of very superior materials, and consists generally of the vegetable fats called cocoanut oil and palm oil; sometimes animal fat is used. This composition is placed in small metal boxes on the axles, with which they communicate by a small hole, so that, as the axle heats the surrounding parts, the grease in the boxes melts and runs through the little orifice on to the axle. (See Lubricants.) The process by which grease is extracted from the fatty products of animals in the great slaughter-houses is described under Digester. Grease is also reclaimed from garbage. See Garbage and Refuse Disposal.
GREASE-MOTH. A pyralid moth (Aglossa pinguinalis), with the fore wings grayish brown, clouded with a darker hue, and covered by two indented lines. The dark-hued larva feeds on greasy clothing, etc. Another species of Aglossa damages leather-bound books.
GREASEWOOD (Sarcobatus Maximiliana). A plant which grows profusely in the Western United States, especially on barren and alkaline soils, from the upper Missouri River region to Mexico and west to the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It reaches a height of from 4 to 8 feet. Cattle and sheep eat its leaves and browse off the smaller stems. The plant roots deeply, and brings to the surface considerable quantities of alkali. (See Alkali Soils.) The name is sometimes applied in the West to species of Gutierrezia—plants which belong to the order Compositæ.
GREAT AUK. See Awk; Garefowl; and Extinct Animals.
GREAT BAR′RINGTON. A town in Berkshire County, Mass., including the villages of Housatonic and Van Deusen, 26 miles southwest of Pittsfield, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (Map: Massachusetts, A 3). It is a popular summer resort, being surrounded by remarkably picturesque scenery. It has a public library, Sedgwick Institute, and the Hopkins Memorial Manse. Many of the town records are inscribed by William Cullen Bryant, who for several years was town clerk. The manufactures include cotton spreads, towelings, and other cotton goods, paper, electrical apparatus, etc. The government is administered by annual town meetings. The town owns and operates its water-works. Population, in 1890, 4612; in 1900, 5854. Settled as early as 1725, Great Barrington formed a part of Sheffield until incorporated as a separate town in 1761. On September 12, 1786, during Shays's Rebellion, a notable riot occurred here, and near by, on January 29, 1787, a skirmish was fought between the militia and the insurgents. Consult Taylor, History of Great Barrington (Great Barrington, 1882).
GREAT BASIN. An area of inland drainage in the Western United States, situated between the Wasatch Mountains on the east and the Sierra Nevada and Cascade ranges on the west. It comprises most of Nevada and portions of Utah, Oregon, Idaho, and California, and has a total area of about 210,000 square miles. The basin has a gradual slope from the north, where the elevation is 4000 feet above the sea, toward the south, forming a tilted plateau whose surface is broken by interrupted groups of mountains with a general north and south trend. The Humboldt River is the only perennial stream of any size rising in the interior of the basin, but on the borders there are numerous short streams, which have their sources in the snow-fields of the Wasatch and Sierra Nevada ranges, and which act as feeders to a number of lakes, including Winnemucca, Carson, Owens, Mono, Pyramid, Sevier, Utah, and Great Salt Lake. Many of these lakes were greatly expanded during Pleistocene time. (See Lake.) There are several large arid wastes within the basin, such as Great Salt Lake Desert, Carson Desert, and Mohave Desert, and the climate of the whole region is dry. Agriculture is confined to irrigated lands, but the mineral resources are of great importance. See Great Salt Lake.
GREAT BEAR LAKE. See Bear Lake, Great.
GREAT BEND. A city and the county-seat of Barton County, Kan., 285 miles west by south of Kansas City, on the Arkansas River, and on the Missouri Pacific and the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fé railroads (Map: Kansas, D 3). It is the seat of the Central Normal College. The city is surrounded by a farming and stock-raising region, and has flour-mills, grain-elevators, a foundry and machine-shop, etc. Population, in 1890, 2450; in 1900, 2470.
GREAT BERK′HAMPSTEAD (from AS. birce, birch + hām, home + stede, place). A market-town of Hertfordshire, England, situated in a deep valley, on the right bank of the small river Bulborn, on the Grand Junction Canal and the London and Northwestern Railway, 28 miles north-northwest of London (Map: England, F 5). The father of the poet Cowper was rector of Berkhampstead, and the poet himself was born here. A few massive fragments of the wall of a castle still remain, to the east of the town. A free grammar school founded in the reign of Edward III. still exists, and there is also a charity school founded in 1727. Straw-plaiting is carried on to a considerable extent, and bowls, cricket-bats, hoops, toys, and numerous articles in wood are manufactured. There are extensive chemical works, and a considerable trade in timber, malt, and coal. There is a weekly corn market. Population, in 1891, 4574; in 1901, 5219. The town is of Saxon origin, and the Kings of Mercia had a palace or castle here. William the Conqueror met the nobles and prelates at Berkhampstead, and took an oath to rule according to the ancient laws and customs of the country.
GREAT BIBLE. See Bible.
GREAT BRITAIN. The largest island of Europe, comprising England, Scotland, and Wales, and constituting, with the neighboring Ireland, what is officially styled ‘the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.’ The term ‘Great Britain,’ however, popularly includes the British and Irish kingdoms, and is the current designation of the British Empire. Of five adjacent island groups, the Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland islands are included in Scotland, and the Scilly and Channel Islands in England; there are, besides, many other islands of which Man, Anglesey, and Wight are the most important. Great Britain, with an area of 88,094 square miles, is divided into England (50,867 square miles), Wales (7442 square miles), and Scotland (29,785 square miles). It lies between latitude 50° and 60° N.. and is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean or some of its divisions—the North Sea, English Channel, Saint George's
