BAT 



127 



BAT 



Some are solid, being entirely filled with 

 earth, some have a void space inside, 

 tome are straight, some curved, some 

 doable, that is, one raised on the plane 

 of another, some are composed, or have 

 three or four flanks one over the other ; 

 come hnvs fausse-brays ; some casemates 

 tor retreat of the garrison or for batteries ; 

 some cavaliers, orillons, &c. The parts 

 generally considered essential are marked 

 In the figure. 



BAB'TON, BATOON. See TORUS. 



BIT, a name common to a larcre tribe 

 of m&mmiferous quadrupeds, character- 

 ised by a fold of skin, which commences 

 at the sides of the neck, and, extending 

 between their front feet and toes, consti- 

 tute* wingf capable of supporting them 

 In the air, and in many species so com- 

 plete as to enable the creature to fly with 

 great rapidity. They are all nocturnal, 

 and in our climate pass the winter in stu- 

 por. During the day they suspend them- 

 selves in obscure places by the thumb- 

 nails. The bats belong to Primates of 

 Lin., and constitute the family Cheiro- 

 ptera of Cuvier. See VESFEKTIHO and GA- 



moPITHECUS. 



BATA'TAS, the name given by the na- 

 tives of Peru to the potato, solanwn tube- 

 rotum, and also to the root of a species of 

 convolvulus. 3at<itas is also the name of 

 a mite found In the potatoes of Surinam. 



BATEA'TT, Fr. from Lat. batillum. A 

 light boat long in proportion to its 

 breadth. 



BATH-STONE, ] a species of limestone, 



BATH-OOLITE, / consisting of minute 

 globules, cemented together by yellowish 

 e&rthy calcareous matter, and presenting 

 tomewhat the appearance of the roe of a 

 fish, hence called roe-stone. This member 

 cf the oolite formation affords excellent 

 freestone for building. The quarries at 

 Bath are well known. See OOLITE. 



BA'TIST, B>TISTB. A very fine, thick, 

 white linen cloth, manufactured in va- 

 rious parts of the Continent. Different 

 kinds of it are called linons, clairs, and 

 cambrics. "With us, cambric is the general 

 name. The manufacture takes its name 

 from Baptista Chambrai, who brought it 

 rato vogue in Flanders, in the 13th cen- 

 tury. 



BAT'OH. Fr. In music, a rest of four 

 semibreves. Also the staff of a field- 

 marshal. 



BATRA'CHIA, the name given by Cuvier 

 to the fourth order of reptilia, from 

 pitTfatzof, a frog, the batrachians being 

 analogous to frogs. It comprises frogs, 

 toads, salamanders, and sirens, all of 

 which have two equal lungs, and a heart 

 composed of one auricle and one ventricle. 

 MT'oMACHi'A, composed of 

 % oj , a frog, /juf, a mouse , and 



a battle ; the battle of the fro?s and mice. 

 A mock-heroic poem, which has been 

 ascribed to Homer. 



BATTAL'ION, a body of infantry, usu- 

 ally from five to eight hundred strong. 

 So called because originally a body ot 

 men arrayed in order of battle (battalia^. 



BAT'TZL. In old law, the wager of battl 

 was a species of trial for ths decision of 

 causes between parties, introduced into 

 England by William the Nornan Con- 

 queror, and used in three case* r in courts 

 of honour ; in appeals of felon.v : and in 

 issues joined upon a writ of right. The 

 contest took place before judges, and the 

 combatants were bound to fight till the 

 stars appeared, unless the death ~ or.c. 

 party, or victory, sooner decided the con- 

 test. At Oxford the word battel is used 

 to designate the account of expenses of a 

 student in the college books. Satteler there 

 is the same with sizer at Cambridge. 



BAT'TEN. In carpentry, a scantling of 

 stuff from 2 to 6 inches broad, and from 

 | to 2 inches thick. Used in the boarding 

 of floors; also upon walls, in order to se- 

 cure the lath on which the plaster is laid. 

 The act of fixing the battens is called 

 battening. The name batten is also used in 

 commerce, to designate wood 2i inches 

 thick, and 7 wide : if more than 7 inches, 

 it is called deal. 



BAT'TENED DOWN. The hatches of a 

 ship covered down in bad weather with 

 strong gratings nailed to battens. 



BAT'TER, Fr. battre. 1. Among masons, 

 when a wall is built in a direction that is 

 not perpendicular to its base, it is said to 

 batter, and the amount of deviation frora 

 the perpendicular is called its batter. 

 "Walls are made to batter in order to re- 

 sist the weight of a body of water, mound 

 of earth, or other pressure that may reft 

 against it. 



BAT'TZRINO RAM, a warlike instrument 

 used by the ancients to beat down the 



walls of fortified places. These were of 

 two kinds, the twinging and the rollinc- 

 ram, and when worked under a cover, to 

 protect the assailants, they were denomi- 

 nated tortoise-rams, from the shed being 

 assimilated to a tortoise-shell. The na- 

 ture of the swinging-ram is obvious from 

 the figure ; and the only difference of the 



