Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/806

 790 GHAWAZI GHENT Eastern Ghauts receives no rain. In October these winds fail, and the regular N. E. trades or monsoons set in with terrible thunder and lightning and hurricanes on the bay of Ben- gal, producing while they last, which is to about the close of the year, the rainy sea- son on the Coromandel coast and the Eastern Ghauts. But under the lee of the western range this is the dry season, a season of fair weather with occasional southern gales. The quantity of rain which falls on the Western Ghauts during the summer is unequalled in any other part of the world in the same length of time. At the station of Mahabuleshwar it has been found to measure 239 inches. In their geological structure both ranges of the Ghauts appear to agree with other great N. and S. mountain chains of the world. Their rocks are the metamorphic schists, which contain rich metals and valuable ores. Gold is diffused along their course, and is especially abundant in the Neilgherries. Copper ores are worked in the Eastern Ghauts in the neighborhood of Cuddapah. In the same region of the Carnatic diamonds have been found ; and 3 further N. is Golconda, celebrated as the depot of precious gems found in the regions watered by the Pen- nar and Kistnah rivers. From the table lands of Mysore, which border the Eastern Ghauts on the west, are brought the ruby, topaz, chrysolite, cat's-eye, garnet, beryl, &c. The region of the carnelian is in the province of Guzerat, which is beyond the N. extremity of the Western Ghauts, the outlet of which is Cambay. (See OAENELIAN.) The famous dia- mond region of Pannah in Bundelcund is also beyond the limits of the Ghauts, in the Vin- dhya mountains, which, stretching across cen- tral Hindostan, connect the N. terminations of the E. and W. chains. Rich iron ores are found in abundance along the Ghauts. GHAWAZI. See ALMEH. GHAZEPOOR, or Ghazeepore, a town of British India, in a district of the same name, division of Benares, Northwest Provinces, situated on the left bank of the Ganges, 42 m. N. E. of Benares; pop. about 40,000. It stands on high ground, enclosed by beautiful groves of banyan and pipal, and is noted for its healthy climate; but it presents a mean appearance, the principal buildings being in ruins and the dwellings being mostly of mud. The Chales- toon, or palace of the 40 pillars, at the east end of the town, now ruinous but used as a custom house, is the only edifice worthy of notice. In the plain N. of the town is a monu- ment to Lord Cornwallis, who died here in 1805. The district, which is contiguous to Azimgurh, Shahabad, Benares, and Jaunpore, has an area of 2, 1ST sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 1,437,338. It is a low, level country, with many shallow lakes, drained by the Ganges and its tributaries, the Gogra, Karamnassa, Tons, &c. The chief productions are rose water and attar of roses, grain, rice, indigo, oil seeds, gram, tobacco, cotton, opium, and sugar. GHEE, a kind of butter used in many parts of India, prepared generally from the milk of buffaloes. The milk is successively boiled, cooled, and mixed with a little curdled milk. The process is completed by churning the cur- dled mass, to which some hot water is once added. It is an article of commerce in India, but unpalatable to Europeans from its strong smell and flavor. It may be kept from rancid- ity by boiling till all the water is evaporated, and then adding curdled milk and salt, and preserving it in close jars. GHEEL, a town and commune of Belgium, in the province and 26 m. E. by S. of the city of Antwerp ; pop. in 1867, 11,200. It has several churches and some manufactures. The com- mune has been from the 13th century a sort of asylum for insane persons, who are lodged and boarded in the houses of the peasantry, by , whom in many cases they are employed in field and other labor. GHENT (Flem. Gend ; Fr. Gand; Ger. Gent), a city of Belgium, capital of the province of East Flanders ; pop. in 1871, 123,765. It is situated at the junction of the Scheldt and the Lys, 30 m. N". W. of Brussels, and intersected by a great number of navigable canals, which communicate with those rivers, and form 26 islands connected with each other by about 80 bridges. The streets are spacious, and the fantastic variety of gable ends, rising stepwise or ornamented with scroll work and carving, imparts great picturesqueness to the stately houses. It has about 300 streets and 30 public squares, fine promenades, and a great number of churches. The sumptuous cathe- dral of St. Bavon contains the masterpieces of Jan and Hubert van Eyck. The city hall, with its Moorish front, the famous belfry, and the Vrydags marlct, or Friday square, where Jacob van Artevelde kindled the flames of civil war, and where the duke of Alva lighted the fires of the inquisition, are celebrated for their histor- ical associations. The city is rich in charita- ble, industrial, artistic, literary, and scientific institutions, and possesses a university at- tended by about 400 students, with an exten- sive library and a botanical garden. There are about 20 public hospitals, of which that called Bylogue, founded in 1225, can accommodate 600 persons. The palais de justice, the cen- tral prison, and the B6guinage, the principal establishment in Belgium of the Beguin nuns,' are worthy of special mention. The cotton manufacture employs upward of 30,000 per- sons. Sugar refining is also extensively car- ried on. The principal articles of trade are corn, oil, seeds, wine, and Flemish linens. Ghent is first mentioned as a town in the 7th century. Toward the end of the 12th century it became the capital of Flanders, subsequent- ly joined the Hanse league, and obtained the free navigation of the Rhine and other privi- leges; and by the end -of the 13th century it had so much increased in wealth and power that it surpassed Paris. Charles V. was born