280 BALANCE . 



much resembling hornblende, was discovered in a railway-cutting in Devonshire, in 

 1854, and was sufficiently abundant to be worked as an ore of iron. A specimen re- 

 ceived from the late Mr. S. Blackwell was analysed by Mr. David Forbes, with the 

 following results : Silica, 49'12 ; alumina, T60 ; peroxide of iron, 9'78 ; protoxide of 

 iron, 12-87; protoxide of manganese, 1-25; lime, 20-87; magnesia, 3'67; loss on 

 ignition, 0"73. 



B ABI. AH. The rind or shell of the fruit of the Mimosa cineraria. It is brought 

 from the East Indies under the name of Neb-Neb. On account of tho tannin it 

 contains, it has been used for dyeing cotton, and for producing various shades of 

 drab. 



BABITX Gt71tt. The gum of the Babul tree, a species of the Acacia, growing in 

 Bengal. It is sometimes imported as Bengal gum. 



Babul Bark is extensively used in India as a tanning material, and has occasionally 

 been imported into this country. 



BACK. In mining, that side of an inclined mineral lode which is nearest tho 

 surface of tho ground. The back of a level is the ground between it and the level 

 above it. In brewing, & brewer's utensil, a largo vessel for receiving the wort. In 

 building, that part of a stone opposite the face. 



BACK-MIXiXi. A fulling mill. 



BACUliTJS. A forked branch of hazel, used by the superstitious with a view to 

 the discovery of springs and mineral lodes. See DIVINING KOD. 



BADGER. (Blaireau, Fr. ; Docks, Ger.) A genus of carnivorous animals bo- 

 longing to the family MustelidtB. The common badger, Meles Taxus, inhabits the 

 northern parts of Europe and Asia. The hide of the badger is employed for pistol 

 furniture. The fine hair is used for making brushes for the use of the artist, and for 

 the best class of shaving-brushes. The hind-quarters, salted and smoked, make ex- 

 cellent hams. 



BADIGEON. A mixture for stopping holes in wood or stone. The badigeon 

 for stonework is composed of plaster of Paris and freestone ground together. That 

 for wood is usually sawdust and glue, or sometimes putty and chalk. 



BAG. A measure equal to a striked Winchester bushel. Twenty-five bags of 

 lime make a ton. A bag of plaster of Paris is fourteen pounds. Eight bags are 

 considered to equal a bushel. 



BAGASSE. The sugar-cane, in its dry crushed state, much employed for fuel 

 in the colonial sugar-houses. 



BAIN-MARIE. A vessel of water in which saucepans, &c. are placed to warm 

 food, or to prepare it and some pharmaceutical preparations. 



BAIZE. A coarse woollen stuff with a long nap, sometimes friezed on one side. 



BAKERS' S ALT. The sesquicarbonato of ammonia, so called because it is often 

 used as a substitute for yeast in bread and pastry. 



BAKING. (Cuire, Fr. ; Backen, Ger.) Tho exposure of anybody to such a 

 heat as will dry and consolidate its parts without wasting them. Thus wood, pottery, 

 and porcelain, are baked, as well as bread and meat. See BISCUIT ; BREAD. 



BAIi. An ancient Cornish miner's term for a mine. 



B AIi- MAIDEN, BAIi-BOV. A girl or boy working at a mine. 



BAXtACHONG. An article of food much used in the Eastern Archipelago, con- 

 sisting of fish and shrimps pounded together. 



BAUE17A. A genus of cetacean mammals, including tho Greenland, or Eight 

 Whale (Balana mysticetus), and the Southern Whale (B. australis). The former 

 inhabits the Arctic Seas, and its capture forms the object of tho Northern whale- 

 fishery, while the latter is found in the Antarctic, South Pacific, and Indian Oceans. 

 These species, in the adult state, are destitute of teeth, but the mouth is furnished 

 with numerous plates of a horny substance, called baleen, or whalebone, which hang 

 freely from each side of tho palate, and thus form a sieve for straining off the 

 water from the small prey taken into the mouth. Large quantities of oil are 

 obtained from tho blubber, or thick layer of fat which immediately underlies the 

 naked skin, and serves to protect the warm-blooded whale from the cold of the 

 surrounding medium. The Esquimaux not only oat the flesh of the whale, but use 

 some of the internal membranes in the preparation of certain articles of clothing, 

 and of a curious semi-transparent substance serving instead of glass for the 

 windows of their huts. The species of Balana, or true Whalebone Whales, are to 

 bo distinguished from the Sperm Whales, which belong to a totally distinct genus, 

 and though possessing teeth, and -therefore not yielding whalebone, are nevertheless 

 valued for the sake of their spermaceti and ambergris. See AMBEBGRIS ; SPERMACETI ; 

 WHALEBONE. 



BAXiAMTCE. To conduct arts and manufactures with judgment, recourse must 

 be had to a balance, Experience proves that all material bodies existing upon the 



