[1] Compare with this Bismarck's remarks to Hohenlohe (Hohenlohe,
_Denkwurdigkeiten_, ii. 71): "When Gramont was made minister,
Bismarck said to Benedetti that this indicated that the emperor was
meditating something evil, otherwise he would not have made so stupid
a person minister. Benedetti replied that the emperor knew too little
of him, whereupon Bismarck said that the emperor had once described
Gramont to him as 'un ancien bellatre.'"
GRAMONT, PHILIBERT, COMTE DE (1621-1707), the subject of the famous
_Memoirs_, came of a noble Gascon family, said to have been of Basque
origin. His grandmother, Diane d'Andouins, comtesse de Gramont, was "la
belle Corisande," one of the mistresses of Henry IV. The grandson
assumed that his father Antoine II. de Gramont, viceroy of Navarre, was
the son of Henry IV., and regretted that he had not claimed the
privileges of royal birth. Philibert de Gramont was the son of Antoine
II. by his second marriage with Claude de Montmorency, and was born in
1621, probably at the family seat of Bidache. He was destined for the
church, and was educated at the _college_ of Pau, in Bearn. He refused
the ecclesiastical life, however, and joined the army of Prince Thomas
of Savoy, then besieging Trino in Piedmont. He afterwards served under
his elder half-brother, Antoine, marshal de Gramont, and the prince of
Conde. He was present at Fribourg and Nordlingen, and also served with
distinction in Spain and Flanders in 1647 and 1648. He favoured Conde's
party at the beginning of the Fronde, but changed sides before he was
too severely compromised. In spite of his record in the army he never
received any important commission either military or diplomatic, perhaps
because of an incurable levity in his outlook, He was, however, made a
governor of the Pays d'Aunis and lieutenant of Bearn. During the
Commonwealth he visited England, and in 1662 he was exiled from Paris
for paying court to Mademoiselle de la Motte Houdancourt, one of the
king's mistresses. He went to London, where he found at the court of
Charles II. an atmosphere congenial to his talents for intrigue,
gallantry and pleasure. He married in London, under pressure from her
two brothers, Elizabeth Hamilton, the sister of his future biographer.
She was one of the great beauties of the English court, and was,
according to her brother's optimistic account, able to fix the count's
affections. She was a woman of considerable wit, and held her own at the
court of Louis XIV., but her husband pursued his gallant exploits to the
close of a long life, being, said Ninon de l'Enclos, the only old man
who could affect the follies of youth without being ridiculous. In 1664
he was allowed to return to France. He revisited England in 1670 in
connexion with the sale of Dunkirk, and again in 1671 and 1676. In 1688
he was sent by Louis XIV. to congratulate James II. on the birth of an
heir. From all these small diplomatic missions he succeeded in obtaining
considerable profits, being destitute of scruples whenever money was in
question. At the age of seventy-five he had a dangerous illness, during
which he became reconciled to the church. His penitence does not seem to
have survived his recovery. He was eighty years old when he supplied his
brother-in-law, Anthony Hamilton (q.v.), with the materials for his
_Memoires_. Hamilton said that they had been dictated to him, but there
is no doubt that he was the real author. The account of Gramont's early
career was doubtless provided by himself, but Hamilton was probably more
familiar with the history of the court of Charles II., which forms the
most interesting section of the book. Moreover Gramont, though he had a
reputation for wit, was no writer, and there is no reason to suppose
that he was capable of producing a work which remains a masterpiece of
style and of witty portraiture. When the _Memoires_ were finished it is
said that Gramont sold the MS. for 1500 francs, and kept most of the
money himself. Fontenelle, then censor of the press, refused to license
the book from considerations of respect to the strange old man, whose
gambling, cheating and meannesses were so ruthlessly exposed. But
Gramont himself appealed to the chancellor and the prohibition was
removed. He died on the 10th of January 1707, and the _Memoires_
appeared six years later.
Hamilton was far superior to the comte de Gramont, but he relates the
story of his hero without comment, and no condemnation of the prevalent
code of morals is allowed to appear, unless in an occasional touch of
irony. The portrait is drawn with such skill that the count, in spite of
his biographer's candour, imposes by his grand air on the reader much as
he appears to have done on his contemporaries. The book is the most
entertaining of contemporary memoirs, and in no other book is there a
description so vivid, truthful, and graceful of the licentious court of
Charles II. There are other and less flattering accounts of the count.
His scandalous tongue knew no restraint, and he was a privileged person
who was allowed to state even the most unpleasing truths to Louis XIV.
Saint-Simon in his memoirs describes the relief that was felt at court
when the old man's death was announced.
_Memoires de la vie du comte de Grammont contenant particulierement
l'histoire amoureuse de la cour d'Angleterre sous le regne de Charles
II_ was printed in Holland with the inscription Cologne, 1713. Other
editions followed in 1715 and 1716. _Memoirs of the Life of Count de
Grammont ... translated out of the French by Mr [Abel] Boyer_ (1714),
was supplemented by a "compleat key" in 1719. The _Memoires_
"augmentees de notes et d'eclaircissemens" was edited by Horace
Walpole in 1772. In 1793 appeared in London an edition adorned with
portraits engraved after originals in the royal collection. An English
edition by Sir Walter Scott was published by H. G. Bohn (1846), and
this with additions was reprinted in 1889, 1890, 1896, &c. Among other
modern editions are an excellent one in the _Bibliotheque Charpentier_
edited by M. Gustave Brunet (1859); _Memoires ..._ (Paris, 1888) with
etchings by L. Boisson after C. Delort and an introduction by H.
Gausseron; _Memoirs ..._ (1889), edited by Mr H. Vizetelly; and
_Memoirs ..._ (1903), edited by Mr Gordon Goodwin.
GRAMOPHONE (an invented word, formed on an inversion of "phonogram";
[Greek: phone], sound, [Greek: gramma], letter), an instrument for
recording and reproducing sounds. It depends on the same general
principles as the phonograph (q.v.), but it differs in certain details
of construction, especially in having the sound-record cut spirally on a
flat disk instead of round a cylinder.
GRAMPIANS, THE, a mass of mountains in central Scotland. Owing to the
number of ramifications and ridges it is difficult to assign their
precise limits, but they may be described as occupying the area between
a line drawn from Dumbartonshire to the North Sea at Stonehaven, and the
valley of the Spey or even Glenmore (the Caledonian Canal). Their trend
is from south-west to north-east, the southern face forming the natural
division between the Lowlands and Highlands. They lie in the shires of
Argyll, Dumbarton, Stirling, Perth, Forfar, Kincardine, Aberdeen, Banff
and Inverness. Among the highest summits are Ben Nevis, Ben Macdhui, and
Cairngorms, Ben Lawers, Ben More, Ben Alder, Ben Cruachan and Ben
Lomond. The principal rivers flowing from the watershed northward are
the Findhorn, Spey, Don, Dee and their tributaries, and southward the
South Esk, Tay and Forth with their affluents. On the north the mass is
wild and rugged; on the south the slope is often gentle, affording
excellent pasture in many places, but both sections contain some of the
finest deer-forests in Scotland. They are crossed by the Highland, West
Highland and Callander to Oban railways, and present some of the finest
scenery in the kingdom. The rocks consist chiefly of granite, gneiss,
schists, quartzite, porphyry and diorite. Their fastnesses were
originally inhabited by the northern Picts, the Caledonians who, under
Galgacus, were defeated by Agricola in A.D. 84 at Mons Graupius--the
false reading of which, Grampius, has been perpetuated in the name of
the mountains--the site of which has not been ascertained. Some
authorities place it at Ardoch; others near the junction of the Tay and
Isla, or at Dalginross near Comrie; while some, contending for a
position nearer the east coast, refer it to a site in west Forfarshire
or to Raedykes near Stonehaven.
GRAMPOUND, a small market town in the mid-parliamentary division of
Cornwall, England, 9 m. E.N.E. of Truro, and 2 m. from its station
(Grampound Road) on the Great Western railway. It is situated on the
river Fal, and has some industry in tanning. It retains an ancient town
hall; there is a good market cross; and in the neighbourhood, along the
Fal, are several early earthworks.
Grampound (Ponsmure, Graundpont, Grauntpount, Graundpond) and the
hundred, manor and vill of Tibeste were formerly so closely associated
that in 1400 the former is found styled the vill of Grauntpond called
Tibeste. At the time of the Domesday Survey Tibeste was amongst the most
valuable of the manors granted to the count of Mortain. The burgensic
character of Ponsmure first appears in 1299. Thirty-five years later
John of Eltham granted to the burgesses the whole town of Grauntpount.
This grant was confirmed in 1378 when its extent and jurisdiction were
defined. It was provided that the hundred court of Powdershire should
always be held there and two fairs at the feasts of St Peter in Cathedra
and St Barnabas, both of which are still held, and a Tuesday market (now
held on Friday) and that it should be a free borough rendering a yearly
rent to the earl of Cornwall. Two members were summoned to parliament by
Edward VI. in 1553. The electors consisted of an indefinite number of
freemen, about 50 in all, indirectly nominated by the mayor and
corporation, which existed by prescription. The venality of the electors
became notorious. In 1780 L3000 was paid for a seat: in 1812 each
supporter of one of the candidates received L100. The defeat of this
candidate in 1818 led to a parliamentary inquiry which disclosed a
system of wholesale corruption, and in 1821 the borough was
disfranchised. A former woollen trade is extinct.
GRAMPUS (_Orca gladiator_, or _Orca orca_), a cetacean belonging to the
_Delphinidae_ or dolphin family, characterized by its rounded head
without distinct beak, high dorsal fin and large conical teeth. The
upper parts are nearly uniform glossy black, and the under parts white,
with a strip of the same colour over each eye. The O. Fr. word was
_grapois_, _graspeis_ or _craspeis_, from Med. Lat. _crassus piscis_,
fat fish. This was adapted into English as _grapeys_, _graspeys_, &c.,
and in the 16th century becomes _grannie pose_ as if from _grand
poisson_. The final corruption to "grampus" appears in the 18th century
and was probably nautical in origin. The animal is also known as the
"killer," in allusion to its ferocity in attacking its prey, which
consists largely of seals, porpoises and the smaller dolphins. Its
fierceness is only equalled by its voracity, which is such that in a
specimen measuring 21 ft. in length, the remains of thirteen seals and
thirteen porpoises were found, in a more or less digested state, while
the animal appeared to have been choked in the endeavour to swallow
another seal, the skin of which was found entangled in its teeth. These
cetaceans sometimes hunt in packs or schools, and commit great havoc
among the belugas or white whales, which occasionally throw themselves
ashore to escape their persecutors. The grampus is an inhabitant of
northern seas, occurring on the shores of Greenland, and having been
caught, although rarely, as far south as the Mediterranean. There are
numerous instances of its capture on the British coasts. (See CETACEA.)
GRANADA, LUIS DE (1504-1588), Spanish preacher and ascetic writer, born
of poor parents named Sarria at Granada. He lost his father at an early
age and his widowed mother was supported by the charity of the
Dominicans. A child of the Alhambra, he entered the service of the
alcalde as page, and, his ability being discovered, received his
education with the sons of the house. When nineteen he entered the
Dominican convent and in 1525 took the vows; and, with the leave of his
prior, shared his daily allowance of food with his mother. He was sent
to Valladolid to continue his studies and then was appointed procurator
at Granada. Seven years after he was elected prior of the convent of
Scala Caeli in the mountains of Cordova, which after eight years he
succeeded in restoring from its ruinous state, and there he began his
work as a zealous reformer. His preaching gifts were developed by the
orator Juan de Avila, and he became one of the most famous of Spanish
preachers. He was invited to Portugal in 1555 and became provincial of
his order, declining the offer of the archbishopric of Braga but
accepting the position of confessor and counsellor to Catherine, the
queen regent. At the expiration of his tenure of the provincialship, he
retired to the Dominican convent at Lisbon, where he lived till his
death on the last day of 1588. Aiming, both in his sermons and ascetical
writings, at development of the religious view, the danger of the times
as he saw it was not so much in the Protestant reformation, which was an
outside influence, but in the direction that religion had taken among
the masses. He held that in Spain the Catholic faith was not understood
by the people, and that their ignorance was the pressing danger. He fell
under the suspicion of the Inquisition; his mystical teaching was said
to be heretical, and his most famous book, the _Guia de Peccadores_,
still a favourite treatise and one that has been translated into nearly
every European tongue, was put on the Index of the Spanish Inquisition,
together with his book on prayer, in 1559. His great opponent was the
restless and ambitious Melchior Cano, who stigmatized the second book
as containing grave errors smacking of the heresy of the Alumbrados and
manifestly contradicting Catholic faith and teaching. But in 1576 the
prohibition was removed and the works of Luis de Granada, so prized by
St Francis de Sales, have never lost their value. The friend of St
Teresa, St Peter of Alcantara, and of all the noble minds of Spain of
his day, no one among the three hundred Spanish mystics excels Luis de
Granada in the beauty of a didactic style, variety of illustration and
soberness of statement.
The last collected edition of his works is that published in 9 vols.
at Antwerp in 1578. A biography by L. Monoz, _La Vida y virtudes de
Luis de Granada_ (Madrid, 1639); a study of his system by P. Rousselot
in _Mystiques espagnoles_ (Paris, 1867); Ticknor, _History of Spanish
Literature_ (vol. iii.), and Fitzmaurice Kelly, _History of Spanish
Literature_, pp. 200-202 (London, 1898), may also be consulted.
GRANADA, the capital of the department of Granada, Nicaragua; 32 m. by
rail S.E. of Managua, the capital of the republic. Pop. (1900) about
25,000. Granada is built on the north-western shore of Lake Nicaragua,
of which it is the principal port. Its houses are of the usual central
American type, constructed of adobe, rarely more than one storey high,
and surrounded by courtyards with ornamental gateways. The suburbs,
scattered over a large area, consist chiefly of cane huts occupied by
Indians and half-castes. There are several ancient churches and
convents, in one of which the interior of the chancel roof is inlaid
with mother-of-pearl. An electric tramway connects the railway station
and the adjacent wharves with the market, about 1 m. distant. Ice,
cigars, hats, boots and shoes are manufactured, but the characteristic
local industry is the production of "Panama chains," ornaments made of
thin gold wire. In the neighbourhood there are large cocoa plantations;
and the city has a thriving trade in cocoa, coffee, hides, cotton,
native tobacco and indigo.
Granada was founded in 1523 by Francisco Fernandez de Cordoba. It became
one of the wealthiest of central American cities, although it had always
a keen commercial rival in Leon, which now surpasses it in size and
importance. In the 17th century it was often raided by buccaneers,
notably in 1606, when it was completely sacked. In 1855 it was captured
and partly burned by the adventurer William Walker (see CENTRAL AMERICA:
_History_).
GRANADA, a maritime province of southern Spain, formed in 1833 of
districts belonging to Andalusia, and coinciding with the central parts
of the ancient kingdom of Granada. Pop. (1900) 492,460; area, 4928 sq.
m. Granada is bounded on the N. by Cordova, Jaen and Albacete, E. by
Murcia and Almeria, S. by the Mediterranean Sea, and W. by Malaga. It
includes the western and loftier portion of the Sierra Nevada (q.v.), a
vast ridge rising parallel to the sea and attaining its greatest
altitudes in the Cerro de Mulhacen (11,421 ft.) and Picacho de la Veleta
(11,148), which overlook the city of Granada. Lesser ranges, such as the
Sierras of Parapanda, Alhama, Almijara or Harana, adjoin the main ridge.
From this central watershed the three principal rivers of the province
take their rise, viz.: the Guadiana Menor, which, flowing past Guadix in
a northerly direction, falls into the Guadalquivir in the neighbourhood
of Ubeda; the Genil which, after traversing the Vega, or Plain of
Granada, leaves the province a little to the westward of Loja and joins
the Guadalquivir between Cordova and Seville; and the Rio Grande or
Guadalfeo, which falls into the Mediterranean at Motril. The coast is
little indented and none of its three harbours, Almunecar, Albunol and
Motril, ranks high in commercial importance. The climate in the lower
valleys and the narrow fringe along the coast is warm, but on the higher
grounds of the interior is somewhat severe; and the vegetation varies
accordingly from the subtropical to the alpine. The soil of the plains
is very productive, and that of the Vega of Granada is considered the
richest in the whole peninsula; from the days of the Moors it has been
systematically irrigated, and it continues to yield in great abundance
and in good quality wheat, barley, maize, wine, oil, sugar, flax,
cotton, silk and almost every variety of fruit. In the mountains
immediately surrounding the city of Granada occur many kinds of
alabaster, some very fine; there are also quantities of jasper and other
precious stones. Mineral waters chiefly chalybeate and sulphurous, are
abundant, the most important springs being those of Alhama, which have a
temperature of 112 deg. F. There are valuable iron mines, and small
quantities of zinc, lead and mercury are obtained. The cane and beet
sugar industries, for which there are factories at Loja, at Motril, and
in the Vega, developed rapidly after the loss of the Spanish West Indies
and the Philippine Islands in 1898, with the consequent decrease in
competition. There are also tanneries, foundries and manufactories of
woollen, linen, cotton, and rough frieze stuffs, cards, soap, spirits,
gunpowder and machinery. Apart from the great highways traversing the
province, which are excellent, the roads are few and ill-kept. The
railway from Madrid enters the province on the north and bifurcates
north-west of Guadix; one branch going eastward to Almeria, the other
westward to Loja, Malaga and Algeciras. Baza is the terminus of a
railway from Lorca. The chief towns include Granada, the capital (pop.
1900, 75,900) with Alhama de Granada (7697), Baza (12,770), Guadix
(12,652), Loja (19,143), Montefrio (10,725), and Motril (18,528). These
are described in separate articles. Other towns with upwards of 7000
inhabitants are Albunol (8646), Almunecar (8022), Cullar de Baza (8007),
Huescar (7763), Illora (9496) and Puebla de Don Fadrique (7420). The
history of the ancient kingdom is inseparable from that of the city of
Granada (q.v.).
GRANADA, the capital of the province, and formerly of the kingdom of
Granada, in southern Spain; on the Madrid-Granada-Algeciras railway.
Pop. (1900) 75,900. Granada is magnificently situated, 2195 ft. above
the sea, on the north-western slope of the Sierra Nevada, overlooking
the fertile lowlands known as the Vega de Granada on the west and
overshadowed by the peaks of Veleta (11,148 ft.) and Mulhacen (11,421
ft.) on the south-east. The southern limit of the city is the river
Genil, the Roman _Singilis_ and Moorish _Shenil_, a swift stream flowing
westward from the Sierra Nevada, with a considerable volume of water in
summer, when the snows have thawed. Its tributary the Darro, the Roman
_Salon_ and Moorish _Hadarro_, enters Granada on the east, flows for
upwards of a mile from east to west, and then turns sharply southward to
join the main river, which is spanned by a bridge just above the point
of confluence. The waters of the Darro are much reduced by irrigation
works along its lower course, and within the city it has been canalized
and partly covered with a roof.
Granada comprises three main divisions, the Antequeruela, the Albaicin
(or Albaycin), and Granada properly so-called. The first division,
founded by refugees from Antequera in 1410, consists of the districts
enclosed by the Darro, besides a small area on its right, or western
bank. It is bounded on the east by the gardens and hill of the Alhambra
(q.v.), the most celebrated of all the monuments left by the Moors. The
Albaicin (Moorish _Rabad al Bayazin_, "Falconers' Quarter") lies
north-west of the Antequeruela. Its name is sometimes associated with
that of Baeza, since, according to one tradition, it was colonized by
citizens of Baeza, who fled hither in 1246, after the capture of their
town by the Christians. It was long the favourite abode of the Moorish
nobles, but is now mainly inhabited by gipsies and artisans. Granada,
properly so-called, is north of the Antequeruela, and west of the
Albaicin. The origin of its name is obscure; it has been sometimes,
though with little probability, derived from _granada_, a pomegranate,
in allusion to the abundance of pomegranate trees in the neighbourhood.
A pomegranate appears on the city arms. The Moors, however, called
Granada _Karnattah_ or _Karnattah-al-Yahud_, and possibly the name is
composed of the Arabic words _kurn_, "a hill," and _nattah_,
"stranger,"--the "city" or "hill of strangers."
Although the city has been to some extent modernized, the architecture
of its more ancient quarters has many Moorish characteristics. The
streets are, as a rule, ill-lighted, ill-paved and irregular; but there
are several fine squares and avenues, such as the Bibarrambla, where
tournaments were held by the Moors; the spacious Plaza del Trionfo,
adjoining the bull-ring, on the north; the Alameda, planted with plane
trees, and the Paseo del Salon. The business centre of the city is the
Puerta Real, a square named after a gate now demolished.
Granada is the see of an archbishop. Its cathedral, which commemorates
the reconquest of southern Spain from the Moors, is a somewhat heavy
classical building, begun in 1529 by Diego de Siloe, and only finished
in 1703. It is profusely ornamented with jasper and coloured marbles,
and surmounted by a dome. The interior contains many paintings and
sculptures by Alonso Cano (1601-1667), the architect of the fine west
facade, and other artists. In one of the numerous chapels, known as the
Chapel Royal (_Capilla Real_), is the monument of Philip I. of Castile
(1478-1506), and his queen Joanna; with the tomb of Ferdinand and
Isabella, the first rulers of united Spain (1452-1516). The church of
Santa Maria (1705-1759), which may be regarded as an annexe of the
cathedral, occupies the site of the chief mosque of Granada. This was
used as a church until 1661. Santa Ana (1541) also replaced a mosque;
Nuestra Senora de las Angustias (1664-1671) is noteworthy for its fine
towers, and the rich decoration of its high altar. The convent of San
Geronimo (or Jeronimo), founded in 1492 by Ferdinand and Isabella, was
converted into barracks in 1810; its church contains the tomb of the
famous captain Gonsalvo or Gonzalo de Cordova (1453-1515). The Cartuja,
or Carthusian monastery north of the city, was built in 1516 on
Gonzalo's estate, and in his memory. It contains several fine paintings,
and an interesting church of the 17th and 18th centuries.
After the Alhambra, and such adjacent buildings as the Generalife and
Torres Bermejas, which are more fitly described in connexion with it,
the principal Moorish antiquities of Granada are the 13th-century villa
known as the Cuarto Real de San Domingo, admirably preserved, and
surrounded by beautiful gardens; the Alcazar de Genil, built in the
middle of the 14th century as a palace for the Moorish queens; and the
Casa del Cabildo, a university of the same period, converted into a
warehouse in the 19th century. Few Spanish cities possess a greater
number of educational and charitable establishments. The university was
founded by Charles V. in 1531, and transferred to its present buildings
in 1769. It is attended by about 600 students. In 1900, the primary
schools of Granada numbered 22, in addition to an ecclesiastical
seminary, a training-school for teachers, schools of art and
jurisprudence, and museums of art and archaeology. There were twelve
hospitals and orphanages for both sexes, including a leper hospital in
one of the convents. Granada has an active trade in the agricultural
produce of the Vega, and manufactures liqueurs, soap, paper and coarse
linen and woollen fabrics. Silk-weaving was once extensively carried on,
and large quantities of silk were exported to Italy, France, Germany and
even America, but this industry died during the 19th century.
_History._--The identity of Granada with the Iberian city of _Iliberris_
or _Iliberri_, which afterwards became a flourishing Roman colony, has
never been fully established; but Roman tombs, coins, inscriptions, &c.,
have been discovered in the neighbourhood. With the rest of Andalusia,
as a result of the great invasion from the north in the 5th century,
Granada fell to the lot of the Vandals. Under the caliphs of Cordova,
onwards from the 8th century, it rapidly gained in importance, and
ultimately became the seat of a provincial government, which, after the
fall of the Omayyad dynasty in 1031, or, according to some authorities,
1038, ranked with Seville, Jaen and others as an independent
principality. The family of the Zeri, Ziri or Zeiri maintained itself as
the ruling dynasty until 1090; it was then displaced by the Almohades,
who were in turn overthrown by the Almoravides, in 1154. The dominion of
the Almoravides continued unbroken, save for an interval of one year
(1160-1161), until 1229. From 1229 to 1238 Granada formed part of the
kingdom of Murcia; but in the last-named year it passed into the hands
of Abu Abdullah Mahommed Ibn Al Ahmar, prince of Jaen and founder of the
dynasty of the Nasrides. Al Ahmar was deprived of Jaen in 1246, but
united Granada, Almeria and Malaga under his sceptre, and, as the
fervour of the Christian crusade against the Moors had temporarily
abated, he made peace with Castile, and even aided the Christians to
vanquish the Moslem princes of Seville. At the same time he offered
asylum to refugees from Valencia, Murcia and other territories in which
the Moors had been overcome. Al Ahmar and his successors ruled over
Granada until 1492, in an unbroken line of twenty-five sovereigns who
maintained their independence partly by force, and partly by payment of
tribute to their stronger neighbours. Their encouragement of
commerce--notably the silk trade with Italy--rendered Granada the
wealthiest of Spanish cities; their patronage of art, literature and
science attracted many learned Moslems, such as the historian Ibn
Khaldun and the geographer Ibn Batuta, to their court, and resulted in a
brilliant civilization, of which the Alhambra is the supreme monument.
The kingdom of Granada, which outlasted all the other Moorish states in
Spain, fell at last through dynastic rivalries and a harem intrigue. The
two noble families of the Zegri and the Beni Serraj (better known in
history and legend as the _Abencerrages_) encroached greatly upon the
royal prerogatives during the middle years of the 15th century. A crisis
arose in 1462, when an endeavour to control the Abencerrages resulted in
the dethronement of Abu Nasr Saad, and the accession of his son, Muley
Abu'l Hassan, whose name is preserved in that of Mulhacen, the loftiest
peak of the Sierra Nevada, and in a score of legends. Muley Hassan
weakened his position by resigning Malaga to his brother Ez Zagal, and
incurred the enmity of his first wife Aisha by marrying a beautiful
Spanish slave, Isabella de Solis, who had adopted the creed of Islam and
taken the name of Zorayah, "morning star." Aisha or Ayesha, who thus saw
her sons Abu Abdullah Mahommed (Boabdil) and Yusuf in danger of being
supplanted, appealed to the Abencerrages, whose leaders, according to
tradition, paid for their sympathy with their lives (see ALHAMBRA). In
1482 Boabdil succeeded in deposing his father, who fled to Malaga, but
the gradual advance of the Christians under Ferdinand and Isabella
forced him to resign the task of defence into the more warlike hands of
Muley Hassan and Ez Zagal (1483-1486). In 1491 after the loss of these
leaders, the Moors were decisively beaten; Boabdil, who had already been
twice captured and liberated by the Spaniards, was compelled to sign
away his kingdom; and on the 2nd of January 1492 the Spanish army
entered Granada, and the Moorish power in Spain was ended. The campaign
had aroused intense interest throughout Christendom; when the news
reached London a special thanksgiving service was held in St Paul's
Cathedral by order of Henry VII.
GRANADILLA, the name applied to _Passiflora quadrangularis_, Linn., a
plant of the natural order _Passifloreae_, a native of tropical America,
having smooth, cordate, ovate or acuminate leaves; petioles bearing from
4 to 6 glands; an emetic and narcotic root; scented flowers; and a
large, oblong fruit, containing numerous seeds, imbedded in a subacid
edible pulp. The granadilla is sometimes grown in British hothouses. The
fruits of several other species of _Passiflora_ are eaten. _P.
laurifolia_ is the "water lemon," and _P. maliformis_ the "sweet
calabash" of the West Indies.
GRANARIES. From ancient times grain has been stored in greater or lesser
bulk. The ancient Egyptians made a practice of preserving grain in years
of plenty against years of scarcity, and probably Joseph only carried
out on a large scale an habitual practice. The climate of Egypt being
very dry, grain could be stored in pits for a long time without sensible
loss of quality. The silo pit, as it has been termed, has been a
favourite way of storing grain from time immemorial in all oriental
lands. In Turkey and Persia usurers used to buy up wheat or barley when
comparatively cheap, and store it in hidden pits against seasons of
dearth. Probably that custom is not yet dead. In Malta a relatively
large stock of wheat is always preserved in some hundreds of pits
(silos) cut in the rock. A single silo will store from 60 to 80 tons of
wheat, which, with proper precautions, will keep in good condition for
four years or more. The silos are shaped like a cylinder resting on a
truncated cone, and surmounted by the same figure. The mouth of the pit
is round and small and covered by a stone slab, and the inside is lined
with barley straw and kept very dry. Samples are occasionally taken from
the wheat as from the hold of a ship, and at any signs of fermentation
the granary is cleared and the wheat turned over, but such is the
dryness of these silos that little trouble of this kind is experienced.
Towards the close of the 19th century warehouses specially intended for
holding grain began to multiply in Great Britain, but America is the
home of great granaries, known there as elevators. There are climatic
difficulties in the way of storing grain in Great Britain on a large
scale, but these difficulties have been largely overcome. To preserve
grain in good condition it must be kept as much as possible from
moisture and heat. New grain when brought into a warehouse has a
tendency to sweat, and in this condition will easily heat. If the
heating is allowed to continue the quality of the grain suffers. An
effectual remedy is to turn out the grain in layers, not too thick, on a
floor, and to keep turning it over so as to aerate it thoroughly. Grain
can thus be conditioned for storage in silos. There is reason to think
that grain in a sound and dry condition can be better stored in bins or
dry pits than in the open air; from a series of experiments carried out
on behalf of the French government it would seem that grain exposed to
the air is decomposed at 3-1/2 times the rate of grain stored in silo or
other bins.
In comparing the grain-storage system of Great Britain with that of
North America it must be borne in mind that whereas Great Britain raises
a comparatively small amount of grain, which is more or less rapidly
consumed, grain-growing is one of the greatest industries of the United
States and of Canada. The enormous surplus of wheat and maize produced
in America can only be profitably dealt with by such a system of storage
as has grown up there since the middle of the 19th century. The American
farmer can store his wheat or maize at a moderate rate, and can get an
advance on his warrant if he is in need of money. A holder of wheat in
Chicago can withdraw a similar grade of wheat from a New York elevator.
Modern granaries are all built on much the same plan. The mechanical
equipment for receiving and discharging grain is very similar in all
modern warehouses. A granary is usually erected on a quay at which large
vessels can lie and discharge. On the land side railway sidings connect
the warehouse with the chief lines in its district; accessibility to a
canal is an advantage. Ships are usually cleared by bucket elevators
which are dipped into the cargo, though in some cases pneumatic
elevators are substituted (see CONVEYORS). A travelling band with
throw-off carriage will speedily distribute a heavy load of grain. Band
conveyors serve equally well for charging or discharging the bins. Bins
are invariably provided with hopper bottoms, and any bin can be
effectively cleared by the band, which runs underneath, either in a
cellar or in a specially constructed tunnel. All granaries should be
provided with a sufficient plant of cleaning machinery to take from the
grain impurities as would be likely to be detrimental to its storing
qualities. Chief among such machines are the warehouse separators which
work by sieves and air currents (see FLOUR AND FLOUR MANUFACTURE).
The typical grain warehouse is furnished with a number of chambers for
grain storage which are known as silos, and may be built of wood, brick,
iron or ferro-concrete. Wood silos are usually square, made of flat
strips of wood nailed one on top of the other, and so overlapping each
other at the corners that alternately a longitudinal and a transverse
batten extends past the corner. The gaps are filled by short pieces of
timber securely nailed, and the whole silo wall is thus solid. This type
of bin was formerly in great favour, but it has certain drawbacks, such
as the possibility of dry rot, while weevils are apt to harbour in the
interstices unless lime washing is practised. Bricks and cement are good
materials for constructing silos of hexagonal form, but necessitate deep
foundations and substantial walls. Iron silos of circular form are used
to some extent in Great Britain, but are more common in North and South
America. In their case the walls are much thinner than with any other
material, but the condensation against the inner wall in wet weather is
a drawback in damp climates. Cylindrical tank silos have also been made
of fire-proof tiles. Ferro-concrete silos have been built on both the
Monier and the Hennebique systems. In the earlier type the bin was made
of an iron or steel framework filled in with concrete, but more recent
structures are composed entirely of steel rods embedded in cement.
Granaries built of this material have the great advantage, if properly
constructed, of being free from any risk of failure even in case of
uneven expansion of the material. With brick silos collapses through
pressure of the stored material are not unknown.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.]
Port Arthur, Canada.
One of the largest and most complete grain elevators or warehouses in
the world belongs to the Canadian Northern Railway Company, and was
erected at Port Arthur, Canada, in 1901-1904. It has a total storage
capacity of 7,000,000 bushels, or 875,000 qrs. of 480 lb. The range of
buildings and bins forms an oblong, and consists of two storage
houses, B and C, placed between two working or receiving houses A and
D (fig. 1). The receiving houses are fed by railway sidings. House A,
for example, has two sidings, one running through it and the other
beside it. Each siding serves five receiving pits, and a receiving
elevator of 10,000 lb. capacity per minute, or 60,000 bushels per
hour, can draw grain from either of two pits. Five elevators of 12,000
bushels per hour on the other side of the house serve five warehouse
separators, and all the grain received or discharged is weighed, there
being ten sets of automatic scales in the upper part of the house,
known as the cupola. The hopper of each weigher can take a charge of
1400 bushels (84,000 lb.). Grain can be conveyed either vertically or
horizontally to any part of the house, into any of the bins in the
annex B, or into any truck or lake steamer. This house is constructed
of timber and roofed with corrugated iron. The conveyor belts are 36
in. wide; those at the top of the house are provided with throw-off
carriages. The dust from the cleaning machinery is carefully collected
and spouted to the furnace under the boiler house, where it is
consumed. The cylindrical silo bins in the storage houses consist of
hollow tiles of burned clay which, it is claimed, are fire-proof. The
tiles are laid on end and are about 12 in. by 12 in. and from 4 in. to
6 in. in thickness according to the size of the bin. Each alternate
course consists of grooved blocks of channel tile forming a continuous
groove or belt round the bin. This groove receives a steel band acting
as a tension member and resisting the lateral pressure of the grain.
The steel bands once in position, the groove is completely filled with
cement grout by which the steel is encased and protected. Usually the
bottoms of the bins are furnished with self-discharging hoppers of
weak cinder or gravel concrete finished with cement mortar. For the
foundation or supporting floor reinforced concrete is frequently used.
The tiles already described are faced with tiles 1/2 to 1 in. thick,
which are laid solid in cement mortar covering the whole exterior of
the bin. Any damage to the facing tiles can easily be repaired since
they can be removed and replaced without affecting the main bin walls.
It is claimed that these facers constitute the best possible
protection against fire. A steel framework, covered with tiles, crowns
these circular bins and contains the conveyors and spouts which are
used to fill the bins. Five tunnels in the concrete bedding that
supports the bins carry the belt conveyors which bring back the grain
to the working house for cleaning or shipment. There are altogether in
each of the storage houses 80 circular bins, each 21 ft. in diameter,
and so grouped as to form 63 smaller interspace bins, or 143 bins in
all. Each bin will store grain in a column 85 ft. deep, and the whole
group has a capacity of 2,500,000 bushels. These bins were all
constructed by the Barnett & Record Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota,
U.S.A., in accordance with the Johnson & Record patent system of
fire-proof tile grain storage construction. In case one of the working
houses is attacked by fire the fire-proof storage houses protect not
only their own contents but also the other working house, and in the
event of its disablement or destruction the remaining one can be
easily connected with both the storage houses and handle their
contents.
Barrow-in-Furness.
Circular tank silos have not been extensively adopted in Great
Britain, but a typical silo tank installation exists at the Walmsley &
Smith flour mills which stand beside the Devonshire dock at
Barrow-in-Furness. There four circular bins, built of riveted steel
plates, stand in a group on a quadrangle close to the mill warehouse.
A covered gantry, through which passes a band conveyor, runs from the
mill warehouse to the working silo house which stands in the central
space amid the four steel tanks. The tanks are 70 ft. high, with a
diameter of 45 ft., and rest on foundations of concrete and steel.
Each has a separate conical roof and they are flat-bottomed, the grain
resting directly on the steel and concrete foundation bed. As the load
of the full tank is very heavy its even distribution on the bed is
considered a point of importance. Each tank can hold about 2500 tons
of wheat, which gives a total storage capacity for the four bins of
over 45,000 qrs. of 480 lb. Attached to the mill warehouse is a skip
elevator with a discharging capacity of 75 tons an hour. The grain is
cleared by this elevator from the hold or holds of the vessel to be
unloaded, and is delivered to the basement of the warehouse. Thence it
is elevated to an upper storey and passed through an automatic weigher
capable of taking a charge of 1 ton. From the weighing machine it can
be taken, with or without a preliminary cleaning, to any floor of the
warehouse, which has a total storing capacity of 8000 tons, or it can
be carried by the band conveyor through the gantry to the working
house of the silo installation and distributed to any one of the four
tank silos. There is also a connexion by a band conveyor running
through a covered gantry into the mill, which stands immediately in
the rear. It is perfectly easy to turn over the contents of any tank
into any other tank. The whole intake and wheat handling plant is
moved by two electro-motors of 35 H.P. each, one installed in the
warehouse and the other in the silo working house. Steel silo tanks
have the advantage of storing a heavy stock of wheat at comparatively
small capital outlay. On an average an ordinary silo bin will not hold
more than 500 to 1000 qrs., but each of the bins at Barrow will
contain 2500 tons or over 1100 qrs. The steel construction also
reduces the risk of fire and consequently lessens the fire premium.
Liverpool.
The important granaries at the Liverpool docks date from 1868, but
have since been brought up to modern requirements. The warehouses on
the Waterloo docks have an aggregate storage area of 11-3/4 acres,
while the sister warehouses on the Birkenhead side, which stand on the
margin of the great float, have an area of 11 acres. The total
capacity of these warehouses is about 200,000 qrs.
[Illustration: FIG. 2.]
Manchester.
The grain warehouse of the Manchester docks at Trafford wharf is
locally known as the grain elevator, because it was built to a great
extent on the model of an American elevator. Some of the mechanical
equipment was supplied by a Chicago firm. The total capacity is
1,500,000 bushels or 40,000 tons of grain, which is stored in 226
separate bins. The granary proper stands about 340 ft. from the side
of the dock, but is directly connected with the receiving tower, which
rises at the water's edge, by a band conveyor protected by a gantry.
The main building is 448 ft. long by 80 ft. wide; the whole of the
superstructure was constructed of wood with an external casing of
brickwork and tiles. The receiving tower is fitted with a bucket
elevator capable, within fairly wide limits, of adjustment to the
level of the hold to be unloaded. The elevator has the large unloading
capacity of 350 tons per hour, assuming it to be working in a full
hold. It is supplemented by a pneumatic elevator (Duckham system)
which can raise 200 tons per hour and is used chiefly in dealing with
parcels of grain or in clearing grain out of holds which the ordinary
elevator cannot reach. The power required to work the large elevator
as well as the various band conveyors is supplied by two sets of
horizontal Corliss compound engines of 500 H.P. jointly, which are fed
by two Galloway boilers working at 100 lb. pressure. The pneumatic
elevator is driven by two sets of triple expansion vertical engines of
600 H.P. fed by three boilers working at a pressure of 160 lb. The
grain received in the tower is automatically weighed. From the
receiving tower the grain is conveyed into the warehouse where it is
at once elevated to the top of a central tower, and is thence
distributed to any of the bins by band conveyors in the usual way. The
mechanical equipment of this warehouse is very complete, and the
following several operations can be simultaneously effected:
discharging grain from vessels in the dock at the rate of 350 tons
per hour; weighing in the tower; conveying grain into the warehouse
and distributing it into any of the 226 bins; moving grain from bin to
bin either for aerating or delivery, and simultaneously weighing in
bulk at the rate of 500 tons per hour; sacking grain, weighing and
loading the sacks into 40 railway trucks and 10 carts simultaneously;
loading grain from the warehouse into barges or coasting craft at the
rate of 150 tons per hour in bulk or of 250 sacks per hour. This
warehouse is equipped with a dryer of American construction, which can
deal with 50 tons of damp grain at one time, and is connected with the
whole bin system so that grain can be readily moved from any bin to
the dryer or conversely.
London.
A grain warehouse at the Victoria docks, London, belonging to the
London and India Docks Company (fig. 2) has a storing capacity of
about 25,000 qrs. or 200,000 bushels. It is over 100 ft. high, and is
built on the American plan of interlaced timbers resting on iron
columns. The walls are externally cased with steel plates. The grain
is stored in 56 silos, most of which are about 10 ft. square by 50 ft.
deep. The intake plant has a capacity of 100 tons of wheat an hour,
and includes six automatic grain scales, each of which can weigh off
one sack at a time. The main delivery floor of the warehouse is at a
convenient height above the ground level. Portable automatic weighing
machines can be placed under any bin. The whole of the plant is driven
by electric motors, one being allotted to each machine.
The transit silos of the London Grain Elevator Company, also at the
Victoria docks, consist of four complete and independent installations
standing on three tongues of land which project into the water (figs.
2 and 3). Each silo house is furnished with eight bins, each of which,
12 ft. square by 80 ft. deep, has a capacity of 1000 qrs. of grain. A
kind of well in the middle of each silo house contains the necessary
elevators, staircases, &c. The silo bins in each granary are erected
on a massive cast iron tank forming a sort of cellar, which rests on a
concrete foundation 6 ft. thick. The base of the tank is 30 ft. below
the water level. The silos are formed of wooden battens nailed one on
top of the other, the pieces interlacing. Rolled steel girders resting
on cast iron columns support the silos. To ensure a clean discharge
the hopper bottoms were designed so as to avoid joints and thus to be
free from rivets or similar protuberances. The exterior of each silo
house is covered with corrugated iron, and the same material is used
for the roofing. No conveyors serve the silo bins, as the elevators
which rise above the tops of the silos can feed any one of them by
gravity. There are three delivery elevators to each granary, one with
a capacity of 120 tons and the other two of 100 tons each an hour.
Each silo house is served by a large elevator with a capacity of 120
tons per hour, which discharges into the elevator well inside the
house. The delivery elevators discharge into a receiving shed in which
there is a large hopper feeding six automatic weighing machines. Each
charge as it is weighed empties itself automatically into sacks, which
are then ready for loading. Each pair of warehouses is provided with a
conveyor band 308 ft. long, used either for carrying sacks from the
weighing sheds to railway trucks or for carrying grain in bulk to
barges or trucks. Each silo house has an identical mechanical
equipment apart from the delivery band it shares with its fellow
warehouse. All operations in connexion with the silo houses are
effected under cover. The silos are normally fed by a fleet of
twenty-six of Philip's patent self-discharging lighters. These craft
are hopper-bottomed and fitted with band conveyors of the ordinary
type, running between the double keelson of the lighter and delivering
into an elevator erected at the stern of the lighter. By this means
little trimming is required after the barge, which holds about 200
tons of grain, has been cleared. Ocean steamers of such draft as to
preclude their entry into any of the up river docks are cleared at
Tilbury by these lighters. It is said that grain loaded at Tilbury
into these lighters can be delivered from the transit silos to railway
trucks or barges in about six hours. The total storage capacity of the
silos amounts to 32,000 qrs. The motive power is furnished by 14 gas
engines of a total capacity of 366 H.P.
Rumania.
Two of the largest granaries on the continent of Europe are situated
at the mouth of the Danube, at Braila and Galatz, in Rumania, and
serve for both the reception and discharge of grain. At the edge of
the quay on which these warehouses are built there are rails with a
gauge of 11-1/2 ft., upon which run two mechanical loading and
unloading appliances. The first consists of a telescopic elevator
which raises the grain and delivers it to one of the two band
conveyors at the head of the apparatus. Each of these bands feeds
automatic weighing machines with an hourly capacity of 75 tons. From
these weighers the grain is either discharged through a manhole in the
ground to a band conveyor running in a tunnel parallel to the quay
wall, or it is raised by a second elevator (part of the same unloading
apparatus), set at an inclined angle, which delivers at a sufficient
height to load railway trucks on the siding running parallel to the
quay. A turning gear is provided so as to reverse, if required, the
operation of the whole apparatus, that the portion overhanging the
water can be turned to the land side. The unloading capacity is 150
tons of grain per hour. If it be desired to load a ship the telescopic
elevator has only to be turned round and dipped into any one of 15
wells, which can be filled up with grain from the land side. The
capacity of each granary is 233,333 qrs.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.
Transit Silos of the London Grain Elevator Co. Ltd., Victoria Docks,
London.
A. Barge Elevators
B. Receiving Elevators
C. Silo Bins
D. Delivery Elevators
E. Weigh Houses
F. Automatic Scales
G. Sack, Band Gantry
Longitudinal Elevation looking towards Barge Elevators.