GRA 



GRA 



scion or shoot of a tree inserted into ano- 

 ther, so as to make it yield fruit of the 

 same nature with that of the tree from 

 whence the graft was taken. See GAR- 

 DENING, BTJDDIXG, &c. 



GRACULA, the grakle, in natural his*, 

 tory, a genus of birds of the order Picae. 

 Generic character: the bill convex, thick, 

 sharp-edged, somewhat naked at the 

 base ; nostrils small, near the base of the 

 bill; tongue entire, rather sharp at the 

 end ; claws hooked and sharp. No spe- 

 cies of this bird is found in Europe. There 

 are thirteen species, of which we shall 

 notice the following : G. kelegiosa, or 

 the minor grakle, is of the size of a 

 blackbird, is found in various districts of 

 the East Indies, and almost in every 

 island beyond the Ganges. It is rendei'- 

 ed familiar with the greatest ease, and 

 taught to speak with greater facility than 

 even the parrot, and also enounces its 

 words with more distinctness. It feeds 

 on berries and fruits, and is particularly 

 partial to cherries. When refused its 

 wishes, it is stated to express sounds of 

 disappointment and vexation extremely 

 like the crying of a child. 



The paradisoea tristis is rather larger 

 than the former, and inhabits the Philip- 

 pine Islands. It is exceedingly voraci- 

 ous, and has been known to swallow a 

 young rat nearly two inches long, after 

 beating it against the wires of its cage to 

 soften it. It alights on the backs of oxen 

 in its unconfined state, and devours the 

 vermin which annoy them. These birds 

 are particularly fond of grasshoppers, 

 and are stated to have been imported in- 

 to the Isle of Bourbon purposely to ex- 

 tirpate those consuming insects, which 

 they have effectually accomplished. Be- 

 ing as they are, however, highly prolific 

 birds, devouring every species of fruits 

 and grain, and occasionally entering pi- 

 geon-houses and destroying the young, 

 the inhabitants of the island have often 

 found their depredations greater than 

 those of the enemy which they were 

 called in to extirpate. 



G. quiscula, or the purple grakle, in- 

 habits North America, and also the Island 

 of Jamaica. It is a very considerable 

 nuisance to the farmers of those coun- 

 tries, by scratching up the maize seed 

 almost as soon as it is put into the 

 ground. When the leaf appears, these 

 purple daws, as they are called, will of- 

 ten tear up the plant by the roots ; and 

 when the maize is ripe they commit their 

 depredations upon it in immense flocks, 

 insomuch that premiums have been oc- 



casionally given for the destruction of 

 them. They are, however, extremely 

 serviceable by devouring insects. They 

 pass the greatest part of the winter in 

 swamps, overhung with woods ; from 

 which, on days of fine weather, they 

 make their appearance abroad. Their 

 flesh is far from being excellent, but their 

 notes are melodious. 



GRAIN, the name of a small weight, 

 the twentieth part of a scruple in apothe- 

 caries weight, and the twenty-fourth of a 

 penny-weight troy. See WEIGHT. 



A grain-weight of gold bullion is worth 

 about two-pence, and that of silver half a 

 farthing. 



GRAIN also denotes the component 

 particles of stones and metals, the veins 

 of wood, &c. Hence cross-grained, or 

 against the grain, is contrary to the; 

 fibres of wood, &c. 



GRAINING board, among curriers, an 

 instrument called also a pummel, used to 

 give a grain to their leather. See CUR- 



RYING. 



GRAMMAR. 1. The grammar of any 

 language is a set of rules and observations, 

 directing to the proper use of the sorts of 

 words composing that language. These 

 rules are founded upon the general usage 

 of good writers ; and after this is ascer- 

 tained, it is customary for those, who' are 

 desirous of speaking and writing correct- 

 ly, to be uniformly guided by it. Gram- 

 marians, then, do not make a language ; 

 but they are formed by an enlightened 

 view of the language, and afterwards di- 

 rect the employment of it. 



2. The art of grammar is sometimes di- 

 vided into four parts : Orthography, Ety- 

 mology, Syntax, and Prosody. The first 

 and last of these have nothing to do with 

 grammar, except so far as they relate to 

 the grammatical changes made on diffe- 

 rent sorts of words. Etymology refers to 

 the arrangements of the sorts of words, 

 and to the various changes which are 

 made upon them. Syntax directs the 

 employment of those changes, and the 

 situation of the different sorts of words 

 in a sentence. 



3. Hitherto grammar has been spoken 

 of as an art, but it is in no way our inten- 

 tion to enlarge upon it in this view. 

 Those who wish to study it, in order to 

 guide their use of the English language, 

 we refer to Mr. Murray's " Grammar," 

 and Dr. Crombie's work on " Etymology 

 and Syntax;" and in the latter, many va- 

 luable remarks will be found respecting 

 scientific grammar. Considered as a sci- 

 ence, grammar has for its object those 



