GRASS OF PARNASSUS 



3652 



GRATTAN 



of 1736, Captain Porteous was 

 dragged here from the Tolbooth 

 and hanged from a dyer's pole. 

 See Edinburgh. 



Grass of Parnassus (Parnas- 

 sia palustris). Perennial herb of 

 the natural order Saxifragaceae. 

 It is a native 

 of Europe, N. 

 Africa, N. and 

 W. Asia, and 

 N. America. It 

 is a bog plant 

 with 1 o n g- 

 stalked heart- 

 shaped leaves, 

 and large soli- 

 tary white 

 flowers on tall 

 stems. The pe- 

 tals are thick 

 and veined. 

 The large 

 ovary bears 

 four stigmas. 

 Five of the ten 

 stamens have been transformed 

 into scales bearing nectar glands, 

 and fringed with hairs ending in 

 yellow knobs. 



Grass Snake (Tropidonot.us 

 natrix). One of the commonest 

 non-poisonous snakes of Europe, 



lia. They are also known as black- 

 boy and grass gum-tree. They have 



: 3, 



Grass of Parnassus, 

 leaves and flowers 



Grass Snake. Specimen of the harmless snake common 

 in England 



part of Asia, N. Africa, and Eng- 

 land, being unknown in Scotland 

 and Ireland. Greenish-grey to 

 brown above, with black bands, 

 giving it the alternative name of 

 ringed snake, it is black and white 

 underneath. It has two white or 

 yellowish-white spots behind its 

 head which distinguish it some 

 distance away. 



Growing to a length of* three to 

 four feet, the grass snake feeds 

 chiefly on frogs, toads, and fish, and 

 is usually found in damp places. 

 The eggs, varying from 15 to 30, 

 the size of a dove's egg, are laid in 

 rich damp mould, in manure heaps 

 and similar places. See Snake ; 

 Water Snake ; consult also Cam- 

 bridge Natural History, vol. vii, 

 London, 1901. 



Grass Tree (Xanthorrhoea). 

 Genus of perennials of the natural 

 order Juncaceae, natives of Austra- 



Grass Tree. The Australian tree 



with long flower-stems, a head of 



which is shown inset 



short, thick trunks like those of 

 palms, rough with the bases of for- 

 mer leaves, consolidated by red or 

 yellow gum produced by the plant. 

 The long, wiry leaves are like those 

 of the rushes, and form a great 

 tuft. The central flower-stem may 

 be 15 ft. to 20 ft. long, its upper end 

 a dense spike of small flowers like 

 that of the reed-mace (Typha). 

 X. arborea, the Botany Bay gum, 

 and X. hast His, when denuded of 

 leaves, have fre- 

 ' 1 quently been 

 \ mis taken" for men 

 } (black-boys). 

 < Cattle eat the 

 leaves, and the 

 natives the 

 middle of the top 

 of the stem. The 

 fragrant resin 

 exuded is known 

 to commerce as 

 Botany Bay resin 

 and black-boy 

 gum. 



Grass -wrack 

 (Zostera marina). 

 Perennial marine plant of the 

 natural order Naiadaceae. It is a 

 native of most temperate coasts, 

 where it grows submerged about 

 low -water. Its slender, grass- 

 like, bright green leaves are "from 

 1 ft. to 3 ft. Ions. The green flowers 



rv 



Grass-wrack. Leaves and roots of the 

 marine plant. Inset, a flower-head 



are devoid of sepals or petals, con- 

 sisting only of an ovary and one or 

 two anthers. The dried leaves are 

 used for packing, and for stuffing 

 upholstery, under the name of 

 Ulvamarina. 



Grate (Lat. cratis, hurdle). 

 Framework comprising metal bars 

 with air spaces between them, for 

 retaining fuel for heating rooms, 

 etc. The term is also used for the 

 floor of a firebox or furnace. It has 

 spaced bars for supporting fuel, and 

 through them air is supplied to 

 support combustion. Steam gen- 

 erators are commonly fitted with 

 moving grates, which propel the 

 fuel along firebars, or carry it into 

 a furnace, to ensure complete com- 

 bustion. See Furnace ; Generator. 



Gratian (A.D. 359-383). Roman 

 emperor. In 375 he succeeded his 

 father, Valentinian I, with whom 

 he had already been associated in 

 the government of the western 

 empire since 367, but a section of 

 the army insisted on his four-year- 

 old half-brother, Valentinian II, 

 sharing the throne. Gratian was an 

 unwarlike youth, quite unfitted 

 to deal with the barbarian peril. 

 Pressed from the east by the Huns, 

 the Goths crossed the north-eastern 

 frontier, and in 378 won the battle 

 of Adrianople (q.v. ). 



Valens, the emperor of the east, 

 having fallen in the battle, Gratian 

 invited Theodosius I to succeed 

 him. Both rulers were under the 

 domination of S. Ambrose, which 

 led to the prohibition, enforced- 

 with great severity, of pagan and 

 heretical worship throughout the 

 empire. In 383 Maximus was pro- 

 claimed emperor by the troops in 

 Britain, and Gratian was murdered 

 by his own soldiery. 



Gratian OR GRATIANUS, FRAN- 

 ciscus. Medieval jurist. Born in 

 Italy about 1100, he entered a 

 Benedictine monastery, and as a 

 monk spent his life. He is known 

 solely for his legal work, the De- 

 cretum Gratiani, regarded as the 

 foundation of canon law. He 

 died about 11 50, and, according to 

 some accounts, was then bishop of 

 Chiusi. See Canon Law. 



Grattan, HENRY (1746-1820). 

 Irish orator and statesman. Born 

 in Dublin, July 3, 1746, he was edu- 

 cated pri- 

 vately and at 

 Trinity C o 1- 

 lece, Dublin. 

 After gradu- 

 ating, he was 

 admitted a 

 student of the 

 Middle Tem- 

 ple, London, 

 but spent 

 most of his 



time listening Aflerf.Wheatlev, 



