GRAPNEL 



Grapnel.' - Small anchor with 

 four or five or more flukes. It is not 

 used where any great strength is 

 required for holding purposes, but 

 for anchoring small boats, enabling 

 balloons to get a grip of the Around, 

 etc. See Anchor. 



Grappa. Mt. of Italy, the high- 

 est in a range between the valleys 

 of the Brenta and the Piave. The 

 Grappa region was prominent in 

 the Great War, and fighting took 

 place here by which the Italians 

 stayed the Austro-German inva- 

 sion after the Caporetto disaster, 

 Oct., 1917. This front was again in- 

 volved in fighting in June, 1918, 

 during the Austrians' last offensive. 

 The enemy were cleared' from this 

 sector towards the end of Oct., 

 1918. See Asiago Plateau, Battles 

 of ; Monte Grappa, Battles of. 



Grapple-plant (Harpagophy- 

 tum procumbens). Prostrate peren- 

 nial herb of the natural order Pe- 



Grapple-plant. Leaves, flower, and 

 fruit of the S. African herb 



dalineae. A native of S. Africa, the 

 leaves are hand-shaped, the purple 

 flowers funnel-shaped. The large 

 fruits are armed with strong, sharp 

 hooks which cling to the skins of 

 animals, and so get transported 

 from place to place, the numerous 

 angular seeds being shaken out by 

 the movements of their carriers. 

 When they come in contact with 

 the lips of browsing animals they 

 cause intolerable pain. Dr. Living- 

 stone has told how an ox will stand 

 and roar with the pain and sense of 

 helplessness inflicted by these fruits 

 attached to its mouth, which also 

 prevent its feeding. ,. , 



Graptolitoidea (Gr. graptos, 

 lettered ; lithos, stone ; eidos, form, 

 likeness). Extinct class of low 

 organisms, remains of which are 

 found in early sedimentary rocks. 

 They are often to be seen on slates, 

 forming a fossilised film, and look- 

 ing rather like a flattened branch 

 of seaweed or seafirs. These organ- 

 isms were tiny marine animals 

 belonging to the order Hydrozoa. 



Gras, FLIX (1844-1901). Pro- 

 vencal novelist and poet. He was 

 bom May 3, 1844, at Malemort, 



Felix Gras, 

 French author 



3649 



Vaucluse. His first work, Li 

 Carbounie, an epic of the moun- 

 tains, won him an immediate posi- 

 tion among _ 

 the younger I 

 felibres, an as- 

 sociation for 



the presenta- | fe *%$&:&': 

 tion of Pro- I 

 ven?al Ian- i 

 g u a g e and 

 literature 

 started twen- 

 ty years earlier 

 byRoumanille 

 and Mistral. 

 This was followed, in 1882, by To- 

 loza, an epic dealing with Simon de 

 Montfort and the persecution of the 

 Albigenses. Then came Lou Rou- 

 mancero Proven9al, a collection of 

 traditions of the country in ballad 

 form, 1887 ; and Li Papalino, tales 

 in prose dealing with olden days of 

 the popes at Avignon, 1891. Later 

 he wrote three impressive novels of 

 the French Revolution, all of which 

 have been translated into English 

 by C. A. Janvier, The Reds of the 

 Midi, 1896 ; The Terror, 1898 ; and 

 The White Terror, 1900. 



Graslitz OR KKASLICE. Town of 

 Czecho-Slovakia, in Bohemia. It 

 stands near the German frontier, 20 

 m. N.N.E. of Eger. An important 

 manufacturing centre, it is noted 

 for its musical instruments. Other 

 leading industries are the manufac- 

 ture of cotton, lace, embroidery, 

 and toys. Pop. 39,216. 



Grasmere. Lake and village of 

 Westmorland, England. The lake 

 is one mile long and about ^ mile 

 wide. It is beautifully situated 

 in - a valley in the centre of the 

 Lake District, with the mountains 

 all around. The village, which 

 stands where the Rothay falls into 

 the lake, is 4 m. from Ambleside 

 and!2fromKeswick. It is noted for 

 its associations with Wordsworth, 

 whose early residence, Dove Cot- 

 tage, is here. In it De Quincey 

 also lived. In the churchyard are 

 the tombs of Wordsworth and 

 Hartley Coleridge. ? , TO ., , 

 An annual fes- \ 

 tival, called the 

 rushbearing, takes 

 place here on the t 

 Saturday after S. 

 Oswald's Day, 

 Aug. 5. The place 

 has also an ath- 

 letic meeting 

 every August. S. 

 Oswald's Church 

 is partly a 13th 

 century building. 

 Grasmere is a good 

 centre for visitors 

 to the Lakes. 

 Coaches and 

 motor-vehicles go 



GRASS 



from here to Keswick, Coniston, 

 and elsewhere, and there is boating 

 on the lake. See Lake District, The. 



Grass. Term strictly applied to 

 species of the natural order Gram- 

 irieae, but in farming language also 

 used of clovers and other kinds of 

 herbage growing together in a field. 

 A distinction is drawn between 

 temporary grass, or ley, intended to 

 be ploughed up after a certain in- 

 terval, and permanent grass, which 

 occupies the land continuously, 

 either as pasture, which is entirely 

 devoted to grazing, or as meadow, 

 that may yield a hay crop every 

 year or at regular intervals. When 

 first laying down land to grass, 

 careful cleaning and the prepara- 

 tion of a fine seed bed are necessary. 



The mixture of seeds employed 

 varies according to the object in 

 view. For temporary leys those 

 species of grass and clover are 

 chosen which are short-lived but of 

 rapid growth, while perennial types 

 make up the mixtures employed 

 when permanent grass is to be es- 

 tablished. For the latter the exact 

 nature of the mixture will depend 

 on the local soil and climate. Only 

 seed of the highest quality should 

 be used. 



The management of established 

 pastures requires considerable 

 skill. At the end of winter and be- 

 ginning of spring chain-harrowing 

 and rolling are beneficial. By the 

 former process dung is spread out, 

 molehills levelled, and moss re- 

 moved, while rolling consolidates 

 the soil round the roots and en- 

 courages a thick growth of herbage. 

 Cattle must not be turned on too 

 early, certainly not until late in 

 April ; sheep crop grass very ' 

 closely, so that they can get a good 

 living after the other kinds of stock 

 have had their turn. Pastures de- 

 voted to fattening stock require 

 little artificial manuring, but where 

 lime is deficient this may be sup- 

 plied, either in the form of quick- 

 lime or of ground lime. Poor pas- 

 tures may require dressings of 



Grasmere, Westmorland. The lake and village seen 

 from the south 



E S 



