BULLFINCH 



994 



BULLION 



rence on holidays and feast days, and skilled 

 bullfighters are popular heroes. The fights 

 are usually held in an amphitheater having 

 circular tiers of seats rising one above another, 

 and are attended by vast crowds. 



The combatants, who make bullfighting their 

 profession, march into the arena in procession. 

 They are of various grades the picadores, 

 combatants on horseback, in the old Spanish 

 knightly garb; the banderilleros, combatants 

 on foot, in gay dresses, with colored cloaks or 

 banners; and lastly, the matador, who deals 

 the death blow to the defeated bull. As soon 

 as the signal is given, the bull is let into the 

 arena. The picadores, who have stationed 

 themselves near him, commence the attack 

 with their lances, and the bull is soon infuri- 

 ated. Often a horse is wounded or killed, and 

 the rider is obliged to run for his life; some- 

 times men are seriously gored by the horns 

 of the distracted animal. The banderilleros 

 assist the horsemen by drawing the attention 

 of the bull with their red cloaks, and try to 

 fasten on the bull their banderillas barbed 

 darts ornamented with colored paper, and often 

 having explosive crackers attached. If they 

 succeed, the crackers are discharged, and the 

 bull races yet more madly around the arena. 

 In case of danger the banderilleros and pica- 

 dores save themselves by leaping over the 

 wooden fence which surrounds the scene of 

 conflict. 



The matador enters the arena with a naked 

 sword and red flag; when the animal has af- 

 forded sufficient sport or is too weak to offer 

 further resistance, he dispatches it with one 

 skilful thrust. The slaughtered bull is dragged 

 away and another is turned into the arena. 

 Eight or more bulls may be sacrificed in a 

 single afternoon. See illustration, in full-page 

 illustration, in article SPAIN. 



BULLFINCH , " a singing bird which can be 

 taught to repeat musical airs. In Germany 

 great care is given to training bullfinches, and 

 good singers command high prices. The bull- 

 finch's name is no doubt derived from its thick, 

 bulging bill, which makes its little head faintly 

 resemble that of a bull. It is about the size 

 of an English sparrow, and has a blue-gray 

 body with a bright red breast and a black 

 beak and crown. It is found in well-wooded 

 places in Britain, Southern Europe and Asia, 

 where it lives on berries, small fruits and the 

 buds of trees. 



BULLFROG, the frog of the deep bass voice, 

 at home in weedy lakes and ponds. In Can- 



ada and the United States east of the Rocky 

 Mountains, including Florida and Texas, the 

 bullfrog is found. In ponds or lakes where 

 water is hidden from the shore by low trees 

 and bushes, weeds and reeds and water lilies, 



BULLFROG 



he makes his home. There he feasts on the 

 bugs, snails, shrimps, or toads and fish all the 

 dainties which he relishes; this food is found 

 near the roots and stems, and under the leaves 

 of the sheltering water plants. When he is not 

 searching for food or sleeping one can see him 

 basking in the sunshine on some half-hidden 

 log, revealing his large yellow-green body, 

 which, in the shade, is olive-green or reddish- 

 brown, with large brown or black spots, and 



BULLFROG TADPOLES 



(a) A developing bullfrog; (6) the same four 

 days later, showing beginning of absorption of 

 the tail. 



yellow lines across the back. And all the day, 

 or in the still summer evening, above the 

 chorus of other little creatures, comes the 

 loud, hollow "jug-o-rum" of the bullfrog. A 

 powerful swimmer, he loves the water and is 

 rarely seen on land, excepting occasionally 

 after long-continued rains. The hind legs of 

 the frog are often used as food, and also as 

 bait for fish. See FROG. 



BULLHEAD. See CATFISH. 



BULLION, bul'yun, the name given gold and 

 silver in any form except legal-tender coin. 

 We usually think of bullion as bars of gold 



