S6’2 
G O M 
GOO 
Gold, in heraldry, is one of the metals, 
more usually called by the French name or. 
GOLDEN number, in chronology, a 
number shewing what year of the moon’s 
cycle any given year is. See Cycle. 
From what has been said under Cyci e of 
th e moon, it appears that the golden number 
will not shew the true change of the moon for 
more than 312 years, without being varied. 
It is to be observed, that the golden number 
is not so well adapted to the Gregorian as to 
the Julian calendar; the epact being more 
certain in the new style, to find which the 
golden number is of use. See Epact, and 
Cycle. 
Golden rule, in arithmetic, is also call- 
ed the rule of three, and the rule of porpor- 
tion. See Arithmetic. 
GOLDFINCH. See Fringilla. 
GOLDSMITH, or, as some choose to ex- 
press it, silversmith, an artist who makes ves- 
sels, utensils, and ornaments, in gold and 
silver. 
The goldsmith’s work is either performed 
in the mould, or beaten out with the ham- 
mer, or other engine. All works that have 
raised figures are cast in a mould, and after- 
wards polished and finished : plates or dishes 
of silver or gold are beaten out from thin flat 
plates; and tankards, and other vessels of 
that kind, are formed of plates soldered to- 
gether* and their mouldings are beaten, not 
cast. The business of the goldsmith for- 
merly required much more labour than it 
does at present ; for they were obliged to 
hammer the metal from the ingot to the thin- 
ness they wanted: but the flatting-mills now 
in use reduce metals to the thinness that is 
required, at a very small expence. The gold- 
smith is to make his own moulds, and for 
that reason ought to be a good designer, and 
have a taste in sculpture ; lie also ought to 
know enough of metallurgy to be able to as- 
say mixed metals, and to mix the alloy. See 
Assaying.. 
The goldsmiths in London employ several 
hands under them for the various articles of 
their trade ; such are the jeweller, the snuff- 
box and toy-maker, the silver turner, the 
gilder, the’ burnisher, the chaser, the refiner, 
and the gold-beater. See Jeweller, &c. 
Goldsmiths are superior tradesmen ; their 
wares must be assayed by the wardens of the 
company of this name in London, and mark- 
ed: and gold is to be of a certain touch. No 
goldsmith may take above one shilling the 
ounce of gold* besides what he has for the 
fashioning, more than the buyer may be al- 
lowed lor it at the king’s exchange ; and here 
any false metal shall be seized and forfeited 
to the king. The cities of York, Exeter, 
Bristol, &c. are places appointed for the as- 
saying wrought plate of goldsmiths; also a 
duty is granted on silver plate of sixpence an 
ounce, &c. Plate made by goldsmiths shall 
be of a particular fineness, on pain of forfeit- 
ing 10/. and if any parcel of plate sent to the 
assayers is discovered to be of a coarser alloy 
than the respective standards, it may be 
broken, and defaced; and the fees for assaying 
are particularly limited. 
GOMPH1A, a genus of the decandria 
monogynia class and order. The calyx is 
five-leaved; the corolla five-petal led; ber- 
ries two; (1 to 5) in a large receptacle. Seed 
•solitary. There are three species, trees of 
the East and West Indies,. 
G O N 
GOMPIIIL'ENA, globe amaranth, a ge- 
nus of the digynia order, in the pentandria 
class of plants, and in the natural method 
ranking under the 5 ith order, miscellanea.’. 
The calyx is coloured; the. exterior one tri- 
pbyllous, or diphyllous, with two carinated 
convenient leaflets ; the nectarium cylindri- 
cal, with ten teeth; the capsule monosper- 
mous. There are nine species, but only one 
of them is commonly cultivated in our gar- 
dens, viz. the globosa, or globe amaranth. It 
has an upright stalk branching all round, two 
or three feet high, with oval, lanceolate, and 
opposite leaves; and every branch and side- 
shoot terminated by a close globular head of 
flowers, composed of numerous very small 
starry florets, closely covered with dry scaly 
calices placed imbricatim, persistent, and 
beautifully coloured purple, white, red, or 
striped and variegated. The florets them- 
selves are so small, and closely covered with 
the scaly calices, that they scarcely appear. 
The numerous closely placed scaly coverings 
being of a dry firm consistence, coloured and 
glittering, collected into a compact round 
head, about the size of an ordinary cherry, 
make a fine appearance. They are annual 
plants, natives of India, and require artificial 
heat to raise and forward them to a proper 
growth, so that they may flower in perfection, 
and produce ripe seed. They flower from 
June to November; and if the flowers are 
gathered when at full growth, and placed 
out of the sun, they will retain their beauty 
several months. 
GONARCHA, in antiquity, a dial deli- 
neated on several surfaces, or planes, some 
horizontal, others erect, oblique, &c. 
GONATOCARPUS, a genus of the te- 
trandria monogynia class and order. The 
corolla is four-cleft, drupe eight-cornered, 
one-seeded. There is one species, an annual 
of Nogasaki.. 
GONDOLA, a flat boat, very long and 
narrow, chiefly used at Venice to row on the 
canals. The word is Italian, gondola. Du 
Cange derives it from the vulgar Greek 
xomliXctf, “ a bark,” or “ little ship;’ Lan- 
celot deduces it from yovSv, a term in Athe- 
naeus for a sort of vase. The middle-sized 
gondolas are upwards of thirty feet long and 
four broad ; they always terminate at each 
end in a very sharp point, which is raised 
perpendicularly to the full height of a man. 
The address of the Venetian gondoleers, in 
passing along their narrow canals, is very re- 
markable: there are usually two to each 
gondola, and they row by pushing before 
them. The fore man rests his oar on the left 
side of the gondola: the hind man is placed 
on the stern, that he may see the head over 
the tilt or covering of the gondola, and rest 
his oar, which is very long, on the right side 
of the gondola. Gondola is also the name of 
a passage-boat of six or eight oars, used in 
other parts of the coast of Italy. 
Gondo-la-shell, in natural history.. See 
Dolium. 
GONORRHOEA, See Surgery.. 
GONIOMETRY, a method of measuring 
angles, so called by M. de Lagny, who gave 
several papers, on this method, in the Me- 
moirs of the Royal Academy. M. de Lagtiy’s 
method of goniometry consists in measuring 
the angles with a pair of compasses, and that 
without any scale whatever, except an unaL 
vided semicircle. Thus, having any angle 
drawm upon paper, to be measured, produce 
one of the sides of the angle backwards be- 
hind the. angular point; then with a pair of 
fine compasses describe a pretty large semi- 
circle from the angular point as a centre, cut- 
ting the sides of the proposed angle, which 
will intercept a part of Cue semicircle. Take 
then this intercepted part very exactly be- 
tween the points of the compasses, and turn 
them successively over upon the arc of the 
semicircle, to find how often it is contained 
in it, after w hich there is commonly some 
remainder: then take this remainder in the 
compasses, and in like manner find how often 
it is contained in the last of the integral parts 
of the first arc, with again some remainder: 
find in like manner how often this last re- 
mainder is contained in the former ; and so 
on continually, till the remainder become too 
small to be taken and applied as a measure,. 
By this means he obtains a series of quo- 
tients, or fractional parts, one of another, 
which being properly reduced into one frac- 
tion, give the ratio of the first arc to the se- 
micircle, or of the proposed angle to two 
right angles, or ISO degrees, and conse- 
quently that angle itself in degrees and mi- 
nutes. 
Thus suppose the angle BAG (plate Misc, 
fig. 107.) be proposed to be measured. Pro- 
duce B A out towards/; and from the centre 
A describe the semicircle abef, in which ab 
is the measure of the proposed angle. Take 
ah in the compasses, and apply it four times 
on the semicircle, as at b, c, d, and t ; then 
take the remainder fe, and apply it back 
upon ed, which is but once, viz*, ait g ; again 
take the remainder gd, and apply it five times . 
on ge, as at h, i, k, t, and m ; lastly, take the 
remainder me, and it is contained just two 
times in ml. Hence the series of. quotients is 
4, 1, 5, 2 ; consequently the fourth or last arc 
cm is i the third ml or gd, and therefore the 
3d arc pd is — , or JL of the 2d arc ef; and 
fjJL 11 
therefore, again, this 2d arc ef is y-^~, or A j of 
the 1st arc ab ; and consequently this 1st arc ab 
is — — , or of the whole semicircle of. But 
411 63 
l|l of 180° are 371 degrees, or 37° 8 ; 3-L1, which. 
therefore is the measure of the angle sought; 
When the operation is nicely performed, this 
angle may be within two or three minutes of 
the truth; though M. de Lagny pretends to- 
measure much nearer than that. 
GON1UM, a genus of vermes, of the order 
infusoria. Worm very simple, flat, angular, 
invisible to the naked eye. There are five spe- 
•cies. The pectoral, quadrangular, pellucid, 
with 16 spherical includes, found in pure 
water; molecules oval, nearly equal in size, 
set in a quadrangular membrane, like dia- 
monds in a ring, the lower ones a little larger 
than the rest.. See Adams on the Micro- 
scope. 
GOOD behaviour: surety for the good, 
behaviour is the bail or pledge for any person 
that he shall do or perform such a thing, as 
surety for the peace is the acknowledging a 
recognizance or bond to the king, taken by a 
competent judge of record, for keeping the 
king’s peace. Halt. c. U& 
