268 



GOAT'S RUE 



GOBELINS 



the name Go-to-bed-at-noon, from the circumstance 

 of its closing its flowers about mid-day, is an 

 abundant native of Britain. The plant is erect, 

 the flower stems about 18 inches high, the root 

 leaves 5 to 8 inches long, stem leaves shorter, with 

 a dilated base, glabrous and slightly glaucous. 

 The peduncles are long, thickened at the summit, 

 and the flower-heads yellow. It is biennial, and 

 the roots, if taken before the flower-stems shoot up, 

 and boiled, resemble asparagus in flavour, and are 

 said to be nutritious. In some parts of France the 

 fresh juice of the young stems and leaves is 

 believed by the common people to be an excellent 

 solvent of bile. Salsify ( T. porrifolium ), also a 

 native of Britain, is cultivated in gardens for the 

 sake of its esculent roots, which are esteemed by 

 some. 



Rue (Galega), a genus of Leguminosa;, 

 of which one herbaceous perennial species (G. qffici- 

 nalis) is sometimes cultivated like lucerne (espe- 

 cially in Switzerland ) as a forage plant, on account 

 of the great bulk of produce which it yields. Its 

 peculiar smell is not relished by cattle unaccus- 

 tomed to it. It was formerly also employed in 

 medicine, but is now seldom heard of beyond the 

 herbaceous flower-border. 



Goatsucker, or NIGHT-JAR, a name applicable 

 to any member of the family Caprimulgidse, allied 

 to the swifts, included among the Passerine birds. 

 They are almost cosmopolitan, nocturnal, super- 

 ficially owl-like birds, with soft, mottled, predomi- 

 nantly brown and gray plumage, feeding usually 

 on insects which they catch on their swift, silent 

 flight, and notable for their eerie, often almost 

 human like cries, which have awakened supersti- 

 tious dread in the natives of all countries. The bill 

 is short, with the upper part curved at the point, 

 but the gape is extremely wide, and enclosed by a 

 fringe of strong bristles borne along the margins of 

 the beak. The eyes are very large and full ; the 

 hind toe can be directed forwards ; in the great 

 majority ( Caprimulginfe ) the middle claw is a 

 curious comb ; the second pectoral muscle is long; 

 the oil-gland is small ; there are after-shafts to the 

 feathers. 



The only constant British species is the night-jar, 

 night-hawk, fern owl, churn owl, or night-churr 

 ( Caprimulgus europceiis ), which stays from May 

 to September, frequenting uncultivated, fern- 

 covered ground or bushy places throughout the 



The Night-jar ( Caprimulgus europceus). 



country. With twisting flight and ' whirring ' 

 wings it hawks for insects in twilight or darkness, 

 but will also bask in the sun. On a branch it sits 

 lengthways, with the head low down, and when 

 stationary the male utters his well-known 'churr.' 



With the comb-like middle claw a night-jar in 

 captivity has been seen to scratch the ground, but 

 what it usually does with this instrument is un- 

 certain. The plumage is gray, brown, and buff'; 

 the length about 10 inches. The eggs ( two ) are laid 

 on the ground without a nest, and are 'creamy, 

 white, marbled and veined in endless variety with 

 brownish-black and purplish-gray.' The bird is 

 widely distributed in Europe, North Africa, and as 

 far east as North-west India. ' One of its lines of 

 migration from Africa crosses Malta, where large 

 numbers are shot for the table in spring.' Two 

 other species of night-jar ( C. rujicollis and C. 

 cegyptius} are noted by Howard Saunders as having 

 occurred in Britain. See his Munital of British 

 Birds. 



Among the interesting members of the family, 

 which includes about seventeen genera and ninety 

 species, may be noted the Pennant- winged Night- jar 

 ( Cosmetornis vexillarius] and the Lyre-tailed Goat- 

 sucker ( Macropsalis lyra ), with elongated feathers 

 on wings and tail respectively (see also WHIP- 

 POOR-WILL). The South American genus Nycti- 

 bius differs from the ordinary goatsuckers in 

 several particulars e.g. in having a smooth 

 middle claw. It seems to connect them with the 

 family of Podargidae, the members of which e.g. 

 the ' frog-mouths ' ( Batrachostomus) have a gape 

 even wider than that of goatsuckers. Allied also 

 is the peculiar South American Oil-bird or Steat- 

 ornis (see GlJACHARO). The family of Rollers 

 (q.v., Coraciadje) is also nearly related. 



The weird and often almost articulate cries of 

 the goatsuckers ' who are you,' 'work away,' 

 ' willy -come-go,' ' whip-poor-will,' &c. have earned 

 for the birds the reputation of auguring evil, while 

 a more curious, and yet quite explicable popular 

 notion is expressed in the modern title ' goat- 

 sucker,' or in Pliny's name Caprimulgus, or in 

 Aristotle's Aigothelas. The notion suggested by 

 these words is that the birds suck the milk of 

 goats, as Pliny definitely states. The truth and 

 the origin of the mistake may be best expressed 

 in Waterton's words : ' These innocent little birds 

 never suck the herds ; for when they approach 

 them, and jump up at their udders, it is to catch 

 the flies and insects there.' The animals are sens- 

 ible of the birds' good offices, for they stand 

 quietly and ' do not try to drive them on as un- 

 civil intruders.' See Waterton's Wanderings in 

 South America. 



Gobbe, or VOANDZOU ( Voandzeia subterranea ), 

 a leguminous annual of tropical Africa ( sub-order 

 Ca^salpineee ), of which the young pod is thrust into 

 the ground in the same manner as that of Arachis 

 hypogcea (the Ground-nut, q.v.), thus at once 

 protecting and planting the seeds. The rich oily 

 seeds ( ' Angola peas ' ) are w r holesome and agreeable 

 when boiled. The young pods also are used like 

 French beans. 



Gobbo, GOBBIO, or GOMBO. See HIBISCUS. 



Gobelins, the name of a family of dyers, who 

 in the 15th century established themselves in the 

 Faubourg St Marcel, Paris. In the following 

 century they added to their dyeworks a tapestry 

 manufactory. In 1662 the establishments were 

 purchased by Colbert, Louis XIV. 's minister, and 

 reorganised as royal upholstery works, celebrated 

 painters, such as Le Brun and Vouet, being em- 

 ployed to furnish designs. From the year 1697 the 

 tapestry manufacture alone was carried on, the 

 product of the looms being known by the name 

 of Gobelins. The works were closed during the 

 Revolution and down to the restoration of the 

 Bourbons, but since that time they have again 

 been in active operation. A second establishment 

 for th^vnanufacture of Gobelins, likewise supported 



