Aliens in the Backyard: Plant and Animal Imports into AmericaUniv of South Carolina Press, 15 жовт. 2012 р. - 248 стор. A fresh look at the origins of our iconic immigrant flora and fauna, revealed with wit and reverence for nature Aliens live among us. Thousands of species of nonnative flora and fauna have taken up residence within U.S. borders. Our lawns sprout African grasses, our roadsides flower with European weeds, and our homes harbor Asian, European, and African pests. Misguided enthusiasts deliberately introduced carp, kudzu, and starlings. And the American cowboy spread such alien life forms as cows, horses, tumbleweed, and anthrax, supplanting and supplementing the often unexpected ways "Native" Americans influenced the environment. Aliens in the Backyard recounts the origins and impacts of these and other nonindigenous species on our environment and pays overdue tribute to the resolve of nature to survive in the face of challenge and change. In considering the new home that imported species have made for themselves on the continent, John Leland departs from those environmentalists who universally decry the invasion of outsiders. Instead Leland finds that uncovering stories of alien arrivals and assimilation is a more intriguing—and ultimately more beneficial—endeavor. Mixing natural history with engaging anecdotes, Leland cuts through problematic myths coloring our grasp of the natural world and suggests that how these alien species have reshaped our landscape is now as much a part of our shared heritage as tales of our presidents and politics. Simultaneously he poses questions about which of our accepted icons are truly American (not apple pie or Kentucky bluegrass; not Idaho potatoes or Boston ivy). Leland's ode to survival reveals how plant and animal immigrants have made the country as much an environmental melting pot as its famed melding of human cultures, and he invites us to reconsider what it means to be American. |
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... cattle, and the pigs we eat are from the Old World. While the rainbow trout or bass that was either just caught or ordered did originate in North America, odds are that the fish was stocked in a river its ancestors could never have ...
... cattle the stems. The leaves, boiled like spinach, can be dried and stored for later use, and judicious harvesting does not greatly affect seed production. The leaves are often more nutritious than the beans. Americans tend to eat only ...
... cattle to keep their lawns fashionably short. Then, in 1830, in Gloucestershire, England, engineer Edwin Beard Budding built the first successful handpowered reel mower. In 1842 a Scotsman patented a fortytwoinchwide horsedrawn mower ...
... cattle or sheep.”14 Scott's final species, sweet vernal grass (Anthoxanthum oderatum), is responsible for the distinctive smell of newly mown hay. The grass contains a crystalline compound, coumarin, that has such a distinctive ...
... cattle came up lame and appeared sickly, while mares feeding on the fescue aborted more frequently and gave less milk. The socalled Fescue War commenced, with agricultural experts defending and attacking Kentucky 31 in increasingly ...
Зміст
What Grandmother Grew in Her Backyard | |
Malarias Gifts to America | |
Older Than You Think | |
And Their Alien Habits | |
Less Native Than You Think | |
Roadside Weeds | |
Some of Those Who Share Your Quarters | |
The WellIntentioned Ecological | |
As Rootless as the Humans Who Invited Them | |
An Unnatural Pastime | |
Index | |
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Aliens in the Backyard: Plant and Animal Imports Into America John Leland Попередній перегляд недоступний - 2005 |
Aliens in the Backyard: Plant and Animal Imports Into America John Leland Попередній перегляд недоступний - 2005 |