Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/129

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GORUCKPOOR GORUCKPOOR. I. A district of the North- west Provinces, British India, bounded N. by Nepaul, W. and S. W. by Oude; area, 7,346 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 2,044,281. The surface is generally level, but broken in the E. and S. E. parts by ridges of low steep hills. The principal rivers are the Gogra, Gunduk, and Raptee, which have a S. E. course. The dis- trict also abounds in shallow lakes. The soil is rendered fertile by careful irrigation. The inhabitants are poor, and agriculture is almost the only branch of industry. The district was ceded to the British in 1801 by the vizier of Oude, in commutation of subsidy. II. The principal town of the district, on the left bank of the Raptee, here crossed by a ferry 600 ft. long, 104 m. N. by E. of Benares and 430 m. . W. of Calcutta; pop. about 40,000. It is surrounded by forests and plantations, and during the rainy season is often encompassed by water. GORZ, or Goritz. I. A circle of Cisleithan Austria (generally called Gorz and Gradisca), forming with Istria and Trieste the Littoral province, but having its own diet; area, 1,143 sq. m. ; pop. about 200,000, of whom 66 per cent, are Slovens, 25 per cent. Friulians, 7 per cent. Italians, and the remainder Germans. In the middle ages the district belonged to the counts of Tyrol ; it was united with the pos- sessions of the house of Austria by Maximilian L, about 1500. II. The capital of the circle, on the Isonzo, 22 m. N. N. W. of Trieste ; pop. in 1869, 16,823. It consists of two parts, the upper or old town, and the lower or new town. The upper is fortified and contains the castle of the former counts of Tyrol and Gorz. It is the seat of an archbishop and of a central episcopal seminary for all the dioceses of the Littorale, and has a deaf and dumb institute and a chamber of commerce and industry. The principal manufactures are leather, sugar, and silk. Charles X., the exiled king of France, died here in 1836, and his son the duke of Angouleme in 1844. GOSCHEN, George Joachim, an English states- man, born in London in 1831. His father, who died in 1866, was a German merchant doing business in London. The son was educated at Rugby and afterward at Oriel college, Ox- ford, but did not graduate on account of his scruples against taking certain prescribed oaths. In 1853 he became a partner in his father's commercial house, and gave special attention to financial questions. In 1863 he published "The Theory of Foreign Exchanges," which is regarded as a standard work. In the same year he was returned to parliament for the city of London, and took a prominent part in the movement for the abolition of religious tests and for throwing the universities open to dissenters. In July, 1865, under the Palmer- ston ministry, he was made vice president of the board of control, in November, under Rus- sell, a member of the privy council, and in January, 1866, chancellor of the duchy of Lan- GOSHAWK 121 caster. In June, with the other members of the ministry, he retired from office. On the accession of the Gladstone ministry in Decem- ber, 1868, he entered the cabinet as president of the poor-law board, and in March, 1871, was made first lord of the admiralty. He resigned with the other ministers in February, 1874. GOSHAWK, a bird of prey of the family fal- conidce, subfamily accipitrina, and genus astur (Lacep.). The bill is short, broad at the base, with the culmen elevated and arched ; the tip acute, with the lateral margins festooned in the middle ; the nostrils large and in the basal cere; wings reaching to the middle of the tail, the third, fourth, and fifth quills nearly equal and longest ; the tail long and broad ; tarsi rather longer than middle toe, covered with broad transverse scales in front and be- hind ; toes long, strong, and well padded below ; claws strong, long, and curved. Gray describes 13 species, which are found throughout the world. The form is rather long and slender, the wings comparatively short, and the legs and tail long ; they fly very swiftly and strong- ly, and always strike their prey while on the wing; they lurk about poultry yards, seize a duck or a chicken, and are out of shot before the farmer is aware of his loss ; they also prey upon wild ducks, grouse, pigeons, hares, rabbits, squirrels, and other animals of this size ; they build their nests on lofty trees, and Jay from two to four eggs. The only species in the United States is the American goshawk (A. atricapillus, Wils.), found all over North Amer- ica, but most abundant in the north and north- west. The adult female is about 2 ft. long, with an extent of wings of 4 ft. and a weight of about 3 Ibs. ; the male is smaller ; both sexes American Goshawk (Astur atricapillus). are alike in plumage. In the adult the general color of the upper parts is dark ash-gray, the shafts and sometimes the edges of the feath- ers black ; head above and neck behind black with a grayish tinge; a broad line of white over each eye; under parts grayish white,