BOWYER, WILLIAM, an eminent English printer and classical scholar, b. in London in 1699, was educated at Cambridge, and in 1722 joined his father in trade. Appointed, in 1729, printer of the votes of the house of commons, he subsequently became printer to the society of antiquaries, and to the royal society. In 1767, he was nominated printer of the rolls of the house of lords, and the journals of the house of commons. He died in 1777. B. published several philological tracts, but his chief production was an edi tion of the New Testament in Greek, with critical and emendatory notes. He left a considerable sum in trust to the stationers' company, for relief of decayed printers. A small volume of anecdotes of B. and his learned contemporaries, published soon after ids death by Mr. John Nichols, his apprentice and partner, was afterwards enlarged, under the title of L::terary Anecdotes of the Eighteenth Century (9 vols., t3vo).
BOX, Burns, a genus of plants of the natural order euphorbiatea; evergreen shrubs or small trees, with opposite leaves, entire at the margins, and easily split into two plates. The greenish inconspienoos flowers grow in little axillary clusters, the male and female flowers distinct, but on the same plant. The male flowers consist of a peri anth of four leaves, and of four stamens; the female flowers have a perianth of three or four leaves, and, in addition, three small bracts at the base, an ovary surmounted by three styles, and two honey-secreting glands. The capsule has three beaks and three cells, and two or three black seeds in each cell.—The most important species is the COMMON Box (13. sernperciren.v), which grows wild in the s. of Europe, and in some parts of Asia. it is generally regarded as a true native of the s. of England, where it grows on dry chalky hills; and is remarkable as the only arborescent species of eupltorbiacem found in such cold latitudes. In Britain, it seldom attains a height of more than 19 or 14 ft., but in warmer countries, it is often twice that height. Its leaves are oval, generally from half an inch to three quarters of an inch in length, smooth and shining, of a deep green color. The B. is remarkable for its compact habit of growth and densely crowded baanehes and leaves, presenting a very solid mass of foliage. There acre several cultivated varieties, distinguished by differently variegated leaves—gold-edged, silver-edged, etc. The most iuteresting variety, however, is a very humble one, called DWARF Box, which grows only to a height oft or 3 ft, and is very commonly used to form edgings for garden-plots, being kept down by clipping to the height of a few inches. These edgings—than which none are neater, or better serve the pur pose of keeping gravel-walks free from earth—are generally formed by planting cut tings, which readily strike root. The B. bears clipping remarkably well; and in a style of gardening once fashionable. but condemned by the taste of the present day, it occupied an important place. being cut into architectural and fantastic figures. The leaves of the B. have a smell which is disagreeable to many people, and a very dis agreeable bitter taste. When taken inwardly, they cause purging; an external appli cation of them promotes the growth of the hair. In France. they arc sometimes used instead of hops in making beer, but are extremely improper for the purpose. The wood of the B. is heavier them that of any other European tree, and is the only European wood that sinks in water. It is of a beautiful pale-yellow color, remarkably hard and strong,
of a tine regular and compact texture, capable of a beautiful past]. and not liable to be worm-eaten. It is much valued for the purposes of the turner and the wood-carver; is preferred to every other kind of wood for the manufacture of flutes, flageolets, and other wind-instruments, as well as of mathematicabinstrnments; and is unrivaled for wood engraving, admitting of a finish as sharp and fine as metal, whilst it takes the ink much better. See ENGRAVING. When scraped down and boiled, it can be used as a sudorific in many complaints, and as a substitute for guiaeum. An empyreumatic oil, obtained from box-wood chips, is used for relief of toothache and for other medicinal purposes. —Spain and Portugal send into the market large quantities of box-wood; also eircassia and Georgia, from which countries it finds its way to Odessa, and is again exported thence. In 1815, as many box-trees were cut down at Box hill, in Surrey, as brought upwards of E10,000, but the tree is of so very slow growth, that it is seldom planted in Britain except for ornament.—The 3lisonca Box. or BALEARIC Box (13. 13alearica), a native of Minorca, Sardinia, Corsica, Turkey, etc.. is a larger tree than the common B.. and has leaves three times as lame. It is muck less patient of frost, but is occasionally seen iu shrubberies in the s. of Englaud. 1,1w wood is of a bright yellow, and inferior to the true box-wood, but is brought in large quantities from Constantinople under tha.t name for wood-engraving.
These are two days appointed by the judges of the court of session in Scotland, in the spring and autumn vacations, and one day in the Christmas recess, on which pleadings or. other law-papers appointed by the court, or by one of the judges, towards the close of the preceding session, may be lodged or filed; the object being to expedite the procedure, the vacation or recess. These days are called box-days, in consequence of an act of sederunt or order of the court of session. dated the 29th Nov., 1690, in which the evil custom of private solicitation of the judges is com plained of: "For preventing whereof," says the order, "and for easeing the leidges, themselves, and the lawyers, they, according to the example of the most famous judica tories abroad, have appointed boxes for every one of the lords, to stand on a bank in the session-house from three o'clock till seven o'clock at night, each box having a slitt, in which the informations or bills may be lett in, and cannot be drawn out, until) the box be opened; the key whereof is to be keept by every judge himself, and to be committed to no other; and each lord is to send for his box at seven o'clock at night, that he may have competent time to peruse all the informations therein, and to consider the same, and the citationes alleged in the same, whereby none of the leidges can be put to trouble to attend any of the lords for giveing their iuformationes, bills, or answers." Further facilities for legal business in vacation-time are afforded in Scotland by the regulations of the bill changer (q.v.); and in England the equity and common-law judges attend at chambers during vacation ; but to English lawyers the use of boxes, or of any similar expedient, is unknown. See Cotner of SESSION and other COURTS.