GOAT

distinguished rather by the different cosmogonies they invented, than by any variation in principle. Of these the principal were founded by Carpocrates, Basilides, Tatian, and Val ent in us. The system did not survive the 4th century. The Christians seem sometimes to have adopted the general designation of Gnostics. (See Burtori's Bajnpton Lectures; Neander; Mosheim, vol. i. (Transl.) p. 133, .; Gieseler, Text-Book of Eccl. Hist. i.; Riddle's Christian Antiquities, p. 133.) the English name for the well-knowm rumiGOAT nant of the genus Capra. The goat is characterised by its long horns, which are rounded posteriorly, angular on the anterior edge; transversely rugose, and rise at first perpendicularly, afterwards bending outwards and a little backwards. It is clothed by long hair, which, in the Cashmere breed, is soft and fine, and forms the staple of the celebrated shawls of that name. Beneath the long hair is a soft wool. The female produces two kids at a birth, which derive their nourishment from two teats supported on a large pendant udder. The period of gestation is five months. The milk of the goat is le apt to curdle on the stomach than that of the cow, and is thus better adapted for the weak and consumptive. The flesh of both the goat and kid is much esteemed in many countries, though of a peculiar flavour, arising probably from the aromatic shrubs and heaths on which the goat delights to browse. In Portugal and other countries the goat is used as a beast of draught. A notion of the wholesome influence imparted by the goat to the stable in which it may sleep, is very prevalent among the grooms of this country. GO'BBING. In mining, the refuse thrown back into the excavations remaining after the removal of the coal. GODROO'N. (Fr. godron.) In Architecture, an inverted fluting, beading, or cabling, used in various ornaments and members. GO'DWIT. See Limosa. GOG and MAGOG. The names of two warriors noticed in different portions of the sacred writings ( Gen. x.; Ezekiel, xxxviii, .), and which since the Christian era have been regarded as nearly synonymous with Antichrist. The author of the Apocalypse (xx. 8.) uses the terms to expre the nations hostile to Christianity; and Mohammed, in the Coran (21.96.), employs them in a somewhat analogous sense. As is well known, the names Gog and Magog are given to the two huge warlike figures that adorn the Guildhall of London; but it is impo ible to account for this singular application of the words. GOITRE. See Bronchocele. GOLA, or GULA. (Lat.) In Architecture, the same as Cytna, which see. GOLD. (Germ.) The most valuable and longest known of the metals. It sometimes occurs in regular veins in primary mountain districts; but the largest quantity is found in alluvial soils, and frequently in the beds and sands of rivers, as in Africa, South America, Mexico, Hungary, and Siberia. It is generally separated by wasliing away the ' lighter materials with which it is mixed, and subsequently; by the proce of amalgamation. Gold has been from the \ earliest period used as a measure of value and universal I equivalent. For details on this subject, see Money. Gold is characterised by its yellow colour; its extreme! permanence in air and fire; its density, which is about 1 19'3; its malleability, which is such that it may be beaten into leaves not more than one two hundred and eighty ] thousandth of an inch in thickne ; and its ductility, a: grain of gold being drawn out into -500 feet of wire. Gold is not acted upon by the common acids; but chlorine and nitro-muriatic acid corrode and di olve it, forming a chloride of gold, which is soluble in water. The alloys of gold have been examined in detail by Mr. Hatchett. {Phil. Trans. 1803.) Of these the most important is that used for the gold coin of the realm, commonly called standard geld, which consists of eleven parts of pure gold and one of copper; it is extremely ductile and malleable, but harder than pure gold, and therefore better calculated to resist the wear and tear of circulation. The specific gravity of this alloy is 17-157: 20 lbs. troy of it are coined into 934 sovereigns and one half sovereign; 1 lb. troy, therefore, produces 4C|^ sovereigns; the same weight was formerly coined into 44i guineas. The colour of this alloy is deeper yellow than that of pure gold, and verges upon orange: it frequently happens that a part of the alloy of gold coin is silver, hence the pale colour of some sovereigns as compared with others. Among the metals which destroy the colour and malleability of gold, none is so remarkable as lead. It appears from Mr. Hatchett's experiments that when lead forms about one two-thousandth part of the alloy, it is too brittle for rolling, and that the fumes of lead destroy the good qualities of gold. The chemical equivalent of gold is probably about 200, and that of the protoxide 208, and of the pro to chloride 236. The peroxide is a compound of one proportional of gold and tijree of oxygen, and the perchloride contains three proportionals of chlorine. When ether is agitated with so519 GONIOMETER. lution of chloride of gold it takes up the metal, and forms a yellow ethereal solution of gold; when polished steel instruments are dipped into this solution, and immediately washed in water and wiped with a piece of soft leather, they become beautifully gilt with a very thin film of gold. 5ee Gilding. GOLDEN FLEECE. See Argonauts. Fleece, . GO'LDEN NUMBER. See Cycle. GO'LDEN rule. See Rule. GO'LDFINCH. The common name of our well-known and brightest-plumaged songster; the Car duel is elcgans of most modern ornithologists, Fringilla car duel is of Linnaeus. Tliis species feeds chiefly on the seed of the thistle and plantain; but builds 'ts nest, which is of the neatest construction, in the fork of a branch of some densely-leafed tree, and lays four or five eggs, of a bluish white, spotted with brown at the greater end. The female is le brightly clad than the male, and the young have a comparatively simple plumage, in which brown predominates. In captivity the goldfinch is remarkable for its docility, and is prized for its beauty as well as its song. Hybrids are bred between the goldfinch and canary, and are much admired. GOLF. A game with a ball and clubs, almost peculiar to Scotland, where it enjoys a degree of popularity equal to cricket in England. GOLT. See Gault. GO'MARITES. In Ecclesiastical History, the Calvin ist divines of the church of Holland in the 17th century were so called, from Francis Gomar, a colleague and opponent of Arm in i us at Leyden. Sec Auminians. Mosheim (Trans.), ed. 1826, V. 325.) Gt)MPHrASIS. (Gr. yof4/pos, a nail.) A disease of the teeth, when they loosen and fall out of the sockets. The grinding teeth are also called gotnphioi. GOMPHO'SIS. {Gr. yo/Mpos.) A species of junction of bones where they are let into each other, something like pegs in a board. GO'NDOLA. (Ital.) The name given to the pleasure boats used at Venice, where the numerous canals with which it is intersected generally render it nece ary to substitute boats for carriages. The gondola is from 25 to 30 feet long, and 5 feet wide in the centre, in which a sort of cabin is constructed for pa engers. They are sharp-pointed both at the prow and stern, and are rowed by two men called gondolier i. The cabins are always furnished with black curtains, which give a sombre appearance to the gondola at a distance. For an accurate description of the gondola, see Lord Byron's Beppo, 19, 20. GO'NFANON, or GO'NFALON. In Heraldry, a banner; that of the Roman Catholic church carried in the Pope's army. The gonfalonier or standard-bearer was a high officer in the Italian republics of the middle ages. GONG, or TAM-TAM (of the Chinese). A species of [ cymbal, which, on being struck, produces a very loud 1 sound. According to the analysis of Klaproth, it consists of seventy-eight parts copper and twenty-two parts; tin. As this composition is extremely brittle, and the \ instrument always exhibits marks of the hammer, it is inferred that the Chinese po e the art of rendering the alloy malleable, and restoring it to its natural state of ' elasticity and brittlene when the instrument is formed. 1 It is struck with a wooden mallet covered with leather. GO'NIATITES. (Gr. ymuoc, an angle.) A genus of I extinct Ccphalopods with chambered spiral shells; nearly '■ allied to the Ammonites, but differing in having the lobes of the septa free from lateral crenatures or dcnticulations, I so that the outline of these is continuous and uninteri rupted. Goniatites are found in the mountain limestone of Yorkshire. I GONIO'METER. Gr. yuvta,, angle, and,u.6t?ov, measure.) An instrument for measuring angles, and more particularly the angles formed by the faces of crystals. The instrument, chiefly used by mineralogists, was invented by Dr. WoUaston. It consists of a bra circle graduated on the edge, and furnished with a vernier, by which the divisions may be read correct to a minute The circle moves m a vertical plane, and is supported on a stand. The axis of the circle is a hollow tube, within which is a smaller axis, fitting so tiglitly that when turned round it carries the other axis and consequently the wheel along with it, unle the latter is purposely prevented from moving. The interior axis is furnished with a milled head a, and the exterior with a milled head b; so that when the head a is held and b turned the circle I may be moved independently of the smaller axis, and when b is held and a turned the smaller axis may be i LI 4 Page 533