Bfirberis
Bfirberis, A Genus Of Plants Belonging To The Natural Order Ber Heridacew, Among Which It Is Imniediately Known By Its Shrubby Habit, Berried Fruit, And The Presence Of Glands Upon Its Petals. It Is Also Remarkable For The Irritability Of Its Stamens, Which, When The Filament \ Is Touched On ...
Bignonia
Bigno'nia, A Genus Of Plants Named By Tournefort After The Abbd Bignon, Librarian To Louis Xiv. It Forms The Type Of The Monopetalous Order Of Exogens, Bignoniaceu. It Has A Campanulate 5-toothed Rarely Entire Calyx ; The Corolla With A Short Tube, A Campanulate Throat, And A 5-lobed Bilabiate Limb ...
Bile
Bile, An Animal Fluid Of A Greenish Colour, Viscid Consistence, And Bitter Taste. The Organ By Which The Bile Is Secreted Is The Liver. The Liver Is Distinguished By Two Peculiarities : First, It Is The Largest Gland In The Body; And Secondly, It Is Provided With Two Distinct Sets ...
Bills
Bills, Praise And Private. Bills Are Alridsd Into Two Chisses--such As Are Of A Public Nature Affecting The General Interests Of The State, And Such As Relate Only To Local Or Private Matters. The Former Are Introduced Directly By The Motitins Of Members; The Latter Are Brought In Upon Petitions ...
Birds
Birds, In Latin Ares, In Greek 'opralts (whence A Class Of Vertebended, Oviparous, Feathered Bipeds, Generally Formed For Flight. We Say Generally, Because, Though Their Mechanism Is Ih Its Most Perfect Development Designed For Enabling Them To Support Their Bodies In The Air And To Make Progress In That Medium, ...
Birds Of Paradise
Birds Of Paradise. With No Family Of Birds Has Fiction Been More Busy Than With The Birds Of Paradise. From One Fabulist To Another Came The Tradition (losing Nothing, As Is Usual With Traditions, In Its Descent), That These "gay Creatures Of The Element" Passed Their Whole Existence In Sailing ...
Bis3 Uth
Bis3 Uth, A Metal That Was Unknown To The Ancients. It Was Referred To By Agricola In His Work On Mining In 1529, And Was Subse Quently Described By Stahl And Dufay. The Minerals In Which This Metal Constitutes The Principal Ingredient Are Comparatively Few In Number ; And Of ...
Bison
Bison, The Name Of A Genus Of Ruminant Animals Belonging To The Family Boridov. The Genus Bison Comprehends Two Living Species, One Of Them European, Now Become Very Scarce And Verging Towards Extinction ; The Other American, And, Notwithstanding The Advances Of Man, Still Multitudinous. European Bison. As Much Difference ...
Bittern
Bittern, Botaurua (brisson), N Genus Of Birds Belonging To The Family Of Herons, Or Ards's/fr. The Following Are The Characters Which Principally Distinguish The Bitterns From The Rest Of The Family :—bill Strong, About As Long As The Head, Compressed, And Higher Than It Is Broad ; Mandibles Equal In ...
Bitu3ien
Bitu'3ien, A Latin Word Used By Tacitus, Pliny, And Other Roman Writers. A Considerable Number Of Combustible Mineral Substances Are Sometimes Arranged Under The Head Of Bitumens ; But Their Pro Perties Vary Greatly In Some Respects, As, For Example, With Regard To Solidity, Fluidity, And Colour. The Term Bitumen ...
Black Cap
Black-cap, The Common English Name For The Black-cap Warbler, Der Manch Of The Germans, Fauvette H Tete Noire Of The French, Caponcm Gentile Of The Italians, A Tricapilla Of Aldrovandus, Cornice Airicapilla Of Brinson, Metacilla Atricapilla And Motaeilla Morteltita Of Gulch)) (the Latter Being The Female), Sylria Atricapilla Of Latham ...
Black Cock
Black-cock, One Of The English Names For The Heath-cock, The Male Of The Black Game Or Black Grouse; The Birk-hahn Of The Germans; Coq Do Bruyere H Queue Fourchtte, Coq De Bois, And Faisan Bruyant (belon), Of The French ; Gallo Di Monte, Gallo Cedrone, Gallo' Selvatico, Gallo Alpestre, Fasan ...
Black Mulberry
Mulberry, Black, Medical Uses Of. The Fruit (popularly, But Incorrectly, Termed A Berry, Being Botanically A Some's) Of The Hlorus Niger, Is Officinal In Britain. It Is Formed By A Partial Union Of The Enlarged And Fleshy Mlices, Each Calyx Enclosing A Dry Membranous Perimrp. It Is At First Green, ...
Blackbird
Blackbird, The English Name For The Well-known Native Songster, Merula Rub Anis Of Ray, Turdus Merula Of Linn:cue, The Schwarz. Drossel And Schwarze-amsel Of The Germans, Merle Of The French, Merle And Merle) Of The Italians, And K4rrv(pos Or Kocrotspos Of The Ancient Greeks. The Blackbird Is Too Well Known ...
Blaps
Blaps (fabricius), A Genus Of Insects Belonging To The Order Cokoptera, Of The Section Lleteromera, And Family Melasome (latreille). The Principal Generic Characters Are :—antennre With The Two Basal Joints Short, Their Breadth Equalling Their Length; The Third Joint Long, Exceeding That Of The Two Following Together ; The Three ...
Blattime
Bla'ttime, A Family Of Insects Of The Order Orthoptera.— Distinguishing Characters : Tarsi 5-jointed, The Under Wings Folded Longitudinally Only, Head Hidden By The Thorax; Body Oval Or Rounded, And Depressed ; Antennae Long And Thread-like, And Composed Of A Great Number Of Very Minute Pinta ; Palpi Long; Thorax ...
Blennius
Ble'nnius, Blennies (french, Baveuses), A Genus Of Fishes Of The Section Acanthopterygii And Family Gobioidce (gobies). Both The Greek And The French Names Have Been Applied To This Genus From The Mucous Matter With Which The Bodies Of These Fishes Are Covered. They May Be Easily Distinguished By Their Having ...
Bletting
Bletting. All Ripe Fruits After They Have Been Kept For Some Time Begin To Decompose, And The Spots Formed On The Fruit During This Process Have Been Called By Professor Lindley Blets.' During The Whole Time Of The Growth Of The Fruits Of Plants Various Important Chemical Changes Go On ...
Blind Worm
Blind-worm, The English Name For A Species Of Reptile Belonging To The Family Of Angui&r, Les Orvets Of The French, And The Genus Angels Of Linnicus. It Is Also Called In England Slow-worm. The Blind-worm (anguis Fragilis), Is Common Throughout Europe. Its Length Varies From About 11 Inches To Somewhat ...
Blood
Blood, The Animal Fluid By Which The Tissues Of The Body Are Nourished, And Which Is Contained In The Tubes Called From Their Office Blood-vessels. On First Flowing From The Vessel In Which It Is Contained The Blood Is A Thick, Viscid, And Tenacious Fluid. In All The More Highly ...
Blood Hound
Blood-hound, The Name Of A Hound Celebrated For Its Exquisite Scent And Unwearied Perseverance, Qualities Which Were Taken Advan Tage Of, By Training It Not Only To The Pursuit Of Game, But To The Chase Of Man. A True Blood-hound (and The Pure Blood Is Rare) Stands About 28 Inches ...
Blood Vessels
Blood-vessels. The Blood From Which The Tissues Of The Body Obtain The Material Of Their Nourishment Is Conveyed From One Part Of The Body To Another By Means Of Branched Tubes Which Are Named Blood-vessels. It Is Carried Along These Vessels By The Impulse Given By The Action Of The ...
Blue Breast
Blue-breast, One Of The English Names For This Pretty Bird, Which, As Bechstein Observes, May Be Considered As The Link Betweou The Redstart And Common Wagtail, Having Strong Points Of Resem Blance To Both. It Is Also Called Blue-throated Robin And Blue-throated Redstart. It Is The Gorge-bleue Of The French, ...
Bmocs
Bmocs, A Genus Of Long-tailed Crustacea, Approaching The Hermit Crabs (pajurus) Established By Leach. The Following Are The Leading Characters ;—middle Antcnnre Having Their Second Articulation Crested Or Tufted • Feet Of The First Pair Of Legs Unequal, Terminated By Pincers Or Icnob-claws ; Feet Of The Second And Third ...
Board Of Trade
Trade, Board Of. The Department Of The English Government Popularly Known Under This Title Is A Committee Of The Privy Council, And Its Proper Designation, Which Correctly Defines Its Principal Functions, Is—" The Lords Of The Committee Appointed For The Con Sideration Of All Matters Relating To Trade And Foreign ...
Boat Bi Ll
Boat-bi Ll, The English Name For The Genus Cochlearius Of Brisson, Cane Roma Of Linnaeus, Les Savacous Of The French. This Genus Of The Family A Rdeiclte (heron-like Birds) Would Approach Quite Closely, As Cuvier Observes, To The Herons [ardea] In Regard To Their Bill And The Kind Of Food ...
Boerhaavia
Boerhaavia, A Genus Of Plfuits Named After The Celebrated Boerhaave, Belonging To The Natural Order Nyctagineess. The Species Of .boerhaaria Have Generally Emetic And Purgative Properties, And Have Been Employed Medicinally Both By The Natives Of Peru And The East Indies, Where The Species Grow. B. Tularosa Is Stated By ...
Bohemian
Bohemian Wax-wing. Plounvcill.t.) Bold/e, The Fourth Family Of The Second Order (ophid (a) Of Reptiles. This Family Is Known By The Following Technical Characters :—tho Ventral Shields Narrow (except In Bolyeria), Transverse, Band-like, Often Six.sided ; The Hinder Limbs Developed Under The Skin, Formed Of Several Bones And Endiog In ...
Bole
Bole, A Hydrous Silicate Of Alumina, Which Occurs As An Earthy Mineral In Amorphous Masses In Various Countries, As In Armenia, Saxony, In Tuscany, At Sienna, In Ireland, And In Scotland In The Isle Of Skye. The Colour Of Bole Is Various, Either Yellow, Brown, Red Brownish, Or Pitch-black. It ...
Boletobius
Boleto'bius, A Genus Of Coleopterous Insects Of The Section Brachelytra (m'leay), And Family Tachyporidce (staphylinus Of Older Authors.) Generic Characters :—head Long And Pointed Anteriorly; Antennae With The Basal Joiut Rather Long And Slender; The Three Next Joints Slender, And Nearly Of Equal Length, The Remaining Joints Gradually Increasing In ...
Boletus
Boletus, An Extensive Genus Of Fungi, Consisting, According To The Old Botanists, Of Leathery Masses, Which Are Sometimes Of Consider Able Thickness, And Having The Spores Lodged In Tubes Which Occupy The Same Situation As The Plates In The Gills (or Hymenium) Of The Common Mushroom. Fries, The Great Modern ...
Boltenia
Bolte'nia, A Subgenus Of Ascidida', A Family Of The Group Tuni Rata, Which, According To W. S. 3pleny, Are The Animals That Connect The Aerita, Or Lowest Primary Division Of The Animal Kingdom, With The Mollusca, From Which He Observes They Differ In The Following Points : First, In Having ...
Bombax
Bombax (from /34/14), A Genus Of Plants, The Type Of The Natural Order Bornbaceee. It Has A Naked, Campunulate, Unequally 2-5-lobed Or Truncately 5-toothed Calyx ; Five Petals Joined Together, And Some What Connected At The Base With The Column Of The Stamens; Nume Rous Stamens, Monadelphous At The Base, ...
Bombus
Bo'mbus, The Generic Name Of Those Insects Commonly Called Humble-bees : This Latter Name Was Derived (messrs. Kirby And Spence Conjecture) From The German Hummer- Or Hummel-biene, A Name Probably Given To These Insects From The Humming Sound Which They Emit. The Bombi Belong To The Order Hymenoptera And Family ...
Bombycilla
Bombycilla, A Genus Of Tooth-billed Birds (dentirostres). Cuvier Places The Genus Among The Dentirostral Genera Of His Second Order Passereaux ; Latreille Also Arranges It Under That Order, But Does Not Allow It To Belong To The Dentirostres, And Classes It Among His First Family, That Of The Broad-billed Birds ...
Bonasia
Bona'sia, A Genus Of Birds Belonging To The Tetraotticite (grouse Family). It Is Thus Characterised By C. L. Bonaparte:— Lower Portion Of The Tarsus Or Shank And The Toes Naked ; Tail Long And Rounded ; The Head Adorned With A Crest, And The Sides Of The Neck With A ...
Bone
Bone, The Organ Which In Higher Animals Forms The Basis Of The Fabric Of The Body. Many Of The Creatures Placed At The Bottom Of The Animal Scale, Composed Of Soft Gelatinous Matter, And Buoyant In Water, Need No Solid Support ; But All Animals That Possess Solid Organs, And ...