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BIOT-BIRCH.

its streets are narrow, but clean; it has several mosques with tall minarets, a caravansary, a bazaar, and a ruined citadel and castle. Travellers and caravans from Aleppo to Diarbekir, Bagdad, Persia, &c., cross the Euphrates at this point. From B. Colonel Chesney proposed to navigate the Euphrates by small steamers to its mouth in the Persian Gulf, a distance of 1143 miles. B., which signifies well,' is also the prefix of several other small towns in Arabia.

BIRCH (Bétula), a genus of plants of the natural order Amentaceae (q. v.), sub-order Betulinæ, the natural order Betulacea of some botanists. In this order, or sub-order-which contains only the two genera, Birch and Alder (q. v.)--the flowers have merely small scales for their perianth; the ovary is two-celled, but the fruit-a small achenium (q. v.)— is by abortion one-celled; the fruits and scales united form a sort of cone; and the leaves have stipules

physicist and astronomer, was born at Paris 21st | surrounded by a strong wall flanked with towers April 1774. He at first entered the artillery, but forsook the service for science; and in 1800 became Professor of Physics in the Collège de France. He was made a member of the Institute in 1803; and in 1804, it was solely through him that the Institute voted against making Napoleon emperor. Along with Arago, he was made a member of the Bureau of Longitude, and (1806) sent to Spain to carry out the measuring of a degree of the meridian, preparatory to the introduction of the present French system of weights and measures. On his return, he devoted himself to physical researches and to lecturing. In 1815 the Royal Society of London elected him one of their 50 foreign members. In 1817, he visited England, and went as far north as the Shetland Islands, in order to make observations along the line of the English arc of meridian, which had been extended by Colonel Mudge. His most valuable contributions to science are on the polarisation of light; and his researches connected with ancient astronomy are also very valuable. Of his numerous writings may be mentioned Traité Elémentaire d'Astronomie Physique, 3 vols. (Paris, 1805); 3d ed., considerably augmented (1850), 6 vols., with vol. of plates-translated into English. Traité de Physique, 4 vols. (1816); Précise de Physique, an abridgment of the former in 2 vols. (1817), often republished; Recueil d'Observations Géodésiques, &c. (1821). B. also contributed very many excellent biographies of scientific men to the Biographie Universelle. The 'Mémoires' of the Institute, and similar publications, contain many valuable contributions from Biot. Of the more recent is a Mémoire sur la Constitution de l'Atmosphere Terrestre in the Connaissance des Temps (1841). In 1849, B. was made a commander of the Legion of Honour. He was also a member of most of the learned societies in Europe. He died February 3, 1862.

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BIOT, EDUARD CONSTANT, Sson of the former, a distinguished Chinese scholar, was born at Paris 2d July 1803. He was one of the first to promote the introduction of railways in France: but his health failing, he retired from the public service, and devoted his leisure to the study of Chinese, and the history of the social organisation of the Celestial Empire. He died March 1850. He wrote a Dictionnaire des Villes, &c., de l'Empire Chinois (1842), and a multitude of Mémoires on Chinese subjects of scientific and social interest, printed in the Journal Asiatique, &c. His interesting work, De l'Abolition de l'Esclavage Ancienne en Occident (1840), was awarded a gold medal by the Institute.

BI'PED (Lat.), two-footed, a term sometimes, ap plied, as descriptive, to man, more frequently to birds, and which scarcely admits of application to any other animal except a very few species of reptiles, some of which are batrachian (see BATRACHIA and SYREN), and some saurian (see SAURIA). Some two-footed saurians may be regarded as forming a link between that order and serpents, the two-footed batrachians as connecting batrachians with fishes, other characters of resemblance being in both instances associated

with this.

BIPE'NNIS, a double-headed axe, the weapon which, according to ancient historians and artists, particularly distinguished those fabulous female warriors, the Amazons.

BIQUADRA'TIC. See EQUATIONS.

BIR (ancient Birtha, Turkish Bireh-jik), a town of from 1800 to 2000 houses of Asiatic Turkey, in the pashalic of Diarbekir. It is situated on the east bank of the Euphrates, in lat. 37° 3′ N., long. 38° E., on a steep hill above the river, the passage of which is here commanded by a castle. B. is

Common Birch (Betula alba).

natives of temperate and cold regions.-The genus which soon fall off. They are all trees or shrubs, Betula is distinguished by 10-12 stamens, and winged achenia.-The COMMON B. (Betula alba) has small ovato-triangular doubly serrated leaves. It is a very beautiful forest-tree, abounding in the North of Europe and of Asia, often forming large groves by itself. In the south of Europe, it is found only upon mountains of considerable elevation. It is a tree of rapid growth. In favourable situations, it attains the height of 60 or even 70 feet, with a diameter of 14 or 2 feet; whilst on the northern, or utmost alpine limits of vegetation, it only appears as a stunted bush. The bark is smooth and silvery white, and its outermost layers are thrown off as the tree advances in age. The smaller branches are very slender and flexible, and in a particularly graceful variety called the WEEPING B. (B. pendula of some botanists), they are still more slender, elongated, and pendulous. Some of the finest Weeping Birches in Britain stand on the banks of the river Findhorn, near Forres, in Morayshire; they are 60 feet high, and exhibit pendent masses of spray 10 feet.

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n length. The bark and leaves of the B. are, in some of the kidneys and in cases of urinary calculus northern countries, used medicinally in cases of fever | It contains more than 2 per cent. of sugar.-The and eruptions. They are also used for dyeing yellow. WHITE B. of North America (B. populifolia) very The bark is sometimes used for tanning, and is pre- nearly resembles the common B., but is of much less ferred to every other kind of bark for steeping nets, value. It is found as far south as Pennsylvania. sails, and cordage. See BARK FOR TANNING. It is in The wood is scarcely used.-The BLACK B. of the some countries made into shoes, hats, drinking-cups, same country (B. nigra), also sometimes called RED &c., and it is even twisted into a coarse kind of B., and very similar to the common B., produces ropes. Portable boats made of it are used on the very hard and valuable timber. It attains the Volga. It is remarkable for durability. In many height of 70 feet. It is not found further north parts of the north of Europe, it is used instead of than Massachusetts. The bark is of a dark colour, the slates or shingles by the peasantry; and in Russia-epidermis in the younger trees reddish.-But the the outer or white layers being subjected to distilla- name BLACK B. is also given to another species tion-there is obtained a reddish empyreumatic oil found in the more northern parts of North America, called B. OIL; it yields also the B. TAR, or Degutt, and sometimes called the SWEET B. or CHERRY B. which is employed in the preparation of Russia | (B. lenta), also a tree of 70 feet or upwards in height, leather. Dried, ground, and mixed with meal, B. and of which the timber is fine-grained, and valuable bark is used in Norway for feeding swine; and, in for making furniture, and for other purposes. Its times of scarcity, has even served for human food. leaves, when bruised, diffuse a sweet odour, and The wood is in universal use in northern countries when carefully dried, make an agreeable tea. It is for the most various purposes. It is white, firm, and remarkable that this tree has been little planted in tough, and is employed by wheel-wrights, coopers, Britain.-The YELLOW B. of North America (B. turners, &c. It is very much employed in the manu- excelsa) is a tree of 70-80 feet high, destitute of facture of barrels for fish. It is much employed branches for 30-40 feet, remarkable for its large for smoking hams, herrings, &c., because of the leaves, which are 34 inches long, and for the brilliant flavour which it imparts. Much of it is made golden yellow colour of the epidermis. It is found into charcoal for forges. The twigs are in general in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, &c. Its use for besoms. In the Highlands of Scotland, timber is used in ship-building. The young saplings and in many other countries, the sap is not only of all these American species are much employed for used as a beverage in a fresh state, but is con- making hoops for casks.-The PAPER B. (B. papyverted by fermentation into a kind of wine. To racea) is found in the northern parts of North obtain it, a hole is bored in the stem, in spring, in America. It attains the height of 70 feet. an oblique direction, one or two inches deep, and a bark of the young trees is of a brilliant whiteness. small tube is introduced to carry the sap into a vessel. The bark is capable of division into very thin sheets, From a strong stem, there often flows as much as which have been used as a substitute for paper. It from four to six quarts in a day. If the hole is again is used by the Indians for canoes, boxes, buckets, baskets, &c. Large plates of it are curiously stitched together with the fibrous roots of the White Spruce, and coated with the resin of the Balm of Gilead Fir. The wood is used for the same purposes with that of the common B.-The mountainous districts of India produce several species of this genus. Thin, delicate plates of the bark of B. Bhojputtra, a native of the mountains of Kumaon, are used for lining the tubes of hookahs, and are carried in great quantities to the plains of India for this purpose. They were formerly used instead of paper for writing. B. acuminata, a native of the mountains of Nepaul, is a tree of 50-60 feet high, covered with branches from the base, and of an oval form. wood is strong and durable.-The DWARF B. (B. mana) is a mere bushy shrub, seldom more than two or three feet high, and generally much less. It has orbicular crenate leaves. It is a native of the whole of the most northern regions of the globe, and is found in some parts of the Highlands of Scotland. It is interesting because of its uses to the Laplanders and other inhabitants of very northern regions, to whom it supplies their chief fuel, and the material with which they stuff their beds. Its seeds are the food of the ptarmigan, on which the Laplanders in a considerable degree depend. A similar shrubby species (B. antarctica) occurs in Tierra del Fuego.

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Common Birch :

Sewing catkin and leaves.

closed up each time with a wooden plug, covered over with clay or rosin, and the tapping is annually renewed in the same place, the tree sustains very ittle injury. B. sap is very beneficial in diseases

Its

BIRCH, THOMAS, D.D., an industrious historical writer, son of a coffee-mill maker, a Quaker, born at Clerkenwell, November 23, 1705, was at first an usher in different schools. Having taken priests' orders in 1731, he was presented in 1732 to a living in Essex, and in 1734 became chaplain to the Ear of Kilmarnock, who was beheaded in 1746. Appointed in the latter year Rector of St. Margaret Pattens with St. Gabriel, Frenchurch Street, London, B.. was elected in 1752 one of the secretaries of the Royal Society, a history of which he published in 4 vols., 4to, in 1756-1757. In 1761, he was preferred to the Rectory of Deepdene, Surrey. His first

BIRCH-PFEIFFER-BIRD-CATCHING SPIDER.

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BIRD-BOLT. Stevens, in his note on Much Ado about Nothing, says the B. is a short, thick arrow, without point, spreading at the extremity so much as to leave a broad flat surface, about the

literary undertaking, in which he was assisted by last picture, the 'Embarkation of Louis XVIII. others, was The General Dictionary, Historical and for France,' which was never finished, was the least Critical, 10 vols., 1734-1741, founded on Bayle's satisfactory of all his works. He died in 1819. His celebrated work. He next edited the collection of most popular works are-The Blacksmith's Shop,' state-papers of Thurloe, secretary to Oliver Cromwell, The Country Auction,' 'The Village Politicians,' 7 vols., folio, 1742. His other works are Life of 'The Young Recruit,' &c. the Hon. Robert Boyle, 1744; Lives and Characters of the Illustrious Persons of Great Britain, the engravings by Houbraken, Gravelot, and Vertue (London, 1743-1752); Inquiry into the Share which King Charles I. had in the Transactions of the Earl of Glamorgan, 1747; Historical View of the Negotiations between the Courts of England, France, and Brussels, 1592 to 1617, 1749; Life of Tillotson, 1752; Memoirs of the Reign of Queen Elizabeth, 2 vols., 1754; Life of Henry Prince of Wales, 1760; &c. He likewise edited the works of Sir Walter Raleigh, Bacon's works, and various others. He was killed by a fall from his horse in the Hampstead Road, 9th January 1766. He left an extensive MS. collection, with his library, to the British Museum, of which he was a trustee. From these MSS. were compiled The Courts and Times of James I., and Charles I., 4 vols. 8vo. (London, 1848).

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BIRCH PFEIFFER, CHARLOTTE, German actress and writer of plays, was born at Stuttgart in the year 1800. Her passion for the stage displayed itself so strongly, that after encountering much opposition on the part of her parents, she made her début at Munich at the age of thirteen, and afterwards played with great success at Berlin, Vienna, and Hamburg. In 1825, she married Dr. Christian Birch of Copenhagen, and afterwards performed at Petersburg, Pesth, Amsterdam, and other places. In 1837, she undertook the direction of the theatre at Zurich. At a later period, she acquired even greater renown as a writer for the stage than as an actress. Her principal theatrical pieces are Pfefferrösel; Hinko; Die Günstlinge, perhaps her best piece; Der Glöckner von Notre Dame; &c. In 1843, Madame B. resigned the direction of the Zurich theatre, and after visiting professionally most of the cities in Germany, made an engagement with the theatre-royal at Berlin. Since that time, her works have displayed marked progress. The chief productions of what may be termed her later manner are Die Marquise von Villette (1845), Dorf und Stadt (1848), Eine Familie (1849), Anna von Ostreich (1850), Ein Billet (1851). In 1847, Madame B. commenced to publish a complete edition of her dramatic works, which are about 70 in number. She died September 27, 1868.

BIRD, EDWARD, an English 'genre' painter of considerable celebrity, was born at Wolverhampton in 1772. He having early displayed a strong inclination for drawing, his father thought he was consulting his son's taste when he apprenticed him to a Birmingham tea-board manufacturer, his duty there being to paint flowers, shepherds, &c., on the boards. On the expiration of his apprenticeship, B. established himself as a drawing-master in Bristol; and two of his pictures, the 'Choristers Rehearsing,' and 'The Will,' having been bought by the Duke of Clarence, afterwards William IV., and the Marquis of Hastings, his reputation was secure. He was elected a Royal Academician, and soon obtained some good commissions. The 'Field of Chevy Chase the Day after the Battle' is generally considered his master-piece. His Death of Eli' obtained the British Institution prize of 300 guineas. In 1813, B. was appointed painter to the Princess Charlotte. He now became ambitious to excel in Scripture subjects, and painted several, none of which, however, added to his fame. His

Bird-Bolts.

breadth of a shilling. Such are to this day in use to kill rooks with, and are shot from a cross-bow.' The annexed illustration is copied from Douce's Illustra tions of Shakspeare.

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BIRD-CATCHING SPIDER, a name originally given to a large spider, Mygale avicularia, a native of Cayenne and Surinam; but which is now extensively applied, being equally appropriate to a number of large species of Mygale (q. v.) and Epeira (q. v.), perhaps also of other genera. It has, indeed, been denied by some observers that the name is truly appropriate, but the positive evidence is too strong to be easily set aside by evidence merely negative. The Mygale avicularia is nearly two inches long, very hairy, and almost entirely black; its feet, when stretched out, occupy a surface of nearly a foot in diameter. The hooks of its mandibles are strong, conical, and very black. This great spider forms a tube-shaped cell, widening

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towards the mouth, of a fine white semi-transparent tissue, like muslin, in clefts of trees or hollows among rocks and stones. From this it issues only at night, to prey upon insects, and, it is said, upon humming-birds. It does not construct a net for the capture of its prey, but takes it by hunting, as do other large species of Mygale, natives of the warm parts of America, the East Indies, and Africa. It is probably a species of this genus that Dampier mentions as found in Campeachy, the fangs of which, black as jet, smooth as glass, and, at their small end as sharp as a thorn,' are said by him to be worn by some persons in their tobacco-pouches, to pick their pipes with; and to be by others used as toothpicks, in the belief of their having power to expel the toothache. The bite of the large species of this genus is said to be dangerous.

It appears that spiders of the genus Epeira feed

BIRD-CHERRY-BIRD OF PARADISE.

upon small birds caught in their webs, which have even been described as in some cases large enough to arrest the flight of a bird the size of a thrush, and to impede the traveller in tropical forests.

they exhibit a great similarity, not only in the characters of the bill, feet, &c., and in general form, but also in their habits, and even in their voice. They have been the subject of many fables. The state in which their skins are usually exported from their native islands, gave rise to the notion that they were destitute of feet; and free scope being allowed to fancy, it became the prevalent belief that they spent their whole lives floating in the air, except when perhaps they suspended themselves for a little by their long tail-filaments from the uppermost branches of trees. As for their food, it was supposed to be either mere dew and vapours, or nectar obtained from the flowers of trees, climbers, and plants growing on the branches of trees, in the high regions of bright sunshine above the shade of the tropical forests. Antony Pigafetta, indeed, who accompanied Magellan in his voyage round the world, described them as having legs, and stated that these were cut off as useless in the preparation of the skins; but his statement was not credited, and Aldrovandus went the length of accusing him of an audacious falsehood. It would seem that the fables concerning the Birds of P. are in part to be ascribed to the desire of the inhabitants of those islands in which they are found to increase the value of their skins as an article of merchandise and a sort of sacred character being attached to them, they were employed not merely for ornament, but as a charm to secure the life of the wearer against the dangers of battle. The people of Ternate call them Manuco-Dewata, or Birds of God; which name Buffon modified into Manucode. In different languages they are known by names signifying Birds of the Air, Birds of the Sun, &c.

BI'RD-CHERRY (Padus), a subdivision of the genus Cerasus (see CHERRY), itself very generally regarded as a sub-genus of Prunus (see PLUM). The Bird-cherries are distinguished by racemes of small flowers and deciduous leaves.-The COMMON B. (Prunus or Cerasus Padus), called in Scotland Hagberry, is a tall shrub or small tree, sometimes reaching the height of 40 feet, growing wild in moist woods in Britain, and in most parts of Europe and the north of Asia. Its younger branches are of a very dark or reddish-brown colour. The drupes are small, of a sweetish subacid taste, combined with a degree of what many regard as nauseous bitterness; but to some palates they are not disagreeable. A well-flavoured spirituous liquor is prepared from them in the north of Europe. In Siberia, the juice expressed from the ripe fruit is drunk either alone or mixed with milk, and the remaining mass is kneaded into cakes, and used as food. Very nearly allied to this species is the VIRGINIAN B. (P. or C. Virginiana), a tree of 80-100 feet in height, found from Tennessee to Upper Canada, and now frequent in Britain as an ornamental tree, although never attaining the size which it does in the United States. The wood is compact, fine-grained, takes a fine polish, and is much used in America by cabinet-makers. The bark is used in the United States as a febrifuge. The fruit is not agreeable; but a cordial is made from it by infusion in spirits with sugar, and, when dried and bruised, it forms an esteemed addition to pemmican (q. v.).

BIRD ISLAND, the north-west island of the Sandwich Archipelago, in lat. 22° 20' N., and long. 160° W. It is, as its name implies, a mere haunt of sea-fowl the links of the chain increasing pretty regularly in size and elevation from B. I. on the

north-west to Hawaii on the south-east.

The males alone are birds of splendid plumage, that of the females possessing neither brilliancy of of the males is not only characterised by great colours nor remarkable development. The plumage brightness of tints, but by a glossy velvety appearance, a metallic lustre, and a singularly beautiful play of colours. Tufts of feathers generally grow

BIRD-LIME is a viscid and adhesive substance, which is placed on twigs of trees or wire-netting for the purpose of catching the birds which may alight thereon. A common practice is to place a decoy or tame bird in a cage near where the B. is spread; the wild birds, attracted to the spot by the song of the tame bird, get entangled with the birdlime. The substance is generally prepared from the middle bark of the holly, misletoe, or distaff-thistle, by chopping up the bark, treating it with water, boiling for several hours, then straining; and lastly, concentrating the liquid by evaporation, when the B. assumes a gelatinous consistence resembling that of moist putty. It mainly consists of a substance named by the chemist viscin. A second mode of preparing B., is to employ ordinary wheat-flour; place it in a piece of cotton cloth; tie up the ends, so as to form a bag; immerse the whole in a basin of water, or allow a stream of water to flow upon it; and repeatedly squeeze the bag and its contents. The result is, that the starch of the wheat-flour is pressed out of the cloth bag, and an adhesive substance named gluten is left on the cloth. This substance resembles that prepared by the previous process in its properties; but the former mode of preparing B. is a much cheaper plan, and is that generally followed.

from the shoulders, and these, in some of the kinds, are prolonged so as to cover the wings; in the species sometimes called the Common B. of P., and sometimes the Great Emerald B. of P. (Paradisea

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BIRD OF PA'RADISE, the common name of a family of birds, Paradiseide of ornithologists, found chiefly in New Guinea and neighbouring islands, and remarkable for splendour of plumage. In all other respects, however, they are very closely allied to the crow-family, Corvida (q. v.), to which

Bird of l'aradise (Paradisea apoda)—male. apoda), the prolongation of these shoulder tufts is so great, that they extend far beyond the body, and even far beyond the tail. They constitute the most magnificent part of the well-known B. of P. plumes. They are exquisitely light and delicate. It has

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