B A I 



the Hauran. This commerce maintains near 6oco perfons. 

 The dialedl of the inhabitants is the mod corrupt of ary in 

 the countp,', and is faid to unite in itfelf the twelve faults 

 enumerated by the Arabian grammarians. The port of 

 Bairout, formed hice all the others on the coaft by a pier, 

 is, like them, choaked up witli land and ruins. The town 

 is furrounded by a wall, the foft and fandy ftone of which 

 may be pierced by a canon-ball, without breaking or crum- 

 bling : in other refpects this wall, and its old towers, are 

 defencelefs. Bairout is fubject to two inconveniences, 

 which will always prevent its becoming a ftrong place ; for it 

 is commanded by a chain of hills to the fouth-eaft, and it is 

 altogether deftitute of water, which is fetched by the women 

 at the diftance of half a quarter of a league, and even this is 

 but indifferent. Djezzar has undertaken to contlnidl a 

 public fountain, as he has done at Acre ; but the canal 

 v/ill foon become ufelcfs. In digging, in order to form 

 refervoirs, fubteraneous ruins have been difcovered, from 

 which it appears that the modern town is built on the Ctc 

 of the ancient Bei"}'tus ; and without the walls, towards tlie 

 weft, heaps of rubbifli and fhafts of columns indicate that 

 Bairout has formerly been much larger than it is at prefent. 

 The plain around it is entirely planted with white mul- 

 berry trees, which are young and flourifhing, and thcrefose 

 the filk produced here is of the fineft quality. In defcend- 

 ing from the mountains, the verdure formed by the tops of 

 thefe trees in the diflaiit bottom of the valley exhibits a very 

 delightful profpeft. The heat, and the warmth of the water, 

 render Bairout in fummer an inconvenient place of rehdence ; 

 the town, however, is not tiiihealthy ; more efptcially fmce 

 the emir Fakr-el-din has planted a wood of fir trees about a 

 league fouthward of the town. Volney's Travels iu Egypt 

 and Syria, vol. ii. p. 187, &c. See Berytus. 



BAISE, a river of France, which runs into the Garonne, 

 near Aigu'.llon. * 



BAIT, IVIAle, in Ichthyology, a fmall filh, which is caught 

 in great plenty, from Auguft i, to.October i, by ilat. 30 

 Geo. II. c. 2 1, in the river Thames. See White Bait. 



Bait, in Fijling. Baits make a capital article in anglincf ; 

 on the choice whereof much of the fport depends ; dif- 

 ferent feafons, and diiftrent game, having their appropriate 

 baits. The red, or earth-worm, is good for the fmall fry 

 mofl of the year rour.d ; and fmall tifh are good baits for 

 pikes at all times ; (hecp's blood and chcefe are good bait 

 in April ; the bubs, dried wafps, and bees, are for May ; 

 brown flies for June ; maggots, hornets, wafps, and bees, 

 for July ; fnails in Anguit ; grafshoppers in September ; 

 corn, bramble-berries, and feeds, at the fall of the leaf; 

 artificial pailes are for May, June, July, and frogs for 

 March. 



Baits are either natural or artificial. 



Baits, Nalural, include all kiiids of worms, as the red 

 worm, maggot, &c. alfo frogs, grafshoppers, hornets, bees, 

 fnails, roaches, bleak, gudgeon, and loaches, &c. 



Thefe baits are to be kept each fort feparate, and fed with 

 thofe things which they hke je!t. 



The red worm is to be kept in rich black mould, with a 

 Httle fennel chopped among it ; a little ox or cow dung, 

 newly made, is alfo a very acceptable thing to them. They 

 may he kept in a box, with fmall holes in it, or in a bag. 

 Red worms, and all other lorts, fcour quickly, and prow 

 very tough and bright, on putting them into a thin clout, 

 gre'afcd with frelh butter, or greafc, before they are put into 



mofs. , • L V, 



Tliis is the beft of all things to keep them in ; but the 

 mofs mull be firft vcr)- well wa.Tied, and the water fqueezed 

 out again. As to food, a fpoonful of crtam, dropped into 



*8 



B A I 



the mofs once in three or four days, is better than any thir* 

 elfe. The mofs is to changed every week, and kept in a 

 cool place. 



White large maggots are an excellent bait for manr fort* 

 of fifh, and they are to be kept on (hcep's fuel and livtr 

 chopped fmall. 



Frogs and grafihoppers are to be kept in wet mofs, and 

 long grafs ; and on moiilering this afrclh eveiy evening it 

 will keep a long tim.e. They are to have their legs and 

 wings cut off when they are nfed. 



Live flics mull be nfed as they are caught ; but wafps, 

 bees, hornets, and humblc-btcs, may beprtferved dry. The 

 bed method of drying them, is putting them in an oven 

 after the bread is drawn. Care muft be taken that they arc 

 not fcorched ; and when they are taken out they are 

 to have the heads dipped in iluep's blood. This is to be 

 fuffercd to dry on, and then they are to be preferred in 

 a box. They will keep for three or four months. Sec 

 Anglisg. 



Baits, Ariific'iaJ, are flies of all kinds and (hapes, made of 

 filk, feathers, and the like. The variety of thelc is vcrv great ; 

 there being not only different ones for every ftafon and 

 month in the year, but almoft for every G(h. See Angling. 



There are feveral aitificial baits, for intoxicating of fowl, 

 and yet without tainting or hurling the flcih, fo as to make 

 it unfit to eat. 



Baits, Dtail, are paftes of divers forts, made of com, 

 cheefe, fruits, wafps, fheep's blood, boiled beaos, &c. 



Bait, Ground. See Angling. 



Bait, Ledger, is that which remains fixed in one certain 

 place, while the angler may be abfent ; efpecially in fifhiog 

 for pike. • 



Bait, Walling, is that which the angler attends while he 

 keeps moving from place to place, in queft of the fifli. 



Baits of Hanp, denote bundles of that plant, pulled 

 and tied up, ready for fteeping in water. See Fly- 



FlSHING. 



BAIT-EL-LAHAM, theaticicnt Bethlehtm, in Gecgra- 

 phy, a town of Syria, in the pachahc of Damafcus, is a vil- 

 lage about two leagues fonth-caft of Jerufalen, feated on an 

 cmintr-nce in a countrv full of hills and vaUies. The adja- 

 cent foil is the bell in ail thefe dillri(fls ; fo that fruits, vines, 

 ohves, and lefamuTn, fucceed here extremely well ; and no- 

 thing is wanting but cultivation. They reckon about 6co 

 men in this village capable of occafionally bearing arms ; 

 and occufions of this kind freqnenly recur, fomctimis to 

 refill the pacha, fometimes to make war with the adjoin- 

 ing villatre?, and fometim.es in confequenee of intefline divi- 

 ficns. Of thefe 6co men, about ico are Latin Chriilian?, 

 wiio have a vicar dependent on the great convent at Jeni- 

 falem. The whole trade formerly cotTifted in the iranu- 

 faclure of beads ; but not finding a fufficicnt ve;t for them, 

 they have rufumed the cultivation of their larJs. They 

 make a white wine, which jullifics the former celebrity of 

 the wines of Judn:a, but it has the pre^perty of being very 

 heady. The nectflity of unitinr; for their common defence 

 prevails over their religious differences, and induces the 

 Chrillians here to live in tolci-able harmony with their fel- 

 low-citizens the Mahometans. Both are of the pany of 

 J'amani, which, with its oppcfite called Kaiji, divides the 

 whole of P:deftinc into two faftions that arc perpetually at 

 variance. The courage of thefe peafants has been fre- 

 quently tried, and renders them formidable through the 

 wh.le country. Volney's Travels, vol. ii. p. 323. See 

 Bethi ehem. 



BAITHOSUS, in Biography, a Jcwifh teacher, and one 

 of the founders of the fcA of the Sadductcs, flourifhed in 



Judxa, 



