GYPSOPHILA 



3763 



GYPSY-WORT 



lights, hawking without licence and 

 the like, many of which are inci- 

 dental to the Gypsies' manner of 

 life. The comparative absence of 

 serious crime among a class of 

 the community which has been 

 variously estimated to number any- 

 thing between 15,000 and 45,000, 

 proves the baselessness of popular 

 opinion on the subject. 



In the matter of cleanliness 

 Gypsies are often confused with 

 other van-dwellers. The true 

 Gypsy is, as a rule, more scrupu- 

 lously cleanly than the average 

 English peasant. This may to 

 some extent be attributed to 

 superstition. A plate from which 

 a dog has eaten will not again be 

 used for the preparation of human 

 food. It has become mokhadi 

 (defiled). This ceremonial defile- 

 ment attaches to vessels used by a 

 woman in child-birth, to female 

 underclothing and the like, though 

 these customary ideas vary from 

 one family to another. A strange 

 custom is that of burning the van 

 and all the belongings of a deceased 

 Gypsy. The idea behind this may 

 be the fear of ghosts, a fear that is 

 very prevalent among Gypsies. 



Gypsies are very hospitable, and 

 full of humorous and quaint say- 

 ings. The fortune-telling, the so- 

 called Gypsy kings and queens, 

 and the assumption of ancient 

 lineage from the Pharaohs are all 

 pretence for the bewilderment of 

 the too credulous gadzho " non- 

 gypsy." To what particular sec- 

 tion of. the population of North 

 India Gypsies are most nearly 

 related, as well as the occasion and 

 date of their emigration from that 

 country, are problems that remain 

 to be solved. r - G - Ackerley 



Bibliography. Dialect or the 

 English Gypsies, B. G. Smart and 



Gypsies. Group of Serbian Gypsy 



children. Above, typical family 



from Rumania 



H. T. Crofton, 1875; Dissertation 

 on the Gypsies, H. M. G. Grellmann, 

 1807; The English Gypsies and 

 Their Language, C. G. Leland, 1874; 

 In Gyps'y Tents, F. H. Groome, 

 1880; Scottish Gypsies under the 

 Stewarts, D. Mac Ritchie, 1894 ; 

 Gypsy Folk Tales, F. H. Groome, 

 1899; the works of George Borrow, 

 including Romano Lavo-Lil, a word 

 book of the Romany or English- 

 Gypsy Language; and Aylwin, a 

 Welsh romance by T.Wabts-Dunton. 



Gypsophila (Gr., chalk-loving). 

 Hardy perennial plants of the 

 natural order Caryophyllaceae. 

 Natives of India and Asia, they 

 thrive well if given the ordinary 

 treatment for annual plants. The 

 tiny flowers are white or pink in 

 colour. The plants prefer a dry 

 and well-drained soil, and will not 

 succeed in damp or sunless situa- 

 tions. They are chiefly grown for 

 the use of their foliage in blending 

 bouquets, and were introduced 

 into England in 1759. 



Gypsum. Mineral, a hydrous 

 calcium sulphate, Ca>CyiH 2 0, 

 containing 32'5 p.c. of lime, 46'6 



p.c. sulphur trioxide, and 20'9 p.c. 

 of water. It occurs in nature as 

 a soft, white rock, usually associ- 

 ated with rock salt, and consisting 

 of a confused mass of small 

 crystals, mixfid usually with silica 

 and clay. 



Selenite is the variety of gypsum 

 which occurs in distinct crystals, 

 occasionally three to four feet in 

 length. The crystals belong to the 

 monoclinic system, have a pearly, 

 shining, lustrous surface, and can 

 readily be split into thin, trans- 

 parent sheets. Satin spar is the 

 name given to a fine fibrous 

 variety of gypsum having usually 

 a pearly, opalescent appearance 

 Red or yellow tinted satin spar is 

 coloured by ferruginous impuri- 

 ties. Alabaster is a fine-grained, 

 compact variety of gypsum, resem- 

 bling marble in appearance. 



Gypsum is found in England, 

 notably near Derby and Carlisle, 

 and in Nottinghamshire and 

 Cheshire ; in France, near Paris ; 

 in numerous places in the U.S.A. 

 one of the greatest deposits being 

 in the Great Salt Lake, Utah and 

 in smaller deposits in Europe and 

 Africa. The variety found near 

 Paris is extensively used in the 

 preparation of plaster of Paris. 

 Alabaster, the most celebrated 

 variety of which comes from Vol- 

 terra in Tuscany, is used for decor- 

 ative work, vases, statuettes, etc., 

 and selinite for optical apparatus. 

 Large quantities of gypsum are 

 used in the preparation of cements, 

 fertilisers, as a basis of paints, and 

 for making imitation marble. See 

 Alabaster. 



Gypsy-wort (Lycopus euro- 

 paeus). Perennial herb of the 

 natural order Labiatae. It is a 

 native of Europe, N. Africa, Asia, 

 Australia, and N. America. It has 

 a creeping rootstock, tough, four- 

 angled stem, and opposite elliptical 

 leaves with margins deeply cut 

 into coarse teeth. The small 

 bluish-white flowers, dotted with 

 purple, are crowded in whorls 

 round the stem, just above each 



Gypsy-wort. Stem with flower whorls 

 situated above 



each pair of leaves 



