GRA 



Gil A 



weights, and is equal to two pounds, 

 three ounces, and 4438 drachms av- 

 oirdupois. 



GRANARY. A place where wheat 

 or corn is stored ; it should be airy, 

 dry, and so situated as to be out of 

 the reach of vermin. Where the 

 weevil appears, the grain, before sto- 

 rage, should be kiln-dried at about 

 180° Fahrenheit. Rats and mice are 

 kept out if the granary be erected on 

 stones or piles of a conical form, and 

 inverted. In Egypt and Sicily corn 

 is stored in deep vaults or cellars 

 made of brick, or cut in the rocks, 

 and covered tightly by a rock with 

 earth piled upon it : in this case the 

 grain must be thoroughly, dried be- 

 fore storage. When the granary is 

 airy, it is advisable to stir the grain oc- 

 casionally, so as to expose it equally. 



GRANGE. A farm-yard with 

 suitable offices. 



GRANITE. A crystalline rock 

 composed of quartz, mica, and feld- 

 spar. The greater the proportion of 

 quartz the better the rock for build- 

 ing purposes, as the feldspar decays. 

 Some granites contain a variety of 

 feldspar which decomposes with great 

 rapidity, so that it is used for making 

 pottery. Granite is supposed by ge- 

 ologists to be of igneous origin ; it 

 protrudes through other formations, 

 and also occurs in veins. It is the 

 principal rock of the Primitive series, 

 and its ingredients constitute, in 

 different combinations, most other 

 rocks. The variety called blue gran- 

 ite, Massachusetts granite, or sye- 

 nite, contains hornblende in the place 

 of mica, and is a more valuable build- 

 ing material. When granite is to be 

 worked it should be kept under wa- 

 ter, as it becomes very hard in air. 

 The chemical composition of granite 

 depends upon the proportions of the 

 minerals present. The quartz is sil- 

 ica only ; the feldspar contains from 

 11 to 14 per cent, of potash; the 

 mica from seven to ten of potash. 

 See these minerals. 



GRANIVOR^. Birds, including 

 the incessores, which eat grain. 

 Granivorous is used to designate 

 grain-eating animals. 



334 



GRANULATE (from graua, a 

 grain). To form into grains, or be- 

 come covered with minute granules. 



GRANULATION. In chemistry, 

 the reduction of metals into smaller 

 parts ; it is performed by pouring 

 small portions of the molten matter 

 into water, and sometimes first pass- 

 ing it through a wire sieve. In sur- 

 gery, the production of granules of 

 flesh on the surface of wounds. 



GRAPE. See Vtyie. 



GRAPE SUGAR. Glucose. 



GRAPHOMETER (from ypa<po>, I 

 write, and /lerpoi', a measure). A name 

 for the semicircle of land surveyors. 



GRAPHITE. Plumbago, black- 

 lead. The coarse kinds are used in 

 making crucibles. 



GRASSES. The lesser gramina- 

 ces8, which do not bear grains suffi- 

 ciently large for collection as food. 

 Clovers, lucern, and leguminous 

 plants are also improperly included 

 under grasses. 



The true grasses are very numer- 

 ous, but experience has selected 

 some few as worthy of cultivation, 

 from their greater nutritiousness or 

 adaptation to the wants of the farm. 

 These are divided into temporary 

 hay grasses, intended for rotations ; 

 permanent hay grasses ; grasses af- 

 fording hay, but peculiar to certain 

 localities, and pasture grasses. 



The following is chiefly from Lou- 

 don : " Though grasses abound in ev- 

 ery soil and situation, yet all the 

 species do not abound indifierently ; 

 on the contrary, no class of plants is 

 so absolute and unalterable in its 

 choice in this respect. The creep- 

 ing-rooted and stoloniferous grasses 

 will grow readily on most soils ; but 

 the fibrous-rooted species, and espe- 

 cially the more delicate upland grass- 

 es, require particular attention as to 

 the soil in which they are sown ; for 

 in many soils they will either not 

 come up at all, or die away in a few 

 years, and give way to the grasses 

 which would naturally spring up. 

 Hence, in sowing down lands for per- 

 manent pasture, it is a good method 

 to make choice of those grasses 

 which thrive best in adjoining and 



