BUT 



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BUT 



B CTT. 1 . Fr. bout , extremity. The butt end 

 f a piece of timber is that end of a plant 

 which was nearest the root of the tree ; a 

 butt-joint in a hand-rail is a joint at right- 

 angles to the curve of the rail. A butt, 

 among ploughmen in Scotland, is a piece 

 of ground which does not form a proper 

 ridge. In archery, a mark to be shot at. 



2. Sax. butte, a measure, a vessel or 



measure of wine containing two hogs- 

 heads or 126 wine gallons, that is 106 

 imperial gallons. Etymon, povrms, a 

 vessel for holding wine. 



BUTTER, from Sax. buter. An oily, in- 

 flammable part of milk, separated by 

 churning, and used as an article of diet in 

 most civilised countries. Butter differs 

 from the common animal fats in contain- 

 ing a peculiar fluid oleaginous matter, 

 called btityrine. This substance, when 

 saponified, yields in addition to the usual 

 products, three volatile odoriferous sub- 

 stances, called the butyric, caproic, and 

 capric acids. The Latin etymon of the 

 term butter is butyrum, from 

 of which /3ovf , a cow, is the root 



BUT'TER OF ANTIMONY, the sesqui- 

 chloride of antimony. 



BUT'TER OF ARSENIC, a sublimated 

 chloride of arsenic. 



BUT'TEH OF BISMUTH, a sublimated 

 Chloride of bismuth 



BUT'TER OF CACAO, an oily, concrete 

 matter, obtained from the cacao nut by 

 fcruisingand boiling it in water, when the 

 tmcombined oil is liquefied, and rises to 

 the surface, where it swims. 



BUT'TER OF TIN, a sublimated chloride 

 of tin. 



BUT'TER OF "WAX, the oleaginous part 

 of wax, obtained by distillation. 



BUT'TER OF ZINC, chloride of zinc, ob- 

 tained by burning zinc in chlorine gas. 

 It is called also muriate of zinc. 



BUT'TER-FLT, a name common to all 

 those lepidopterous insects of the genus 

 Pcmlio, from the yellow colour of a com- 

 mon species. That which seems to be a 

 powder upon the wings of the butterfly 

 tribe, is an innumerable quantity of 

 plumes, which are only to be observed 

 dijtinctly with a good microscope. The 

 insect appears in the state of a caterpillar, 

 and afterwards in that of a chrysalis, 

 from which it comes forth perfect. 



BST'TERFLY-SHAPED, papilionaceous. 

 Applied to the corolla of plants, when 

 they are irregular and spreading. 



BUT'TERIS, an instrument of steel set in 

 a wooden handle, used by farriers for 

 paring the hoof of a horse. 



BUT'TER-KUT, the fruit of the Juglans 

 cintrea, an American tree. The fruit bears 

 a resemblance to the black walnut, and is 

 named from the oil it contains. 



BUTTRS, mineral. A name formerly 



given to some of the chlorides, on account 

 of their soft butyraceous texture, when 

 recently prepared ; such as butter of 

 antimony. 



BUTTERS, vegetable. The concrete 

 fixed oils, sc id at the ordinary tempera- 

 ture, such as those of the cocoa and cho- 

 colate nuts. 



BUTTER-TREE, a remarkable plant found 

 by Park in the interior of Africa, yielding 

 from its kernels, by pressure, a white, 

 firm, rich butter, which kept well for a 

 year without salt. 



BCT'TER-WORT, a name common to all 

 the plants of the genus Pinguicula, but 

 especially applied to the Yorkshire sanicle 

 (P. vulgaris], which grows in soft grounds. 

 Its leaves are covered with soft, pellucid 

 prickles, which secrete an unctuous fluid, 

 to such a degree as causes them to be 

 applied to chaps, and as a pomatum for 

 the hair. 



BUT'TERY, a store-room for provisions. 

 The name is given, iu some colleges, to a 

 room where refreshments are kept for 

 sale to the students. 



BUT'TING-JOINT, a joint formed by the 

 surfaces of two pieces of wood, the sur- 

 face of one piece being parallel with the 

 fibres, and that of the other, either in 

 the same or in an oblique direction to 

 them. The joints which the struts and 

 braces form with the truss-posts, in car- 

 pentry, are of this description. 



BUTTON, from the same root as bud. 

 Buttons are manufactured of an endless 

 variety of forms and materials wood, 

 horn, bone, steel, copper, brass, &c. The 

 non-metallic buttons, called also moulds, 

 are made of the substances first men- 

 tioned, by sawing them into little slips 

 of the thickness of the button to be made ; 

 these slips are then cut into the form re- 

 quired' by an instrument adapted to the 

 purpose. Metallic buttons are cast in 



moulds, or cut with a fly-press. 2. The 



button of the reins of a bridle is a ring of 

 leather, with the reins passed through, 

 and which runs along the length of the 



reins. 3. A small piece of wood or 



metal, turning on a centre (usually a 

 round nail with a smooth head) , for fas- 

 tening a door, window, or other closure. 

 The button of a lock is a round head serv- 

 ing to move the bolt. 4. The round 



mass of metal collected at the bottom o.f a 

 crucible after fusion. 



BUT'TON-WOOD. 1. The Cephalanth.-'s 



occidentalis, an American shrub. 2. 



The Platanus occidentalis, or western 

 plane-tree, a large American tree, the 

 wood of which is very hard, and is highlv 



valuable in turnery. 3. The button- 



tree. 



BUT'TRESS, butt and truss. A mass of 

 masonry, to support the side of a wali 

 that is very high, or that is pressed omi 



