gonidial layer

*gong-farmer, s. A night man; a cleaner of ( Thomé .) privies or ce pools. *gong-man, *gang-man, s. A gong-farmer. gong (2), s. [Malay agáng, góng =a gong.] *1. (See extract.) "There is one that strikes on a small gong , or a wooden instrument, before every stroke of the oar, then the rowers answer all at once with a sort of a hollow noise, through the throat, and a stamp on the deck with one foot, and immediately plunge their oars into the water. Thus the gong and the rowers alternately answer each other, making a sound that seems very pleasant and warlike to those who are at a small distance on the water or shore."-Dampier: Voyage, Tonquin (an. 1688). 2. A musical instrument used principally in the East. It is tambourine-shaped, a disc of thin bronze with an upturned flange forming a rim. The metal consists of seventy-eight parts copper, twenty-two parts tin. The bronze is of such proportions as to be naturally brittle when cast. Gongs are beaten with a padded drumstick, and are used in the East for making signals, and adding intensity to the clangor of martial music. The gong has no distinct or appreciable note, but gives out a sound consisting of a combination of harmonics. "And loud, amid the universal clamor, O'er distant deserts sounds the Tartar gong ." Long fellow: Arsenal at Springfield. 3. A stationary bell whose tongue is moved by a wire or string. Commonly used as an alarm or call bell on steamers.