BEAB, GREAT AXD LITTLE. 



BEARD. 



wholesome and nutritive, much more to than pca, nd tht they are 

 an admirable corrective of the oily qualities of animal fat by their 

 tarinamous qoalitie., we ihall regret that both the culture and the 

 u of them In the dry state we not extended for the benefit of the 

 labuuring part of the community. The cultivation of the French bean 



unell, but have an astringent, bitter Uste. Analyied by Meissner, 100 



. - . , v. .1 



[Bean Cutter.] 



for the seed is confined in this country to the gardens and nurseries, 

 and to a few spots in the Isle of Thanet in Kent, where they are raised 

 for the London seedsmen. This is the only place, as far as our obser- 

 vation goes, where they are sown in the field. The produce in seed is 

 aid not to exceed twenty bushels per acre, but it must be observed 

 that it is chiefly the dwarf sorts which are sown. There is no doubt 

 that the produce of the runners would greatly exceed this quantity, 

 and although it might be expensive to support them with sticks, the 

 example of the hop grounds proves that, where the return is large, no 

 expense or trouble is spared. 



The best soil for French beans is a rich mellow loam, rather light 

 than otherwise ; but, provided the ground be well stirred, they will 

 grow hi any soil. They may be planted in rows, the dwarf sorts at 

 two and a half or three feet distance ; the runners, at four feet. As 

 soon as the stems begin to rise above the seed leaves, the intervals 

 should be well hoed with the horse-hoe, and the rows by hand. The 

 scarifier or grubber may be used to loosen the soil, and when they are 

 somewhat advanced in growth the runners may have sticks to climb 

 upon. A row of turnips may be sown Iwtween every two rows ol 

 beans, or cabbages may be planted for cattle. The crop may be liar- 

 vested as soon as the lower pods are quite dry and the seeds hard, ami 

 threshed like other beans. The seeds when raw have a bitter taste 

 and are rather tough under the teeth, which makes animals refuse to 

 eat them in that state ; but when boiled, they become soft and pleasant. 

 Oxen and pigs eat them readily. They contain, according to Einlmf 

 84 per cent, of nutritive matter, of which 50 is pure farina, the rent 

 gluten and mucilage: they are consequently superior to every other 

 grain or pulse cultivated, in point of nourishment ; and when it is 

 taken into account that they remain in the ground only from May to 

 September, and that a crop of cabbages or turnips U growing in the 

 intervals at the same time, it will appear that the cultivation o 

 this pulse on a large scale might add greatly to the resources o 

 agriculture. 



In the three years ending with 1858, the importation of foreign 

 beans amounted on an average to 357,000 quarters annually. 



BEAU. CHEAT AM) LITTLE. [URSA MAJOK AM, MINOR.] 



BEAU'S \V ||i HCTI.K I'.KHRY, the generic and specific characters o 



which are given under the article ARCTOHTAPIITLOS UVA URSI [NAT 



], was used in medicine by the ancients, fell into neglect, and was 



leetortd about the middle of the last century. It possesses manifes 



astringent and, under certain circumstances, diuretic properties. Th 



leeves are the part of the plant which is used. These are destitute o 



Gallic acid 



Tannin, combined with gillie arid 



ttwin 



Chlorophyll? 



KxtracUvr, with nmUtci and other salts 

 Ditto, with citrate of lime . 

 Gum and extractive 



Lig-nin 



Water . 



. 1-20 



. . 30-40 



. 4-40 



. . 6-Si 



. S-S1 



. . 0-86 



. 33-SO 



. . 9'60 

 6-00 



101-41 



The leaves are frequently intermixed with those of tin' 

 ilit Iiltrn, or cow-berry, from which they may be distingiii 

 Doing sotted nor having the margin revolute. The watery infu 

 ho cow-berry leaves, treated with muriate of iron, merely becomes 

 green. The water)- infusion of tin- licar-borry so treated throws 



blackish-gray precipitate; also with the leaves of the r<i<rt*iwii 

 iijmiitum, or bog wh'.rtlc l>erry. To distinguish them from these last 

 - more important than from the foregoing, as the leaves of the bog 

 whortle-berry are poisonous. They do not possess the leathery texture, 

 r the reticulated character of the leaves of the I' en ttrti. The leaves 

 )f the Ilu.i-u oempcrrimu, or common box, are often fraudn. 

 ntcrmixed with it. They may be distinguished by the 

 eaves running from the mid-rib to the margin . n..! 

 ike the I'rn nni, having an unpleasant smell, and yielding on analysis 

 he principle called Inu-hi. 



The power of the leaves is greatest over the mucous membranes and 

 he kidneys. The leaves nibbed with cold water yield up all their 

 annin and gallic acid, and thus afford an infusion of great effic 

 Hemorrhage* from the prostate gland. In cases of tendency to . . 

 liseases, especially of the phosphatic diathesis, it is of great use when 

 wrsevered in; also in catarrh of the Madder. It lias been thought 

 useful in consumption, and indeed its tonic power may render it 

 occasionally serviceable. It is administered in powder, in tin fnu ..| 

 an infusion or decoction ; but the best form in whieh it can lie longest 

 used is that of extract, as recommended by I <v. I 



(See Prout, On D'aeaMi of the Urinary Onjant, second edit., p. 185.) 



BEARD, the hair which grows upon the chin and contiguous parts 

 of the face in men, and sometimes, though rarely, in women. With 

 men ita growth is the distinctive sign of manhood. In its anat 

 character it is shorter and thicker than the hair of the head; l.nt 

 onger, if Buffered to grow, than that of other parts of the body. It 

 generally, but not invariably, is of the same colour as the hair of the 

 lead, but always the same as that of the eyebrows. It is most i 

 imong men of what are called the Caucasian race ; many of the | 

 of Africa, America, and Australia have little or no beards. S. .in. 

 animals are provided with beards, or, as they are called, wl, 

 which are held to be organs of touch. 



The fashion of the beard has varied greatly in different times and 

 different countries; and some of the learned in curious trifles have 

 spared no pains to record the changes. M. < a treatise 



expressly on the beard, entitled ' Pogonias' (IlftrflNIAS), first ] 

 at Leyden in 1586, and which, on account of its rarity, was reprinted 

 at length by Pitiscus in his ' Lexicon.' 



The earliest notice of attention to its growth in proKiMv in l.r\ it : ; - 

 where the lawgiver of the Jews (chap. xix. 27) says, " thou shah not 

 mar the corners of thy beard." 



Generally speaking, the growth of the beard was cultivated among 

 the nations of the East, although it must be observed that most of the 

 Egyptian figures in the ancient paintings are without beards. In 

 Rosellini's work we have a scries of portraits of Egyptian kings, nearly 

 all without beards. (See Plate No. x. &c.) From some of the statues, 

 however, a curious beard-case appears to have 

 been worn. The Memnon's head in the Bri- 

 tish Museum has this appendage, though no 

 hair is shown on any lirt of the f;icc. Another 

 small bust, of which we give a representation, 

 illustrates its appearance. The ancient Indian 

 philosophers called Oymnosophuts were soli- 

 citous to have long beards, which were con- 

 sidered symbolical of wisdom. The Assyrians 

 and Persians also prided themselves on the 

 length of their beards ; and St. Chrysostom 

 informs us (' Opera,' edit. Montfauc. torn. xi. 

 p. 878) that the kings ><l their 



beards interwoven or matted with gold thread. 

 The figures on the Assyrian slabs, brought to 

 England by Mr. Layard, are usually, repre- 

 sented with beards; and generally the beards 

 <>n tli.' reliefs from Persepolis in the I'.nu h 

 Museum, are most elaborately executed in a 

 series of minute curls. Something of the same style of beard i 

 preserved in Persia, where it is dressed and trimmed with extreme 

 OB* 



Aaron Hill, in his ' Account of the Ottoman Empire,' folio, London, 

 1709, p. 45, draws this distinction between the Persians and the Turks : 





