G L O 



teetli of firties, left on land by the waters of the deluge, and 

 fince petrified. 



They even fpecify the very kind of fifli, and take it to be 

 that which Theophraftus and tlie Greek writers call icxpj^jtpia,-, 

 and the moderns thejljark or Ji-a-dog. 



Camerarius cannot perfuade himfclf that the gloffopetrx 

 found in England, Malta, and round Montpelier, were ever 

 the teeth of a fea-dog, or any other fifh. The chief difficul- 

 ty, he fuggefts, is the fmall quantity of volatile fait and oil 

 which they afford by diftillation. To which Dr. Woodward 

 anfwers, in defence of the common fyftem, that having lain 

 fo long buried under ground, it is no wonder they fiiould 

 have loll the belt part of their volatile principles It is cer- 

 tain, that human bones and ficulls, long interred, do not afford 

 nearly the quantity of thofe principles that thev would hare 

 done immediately after the perfon's death. 



Another fcruple, propofcd by Camerarius is, that the glof- 

 fopetrK, when expofed to the naked lire, turn to a coal ; and 

 not to a calx ; contrary to what is afferted by Fabius Colum- 

 na. Dr. Woodward anfwers, that it is likely enough the 

 gloffopetrx, in burning, may aflume the form of a coal, be- 

 fore it arrive to that of a calx. 



The feveral fizes of the teeth of the fame fpecies, and 

 thofe of the feveral different fpccies of Iharks, afford a vaft 

 variety of thefe foffil fubftances. Their ufual colours are 

 black, blueifli, whitifh, yellowilh, or brown ; and in (hape 

 they ufually approach to a triangular figure. Some 

 of them are fimple ; others arc triculpidate, having a fmall 

 point on each lide of the large one ; many of them are quite 

 iVraight, but they are frequently found crooked, and bent in 

 jjl direftions ; many of them are ferrated on their edges, and 

 others have them plain : fome are undulated on their edges, 

 and flightly ferrated on thefe undulations. They differ alfo 

 in fi/.e as much as in figure ; the larger being four or five 

 inches long, and the fmaller of lefs than a quarter of an 

 inch. 



They are moll utaally found with us in the (Irata of blue 

 clay, though fometimes alfo in other fubftances, and are 

 frequent in the clay-pits of Richmond and of Sheppy illand, 

 and in other places. They are very frequent alfo in Ger- 

 many, but nowhere fo plentiful as in the illand of Malta. 

 In the Britilh ftrata they rarely occur. Mr. Farey has found 

 them in thefe llrata only in five places, viz. in the London 

 clay, probably obtained from the clay-pits above-mentioned ; 

 in a bed of the foft or upper chalk in Kent, at Harefield, 

 near New Mallou, Sec. ; in a green fandy ftratum below the 

 chalk, N. of Dunllable, &c. ; in the Stonesfield and Colly- 

 -ivcllon flate feries, above the Bath free-ftone rocks, at En- 

 flone in Oxfordfhire, where Woodward procured fpecimens 

 of thefe teeth in the jaw, &c. ; and in tiie thick grey linie- 

 rock which lies under and lurrounds the South-Wales coal 

 bafons (Phil. Tranf N 334.) Gloffopetrx are fome- 

 times found in gravel-pits and other collections of alluvial 

 matters. It is feldom pofiible to determine to what place in 

 the feries of ftrata thefe belong, and they fliould therefore 

 be carefully ditliuguilhed from fuch as are actually found in 

 the ftrata. 



The Germans attribute many virtues to thefe tolTil teeth ; 

 thev call them cordials, fudorifics, and alexipharmics : and 

 the people of Malta, where they are extremely plentiful, 

 hang them about their children's necks to promote dentition. 

 They may pofTibly be of as much fervice this way as an 

 anodvne necklace ; and if fufpended in fuch a maancr that 

 the child can get them to its mouth, may, by their hardnefs 

 and fmoothnefs, be of the fame ufe as a piece of coral. See 

 Sehi'KNt'n TongiKs. 



GLOSSO-PHARYNGEUS, io Jnatamy, from >?.i3-sr«, 

 Vol.. XVI. 



G L O 



the tongue, and ;«pi/><, a name given to thofe fibres of the 

 conllridor pharyngis fupcrior, which arife from the fide of 

 the tongue. 



GLOSSO-SP.-XTHA, in Surgery, an inftrument, called 

 by ioiTx fpcculum lingua, and ufed to dcprtfs the tongue, in 

 order to look into the fauces. 



There are many inflammatory difordcrs of the mouth, 

 fauces, and palate, which require a deprelTion of the torgue, 

 v.-hile tliey arc infpedled and treated with proper remedies. 

 The handie of a filver fpoon is made to fupply the place of 

 tins inftrument in moft cafes, and anfwers the purpofe very- 

 well. Whichever is ufed, care lliould be taken to deprefi 

 very gently, to avoid giving the patient pain, as alfo to 

 avoid irritatnig the mouth and inflamed parts. 



When injections are to be made into th- mouth, this in- 

 ftrument or the fpoon fiiould alfo be ap[ lied, and the fyriagc 

 ihould be conveyed into the mouth over it. 



GLOSSO-STAPHYLINUS, in /}natomy,iTOm -, >:..r«, 

 the tongue, and t^Jlai, the uvula, another name for the con- 

 ftriiftor illhm.i faucium. See Dkglutition. 



GLOTTIDIS RiMA, the fame opening as the glottis. 

 The term rima particularly denotes its flit-Uke form. 



GLOTTIS, from y>.^-r:x, the tongue, is the opening 

 through which the air paffes to and from the lungs in refpira- 

 tion. la tliis paffage the voice is formed. See Deglu- 

 tition and L.VRYNx 



Julius Pollux makes the glottis a joint or part of a flute, 

 and Hefycbius fnys that the glott were little tongues, a<Sled 

 upon by the breath of the player. This defcription of He- 

 fychius feems to confirm the idea of the ancient nominal 

 flutes being a kind of hautboys. 



G1.OTTI.S, in Ornithology, a name given by many authors 

 to a bird of the long-legged kind, approaching to the nature 

 of our red-lliank, but larger and longer legged, and generally 

 known by the name limofa. See ScoLOP.\.\ G/ottlt. 



GLOUCESTER, m Geography, a city in Gloucefter- 

 fliire, England, is fituatcd in a vale, on a gentle einineHce, 

 rifing, on the eaft fide, from the river Severn. This opulent 

 city appears to have originated in a Roman ftation which 

 was fituated at King's Holm, near the north-eaftcrn extre- 

 mity of the prefent city. The Romans continued to oc- 

 cupy this Ipot till the diftraftions of their own empire oc- 

 cafioned them to quit tlie ifiand. Its government then re- 

 verted to the Britilh princes, under whofe domination it 

 continued till about the year 577, when, according to the 

 Saxon Chronicle, it was furrcndercd to the Well Saxons, 

 and was reputed one of their principal cities ; it was after- 

 wards fuhjugated by the Mercians, who alfo obtained pof- 

 feffion of the other parts of the county. Under the Saxons 

 it acquired the appellation of Gleau-ceilre. The (Ireugth 

 and confequrnce of the city rendering it an object of frequent 

 enterprife, its vicinity was feveral times the fcene of action 

 between the Britons and Saxons. By thefe conflicts, 

 its buildings were nearly ruined ; and the whole place might 

 have funk into complete decay, if Wolpherc, Ion of king 

 Penda, had not enlarged and adorned it, about the year 679. 

 Tins rertoration was jo perfect, that Bedc informs us, it 

 was elleenud, ;il;out the commencement of the 8th century, 

 as one of the noblell cities in tlie kingdom. Its early im- 

 portance is evinced by its having been the refidcnce of 

 various Saxon monarehs ; and hence it was denominated a 

 royal city, as it is cxpiefsly teniied in a grant made by king 

 Edgar to the mor.ks of \Voi-ccller, dated at Gloucefter iu 

 the year 964. Bv this monarch a battle was fought here 

 with the Danes, whii had twice plundered the city in the 

 ])recei!ing reigns, and who again ravai;ed, and partly con- 

 fumed it by fire, in that of his Ion F.'hi In'J. Several of 

 3 A. the 



