B L A 



576 



B L A 



Blanc. before them had been able to roach, and where the 

 cold was so intense as to freeze the provisions in tiuir 

 pockets, congeal the ink in their inkstands, and sink 

 the mercury of Fahrenheit's thermometer to 18$ de- 

 grees ; their faces were excoriated, their lips swelled, 

 and their sight greatly debilitated by the reflexion of 

 the snow. Ok the 18th of August 1787, M. d 

 Saimure set out from Chamouni, accompanied by 

 18 guides, and provided with a tent, mattrasses, phi- 

 losophical instruments, and all necessary accommoda- 

 tions. They passed the first night on the top of the 

 mountain La Cute; encamped at four o'clock in the 

 following afternoon, about 12,762 feet above the level 

 of the sea ; and next morning pursued the ascent in 



J daces frequently so steep, that the guides were ob- 

 iged to hc-.v out steps with a hatchet. After a very 

 slow progress, and frequent halts for breath, they 

 reached the summit about 1 1 o'clock in the forenoon ; 

 where they remained 4^ hours, enjoying a most sublime 

 and extensive prospect, and making a variety of useful 

 and interesting experiments. Here they observed the 

 surrounding mountains, not in regular lines and con- 

 tinued ridges, as they appear when viewed from the 

 plain ; but in the most irregular groups and insulated 

 masses ; connected indeed at their bases, yet com- 

 pletely detached from each other, distinct in the forms, 

 and separated at their summits. In this elevated sta- 

 tion, they experienced great difficulty of respiration, 

 which was increased by the slightest exertion, by a 

 stooping posture, and by the use of wine or brandy ; 

 were kept in a state of continued fever, and torment- 

 ed with a burning thirst ; felt no appetite for food, 

 no relish for strong liquors, no relief in any thing but 

 in draughts of fresh water. About two o'clock in 

 the afternoon they began to descend ; and arrived next 

 morning, without any accident, at the valley of Cha- 

 mouni. On the 8th of August, a few days after 

 Saussure's expedition, Mr Beaufoy, aa English gen- 

 tleman, succeeded in a similar attempt ; but on ac- 

 count of the enlargement of the chasms in the ice, it 

 was accomplished with greater difficulty. See Coxe's 

 Travels in Switzerland, vol. 2. Saussure's Voyages 

 dans les Alpes, vol. 4. Martyn's Sketch of a Tour 

 through Switzerland, App. (q) 



" BLANC, Mont, the name of one of the new de- 

 partments of France, formed out of Savoy. It is 

 bounded on the east by the Alps, on the south by 

 the department ot the Upper Alps, and the depart- 

 ment of the Doire, on the west by the departments 

 of the Aix and the Isere, and on the north by the 

 department of Leman. The principal rivers of this 

 department are the Arc, which runs from south-east 

 to north-west, and joins the Isere, near Mont Median ; 

 the Isere, which, rising in the Alps, runs from 

 north-east to south-west ; and the Guyers, which 

 passes the bridge of Beauvoisin. The general aspect 

 of this department is by no means beautiful ; but it 

 abounds in iron, copper, silver, lead, and coal. 

 Probably, on account of the want of wood, the 

 mine of St Georges-d'Heurtres is the only one which 

 is actually worked. It employs nine large furnaces 

 for the smelting of iron. The forests occupy 

 112,000 hectares, or from 218 to 219 arpens, and 

 belong almost wholly to the communes. Superficial 

 extent l,251-,7y0'. Contributions in 1803, 1,148,533 



francs. Population 283,106. The principal towns Blanching 

 are, Chamberry, the capital ; Anneci, St Jean de 

 Maurienne, ami Moutiers. (w) 



BLANCHING. See Gardening. 



BLAND FORD, an ancient town of England in 

 Dorsetshire, situated on the river Stour, near the 

 Downs. The streets are handsome, and the houses, 

 which are of brick, are generally well built. The 

 principal buildings are, a church, in the Grecian 

 style. 120 feet long, and built in 1739 ; and a town- 

 hall, built with Portland stone, on columns of the 

 Doric order. This town has suffered severely by 

 fire, before 1579, in 1677, in 1713, and in 173l\ 

 Near Blandford stood the famous Damary oak, which 

 was rooted up in 1755. It measured 75 feet in 

 1797; the branches extended 72 feet; the trunk 

 was 12 feet in diameter, and 17 feet above the earth; 

 and the circumference of the bottom was 68 feet. 

 In the cavity, which was 15 feet wide, an old man 

 lived during the civil wars, and till after the Resto- 

 ration. The only manufactures here are one of shirt 

 and waistcoat buttons, and one of thread. Number 

 of houses 405. Population 2326 ; of whom 480 

 were returned as employed in trade and manufac- 

 tures. See Hutchinson's History of Dorsetshire, (j) 



BLARNEY, a market town in the province of 

 Munster, celebrated for several manufactories esta- 

 blished in it by Mr Jeffries, to whom it belonged. 

 Several of them have now fallen into decay, and the 

 only ones which now exist, are a paper mill, a 

 stamping mill, a bleaching establishment, and one or 

 two cotton manufactories. See Mr A. Young's 

 Tour through Ireland. ( ; ) 



BLASIA, a genus of plants of the class Crypto- 

 gamia, and order Algx. See Botany, (re) 



BLAST Furnaces. See Ikon. 



BLASTING of Rocks, is an operation of great 

 importance in the formation of roads, or in the 

 breaking up of uncultivated ground. 



The process of blasting rocks, or stones, consists 

 in boring a cylindrical hole, about 10 or 12 inches 

 deep, in the rock, by means of a chisel for that pur- 

 pose. The lower part of this hole is filled with 

 gunpowder. The upper part of the hole is then 

 tilled up with fragments of stone, firmly rammed 

 together ; a hole being left through these materials, 

 by the insertion of an iron rod, which is turned 

 round during the operation of ramming. This hole 

 is next filled with powder, and a match is applied to 

 it in such a manner, that the operator has time- 

 to run out of the reach of the fragments of the 

 rock. 



This process, which is both tedious and dangerous, 

 is now abandoned for one which is more simple and ef- 

 fectual, and which consists merely in introducing a 

 straw, filled with gunpowder, among the powder at 

 the bottom of the cylindrical hole in the rock, and fil- 

 ling the rest of the cylindrical hole with loose sand. 

 By applying a match to the gunpowder in the straw, 

 an explosion takes place ; and, instead of the loose 

 sand being driven out of the cylindrical hole, as 

 might naturally be expected, the rock is completely 

 shivered in pieces. Mr Jcssop tried the experiment 

 with great success on some of the hard rocks at 

 Foitwilliam, and also on the lime works at Bristoh 



