Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 09.djvu/345

* GKOUND-DOVE. 307 GROUNDSWELL. common in the roads, where they show little fear of man. Tlicy are generally seen in pairs, and seem yivatly attached to each other. GROUNDHOG. ( 1 ) The name in the South- ern Unilcil Stales of the marmot (Arctuiiiys ifiumix). better named "woodehuck' (q.v.). (2) In South Africa, the aardvark (q.v.). GROUND-HORNBILL. A hornbill of the African sul)family liucoracinie, characterized by liolUivv casques, and liy habits and an organiza- tion suited to terrestrial life. Two species are known, a northern (Bucorax, or Bucorus, Ahys- sinicus), and a southern, the 'bromvogel' of the Boers {Bucorax Cafcr) . Both are large birds, the Abyssinian being SVo feet long, and of stout Iniild, with a casque open in front. The southern species has the casque closed. Both are wliolly black, except the wing-quills, which are white. They go about in small flocks, and are fearless, but when too much alarmed fly into trees for safety. They eat anything they can find — fruits, insects, crayfish, small reptiles, mice, and snakes. They are noted for their antipathy to snakes and their cunning in overcoming them. When a snake is discovered, they ajjproach it, holding their wings stretched out and fla]q)ing the rep- tile with them until it is induced to seize a feather. Then all the birds attack it and peck it to death. If the snake advances, the bird threatened folds its wings as a shield in front of it, and by mameuvres and assaults soon over- comes even the death-adder. They place their nests in cavities or broken trees. The natives of South Africa hold this bird in superstitious ab- horrence, its alleged foretelling of storms being the least of its sins in their sight. See Hornbill. GROUND-IVY, Xepeta Glcchoma. A plant of the natural order I^abiata?. a native of Europe, widely introduced in America, which grows in the dry soils of waste places, plantations, hedges, etc. ft has a creeping stem, kidney-shaped cre- nate leaves, and axillary blue llowers in threes. The plant is stimulant, aromatic, and is used in pectoral complaints. A tea prepared from the leaves is in great repute among the poor in many places. The leaves were formerly used in England for clarifying and flavoring ale, which was then called gill-ale, from gill-over-the-grovmd, an old name of this plant : but this use has been discontinued since the introduction of hops. GROUND-LAUREL. See Arbutus, Trail- ing. GROUNDLING. A small loach {Leuciscus twnia) of English rivers and ponds, keeping close to the bottom. See Loach. GROUNDNUT. A term variously employed, to denote the seed of the peanut {Ararhis li/ipo- (jcva) and the tubers of certain umbelliferous plants, especially Apios tuierosa, also called earthnut. See Pp;anut. GROUND-PINE. See Club-Moss. GROUND-PINK. See Phlox. GROUND-RAT, or GROUND-PIG. A bur- rowing, rat-like rodent {Aularodus sicindciia- nus), of South and West Africa. It is two feet long, and has very harsh, bristly hair, flattened, grooved, and brown in color. It is a near relative of the spiny rodents of tropical America, such as the coypu, hutia, and others of the family Octodontida'. GROUND-RENT. In England, the rent re- served on land leased for a long term of years for inqirovemcnt. The additional value imparted to the land by the erection of buildings and other improvements con.stitutes this a safe and con- venient form of investment. In England and in some parts of the United States the remedy of distress (q.v.) exists in favor of the ground-land- lord. Unless otherwise provided in the lease, the improvements constitute fi.xturcs and become the property of the owner of the soil. The practice of hiring ground for building purposes exists in the United States, and the law is similar to that of England on this point. But in most of the States there is no distress of the tenant's chattels in case of failure to pay the rent. The landlord will simply have an action for the amount of rent due, or he may dispossess the tenant and resume possession of the premises himself. In Pennsylvania the term ground-rent is em- ployed for rent charge or fee-farm I'ent to de- scribe the rent reserved to the grantor of an estate in fee simple. GROUND-SEA. A West Indian name for a roller. The sea rises in long swells or billows, usually from a northerly directicm, which in- crease in height as the shore is approached, and break there with great force. The ground-sea may occur in a calm and otherwise smooth sea, and with no indications of a previous or coming gale. It has been suggested that they are due to 'northers' blowing farther to the north. In the Gulf of California and other parts of the world, particularly in the tropics, similar phe- nomena occur. GROUND-SLOTH. See Ganodonta ; ilECA- TUERIUM. GROUND-SNAKE. Any of the small, worm- like serpents of the North American genus Car- phophiops, which are the most lowly of Colubridfe, and represent the typical forest burrowers of Central and South America. They are harmless little snakes, about the size of a slate-pencil, and with no apparent neck, and are likely to be found luider stones, or beneath or inside of decayed logs. Frequently they also force their way under the bark of trees, an operation in which they exert considerable muscular effort. The species most connnonly seen, and to be found in all the South Central States, is Carphophiops am(rnus, which is glossy, opalescent, chestnut- brown above, and bright salmon color beneath. Another species {Carphophiops rcr)?ii.s) . the 'pioiuid-worni' of the lower Jlississippi Valley, is large and pur]dish-brown in color above, while below it is broadly flesh-colored. GROUND-SQUIRREL. A group of squirrels, differing from the true squirrels in the posses- sion of check-pouches, in having a more slender body and shorter legs, and in living chiefly on the ground, and seldom climbing trees to any considerable height. They are of small size, are longitudinally strined on the back and sides, are extremely active and restless, and emit a peculiar chipping sound. The striped spermo- phile or 'gopher' (q.v.). so troublesome in the Northwest, and the chipmunk (q.v.) are familiar American examples. See Plate of Gophers, etc. GROUNDSWELL. A long smooth swell, fre- quently occurring along a coast where the ocean bed is not far below the surface for a long