B I P 



B I T 



Gr.) Consisting of two flower leaves; 

 having two petals. 



BIPI'NNATE. (bipinnatum, Lat.) Doubly 

 pinnate ; applied to a compound leaf, 

 having a common petiole, which produces 

 two partial ones, upon which the leaflets 

 are inserted. 



BIPINNA'TIFID. Having pinnatifid leaves 

 on each side the petoile. 



BIRA'DIATE. 1 (from bis and radiatus, 



BIRA'DIATED. ) Lat.) Consisting of two 

 rays. 



BIRHOMBO'IDAL. Having a surface of 

 twelve rhombic faces. 



BIRO'STRATE. (from linus and rostrum, 

 Lat.) Having a two-beaked prominence ; 

 two beaked. 



BIROSTRI'TES. A fossil bivalve with coni- 

 cal umbones. 



BI'SMUTH. (bismut, German, bismuth and 

 bismut, Fr.) A metal of a reddish -white, 

 or cream colour. It is neither malleable 

 nor ductile, its specific gravity is 98, it 

 fuses at a temperature of 476 Fahrenheit. 

 In hardness it is intermediate between 

 gold and silver. Bismuth unites with 

 most metals, rendering them generally 

 more fusible, and in some cases remark- 

 ably so. Eight parts of bismuth, five of 

 lead, and three of tin, constitute what has 

 been calle'd Sir I. Newton's fusible metal, 

 which liquefies at the temperature of boil- 

 ing water, 212, and may be fused over 

 the flame of a candle in a piece of stiff 

 paper. Bismuth was discovered in the 

 early part of the sixteenth century, and is 

 mentioned by Bermannus. It occurs in 

 veins in primitive rocks, as gneiss, granite, 

 mica-slate, and clay-slate, in Saxony, Bo- 

 hemia, France, Sweden, and Cornwall. 

 One part of bismuth with five of lead and 

 three of tin form the soft solder used by 

 pewterers ; it is also used in the manu- 

 facture of printer's types. It is with a 

 compound of two parts of bismuth, one of 

 lead, one of tin, and four of mercury, the 

 whole being fusible at a temperature 

 under that of boiling water, that glass 

 globes are silvered on the inside ; a piece 

 of this compound being placed within 

 the globe, the latter is plunged into ho 

 water, the metallic compound readily 

 melts, and the globe being turned round" 

 the fluid metal is spread over the intern a 

 surface. 

 BISMU'THAL. Resembling bismuth ; con. 



taining bismuth. 



BISMU'THIC. Containing bismuth. 

 BI'SON. (bison, Fr. bison, Lat.) A largi 

 wild untameable herbivorous and grega 

 rious animal, often confounded with th 

 buffalo. The bison has a large flesh; 

 protuberance, or hunch, growing upor 

 the top and between the shoulders ; it 

 horns are short, black, and bent forwards 



its back gibbous ; mane long ; tail about 

 a foot in length, and naked, except some 

 hairs at the end. Immense herds of bi- 

 sons are often seen in South America, and 

 Mr. James states that in one place on the 

 banks of the Plata, he saw ten thousand 

 bisons at once. 



SISU'LCOUS. (bisulcus, Lat.) Cloven- 

 footed, as the ox, or the pig. 

 JITE'RNATE. (biternatum, Lat.) A term 

 given to compound leaves when the com- 

 mon petiole divides into two, each of 

 which bears three leaflets. 

 SITU'ME, } (bitumen, Lat. bitume, It. 

 h'lUMEN, 5 bitume, Fr. matiere liquide, 

 epaisse, noire et inflammable, qui se truuve 

 dans le sein de la terre, et dont on pretend 

 qu'on se. servoit autrefois au lieu de ci- 

 ment. ) The term bitumen is applied to 

 a number of inflammable substances found 

 in the earth, or issuing from the earth's 

 surface, and these are known under their 

 names of naphtha, petroleum, mineral tar, 

 mineral pitch or maltha, asphalt, elastic 

 bitumen, jet, mineral coal, amber, and 

 mineral tallow. These, however, may 

 perhaps be more correctly called bitumi- 

 nous varieties. Bitumen is a substance 

 of a peculiar kind, seeming to partake 

 both of an oily and resinous nature, and 

 is found either buried in, or proceeding 

 from, different parts of the earth, in dif- 

 ferent states of consistence. Bitumen is 

 composed of carbon and hydrogen. It 

 appears that formerly bitumen was gene- 

 rally used instead of mortar, and authors 

 suppose that the tower of Babel, the walls 

 of Babylon, of Sodom, and other places, 

 were built of bricks cemented together by 

 bitumen, and that the ark of Noah, and 

 the vessel of bull-rushes in which Moses 

 was exposed, were coated with this sub- 

 stance. Bitumen, when fluid, has been 

 called by some Latin writers, oleum vi- 

 vum. Lyell says that the tar-like sub- 

 stance, which is often seen to ooze out of 

 the Newcastle coal when on fire, and 

 which makes it cake, is a good example 

 of bitumen. The varieties of bitumen 

 will be separately described under their 

 different names. Parkinson. Lyell. 

 Bakewell. 



BITU'MINATED. (bituminatus, Lat.) Pre- 

 pared with bitumen ; impregnated with 

 bitumen. 

 BITUMINI'FEROUS. Yielding bitumen; 



containing bitumen. 

 BITU'MINISE. To prepare with, or coat 



with, bitumen. 



BITUMINISA'TION, The preparing, or im- 

 pregnating, with bitumen. 

 BITU'MINOUS. (bituminosus, Lat.) Con- 

 taining bitumen ; having the nature and 

 qualities of bitumen. 

 BITU'MINOUS SHALE. An argillaceous shale, 



