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G R A
G RA
face of which is rubbed with powdered chalk, and the box stronglyshaken till the grains have become solid.
GRAPE HYACINTH. See IIyacinthus.
Grapes, in the manege, a term used to signify the arrests ormangy tumours that happen in the horse’s legs.
Grape-Shot, in artillery, is a combination of small shot, putinto a thick canvas-bag, and corded strongly together, so as toform a kind of cylinder, whose diameter is equal to that of the balladapted to the cannon. The number of shot in a grape varies ac-cording to the service or size of the guns : in the sea-service nineis always the number ; but by land it is increased to any numberor size, from an ounce and a quarter in weight to three or fourpounds. In sea-service the bottoms and pins are made of iron,whereas those used by land are of wood.
GRAPHITES , in mineralogy, a mineral consisting principallyof carbon with a little iron, and generally a little silica or alumina;"'lien pure it burns with a reddish fiame/emitting beautiful sparks,and a smell of sulphur, and leaving a little residuum. Its colouris dark iron-grey, or brownish black ; when cut, blueish grey.Opaque: structure slatv. Texture tine-grained. Brittle. Spe-cific gravity about 2. Feels somewhat greasy, stains the lingers,and marks strongly. In modern chemistry it is denominated car-buret of iron ; and one of the species is plumbago; the use ofwhich, when manufactured into pencils, is known to every one.When pure it consists of,
‘)0 carbonU) iron
100
GRAPIIOMETER, a mathematical instrument, otherwisecalled a semicircle ; the use of which is to observe any angle whosevertex is at the centre of the instrument in any plane (though it ismost commonly horizontal, or nearly so,) and to find how manydeg rees it contains. The graphometer is a graduated semicircle,ACB, (Plate LXXVIH. hg. 9 and 10,) made of wood, brass, orthe like, and so fixed on a fulcrum, Gil, by means of a brass-balland socket, that it easily' turns about, and retains any situation,ft lias two sights lixed on its diameter, AC, and at the centrethere is commonly' a magnelical needle and compass in a box.T here is likewise a moveable ruler or index, ED, with two sights,I’, P, which turns round the centre, and retains any situation givenit. To measure by this instrument an angle, ACB, in any plane,and comprehended between the right lines AC and BC, drawnfrom two points, A and B, to the place of station, C, (fig. II.)Get the graphometer be placed at C, supported by its fulcrum ;and let the immoveable sights on the diameter of the instrument,GE, be directed towards the point, A ; and likewise while the in-strument remains immoveable, let the sights of (lie ruler, l'G,"Inch is moveable about the centre, C, be directed to the point,in Now it is evident, that the moveable ruler cuts oft an arch,GO, which is the measure of the angle, ACB, sought.^ More-over, by the same method, tiie inclination of DE, or of l'G, maybe observed with the meridian-line, which is pointed out by themagnetic needle inclosed in the box, and moveable about thecentre of the instrument.
GRAPNELS, a sort of anchor with four dukes, scrying forboats to ride by. There is also a kind called fire and cham-grap-made with four-barbed claws, instead of dukes, and used tocatch hold of the enemy’s rigging, or any other part, in order forboarding them. A fire-grapnel, m some respects, resembles thedinner, but differing in the construction of its llukes, wlucn arefurnished with strong barbs on its points. '1 hese machines aieusually fixed on the yard-aruis of a ship, to grapple auy advetsaiy
"'horn she intends to board. . ,
GRASHOPPER, or more properly Grasshopper, in ento-
mology. See Ckyux’s. ,. . ,
„ GRASON, an island in the gulf of Bothnia, n ‘’“ r p ,e , co . L,bwedeu, la miles long, and 2 broad. Lon. 18 . -0. E. Eat. o .22. N. °
GRASS, in botany, is defined to be a p' an |leaves, a stem generally jointed and tubular, a busk) ca ,Gluma, and the seed single, Hence wheat, oats, bai^ ‘ ,■ ‘
properly grasses, while clover and some other sm ’ ‘ r I.A fnot grasses, though so frequently called by that nam • o
vol. ji.—- so. OS.
the leaves are food for cattle, the small seeds for birds, and thelarger grain chiefly for man. And it is observable, that nature hasso provided, that cattle (in grazing) seldom eat the flower intend-ed to produce seed, unless compelled bv hunger. For the cul-ture of the principal sorts of grasses, see Husuan dry.
GRASSE, a town of France , in the department of Var, andlate province of Provence . Lon. 6. 56. E. Lat. 43. 39. N.
GRATINGS, in a ship, are small edges of sawed plank, framedone into another like a lattice or prison grate, lying on the upperdeck, between the main-mast and fore-mast, serving for a defencein a close fight, and also for the coolness, light, and convenient'}-,of the ship’s company.
GRATIOLA, Hedge-hyssop; a genus of the monogynia or-der, and diandria class of plants; natural order, Personalsc. Co-rolla irregular; stamina, two, barren; capsule bilocular; calyxseven-leaved, with the two exterior ones patulous. It has twelvespecies.
GR ATI OS A, or GRACIOSA, one of the Canary islands.Also one of the Azores .
GRATITUDE, in ethics, is a virtue disposing the mind to aninward sense and outward acknowledgement of benefits received.Examples of ingratitude, Mr. Paley observes, check and discou-rage voluntary beneficence; hence the cultivation of a gratefultemper is a consideration of public importance. A second reasonfor cultivating in ourselves that temper is: that the same principlewhich is touched with the kindness of a human benefactor, is ca-pable of being affected by the divine goodness, and of becoming,under the influence of that affection, a source of the purest andmost exalted virtue. The love of God is the sublimesl gratitude.It is a mistake, therefore, to imagine, that this virtue is omitted inthe Scriptures; for every precept, which commands us “ to loveGod , because he first loved us,” pre-supposes the principle of gra-titude, and directs it to its proper object.
GRATZ, or GRAZ, a handsome town of Germany , capital ofStiria . Lon. 15. 26. E. Eat. 47. 4. N.
Gratz, a town of Silesia, four miles S. ofTrappau.
ORAL 1 DENTZ, or GRUDFIAN DS, a town of the late Po-lish Prussia, and present duchy of Warsaw , in the palatinate ofCulm, thirty miles N. of Thorn.
GRAVE, [gram,] in grammar, a species of accent opposite toacute. The grave accent is expressed thus ('); and shews, thatthe voice is to be depressed, and the syllable over which it isplaced pronounced in a low deep tone.
Gra ve, in music, is applied to a sound which is in a low ordeep tone. The thicker the chord or string, the more grave thetone or note, and the smaller the acuter. Notes are supposed tobe the more grave, in proportion as the vibrations of the chordare less quick.
Grave, in tin- Italian music, serves to denote the slowestmovement.
Grave, m geography, a city of Batavia, in the department ofthe Dommel and Scheldt, and late province of Dutch Brabant,eight miles S. of Nimeguen .
GRAVEL, in medicine, is a disorder affecting chiefly the blad-der and ureters; it is occasioned by a sandy or gritty substancewhich collects in those parts, produces considerable pain, and atlength obstructs the due secretion and excretion of the urine.
G'ravel, in agriculture and gardening, is a congeries of peb-bles; which, if mixed with stiff loam, make excellent and durablegravel-walks. For this purpose, the bottom should be laid withlime-rubbish, large flints, or any other hard substance, to the depthof six or eight inches, in order to prevent any weeds from shootumthrough the surface. Over this stratum, the gravel is to be strew”ed six or eight inches thick, and somewhat sloping, that all thelarger stones may roll off to the sides. The next operation is thatof raking, when the large stones are to be removed, and the walkscarefully rolled in every direction, especially during or after bardshowers: thus they will bind, and become very firm. The mostproper gravel for walks, is that which abounds with smooth roundpebbles; for these, when mixed with a small portion of loam, arenot so liable to lie turned up by the feet in walking, as those’of arough and irregular shape.
Gravelly Lands, or Soils, arc such as abound with gravel orsand, which easily admit both heat and moisture. They receivebut little benefit from the latter, if there be a loose bed at the bot-
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