(ilN 



ciz 



or gig machnus, are rotatoiy cylin- 

 ders, covered with wire teeth, for 

 teasehng woollen cloth. 



GIL L. A quarter of a pint. A 

 small valley or brook. 



GILLENIA. One of the species 

 (G. IrifoliaUi) produces a root which 

 is nearly as valuable as ipecacuanha 

 as an emetic. It is indigenous in the 

 woods of the Middle States. 



GILLS. These organs in fishes 

 answer the purpose of lungs. The 

 plaits under mushrooms of the genus 

 Agaricus are called gills. 



G I N. Distdled spirit, flavoured 

 with juniper berries. In machinery, 

 an arrangement for tearing green 

 seed cotton wool from the seeds. It 

 consists of a cylinder closely set with 

 saws, which pass through a grating 

 in an inclined side-hopper, and thus 

 drag off portions of wool, which are 

 conveyed half round the cylinder, 

 and then cleared off by a revolving 

 brush, while the freed seeds slide 

 through to the bottom of the hopper 

 and escape. See Cotton. 



It is also a machine used for rai- 

 sing great weights, driving piles, &c. 

 It usually consists of three long legs 

 or spars, which support a pulley at 

 the top, round which a rope is passed 

 for elevating the weight. 



GINGER. Zingiber officinale. 

 This plant is of the family Scitaminm, 

 a native of Hindostan, but also culti- 

 vated in the West Indies. The root 

 is a rhizome, similar to that of the 

 flag; it is perennial, but the leaves 

 are annual. The root in the "West 

 Indies is taken up when a year old, 

 immersed in boiling water to hinder 

 future germination, dried, and sold. 

 Sometimes it is prepared by taking 

 off the outer skin, and in this state 

 is called white ginger. It might be 

 tried in our Southern States ; all that 

 is required is a well-tilled, light soil, 

 with weeding. Probably the roots 

 would not be so large as the Jamai- 

 ca, but, from the high price of ginger, 

 would probably pay well. 



GINGER, WILD. A native spe- 

 cies of the genus Asarum ; it is of 

 little note. 



GINGLYMUS (from yi-/y?.v/xoc, a 



E E 



hinge). The hinge joint in animals, 

 as the knee and elbow. 



GINSENG. Panax qninqucfolium 

 (see Fig.). The root is fleshy from 



< 



one to three inches long, and about 

 as thick as a finger, of a yellow col- 

 our, and somewhat resembling in fla- 

 vour liquorice. It is almost desti- 

 tute of medical virtue, but is esteem- 

 ed by the Chinese, and exported for 

 their use ; in 1841 as much as 8437,000 

 worth was sent out of this country. 

 The plant is an herbaceous perennial, 

 growing abundantly in the hilly and 

 woody regions of the Northern, Mid- 

 dle, and Western States, whence it 

 is collected with any cultivation. 



GIRDER. In architecture, a prin- 

 cipal beam in a floor for supporting 

 the binding or other joists, whereby 

 their bearing or length is lessened. 

 Perhaps so called because the ends 

 of the joists are enclosed bv it. 



GIRDLING TREES. Cutting a 

 ring out of the trunk of a tree entire- 

 ly through the new wood for the pur- 

 pose of killing it ; the girdling is most 

 effective before the sap rises. Rings 

 of bark, without touching the albur- 

 num, are occasionally taken out of 

 the branches of trees in spring to 

 produce /r!/?7i«o- or develop the fruit ; 

 this, though frequently confounded 

 with girdling, is altogether different, 

 and does not kill the branch, unless 

 too mucli bark is removed. A ring 

 half an inch wide is enough on a 

 branch two inches in diameter. The 

 sap is hindered from descending by 

 the wound. 



GIZZARD. A strong, muscular 



325 



