BAG 



BAG 



phus and Syncellus ; where all the pas- 

 sages of citations of ancient authors out 

 of Berosus are collected, with great ex- 

 actness. Annius, of Viterbo, kindly of- 

 fered his assistance to supply the loss, 

 and forged a complete Berosus out of his 

 own head. The world has not thanked 

 him for the imposture. 



BABYROUSSA, in zoology, the Indian 

 hog. See Sus. 



BACCHARIS, in botany, ploughman 

 spikenard: of the Syngenesia Polygamia 

 Superflua class and order. Natural order 

 composite ; compound flowers, division 

 the third discoideae : corymbiferae, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character; calyx imbri- 

 cate, cylindric ; florets, female mixed 

 with hermaphrodites ; down simple ; re- 

 ceptacle naked. There are nine species; 

 most of the plants are shrubby ; the flow- 

 ers are disposed commonly in corymbs. 



BACHELOR, OI-BATCHELOR, aman who 

 still continues in the state of celibacy, or 

 who was never married, and who, in cer- 

 tain cases, is subject to a double tax. 



BACHELOR was anciently a denomina- 

 tion given to those who had attained to 

 knighthood, but had not a number of vas- 

 sals sufficient to have their banner carried 

 before them in the field of battle ; or, if 

 they were not of the order of bannerets, 

 were not of age to display their own ban- 

 ner, but obliged to march to battle under 

 another's banner. It was also a title given 

 tolyoung cavaliers, who, having made their 

 first campaign, received the military gir- 

 dle accordingly. And it served to de- 

 nominate him, who had overcome another 

 in a tournament the first time he ever 

 engaged. 



BACHELORS, knights, were so called, as 

 being the lowest order of knights, or in- 

 ferior to bannerets. 



BACHELORS, in an university sense, are 

 persons that have attained to the bacca- 

 laureat ; or who have taken the first de- 

 gree in the liberal arts and sciences. Be- 

 fore a person can be admitted to this de- 

 gree at Oxford, it is necessary that he 

 study there four years; three years more 

 may entitle him to the degree of master 

 of arts ; and in seven years more he may 

 commence bachelor of divinity. At Cam- 

 bridge, the degrees are usually taken 

 much the same as at Oxford, excepting 

 in law and physic, in either of which the 

 bachelors degree may be taken in six 

 years. In France, the degree of bache- 

 lor of divinity is attained in five years 

 study, that is, in two years of philosophy, 

 and three of divinity. 



BACHELOR, in music, one who has taken 

 his first degree in music. A qualification 



formerly required of a candidate for this 

 honour was, the being able to read and 

 expound certain books in Boethius, a 

 Greek writer in the science, of the sixth 

 century. It is now required of the can- 

 didate, to compose an exercise for voices 

 and instruments, in six parts, which ex- 

 ercise must be publicly performed in 

 the music-school, or other place in the 

 university. 



B ACILLARIA, in natural history, a ge- 

 nus of vermes of the order Infusoria. 

 Generic character : body consisting of 

 cylindrical straw -like filaments, placed 

 parallel to each other, and frequently 

 changing their position. There is but a, 

 single species noticed by Gmelin, viz. B. 

 paradoxa, found on the ulvalatissima ; bo- 

 dy composed of linear, yellowish, short 

 filaments united together, forming them- 

 selves into a square zigzag, or extended 

 line, but always preserving their parallel- 

 ism, and resting in a square. 



BACK, in brewing, a large flat vessel, 

 in which the wort is put to stand and cool 

 before boiling. The ingredients of beer 

 pass through three kinds of vessels ; they 

 are mashed in one, worked in another, 

 and cooled in a third, called backs, or 

 coolers. 



BACK gammon, an ingenious game play- 

 ed with dice and tables, to be learned 

 only by observation and practice. 



However, the following rules concern- 

 ing it cannot fail to be acceptable to our 

 readers. In the first place, the men, 

 which are thirty in number, being equal- 

 ly divided between the two gamesters, 

 are placed thus, viz. two on the ace point, 

 five on the side of your left hand table, 

 three on the cinque, and five on the ace 

 point of our right hand table, which are 

 answered on the like points by your ad- 

 versary's men : or they may be disposed 

 thus, viz. two on the ace point, five on 

 the double sice or sice-cinque point, three 

 on the cinque point in your own tables, 

 and five on the sice point at home ; which 

 are to be answered by your adversary. 



The men being thus disposed, be sure 

 to make good your trey and ace points; 

 hit boldly, and come away as fast as you 

 can. 



When you come to a bearing, have * 

 care of making when you need not ; and 

 doublets now will stand you most in stead. 

 If both bear together, he that is first off, 

 without doublets, wins one ; if both bear, 

 and one goes off with doublets, he wins 

 two. If your table be clear before your 

 adversary's men are come in, that is back- 

 gammon, which is three ; but if you thus 

 go off with doublets, it is four. 



