Ij.l.e.n;., 

 Ualasore. 



B A L 



214 



B A L 



and assassinated. 

 chap. vi. (/) 



See Duraud's i'oyage to Senegal, 



BALANUS, in Zoology, a genus of testaceous 



mollusca, in the works of Cnvier, and some other 



continental naturalists, distinct from the tribe Lei'A , 



under which they are arranged by Linnxus. See 



HOLOGY, and M0U.U8CA. 



BALASORE Handm:u< -iiikfs. A speciej of 

 the cotton manufacture, in which the Indian fabric 

 is imitated, and the name preserved. To those who 

 are conversant with the general manufacture of mus- 

 lins, the Balasore handkerchief will present little no- 

 velty. The fabric is similar to that of the JacCQnott 

 muslins, which are of an intermediate degree of close- 

 ness between the most dense and the lightest. The 

 border of the handkerchief is formed in general mere- 

 ly by using coarser yarn than the body of the fabric ; 

 and this yarn may be so disposed, as to form many 

 different patterns. The texture is merely plain or 

 alternate; and the only additional care which it is in- 

 cumbent on the weaver to use, is that of rolling his 

 cloth when finished on the receiving beam. When a 

 piece of these handkerchiefs is newly begun, very 

 little difference of tension will be perceived, but as it 

 proceeds, the difference always increases, and it very 

 soon becomes necessary that it should be counter- 

 acted, or the whole fabric would be inevitably inju- 

 red. The cause of this is the accumulation of the 

 'coarser and more bulky material near to each selvage 

 of the cloth. As the coarse warp occupies a greater 

 space than the fine, it follows that at every successive 

 convolution, the diameter of the beam must increase 

 in a greater ratio than the former. Again, as the 

 tension of the warp is preserved by the action of the 

 warp and cloth beams in contrary directions, it ne- 

 cessarily follows, that the ratio of tension must de- 

 pend upon the measure of each diameter ; but as by 

 successive convolutions, the diameter of that part 

 where the borders are wound becomes progressively 

 greater than that which is occupied by the interme- 

 diate cloth, the tension of the coarse warp is rapidly 

 increased by the augmentation of the cylindrical mea- 

 sure of the beam. Hence the coarse boarders would 

 he burst asunder by excessive tension, before the bo- 

 som of the handkerchief had acquired so much as 

 would moderately stretch the warp. To counteract 

 this, layers of paper, or pasteboard, and sometimes 

 small slips or rods of wood, are cut, so as to fill the 

 bosom, and wound upon the beam between the folds 

 of cloth. By the thickness of these being added to 

 that of the cloth, the accumulation upon the beam is 

 kept pretty nearly equal in all parts, and the defect 

 is in a great measure removed. The fabric of the 

 Ballasore handkerchief being nearly the same as the 

 Jacconott, N 60, 62, or 64, may be taken as an 

 average set for a 1200 reed, and the different grada- 

 tions for finer or coarser reeds will be found by the 

 rules laid down in that article. Some allowance, how- 

 ever, must be made for the finer fabrics, or they will 

 appear much more dense than is generally desirable. 

 The reason of this is also pointed out in that article. 

 The difference being merely matter of taste, cannot 

 be exactly specified. By the calculation for a 1500 

 reed, N 100 would be required. Now in common 

 practice, N 110 may be considered pretty near the 



I 



encral standard ; so that the diffrence is ten nun,- Bnlbc- 



:ts. For a 100,), N A~> would be taken by the > 1 



calculation, and this is very near the usual practice. 



In warping the coarse yarn for the borders, dif- 

 ferent plans are used. It is sometimes warped sepa- 

 rately, and beamed at either side of. the fine, being 

 crossed over it obliquely before it comes to the ro 

 At other times, it is warped alon; r with the rest. 

 The coarse yarn h sometimes doubled, to give it a 

 b >!er appearance in the cloth, at other times a great 

 number of threads, as four, and sometimes six, are 

 crowded into the same interval of the reed. Tile 

 latter produces much the finest appearance, but is 

 vastly more troublesome to the weaver; fpr when so 

 many threads are confined in one space, the friction 

 becomes very great during the alternate rising and 

 sinking of the warp ; and every small knot or ob- 

 struction of any kind, produces much inconvenience 

 both in the warp and woof. 



Coloured or dyed yarn is also frequently used for 

 the borders of these handkerchiefs, and may be d 

 posed exactly as the common Balasore borders. In 

 this species, although it is not necessary that the dif- 

 ference of fineness should be so conspicuous as in the 

 white handkerchiefs, where the whole appearance is 

 given by superior density ; still the dyed yarn ought 

 to be very considerably bolder than the body of the 

 web, that the colour may appear conspicuously 

 through the intervals of the woof. When coloured 

 borders are composed of single threads of warp, and 

 many threads are crowded together in the same in- 

 terval of the reed, they appear to very great advan- 

 tage, because the weft covers so little of the colour- 

 ed yarn as hardly to produce any perceptible diminu- ' 

 tion of the effect ; but for the reasons formerly given, 

 they are excessively troublesome to the weaver du- 

 ring the operation. When cords are used, the diffi- 

 culty is still further increased, although these, when 

 judiciously disposed, greatly heighten the brilliancy 

 and appearance of the border. Balasore handker- 

 chiefs are sometimes checked through the bosom, 

 either with cording or coarse yarn, and the coloured 

 borders are also frequently cheeked. These are the 

 only peculiarities of this fabric, which, in every other 

 respect, is merely a piece of plain Jacconot muslin. 



(J. D.) 



BALBEC, a town of Syria, celebrated for its 

 magnificent ruins. It is delightfully situated at the 

 foot of Anti-Libanus, in that part of the country 

 commonly called Coelo-Syria. The town is sur- 

 rounded by a wall, of about four rmles in circumfe- 

 rence, according to Pococke, and the miserable ho- 

 vels of the natives form a striking contrast to the ve- 

 nerable remains of ancient architecture. The chief 

 object which arrests attention is, the ruins of the 

 Temple of the Sun, which, even in its present di- 

 lapidated state, exhibits the magnificence and gran- 

 deur of the original design. The principal door-case 

 has been particularly admired for the beauty of the 

 workmanship. The transverse-stone at the top is 

 adorned with the figure of an eagle, most exquisite- 

 ly sculptured, holding in his claws a caduceus, and 

 in his beak a large wreath of flowers, which falls 

 down on each side, till it terminates in two genii, or 

 winged figures, which appear as supporters to the 



