BAR 



or at a confiderable depth below it, is capable of afforJiiig 

 the fupport of plants, when well broken down and rendered 

 fufSciently mellow by ploughing, and the influence of the 

 atmofphere. 



Barren Lands, are fuch as either naturally, or for want 

 of proper tillage and cultivation, do not on being fown pro- 

 duce good crops or fuch as are fufEcient for repaying the 

 expences of the cultivator. 



Barren Money, in the Civi! Lanv, denotes that which is 

 not put out to intereft. 



Barren ^o/A, in yfjriaJture, are thofe which, from the 

 nature of their conftituent ingredients, arc incapable of af- 

 fording full crops. The materials which enter into the 

 compoiition of fuch foils are, according to Mr. Kirwan, 

 filex, argill, and calx, in the following proportions. 

 Silex from 42 to 88 

 Argill 20 30 



Calx 4 20 



From which he concludes the troy pound to contain, al- 

 lowing 120 grains for water, of 



Silex from 2368 to 4963 



Argill 1 128 1622 



Calx 225 600 



The fpecific gravity in fuch foils has not been fully afcer- 



tained, but the fame writer fuppofes it to be either much 



above or greatly below that of other kinds, according as they 



are too clofe or too open and porous. That of barren 



fandy laud was found by M. Fabroni to be 2.21. See 



Soil. 



Barren Springs, in Rural Economy, fuch fprings as are 

 injurious to lands when fuffered to flow or run over them. 

 ^Vaters that flow from coal mines, or through mineral ftrata, 

 have frequently been obferved to have this pernicious quality ; 

 and fuch alfo as contain either aluminous or ferruginous 

 materials in a fl:ate of folution in them. 



Barren F'/o-zvers or Florets, called 3.\(o al/ortive, in Bolany, 

 are fuch as produce no peifedt feeds. The barren flowers 

 are fuch as have ftamens, but no piftils ; and they are alfo 

 called male flowers. Flowers which have only piftils, are 

 fometimes ban-en, owing to the abfence of other flowers, 

 which bear the ftamens. In the umbelliferous flowers, it is 

 not uncommon to have feveral of the florets barren, though 

 they are furnilhed both with ftamens and piftils ; perhaps 

 owing to fome imperfeftion in the piftils ; but fiiture obfer- 

 vations muft determine this matter. 



Barren Creeh, in Geography, rifes in the N.W. corner 

 of Delaware ftate in Am.erica, runs about 9 miles S.W. 

 and difcharges itfelf into Nanticoke river. A triangular 

 traft of land in the N. part of Somerfet county, Maryland, 

 is inclofed |)etween this creek on the S., Delaware ftates E., 

 and Nanticoke river on the W. and N.W. 



Barren IJland,3. fmall ifle in Chefapeak bay, N.E. from 

 the mouth of Patuxent river, which is feparated from 

 Hooper's iiland by a narrow channel on the eaft. 



Barren IJland is alfo an ifland in the Eaft Indian ocean, 

 about 6 leagues in circumference. The whole ifland has a 

 lingular and volcanic appearance ; and there is upon it a vio- 

 lent volcano, which emits immenfe volumes of fmoke, and 

 fhowers of red-hot ftones, fome of which weigh 3 or 4 tons, 

 and are thrown fome hundred yards beyond the foot of the 

 cone. The bafe of the cone is the loweft part of the 

 ifland, and very little higher than the level of the fea. It 

 rifes with an acclivity of 32° 17', to the height of i8co feet 

 nearly, which is alfo the elevation of the other parts of the 

 ifland. Thofe parts of the ifland that are diftant from the 

 volcano, are thinly covered with withered flirubs and blafted 

 trees. It is fituated in N. lat. 12° ij', and 15 leagues to 



BAR 



the eaft of the eaftemmoft clufter of the Andaman iflands, 

 and may be feen at the diftance of 12 leagues in clear wea- 

 ther. At a quarter of a mile from the fliore, there is no 

 ground with 150 fathoms of line. Afiatic Refearches, 

 vol. iv. p. 395, Sec. 



Barren IJles, lie on the N.W. coaft of America, at the 

 entrance of Cook's inlet. Thefe ides, fituated in N. lat. 

 58° 48', and E. long. 208° 30', and cape Elizabeth, fituated 

 in N. lat. 59° 9', and E. long. 208° 53', according to Van- 

 couver's chart, form a channel into Cook's inlet. 



Barren i?;i)ir, a name given to each of the S.E. branches 

 of Green river, in Kentucky ; between which lies Blue 

 Spring. 



BARRENNESS. See Sterility. 



BARRENWORT, in Botr.ny. See Epimedium. 



BARREONE, in Geography, a riverof Piedmont, which 

 runs into the Vefubia, near St. Martin, in the county of 

 Tenna. 



BARRERE, Peter, in Biography, profeffor of medicine, 

 phyfician to the mihtary hofpital at Perpignan, his native 

 countr)', refided three years at Cayenne, as botanift to the 

 king of France, and employed himfelf in acquiring a diftincl 

 knowledge of the plants and animals indigenous to that 

 country, of which he publifhed accounts on his return. He 

 died November ift 1755. In 1741, he publiflied " A Dif- 

 fertation on the Caufes of the Colourof the Skin in Negroes," 

 ■which he thought was occafioiied by the bile being in them 

 blacker than in Europeans; and in 1746, " Obfervations 

 on the Origin and Form.atlon of figured Stones." But his 

 principal works were, " Eftai fur I'Hiftoire Naturelle de la 

 France Equinoxiale," Paris, 1 741, i2mo. in which he gives 

 defcriptions of the plants he had collefted at Cayenne, many 

 of them not before known, with their ufe in medicine, diet, 

 &c. " Nouvelle Relation de la France Equinoxiale," Paris, 

 174^, i2mo. ; republiftied, much improved, 1753: a con- 

 tinuation of the former work. In this he gives accounts of 

 the method of cultivating the fugar-cane, of preparing fugar, 

 coff^ee, aloes, and other valuable articles. In the " Hiftoire 

 del' Academic des Sciences," 1743, the method of cultivat- 

 ing rice; and in 1751, at Perpignan, 8vo. " Diverfes Ob- 

 fervations Anatomiquestirees dcs Ouvertures des Cadavres," 

 containing fome curious and inftruflive cafes. Haller. Bib. 

 Ar.at. tt Botan. Eloy. Dicl. Hift. 



BARRERIA, in Botany, a tree fo named from Peter 

 Barrere, profeflbr of medicine at Perpignan. Lin. g. Schreb. 

 1366. Scop. gen. 767. Poraqueiba. Auhl. Guian. Clafs, 

 Syngencjta monogamia. Gen. Char. Ca/. perianth one-leafed, 

 five-toothed, fmall. Cor. one-petallcd, five-parted; parts 

 oblong, acute, convex beneath, concave above, with a double 

 pit ; the fuperior ovate, bifid, the wedge-fliaped one trifid ; 

 excavated for the reception oi the ftamens. Stam. filaments 

 five, afcending linear, wider above, thick, triangular, bor- 

 dered, curved ; anthers erect, four-cornered, marginated, 

 coalefcing into the form of a mill-wheel ; each, in the clofed 

 flower, anfwtring, together with the filaments, to the pits 

 of the two petals. Pi/l. germ roundifli ; ilylc fliort ; ftigma 

 trifid. 



EfT. Gen. Char. Caf. five-toothed, ver)- fmall. Cor. five- 

 parted ; ftyle ftiort ; ftigma trifid. 



Species, B. guianenjts. Poraqueiba Guian. Aublet. Guian. 

 t. 47. A tree forty or fifty feet high, and two feet and a 

 half in diameter ; the bark is afh-coloured, and the wood is 

 hard and compaft, of a reddifh-brown colour. From the 

 top proceed many branches, fpreading in all direclions ; 

 thefe fend forth numerous twigs, with alternate, entire, 

 fmooth, firm, ovate leaves, ending in a long point ; petioles 

 ftiort, convex beneath, channelled above. The flowers are 



in 



