470 



BEECH BKEIl. 



ed hy the summit, and separated from the rest by a 

 spaiv sufficient for the bees to puss in and out. The 

 comb is alwuys built from alxne down\v;inl. The 

 ceils, with the exception of iho>e for tin- !Vnul< 

 lane ami nymph, are nearly of equal size, some con- 

 taining the progeny, and others the honey and pollen 

 of flowers. Some honey ci-lls are Icl'i open, others 

 iire closed for future use hy a flat or slightly 

 convex covering of wax. The maternal or regal 

 cells vary from two to forty in number, are greatly 

 superior in si/.e, nearly cylindrical, and somewhat 

 larger at the extremity. They have small cavities on 

 the outside, and cuiiiinniily depend from the comb like 

 stalactites, so tliat the larve has its head downwards. 



The history of the bee, as already Mated, is too 

 extensive to allow us to attempt more than this brief 

 sketch. But to such as have leisure, and are desir- 

 ous of instructive amusement, we know of no study 

 which promises a greater degree of satisfaction ; and 

 then- is no book better adapted for this purpose titan 

 the excellent treatise of Huber, which may almost 

 lx< regarded as the ne plus ultra of ils kind. A beau- 

 tiful little poem, called The Bees, written by the 

 Florentine Giovanni Kucellai, appeared in 1539. 



BEECH. The beech (fagtts sylvatica), one of our 

 handsomest forest-trees, is known by its waved and 

 somewhat oval leaves, and its triangular fruit, con- 

 sisting of three cells, and enclosed, by pairs, in a 

 husk, which is covered with simple prickles. Beech 

 wooils, it has l>een observed, are peculiarly diy, and 

 pleasant to walk in, and, under their shade, afford to 

 the botanist many interesting plants, such as the 

 bird's nest (monoiropa), winter-green (pyrota), and 

 some rare orchideae. Beech-trees bear lopping well, 

 ami may be trained so as to form lofty hedges, which 

 are valuable for shelter, since the leaves, though 

 laded, remain through the winter, and the twisted 

 branches may be formed into a very strong fence. 

 The wood is hard and brittle, and, if exposed to the 

 air, is liable soon to decay. It is, however, peculiarly 

 useful to cabinet makers and turners: carpenters' 

 planes, &c. are made of it. When split into thin 

 layers, it is used to make scabbards for swords. 

 Chairs, bedsteads, and other furniture, are occasion- 

 ally formed of beech. The fruit of this tree, which 

 has the name of beechmast, and falls in September, 

 is very palatable, but, if eaten in great quantity, it 

 occasions giddiness and headaches ; when, however, 

 it is dried and powdered, it may be made into a 

 wholesome bread. The inhabitants of Scio, one of 

 the Ionian islands, were once enabled to endure a 

 memorable siege by the beachmast which their island 

 supplied. This fruit has occasionally been roasted, 

 and used as a substitute for coffee. When subjected 

 to pressure, it yields a sweet and palatable oil, which 

 is equal in quality to the best olive-oil, and has the 

 advantage of continuing longer than that without 

 becoming rancid. Beech-oil is manufactured in 

 several parts of France, and is used by the lower 

 classes of Silesia instead of butter. The cakes which 

 remain after the oil is extracted are a wholesome 

 food, and may be also advantageously employed for 

 the fattening of swine, poultry, and oxen. In some 

 countries, the leaves of the beech tree are collected 

 in the autumn, before they have been injured by the 

 frosts, and are used instead of feathers, for beds ; 

 and mattresses formed of them are said to be prefer- 

 able to those either of straw or chaff. 



BEEF-EATERS (a corruption from the French biiffe- 

 tiers, from buffet, sideboard) are yeomen of the guard 

 of the king of Great Britain. They are stationed by 

 the sideboard at great royal dinners. There are now 

 one hundred in service, and seventy supernumeraries. 

 They are dressed after the fashion of the time of 

 Henry VIII. 



BRKJAPOOR (Uija-pur t a corruption of t'ijaya-puri 

 the city of victory, die original name of the capital) ; 

 a large province of Deccaii, between the 15th and 

 I Sih degrees of N. lat. ; bounded N. and K. hy Aur- 

 ungabad and Beder, S. by North Canary and ihe ri- 

 ver Toombudni, and W. by the sea ; about 'AM miles 

 long, and 200 broad. It is watered by the Crishna, 

 Toombudra, Beemah, and GatpnrlKi ; and is tra\ers- 

 ed by the Ghaut mountains. The soil is generally 

 fertile, and provisions plentiful. The chief cities are 

 Heejapoor, Boonah (the capital of the Mahralias), Si 

 Kuttany, and Nubely. Four-fifths of the country are 

 subject to the Mahrattas, the rest to the Nuam. 

 The population is estimated at 7,000_,000; one- 

 twentieth Mohammedans, the rest Hindoos. The 

 province is divided into fifteen territorial divisions. 

 In the southern part of Conean. one of these divisions, 

 Goa (GowaA, or, more properly, Govay), the capital 

 of the Portuguese settlements in the East, is situated. 

 (See Goa.) The productions of B. are, in general, 

 similar to those of the rest of the Deccan. One part 

 the neighbourhood of the Beemah is celebrated 

 for its breed of horses, and supplies the best cavalry 

 in the Mahratta armies. 



Bejapoor ; the former capital of the above province. 

 See, Itija-pur. 



BKKK, David, a portrait painter of considerable 

 merit, was born in lb'21, at Aniheim, in Guelderland ; 

 became a pupil of Vandyck ; resided, for some time, 

 at the court of Sweden, and died in 1656. It is re- 

 lated of him, that, on a journey through Germany, he 

 fell sick, and. became to appearance dead; when 

 one of his servants pouring a glass of wine into his 

 throat, to amuse his companions, B. opened his eyes, 

 and, after a while, recovered his health. 



BEELZEBUB (in Hebrew, the god of flies} ; an idol of 

 the Moabites or Syrians. This term is applied, in the 

 Scriptures, to the chief of the evil spirits. We must 

 remember what a terrible torment insects often are 

 in the East, in order to conceive how this name came 

 to be given to one of the greatest of the imaginary 

 spirits of evil. We find that almost all nations, who 

 believe in evil spirits, represent them as the rulers of 

 disgusting, tormenting, or poisonous animals flies, 

 rats, mice, reptiles, &c. The Greeks worshipped 

 several of their chief deities under the character of 

 protectors against these animals; for instance, 

 Apollo 'S.fiivhus, the destroyer of rats. Every one 

 knows, that Christ was charged by the Jews with 

 driving out demons by the power of Beelzebub. 

 (Matt. xii. 24.) 



BEER (See Ale and Bre\vmg>, We have evidence 

 of the use of this liquor for more than 2000 years. 

 The Grecian poet and satirist Archilochus, who lived 

 about 700 B. C., and the Grecian tragedians jEschy- 

 lus and Sophocles, who lived more than 400 B. C., 

 calls it wine of barley. Diodorus of Sicily, who lived 

 about the time of Julius Caesar, about 50 B. C., men- 

 tions beer in his History (lib. i. chap. 20). Pliny 

 also, about the middle of the first century after Christ, 

 speaks of tin's beverage in several parts of his Natu- 

 ral History. He says that it is prepared in different 

 ways, and that there is a species more intoxicating 

 than wine. He says further, that in Spain it is called 

 celia and certa ; but, in Gaul and in other provinces 

 of the Roman empire, cerevisia ; that it was in gene- 

 ral use among the ancient Germans, who also called 

 it cerevisia (from Ceres, the goddess of grain, and vis, 

 power.) The Egyptians, as the first promoters of agri- 

 culture, are said to have invented beer, and to have 

 prepared a kind, in later times, at Pelusium, which was 

 called by the name of that city, and was much cele- 

 brated. Beer was afterwards unknown in Egypt, 

 until the French army introduced it anew, since wnich, 

 it is said that beer is still brewed there. We are igno- 



