BOATSWAIN 



7SS 



BOCCACCIO 



rowlocks. For description of large vessels, see 

 SHIP; also CANOE; YACHT; MOTOR BOAT. Under 

 the title SAILBOAT AND SAILING directions for 

 handling a sailboat are given. 



BOATSWAIN, botc'sioanc, called by sailors 

 bo't'n, is a petty officer on board a ship. In 

 the navy he is responsible for the sails, rigging, 

 colors, anchors, cables and cordage, and he 

 calls the members of the crew to their work. 

 The pay of a boatswain in the United States 

 navy is from $1,200 to $1,500 a year. After ten 

 yean of service he is made chief boatswain, a 

 commissioned officer ranking with the ensigns. 

 On merchant ships, the boatswain is next in 

 importance to the mates; he is foreman of the 

 crew and is in charge of the rigging. The 

 "bo's'n" is a character known to all readers 

 of sea stories, but perhaps the most remarkable 

 specimen is in W. S. Gilbert's Yarn oj the 

 Nancy Bell, whose hero is 



"A cook and a captain bold, 

 And the mate of the Nancy brig, 

 And a bo'sun tight, and a midshipmite, 

 And the crew of the captain's gig." 



BOBOLINK, bob'olingk, one of the most 

 interesting of the North American wild birds, 

 named in imitation of its gay and sprightly 

 song, in which the sounds of bob-o-lee, bob-o- 

 link, can be heard distinctly. The bobolinks 



BOBOLINKS 

 Above, the male ; below, the female. 



are related to the blackbirds and orioles, and 

 are about seven inches long. In the spring the 

 male wears very handsome attire black, with 

 markings of buff and ashy- white on the back 

 of the head, shoulders, back and wings. In the 

 autumn the male and female have the same 

 plumage yellowish-brown above, paler beneath 

 and a light stripe on the crown. 



These birds are found from Labrador to 

 Mexico and the West Indies. In March or 

 April they appear in the Southern United 

 States and work their way northward, nesting 

 in May in the cool, grassy meadows of the 

 Middle states, New England and Canada. The 

 nest is built on the ground, hidden in the tall 

 grass, and contains from four to six dull white 

 eggs, with irregular markings of lilac and 

 brown. In their northern abode the bobolinks 

 destroy great numbers of crickets, grasshoppers, 

 beetles and spiders, and are also fond of dande- 

 lion and grass seeds, thus earning their right 

 to the friendship and protection of man. 



Far different is the history of the gay-singing 

 bobolink after the southward migrations begin. 

 In August great flocks appear in the reedy 

 places and marshes of the seacoast and inland 

 waters in the vicinity of New York and Penn- 

 sylvania, where they grow fat on the wild rice 

 found there and are eagerly sought by the 

 huntsmen. Known at this period as the reed- 

 bird, or ricebird, they are much-prized game, 

 for their flesh is delicious. About October 

 those which have escaped the hunter fly to the 

 rice fields of the Southern states, where they 

 do considerable damage to the growing rice 

 crops. Winter finds them located in the West 

 Indies. The wholesale destruction of the rice- 

 birds has caused the United States government 

 to appoint a closed season for them in Mary- 

 land, the District of Columbia, Virginia and 

 South Carolina, continuing from November 1 

 to August 31. See BIRD. 



Bryant's happy description of the bobolink 

 in his poem Robert of Lincoln is a charming bit 

 of natural history. The opening stanza is here 

 given : 



Merrily swinging on brier and weed, 



Near to the nest of his little dame, 

 Over the mountain-side or mead, 



Robert of Lincoln is telling his name: 

 Bob-o'-link, bob-o'-link, 

 Spink, spank, spink. 

 Snug and safe is that nest of ours, 

 Hidden among the summer flowers 

 Chee, chee, chee. 



BOCCACCIO, bokkah'cho, GIOVANNI (1313- 

 1375), an Italian novelist and poet, the earliest 

 writer of classic Italian prose and the author 

 of some of the most famous stories in the 

 world's literature. He was the son of a mer- 

 chant of Florence and early showed unusual 

 talent, writing verses before he was seven years 

 of age. Nevertheless, he spent several years 

 in the study of law before he was able to 

 devote himself entirely to literature. 



