B I B 



496 



B I E 



Bianchini 



I 



Bibliogra- 

 phy. 



et concinnata ; Verona, fol. Among the observa- 

 tions of Bianchini, those upon Venus are very singular; 

 and we are much at a loss whether to consider them 

 as absolute fabrications, or as the result of optical 

 illusions which he had not the sagacity to discover. 

 The disadvantages attending the use of the lCng re- 

 fracting telescopes were considerably, though not al- 

 together, removed by the contrivance of Huygens, 

 by which tubes were rendered unnecessary. In 1712, 

 Bianchini brought to Paris a contrivance of his own 

 for the same purpose, which was described in the 

 memoirs of the academy for 1713. With long te- 

 li scopes, tOA'hich this invention was adapted, he 

 teems to have , observed Venus with unremitting assi- 

 duity. He perceived, or thought he perceived, seven 

 large spots towards the middle of her disc, which 

 communicated with one another by four straits ; and 

 towards the extremities of her disc he observed other 

 two spots, which had no communication with the 

 former. He saw even promontories or projections 

 of these dark regions into the lighter part of her 

 disc. In imitation of Riccioli, he called those spots 

 and promontories after eminent men, among whom 

 were, the king of Portugal, Galileo, Cassini, Colum- 

 bus, Vespucius, Magellan, and several Portuguese ge- 

 nerals who had distinguished themselves by their 

 conquests in the Indies. From the change of posi- 

 tion in these spots, Bianchini concluded that Venus 

 revolved about her axis in 24 days 8 hours. It is a 

 very remarkable circumstance, that the admirable te- 

 lescopes employed by Herschel and Schroeter have 

 never yet been able to discover any of these spots 

 perceived by Bianchini ; and we are the more inclined 

 to suspect some great source of error, as it is now 

 proved, by the accurate observations of Cassini, Her- 

 schel, and Schroeter, that Venus revolves about her 

 axis in a little less than 24 hours, instead of 21 days, 

 as Bianchini determined. For farther information re- 

 specting the life of this author, see his Eloge in the 

 Hist. Acad. Par. 1729 ; in the Nouve/les Literaires de 

 Leipzig, Jan. 1731 ; and in Fontenelle's Eloge des 

 Academiciens, in the CEuvres de Fontenelle, torn. vi. 

 p. 21 3. See also La Lande's Voyage d'ltalie, torn. iv. 

 p. 311, edit. 1786. (o) 



BIBERACH, an ancient city in the Confedera- 

 tion of the Rhine, belonging to Baden, situated in a 

 valley traversed by the river Reiss. It was formerly 

 a free and imperial city, under a government similar 

 to that of Augsburg. The paper and the fustians 

 manufactured in this place have been long celebrated. 

 The cold hath of Jordan is very near the town. Po- 

 pulation CGOO. E. Long. 10" 2', N. Lat. 18 i'_ 



(,/) 



BIBLE. See Christianity, Scriptures, and 

 Theology. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY, (from ij/taW, a hook, and 

 ypupu, to write,) a name which lias been recently em- 

 ployed by many continental writers to comprehend 

 every thing that relates to books ; and as every 

 branch of knowledge is contained in books, thev have, 

 ,e process of reasoning, employed the word 

 BlBI.IOQRA.PHY to denote a science which compre- 

 hends all the other sciences. M. Pcignot has prefer- 

 red the more general term of Bibliology, which he 

 divides into seven different heads, viz. 



1. 



s. 



4. 

 6. 

 6. 



7. 



Glossology, or the knowledge of languages, 



Diplomacy, or the knowledge of writings. 



Bibliopeia, or the composition of books. 



Typography, or the knowledge of printing. 



BlBLloi'OLY, or the knowledge of bookselling. 



Bibliography, or the knowledge of books. 



Universal Literary History. 

 These various heads are branched out into in- 

 numerable subdivisions, embracing every subject to 

 which the human mind has ever been directed. To 

 have accomplished such a task, with even tolerable 

 success, would have required the universal powers of 

 a Bacon or a D'Alembert ; but when it has been ex- 

 ecuted by one who does not pretend to a knowledge 

 of the sciences, our readers may well conjecture 

 what a mass of bad arrangement has been heaped 

 together under the sacred and dignified name of a 

 science. 



In arranging the books of a library, it is certainly- 

 necessary to follow some general division of human 

 knowledge, but it would be neither proper nor conve- 

 nient to adopt that scientific classification which re- 

 sults from a perfect acquaintance with the sciences, 

 and the various relations by which they are connect- 

 ed. This subject will naturally come under our con- 

 sideration in the article Library ^ and under the 

 word Books, we shall lay before our readers that in- 

 formation which some of them might have expected 

 to find under the present article- (tc) 



BIDEFORD, a market and sea-port town o 

 England,, fm Devonshire. It is situated chiefly on the 

 slope of an' eminence on the banks of the river Tow- 

 ridge, a little above its junction with the Taw, which 

 falls into Barnstaple bay. The streets are clean, and 

 the houses well built, though they are chiefly con- 

 structed of timber, brick, and mud. The quay is 

 conveniently situated near the centre of the town, 

 and at high tides will admit a vessel of 500 tons. The 

 river is crossed by a stone bridge of 24 irregular 

 arches, built about the middle of the 14th century. 

 Bideford carried on a great commerce with Newfound- 

 land about the middle of the last century. It still enjoys 

 a considerable trade in the importation of fish from 

 Newfoundland, and the salt with which the herrings 

 are cured is brought from Liverpool and Warrington ; 

 but the vessels belonging to the port, whicli amount 

 to nearly 100, varying from 20 to 250 tons, are prin- 

 cipally employed in the carriage of coal and timber, 

 and in the exportation of oak and bark to Scotland 

 and Ireland. Large quantities of- earthen ware are 

 manufactured here and sent to Wales. Number of 

 houses 582. Population 2987, of whom 325 were 

 returned as employed in trade and manufactures. See 

 Watkin's History of Bideford, and Maton's Tour 

 through the Western Counties, (j ) 



BIDENS, a genus of plants of the class Synge- 

 nesia, and order Polygamia jEqualis. See Botany. 

 (to) 



BIENNE, a town of France in the department 

 of the Higher Rhine, and formerly the capital of a 

 district of the same name in Switzerland. It is si- 

 tuated at the foot of Mount Jura, near the northern 

 extremity of the lake of Bienne. The town is built 

 in the ancient style ; and is chiefly remarkable for its 

 tanneries, its manufacture of printed cloths, and a fine 



Bidefori 



II 

 Bienn*. 



