B E T 



3J2 



BET 



be filled by a Greek. On the death of Paul II. in 1471 it 

 is said that he would have been elected pope if ho would 

 have consented to purchase the support of Cardinal Onini 

 by an unjust promise. No credit is due to the storv that 

 his rejection was owing to the refusal of Nicholas Perot, 

 hi* conclavist, to admit certain cardinals into his cell. In 

 the reign of Nicholas V. Bessarion held for five years the 

 office of legate at Bologna, the duties of which he discharged 

 with much applause. He was also employed on several 



sjsj . tics, the last of which, undMtdNH t->i th-- ]" H" 1 ' 



reconciling Louis XI. of France and the Duke of Burgundy, 

 is said to nave occasioned his death through vexation at the 

 insulting behaviour of the king of France. On his way 

 back to Rome he died at Ravenna A.D. 1472. His works 

 on various subjects are numerous, some of which have been 

 published, and others exist only in manuscript. (See a 

 catalogue in Niceron's ' Memoires pour scrvir a 1'Histoire 

 dos Homines lllustres dans la Republiquo des Lettres.) The 

 most celebrated are his Latin translation of the ' Memora- 

 bilia of Xenophon ;' that of the Metaphysics of Aristotle ;' 

 and his treatise ' Contra Calumniatorem 1'latonis,' which is a 

 controversial tract written against George of Trebizond, who 

 had endeavoured to exalt Aristotle by decrying Plato. 

 This tract has been three times published in 1469, and by 

 Aldus in 1503 and 1510. Bessarion's character stands 

 high both for talents and conduct, but his best claim to our 

 esteem rests on his diligence in preserving the remains of 

 Greek literature. As a collector of manuscripts he was 

 indefatigable, and equally so in procuring their multiplica- 

 tion by transcription. A catalogue of those which he pos- 

 sessed, as well as of his printed books, may be found in 

 Tomasini's Bibliothecee Venetee, &c., Utini, 1650. 



The authorities for the events of his life are quoted by 

 Banditti, and by Hody, ' De Gratcis Illustribus,' &c. to whom 

 the reader is referred for further information. Sec also the 

 article in tho Bio<*. Univ. 



BESSIN, a district in the former province of Normandie 

 in France, of which Bayeux was the capital. [See BAYBUX.] 

 BETA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Chompodea, among which it is known by its having large 

 succulent roots, and a green calyx united halfway to a hard 

 rugged nut. The species are found in Europe, the north 

 of Africa, and the western parts of Asia ; fcur are cultivated 

 as esculents, the others are mere weeds ; we shall only oc- 

 cupy ourselves with the former. 



) '. Beta vulgaris (common beet) is said to be found in 

 a wild state along the whole of the sea-coast of the Medi- 

 terranean, and in Egypt; it is however chiefly known as a 

 plant cultivated in gardens, for its carrot-like sweet and 

 tender roots. Several sorts are mentioned by writers on 

 gardening, varying in the size, form, colour, and sweetness 

 of their roots : of these however two are much more worth 

 cultivating than the others, namely, the small red and long 

 yellow varieties ; they are the most delicate, the sweetest, 

 and have tho richest colour when served at table. Tho 

 French call them the red and yellow beets of Castelnau- 

 dary, from a place where the races are preserved pure with 

 extraordinary care. Beet-roots can only be obtained in 

 perfection in a rich light sandy soil, through which they can 

 readily penetrate ; in stony or stiff situations the roots be- 

 come forked, and are deprived of their succulence. The 

 seeds are sown in drills or in beds, at the end of March nr 

 beginning of April, and are to be well covered with soil ; 

 the plants are to be thinned to the distance of a foot apart ; 

 in September the rooU may be taken up, and should be 

 packed in sand in some dry place out of tho reach of frost. 

 In this country beet is chiefly employed as ui. ingredient 

 in salads, after having been boiled tiil it is tender ; but in 

 other countries it is usually eaten sliced in vinegar and oil, 

 or mixed with slices of cold boiled onions. 



2 Hrla altittima (mangel wurzel) is a much larger and 

 coarser plant than the common beet, from which it is prin- 

 cipally known by its roots being marked internally with 

 > of red and pink or white. Its native country is un- 

 known ; by some it is reckoned a mere variety of tliu com- 

 mon beet, but this is scarcely probable, considering that it 

 is permanently reproduced from seed ; others state that i( 

 is a hybrid between the common and chard beet, our third 

 sort, of wnich however there u neither proof nor probability. 

 Mnngel wurzel is an object of extensive cultivation for 

 feeding cattle; its leaves afford a very nutritious food for 

 all kinds of live stock, and the roots, from thru extreme 

 wootue*f, are by many farmers considered the most 



valuable of nil tho agricultural plants upon which cattle 

 are fed in winter. They h pare to be presened 



rom front, and are better adapted to warm climates and 

 a light rich soil than to colder latitudes. In cultivat- 

 ng tho mangel wurzel, it will be found advantageous to 

 soak the seeds in water, till they are just beginning to ger- 

 minate, and then to sow them, taking care that they are 

 speedily covered in with soil ; for, from the bony nature of 

 .he seeds, it will often happen that they will lie some weeks 

 in the soil before they begin to grow, by which valuable 

 time is lost, or that they will fail altogether ; especially if 

 the weather should be dry, as it often is at the time of sow- 

 ing, which is the middle of May. Independently of their 

 use for cattle, mangel wurzel roots have been extensively 

 employed in the manufacture of sugar. They are still exten- 

 sively employed in France in the manufacture of sugur ; 

 and an attempt has lately been made in Kent to use t 

 for distillation. For these purposes the common red ami 

 white mangel wurzel will perhaps be found best suited in 

 this country, in consequence of its hardiness, and the great 

 weight per acre which it will afford ; but the French have 

 preferred a perfectly white kind, which is said to exceed the 

 former in nutritive properties, in the proportion of two to 

 one ; they also grow a sort with white roots and a purple 

 crown, and another white within, and yellow on the ou; 

 The yellow field-beet, which has been a good deal culti- 

 vated in this country, is apparently a variety of Beta vul- 

 garit, and is too unproductive in most situations to bear 

 comparison with the others. 



3. Beta cycla (chard-beet) is inferior to the two last in 

 the size of its roots, but is remarkable for the thickness of 

 the ribs of its leaves, which are white, yellow, green, orange 

 coloured, or deep crimson, in different varieties. It is culti- 

 vated like the common beet, but the leaves only are used 

 in soups, or their ribs are cut out and stowed like sea-kail. 

 They have however an earthy taste, which it is not in the 

 power of cookery wholly to remove, on which account they 

 are little esteemed. The French call this species PoiWe d 

 cardet ; it is said to have been introduced to France from 

 Portugal ; but its native station is unknown. 



4. Beta maritima (sea-beet), unlike the three last, is a 

 prostrate plant, with numerous entangled branches, and a 

 tough woody root. It is found abundantly on many parts 

 of the southern coast of England, and is a common Eu- 

 ropean shore-plant, preferring a chalky soil. Its leaves are 

 sin-ill, ovate, deep green, crenelled, rather sharp-pointed, 

 (lat, succulent, and placed on long stalks. Its flowers are 

 green and arranged in spikes, each being subtended by a 

 small leafy bract. It is a perennial, and one of the most 

 valuable plants known for spinach : its leaves when dressed 

 are extremely delicate and well-flavoured, and easily re- 

 duced into that pulpy substance which constitutes the great 

 merit of good spinach. It thrives in a garden without any 

 sort of care, and is rather a handsome plant when growing 

 among rubbish, for its leaves are a particularly rich green, 

 and not liable to be scorched by the sun, or to be injured 

 much by insects. It is increased by seeds, which it yields 

 in abundance. 



In these plants, as in all others with succulent roots, 

 the saccharine quality of the latter is most concentrated in 

 winter. As toon as the leaves begin to grow in spring, the 

 sufiar gradually and very rapidly diminishes. 



BETCHOUANA, or'BETJUANA. is the general name 

 of a nation, or race of people, consisting of many tribes, 

 who inhabit tho interior of Southern Africa, north of the 

 Gariep, or Great Orange river, and between 23 J and - 

 long. A wide desert separates them to the westward 

 the Namaqua Hottentots, and from the Dammara Caffrrx, 

 who live farther N.W. near the Atlantic. To the eastward 

 a range of mountains, which runs parallel tot: 

 the Indian Ocean, and at the distance of sixty or eighty- 

 miles from it separates the Bctchouanas from the maritime 

 Caflres of Dalagoa Bay, and from the dominions of King 

 Tchaka, the chief of the Vatwahs, or Zoolas. To tho south, 

 they extend to lietwien the 27th and 28th parallel, when; 

 they border on the Koranna Hottentots, who inhabit the 

 northern bank of the Garien, the Griquas, or Bastard Hot- 

 tentots of Klaarwater, and tlie Bushesmen who roam along 

 (lie upper or eastern course of the Gariep. The limits of 

 the Betchouana to the N. and N.E. arc not known. Mst 

 of the rivers of the lictehouana country, as yet known, 

 such as the Moloppo, the Kuruman, &c., appear to be njllu- 

 ents of the Gariep river; but those of the Moorootzcc II >w 



