G R A 3 



are certain days allowed by merchants to 

 the time set for the presentment of a bill. 



GRA'CES, Lat. gratia. In mythology, the 

 three sister goddesses, Euphrosyne, Ag- 

 laia, and Thalia; attendants on Venus. 

 In music, ornamental notes attached to 

 the principal ones, as appogiaturas. 



GRADA'TION, Lat. gradtis, a step. In 

 painting, the blending of tints. In music, 

 a diatonic succession of chords. 



GRAD'ATORT, Lat. gradus. In mammal- 

 ogy, applied to the extremities of a qua- 

 druped which are equal, or nearly so, and 

 adapted for progression on land. In orni- 

 thology, the pedes gradiarii are those in 

 which the whole tibia is covered with 

 feathers. 



GHA'DIENT, a term indicative of the 

 proportional ascent or descent of the se- 

 veral planes upon a railway. Thus an 

 inclined plane 4 miles long, with a total 

 fall of 36 feet, is described as having a 

 gradient of 9 feet per mile. The term is 

 also used to designate an inclined plane 

 having a small inclination. 



GRAD'UATE, ascholar who has taken his 

 degrees in a university. 



GRAU'WATED. In ornithology, when the 

 quill feathers of the tail regularly increase 

 in length. 



GRADUA'TION. In astronomy, the division 

 of circular arcs into degrees, minutes, &c. 



GRADUA'TOR. 1. An instrument for di- 

 viding any line, right or curved, into 



equal parts. 2. An apparatus invented 



in Germany for quickening the acid fer- 

 mentation in the process of vinegar mak- 

 ing. It is an oak tub about 6 feet high, 

 and 3 feet wide 

 at bottom, and 

 furnished with 

 a perforated 

 inner cover, 

 through which 

 the vinous li- 

 quor descends 

 in drops into 

 the interior, 

 which is fill- 

 ed with chips 

 of beechwood, 

 over which the 

 liquor becomes diffused before it finally 

 descends to the bottom to be run off. By this 

 means a vastly large surface of the liquor 

 is exposed to the action of the atmosphere, 

 and the process of vinegar making much 

 facilitated. 



GRAFT'INO. In horticulture, the process 

 of inserting a shoot or scion of one tree 

 into the bark of another, called the stcck, 

 so as to make it yield fruit of the same 

 nature with that of the tree from which 

 the graft was taken. By this means dif- 

 ferent kinds of fruits, pears, apples, &c., 

 are multiplied. 



GHAIN, Lat. granum. A terra denoting, 



3 R A 



1. All seeds of grasses, but especially re- 

 stricted to oorn, as wheat, r.e, barley. 



oats, &c. 2. A weight, the - J4th part of 



a pennyweight troy. 3. The term grain 



is used in describing the grain-like appear- 

 ance of the surface of solids, as ftones, 

 metals, &c.,and also the fibrous texture 

 of wood, &c. Hence close-gran, 

 grained, &c. i. Grains is a name for 

 the husks of maltafter brewing, or of any 



grain after distillation. 5. <, 



Paradise (the amomum grana Paradisi;, 

 a species of Mellagatta pepper, imported 

 from the coast of Guinea. 



GRAIN'ER, the lixivium obtained by in- 

 fusing pigeon's dung in water, used for 

 giving flexibility to skins in the process 

 of tanning. 



GRALLATO'RI*, ) The waders. An order 



GRAI/L.S, Lin. / of aquatic birds, known 

 by the nudity of the lower parts of the 

 legs, and most generally by the height of 

 their tarsi ; two circumstances which en- 

 able them to enter the water to a certain 

 depth without wetting their feathers, to 

 wade through it, and seize fish by means 

 of their neck and bill, the length of which 

 is usually proportioned to that of their 

 legs. The ostrich, cassowary, bustard, 

 heron, stork, wood-pelican, spoonbill, 

 water-hen, and jacana are examples. 

 Epithet grallic. 



GRA'MEN, the Latin word for grass. The 

 gramina form the fourth order in Lm- 

 na?us's system, and comprehend nearly a 

 twentieth of the vegetable kingdom. 



GRAMiNiv / OROi;s,froin gramen and voro, 

 to devour. An epithet applied to animals 

 which subsist wholly on vegetable food, 

 to distinguish them from carnivorous ani- 

 mals, which subsist on flesh. 



GRAM'MAR, yqctfjt.u.otTizii n%vv), from 

 ygx/u-iMt, a letter. A system of general 

 principles and particular rules for speak- 

 ing or writing alanguase. Also a book, 

 containing these principles and rules. 



GRAMMA'RIANS, a term used by the 

 classic ancients, to distinguish those who 

 were learned in any art or faculty. 



GRAMME', a French weight, equal to 

 15'444 grains troy. 



GRAMPUS, Fr. grampoise, a contraction 

 of grand-poisson, a nsh. The Delphinns 

 area, Lin., which grows to the length ot 

 25 feet, and is remarkable for its voracity. 



GRAND, Fr. In fine arts, applied to the 

 highest degree of majesty and dignity in 

 a work of art. 



GRANDE'E, Span, grande. The highest 

 title of Spanish nobility. 



GRAND JURY. In law, the jury which 

 finds bills of indictment against offenders. 

 These, when a true bill is found, are after- 

 wards tried before a petty jury. 



GRAND SEIONOR. The title of th 

 Turkish sultau. 



