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Gon-esci, in zoology, the name of a bird of the gallinacious kind, called by authors the lagopus altera, and by many the moor cock, or red game ; it is of the fhape of the par- tridge, but is half as large again. Its beak is black and fhort, and it is very remarkable for the bare fpace over its eyes, which is very broad and of a fine bright red, and in the cock is furrounded by a prominence of the fame bright colour, bare of feathers, and fimbriated like a cock's comb. The male is alfo diftinguifhed from the female, by having ■ a black plumage at the bafe of the bill interfperled with frequent white fpots, and fome large white fpots near the origin of the under chap. The male is alfo redder than the female in all parts, and on his throat and breaft is of a fair red without the mixture of any other colour. The head, neck, back, and wings are all variegated with red and black. The breaft and belly are of the fame colours with the ' back, but on the breaft there are fome variegations of white. The legs and feet are covered with a very long and thick plumage to the very ends of the toes. The wings are brownifh, with fome reddifh variegations, and the tail is al- moft wholly black. It is feldom found but on the tops of very high hills, and is very common in Derbyfhire, York- shire, and Wales. It lays {even or eight eggs, which are of a mixed red, and black colour, and are all over covered with fmall fpots, except for one or two fpaces, which are clear near the fmall end. It feeds on worms and other in- fers. It is a very well tafted bird. Ray'% Ornitholog. p. 128.
The Italians call this as well as the lagopus, by the common name of francolino, and there is much reafon to fufpect that the lagopus and this, are indeed the fame fpecies of bird, tho' different in colour. GORAIS, in zoology, a name ufed by fome authors for the more common fpecies of the carajjhis. The third fpecies, as it is called by Gefner, &c. IVillughbys, Hift. Pifc. p. 249. See the article Carassius. GORCE, or Gourt, denotes a wear. By flat. 25. Ed. 3. c. 4. it is ordained, that all gorces, mills, wears, &c. le- vied or fet up, whereby the king's fhips and boats are di- fturbed, and cannot pais in any river, lhall be utterly pul- led down, without being renewed. Sir Edward Coke a de- rives this word from gurges, a deep pit of water, and calls it a gors or gulf; but this feems to be a miftake, for in domefday it is called gaurt and gort, the old French word for a wear. [ a Co. Litt. 5.] GORGET, in military affairs, a piece of brafs or filver, worn by officers upon their breafts when on duty. The gor- get hangs round the neck by a ribband ; they are fome- times gilded, and have commonly fome device engraved on them j as the fovereign's, or even the colonel's coat of arms, creft or cypher. GORGONIAS, in natural hiftory, a name given by fome old writers, to coral, on occafion of its fuppofed changi from a foft fubftance, to an abfolute flone, on being brought out of the water into the air ; but this is known now to bi a fabulous opinion, coral being as hard while growing to the rocks, as when it has been ever fo long out of the fea, GORGONEI /«*/«, an affected term ufed by fome of the writers in chemiftry, to exprefs thofe fprings or waters, which turn things into ftone. We have feveral fprings in England, which cover over things with a ftony matter, without introducing it into their inner ftructure j but there are very few certain inftances of waters, which at this day abfolutely petrify wood, that is, fill its bores with true ftony matter. The famous water of Lough Neagh in Ireland, is much difputed by fome as to its having this quality, and many fruitlefs experiments have been made in attempting to prove that it has. GORGONEUM, To^ym™, in antiquity, a kind of mafque ufed on the antient theatre to reprefent hideous and frightful figures, in imitation of the gorgons. Mem. Acad. Infcrip. T. 5. p. 184. See Gorgons. GORGONIUM, in botany, a name given by fome authors, to the common eryngium, or eryngo, the roots of which wc ufe candied, GORGONS, in antiquity. Authors are not agreed in the ac- count they give of the Gorgons. Diodorus Siculus will have the Gorgons and Amazons to have been two warlike na- tions of women, who inhabited that part of Libya, which lay on the lake Tritonidis. We may well imagine, fays that author, that they had frequent quarrels together, as being women and neighbours. He goes on to give an ac- count of a moil: bloody engagement between them, where- in the Amazons had the better, three thoufand of the Gor- gons being made prifoners, and the reft obliged to take fhelter in a wood, to which the Amazons fet fire, with an intention to deftroy the whole nation of Gorgons ; but as the wind did not prove favourable, they were obliged to defift, and retire to their own territories. Here the Ama- xons, intoxicated with their victory, gave themfelves up to feafting and mirth ; and as the guard was very negligent- ly kept in the night -time, the three thoufand prifoners laid hold on the opportunity, and feizing the fwords of thefe im- prudent females, mailacred a great many of them, but Suppl. Vol. I.
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were themfelves at laft overpowered and cut to pieces. Myrine the queen of the Amazons, caufed monuments to be erected to her female warriouis, who had been flain on this occafion ; which monuments were to be feen, fays our author, in his days. The extermination of thefe female na- tions was not effedled till Hercules undertook and per- formed it.
Paufanias's account of the Gorgons is much to the fame purpofe. They were, fays he, the daughters of Phorbus, af- ter whofe death, Medufu. his daughter reigned over the peo- ple dwelling near the lake Tritonidis. The queen was paf- iionately fond of hunting and war, fo that {he laid the neighbouring countries quite waftc. At laft Perfeus having made war on them, and killed the queen herfelf ; when he came to take a view of the field of battle, he found the queen's corpfe fo extremely beautiful, that he ordered her head to be cut off, which he carried with him to fhow his coun- trymen, the Greeks, who could not behold it without bcini- ftruck with aftonifhment.
Thefe accounts appear fomewhat credible, but others re- prefent them in a very incredible manner, making them to be a kind of monftrous women, all covered over with hair, who lived in woods and foreffs. Others again make them a kind of animal, refembiing wild fhecp, with fuch lon^ hair on their faces, that it required their utmoff. efforts to remove it before they could fee any thing ; but when once they had effected this, they killed all that they faw, with the poifonous influence of their eyes. For a further ac- count of them, fee Mem. Acad. Infcript. Vol. 4. p. 72. feq.
GOSHAWK, in zoology, the EngHfh name for the aedpiter palumbarius, a very large hawk, which preys on pheafants, geefe, and hares, and is remarkable for the fhortnefs of its wings. Ray's Ornitholog. p. 51.
GOSSAMPINUS, a name given by Pliny and the antients to a tree growing in the Eaft Indies, which produced a fort of cotton, the threads of which were too fhort to be fpun or corded ; fo that it ferved only for the ftuffings of beds and the like, for which it was very proper, being very light and foft. It was in fome efteem in medicine alfo, to recall the heat and fpirits into parts to which it was applied. It is called by Pifo arbor lanigera, the wool tree, and had its antient name from the words gojfpium cotton, and pinus the pine tree, being fomewhat like the pine in external ap- pearance, yet bearing a fort of cotton.
GOTTORUGINE, in zoology, the name of a fmall nfh common in the Mediterranean, and brought to market at Rome, Venice, &c. It has no fcales, but is foft and lubri- cous to the touch, large toward the head, and fmaller to- ward the tail, and of a flatted fhape. Its colour is motled with olive colour and a brownifh red, difpofed in lines running half lengths, and parted by other lines of a pale blue. The lower part of the fifh toward the belly is va- riegated with the fame colours, but they are fomewhat paler and fainter. It is ufually of about fix or feven inches long ; it has one back fin running from near the head to the tail; the tail is not forked butftrait, and of a redder co- lour than the reft of the body. The eyes ftand very pro- minent, and are placed in the fnmmit of the head, very near one to the other. And near them are two extremely fmall fins, thick at their bates, and ending very thin. Its mouth is of a moderate fize, and its teeth are like thofe of the blennus. It has no fwimming bladder, and the anus is fitu- ated nearer the head than the tail.
GOVERNOUR (Cyd.)—Governours of the cheji at Chatham, are officers appointed to take care of, and relieve the poor and maimed feamen belonging to the navy royal. Vid. 22 and 23 Car. 2.
GOUMA, in mineralogy, the name given by the natives of the ifland of Samos, to the Samian earth, called Terra Sa- mi a by the old writers. Pocock's Egypt. Vol. 2. P. 2. p. 29.
GOURD, Cucurbita^ in botany the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are .thefe. The flower confiffs of one leaf, fafhioned like a bell,- very open at the mouth, and fo deeply divided into five fegments, that it appears to be a five leaved flower. Some of the flowers in this plant are male and fteril, others are female, and have an embryo which ri- pens into a large fruit, in fome fpecies long and flender ; in others refembiing a bottle, ufually divided into five cells, and containing flat and oblong feeds ; obtufe at one end, and very broad at the other, and iecmingly furrounded with a ring or circle within the edge.
The fpecies of gourds enumerated by Mr. Tournc-fort are thefe. 1. The long fruited gourd with fmooth leaves and white flowers. 2. The crooked or falcated gourd with fmooth leaves and white flowers. 3. The broader gourd with fmooth leaves and white flowers. 4. The long gourd with a white flower and protuberant belly. 5. The very long cylindric American gourd \ this grows to three or four feet long. 6. The bottle gourd with fmooth leaves and white flowers. 7. The white flowered fmooth leaved gourd with a turbinated fruit. 8. The larger variegated bottle voWd, and 9. the fmaller variegated bottle gourd with a rough fruit.
12 M Gourds
