BEELZEBUB 



659 



BEET 



BEELZEBUB, be el' ze bub, a word meaning 

 the god of flies, is the name by which the 

 Philistines of Ekron worshipped their chief 

 god. The word was originally written Baalze- 

 bub and probably referred to Baal (which 

 see). As used in the New Testament, Beelze- 

 bub means the worst of the evil spirits. Jesus 

 said, "And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, 

 by whom do your children cast them out?" 

 (Matt. XII, 27.) 



BEER, a malt liquor used as a beverage. 

 The liquor may be made from nearly all kinds 

 of mealy grains that will ferment. However, 

 barley is the one most used. The process of 

 making beer is fully described in these vol- 

 umes under the heading BREWING. 



Kinds of Beer. As beer is a name applied 

 to all malt liquors, it includes several differ- 

 ent kinds. The one most generally used in 

 Germany and the United States is lager beer. 

 This is a light beer which is stored for a time 

 before being used, in order to allow it to ripen 

 and mellow. Ale is a carefully-made kind of 

 beer much used in England; it is stronger than 

 lager and lighter in color. Porter is a dark, 

 strong English beer, while stout is a strong 

 porter. Beer is sometimes brewed from other 

 substances, as the names ginger beer, root beer, 

 etc., indicate. 



History of Beer. There is authority for 

 saying that beer was brewed and drunk in 

 very ancient times. The Egyptians must 

 have been familiar with it several thousand 

 years ago, as the process of making it is shown 

 in detail on their wonderful monuments. The 

 Greeks obtained their knowledge of it from 

 the Egyptians, and from them it spread to 

 other peoples along the Mediterranean. When 

 the Romans invaded Britain about the time 

 of the Christian Era, they found the inhab- 

 itants brewing a sort of ale from barley. In 

 the thirteenth century the Normans had laws 

 regulating its sale. To-day large quantities 

 are drunk all over the civilized world. Per- 

 haps the people of Germany and the United 

 States are the greatest beer drinkers. Nearly 

 two billion gallons were consumed in the lat- 

 ter country in the year 1916. See ALCOHOLIC 

 DRINKS. J.F.S. 



BEERSHEBA, be ur she' bah, a city on the 

 southern boundary of the Promised Land of 

 the Hebrews. Since Dan was on the north- 

 ern boundary, from Dan to Beersheba was a 

 common form of expressing the extent of the 

 country. The expression is still in common 

 use, but with an entirely different application. 



"From Dan to Beersheba" is now a sort of 

 slang phrase meaning within the outermost 

 limitations, meant to exaggerate an effort that 

 has been or must be made. The ancient city 

 is now but a heap of ruins. The word means 

 well of the oath, so 'named because there 

 Abraham made a covenant with Abimelech. 



BEESWAX, beez' wax, a solid, fatty sub- 

 stance secreted by bees and obtained from the 

 honeycomb. Before swarming bees eat honey 

 freely, for it is needed to produce wax for 

 comb-building. For every pound of wax pro- 

 duced ten to twenty pounds of honey must be 

 consumed. The process by which the wax is 

 prepared for commercial use is not generally 

 understood. The comb is boiled, and the 

 melted wax, rising to the surface, is dipped 

 off. On cooling, it becomes solid. As thus 

 obtained, beeswax is of a dark yellow or 

 brownish color, containing numerous impuri- 

 ties, which can be removed by melting and 

 filtering. Most of the beeswax placed upon 

 the market is bleached. It is used in small 

 quantities by seamstresses, and by housewives 

 for their flatirons, also in the manufacture of 

 candles, the preparation of ointments and ce- 

 ments and in modeling. See BEE; WAX. 



BEET, a garden vegetable of which the 

 entire plant may be eaten, both roots and 

 leaves. Originally only the leaves were eaten, 

 as "greens," but gradually cultivation increased 

 the size and sweetness of the roots until now 



THREE VARIETIES OF BEETS 

 Mangel, common beet and sugar beet. 



it is rather as a root vegetable than as a leaf 

 vegetable that it is grown. The edible parts, 

 usually turnip-shaped, vary in color from white 

 to dark red, the red variety being preferred, 

 and they are prepared for the table by sev- 



