were once called fossils, but geologists now
use the word only to express the remains of animals and plants found
buried in the earth. _Etym._, _fossilis_, any thing that may be dug
out of the earth.

FOSSILIFEROUS. Containing organic remains.

GALENA. A metallic ore, a compound of lead and sulphur. It has often
the appearance of highly polished lead. _Etym._, [Greek: galeo],
_galeo_, to shine.

GARNET. A simple mineral, generally of a deep red color,
crystallized; most commonly met with in mica slate, but also in
granite and other igneous rocks.

GASTEROPODS. A division of the Testacea, in which, as in the limpet,
the foot is attached to the body. _Etym._, [Greek: gaster],
_gaster_, belly, and [Greek: poda], _poda_, feet.

GAULT. A provincial name in the east of England for a series of beds
of clay and marl, the geological position of which is between the
Upper and Lower Greensand.

GAVIAL. A kind of crocodile found in India.

GEM, or GEMMULE, from the Latin _gemma_, a bud. The term, applied to
zoophytes, means a young animal not confined within an envelope or
egg.

GEOLOGY, GEOGNOSY. Both mean the same thing; but with an unnecessary
degree of refinement in terms, it has been proposed to call our
description of the structure of the earth _geognosy_ (_Etym._,
[Greek: gea], _gea_, earth, and [Greek: ginosco, _ginosco_, to
know), and our theoretical speculations as to its formation
_geology_ (_Etym._, [Greek: gea], and [Greek: logos], _logos_, a
discourse).

GLACIER. Vast accumulations of ice and hardened snow in the Alps and
other lofty mountains. _Etym._, _glace_, French for ice.

GLACIS. A term borrowed from the language of fortification, where it
means an easy insensible slope or declivity, less steep than a
_talus_, which see.

GNEISS. A stratified primary rock, composed of the same materials as
granite, but having usually a larger proportion of mica and a
laminated texture. The word is a German miner's term.

GRAMINEAE. The order of plants to which grasses belong. _Etym._,
_gramen_, grass.

GRANITE. An unstratified or igneous rock, generally found inferior
to or associated with the oldest of the stratified rocks, and
sometimes penetrating them in the form of dikes and veins. It is
usually composed of three simple minerals, felspar, quartz, and
mica, and der