| a "dark" comedy in five acts by William Shakespeare, produced in 1604-05 and published in the First Folio of 1623 from a transcript of very imperfect foul papers. The play examines the nature of mercy and justice, proposing that a good government is one that is flexible and based on common sense. |
| (Nephila), any of a genus of the class Arachnida (phylum Arthropoda), so named because of the great strength of their silk and the golden colour of their huge orb webs. These webs often measure one metre (about three feet) or more in diameter and are suspended between trees by guy lines. About 60 species are known to live in the warmer... |
| The worldwide supply of and demand for silk were nearly in balance during 1995, as concern about a drop in demand was followed by news of a poor cocoon crop in China that resulted in a shortage of the high-grade silk needed for modern processing machinery. |
| China had a road system that paralleled the Persian Royal Road and the Roman road network in time and purpose. Its major development began under Emperor Shih huang-ti about 220 BC. Many of the roads were wide, surfaced with stone, and lined with trees; steep mountains were traversed by stone-paved stairways with broad treads and low steps. By... |
| animal fibre produced by certain insects as building material for cocoons and webs. In commercial use it is almost entirely limited to filament from cocoons produced by the caterpillars of several moth species belonging to the genus Bombyx and commonly called silkworms. |
