BEE 



BEE 



been publi(1>ed on the continent within the laft few years : 

 of this defcription are the work of Hiibcr of G>.'neva ; " Le 

 Memoire de Bernard fur rEdiication des Abtilles ;" " Le 

 cours d' Agriculture," by Rozier; " Abrc-gc de I'Hiftoire 

 des Infcftcs pour fervir a I'Hiftoire Naturelle des Abcilles," 

 by Bazin Gilles Aucfuftin, firll publiflitd in 1747; " Le 

 Manuel NecefTaire au Villagcois pour foigncr Ics Abcilles," 

 by Lombard; and the works of Derthaud, Duchet, Ducarne, 

 Blangy, Delia Rocca, Sic. 



Bre, in yljlronomy. See Apis. 



Bee is alfo ufed figuratively to denote fweetnefs, indufliy, 

 S:c. Thus Xenophon is called the Attic bee, on account of the 

 great fweetnefs of his ftyle. Antoniusgot the denonfiination 

 inelifla,or bee, on account of his coUeiSion of common places. 



Leo Allatius gave the appellation oi apes urlaiiit to the il- 

 luftrious men at Rome, from the year 163010 the year 1 652. 



BEE-HrJ, in Ornithology. See Trochilus minimus; 

 the bee humming bird, or U plus petit O'lfeau mouche of But- 

 fon. Some refer this name likewife to Trochilus Bicolor of 

 Gmclin, the dlilrioi Ferm. Surin. N. 2. 



Bee, Bind-. See jEthiops. 



Bee bloch. See Blocks. 



BEE-io.x:«. See Hive. 



'Kv.^s-bread. See Bee Bread, Farina, and V>^t. fiipra. 



BEE-fa/cr, in Ornithology. See Falco Apivorus, Honey 

 Buzzard. 



itfc-Jlonver, or Orchys, in Botany. See Ophrys. 



BEE-^/uf, a foft unftuous matter employed by bees to ce- 

 ment the combs to the hives, and to clofe up the cells. 



BEE-i/i)f. See Hive. 



'BEE-htimMe, humming lee, wild bee, fynonynious with the 

 Bourdon family of bees, adopted by French writers. 



3Ef.-humb/e,J!y. See BoMiiYLiuS. 



Bee, Order of, wasinftitiitedat Sceaux in Frarce, for men 

 and women, in 1703, by Louife, wife of Louis of Bourbon. 

 The enfign is a medal of gold, bearing on one fide the portrait 

 of the foundrefs, and on the other a bee, with this motto, 

 " Je fuis petite, mais mes pictures font profondes." 



BEE-roc/fj, in Geography, lie on the coaft of France, a little 

 to the weft of North from the point of St. Maloes. Tliey are 

 called the Great and Littk Bee ; the latter of which is weft 

 of the other, and li , s N. W. from the town about a gnn-fliot. 

 On each of the bee-rocks is a little houfe. Ships may fail 

 •within a cable's length of the outermoft or Little Bee, and an- 

 chor on the foulh of it in 5 or 6 fathoms at low-water, when 

 Bore tower, on the fouth of St. Maloes, is a little eaft of the 

 fmall tower on the point to the fouth of the town. 



BEECH-tref, in Botany. See Fagus. 



Beech gnUs, in Natural Hijlory, the name of a fpecies of 

 galls or protuberances found on the beech-tree, and fciving 

 for the lodgment of infecls. 



Thefc galls are found on the leaves of the beech, and are 

 fomttimcs only one upon a leaf, fometimes more ; they always 

 grow from the fame point, owing, no doubt, to the fly's 

 having laid fo many eggs in the fame fpot. 



Thefe galls are of an oblong figure, and fomewhat flatted. 

 They refcmble the ftone of a plum in fliape, and are fo hard 

 that they are not to be broken between the fingers ; their 

 fubftance feems of the fame nature with that of a nut (liell. 

 In each gall there is only one cavity, inhabited by a white 

 worm, which in time paifes through the nymph ftate into 

 that of the fly, to which it owed its origin. 



BEECH-m^, the fruit of the beech-tree. It fattens hogs 

 and deer, and has fometimes fupplied men inftead of bread. 

 Chios is laid to have endured a memorable fiege by means of it. 



Beech, Oil of, Hiiik de Faine, the fruit of this tree, the 

 beech-maft, is an oily farinaceous nut highly nutritious to 

 hogs, poultry, and other animals, and hke the other fruits 



of this defcription, maybe made to yield a very large quantity 

 of pure oil by prefTure. This oil has long been prepared in 

 feveral diftridls in the fouth of France. An intereiting ac- 

 count of this manufacture is pubhlhed in the Journal de Phy- 

 iique for 1781, by Mr. Verdicr. 



The tafte of the beech-maft is mild, unftuou'?, and fome- 

 what aftringent. About the month of Oclober it falls fpon- 

 taneoufly from the tree, and is coUedled in this and the fuc- 

 ceeding month. When gathered and picked it is flowly 

 dried in the ftiadc, or with the heat of a very gentle flove ; 

 after which it is at any time fit to be prelfed for the oil. The 

 very fineft oil is made with thebeft nuts picked out by hand, 

 but for the larger quantity the niaft is fifted and winnowed 

 like corn. It is then ground by a machine iimilar to a ftamping 

 mill, formed of upright beams of wood alternately rifing and 

 falling, let on motion by a large wheel, and when the fiuit 

 gets too dry in the mill a little water is added. When ground 

 fufiieiently fine, it is wrapped up in a coarfe hair cloth once 

 doubled, and fubmitted to the fame kind of prefs which is 

 employed for colefeed, and other oils. 



The beech oil when well made, and from the beft felefted 

 fruit, is equal to the beft olive oil, and with this advantage, 

 that it will keep much longer ; olive oil beginning to grow/ 

 rancid in about a year and a hall, whereas the other improves 

 by keeping, to the fixth or eighth year. It is fit for ufe a 

 month after it is made. To obtain the fineft oil, befides the 

 perteAion of the fruit, it is neceflary that the working of the 

 mill in which it is ground, (hould be very moderate, fo as 

 not to overheat it. 



The water ufed to give the fruit a proper confiftence in 

 grinding, mixes with the oil when prefied, fo that it requires 

 fome weeks repofe to allow them to feparate. In general 

 the oil Hands about three months to clarify, after which it 

 is drawn off clear from the water and dregs, and packed up 

 either in bottles or in very clofe calks. The general yield of 

 oil is about ten pounds from 4' buftiels, Paris meafure. 



The ufes to wliich it is applied are all thofe of the common 

 fixed vegetable oil. The beft forts are equally grateful for 

 the table as the beft olive oil. The' inferior, are ufed for 

 lamps, for preparing leather, and other purpofes of economy 

 and manufafture. 



The cakes that remain after the oil is preflcd out are par- 

 ticularly ufeful in the fabrication of the oil from nuts, as this lat- 

 ter fruit is not alone of a proper confiftence for the prefs, but 

 mull be mix^-d with fome more folid fubftance to make it 

 work well. Befides this, the cakes of beech-maft are pro- 

 per fcr fattening anir.ials, or make a very good fuel. 



An attempt was made in the beginning of the laft centuiy 

 to introduce the preparation of beech-maft oil in this coun- 

 try. The poet and fptculator, Aaron Hill, obtained a pa- 

 tent for this manufiictuie, and went to fome expence in efta- 

 blifhing it in England about the year 17 14. It would ap- 

 pear from a letter of his to tlie earl of Chefterneld (in the 

 Harleian CoUetlion, and infertcd in the Monthly Magazine 

 for 180^, p. 339,) that he had formed veiy fanguine hopes 

 of the fuccefs of this plan. However he was obliged foon 

 to abandon it, probably in part from a want of a proper fup- 

 ply of the fruit, and certainly in a confiderable degree from 

 the very limited ufe of oil as an article of food in this country. 



BEEF, in DomcJUe Economy, the flefti of black cattle 

 prepared for food. The flefii of the Ins ax ox hind, fays Dr. 

 Cullen (Mat. Med. vol.i.p. 369,315 the moft denfe of all the 

 quadrupeds ; and how far that denfity goes in preventing fo- 

 lubility, we have an inftance in the bull, whofe flefti is feldom 

 chofen as a part of our diet. The flelh of the female fex is 

 of a more foluble nature, and fnfficiently fit for nouriftiment; 

 but we commonly prefer the callrated ox, in which the fat 

 is better mixed, and as more alkalefcent, the flelh is more 



fapidj 



