Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VIII.djvu/155

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GRAMPIANS GRANADA 147 150 summoned, with Marshal Leboeuf, to appear before a committee of inquiry into the causes of the revolution of Sept. 4, 1870. GRAMPIANS, a range of mountains traversing tland diagonally from S. W. to N. E. for m., and forming the natural boundary be- tween the highlands and the lowlands. Be- inning in Argyleshire, on the W. coast, near S. W. extremity of Loch Awe, they pass g the W. and N. boundaries of Perthshire, eluding the Ben Lomond hills in Stirling- ire to the south, and at Cairn Ealer divide to two branches, which pass to the sea re- vely on the N. and S. sides of the river The term is not strictly limited in its lication, but in its widest usage it includes the highest mountains of Scotland. Seve- of its summits, as Ben Nevis, Ben Macdhui, irntoul, and Cairngorm, rise to a height of ut 4,000 ft. GRAMPUS, a porpoise-like cetacean, belong- to the genus phocwna (Cuvier); English iters, however, make a generic name of the grampus, calling the animal G. orca abr.). The name seems to be a corruption the French grand polsson (large fish), to hich its size well entitles it. Other names finner and black-fish whale, from its dorsal and prevailing color; killer or thrasher, its alleged habit of attacking and killing e whale. It attains a length of 25 to 30 ft., th a circumference of 10 or 12 ; the snout is and rounded, the lower jaw broader and orter than the upper; the teeth are about 22 above and 22 below, large, strong, coni- and somewhat hooked ; the so-called dor- fin, near the middle of the back, is 4 ft. , and the pectorals are large and oval ; the is lunate, thick, and powerful. The color black above, suddenly changing to white on sides and beneath; a large white patch ind and above the eyes. It is occasionally Grampus (Grampus orca). seen on our coast, and not unfrequently on the shores of Europe and in the middle Atlantic ; its favorite haunts are the northern regions, in the vicinity of Greenland and Spitzbergen. They are often met in small herds of six or eight, chasing each other as if in sport ; they are swift and strong, which renders their capture difficult, and they yield comparatively little oil. The grampus is exceedingly vora- cious and entirely carnivorous, devouring large fish, such as cod, halibut, skates, turbots, &c., smaller cetaceans, and even seals. American whalemen call it killer and thrasher, and af- firm that a herd of them will surround a large whale, bite and tear away its flesh with their powerful teeth, and finally weary and destroy it; the accounts of such cetacean combats are probably exaggerated, but from the size, strength, and voracious habits of the grampus, no doubt even whales sometimes fall victims to their hungry herds. The oil, though small in quantity, is of excellent quality. Gray, in the Spicilegia Zoologica, vol. ii., describes other species, as G. intermedius, Heavisidii, and ob- scurus, the last two from the Cape of Good Hope; all the species are frequently called dolphins, though they have not the prolonged beak of the latter. GRAN (Hung. JSsztergom). I. A N. W. coun- ty of Hungary, traversed from W. to E. by the Danube ; area, 424 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 65,- 306, mostly Magyars. The surface toward the centre is flat, in the north generally level, and mountainous in the south. The river Gran (Hung. Garam), which rises in the Carpathians, traverses the N. E. portion of the county. The soil, which is generally fertile, produces corn, fruits, and wine, of which the Neszmelyi is favorably known in commerce. Coal, lime- stone, and gray, red, and variegated marble are found. II. A city, capital of the county, on the right bank of the Danube, crossed here by a bridge, opposite the mouth of the Gran, 24 m. N. N. W. of Pesth ; pop. in 1870, 8,780. It is a royal free city, the seat of an archbishop, primate of Hungary, who was made cardinal in 1874, and contains many remarkable build- ings, the most conspicuous of which are the palace of the primate, the houses of the chap- ter, and the cathedral, in the Italian style, one of the finest churches of Europe, built on a precipitous height overlooking the Danube. It has also a gymnasium and a theological semi- j nary. The inhabitants are chiefly employed I in the manufacture of woollen cloth. Gran is j said to have been founded by the Romans. It continued to flourish until it was destroyed by the Tartars, on their. invasion of Hungary, 1241-'3. At a later period it was taken by the Turks, and reconquered in 1683 by John Sobieski. GRANADA. I. A W. department of Nicara- gua, between Lake Nicaragua and Lake Ma- nagua, and bordering on the Pacific ; area, 2,943 sq. m. ; pop. about 56,000. The gen- eral aspect of this department is that of an extensive table land, with a gentle descent to- ward the lakes and steep acclivities on the side of the Pacific. A low central chain of moun- tains divides the country into almost equal por- tions, the northern and western being essen- tially volcanic, though cultivated in every di- rection and densely populated, in spite of the great scarcity of water. Among the numerous volcanoes are Mombacho, Masaya, Madera, and