Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/655

 GASTEIN GASTON 643 formed by the union of ideas borrowed from various schools rather than a new system. His system is akin to that of Locke rather than of the French followers of Locke, and even a part of his phraseology, as the actiones reflexives, anticipates that of the " Essay on the Human Understanding." It does not appear, however, that Locke was acquainted with his writings. Not only as a metaphysician, but as an astron- omer, geometer, anatomist, Hellenist, historian, and elegant writer, Gassendi merits distinction. He was the personal friend of most of the learned men of his time, the first disciple in France of Bacon, and the precursor of Newton. The aurora borealis, the parhelia, the conjunc- tions of Venus and Mercury, the occultations of the satellites of Jupiter, and the properties of the magnetic needle were among the subjects of his researches. He wrote the lives of the principal astronomers of his age, and in the preface gave a brief and admirable history of astronomy. By those who knew him he was beloved for his amiability and modesty. The latest complete edition of his works is that ed- ited by Averrani (6 vols., Florence, 1728). An abridgment by Bernier (Paris, 1 678) has been- several times republished. His life has been written by Sorbiere (for the first edition of his collected writings, Lyons, 1658), and by Bou- gerel (Paris, 1637). GASTEIN, a valley in the Austrian duchy of Salzburg, famous for its romantic scenery and for its mineral springs. It is about 30 m. long and 2 m. broad, is surrounded by mountains in some parts about 8,000 ft. high, and is traversed by the Ache, which forms several cascades. There are three villages. Hof- gastein, 40 m. S. of Salzburg, has a resident population of about 1,000. It contains a church, poorhouse, military hospital, and a statue of the emperor Francis I. of Austria. Gold and silver mines were formerly worked here. Dorfgastein, 6 m. to the north, is a mere hamlet. Wildbad Gastein, or Bad Gas- tein, about equally distant to the south, is one of the most celebrated watering places in Eu- rope. It is about 3,000 ft. above the sea. In the centre of the village the Ache forms a cat- aract, which is spanned by a covered bridge 400 ft. long. There are about 35 houses, among which is a villa built by the late arch- duke John of Austria. The climate is cold and wet even in summer. In 1830 an aque- duct was constructed under the auspices of the emperor Francis to convey the mineral waters to Hofgastein, but Wildbad still contin- ues to be the principal watering place in the valley. The accommodations for visitors are very limited, but it is annually resorted to by about 3,000 persons. The hot springs, which have a temperature of 117 F., spring from the granite rocks at the foot of the mountain, one of them bursting out in the middle of the cataract. They furnish about 100,000 cubic feet of water in 24 hours, the principal mineral ingredients of which are Glauber salts and carbonate of lime. The baths are chiefly useful in nervous affections, general debility, paralysis, chronic diseases of the skin, and disorders arising from wounds. These springs have been known since the 7th century, and have long been a favorite resort for the noble and royal families of Germany. A convention was held here in August, 1865, between the emperor Francis Joseph and King William of Prussia, and their respective ministers, in which the affairs of the duchies wrested from Denmark in the preceding year were settled. (See AUSTEIA, vol. ii., p. 149.) GASTEROPODA (Gr. yaarfip, belly, and Trofcf, Tro66^ foot), a class of the mollusca distinguished by the under side of the body forming a single muscular foot, on which the animal creeps or glides. The snails, limpets, and chitons are examples of this class. They are divided into two natural groups, one breathing air (pulmo- nifera), the other water (branchifera). These form the four orders of prosolranchiata, pulmonifera, opisthobranchiata, and nucleo- Iranchiata. The shell is usually spiral and univalve, but sometimes tubular or conical ; in the chiton it is multi valve. Some marine spe- cies, as the dor is and ceolis, have no shells. Most are provided with a horny or shelly operculum, which forms the bottom of the foot, and when withdrawn closely shuts the aperture of the shell, to which it is firmly held by the strong muscles of this part of the body. In some species, as the limpet and patella, the ani- mal uses the expanded surface of the foot for attaching the shell firmly to rocks and other surfaces. Almost all are unsymmetrical, the body being coiled up spirally, and the respira- tory organs of the left side usually atrophied. A few, like the snails, are viviparous, but most are oviparous. The shells are nearly all right-handed ; the cavity is a single conical or spiral chamber, never many-chambered like the nautilus and the cephalopods ; the apex is almost always directed backward. The lines between the whorls or turns of the shell are the sutures, the last or the body whorl being usually very large; the aperture is entire in most vegetable feeders, but notched or elon- gated into a canal or siphon which is respira- tory in its office ; there is sometimes a poste- rior or anal canal. GASTON, a S. W. county of North Carolina, bordering on South Carolina, bounded E. by Catawba river and intersected by Catawba creek; area, about 350 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 12,602, of whom 4,172 were colored. It has a diversified surface and a fertile soil. Gold has been obtained. It is traversed by the western division of the Wilmington, Charlotte, and Rutherford railroad. The chief productions in 1870 were 64,468 bushels of wheat, 338,023 of Indian corn, 79,717 of oats, and 762 bales of cotton. There were 1,218 horses, 1,166 mules and asses, 2,709 milch cows, 4,706 other cattle, 7,362 sheep, and 12,858 swine; a cotton factory, and a quartz mill. Capital, Dallas.