GELEE 



2412 



GEMS 



but in hot water it always dissolves; so in 

 the pure state, which is one kind of isinglass, 

 it is used to make jellies, blanc-mange and to 

 thicken soup. The combination of tannin with 

 gelatin in hides changes them to leather, and 

 it is upon this principle that the art of tan- 

 ning depends. In medicine pure gelatin cap- 

 sules are made to contain bitter doses, and one 

 variety of coating on pills is the same sub- 

 stance. 



The "sizing" which is used to stiffen silks, 

 gauze and linen, as well as that required in 

 paper-making and in paints, is often gelatin; it 

 is also an important ingredient of printers' 

 rollers. In taking impressions and casts for 

 making models of type, and in the manufacture 

 of certain cements and courtplaster, gelatin is 

 used. In combination with other substances 

 it forms the copying-pad in a variety of copy- 

 ing processes, such as the hectograph; it is the 

 coating for glass plates or films used for dry- 

 plate photography, and is an ingredient in 

 the films for moving-picture machines. S.L.A. 



GELEE, zhela', CLAUDE (1600-1682), gen- 

 erally known as CLAUDE LORRAIN, after his 

 birthplace in the village of Champagne in Lor- 

 raine. He was a celebrated French landscape 

 painter, whose pictures were noted for the 

 brilliant effects of light reflected in the sky, 

 clouds and water, and for the poetic feeling 

 shown in his interpretation of nature. He 

 made his studies in the open field, where fre- 

 quently he remained from sunrise till sunset, 

 watching the effects of the shifting lights upon 

 the landscape. However, his figures were 

 not up to the standard of his other work, and 

 so conscious was he of this deficiency that 

 he usually engaged other artists to paint them 

 in for him. He was wont to say that he sold 

 his landscapes and gave away the figures. 



After studying in Naples and Rome, he trav- 

 eled through Germany and France and then 

 settled in Rome for the rest of his life. In 

 order to avoid a repetition of subjects and also 

 to detect the counterfeit copies of his works, 

 he made tinted outline drawings of all the 

 pictures which he sent outside of France. On 

 the back of each drawing he wrote the name of 

 the purchaser. These books, six in number and 

 called by him Libri di Verita, have been en- 

 graved and published and are still highly 

 esteemed by students of the art of landscape. 



Among his famous paintings are Embarka- 

 tion of Saint Ursula, now in the National Gal- 

 lery, London; Finding of Moses, in the Madrid 

 Gallery; Expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael, at 



Munich; and the Village Dance and the Land- 

 ing of Cleopatra at Tarsus, in the Louvre, 

 Paris. 



GELSEMIUM, jelse'mium, or YELLOW 

 JASMINE, jas'min, a climbing shrub, native 

 of the United States, whose rootstock and 

 rootlets yield a powerful drug called gel- 

 semium. This shrub, with its opposite, lance- 

 like, shining leaves and clusters of funnel- 

 shaped, sweet-scented yellow flowers, grows 

 near waters in rich clay soil from Virginia to 

 Florida and Texas. There the odor of the 

 flowers in the dampness of morning or evening 

 is at times very noticeable. 



Although the drug gelsemium is sometimes 

 used in cases of malarial fever, rheumatism and 

 neuralgia, it is not often used because of its 

 dangerous qualities. A slight overdose will 

 cause death. Drooping of the eyelids is the 

 first symptom of too large a dose of the drug, 

 and carbonate of ammonia, brandy, aromatic 

 spirits of ammonia or morphine should be 

 administered immediately. See JASMINE. 



GEMINI, jem'iny, or THE TWINS, in as- 

 tronomy, is the name of the third sign of the 

 zodiac, and also of a constellation now in the 

 sign of Cancer. This constellation contains 

 the summer solstice, the most northerly point 

 reached by the sun. From this point it appar- 

 ently commences its journey southward. The 

 two brightest stars of the constellation are 

 named for the twins Castor and Pollux, the 

 sons of Jupiter and Leda. The symbol of 

 Gemini is H. See ZODIAC. 



GEMS, jemz, or PRECIOUS STONES, in- 

 clude all rare mineral crystals such as dia- 

 monds, rubies and emeralds, which, when cut 

 and polished, are used in jewelry and orna- 

 ments. One beautiful, rare and enduring sub- 

 stance derived from animals, the pearl, is 

 classed as a gem, as is also the fossil resin, 

 amber. Coral is not a precious stone. 



The word gem comes from the Latin gemma, 

 meaning bud. Modest brown or dull-green 

 buds burst forth into lovely flowers of beauti- 

 ful hues, under the action of warmth and 

 moisture and sunshine. The story of precious 

 stones is very similar. From ugly lumps or 

 "buds" of mineral matter, after a process of 

 cutting and polishing, beautiful crystals are 

 obtained which hold in their depths forever 

 all the beautiful tints and hues which in flow- 

 ers fade and die. 



The value of gems is judged by their rarity, 

 color, quality and hardness. The most valu- 

 able gems are diamonds, rubies, emeralds, 



