tion in hiding rather than in flight; but when taking to flight may make easy escape. Chapman in Bird Life says: “Quail, partridges and grouse, much to the amateur sportsman's discomfiture, spring from the ground as though thrown from a catapult, and reach their highest speed within a few yards from the starting-point.”
The common prairie-hen or prairie-chicken, the pinnated grouse, at one time was very abundant in the wide prairie country; because of ignorance, carelessness and greed it now is nearly extinct. In common with other grouse it makes a booming sound in the spring by means of air-sacs located on the neck. The prairie sharp-tailed grouse belongs to the Great Plains, but, like the pinnated grouse, is fast disappearing. The sage-grouse, a cock-of-the-plains, feeds and thrives on sage-brush. It is the largest grouse found in America, a large male weighing about six pounds. It is a handsome, showy bird with an extremely long tail; on the side of the neck it has large air-sacs that produce a deep, hollow tone. The Canada grouse and blue grouse are other varieties, both sometimes spoken of as “Fool Hen” because of too-trusting ways. The ptarmigans (tär′mi-gans) are interesting members of the grouse family. With change of season these birds greatly change their appearance; snow-white in winter, in mid-summer their plumage is chestnut-brown barred with black. Ptarmigans are of great food-value to Eskimos and Indians, and have proved of help in time of need to various parties of Arctic explorers. They are found generally in Arctic America and Alaska. There are several species. A species found within the United States is known in Colorado as the white quail; another species is said to wander sometimes into northern New England. The red grouse (see illustration) of Scotland, is a ptarmigan that does not turn white in winter. See Partridge and Pheasant. See Hornaday: American Natural History; Abel Chapman: Bird Life of the Borders; and Frank Chapman: Bird Life.
Growth (in plants), permanent alteration of form, usually accompanied by increase in size, the latter being the only popular criterion of growth. In plants growth exhibits three features at different times. In the earlier phase the formation of new cells by division is characteristic. This is followed by the rapid enlargement of the cells. In doing this, the cells do not form a corresponding amount of new protoplasm, but take up large quantities of water, which is secreted into the center of the cell. The volume may thus be increased a thousandfold or more. In this feature the growth of plants differs most from that of animals. After enlargement has ceased, thickening (usually irregular) of the walls and sometimes the death and disappearance of the protoplasm ensue. The phase of enlargement is the only easily measurable phase of growth. It is studied by records or observations with the auxanometer (which see). Growth is dependent on a suitable supply of oxygen, food and water. It is greatly influenced in rate and amount by external agents, as heat, gravitation, light, etc. Because the heat and light vary periodically, corresponding to day and night, the rate of growth shows a daily variation, being usually most rapid during the night. Besides variations due to external causes, growth shows variations which are unexplained, but are supposed to be due to internal causes. Even when all the conditions affecting growth are uniform, its rate is at first slow, becoming more and more rapid till it reaches a maximum, after which it declines even more rapidly, until it ceases entirely. The duration of growth of any part is called the grand period to distinguish it from the daily period just mentioned. During both daily and grand periods, there also are minor variations in rate. The cause of the cessation of growth, even under favorable conditions, is not known.
Guadalajara (gwä′thȧ-lȧ-hä′rȧ), capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, is the third city of the republic and lies in the valley of the Rio Grande de Santiago, 280 miles by rail from the city of Mexico. The city is beautifully laid out, has some fine public buildings, and is the chief seat of the cotton and woolen manufactures of the country as well as of pottery and metal wares. Population 118,799.
Guadalquivir (ga̤′dȧl-kwĭv′ẽr), meaning the great river, the largest river of Spain and the only one that all the year round has a full stream. It rises in the Sierra de Cazorla, flows 374 miles in a southwesterly direction, and empties into the Gulf of Cadiz. It is a slow, sluggish stream, only breaking into rapids near the Sierra Morena. It is navigable as far as Seville, 80 miles from its mouth.
Guadeloupe (ga̤′dȧ-lo͞op′), an island, one of the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies and the most important of those belonging to France. It is about 77 miles northwest of Martinique. It covers 494 square miles, and is divided into Grand-Terre on the east and Basse-Terre on the west by a strait called Salt River. Grand-Terre is a coral island. Earthquakes are frequent, and in the towns the houses are now built of wood or iron. Sugar and coffee are exported. The colony has a French governor. The island was discovered by Columbus in 1493, and colonized by the French in 1635. The area of the two islands is 583 square miles, with an estimated population of 182,000, including about 15,000 coolies. The chief town is Point-à-Pitre
