BEL 



131 



BEL 



mented infusion of malted barky, flu- I 

 voured with hops, constitutes the best ! 

 pecics of beer, but there are many beve- 

 rages of inferior quality to which this 

 name is given, as spruce-beer, ginger- 

 beer , molasses-beer, &c., all of which 

 consist, of a saccharine liquor, partially 

 advanced into the vinous fermentation, 

 and flavoured with peculiar substances. 

 The Romans gave beer the appropriate 

 name of Cerevisia,&s being the product of 

 corn, the gift of Ceres. 



BEET, a name common to all the plants 

 of the genus Beta, but especially the Beta 

 vttlgaris, cultivated throughout the 

 greater part of Europe for its succulent 

 root (beet root) , from which sugar has been 

 pretty extensively manufactured, espe- 

 cially in France, and more recently used 

 in the manufacture of beer. Nitre is 

 obtained from the leaves of the same 

 plant. There are three varieties known 

 in our kitchen-garden, the red, white, 

 and green. 



BEE'TLE. 1. A name common to all the 

 insects of the genus Scarabeeus (Lin.) See 

 Sc4.aAB.sus. Beetles are for some reason, 



or none, called clocks in Scotland. 2. 



.In architecture, a large wooden hammer, 

 or mallet, with one, two, or three han- 

 dles for as many persons, for drawing 

 piles, stakes, &c. 



BEG, a Turkish title equivalent to prince 

 or lord: written begh, and pronounced 

 ley or bee, by the Turks themselves. 



BEO'LERBEQ, a title of a high officer 

 among the Turks, next in dignity to the 

 grand vizier. The title beglerbeg means 

 prince of princes or lord of lords, and im- 

 plies that the bearer is the governor of a 

 province, called a beglerbeglic, and having 

 several begs under him 



BE'OUINES, certain female societies in 

 Germany and the Netherlands, whose 

 members united themselves for the pur- 

 poses of devotion and charity, without 

 taking the monastic vows. The name 

 means suppliants ; and in Germany several 

 eleemosynary institutions are called be- 

 gninages, in imitation of the beguinages 

 or houses inhabited by the beguines. 



BE'HEMOTH, the scriptural name of an 

 animal which Bochart endeavours to 

 prove to be the hippopotamus. The He- 

 brew word is from an Arabic root signify- 

 ing a beast, but indefinitely. 



BEJU'IO, the bean of Carthagena. A 

 small bean of South America, famous as 

 an antidote against the poison of all ser- 

 pents, when eaten immediately. 



BELEM'NITES, an extinct genus of mol- 

 lusca, the shells of which are found plen- 

 tifully in the chalk rocks. They are 

 classed with the cephalopods: about 90 

 species are known. The name is from 

 jBiXntyoy.adart, in allusion to the straight 

 tapering form of the shell. 



BELEM'NOID, in anatomy, a term applied 

 to the styloid processes jn general : from 

 jSttefAvov, a dart, and iTdof, likeness, In 

 allusion to their shape. 

 BEL-ESPRIT, naturalised from the French. 

 An agreeable vivacity in writing or con- 

 versation. 



'BEL,'Fs.E\,'FT.be'ffroy,orr&iher, Sax. bell, 

 and Lat. ferre, to carry. In the middle 

 ages this term denoted a tower raised by 

 the besiegers to overlook the place be- 

 sieged, in which sentinels were stationed 

 to watch the avenues, and to prevent sur- 

 prise by parties of the enemy, and to give 

 notice of fires by ringing a bell. The 

 name has since been transferred to that 

 part of a steeple in which the bell is hung. 

 This was called in the middle ages the 

 campanile. 



BELL. A bell consists of three parts 

 the barrel or body, the clapper or hammer 

 called also the tongue, and the ear or can- 

 non, which is the enlarged mouth. 

 Church- bells originated in Italy, and were 

 introduced into England in the eighth, 

 century. The word bell is used to desig- 

 nate many instruments and parts of 

 machines of forms similar to that of a 

 bell. The word is also used popularly to 

 denote the calyx of a flower, from its 

 shape. 



BELL-FLOW'ES, a name common to all 

 the plants of the genus Campanula, of 

 which there are nine British species. The 

 name is synonymous with harebell. 



BELL-MET'AL, a composition of tin and 

 copper, usually consisting of three parti 

 of copper and one of tin. Less tin is used 

 for church-bells, than for clock-bells, and 

 for very small bells a small quantity of 

 zinc is added to the alloy. 



BELL-PEPPER, the Capsicum grossitm, a 

 biennial plant of both Indies. It is the 

 red pepper of the gardens, and pepper of 

 Guinea used in pickling. 



BELLADONNA, the deadly nightshade 

 (Atropa belladonna) , said to be named bella- 

 donna, because the Italian ladies use the 

 juice of its berries as a cosmetic. 



BELLES-LETTRES (Anglice,6ett-Zettr). A 

 French term meaning polite literature. 



It is impossible to give a satisfactory 

 explanation of what is or has been 

 called belles-lettres; in fact, the vaguest 

 definition is the best, as almost every 

 branch of knowledge has at one time 

 been included in, at another excluded 

 from, this denomination. Themostcor- 

 rect definition, therefore, would be, 

 perhaps, such as embrace all knowledge 

 and every science not merely abstract, 

 nor simply useful ; but there is a gene- 

 ral understanding, at present, that the 

 name ought to be restricted to poetry, 

 rhetoric, and such prose writings as lay 

 claim to elegance of style. 



