Since the first transgenic plants were produced back in the early 1980s, there have been substantial developments towards the genetic engineering of most crops of our world. Initial studies using isolated plant cells and removing their cell walls to form protoplasts, offered the possibility of transferring genetic material by Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer, chemical agents or electrical charges. However, in those cases were isolated protoplasts could be transformed, often, a shoot regeneration system was not available to induce the production of transgenic plants and any such regenerated plants were subject to mutation or chromosomal of cultured plant organs, such as leaf abnormalities. By the mid-1980s, the use disks, offered the convenience of combining gene transfer, plant regeneration and selection of transformants in a single system. This approach, enabled the production of stable, phenotypically-normal, transgenic potato and tomato plants in culture. By the late 1980s, the use of biolistics offered a means of inserting foreign genes into plant cells which where inaccessible to Agrobacterium infection. Even today, this technology is now standard practice for the production of some transgenic plants.

The English Mastiff - A Complete Anthology of the Dog gathers together all the best early writing on the breed from our library of scarce, out-of-print antiquarian books and documents and reprints it in a quality, modern edition. This anthology includes chapters taken from a comprehensive range of books, many of them now rare and much sought-after works, all of them written by renowned breed experts of their day. These books are treasure troves of information about the breed - The physical points, temperaments, and special abilities are given; celebrated dogs are discussed and pictured; and the history of the breed and pedigrees of famous champions are also provided. The contents were well illustrated with numerous photographs of leading and famous dogs of that era and these are all reproduced to the highest quality. Books used include: My Dog And I by H. W. Huntington (1897), The Twentieth Century Dog by Herbert Compton (1904) and many others.

Written by active research scientists who study the volcanism of Earth and of other planets, the contributions provide the first general review of volcanic activity throughout the Solar System. Successive chapters describe past and present volcanic activity as it is observed throughout the Solar System. These chapters relate to readers not only our present knowledge of volcanism throughout the Solar System but also how frontline scientists working in this field conduct their research.

William Bartram's journeys around North America in the late 18th century crossed through much of what was then Native American territory. In the 1790s when this book was first published, the United States was newly formed and was expanding beyond its original thirteen colonies. However, American settlement into the distant lands beyond the Appalachians was limited and gradual. The vast expanse of land was unknown, and much was inhabited by Native American tribes. Determined to traverse and discover the lands of North America, William Bartram set out from the city of Philadelphia, making his way toward the south of the continent. Along his way he describes the wilderness terrain, rivers, landscape and peoples he meets. Many of the Native American tribes he encountered were welcoming, viewing Bartram as a strange curiosity. He would join the natives to eat at feasts, observing their lives and customs, learning their dialects and eventually gaining their trust and friendship.

Pilgrim at Tinker Creek is the story of a dramatic year in Virginia's Roanoke Valley. Annie Dillard sets out to see what she can see. What she sees are astonishing incidents of "beauty tangled in a rapture with violence."

Her personal narrative highlights one year's exploration on foot in the Virginia region through which Tinker Creek runs. In the summer, Dillard stalks muskrats in the creek and contemplates wave mechanics; in the fall, she watches a monarch butterfly migration and dreams of Arctic caribou. She tries to con a coot; she collects pond water and examines it under a microscope. She unties a snake skin, witnesses a flood, and plays King of the Meadow with a field of grasshoppers. The result is an exhilarating tale of nature and its seasons.

This is the work of a man who has known and loved the Scottish Cairngorms for more than 30 years. Jim Crumley marries a poet's instincts to an uncompromising passion for the Cairngorm's arctic character, and for those wildlife tribes which thrive there. He marks nature's rhythms with thoughtful observations of bird and beast, flower and landscape. In the process he strives for a purer empathy with the wilds, seeks out the nourishing bond of man and landscape. Ultimately, the book asserts that the Cairngorms are nature's place. Crumley proposes a radical solution to safeguard the mountains from a threatening array of forces ranged against them. In his conclusion he invokes what Seton Gordon called "the spirit of the high and lonely places".

Here is a comprehensive overview of the geophysical, technological, and social aspects of natural disasters. This book systematically reviews the agents of natural catastrophes - earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, drought, hurricanes, erosion, fires, etc. - in terms of their geophysical processes and effects. The human impact and response is examined from various perspectives, including damage and the urban environment, the logistics of planning and emergency action, medical emergencies and the epidemiology of disasters, the Third World, and socio-economic consequences. The author's unique interdisciplinary perspective helps the reader to achieve a clear perspective on natural disasters and possible strategies against them.

Open this book and take an excursion through the fossil world of the first half of the Cenozoic Era--the Age of Mammals. Over 370 color photos detail the fossil record of this bygone age from small sea creatures to the lumbering rhinoceros, Subhyracodon occidentalis, and rare fossilized bats. The engaging text outlines this fascinating period of geologic time and famous sites including Florissant, Colorado, and Grube Messel, Germany. Collectors will recognize specimens from the Green River Formation and the Oligocene White River Group, and intriguing fossils from lesser-known Early Cenozoic localities around the globe are also shown. Enthusiasts will enjoy the wide range of fossils on display, both accessible fossils any collector might hope to acquire and elusive "trophy" specimens from this era of Earth's history.

"The Malay Archipelago" is perhaps the most celebrated of all writings on Indonesia. Attracting huge public interest at the time of publication, this two-part work ranks with the nineteenth century's most important travel writing and Wallace's name continues to be inextricably linked to the area.
Wallace was best known for his discovery and description of the faunal discontinuity that now bears his name, "Wallace's Line," extending between the islands of Bali and Lombok and Borneo and Sulawesi, described here in "The Malay Archipelago." This led to his theory of natural selection, which was presented to the Linnaean Society in 1858.

John White was Surgeon General on Captain Arthur Phillip's ship, leading the First Fleet in 1788. White's journal describes and illustrates the many new plants he discovered in New South Wales, and provides valuable ethnographic information, making this one of the first descriptions of the environment and indigenous people at the time of Britain's colonization of Australia. The volume is richly illustrated with sixty-five plates of plants, birds, and animals and will be useful to researchers interested in biodiversity as well as scientific travel.

The travels and publications of Joseph Hooker, author of the "Himalayan Journals," are inextricably tied to British colonialism and Empire-building. Travelling in his role as director of the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, he collected about 7,000 species in India and Nepal, added 25 new rhododendron species to Kew (creating a rhododendron craze among British gardeners), and brought over samples of both rubber and quinine from the Amazon. Hooker dedicated these " Journals "to his close friend Charles Darwin. Contents of this work--reprinted here in two parts--include many pictures and foldout maps of the areas covered by his travels.

The travels and publications of Joseph Hooker, author of the "Himalayan Journals," are inextricably tied to British colonialism and Empire-building. Travelling in his role as director of the Kew Royal Botanic Gardens, he collected about 7,000 species in India and Nepal, added 25 new rhododendron species to Kew (creating a rhododendron craze among British gardeners), and brought over samples of both rubber and quinine from the Amazon. Hooker dedicated these " Journals "to his close friend Charles Darwin. Contents of this work--reprinted here in two parts--include many pictures and foldout maps of the areas covered by his travels.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

Bates lived and studied in Amazonian South America for a total of eleven years, and is still regarded as one of the world's pioneering naturalists and entomologists. This classic two-volume work elucidates his concept of mimetic resemblance--known to this day as "Batesian mimicry"--and displays his significant contribution to the early development of the theory of natural selection.
This is a reprint of the Bates family copy, the exclusive property of the Natural History Museum, and includes a family tree of the Leicester branch of Bates family. The volumes are richly illustrated with numerous plates and a foldout map of Bates' journey along the Amazon.

"The Malay Archipelago" is perhaps the most celebrated of all writings on Indonesia. Attracting huge public interest at the time of publication, this two-part work ranks with the nineteenth century's most important travel writing and Wallace's name continues to be inextricably linked to the area.
Wallace was best known for his discovery and description of the faunal discontinuity that now bears his name, "Wallace's Line," extending between the islands of Bali and Lombok and Borneo and Sulawesi, described here in "The Malay Archipelago." This led to his theory of natural selection, which was presented to the Linnaean Society in 1858.

'A sensitive and poetic work, full of anecdote and poignant self-disclosure' The Enquiring Eye 'An enchanting celebration of eight restorative moments in nature's cycle' Caught by the River Nurture yourself through the turning seasons with the Wheel of the Year: an enchanting celebration of eight restorative moments in nature's cycle - from solstices and equinoxes to those midpoints in-between. Let Rebecca Beattie - Wiccan priestess and nature lover - take you on a magical journey around the Wheel of the Year, from Imbolc, Beltane, Lammas and Samhain to the Spring Equinox, Midsummer, Autumn Equinox and Yule. Rooted in an appreciation of the rhythms of the seasons, every six weeks the Wheel of the Year allows us a moment to pause and still the chaos of modern life. This book is alive with what is happening in the ebb and flow of the natural world, helping us to connect with its rejuvenating power and offering rituals to celebrate each seasonal festival, its enchanting folklore and traditions. The Wheel of the Year will connect you to the turning of your personal seasons too, enabling you to chart your own moments of transition, reflection and healing alongside the changes in the outside world. Get to know your true inner self and rediscover wisdom and wonder as you start to live in step with nature.

Described by Charles Darwin as "the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived," Alexander von Humboldt helped to transform western science in the nineteenth century. Naturalist, botanist, zoologist, author, cartographer, artist, and sociologist, he is widely respected as the founder of physical geography (and climatalogy), and his influence on all branches of natural science still persists today.

First published in 2003. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

This volume is the third in a series of impact books resulting from the activities of the scientific programme, Response of the Earth System to Impact Processes (IMPACT), funded by the European Science Foundation. The volume begins with an overview of impact markers in the stratigraphic record, and is followed by three general papers on various aspects of impact cratering, ranging from a suggested nomenclature of impact product to a treatment of the hypothesis that impacts can trigger mantle plumes. Then follow 10 original contributions on various impact deposits in the stratigraphic record, ordered by increasing age, ranging from the Late Eocene Popigai impact crater to the K-T boundary to the J-K boundary and Late Devonian and Ordovician deposits.