White Lady Research Articles

Maureen Crisp: A Tribute

This tribute was originally delivered at Maureen Crisp's funeral service at Hucknall Church on 4 August 2008. In the past two and a half years we have witnessed the deaths of three of the most important ladies connected with the Byron scene since the Byron Society was re-founded on 22 January 1971. Elma Dangerfield died in 2006, Lucy Edwards in 2007 - both having lived to a great age. They laid the foundation of the organisation we have today. But it fell to their successor, Maureen Crisp, to develop the Newstead Abbey Byron Society (NABS) and, with equal importance, the International Byron Society (IBS), following on from Michael Rees when he decided to take Holy Orders. Now, in 2008, it is Maureen who has been taken from us, when she was in the prime of her life, as indeed of course was Lord Byron himself when he died in 1824. Maureen died on 26 July 2008. Maureen possessed Elma's drive and flair and Lucy's efficiency and administrative qualities, and this combination made her the ideal person to occupy the exalted position of Secretary of NABS and Executive Director of the IBS. She held the respect of everyone she came into contact with, from whichever country, and I am absolutely certain that there was much shock and grief felt at her passing throughout the Byron world. When Ken Purslow asked me to pay this tribute to her he also asked me to include some poetry of my choice. This was easily done because it just had to be with Byron that we commence our eulogy - I cannot conceive in Maureen's case of quoting from anyone else. Harold's 'Good Night' from the beginning of Canto I of Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, is, I feel, ideal for this purpose, because, after all, we can say that our life itself is a pilgrimage: Adieu, adieu! My native shore Fades o'er the waters blue; The Night-winds sigh, the breakers roar, And shrieks the wild seamew. Yon Sun that sets upon the sea We follow in its flight; Farewell awhile to him and thee, My native Land - Good-Night. A few short hours and He will rise To give the Morrow birth; And I shall hail the main and skies, But not my mother Earth. I first met Maureen when, with Ken, she took over the restaurant at Newstead Abbey in, I believe, 1981. There was of course no local society in those days. The annual attraction was the visit of the London-based Byron Society, who arrived in a coach at a chosen venue. This was all to change when Maureen and Ken revitalised the catering arrangements at Newstead and immediately invited Byron Society members to use the refurbished dining room to be called 'The White Lady'. We were all looking forward to celebrating Byron's bicentenary in 1988. It would have been quite a modest affair. But Maureen came on the scene and our plans for this event were transformed. All this, of course, led to the formation of the Newstead Abbey Society in 1988, of which Maureen asked me to become the first Chairman. I believe the Byron involvement gave to Maureen the mental stimulation she sought. Now let me say that Maureen was not always the easiest person to work with at first. Great leaders never are - simply because they lead from the front by inspiration, and those of us trying hard to catch up are caught in the slipstream. I am sure many will recognise this trait as regards Byron himself - his colleagues, too, were dragged along by his charisma. You have to adjust to their way of operating. This chemistry worked in NABS and in the IBS and that is why they have seen so much success. Maureen stamped her personality on the whole Byron movement. The events of 22 January 1988 were spectacular. Marching bands and even a covering of snow added to the occasion. It was quite reminiscent of the time Byron and Augusta were snowbound at Newstead. Fortunately, the 1988 celebrations are all recorded on disc for posterity. We arranged for the Earl of Lytton to plant an oak tree to replace the one planted by his great-great-great-grandfather, Lord Byron, in 1798, which had since decayed. …

First Report of Downy Mildew on Nursery-Grown Hellebore Caused by Peronospora pulveracea in California.

Hellebore or Lenten rose (Helleborus × hybridus) is an evergreen, herbaceous perennial in the family Ranunculaceae. Hellebores are sold as decorative, potted plants and as shade-loving landscape plants favored for their attractive and prolonged blooms in late winter or early spring. In April of 2008, downy mildew-like growth was observed on the foliage of approximately 60 containerized plants of Helleborus 'Blue Lady', 'Pink Lady', 'White Lady', and 'Royal Heritage' grown outdoors in a retail nursery in coastal San Mateo County, California. Infected foliage had angular, vein-delimited, dark brown-to-black speckled lesions on adaxial leaf surfaces turning dry and necrotic with age. Young leaves were small and distorted. Affected flowers were spotted and brown. The abaxial sides of affected leaves had light brown-to-purplish downy mildew-like growth. Subhyaline conidia, globose to ellipsoid in shape, ranged from 25 to 31 × 17 to 24 μm (average 28 × 21 μm). Conidiophores ranged from 265 to 375 × 5 to 11.5 μm (average 333 × 8.9 μm), branching dichotomously four to five times in the upper half. Morphological measurements fell within the range previously described for Peronospora pulveracea and P. alpicola, which were reported on Helleborus spp. and Ranunculus aconitifolius, respectively (1,2). DNA sequence of the internal transcribed spacer region of rDNA of our isolate (Genbank Accession No. FJ384778) matched sequences of P. pulveracea (Genbank Accession No. AY198270) and P. alpicola (Genbank Accession No. AY198271) with 100% identity. These two organisms are taxonomically indistinguishable by rDNA sequences and are likely to be the same species (3). To our knowledge, this is the first report of P. pulveracea on Helleborus × hybridus in California and the United States. Lenten rose is commercially propagated by seed, which is a potential pathway for introduction of this pathogen. Mature plants are sold and shipped intra- and interstate as decorative flowering plants or nursery stock. The importance and economic impact of this disease is limited, but significant economic losses could occur during production.

The White Lady Travels: Narrating Fez and Spacing Colonial Authority in Edith Wharton's In Morocco

AbstractForegrounding Orientalism as a system of thought that has produced constructed images and disfigured discourses about Europe's Other, this paper is primarily concerned with the practice of delineating landscape and manipulating the space of Fez in Edith Wharton's In Morocco. It starts with a rereading of Edward Said's model of analysis and then moves to an investigation into how this travel narrative displays, vulgarizes, and reproduces one of the strategies characteristic of colonial discourse: the mapping of the colonial space, specifically through the inscription of self and Other power relations, fueled up by a will to knowledge and control over new territories. It also attempts to read Wharton's narrative against Sara Mills' argument, which claims that it is gender rather than genre that is at the genesis of colonial heterogeneity.

Marie Underist, P. Mustapääst ja 1920. aastate ballaadidest. On Marie Under, P. Mustapää, and Ballads of the 1920s

The purpose of this article is to discuss the poetic relations between two neighbouring countries with a particular emphasis on the ballad. For both Estonian and Finnish poetry, the 1920s were a productive and interesting period for the writing of ballads. I will focus my inquiry on two poets, Marie Under and P. Mustapää. Closer analysis will be carried out of one motif, the self-sacrificing woman, which is found in the ballads of both poets, particularly in view of the importance of these ballad themes in the context of the art and social life of the 1920s. From the perspective of comparing Finnish and Estonian literature, it is interesting to examine common features and reciprocal influences in their ballads. For Finnish poet Martti Haavio, whose pen name was P. Mustapää, Estonian poetry of the 1920s was an important source of inspiration and models, a fact that he emphasized especially in his memoirs, and which was also expressed mainly in his later poetry. Marie Under held an important place among the Estonian poets who inspired P. Mustapää; in the article this is demonstrated through a thorough analysis of P. Mustapää’s poem „Under the Laurel Trees” („Varjossa laakerien”). The poem moves on two levels. On the one hand, its content is the poet`s childhood memory, on the other – as is so often characteristic of P. Mustapää, the poem treats metapoetically of the process of how poetry and art are born, and of the wonder of creation. Both Marie Under and P. Mustapää wrote many ballads, and in addition, P. Mustapää used ballad motifs in many of his other poems. In the article, the motif of the self-sacrificing woman is discussed with respect to the works of both poets. Closer examination is given to P. Mustapää’s poem „The White Lady of Haapsalu”, a poem that contains ballad material, and to Under’s ballad „The Birth of Naissaar”, with additional comments on her ballads „False Foot”(„Ebajalg”) and „The Cattle of the Sea” („Merilehmad”). At the close of the article there is a brief discussion of the reasons why female figures who test the boundaries of tradition and who transcend societal and moral norms come to the fore in the ballads of the 1920s. In addition, the article emphasizes how important Estonian literature and culture was to Finland’s literary classic P. Mustapää at the beginning of his journey as a poet.

THE INFLUENCE OF POTATO CYST NEMATODE G. ROSTOCHIENSIS INFESTATION ON DIFFERENT POTATO CULTIVARS

The potato cyst nematode Globodera rostochiensis is one of the most serious pests of potato in Slovenia. Precise nematode identification and knowledge about potato cultivars, which are most suitable for growing in the Slovenian climate conditions and most resistant to G. rostochiensis, are necessary to develop an effective integrated pest control. Here we report the results of the influence of G. rostochiensis pathotype Ro1/4 on the yield of different potato cultivars: the susceptible cultivar Desiree, the resistant cultivars White Lady, Miranda, Aladin, Sante and Adora, and the clone KIS 94-1/5-14. The yield of cv. White Lady was the highest and that of susceptible cv. Desiree the lowest. The influence of several resistant and one susceptible potato cultivars on population dynamics of G. rostochiensis was also determined. The total number of cysts/100 cm3 and the number of eggs and juveniles per cyst increased in the susceptible cv. Desiree and decreased in the resistant cultivars White Lady, Sante and Adora.

Capacidade de combinação multivariada para caracteres de tubérculo em gerações iniciais de seleção em batata

A análise dialélica propicia estimativas de parâmetros úteis à seleção de genitores e ao entendimento dos efeitos genéticos envolvidos na determinação dos caracteres. O objetivo deste trabalho foi estimar a capacidade geral e específica de combinação multivariada de genótipos de batata em gerações iniciais de seleção. Foram avaliadas 20 famílias clonais de batata (5*4) de nove genótipos, em um esquema dialélico, por duas gerações sucessivas. Os experimentos foram conduzidos na Embrapa Clima Temperado, em Pelotas, RS (31°S, 52°W), na primavera de 2005 e no outono de 2006. Foram avaliados 14 caracteres morfológicos de tubérculo e selecionados os seis mais estáveis ou que melhor repetiram perante as gerações para outras análises. A análise de variância revelou diferença significativa para todos os caracteres. A análise de variância multivariada dialélica com componentes principais mostrou os genótipos "2CRI-1149-1-78", "Eliza", "C-1786-6-96" e "White Lady" com maior capacidade geral de combinação para os caracteres aparência, aspereza, sobrancelha, apontamento, curvatura e achatamento de tubérculo, contribuindo com efeitos aditivos nos cruzamentos. Os cruzamentos "C-1750-15-95"/"Agria", "C-1786-6-96"/ "Asterix" e "Eliza"/"Asterix" destacaram-se em capacidade específica de combinação para sobrancelha, apontamento, curvatura e achatamento de tubérculo, e "2CRI-1149-1-78"/ "Vivaldi", "Eliza"/"BP1" e "Eliza"/"Agria", para aparência, aspereza e sobrancelha de tubérculo.

Slow Walk to Freedom

Slow Walk to Freedom Andie Miller (bio) I suppose by the law of averages it was my time. I was mugged again today. Though technically I'm not quite sure; like I assume rape means penetration, I always get the feeling mugged means there has to be actual—rather than just the threat of—violence involved. Is this accurate, or just South African perversity? The first time I was attacked was December 1996, in Hillbrow in Johannesburg, Sunday, 7:00 p.m. Preparing to go on holiday, I had been doing last-minute work that weekend. My friend David had too, and so on the Saturday evening we walked home together from the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation in Braamfontein where we worked, to Yeoville, through Hillbrow. When we reached the park on the border of Hillbrow and Berea (most memorable at one time for the pigeon lady, who could be seen on any given day covered in the pigeons she was feeding), we debated whether it would be more sensible to walk through it or around it, and we decided that open streets were more conducive to safety than being fenced in. "What would you have to lose now if you were mugged?" David asked. "Oh, not much, just my life," I replied, thinking about the tedium of replacing ID documents and bank cards. But we reached our shared corner safely that evening, wished each other happy holidays, and went our separate ways. Perhaps because of that, a false sense of security, or invincibility, denial, foolishness, I reasoned that the biggest thing I had to fear was my own lack of trust, decided not to call a taxi the following evening, and walked home on my own. Stopping off at the Hare Krishna restaurant for a take-away, I continued on around the park. By the time I realized the three men were converging on me, it was too late. "We want money," the one with [End Page 44] the knife threatened. Midthirties, perhaps younger, prematurely aged. His accomplices holding me from behind, I didn't see more than their shapes. But his face was close to mine, as he broke the chain with the labradorite crystal (helps one remain calm within chaos) around my neck, and I screamed at his knife at my throat. They scattered, and I continued home with my curry, effectively shaken (can't walk alone after dark anymore, I thought), thinking about the month of paid leave ahead of me and about how the man with the dangerously desperate face now etched into my memory had in all likelihood never been and would never go on a holiday. (Was I being naïve?) I felt entangled in rage, and guilt, and a dark sadness. But that was a long time ago and had faded into a distant memory now, as I was confronted again with a knife in my ribs: "Give me your bag. Don't scream. Just cooperate, and we won't hurt you." Muggers seem to have become almost polite and more educated since my last encounter. And definitely more educated. And much younger. (But they still swarm, in threes.) Sixteen? Eighteen? It was hard to tell: disturbingly young. Of course I couldn't be sure if he would stab me or not, but this time I wasn't taking any chances. Last time my rage and pride got the better of me, and I was determined to be heard. This time I was sandwiched between the boys and the German shepherd screaming louder than I ever could, behind the suburban wall (must remember to walk closer to the road). It's a pity dogs don't protect you when you're on the outside. I had been happy this afternoon. I was walking home from a visit to the dentist, where thankfully she had managed to desensitize a tooth and avoid having to pull it. Just a few blocks from the dentist I encountered something unusual for the northern suburbs of Johannesburg, an elderly white lady walking down the road very slowly—looking vulnerable but self-assured—with an umbrella, as though on an outing. I don't...

Improving the nutritive value of tubers: Elevation of cysteine and glutathione contents in the potato cultivar White Lady by marker-free transformation

The amino acids that limit the nutritive value of potato are the sulfur containing amino acids methionine and cysteine. Manipulation of the targeted amino acid biosynthesis is a way to circumvent this problem. Cysteine is synthesised from O-acetyl-l-serine formed by serine acetyltransferase (SAT). To increase the cysteine content of the commercial potato cultivar White Lady the chimeric SAT-coding cysE gene from Escherichia coli under the control of the constitutive CaMV 35S promoter and fused to the chloroplast targeting rbcS 5'-transit peptide sequence was introduced into the White Lady genome. Novelty of the approach was the application of marker-free transformation. Two transgenic lines were obtained that accumulated the cysE mRNA in high amounts. Crude leaf extracts of these plants exhibited up to 80- and 20-fold higher SAT activity in leaves and tubers, respectively, than those prepared from non-transformed plants. Levels of cysteine and glutathione both in leaves and tubers were 1.5-fold higher in average than in control plants. The alterations observed had no effect on tuber yield and sprouting behaviour. Gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry showed that all other amino acids than cysteine were unaffected. Here we demonstrate for the first time that the cysteine content of tubers can be enhanced by metabolic engineering.

The impact of irrigation on the yield and tuber fraction distribution of potato cultivars

Potato is one of the most important plants in human nutrition, it is grown in about 140 countries. As a food, it can be prepared in many ways, it is easily digestable with proteins of high biological value, favourable dietetical-physiological characteristics, high starch content and good taste. An increase in its consumption would be favourable from the dietetical point of view. In Hungary, the growing area of potato has decreased considerably for the last decades and we are lagging behind the Western-European countries regarding yield. The experiments were carried out at the Experimental Site of the University of Debrecen at Látókép between 2002 and 2004. In the large-plot experiment, the yields and the distribution of the tuber fractions were studied for 9 medium early cultivars. The experiment was set up on 50 m2 plots on calcareous chernozem soil. Among the studied cultivars, 3 were of Dutch (Desiree, Kondor, Kuroda) and 6 were of Hungarian breeding ('Góliát', 'Hópehely', 'Kankan', 'Lilla', 'Százszorszép', and 'White Lady'). The experiment was set up in 4 repetitions in a randomized design, two of the repetitions were irrigated while two were non-irrigated.

(94) White-fleshed Peaches and Nectarines for the Southeastern United States

White-fleshed peaches and nectarines are delicacies that have been enjoyed for centuries around the world. They are native to China and were introduced to the United States in the 1800s. Some white-fleshed peaches and nectarines are highly perishable and bruise easily, but are of very high eating quality. These are perhaps best suited for the local roadside market, where they can be sold and consumed more quickly. Others are much firmer at harvest, have a longer shelf life. and are suitable for long-distance transport to wholesale markets. White-fleshed peaches and nectarines may have some acidity or they may be very low acid with high sugar content (°Brix). Some novel flat (peento or donut) types also exist. Proximity to an urban market with a substantial Asian population is advantageous because Asians, in particular, often prefer the low-acid flavor and are willing to pay premium prices for high quality fruits. In our peach and nectarine cultivar evaluation program at Clemson University, we are currently evaluating 70 cultivars and advanced selections at four different locations in South Carolina. Several of these have been evaluated since 2000 and the “top performers” over the last six seasons by ripening date (earliest to latest) include the following: `Sugar May', `Scarletpearl', `Snowbrite', `Southernpearl', `White Lady', `Sugar Lady', `Summer Sweet', `Sugar Giant', `Stark's Summer Pearl', `Snow King', and `Snow Giant'. In general, most of the white nectarines and the flat/donut peaches and nectarines have serious problems with insect damage and brown rot. Complete details of our peach and nectarine (yellow- and white-flesh) evaluation work in South Carolina since 2000 will be noted by referring to my peach website (http://www.clemson.edu/hort/Peach/index.php).

On Close Reading: Yusef Komunyakaa's "White Lady"

On Close Reading: Yusef Komunyakaa's "White Lady"

White Lady

White Lady Yusef Komunyakaa (bio) Something to kill songs & burn the guts, to ride & break the hippocampus. Something to subdue the green freedom of crows at Slaughterhouse Creek. Milk mixed with gin or metho— something to finish the job guns & smallpox blankets didn't do, to prod women & seduce gods to dance among trees, letting silver bark uncurl into an undressed season. Something to undermine those who refuse to dangle brass breastplates from their necks like King Billy. Something to erase the willy wagtail from vesperal leaves. No one can sniff the air & walk miles straight to water anymore. Their heads fill with wings & then they touch down again like poisoned butterflies bumping into bougainvillea. Fringe dwellers languish, piles of old clothes under gums. White Lady is their giddy queen, her arms flung around sleeping children, ruling dreams with an iron scepter, her eyes screwed into them like knots in bloodwood. Yusef Komunyakaa Yusef Komunyakaa, the subject of this issue of Callaloo, teaches at Princeton University. His most recent book of poems is Taboo: The Wishbone Trilogy, Part I. The numerous prizes, awards and honors he has received for his poetry include a chancellorship with the American Academy of Poets, the honorary degree of Doctor of Letters (Wesleyan University), the William Faulkner Prize (Universite Rennes, France), the Kingsley Tufts Award for Poetry, and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry. Copyright © 2005 Charles H. Rowell From Pleasure Dome: New and Collected Poems © 2001 by Yusef Komunyakaa and reprinted by permission of Wesleyan University Press.

Race on the Line: Gender, Labor, and Technology in the Bell System, 1880-1980

Race on the Line is the first book to address the convergence of race, gender, and technology in the telephone industry. Venus Green—a former Bell System employee and current labor historian—presents a hundred year history of telephone operators and their work processes, from the invention of the telephone in 1876 to the period immediately before the break-up of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company in 1984. Green shows how, as technology changed from a manual process to a computerized one, sexual and racial stereotypes enabled management to manipulate both the workers and the workplace. More than a simple story of the impact of technology, Race on the Line combines oral history, personal experience, and archival research to weave a complicated history of how skill is constructed and how its meanings change within a rapidly expanding industry. Green discusses how women faced an environment where male union leaders displayed economic as well as gender biases and where racism served as a persistent system of division. Separated into chronological sections, the study moves from the early years when the Bell company gave both male and female workers opportunities to advance; to the era of the “white lady” image of the company, when African American women were excluded from the industry and feminist working-class consciousness among white women was consequently inhibited; to the computer era, a time when black women had waged a successful struggle to integrate the telephone operating system but faced technological displacement and unrewarding work. An important study of working-class American women during the twentieth century, this book will appeal to a wide audience, particularly students and scholars with interest in women’s history, labor history, African American history, the history of technology, and business history.

SHORT‐TERM CONTROLLED ATMOSPHERE STORAGE FOR STORAGE‐LIFE EXTENSION OF WHITE‐FLESHED PEACHES AND NECTARINES1

Abstract Response of white‐fleshed peaches (‘Sugar Lady’, ‘Snow Giant’, ‘White Lady’and ‘Snow King’) and nectarines (‘Arctic Queen’and ‘Arctic Rose’) to controlled‐atmosphere (CA) storage is cultivar dependent. Samples of fruit of these six cultivars were collected just prior to commercial harvest and held in either regular‐atmosphere (RA) storage at 1C or controlled‐atmosphere (CA) storage at 2% O2 and 6, 12 or 18% CO2, all at 1C. Four of the six cultivars (‘Snow Giant’, ‘White Lady’, ‘Snow King’and ‘Arctic Queen’) displayed excessive internal browning and poor flesh color after only 30 days of storage and should not be considered for long storage (+30 days). While ‘Sugar Lady’and ‘Arctic Rose’performed better and are possible candidates for CA storage, they should not be stored more than 45 days after harvest. The value of CA storage to extend the marketing of white‐fleshed peaches and nectarines is questionable at best. If CA storage is to be used for storage‐life extension of white‐fleshed peaches and nectarines, O2 level should be maintained at 2% or less and CO2 level maintained at 12% or higher.

Durability of Dual Resistance of Potato Varieties to Late Blight [Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) de Bary] and Common Scab [Streptomyces scabies (Thaxt.) Waksman et Henrici

Horizontal (field) resistance to late blight and common scab that is controlled by numerous genes proved to be quite durable in certain potato varieties in Hungarian trials. Although it is difficult to breed for this type of resistance, it has become the preferable strategy in today's breeding programmes, providing long-lasting and less vulnerable protection. Potato breeding in Hungary has produced some promising cultivars such as White Lady, Százszorszép and Rebeka with multiple disease resistance that may play an important role in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) of near future.

LONG-DISTANCE WANDERING AND MATING BY THE DANCING WHITE LADY SPIDER (LEUCORCHESTRIS ARENICOLA) (ARANEAE, SPARASSIDAE) ACROSS NAMIB DUNES

Adult males of the Dancing White Lady Spider (Leucorchestris arenicola, Araneae, Sparassidae) occurring in the dunes of the Namib Desert, Namibia, frequently wander far out of their 3m radius territories on dark nights. They move across bare dune slopes in search of mating opportunities and subsequently return to their burrows. In the current study, I describe the long-distance movements and navigational ability of males and examine how their wandering behavior relates to mating and interactions with other males. In 16 observed complete excursions, male spiders walked 51 m (median, range 16–91 m) from their burrow along a path of 134 m (42–314 m). The return path was shorter than the outgoing path, had less than ⅛ as many turns, and rarely retraced the outgoing path. Typically, the return path across open terrain had a straight section (median 33 m, range 10–89 m) which was directed towards the home burrow with a maximum angle of deviation of 5°. Males crossed 0–5 territories of adult males and as many female territories, mating in about half of the encounters with females. Males avoided each other and signaled with intense sand drumming. Adult males differ in size and there are indications that they compete with each other for mates by long-distance movements, drum-signaling each other, and interfering with mating. During three years of observations of a L. arenicola population, 8% of the largest males did 51% of the mating. Spiders of both sexes were promiscuous, and individuals mated with each other on several occasions. The current study prompts future investigations concerning male orientation and its neurophysiological basis, their ability to locate females, as well as the inter- and intrasexual relationships of L. arenicola.

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reviewed in this article:Psychoanalytic Case Formulation. By Nancy McWilliamsLe Divan bien tempéré. [The well‐tempered couch.] By J. L. Donnet.Ordinary People and Extra‐Ordinary Protections: A Post‐Kleinian Approach to the Treatment of Primitive Mental States. By Judith MitraniTrauma: A Genealogy. By Ruth Leys.Le vampirisme. De la Dame Blanche au Golem: Essai sur la pulsion de mort et sur l'irreprésentable [Vampirism. From the White Lady to the Golem: An Essay on the Death Drive and the Unrepresentable.] By Pérel Wilgowicz. 2nd, revised and expanded editionMelanie Klein: Her Work in Context. By Meira LikiermanCracking Up. The Work of the Unconscious Experience. By Christopher Bollas‘Origins of the therapeutic alliance’, presented at the London Weekend Conference for English‐Speaking Societies in 1990The Therapeutic Alliance. Edited by Steven T. Levy, M.D.

Changes in β-1,3-glucanase mRNA levels in peach in response to treatment with pathogen culture filtrates, wounding, and other elicitors

The response of three different peach, Prunus persica (L.) Batsch, genotypes to bacterial and fungal culture filtrates (CFs), wounding, and sterile nutrient broth (NB) treatments were studied by evaluating β-1,3-glucanase mRNA levels. Northern blot analysis was conducted using the 3′ end of a peach β-1,3-glucanase gene, PpGns1, as a probe. Autoradiographs were analyzed using a Stratagene Eagle Eye II gel documentation system. Analysis of the accumulation of mRNAs encoded by β-1,3-glucanase demonstrated that activation trends were different among the three peach genotypes. All genotypes, ‘Evergreen’, ‘Stark's Earliglo’, and ‘White Lady’, showed an increase in β-1,3-glucanase mRNA following treatment with CF of the bacterial pathogen Xanthomonas campestris pv. pruni. Two genotypes, ‘Evergreen’ and ‘White Lady’, showed an increase in mRNA levels following treatment with CF of the bacterial pathogen Pseudomonas syringae pv. syringae, and two genotypes, ‘Evergreen’ and ‘Stark's Earliglo’, showed an increase in mRNA levels following treatment with CF of the fungal pathogen Monilinia fructicola. Differences in induction patterns were observed between bacterial and fungal culture filtrate treatments. Wounding induced high levels of β-1,3-glucanase mRNA in one genotype, ‘White Lady’; while, treatment with a sterile nutrient broth showed an increase in mRNA in another genotype, ‘Evergreen’. The use of gene-specific primers in RT-PCR indicated that PpGns1 and a second closely-related gene family member, PpGns2, were transcriptionally active, and were differentially regulated.

The White Bed of Desire in A. S. Byatt's Possession

The British novelist A. S. Byatt frequently writes about art and color theory in her fiction. In Still Life (1985) Byatt intentionally saturates her text with musings on art and color; bordering on the didactic, she devotes long passages to Van Gogh's chromatics and individual characters' theories on art. With The Matisse Stories (1996) her discussion moves into the theory of complementary colors in the story “Art Work,” through the painter Robin Dennison. Painting for Robin is “a series of problems, really, inexhaustible problems, of light and color, you know” (70). In the 1990 Booker Prize-winning novel Possession: A Romance, however, Byatt theorizes on art and chromatics more indirectly; in fact, she leaves the chromatic spectrum almost entirely, spinning a tale, a text(ile) woven in an achromatic hue: white. I contend that the achromatic color white functions as a trope of desire and imbricates the pairs of lovers and the reader in a longing that can be fulfilled only through reading the white page. In the tale, Maud and Roland desire “clean white beds”; Ash desires “the white lady,” Christabel, who is “white in the dark”; and Christabel's poems refer to white hands, linen, milk, bones, crosses, and “marbling nakedness.” The reader, meanwhile, desires to possess the white page of the text–to come to “know” the text–much as a lover comes to “know” her beloved.

A Hostile Environment: The National Trust for Scotland, the Cairngorm Trust and Early Ski Developments in the Cairngorm Mountains, 1961-1967

When the National Trust for Scotland (NTS), with the help of £ 10.277m from the National Heritage Memorial Fund, bought the Mar Lodge Estate from John Kluge in the spring of 1995, it was widely assumed that this was the first property that the NTS had owned in the Cairngorm mountains.1 Later that year all 228,000 NTS members received a pamphlet explaining the nature of this addition to the Trust's portfolio. Ownership of the Mar Lodge Estate would focus on conservation, informal access and enjoyment, and supporters were warned that this acquisition signified a new milestone of immense significance in the Trust's history: 'do not expect to find familiar facilities such as shops, restaurants or toilets', they were told.2 However, the Trust had been property owners in the Cairngorms before, holding the White Lady Shieling on the mountain Cairn Gorm itself from May 1964 to May 1967. This essay will show how in the mid-1960s the NTS was briefly linked to the future of mountain recreation, especially skiing, in the Cairngorms. It will also show how it was eventually driven off the mountain by the greater development ambitions of others. This is the story of the very earliest years of skiing provision on Cairn Gorm.3 The vision inherent in the Mar Lodge purchase of 1995 can perhaps atone for some of the ill-conceived objectives and priorities, and limited ambitions, of the 1960s venture.4 The National Trust for Scotland was set up as a charitable trust on 1 May 1931, with the power to hold land, buildings and chattels for the benefit of the nation.5 The initiative for setting up the Trust came from the Association for the Preservation of Rural Scotland (APRS), founded in 1927, which urged the creation of a land holding body for Scotland's built and natural heritage over 1929/30.6 As with the English National Trust (established in 1895), Acts of Parliament of 1935 and 1938 gave the NTS Council the power to enter into Restrictive (now Conservation) Agreements with property donors.7