G L A 



«'btufc, broadilTi teeth. Cor. Petals five, lancfolite, olitut'e, 

 tqiuil. Neclary furroimding the germen, and confilling of 

 five awl-flwped, eredl, coloured bodies, the length of 

 the calyx. Sltim. Filaments thirty, capillary, the length of 

 the calyx, united by their bafe into five parcels of fix fila- 

 ments esch, ranged alternately with the nectaries ; anthers 

 kidney-fhaped. P[/l. Germen fupcrior, nearly globular, 

 four-lobed ; ftyle thread-fliaped, as long as the itaniens ; 

 fligma fimple. PlTic. according to Runipbius, a mucilagi- 

 nous dnipa, of one cell, containing a hard oval nut. 



Eff. Ch. Calyx tubular, five-cleft. Petals five. KVc- 

 tary of five brillles, alternate with the parcels of llamens. 

 Style one. Stamens thirty, in five parcels. Drupa. 



I. G. terfa. Linn. Mant. 276. (Lignum Iccve minus; 

 Runiph. Amb^ v. 3. 71. I. 44 ) Native of the lofty and 

 clofe woods of Amboyna. Rumphius defcribes and figures 

 two kinds «^ his Lignum U've, very fimdar to each other, nor 

 does it appear on what authority Linnxus adopted one as 

 a fynonym in preference to the other. The fpecimens in 

 his herbarium have {lender leafy IrancKs, Vv-ith a fmooth 

 greyilh bark. Leaves alternate, on fliort thick ftalks, ovato- 

 lanceolate, pointed, entire, three or four inches long, veiny ; 

 fmooth and fliining above ; pale grey beneath, as if hoary, 

 but they are rather clothed « ith a filvcry fcaly flvin, mi- 

 nutely dotted all over, which foon leaves tlie rib and veins. 

 Slipu'.ijs none. Flowcr-Jlalks axillary and terminal, branched 

 irregularly, the partial ones fomewhat umbellate, all clothed, 

 as well as the calyx, with minute umbiiicated rully fcales, 

 exactly like'thofe on the leaves and ftalks of the Dunn ; fee 

 that article. The JIo'U):rs are fmall. Fruit, according to 

 Rumphius, an aromatic black drupa, the fize of a pea, ftand- 

 Hig on the permanent calyx. 



if the Durio belongs to Malvacex, we are perfuaded this 

 genus mail likewife be placed in that order, but otherwife we 

 ihould have had no fuch idea, nor does the fruit confirm it. 

 The light fibrous filky nature of the wood, which while wet is 

 clofe, but has large fiiTures when expoled to the fun, favours 

 our fuppofition 



GLACIALIS, lev, o? 



'tr.nes, 1. 



•cc, fomething relating 



to ice ; and particularly a place that abounds in ice. 



Thus we fay, the Mare Glachih, or Coiigchituin, that is, 

 the Icy or Frozen fea ; called alio the Chrouiaii or Sarma- 

 tian fea. 



GLACIERS, a denomination applied to large ftieets 

 or fields of ice among the Alps, and which are numerous in 

 Switzerland and Savoy. Of thefe there are five, that ftretcii 

 towards the plain of Chamouny, and unite at the foot of 

 Mont Blanc ; they are called Tacona, Boffons, Montanvert, 

 Argentiere, and Tour. The origin of thefe glaciers, ex- 

 tending into fields of corn and paiture, and lying, without 

 being melted, in a fituation where the heat of the fun is 

 powerful enough to bring vegetation to maturity, is a very 

 curious fubjecl of inveiligation. Mr. Coxe has given us 

 an abilracl of the theory of Gruner, with regard to their 

 formation, and other particulars rcfpecting them, confirmed 

 and amended by that able naturalift Sauffure ; which ap- 

 pears, upon the whole, to be the moil fimple and natural. 

 If a perl'on, fays this intcreding traveller, could be con- 

 voyed to fuch an elevation as to embrace, at one view, the 

 Alps of Switzerland, Savoy, and Uauphine, he would 

 twhald a vail chaos of moiuitains, interferted by numerous 

 rallies, and compofed of many parallel chains, the highctt 

 occupying the ceutre, and the others gradually diminilhing 

 in proportion to their dillance. The moll elevated, or 

 central chain, would appear bridled with pointed rocks, 

 ■and covered, even in iummer, with ice and fnov, in all parts 

 .that arc not perpendicular. On each fide of this chain he 



Vol. XVL 



C L A 



n-ould difcover deep vallies clothed with verdure, peopled witk 

 innumerable village:, and watered by many rivers. In 

 conhdering thefe ohjeds with greater attention, he would 

 remark, that the central chain is compofed of elevated peaks 

 and diverging ridges, whofe fumniits are ovcrfpread wjth 

 fiiow ; that the declivities of the peaks and ridges, cx- 

 ceptuig thofe parts that arc extremely fteo]), arc covered with 

 Inow and ice, and that the intermediate depths and fpaces 

 between are filled wiili immtnfe fi.-lds of ice, terminating in 

 tliole cuhivated valhes which border the great chain. In 

 l)urfuing this general furvcy, and moreover obfer»ing tl\at 

 the branches moll contiguous to the central chain would 

 prefent the fame phenomena, only in a lelFer degree ; the 

 glaciers w-ould be obvioufly divided into two forts ; the firft 

 occupying the deep vallies fituatcd in the bofom of tlie 

 Alps, and termed by the natives " Vaik'ee de Glace," d l". 

 tingnilhed by Mr. Coxe by the name of " Lower Glaciers •• 

 the fccond, which clotlie fummits and fides of the m.ountains, 

 are denominated " Upper Glaciers." The former are 

 much the moft confiderable in extent and dep.h. Some 

 ftretch feveral leagues ; that of Des Bois in particular !.■! 

 more than ij n-.iles long, and above three in its greateft 

 breadth. Thefe lower glaciers do not communicate with 

 one another, and few of them are parallel to the central 

 chain. They moftly ftretrh in a tranfverfe dirtdtion, being 

 bordered at the higher extremity by inaccefiTible rocks, and 

 on the other extending into the calt'ivat.d vallies. Saufi'ure 

 found the general depth of the ice in the glacier des Boit 

 •from So to 100 feet ; but there is reafon to believe that it( 

 thickncfs in fome places exceeds even 6co feet. Thefe 

 immenfe fields of ice ufualiy reft on an inclined plai:e ; being 

 piifiied forwards by the prefTure of their own weight, and 



weakly fupported by the rugged rocks beneath, thev arc intcr- 

 feded by large tranfverfe chafms, and prefent tlie appear- 

 ance cf walls, pyramids, and other fantalUc fhapes, obferved 

 at all hciglrts and in all fitnations, wherever the declivity 

 exceeds 30 or 40 degrees. But in thofe parts, where the 

 plane on which they reft is nearly horizontal, or gently in- 

 clined, the furface of the ice is nearly uniCarm ; the ch'afmt 

 are few and narrow, and they are crofTed without muck 

 difficulty. The furface of the ice is lefs flippery than 

 that of ponds or rivers ; it is rough and granulated, and 

 only dangerous to thofe who pafs it in lleep defcents. It is 

 not tranfparent, is very porous, and full of fmall bubble;:, 

 and is of courfe lefs compaft tlian common ice. Its perfect 

 rtfemblance to tiie congelation of fiiow impregnated witk 

 water, in opacity, roughnefs, and the number as well as 

 fmallnefs of the air-bubbles, led Saudiirc to conceive the 

 following fimple and natural theory concerning the formation 

 of the glaciers. An i;nmenfe quantity of fnow continually 

 accumulates in the elevated v.ailies cncJofed within the .A.lp.<!, 

 as well from that which falls from tlie clouds during 

 nine months in tlie year, as from the nialT.'S inceCoiitlv roll- 

 ing from the lleep fides of llie circumjacent mountains. 

 Part of tliis fnow, not didblved during fummer, impree- 

 nated with rain and fnow-water, is froscn during winter, and 

 forms that opaque and porous ice of which tlie '• Lower 

 GLioiers" are compofed. The " Upper Glaciers" may bf 

 fubdivided into thofe which cover the fummits, and thofe 

 which extend along ■ the fides of the Alps, llie former 

 owe their origin to the fnow that falls at all feafons of the 

 )ear, and which remain'; nearly in it» prrmitivc date, boiiin- 

 congealed into a hard fubftance, and ncit converted into ice. 

 The fubdance which clothes the fides of the .'\lps is iieitlier 

 pure fnow, like that^jf the furhmit.i, nor ice which formt 

 the Lower Glaciers, but an lidemblage of both. It cg^i- 

 tains lefs fnow than the TtimmHs,* becaul'e the lumn?cr hiat 



