BEARD 



Beard-like lichen=Usnea florida. 



Bearings, (bar'ingz). [To bear.] 1. Planes, 

 cylinders, spheres, conoids, <fec., usually of 

 metal; used to transfer motion from one 

 part of a machine to another, and to direct 

 the motion of the pieces supported. 2. The 

 direction of a line: used in sailing and sur- 

 veying. 



Beatricea, (be-a-trl'si-a). A fossil: now sup- 

 posed to be the tube of an annelide animal; 

 at first mistaken for a large feru; found in, 

 Silurian rocks. 



Beats, (bets). 1. Beats in music, the alternate 

 strengthening and weakening of one tone by 

 another. 2. Beats of the heart, caused by the 

 resistance in the arteries to the passage of 

 blood from the heart. 



Beaumaris shark=Lamna cornubica. 



Beaume's hydrometer. A glass tube, contain- 

 ing some mercury, and having a graduated 

 stem, used to test the specific gravity of a 

 liquid. 



Beaumontite, ( bo'mon-tlt ). 1. A mineral, 

 chiefly silicate of aluminium and lime: pro- 

 bably=Stilbite. 2. A variety of Malachite. 



Beaver, (be'ver). [Befer, the A.-S. name.] 

 1. Castor fiber: a graminivorous amphibious 

 quadruped, living in families, in houses made 

 of wood, mud, <fec. 2. The front movable 

 portion of a helmet, from the French name 

 baviere. 



Beaver -tree, ( be'yer-tre ). [Bark eaten by 

 beavers.] = Magnolia glauca = White laurel 

 :=Sweet bay, a tree common in American 

 swamps. 



Bebiric acid, (be'bi-rik). [Bibiru, the native 

 name.] Found in bark of Nectandra Rodiei, 

 or Bibiru, of Guiana. 



Bebirine, ( be'bi-rin ). [Bibiru, the native 

 name, in Guiana.] CssHoiNOg: an alkaloid 

 obtained from the bark of Nectandra. 



Beccafico, (bek-a-fe'ko). [The Italian name.] 

 = Fig-eater = Sylvia, a bird belonging to 



46 



BELL 



Becker, (beTjer). A fish=Sparus pagrua, q.v. 



Becquerel's thermo-electric battery, of arti- 

 ficial sulphuret of copper and copper. 



Bed, (bed). [The A.-S. name.] In geology, a 

 thick stratum of uniform materials ; pro- 

 perly confined to the junction of two such 

 strata. 



Bedding, (bed'ding). [Bed, q.v.] The deter- 

 mination of the dip and character of one 

 stratum by the stratum upon which it rests. 

 Cross B. = False B.=Cross stratification. 



Bedstraw, (bed'straw) = Galium, a common 

 herb, used in cheesemaking and for dyeing, 

 belonging to Galiacese. 



Bee, (be). [Beo, the A.-S. name.]=Apis: an 

 insect living in societies, building dwellings, 

 and storing up honey; belonging to Hymen- 

 optera. 



Bee-eater, (be'e-ter) = Merops, a bird, living 

 on bees, wasps, &c., belonging to Insessores. 



Beech, (bech). [Bece, the A.-S. name.] = 

 Fagus: a large forest tree, the wood of which 

 is hard and much used, belonging to Cory- 

 lacese. 



Beef-eater, (bef e-tgr). [Beef-eater.] = Buph- 



aga: a bird that feeds on insects, which it 

 finds in the skins of oxen; at first supposed 

 to feed on the oxen's flesh. 



Beefwoods, (bef'woodz). [The Australian 

 name.] = Casuarinacere : exogen trees ap- 

 proximating to endogens. 



Bee-hive, (be'hiv). [From the form.]=Pnc- 

 sepe, jn Cancer, q.v. 



Beekite, ( be'kit or be-kl'te ). [Dr. Beeke.] 

 Peeble-like varieties of chalcedony, found in 

 New Red Sandstone rocks. 



Beer, (ber). [Beor, the A.-S. name.]=Wine 

 of grain: obtained from malt. 



Beer and Madler's map of the Moon, in which 

 the surface is divided by triangulation. 



Bees-wax, (bez'waks). [Bee and Wax, q.v.] 

 An unctuos yellow animal secretion, com- 

 posed of myricin, cerin, and ceroleiu: pro- 

 duced chiefly by bees. 



Beet, (bet). [Celtic, bett, red.] = Beta: an 

 herb having a large succulent red root, much 

 used as food for cattle, and for the extraction 

 of its sugar, belonging to Chenopodiacero. 



Beetle, (bu'tl). [Bytel, the A.-S. name.] = 

 Coleoptera; also a sub-division of Coleop- 

 tera: insects having a horny covering. 



Beetroot sugar, Obtained in a crystalline 

 form from the juice of the roots of beet, 

 almost identical with ordinary cane sugar. 



Begonia, (be-go'ni-a). [M. Begon.] The typo 

 of Begoniacese, q.v.: will grow from a very 

 small portion of a leaf. 



Begoniacese, ( be-go-ni-a'se-e). [Begonia, the 

 typical plant. ]=Begoniads: S. American and 

 Indian shrubs and herbs, belonging to Cucur- 

 bitales: generally with succulent sterna and 

 fleshy leaves. 



Beimbing=Averrhoabilimbi: an East Indian 

 plant, with cucumber-like fruit. 



Belemnites, (bel'em-mtz). [Gk. belcmnon, a 

 dart.] Conical fossils, remains of dibran- 

 chiate cephalopodous molluscs, abundant in 

 Chalk, Oolite, and Lias. 



Belemnoteuthis, ( be-lem-no-tu'this ). [Gk. 

 belemnon, dart; teuthis, cuttle-fish.] A cuttle- 

 fish, known by well preserved fossil remains. 



Belemnoziphius, ( be-lein-no-zif i-us ). [Gk. 

 belemnon, dart; xiphos, sword.] A dolphin- 

 like animal, known only by fossil remains 

 in Tertiary rocks. 



Belfry, (bel'fri). [O.F. Mfroit.] 1. The por- 

 tion of a steeple containing the bells. 2. Any 

 building erected especially for a peal of bells. 



Bell's cement, made of shell-lap and gold size. 



Bell-bird=Chasmorhynchus niveus: an Aus- 

 tralian bird, belonging to the Honey-eaters, 

 whose tinkling voice can be heard two or 

 three miles off. 



Bell-crank lever. A lever, the two arms of 

 which are inclined so as to form a bent lever: 

 used to move small pieces of machinery. 



B!ll-flower=Campanula: also used for other 

 plants, belonging to Campanulacea;, the 

 flowers of which are bell-shaped. 



Bell-gable:=Bell turret, a small belfry, of the 

 gable form. 



Bell metal, A variety of bronze: an alloy of 

 copper and tin, used for bells. . B, ore, con- 

 taining tin and copper pyriteg. 



