Trousset encyclopedia

GREENWICH  Town in Kent (England), on the right bank of the Thames, 4.34 miles (7 km) S-E from Saint-Paul’s cathedral in London; pop. 469,370. It is particularly famous for its hospital for sailors and its observatory, whose longitude is the only one allowed on English charts. The hospital, opened in 1705, stands on the site of a former royal palace called house of Greenwich, Placentia or The Pleasaunce; it is used today as a hospital for sailors wounded in times of war, the former residents having obtained in 1865 the right to live elsewhere. The observatory was built by Charles II. Greenwich has very important factories.

Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.

KANO  city in central Africa, capital of a province of the same name in Hausa, 12° N. latitude and 6° 20′ E. longitude. Pop. approximately 40,000, composed of slaves for almost one half. Its 32.8 feet high (10 m) clay wall forms a loop more than 15.52 miles long (25 km). cotton fabric dyed in various colors is the main good available for trade. leather, goatskins, sandals, dyed sheepskins, kola nuts and ivory feature among the other goods for export. 5000 slaves are exported every year. The province of Kano includes a broad and fertile district, with a population of more than 500,000.

Extract from the Trousset encyclopedia, 1886 – 1891.

GECKO s. (onomatop. call of this animal). Herpet. Family of nocturnal saurians which includes more than sixty species, living in warm climates and having habits and traits as distinct in form and structure as those of crocodiles or chameleons. The common gecko (platydactylus guttatus, Cuv.) can be found in Asia and its archipelagoes; it is 9.84 inches (25 cm) long, the tail counting for half of this length. It is of a mainly blackish gray colour, with whitish spots. The gecko which can be found on West Indian walls is hemidactylus mabouia, Cuv. It is approximately 4.72 inches (12 cm) long, greyish and marbled with brown, with the posterior half of the tail ringed …Read more »

GUAVA TREE substantive, botany – genus of myrtaceae, which includes several species of trees growing in America and in the East Indies. psidium guaiava, of which several species are cultivated, is a small tree from 9.84 to 16.4 feet (3 to 5 m) high, seldom can it grow up to 23 feet (7 m). Its fruit, of a bright yellow colour, have a strong fragrance and contain a yellowish or reddish pulp which has an acidulous flavour. The guava tree, which grows in abundance in …Read more »

LAMMERGEIER s. Ornit. Bird of prey or raptor, intermediate between vulture and falcon. The main species is the Bearded Vulture (gypaetus barbatus), the largest bird of prey in Europe, 4.43 feet (1.35 m) long, wingspread of 9.8 to 10.83 feet (3 m to 3.30 m). In the adult, the higher part of the head, the neck and the lower parts of the body are whitish, tinged with orange; these colors are darker on the chest; wings and tail …Read more »

GUADALAJARA , mexican city, the second in size, capital of the state of Jalisco, 370 km northwest of Mexico City; pop. approximately 70,000. It is built on the left bank of the Rio Santiago, in the middle of a vast and barren plain. The Plaza de Armas is very broad; its northern and eastern sides are occupied by the cathedral and the Government Palace and each of the two other sides by an uninterrupted arcade, with …Read more »

HIBISCUS s. (gr. marshmallow). bot. genus of Malvaceae, which includes approximately 150 species of herbs, shrubs and even trees, particularly widespread in tropical areas. The chinese hibiscus (hibiscus rosa sinensis) is a shrub 6.6 to 9.8 feet (2 to 3 m) high which produced several varieties, bearing variously coloured double flowers. The swamp hibiscus, (hibiscus moscheutos), called swamp rose mallow in North America, is often very abundant in the brackish swamps and along the rivers of eastern United States. Its height can reach 4.26 to 7.70 feet (1.30 to 2.35 m), it has many pink (seldom white) flowers, with a diameter of 4 to 4.72 inches (10 to 12 cm). It is one of the most remarkable flowers of middle summer. The garden hibiscus (hibiscus Syriacus), is an enormous shrub with crimson flowers, introduced into our gardens more than two centuries ago. In garden supply and nursery catalogues, this hibiscus is known under the name of althæa frutex; it is also called rose of sharon: it flowers …Read more »