GODIN DES ODONAIS, da zo'do'nA', JEAN (1712-92). A French naturalist, born at Saint Amand, France. Early in his life he went to Peru, where he was appointed to the chair of natural science and astronomy at Quito (1739). Several years later he began a botanical explora tion of Northern Peru and Ecuador, and after wards removed to Cayenne, where from 1750 to 1765 he explored the neighboring country and Brazilian Guiana. From here he traveled along the Amazon, on the banks of which he made fur ther botanical investigations during a period extending over eight years. On these journeys he prepared illustrations of hundreds of mammals and birds, many of them before unknown, and collected more than 10,000 species of plants. Re turning to France in 1773, he gave his collec tions to the Museum of Natural History at Paris. His numerous publications, comprising works on the botany and languages of South America, in clude: Fiore raisonnee du Perou (1776), con taining more than 4000 species, with two volumes of illustrations, in more than 700 plates; Les plantes de la Guayane (1777) ; Payne du Peratc (1778), with numerous illustrations; Fiore de la Guayane (1779), with three volumes of illustra tions; Grammaire coniparee des langues indiennes de l'Amerigue du Slid (1784).
GoDING, ge'dIng (Bohemian Hodonin). A town of Austria in Moravia, on the right bank of the navigable March, which here forms part of the Hungarian boundary. It is about 70 miles northeast of Vienna, and in an agricultural dis trict (Map: Austria, E 2). The principal at traction is the Imperial castle, with its immense domain. There is a considerable trade in dressed lumber. Population. in 1890, 8482; in 1900, 10,231.