BADEN-POWELL 



540 



BAD LANDS 



area of 5,823 square miles is slightly less than 

 the combined area of Rhode Island and Con- 

 necticut; its population is 2,000,000. It is trav- 

 ersed by the lofty plateau of the Black Forest. 

 Coal, iron, zinc, nickel and copper are mined in 

 many places, and the fertile soil yields abundant 

 crops of wheat, barley, corn, potatoes, flax, 

 hemp, beetroot and tobacco. Grapes are ex- 

 tensively cultivated, and Baden is noted for its 

 light wines. 



The chief manufactures are textiles, tobacco, 

 chemicals, machinery, jewels, pottery, musical 

 instruments, wooden carvings and toys. The 

 capital is Karlsruhe, with a population of 111,- 

 200; other important towns are Mannheim 

 (162,607), Freiburg (74,102), Constance (24,818), 

 and Heidelberg (49,439) , the' seat of the oldest 

 university of the German Empire. The min- 

 eral springs of Baden are famous throughout 

 the world (see BADEN). 



The duchy was governed by an hereditary 

 grand duke, assisted by two chambers compris- 

 ing a Parliament, or Landtag. Every citizen of 

 legal age, not a pauper and not convicted of 

 crime, had a vote. The lower chamber consisted 

 of seventy-three members; the upper is com- 

 posed of all adult male members of the reigning 

 family, the archbishop of Freiburg, burgo- 

 masters of small towns, representatives of the 

 chamber of commerce and eight members who 

 were elected for four years by the nobility. 

 Baden became part of the German Empire in 

 1871. In 1919 it was impossible to forecast the 

 future form of government of Baden, for the old 

 Empire had entirely disappeared, and a new 

 order had not been established. 



BADEN-POWELL, ROBERT STEVENSON SMITH 

 (1857- ), a British general who acquired dis- 

 tinction through a brilliant military career, but 

 is known in the United States and Canada 

 chiefly through his keen interest in the Boy 

 Scout movement. He entered the army in 

 1876 and served in India, Afghanistan and 

 South Africa. He was distinguished as com- 

 mander of the native troops in Ashantee in 

 1895, and later in the Matabele campaign. 

 During the South African War his force of 

 1,200 men was besieged for 215 days by a 

 large Boer army at Mafeking, and despite 

 famine and sickness he succeeded in repelling 

 his assailants until he was relieved. Because of 

 his success in defending the place he was pro- 

 moted to the rank of major-general. 



General Baden-Powell has always taken a 

 keen interest in the welfare of boys, and his 

 wide experience and ready understanding 



admirably qualify him as an ideal for, and 

 leader of, boys of all ages. His works on 

 scouting are authoritative and are widely read. 

 See BOY SCOUTS. 



BADGER, baj' ur, an animal belonging to 

 the same family as the bears, weasels and 

 skunks. It sleeps all day in a burrow and 

 comes out to feed at night. It has short, thick 

 3, and powerful claws on its forefeet, with 



which it digs up roots and vegetables and also 

 destroys the houses of ground squirrels, 

 gophers and mice, which it eats. The badger 

 is about the size of a large fox terrier, but its 

 body is stouter and its legs are shorter. Its 

 fur, of a grayish color, is valuable, and its long 

 hairs are used for making artists' brushes and 

 shaving brushes. Natives of India eat its 

 flesh, but it is not considered fit for food in 

 most countries. It will always seek safety 

 in its burrow rather than fight, but when cor- 

 nered and compelled to fight it is a formidable 

 enemy. 



''Badger baiting," or "drawing the badger" 

 was a cruel sport formerly practiced in England 

 and America. A badger was put into a barrel, 

 and dogs were sent in to drag him out. When 

 this was accomplished, the dogs were called 

 off and the badger was put back into the bar- 

 rel and attacked again. Several dogs might 

 be killed or severely injured by the badger's 

 powerful teeth before he could be got out of 

 his barrel. From this "game," as it was called, 

 we get the word badgering, which means worry- 

 ing. 



Wisconsin is called the Badger State, because 

 it is the principal American home of these 

 animals. 



BAD LANDS, a name applied in the United 

 States to certain lands which have been greatly 

 eroded by rain and floods (see EROSION). The 

 most striking example of such erosive action is 

 found in the upper drainage basin of the Mis- 

 souri River, near the Black Hills. There the 

 soil is not protected by vegetation. It is com- 

 posed of sand, gravel and horizontal strata of 

 clay and limestone, and the hills are easily 

 washed by rain into fantastic gullies. The 

 term is a literal translation of Terres 



