B R O 



[35 ] 



B Y S 



were thrown to the earth by thun- 

 der.) A fossil echinite of the family 

 Cidaris. 



BRO'NZITE. A mineral called by Werner 

 Bliittriger anthophyllite, and by Haiiy 

 Diallage metalloide. It has a yellowish 

 brown colour, with a semi-metallic lustre. 

 It is found in serpentine in Shetland and 

 in Upper Stiria, and in greenstone in 

 many other places. According to Klap- 

 roth, it consists of, silica 60 ; mag- 

 nesia 27-5 ; oxide of iron 10'5 ; wa- 

 ter 0-5. 



BROWN-COAL. A fresh-water formation of 

 the tertiary series, but to which sub- 

 division of the tertiary period it may 

 belong is considered uncertain by Mr. 

 Lyell, from the extreme rarity of shells 

 found in it. Professor Buckland states, 

 " In some parts of Germany this brown - 

 coal occurs in strata of more than thirty 

 feet in thickness, chiefly composed of 

 trees which have been drifted, apparently 

 by fresh water, from their place of 

 growth, and spread forth in beds, usually 

 alternating with sand and clay, at the 

 bottom of then existing lakes or es- 

 tuaries." 



BRU'CITE. Called also Chondrodite and 

 Hemiprismatic Chrysolite. This mineral 

 was named Brucite, after Bruce, an 

 American mineralogist ; it occurs massive 

 and in small grains ; colours from a pale 

 yellow to a brownish red ; it possesses a 

 vitreous lustre, is translucent, with a 

 fracture imperfectly conchoidal. It con- 

 tains a small portion of fluoric acid, and 

 scratches glass. It is found in America, 

 Scotland, and Finland. It consists of 

 magnesia, silica, fluoric acid, about four 

 per cent, oxide of iron, potash, and 

 water. 



BUCA'RDIUM. An acephalous bivalve, hav- 

 ing powers of locomotion. 



BU'CCINUM. (buccinum, Lat.) The whelk. 

 An ovate elongated univalve ; opening 

 oblong, notched in the lower part, and 

 with no canal ; columella convex, full 

 and naked. Parkinson. 



Linnaeus places this genus, the Bucci- 

 num, or Whelk, in the order Gastero- 

 poda, class Mollusca : it comprises all the 

 shells furnished with an emargination 

 inflected to the left, and in which the 

 columella is destitute of plicae. Many 

 fossil species have been discovered, the 

 greater number in the crag ; some in the 

 London-clay ; six species have been 



found in the environs of Paris. De 

 Blainville places the buccinum in the 

 family Entomostomata. 



BU'CCINITE. The fossil remains of the 

 buccinum. The greater part of the 

 genus buccinum is littoral. 



BUCCINOI'DA. The third family in the 

 order Pectinibranchiata, division Mol- 

 lusca. 



BU'FONITE. (from bufo, Lat.) Fossil 

 teeth of fishes belonging to the family of 

 Pycnodonts ; they occur in great abun- 

 dance throughout the oolite formation. 

 These bufonites have been also called 

 Serpent's-eyes, Batrachites, and Crapau- 

 dines, from the notion of their having 

 been formed in the heads of serpents, 

 toads, and frogs ; and, from presumed 

 virtues which it was thought they pos- 

 sessed, they were worn in rings and as 

 amulets. 



BU'LLA. An ovate, gibbous, and cylindri- 

 cal univalve : the fossil occurring in ter- 

 tiary formations : the spire not standing 

 out, but concealed : the opening the 

 length of the shell : the lip acute. The 

 recent bulla is marine, and found in sands 

 and sandy mud, at depths varying to 

 twelve fathoms. Parkinson. De la 

 Beche. 



BU'LLITE. The fossil remains of the 

 bulla. 



BU'LLATE. Of a blistered appearance. 



BU'LIMUS. A fossil ovate or oblong sub- 

 turreted shell : the opening entire, ob- 

 long, and longitudinal, and this is the 

 chief characteristic of this genus. The 

 bulimus is a land shell. Parkinson. 



BUNT. In conchology, an increasing 

 cavity ; a tunnel. 



BURRH-STONE. This word is sometimes 

 written buhr-stone. Mill-stone. The 

 substance of burrh-stone, or mill-stone, 

 when unmixed is pure silex ; it has gene- 

 rally a reddish or yellowish colour, but 

 that of the best quality is nearly white ; 

 it is full of pores and cavities, which 

 give it a corroded and cellular appear- 

 ance. 



BY'SSUS. (from fivaffbs, Gr.) A beard, 

 as in the mytilus and pinna. The byssus 

 is peculiar to bivalves. 



BY'SSOLITE. (from (Swabs, flax, and 

 \i0of, a stone.) A rare mineral, occur- 

 ring massive, in short, delicate, and sJtif- 

 fish filaments, of an olive-green, pr 

 brownish colour, with a silky lustre. 



