

Kankakee

(Encyclopedia)Kankakee kăngkəkēˈ [key], city (1990 pop. 27,575), seat of Kankakee co., E Ill., on the Kankakee River; inc. 1855. It is a trade, processing, and shipping center for a rich agricultural region pro...

Yeovil

(Encyclopedia)Yeovil yōˈvĭl [key], town (1991 pop. 36,114), Somerset, SW England, on the Yeo River. It is a market town and a leather-making center. Glove making has been a local specialty since the 16th cent.; ...

San Leandro

(Encyclopedia)San Leandro săn lēănˈdrō [key], city (1990 pop. 68,223), Alameda co., W Calif., on San Francisco Bay; inc. 1872. Metal, wood, and paper products; chemicals; leather goods; foods and beverages; me...

Pottstown

(Encyclopedia)Pottstown, borough (1990 pop. 21,831), Montgomery co., SE Pa., on the Schuylkill River; settled c.1700, inc. 1815. The borough's industries include plastic and metal products, furniture, electronic an...

Petah Tiqwa

(Encyclopedia)Petah Tiqwa pĕtäˈ tēkˈvä [key], town (1994 pop. 152,000), W central Israel. Its industries produce textiles, plastics, processed foods, tires and other rubber products, and soap. There are exten...

Food and Drug Administration

(Encyclopedia)Food and Drug Administration (FDA), agency of the Public Health Service division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is charged with protecting public health by ensuring that foods...

bile

(Encyclopedia)bile, bitter alkaline fluid of a yellow, brown, or green color, secreted, in man, by the liver. Bile, or gall, is composed of water, bile acids and their salts, bile pigments, cholesterol, fatty acids...

herbarium

(Encyclopedia)herbarium, collection of dried and mounted plant specimens used in systematic botany. To preserve their form and color, plants collected in the field are spread flat in sheets of newsprint and dried, ...