BOETIUS, or BOETHIUS, ANICIUS MANLIUS TORQUATUS SEVERINUS (b5-e'thius), a Roman didactic poet and statesman, born between 470 and 475. While in prison awaiting execution he composed "Consolation of Philosophy" in prose and verse. He died about 525.
BEUF (bef) BAYOU, a large bayou of the Mississippi river in Louisiana; flowing between Atchafalaya Bayou and Grand Lake.
BOG, a piece of wet, soft, and spongy ground, where the soil is composed mainly of decaying and decayed vege table matter. Such ground is valueless for agriculture until reclaimed, but often yields abundance of peat for fuel. Bogs are generally divided into two classes: red bogs, or peat mosses, and black bogs, or mountain mosses. The former class are found in extensive plains frequently running through several counties, such as Chat Moss in Lancashire, and the Bog of Allen in Ireland, the depth vary ing from 12 to 42 feet. Their texture is light and full of filaments, and is formed by the slow decay of mosses and plants of different kinds. Black bog is formed
by a more rapid decomposition of plants. It is heavier and more homogeneous in quality, but is usually found in limited and detached portions, and at high elevations where its reclamation is diffi cult. In Ireland bogs frequently rest on a calcareous subsoil, which is of great value in reclaiming them. In the rec lamation of bog land a permanent sys tem of drainage must be established; the loose and spongy soil must be mixed with a sufficient quantity of mineral mat ter to give firmness to its texture and fertilize its superabundant humus; prop er manures must be provided to facili tate the extraction of nutriment from the new soil, and a rotation of crops adopted suitable for bringing it into per manent condition. The materials best adapted for reclaiming peat are calcare ous earths, limestone gravel, shell marl, and shell sand.