Though his account of written communication over the past 5,000 years necessarily has a powerful forward momentum, his diversions down the fascinating byways of the subject are irresistible ...

On the morning of the next, one of Mr. White's daughters came into the house to inform me that there was a peckerwood in a tree in the yard. I immediately took my gun and went out to investigate thinking that perhaps it was a Pileolated Woodpecker, a bird I wanted to obtain.

So making sure your soil has plenty of water-hugging organic material is a good move.

A close-up of the thermal camera (top), with a conventional forward-facing camera beneath it. The thermal cameras are sensitive enough to identify any points of the rail that have temperatures significantly higher than adjacent areas.