B A S 



B A S 



out or admit the cargo. Thorn article* which are parked in 

 water-tight rask*. a* rum. Sec., an generally floated u(f or 

 on shore. The town lies in 17 19^ N. lat., 6i 49J' W. 

 long. [See CHRISTOPHKR'S. ST.] 



BASSETERRE (Guodaloupe). the most considerable 

 town of the \elvm island, and the centre of iU comnicn-c. 

 lie* on the western tide, near the south end of the island. 

 It consul* of one principal long street, running alonj: tlir 

 em-shore, and is defended by Forts Royal and Matilda. 

 The anchorage is in an open road, quite' unsheltered, and 

 iiiminliuu*, and there is a constant swell. 



Thli western island is divided longitudinally into two 

 parts, of which the western division is called Basseterre, 

 and the eastern Cabesterre. 



The town lie* in 15 59^ N. lat., 61 47J' W. long. [See 



GtIADALOtIPB.1 



BASSETERRE, a small town on the south-west point of 

 the island of Marie Galante. It is defended by a small fort, 

 which lies in 15' 52* N. lat.. 61 22' W. long. [See MAKIK 

 GALANTB.] 



< Jefteries's Wat India ; Bryan Edwarda's West Indies ; 

 Colombian Navigator.) 



BASSET-HORN, a musical instrument, which, notwith- 

 standing its name, is a clarinet [see CLAKINHT] of enlarged 

 dimensions and extended scale, said to have been invent .! 

 in Germany in 1770, but known to have been produced in 

 an improved state twelve years later by M. Lotz of Prcs- 

 livirg : and subsequently, in its present perfect condition, by 

 i irothers, Anthony and John Stadler, of the imperial 

 Austrian chapel. The basset-horn is longer than the clari- 

 not, and the bell end is wider. On account of its length, the 

 tube, which consists of five pieces, is bent inwards, forming 

 a very obtuse angle. The scale of this instrument embraces 

 nearly four octave*, from c the second space in the base, to 

 o in altissimo, including every semitone ; but its real notes, in 

 relation to its use in the orchestra, are from f belgw the base 



? \t 

 v. : r .^. 



to c, the second leger 

 line above the treble, 



The basset-horn takes an intermediate place between the 

 clarinet and bassoon, and, on account of its vast compass, 

 m iy perform the functions of both. Its capabilities and 

 beauty are htrikingly displayed in Mozart's Requiem ; and 

 in the aria. Nun /mi di finre, in his Clernensa di Tito ; as 

 well as in other works of the same great composer, who well 

 understood its value. 



The Italian name for this instrument, and that by which 

 it is irenerally designated in scores, is corno baitetto, or 

 rather l<ao horn, the termination etto being a diminutive. 

 The unfltncts of this term must at once be obvious : but, 

 unhappily, the musical nomenclature abounds in obscurity, 



BASSE VELDE, a commune and market -town in the 

 province of East Flanders, four leagues north of Ghent. 

 The market occurs weekly, and a fair is held every year in 

 the month of September. The tanning of hides and oil- 

 cnuhing arc carried on here, and lace-making gives em- 

 females of the place. The soil consists, for 

 tne ' !' clay and sand. Towards the south-east of 



mmune, the land is marshy, and a considerable num- 

 ber of cattle are kept. The population in 1831 amounted to 

 J750. (Meisser's Dictionnmre Oeograpftique de la Ftaiuln- 

 Orientate, 1834.) 



BA'SSIA, a genus of tropical plants, belonging to the 

 natural order Sapntetf, containing several interesting spe- 

 cies. It has a calyx of four or five leaves, a monopetal.ms 

 why corolla, with its border generally eight-parted, and n 

 it number of stamens. The ovary terminates in a long 

 ins from six to eight one-seed, d cell-. 

 fruit has a pulpy rind, with not more than three or four 



mainder being abortive. 

 The species are found in the East Indies and in Africa, 



hy are of great economical importance on M 

 the nhiirnlance of a sweet buttery substance which i- 

 d by their .cods when boiled. We shall mention brielh 

 or which anything useful is known. 

 /('<.., hutyrarta. the Indian butter-tree, also the / 

 Phuttrara-tTM, is found wild on the Almora hills in 

 In. where it grow* to a considerabi irunk some- 



times measuring fifty fret in height, and five or six i 



circumference. It has broad, oval, long-stalked leave*, 

 from six to twelve inches long, smooth on their upper sur- 

 l*oJn>airy on their under. The flowers, which are largo 

 and pale yellow, hanir down, near the tip* of the brunches, 

 from the axils of the leave*, and generally grow three to- 

 gether. They are succeeded by smooth, pulpy fruits about 

 as large as a pigeon's egg, usually containing two or three 

 roundish lifht-hrown seeds. From these is produced a 

 fat like suhstam-e, which is a kind .e butter, 



concerning which we find the following infortnltion in 

 the Atidtie Researches, by Dr. Roxburgh: 'On opening 

 the shell of the seed or nut, which is of a fine chestnut 

 colour, smooth and brittle, the kernel appear* of the size 

 and shape of a blanched almond. The kernels are bruited 

 on a smooth stone, to the consistency of cream, or of a fine 

 pulpy matter, which is then put into a cloth bag, with a 

 moderate weight laid on, and left to stand till the oil or fat 

 is expressed, which becomes infmediately of the consis' 

 of hog's-lard, and is of a delicate white coluur. Its uses are 

 in medicine, being highly esteemed in rheumatism and con- 

 tractions of the limbs. It is also much valued, aud used 

 by native* of rank, as an unction, for which purpose it is 

 generally mixed with an utr (aromatic oil) of some kind. 

 Except the fruit, which is not much esteemed.no other part 

 of the tree is used. After the oil has been expressed, the 

 dregs are employed by the poor a* food. This phulwara 

 butter will keep many months in India without acquiring 

 any had colour, taste, or smell, and might no doubt In 

 stitutcd advantageously for animal butter. The timber is 

 of no value, being nearly as licht as that of the Semiil, or 

 cotton-tree (Bombax fiepiap/iylium). 



/'" -tin, the Indian oil-tree, is a large tree, a 



ii-al like the list, but its leaves are narrower, and iu 

 (lower* much more flethT. It u a native of i ula of 



India, and is found in plantations alone the southern 



tiiiinde!. \ i the Illiij ir Im: It-, fruit 



is M'ilii.vi.'i lire a valuable oil, which i-. 



by tin- |K Hirer n.itives of India for their lamps, for *oap, 



and, instead of better oil, for cookery. Tho (lowers also are. 



I and eaten by the Indian peasants, or bruised and 



boiled to a jelly, and made into small balls, which are sold 



or exchanged lor fish, rice, and various sorts of small gram. 



The woot\ is as hard and durable as teak, so that this i 



of the most generally useful trees found on the continent of 



India. 



Bairia lati/olia, the Ma/itca, Madhaca, or Madhoofa 



