BAM 



BAN 



it is obtained from the tree. But common 

 storax is in large cakes, brittle, but soft 

 to the touch, and of a reddish brown co- 

 lour. It dissolves in alcohol. 



3. Dragon's blood. This is a brittle 

 substance, of a dark red colour, which 

 comes from the East Indies. There are 

 two sorts of it ; one in small oval drops, 

 or tears, of a fine deep red, which be- 

 comes crimson when the tears are reduc- 

 ed to powder; the other is in larger 

 masses, some of which are pale red, and 

 others dark. It is probably obtained from 

 different kinds of trees ; the calamus draco 

 is said to furnish most of what comes 

 from India. The dracaena draco and the 

 pterocarpus draco are also said to furnish 

 it. Dragon's blood is brittle and taste- 

 less, and has no sensible smell. Water 

 does not act upon it, but alcohol dissolves 

 the greatest part, leaving a whitish red 

 substance, partially acted upon by water. 

 The solution has a fine deep red colour, 

 which stains marble, and the stain pene- 

 trates the deeper the hotter the marble is. 

 It dissolves also in oils, and gives them a 

 deep red colour also. When heated, it 

 melts, catches flame, and emits an acid 

 fume similar to that of benzoic acid. When 

 digested with lime, a portion of it be- 

 comes soluble in water, and it acquires a 

 balsamic odour. 



BALSAM. See PHARMACY. 



BALSAMINA, in botany. See IMPA- 



TIENS. 



BALSAMETA, in botany, a genus of 

 the Syngenesia JEqualis class and order. 

 Receptacle naked ; calyx imbricate. Four 

 species, found in Crete, Nice, Barbary, 

 and Italy. 



BALTIMORA, in botany, so named by 

 Linnaeus, in honour of Lord Baltimore, a 

 genus of the Syngenesia Polygamia Ne- 

 cessaria class and order. Natural order, 

 compositse oppositifoliae : corymbiferae, 

 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx cy- 

 lindric, many-leaved ; ray of the corolla 

 five-flowered ; receptacle chaffy. One 

 species, B. recta, which is a native of Ma- 

 ryland; an annual plant, about two feet 

 high ; it flowers in June and July. 



BAMBOE, or BAMBOU, a plant in the 

 Indies which multiplies very much by 

 its root, from which springs a branchy 

 tuft, after the manner of the European 

 reeds. It is of the largest kind of cane, 

 and decreases gradually to the top, where 

 it bears a blossom like our reeds. The 

 bamboe is a species of arundo. See 

 ARUNDO. 



The bamboo-cane grows naturally al- 



most every where within the tropical re- 

 gions; it is common in many parts of 

 Asia, as China, Cochin-China, Tonquin, 

 Cambodia, Japan, Ceylon, the Peninsula 

 of India, and the islands. This useful plant 

 has been long introduced into the West 

 Indies. There are some fine specimens 

 of bamboo in the Botanical Garden at Li- 

 verpool. Scarcely any plant serves for 

 more useful purposes than the bamboo, 

 where it grows naturally. In the East 

 Indies, great use is made of it in building, 

 and the houses of the meaner people are 

 almost entirely composed of it. Bridges 

 are also made of it, masts for their sailing 

 vessels, boxes, cups, baskets, mats, and a 

 great variety of other utensils and furni- 

 ture. Paper is also made from it by 

 bruising and steeping it in water, and 

 thus forming it into a pulp. It is the com- 

 mon fence for gardens and fields, and is 

 frequently used as pipes for conveying 

 water. The leaves are generally put 

 round the chests of tea which are sent to 

 Europe from China, as package fastened 

 together so as to form a kind of mat. 

 The tops of the tender shoots are fre- 

 quently pickled in the West Indies. In 

 the cavities of the bamboo is found, at 

 certain seasons, a concrete white sub- 

 stance, which the Arabian physicians hold 

 in high estimation. 



BAN, in law, a public notice, applied 

 particularly to the publication of intend- 

 ed marriages, which must be done on 

 three several Sundays previously to mar- 

 riage, that if any shew just cause against 

 such marriage, they may have an oppor- 

 tunity to set forth their objections. 



BANARA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Dodecandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order, columniferae ; tiliacx, Jus- 

 sieu. Essential character : calyx six- 

 parted, permanent ; corolla six-petalled ; 

 germ seated on a glandule ; stigma head- 

 ed ; berry globose, one-celled, and many- 

 seeded. One species, B. guiannois, a tree 

 of ten feet or more in height, and about 

 seven inches in diameter, with a greyish 

 bark, and a whitish light wood : a native 

 of the island of Cayenne ; flowering in 

 May, and bearing fruit in July. 



BANDAGE, in surgery, a fillet, a roller, 

 or swathe, used in dressing and binding 

 up wounds, restraining dangerous hae- 

 morrhages, and in joining fractured or 

 dislocated bones. See SURGERY. 



BANDEROLL, a little flag in form of a 

 guidon, extended more in length than 

 breadth, used to be hung out on the masts 

 of vessels, &c. 



