Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/32

* GOLDJINCH. 14 GOLD LACE. black, blood-red, yellow, and white are beau- tifully mingled in its plumage. The colors of the female are duller Ihau those of the male. It is widely diffused throughout Europe and some parts of Asia, and is to be seen in small flocks on open grounds, feeding on the seeds of thistles and other plants, or in gardens and orchards. Its nest is made in a tree, bush, or hedge, is remark- able for its extreme neatness, and is always lined with the finest downy material that can be pro- cured. The eggs are four or five in number, bluish white., with a few spots and lines of pale purple and brown. The goldfinch is much em- ployed by l)ird-catchers as a call-bird. It can be trained to the performance of many little tricks, such as the raising of water for itself from a well in a bucket the size of a thimble. It has been in- troduced into America, and is now fairly well established in the vicinity of New York City, and to a less degree about Boston. See Plate of Cage-Bikds. (2) The American goldfinch (Spinus tristis), more generally called ■ycUowbird' and "thistle- bird,' is very similar to the European species in habits and song, and displays the same interest- ing liveliness and afl'ection in domestication. The nest is also of the same elegant structure. It is a common bird in most parts of North Ameri- ca. It is hardly five inches in length, and is bright yellow, with the crown, wings, and tail black. The female is much duller, grayish brown, more or less tinged with yellow beneath. In winter the nuile assumes a plumage verj- similar to that of the female. The goldfinch is eminent- ly gregarious, e.vcept during the breeding season, and it seems loath to give up its social life, for it is the last of our birds to go to housekeeping: the eggs, which are spotless, are rarely laid be- fore the end of June. The nest is a delicate cup of soft materials, sometimes wholly of vegetable down, and is placed in a bush or low tree. It is often invaded by the cowbird ( q.v. ). in which case the goldfinches are likely to construct a sec- ond story — i.e. a new nest on the top of the orig- inal one — burying their own and the strange egg, and laying a fresh set above. The flight of the goldfinch renders the bird easy to recognize on the wing, for it is always in a series of undu- lations, and generally is accompanied by a faint sAcet twitter, which one writer translated as 'per-chick'-o-pee.' Several closely related species are found in the Southwestern United States and in Mexico. GOLDFISH, or Golden Carp. A fish [Cnras- Mils anratus) clos?ly related to the carp, a na- tive of China, but now domesticated and natural- ized in many parts of the world. It has been long connnon in many of the fresh waters of China, and was introduced into England about the end of the seventeenth or the beginning of the eighteenth century. On account of the brilliancy of its colors and the ease with which it is kept in glass globes or other vessels in apartments, it soon became, and has continued to be. a gen- eral favorite. Its ordinary length is five or six inches, but it has been known to reach a foot. When young it is of a blackish color, but acquires its characteristic golden red as it advances to maturity, some individuals (silrerfish) becom- ing rijther of a silvery hue. Monstrosities of various kinds are frequent, particularly ttt the fins and eyes, a favorite Japanese variety having three large tails. Culturists can induce and strengthen the artificial golden color by control- ling the amount of mineral in the water. Gold- fish are easily kept in small glass aquaria. There should be some sort of water plant in the water, which should not be cold, and should be changed in part every few days. Occasional sunlight is good, to prevent the growth of fungi. The safest food is that prepared and sold for the purpose. Escaped specimens naturalized in rivers (as in the Potomac) revert to their native olivaceous green hue. An artificial grotesque variety is illustrated on the Plate of Carp axd Allies. GOLDFUSS, gOlt'foos, Georg August (1782- 1S48). A German paleontologist and zoologist. He was born at Thurnau, near Bayreuth, Ba- varia, and was educated at Berlin and Giittingen. During the last thirty years of his life he was professor of mineralogy and zoology at Bonn, where he was also appointed director of the Zoological Museum. Besides his principal work, Petrafacta Germaniw (partly in collaboration with Count zu Miinster, lS2(i-44). he published Gruiidriss der Zoologie (2d ed. 1S34) . He is said to have been the first to introduce the term 'protozoa' into scientific nomenclature. GOLD'ING, Akthuk (c.l53_6-e.I605). An English writer and translator. He was bom probably in London, and is said to have studied at Queen's College, Oxford. He was a friend of Sir Philip Sidney, who, on leaving for the Low Countries, intrusted to him the completion of the translation of Philippe de Moraay's treatise, De la. rfritd de la- ri'lif/ioti chretienne, w'hich Golding publislied under the title A Woorke Concerning the Trewenesse of the Christian Religion (1580). He made many translations, devoting himself especially to those from the works of Calvin and Theodore Beza. but will be remembered chiefly for his rendering into English, in ballad metre, of the 'fvrst fower bookes' of Ovid's Metamor- phoses ( 1507) . GOLD LACE. A fabric formed by weaving silken threads that have been previously gilded. The iieculiarity of this manufacture consists in the gilding of the silk in such a manner that it shall retain sufficient flexibility for weaving. A deep yellow or orange-colored silk is used for the pur- pose. The usual method of doing this is by what is called 'fibre plating.' A rod of silver is gilded by simply pressing and burnishing leaves of gold upon it. 'This gilded silver is then drawn into verv fine wire, so fine that one ounce of metal can be extended to the length of more than a mile. It is then flattened between polished steel rollers, and further extended, so that a mile and a quarter weighs only one ounce : for the last draing the wire is passed through perforated gems, such as diamonds or rubies. The film of gold upon this flattened wire is much thinner than beaten gold leaf, and has frequently been quoted as an example of the divisibility of mat- ter, as one inch of the highly gilded wire con- tains but the eighty-millionth part of an ounce of gold, while ^j of an inch, which is a visible quantity exhibiting the color and lustre of gold, contains hut j^j^^^j^rOf an ounce: or. in other words, one ounce of gold covers a length of wire of more than 100 miles. This flattened gilded wire is then wound over the silk, so as to in- close it conjpletely, and produce an apparently golden thread. Other means of directly gilding