GARCINIA GAULTHERIA. 



615 



meets the water with the breast in its plunges, be- 

 cause the head penetrates with little resistance ; and 

 the elapsed time between seeing the prey and seizing 

 it must be the least possible. Altogether the gan- 

 net is far more a bird of the mere surface of the water 

 than any other of the entire-footed birds which plunge 

 down upon aquatic prey. Altogether it is one of the 

 most interesting of our shore birds, both in its own 

 appearance and habits, and in the character of those 

 places where its countless myriads take up their 

 abodes. No one should visit the wilder parts of our 

 shores without some previous knowledge of the gan- 

 net. The gannet is eaten, but it is both tough and 

 rank. In some places it is eaten in order to whet the 

 appetite, in which case it is salted and smoked. 



The Common Booby (Sula cmnmunis) is not so in- 

 teresting a bird as the gannet. It is larger than a 

 common duck, but less than a goose. Its body is 

 greyish-white, with black tips to the quills, and the 

 tail brownish ; but it is very subject to varieties of 

 colour. It ranges over the whole Atlantic, from the 

 confines of the polar ice to the equator. It is a very 

 fearless bird, and so familiar, that if it is fatigued by 

 being long on the wing, it will alight on the hand, 

 and allow itself to be taken. It is, however, pretty 

 safe from the effects of human cupidity ; for its flesh 

 has so rank a taste, that men must be reduced to the 

 greatest extremity before they can prevail upon them- 

 selves to eat it. 



GARCINIA (Linnaeus). A genus of beautiful 

 fruit trees, natives of Malaya and the neighbouring 

 isles. It belongs to Dodccandria monogynia, and to 

 the natural order, Gnltiferts. Generic character : 

 calyx of four sepals, persisting ; petals four, round- 

 ish, concave ; stamens seated below the germen, 

 nearly united at the base ; anthers oval ; style none ; 

 stigma from four to eight, lobed ; berry four, six, or 

 eight celled ; each containing one seed. 



The G. Mangostana, or mangostcen, as it is fre- 

 quently called, is one of the choicest fruits, being the 

 most delicious, and, at the same time, the most 

 wholesome. It is about the size, and has much 

 the appearance of a large pomegranate, consisting 

 within of a soft, transparent, juicy pulp, in which 

 the flavour of the grape and strawberry are com- 

 bined. The plant is in our stoves, where it grows 

 freely in light loam and moor earth, and kept in a 

 strong heat. Ripened cuttings strike roots in sand 

 under a glass, in moist heat. 



GARDEN BALSAM, is the Balsambia horten- 

 si;; of Rivinus, formerly the Impatiens balsamuia o! 

 Linnaeus. This is a well-known ornamental plant 

 They are raised annually from seed sown in a hotbec 

 in March, and afterwards placed and nursed in pots 

 till they flower. 



GARDENIA (Linnaeus). A genus of beautifu 

 evergreen shrubs, natives of China and other places 

 in the cast. Class and order Pentandria monogynia 

 and natural order Rubiacecs. Generic character 

 calyx, in five divisions ; corolla, salver-shaped 

 tube cylindrical, segments of the limb oblique 

 anthers, sitting ; stigma, two-lobed ; berry two 

 celled ; seeds in several series. This genus is 

 much valued by collectors ; their beautiful white 

 flowers and rich scent, particularly the double 

 and single G. Florida, are among the choicest o 

 Chinese plants, and much care is bestowed in bring, 

 ing them into flower. They are propagated by cut- 



GARLIC, is the Allium sativum of Linnaeus, a 

 ^ell-known culinary plant. See ALLIUM. 



GASTERIA (Haworth). A genus of succulent 

 >lants, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The 

 lowers are hexandrious, and the genus is arranged 

 n the natural order, Hemerocallidece. Generic cha- 

 racter ; corolla tubular, nectariferous at bottom, 

 imb regularly six cleft, or somewhat gaping ; 

 stamens inserted into the receptacle ; anthers ob- 

 'ong and incumbent ; style simple ; stigma three- 

 obed ; capsule three-celled, three-valved, with a 

 central placenta ; seeds three-sided, or compressed 

 and winged. These plants were formerly associated 

 with the aloes, but have been separated by Duval 

 and Haworth, They are grown in sandy earth and 

 ime rubbish, and require but little water, as their 

 eaves are very thick and fleshy. 

 _ GASTEROPHILUS (Leach). A genus of para- 

 sitic dipterous insects inhabiting the stomach of the 

 borse, belong to the family CEstridees ; the grubs or 

 larvae of which are ordinarily termed Bots. See the 

 article Box. 



GASTEROPODA. Lamarck's fourth order of 

 molluscs, including all the animals, having straight 

 bodies, never spirally formed, or entirely concealed 

 in a testaceous covering. They possess a muscular 

 disc under the belly, attached to the body, nearly its 

 whole length, which acts as a foot in progressive 

 motion, and gives rise to the name of the order. 



GASTEROPTERA (Meckeli). A naked mol- 

 lusc, whose body appears divided into two parts, the 

 posterior globular, merely, as it were, connected by 

 peduncles to the anterior, which is very small, en- 

 larged on either side into a large muscular expan- 

 sion, transversely oval, slightly grooved backward and 

 forward, which renders it as if bilobated, and, acting 

 as a foot, serves for the purpose of swimming ; the 

 lateral bronchia are altogether exposed. It is found 

 in the seas of Sicily, and is probably the species 

 described by Rafinesque, under the name of Sarco- 

 ptcnis meaning fleshy wings. Gasteroptera means 

 wings on the belly. Those naked molluscs, occu- 

 pying formerly a separate existence in the system of 

 natural history, almost totally unconnected with shell- 

 bearing molluscs, presented, no interest beyond the 

 wonderful and beautiful organisation they exhibited ; 

 by the present combination of them in the general 

 arrangement of Malacology, they serve as illustra- 

 tive links, which prove, beyond all manner of doubt, 

 the propriety of adopting a system based upon the 

 immutable wisdom of Nature's architect. The French 

 naturalists have placed this genus in the fourth family, 

 Akera. Third order, Monopleurobranchiata, Second 

 class, Pamrcphalophora. 



G AS TRO D H yE N A. A genus of Molluscs, esta- 

 blished by Spengler ; the shell is equivalve, some- 

 what wedge-shaped ; the anterior opening oval, 

 oblique, and very large ; the posterior one nearly 

 closed ; the hinge is linear, without teeth, and mar- 

 ginal. This mollusc penetrates hard substances in 

 the manner of the pholas. It seldom exceeds half 

 an inch in length, and inhabits the British coasts. 



GAULTHERIA (Linnaeus). A genus of small 

 evergreen shrubs, natives of North America, Nepal, 

 and New Zealand. The flowers are decandrious, 

 and belong to Ericete. The G.procumbens is a very 

 common plant in American borders, requiring a 

 moor-earth soil, where it propagates itself abun- 

 dantly. 



