GRASS HEMP 383 GRATZ order of endogenous plants, comprising: about 250 genera and 4,500 species, in- cluding many of the most valuable pas- ture plants, all those which yield grain, the sugar-cane, bamboo, etc. In its popu- lar use the term grass is chiefly ap- plied to the pasture grasses as distinct from the cereals, etc.; but it is also ap- plied to some herbs, which are not in any strict sense grasses at all, e. g., rib- grass, scurvy, and whitlow grass. GRASS HEMP. See SiSAL, GRASSHOPPER, the name of various leaping insects of the order Orthoptera nearly akin to the locusts. They are characterized by very long and slender legs, the thighs of the hinder legs being large and adapted for leaping, by large and delicate wings, and by the wing- covers extending far beyond the ex- tremity of the abdomen. Grasshoppers form an extensive group of insects, and are distinguished by the power which they possess of leaping to a considerable distance, and by the stridulous or chirp- ing noise the males produce by rubbing their wing covers together. GRATIAN (gra'shan), a Roman em- peror; eldest son of Valentinian I., by his first wife Severa; born in Pannonia 359 A. D.; elected by his father to the rank of Augustus, 367. On the death of Valentinian, 375, the troops elevated Gratian to the throne, giving him at the same time as a colleague his half- brother Valentinian II. During the first part of his reign, a fierce warfare was carried on against the tribes who pos- sessed the Danubian provinces and lUyricum; and he was on the point of marching into Thrace, to assist his uncle Valens against the Goths, when he was suddenly called upon to defend his do- minions against the Lentienses, a tribe of the Alemanni. After the invaders had been defeated, Gratian advanced toward the Eastern Empire, but while on the way he learned that his uncle Valens had been defeated and killed by the Goths near Adrianople, 378. The sov- ereignty of the Eastern Empire then devolved on Gratian, but feeling his in- adequacy to the task of ruling the whole e?npire, he recalled Theodosius from Spain, and appointed him his colleague, 379. Gratian possessed some admirable virtues; but his fondness for frivolous amusements and unworthy associates excited the contempt of the army, so that when Maxim.us was proclaimed em- peror by the legions in Britain crowds of the disaffected flocked to his standard. Gratian was defeated by him near Paris, and afterward fled to Lyons, where he was overtaken and killed, 383. GRATTAN, HENRY, an Irish states- man; born in Dublin, July 3, 1746; graduated at Trinity College, and went to London to study and practice law. In 1772 he was called to the bar in his native country, and three years after entered the Irish House of Commons, where his brilliant eloquence soon raised him to distinction. In 1780, the British Parliament having attempted to frame laws for the sister country, to the humil- iation of the Irish Parliament and ex- ecutive, Grattan moved the resolution, "That the King's most excellent Majesty, and the Irish House of Lords and Com- mons, are the only competent powers to make laws to govern Ireland." So en- thusiastic was the national feeling on this occasion that he was voted the sum of $500,000. Of this, however, Grattan refused to accept more than $250,000. On the union of the two crowns, at the opening of this century, Grattan took his seat in the Imperial Parliament, first for Malton, and afterward for Dublin; but, like most of these great orators, the change from College Green to St. Stephen's seemed fatal alike to his eloquence, his prestige, and his pow- er. He died in London, June 4, 1820. GRATZ (grats) , a city and capital of Styria, Austria, 141 miles S. S. W. of Vienna. It is a picturesque old town, built on both sides of the Mur. Of the former fortress, erected on a hill in the center of the town, and dismantled in 1809 by the French, two towers and other remains still exist. The town itself contains several old buildings, as the Late Gothic cathedral (1462), two other Gothic churches (one built in 1283), the ancient castle of the Styrian dukes, the Landhaus, where the nobles of the duchy held their meetings, the university, orig- inally founded in 1586, an armory, pal- aces of the Styrian nobles, and four monasteries dating from the 16th and 17th centuries. There are also national archives, a cabinet of coins and an- tiquities, a technical school (Johan- neum), and a botanic gfarden. Prior to the World War the most important of its many industries were the manufac- ture of machines, steel goods, rails and railway carriages, sugar, 'ine, pei'fum- ery, s'tearine candles, soap, etc. Fat capons, biscuits, and chocolate figured prominently as articles of trade. Gratz was a favorite place of residence foi' Austrian oflicials retired from service. The town is mentioned in the annals as early as 881. In 1481 it repulsed the Hungarians from its walls, and in 1532 the Turks. In 1797, and again in 1809, it was occupied by the French. Pop. about 152,000.
