书名:jQuery Cookbook(影印版)
作者:jQuery Community Experts 著
国内出版社:东南大学出版社
出版时间:2010年12月
页数:451
书号:978-7-5641-2415-1
原版书出版商:O'Reilly Media
The animal on the cover of the jQuery Cookbook is an ermine (Mustela erminea), also
known as a stoat. “Ermine” sometimes refers to the animal’s white winter fur, and
“stoat” to the brown fur it has during the rest of the year. It belongs to the weasel family,
which includes martens, ferrets, minks, otters, and polecats, though it is distinguished
from these other members by its black-tipped tail.
The ermine lives in northern woodland regions of Europe, Asia, and North America.
It is mainly nocturnal and makes dens in tree roots, under stones, and in tunnels. A
solitary animal, the ermine can travel up to 10 miles in one night searching for food.
Its predators include foxes, badgers, cats, and birds of prey.
The ermine’s slender body helps it run swiftly, even across snow, as well as climb and
swim. Although this shape has advantages, it also causes the ermine to quickly lose
heat from its body. Thick fur and a fast metabolism help compensate, and the ermine
must eat daily to meet its energy demands. Its diet includes small mammals, birds, fish,
and insects. When the ermine spots its prey, it sneaks up on it in a series of leaps, grasps
the victim’s neck, and kills it with repeated bites.
White ermine fur is highly prized and is used in trimming coats, although demand has
dropped in recent years. Typically, several furs are sewn together to form a pattern of
black dots on a white field. This pattern was imitated in heraldry—the design of coats
of arms—as early as the 12th century, most famously in the arms of Brittany. Ermine
fur is also a symbol of royalty or purity, which is perhaps why Elizabeth I of England,
“the Virgin Queen,” was painted with an ermine by her side.