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BO TREE---BOA.

sacred city Anarajapoora, is in all probability the | the species are of large size and great strength, oldest tree in the world, of which the age can some of them far exceeding in these respects all

other serpents. The story related by the ancients of a serpent 120 feet in length, which devoured several soldiers, and caused alarm to a Roman army in Africa, may perhaps be deemed unworthy of credit, although the skin is said to have been long preserved at Rome; but there is good reason to believe that serpents in more modern times have attained at least half this length, and have made even the larger mammalia, and sometimes man, their prey. The Boïda are not venomous; but their mouth, although destitute of poison-fangs, is so furnished with teeth as to make their bite very severe. Their teeth are numerous, long, and directed backwards, so as the more effectually to prevent the escape of the prey, which is first seized by the mouth, and then the serpent, with a rapidity of

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Bo Tree.

From a Drawing in Tennent's work on Ceylon.

It was

be ascertained by historical evidence. planted in 288 B. C., and is therefore now (in 1860) 2148 years old. Sir James Emerson Tennent, in his work on Ceylon, gives reasons for believing that the tree is really of this wonderful age, and refers to historic documents in which it is mentioned at different dates, as 182 a. D., 223 a. D., and so, on to the present day. This tree is invested, in the estimation of the Buddhists, with wonderful sanctity. 'To it,' says Sir James, 'kings have even dedicated their dominious in testimony of their belief that it is a branch of the identical fig-tree under which Gotama Buddha reclined at Uruwelaya when he underwent his apotheosis.' Its leaves are carried away as treasures by pilgrims; but it is too sacred to be touched with a knife, and therefore they are only gathered when they fall.

BO'A, in popular language, the name of all those large serpents which kill their prey by entwining themselves around it, and constricting it in their coils; but by zoologists of the present day, limited as the name of a genus to a very small portion of their number, all of which are natives of the warm parts of America-the similar large serpents of Asia and Africa forming the genus Python (q. v.). The name B., however, was certainly not originally applied to American serpents, for it is used by Pliny, who accounts for its origin by a fable of serpents sucking the milk of cows, thus referring it, very improbably, to the Latin bos, an ox. The Linnæan genus B. comprehended all serpents having simple subcaudal plates, but without spur or rattle at the end of the tail, and was thus very artificial, as founded chiefly upon a single unimportant character, and consisted of a very miscellaneous assemblage of species, venomous and non-venomThe B. family, or Bordo, as now constituted (containing the Pythons, &c., of the old world, as well as the true Boas of the new), is almost exclusively confined to tropical climates, and all

ous.

Head of Boa.

motion which the eye of the closest observer fails perfectly to follow, coils itself around it; the powerful muscles of the body are afterwards brought into action to compress it, so that usually in a few minutes its life is extinct, and its bones are broken. Deglutition then takes place-not, as has been alleged, after the prey has been licked and covered with saliva by the tongue, but accompanied with an extraordinary flow of saliva, which seems not only to serve for lubrication, but to have the property of hastening the decomposition of animal substances, and so to assist in making the prey more easy to be swallowed. It is always swallowed entire, and the process is sometimes rather a tedious one, and seems of the serpent are capable of acting for this purpose, to require no small muscular effort; but the muscles even at the neck, when that usually narrowest part of the body is distended to an enormous degree as the prey passes through it. The lower jaw is not simply articulated to the skull, but by the intervention of other bones, a structure without which the prodigious dilatation of the throat would be impossible. The lungs consist of two lobes, one much larger than the other, and at the extremity of the larger is an extremely capacious air-bag, which is supposed to serve for the necessary aeration of the blood whilst respiration is impeded in the process of deglutition.

The tail in all the Boïde has great prehensile power, and its grasp of a tree round which it may be coiled is aided by the opposing action of two claws, one on each side of the anus, which are really the representatives of the hinder limbs of the superior vertebrate animals, and which, on dissection, are found to be connected not only with strong muscles, but with bones entirely concealed within the serpent, one jointed to another, so as to make the character of a rudimentary limb very apparent. These serpents, being almost all inhabitants of watery places, often lie in wait for animals that come to drink; thus the largest of the American species, Boa (Eunectes) murina-sometinies called Anaconda

Claw of

Boa.

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BOADICEA-BOARD OF ADMIRALTY.

although Anaconda seems to be originally, like B., | their collective capacity, who have the management the name of a serpent of the old world-is to be found where rivers or narrow lagoons are overshadowed by gloomy forests. Perhaps the want of sufficient supplies of water, more than the greater cold of the climate, may account for the short time that specimens of the Boïde brought to Europe have generally lived in confinement.

After a repast, these serpents spend a considerable time in a state of comparative torpidity-several weeks generally elapsing before they waken up to require a new supply-and in this lethargic state they are easily killed. When they do waken up, the demands of appetite seem to be very urgent. Many of our readers must still remember the interest excited some years ago concerning a B. in the London Zoological Gardens, which, to the astonishishment of its keepers, swallowed its rug; but this, after a trial of a week or two, it found indigestible, and the animal then gratified public curiosity by a reversal of the process of deglutition.

The head in the Boïde is thick, yet somewhat elongated; the eyes are small; the body is thickest in the middle; the tail usually has a blunt termination. The scales are numerous and rather small. The colours are various, and in many of the species rather bright and elegantly disposed. The true bons have the plates underneath the tail single, whilst in the pythons they are double. The species to which the name Boa Constrictor is appropriated, is far from being one of the largest, seldom attaining a length of more than twelve feet. It is common in Surinam and Brazil, where its skin is used for making boots and saddle-cloths. The name Boa Constrictor is, however, popularly extended to almost any of the species.-The number of species, whether in the genus or in the family, is far from being well ascertained.

Boas are much infested by intestinal worms, which appear often to cause their death. The excrement of the B.-the urine and fæces being combined as in other reptiles, and voided by a single vent-is a solid white substance, and consists mainly of urate of ammonia, accompanied by phosphate of lime (bone-earth). It is employed as an easy source of

uric acid.

of some public office or department, bank, railway, charity, or, indeed, of any other trust. Thus, the Commissioners of Customs, when met for the transaction of business, are called the B. of Customs; the Lords of the Treasury, the B. of Treasury; Commissioners of Excise, B. of Excise; directors of railways, B. of Directors; poor-law guardians, B. of Guardians, &c. See CUSTOMS, TREASURY, &c.

BOARD, BOARDING. In nautical language, board is used with many significations. Besides its ordinary application to a plank of wood, B. is a space or portion of sea over which a ship passes in tacking; hence the phrases, 'to make a good board,' to make short boards,' 'to make a stern-board,' ' to leave the land on back-board,' &c.—all of which refer to the direction of a ship's movement at a particular time and place. Again, board or aboard relates to the interior of the ship, in such phrases as to go aboard,' 'to heave overboard,' &c.

But the most important of these meanings is that which relates to the boarding of an enemy's ship, or making a forcible entry for the sake of capturing it. Whenever this bold operation is determined on, certain seamen are told off to act as boarders. It is very rarely that, between two men-of-war, this operation is ventured on; it would, in most cases, be too perilous to the assailants, who more frequently conquer by cannon and musketry. Boarding is, in most instances, attempted by privateers against merchantmen, where the defenders are few in number. The assailant well considers all the circumstances for and against him-the relative sizes of the two vessels, the relative strength of the crews, the state of the wind and sea, and the chances of escape if foiled. Besides the pistols, cutlasses, and boarding-pikes of the seamen, there are provided on the enemy's deck, and shells called stink-pots, powder-flasks for producing smoke and confusion for producing an intolerable stench. The moment and the spot being selected, the fuses of the flasks and stink-pots are lighted; these combustibles are thrown upon the enemy's deck; and while the fire, smoke, and stench are doing their work by confusing the enemy, the boarders climb on board, and gain a mastery by their personal prowess-that is, if the calculations of relative strength have been duly made. Sometimes terrible hand-to-hand encounters take place on deck before victory decides for or against the assailants.

BOADICE'A, a warrior-queen of the Iceni, a trie inhabiting the eastern coast of Britain, in the time of the Romans. She flourished after the middle of the 1st century. Prasutagus, her husband, who died a. n. 60, or 61, had left his wealth jointly to the General Sir Howard Douglas, in his recent work Roman Emperor Nero, and to his two daughters, on Warfare with Steam,' expresses an opinion that hoping that by this artifice his kingdom would be steam war-ships are likely sometimes to come to protected from oppression; but the Roman soldiery, close quarters; and that, on that account, they should taking advantage of the defenceless condition of the be provided with a larger quota of marines and of country, began to plunder unscrupulously. B. her- boarding implements than have hitherto been supself was scourged, her daughters were violated, and plied to sailing ships. The defenders, he adds, the noblest among the Iceni were treated as slaves. should construct loopholed barricades across the These outrages soon drove the Britons to revenge. terminations of the quarter-deck and the foreB. gathered round her a large army; attacked castle, to prolong the defence within board. The and captured the Roman colony of Camalodunum; | French naval officers, it is known, look forward to defeated Petilius Cerealis, legate of the ninth legion, a great increase in all such military resources on who was marching to its relief; took Londinium board war-steamers; and Sir Howard is endeavourand Verulamium; and destroyed, it is said, some-ing to impress similar convictions on the English where about 70,000 Romans, many of them by authorities. torture. Suetonius, the Roman governor of Britain, now advanced at the head of 10,000 men against B., who, we are informed, had under her command no less than 263,000. A dreadful battle ensued (C2 A.D.), in which, according to Tacitus, 80,000 Britons perished, and only 400 Romans. These figures, of course, cannot be trusted; but the victory must have been decisive, as it finally established the authority of the Romans in Britain. B., overwhelmed with despair, committed suicide.

government

BOARD OF A'DMIRALTY, a department which has the management of all ADMIRAL, the steps are noticed by which the duties matters concerning the British navy. In the article of the Lord High Admiral, in former days, were transferred to a Board of Commissioners. constitution and functions of this body will now be described.

The

The B. of A. comprises six lords commissioners, who decide collectively on all important questions. BOARD, the general name applied to persons in Besides this collective or corporate action, each has

cause.

BOARD OF ORDNANCE-BOAR'S HEAD.

The

BOARD OF TRADE. See TRADE, BOArd of. BOA'R-FISH (Capros), a genus of fishes of the Dory (q. v.) family, or Zerde, differing from the genus Zeus, or Dory, in the still more protractile

special duties assigned to him. There are two civil | in the cabinet, he had less political power. or political lords, and four naval or sea lords. The Board days were thrice a week; and each of the first lord, who is always a cabinet minister, besides four members had control over certain departments a general control, has the management of naval-the patronage of which was generally vested in estimates, finance, political affairs, slave-trade pre- him. Scarcely any improvements were made from vention, appointments, and promotions. The first 1828 till 1854, and the general arrangements were naval lord manages the composition and distribution very defective. Of the four members, the masterof the fleet, naval discipline, appointment of inferior general had a sort of general authority and veto; officers, commissioning ships, general instructions, the surveyor-general had control over the artillery, sailing orders, and the naval reserve. The second engineers, sappers and miners, ordnance, medical naval lord attends to armaments, manning the navy, corps, contracts, laboratory, gunpowder, barracks, the coast-guard, the marines, marine artillery, dock and navy gunners; the chief clerk managed the yard brigades, and naval apprentices. The third estimates, money-arrangements, civil establishment, naval lord attends to naval architecture, the build-pensions, superannuations, and ordnance property; ing and repairing of ships, steam-machinery, and while the storekeeper-general had charge of stores, new inventions. The fourth naval lord has control store-rooms, naval equipments, and naval war-stores. over the purchase and disposal of stores, victualling In matters relating to coast-defences, it was often ships, navy medical affairs, transports, convicts, and difficult to decide between the Admiralty and the pensioners. The junior civil lord attends to accounts, Ordnance: each board claiming authority. When mail-packets, Greenwich Hospital, naval chaplains, the Crimean disasters took place in 1854, the defects and schools. Under these six Jords are two secre- of the B. of O. became fully apparent: it could not taries-in-chief, who manage the daily office work. work harmoniously with the other government The lords all resign when the prime minister resigns, departments. The Board was dissolved, the office and are usually replaced by others. This change of master-general abolished, and the duties were gives rise to many evils. There is likely to be a distributed among different branches of the Warchange of views and of system: the new Board is office, in a way that will be briefly noticed under not bound to act on the plans of its predecessors; WAR DEPARTMENT. and many of the costly novelties in the navy within the last ten years are directly traceable to this The system is defended on the plea that these changes infuse new blood into the Admiralty, and give fair-play to increased knowledge and new plans. Some statesmen advocate a modified plan: proposing to render a few naval officers of rank permanent lords of the Admiralty, and only changing the others on a change of ministry. A connectinglink between the old and new Boards is the surveyor of the navy, who is a permanent officer. Every morning, a junior lord assists a clerk in apportioning all letters and dispatches among the several departments. Each lord of a department then attends to his own. The secretaries and the lords determine which letters ought to be submitted to the Board collectively and that portion of the correspondence is treated as in most boards and committees. delicate or doubtful matters are specially reserved for the first lord; but in the Board meetings he has only one vote, like the rest. The Admiralty House at Whitehall being too small for the business required to be done, many rooms in Somerset House are also appropriated by the Board; an arrangement that leads to much waste of time. The offices of the surveyor of the navy, the accountant-general, the storekeeper-general, the comptroller of victual- and anal fins, and of long filaments to the dorsal ling and transports, the navy medical department, spines. The body has the usual oval, much comthe comptroller of steam machinery, and the director pressed form of the family. The common B. of works are at Somerset House; and numerous (C. Aper) is a well-known inhabitant of the Medimessengers are employed all day long in conlong in con-terranean, rarely caught on the coasts of England. veying letters, documents, and messages from those The eyes are very large, and placed far forward, departments to the Admiralty, where the lords, the body is of a carmine colour, lighter below, and the chief secretaries, and the hydrographer have with seven transverse orange bands on the back. their offices. The flesh is little esteemed.

All

BOARD OF O'RDNANCE, a government department having the management of all affairs relating to the artillery and engineering corps of the British army. Under this precise designation, the Board no longer exists: a change having recently been made which requires brief explanation. The B. of O., until 1854, comprised the master-general of the Ordnance, the surveyor-general, the clerk of the Ordnance, and the principal storekeeper. There was no chairman at the meetings, and the Board often consisted of only one officer. The mastergeneral had a veto, and was in that respect more powerful than the chief member of the Board of Admiralty; although, not having necessarily a seat

mouth-the resemblance of which to the snout of a hog is supposed to have given origin to the name in the want of spines at the base of the dorsal

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Boar-Fish (C. Aper).

BOAR'S HEAD. The B. H. is the subject of a variety of legends, poetic allusions, and carols connected with the festivities of Christmas in England. At this wintry season, the wild boar was hunted, and his head served up as the most important dish on the baronial table. According to Scott's graphic lines :

Then was brought in the lusty brawn
By blue-coated serving-man;

Then the grim boar's head frowned on high,
Crested with bays and rosemary.
Well can the green-garbed ranger tell,
How, when, and where the monster fell;
What dogs before his death he tore,
And all the baiting of the boar.

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