G N A 



G N A 



taceufn); the plantain-leaved everlailinir fG. planfa^'flcuml; 

 t)io common llirubby everlrifting, or itxchas (G. uxchasi. 

 Many of tliefe are curious plants. 



TiLthod of C Aturc. — Tlia iirfl; four forts mav be increafed 

 bv flips from the heads or cuttings ; by planting them in 

 pots of light earth in the fprinr; or fumnier months, and 

 plunging tii^m in a mtuLTate hot bed, rcfre(hing them often 

 with water. When they have taken fall root, they may be 

 removed into feparate pols, and be phiccd among other 

 plants of the hardy exotic fort. They require the pro- 

 tection of a frame in the winter feafon. 



The feventh fpecies may be increafed in the fame manner, 

 being placed at once wlierc it is to remain, in a (hady (hel- 

 tered border, or other place that ii proper. 



The fifth and ilxth forts may be eafily raifed by dividing 

 and planting their creeping roots where they are to grow, 

 either in the autumn or fpring mmiths. 



Tiiefe tliree lall are fufliciently hardy to fland the open 

 air in warm fituations. 



Tiiey are all ornamental plants, the former in the green- 

 Loufe co'lection, and the latter in the open ground. 



GNAPHEUS, in Ichthyology, a name given by Athe- 

 njEUs and other of the Greek writers to the tench. 



GNARP, in Geography, a town of Sweden, in the pro- 

 vince of HeliingUnd ; 20 miles N. of Hud'.vickfwal. 



GNAT, in Entomology. See Cllkx. 



Tiiere is no fpecies of infeft that we have fo much reafon 

 to difiike in regard to the injury it docs us as the gnat. 

 Others indeed give us more pain -with their ftings, but it is 

 bat by accident that we are ilruck by them; the gnats 

 thiril for our blood, and follow us about in whole com- 

 panies for it. There are many mardiy places where the 

 legs and arms are all the fummer fuelled to an enormous 

 fi^ie by the repeated bitings of thete infefts, and in many 

 Other countries they are much more troublefome than 

 with us. 



But as troublefome enemies as thefe little creatures are 

 to us, tl'.ere is that about them wliich is extrem.ely worthy 

 our admiration ; nor can we indeed fail greatly to admire 

 even the very inftrumcnt of the mifchief they do. They 

 have befide this many very obfervable particulars in the 

 coiirfe of their lives. 



AH the naturaliils of late years have applied the micro- 

 fcope to the examination of the parts of this little animal, 

 and Swammerdam, Hook, Bonanni, Leeuwenhoeck, &c. have 

 given very good accoirnts, and very valuable drawings of 

 the creature. 



There is a great number of very fmall fpecies of gnats, 

 and though lome are confiderably large, yet none e\en »1 

 thefe approaches to the fize of the tipula, or father long- 

 legs, as commonly called. The larger tipula? are therefore 

 fafily diiUnsjuifhed from the gnats ; but Swammerdam, 

 Goedart, L.:'.ler, and others, lu-.ve very often given us the 

 fmaller tiuul:e among the fpecies of gnats. Both have long 

 llender bodies, and both ^»fk>minent corcelcts, which make 

 them look hump-backed ; but when either of thcf' infefts 

 is taken into the hand it is very eafily known, the gnat having 

 a very long trunk, and the tipula no trunk at all. 



There is a prodigious number of fptcies oi the gnat kind, 

 comprehendin » the fmal'er ones : Dr. Derham obfcrvcd 

 near forty d.nerent fpecies about Upminiler in EfTex ; but 

 of thofe of a fi/.e to be remarked wi:h ee.fe, and without the 

 help of ghiTcs, there are three principal kinds : the one has 

 its body variegat-cd with while and bl.ick ; this is the larger 

 kind, and its corcelet is ilrtaked v.ith black or deep brown, 

 and white lines or greyifh ones ; thefe liave brown eyes ; an- 

 other is fmaller than this fpecies, and has a plain brown body, 



the colour of -the corce'ct, and that of the eye* is fht fame 

 as in the larger er firil fpecies ; the third kind is the friail? !b 

 of tlie three and the iniilt common, hai its corcelet redd 'I1, 

 or of a faded reddifh yellow, and the body whitifn, .md 011 

 the under part of the belly every ring ha^ one finglc bro.%n 

 fpot ; the red is grey : the eyes of this ipecica are of a »try 

 pleafunl green. 



All the gnats have a long cylindric body compofcd of eignt 

 rings ; their corcelet is fliort but large, in proportion to the 

 fi/.eof the fly, and to this arc fixed the fix legs, which arc 

 hairy, with fix joints to taeh, and at the end tivo little claws, 

 the wings, and the balancers : four ftigmata are alfo found 

 here, as is the cafe in other flics : the two lirft of thcfr 

 are placed near the head, and have been midaken for 

 ears. 



The antenna: of gnats are extremely worih cbfer\ation, 

 and differ much from one another. Some of them arc ele- 

 gantly feathered ; thefe belong to the males of certain Ipe- 

 cies, for the antennx of tlie females are not fo btuutiful. 

 The brufh-horned or male gnat has two pair, one of which 

 is furrounded, at fmall dillaii^es, wit ii lowg hair, iffiuTig out 

 circularly, each circle hfi'enii g as it approaches the extremity 

 of the antenna ; the otiier pair are longer and much thicker, 

 and hairy from cndtociid. In the great bellied or female 

 gnat, the firfl pair of antcnni, though of the fame llgur» 

 as the male's, has hairs not near fo long, and the fecond pai 

 is fhorter than the firit by at lead three parts in four. 

 Reaumur, Hid. Inf. vol. iv. p. 574, &c. B:iker'b Micrcf. 

 1743. p. 203, &c. For the trunk and wings of the gnat, 

 fee TiiuxK and Wings. 



GxATs, Eggs of. See Ecos. 

 Tor the Eya of Gx -.T.--, fee Y-WS of Flics. 

 GsAT-xvoim, in Njlunil li'ijlory, a fmall water infeft, pro- 

 duced of a gnat, and ,\ hicli is, after its fevcral changes, tranf- 

 formedinto a gnr.t again. 



Fro.n the c_.;gs, depo/ited by the gnat on the furface of 

 the water, proceed a number of minute worms, which fink- 

 ing to the bottom of the water, form for thenifclvcs cover- 

 ings of fine fand or earth, cemented togetlvcr with a fort of 

 glue, but open at both ends, that they may corae out and 

 enter as occafion requires. 



Tiicfe worms do rot frequent rivers ; but ditches, ponds, 

 and other ftanding waters, afTord them in vad abundance, 

 from the middle of May till toward the beginning of winttr. 

 This is the reafon why watery and marihy ]>lacts arc found 

 moil to abound with gnats., and why the wet tummers are 

 found to produce the greated numbers of them ; becaufe in 

 dry feafons, the ponds and ditches, where they are to pafs 

 their worm-date, are dried up,-and the worms killed. Thele 

 are creatures, however, that one need not go far to feck, 

 fince a veffel of water, expof(.d in any open place in the fum- 

 mer months, will not fail to afford plenty of thefe worms in 

 a little time. 



Before thefe worms are arrived at thi.ir full growth, 

 though they are then but fmall, they arc ea'".ly found, 

 becaufe they are under a necfTity of coming frequently to the 

 top of the water, by having occafion for frequent refpiration ; 

 i.i.d to do this, they arc obliged to keep the end of .-. fmail 

 pipe they are furnilhed with, from the lai'i rirg of ibeirlwdy. 

 ai.ove water. The end uf this pipe is hollow and indented, 

 and forms a fort of funnel on the furface of tl.e water : 

 it is of the length of about tlirce rirgs of the body, 

 and is foraewhat thicker at its inferticn than at its ex- 

 tremity. 



As there is a vad number of fpecies of gnats, there is no 

 lefsof the worms from whence they .ire produced : and to 

 this is in a great meafure owing the variety iu tlic figures gi>en 



