BUC 



J3UC 



the former divisions. H. tapering, subu- 

 late, smooth. 



BUCCO, the barbet, in natural history, 

 a genus of birds of the order Picae. Ge- 

 neric character ; bill sharp-edged, com- 

 pressed on the sides, notched on each 

 side near the apex, bent inwards, with a 

 long slit beneath the eyes ; nostrils cover- 

 ed with incumbent feathers; feet formed 

 for climbing. These birds live chiefly in 

 warm climates, and are very stupid ; bill 

 strong, straightish, almost covered with 

 bristles ; tail feathers usually ten, weak. 

 There are nineteen species, of which we 

 shall notice only B.jamatia, or spotted- 

 bellied barbet. This bird is found in Bra- 

 zil and Cayenne, is clumsy in its shape, 

 and pensive and solitary in its manners. 

 It is so lethargic in its disposition, that it 

 will suffer itself to be shot at several 

 times before it attempts to escape. Its 

 food consists of insects, and particularly 

 large beetles, and the feathers of its tail 

 are much worn by friction, so as to indi- 

 cate the probability of the tail being em- 

 ployed, agreeably to the known habit of 

 woodpeckers, in propping or supporting 

 the body. 



BUCEROS, the hombill, in natural his- 

 tory, a genus of birds of the order Picse. 

 Generic character ; their bill is convex, 

 curved, sharp-edged, large, outwardly 

 serrate, with a horny protuberance near 

 the base of the upper mandible ; the nos- 

 trils are behind the base of the bill ; the 

 tongue is sharp -pointed, and short ; the 

 feet gressorial. There are sixteen spe- 

 cies enumerated by Gmelin, though La- 

 tham reckons only four ; of these the most 

 curious is the B. abyssinicus, or Abyssi- 

 nian hornbill. This is found in the coun- 

 try from which it takes its name, princi- 

 pally among fields of jafl and nourishes 

 itself by the green beetles which abound 

 in them. Its young are numerous, some- 

 times amounting even to eighteen. 

 Though capable of flying far, it chiefly 

 runs. It builds its nest in large thick 

 trees, near churches or other elevated 

 buildings : this nest resembles a magpie's 

 in being covered, but is several times 

 larger than an eagle's ; it is seldom much 

 elevated above the ground, but almost al- 

 ways firm on the trunk, and the entrance 

 to it is always from the east. This bird 

 is, in some places, called the bird of 

 destiny. 



BUCID A, in botany, a genus of the Do- 

 decandria Monogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Holoracese. Elxagni, 

 Jussieu. Essential character ; calyx five- 

 toothed, superior; corolla none; berry 

 one-seeded. There is but one species ; 



TIZ. B. buceras, olive bark tree, is a tree 

 growing from twenty to thirty feet in 

 height ; the branches and twigs are di- 

 varicate or flexuose, roundish, smooth, 

 and even flowers, in racemes from the 

 crowded leaves, simple, spreading, ma- 

 ny-flowered; calyx hoary without, to- 

 mentose within ; filaments twice as long 

 as the calyx ; anthers roundish, yellow ; 

 germ flatted, with ten streaks at the base. 

 It is a native of the West Indies, flower- 

 ing in spring. 



BUCHNERA, in botany, so named in 

 honour of A. C. Buchner/a genus of the 

 Didynamia Angiospermia class and order. 

 Natural order of Personatae Pedicu- 

 lares, Juss. Essential character : calyx, 

 obscurely five-toothed ; corolla border 

 five-cleft, equal ; lobes cordate, capsule 

 two-celled. There are eleven species, 

 of which B. Americana, North American 

 buchnera, has the stem scarcely branch- 

 ing ; flowers in a spike remote from each 

 other ; two of the stamens in the jaws of 

 the corolla, and two in the middle of the 

 tube. The herb grows black in drying. 

 It is a native of Virginia and Canada. B. 

 cernua, drooping buchnera, is a shrub 

 half a foot in height, branching regularly; 

 a little jointed from the scars left by the 

 leaves; purplish ; flowers sessile, erect, 

 with a linear, sharp bracte, shorter than 

 the calyx, and two shorter lateral bristles; 

 calyx tubular, oblong^ semiquinquefid, 

 equal; corolla white, with a filiform tube, 

 twice as long as the calyx, and bent back ; 

 border flat, five-parted ; segments subo- 

 vate ; anthers within the jaws, two low- 

 er than the other two ; stigma inclosed, 

 reflex, thickish. Native of the Cape of 

 Good Hope. 



BUCK, in natural history, a male horn- 

 ed beast, whose female is denominated a 

 doe. See CERVUS. 



BUCKET, a small portable vessel to 

 hold water, often made of leather, for its 

 lightness and easy use in cases of fire. It 

 is also the vessel letdown into a well, or 

 the sides of ships, to fetch up water. 



BUCKING, the first operation in the 

 whitening of linen-yarn or cloth : it con- 

 sists in pouring hot water upon a tubful 

 of yarn, intermingled with several strata 

 of fine ashes of the ash tree. See BLEACH- 

 ING. 



BUCKLER, a piece of defensive ar- 

 mour used by the ancients. It was worn 

 on the left arm, and composed of wickers 

 woven together, or wood of the lightest 

 sort, but most commonly of hides, fortifi- 

 ed with plates of brass or other metal. 

 The figure was sometimes round, some- 

 times oval, and sometimes almost square. 



