BEL 



fcriptlire. In Gaul alio ttic-re are traces of tlie fame fup. 

 pofed d^ity being worfliipprd under the name ]'iclin\is. The 

 Irifli rtill preferve the cullom ; and to this day, in mnny 

 places, fires arc lighted on the firft of May in t!ie miiking 

 yards, which the men, women, and children pafs through 

 -or leap over, and the cattle are driven throU);h the flames of 

 the burning ftrau'. In the wellern ides of Scotland, Mr. 

 Martin found a like ceremony called by the fame name; and 

 Mr. Pennant thus particularly defcribes it. "It is a kind 

 of rural facrifice, performed by tlu- herdfmen of every village 

 on the firft of May. Tliey cut a fquare trench on the 

 ground, leaving a turf in the middle ; on that they make a 

 fire of wood, on wnich they drefs a large candle of eggs, 

 butter, oatmeal, and milk ; and bring, befidcs the ingxedi- 

 ents of the caudle, plenty of beer and whilkey; for each of 

 the company mull contribute fomeiliing. The rites begin 

 with fpilling fome of the caudle on the ground by way of 

 libation : on that every one takes a cake of oatmeal, upon 

 which aie raiftd nine fquare knobs, each dedicated to fome 

 particular being, the fuppofed prefervcr of their flocks and 

 herds, or to fome particular animal, the real deftroyer of 

 ^m. Each ptrfon then turn-j his face to ths fire, breaks 

 ^ a knob, and flinging it over his (lioulder, fays, TUs I 

 give to thii', prej'cri<e thou my horfes ; this to thee, prefewe 

 thou my Jlxep ; and fo on. After that, they ufe the fame 

 ceremony to the noxious animals : This I gi-je to thee, fox! 

 Jpare thou my hmls ; this to thee, hooJed croiv ! this to thee, 

 O eagle ! When the ceremony is over, they dine on the cau- 

 dle ; and after the fcaft is finifhed, what is left is hid by two 

 perfons deputed for the pnrpofe ; but on the next Sunday 

 they rcaflemble, and finifli the reliques of the firft entertain- 

 ment." That fire v.'as adored in Ireland, is fufficiently 

 proved from this celebrated feftival, independently of other 

 circumftanccs ; but whether it can be urged in proof of the 

 colonization of Ireland by the fouthern Scythians or Per- 

 fians, is not equally clear. Dr. Ledwlch fays, that fire was 

 adored by the Ctltcs and Northern Scythians, and mentions 

 from Wormius the manner of kindling it. On the other 

 liand, the name bears a ftriking refemblance to that of the 

 Afiatic deity ; and the early naval expeditions of the Phcenici- 

 ans render itshaving beencomniunicatcd by themlefs improba- 

 ble. The writer of this article hss not, however, yet met with 

 any account of a fimilar practice am.ongft tlie nations in the 

 fouth of Afia, or with any attempt to explain the name 

 from thofe languages which are undoubtedly of Celtic oii- 

 gin. The circumftance, indeed, of all languages having had 

 one coramou fource, leflens the force of thofe arguments 

 which are derived from a refemblance in words denoting the 

 fame thing ; and yet great ftrcis is laid on fuch refemblance 

 in the arguments fur the Perfian colonization of Ireland. 

 Colleftanea de rebus Hibernicis paHim. Pennant's Tour in 

 Scotland, vol. iii. O'Brien's Irifh^Didlionary. Ledwich's 

 Antiquities of Ireland. See Belinus. 



Belts, Fnfcis, in AJlronomy, two zones or girdles fur- 

 rounding Jupiter's body, more lucid than the reft, and ter- 

 minated by parallel lines ; being fometimes brrader, and 

 foni'Ctimcs narrower, nor conftantly taking '.'.p the fame places 

 in his dilk. Dark fpots have been frequently oblerved on 

 Jupiter's belts. Caltini has alfo difcovered a permanent one 

 in the moft northern part of the moft fouthern belt : by 

 this he has determined the length of Jupiter's day, that is, 

 the time of his revolution on his axis, which is finillied in 

 nine hours and fifty-fix minutes. Phil. Tranf. N° lo. and 

 vol. Ixiii. parti. N'^ii. p. 73. Some aftronomers take the 

 belts to be feas, which alternately cover and leave bare 

 large countries of the planet ; and that tlie Ipots are gulfs 

 in thofe feas, perhaps as big as our ocean; and foiuetiiTies 



BEL 



full, fometimes dry. M. Azout rather imagined the fpots 

 to be protuberances of the belts. Hiit. Acad. Sc. 170S. 

 1692. Phil. Tranf. N" 34. I. 15. But other aftronomers 

 take the fpots, which are tranfparent and moveable, for 

 the fhadows of Jupiter's fatellites. The belts of Jupiter were 

 fi;ft obferved, and defcribcd by Huygens in his Syft. Satnr- 

 riin. p. 7. See Jupitfr. 



Cafllni alfo fpeaks of belts of Saturn ; being three dark, 

 ftraight, parallel bands, or fafcix, on the difl< of that planet. 

 Saturn's bdts do not appear to be inherent on his globe, as 

 thofe of Jupiter's are ; but rather to be large dark rings at 

 a dillance from the planet, and furrounding his body. Some 

 imagine them to be clouds in his atmofphere. The middlc- 

 moft feems to be the fhadow of Saturn's ring. Hift. Acad. 

 Sc. 1 7 15. See Saturn. 



Belts, in Ciography and A'avigation, denote certain ftraita 

 near the Sound, tiirough which (hips pafs from the Bahic to 

 the German ocean. They belong to the king of Denmark, 

 who exafts a toll, varying in its amount, and in fome circum- 

 ftances attending the colleftion of it, from all fhips that pafs 

 through them, as well as the Sound. (See Sound.) Thev are 

 divided into tlie greater and the /-Jir. The greater belt forms a ' 

 communication between the Scaggerack or Cattegat fea and 

 the Bahic, feparatmg the iflands of Zealand and Funen. The 

 lejfer or little belt forms a communication between the Catte- 

 gat and Baltic, and feparates the ille of Funen from tiie 

 continent. The pafl'age from Aflena to Arroe Sound, in 

 the duchy of Slefwick, acrofs tlie little belt, is 9 miles. 



BELTURBET, a market and poft town of Ireland, 

 in the county of Cavan, fituate on the river Erne, 8i 

 Irifli miles north-weft of Dublin. It has a navigation 

 through Lough Erne to Bcllech, within three miles of 

 Ballyftiannon, where it is interrupted by confiderable falls. 

 The navigation from Lough Erne is open to the town, 

 with water enough in winter, and by reducing a few flat* 

 might be made completely fo in all fcafons. No place in- 

 deed can be better fituated for trade or for improvement ; 

 the beautiful expanfion of water and pifturefque views are 

 highly engaging, and the land is a found limeftone. Yet 

 the market is indifferently fupplied, which may in great 

 meafuie be attributed to the cuftoms being taken in kind, 

 without any lawful ftandard or meafure, fo that it is more 

 advantageous for the buyers and fellers to go to other mark- 

 ets. Thefe cuftoms are individual property, and fet for 

 tool, per annum. 



The town was regularly divided into compartments, 

 termed homerteadj ; each of which contains iG fquare 

 yards, to which is annexed a proportionate quantity of 

 bog. Every houftiolder has alfo a right to graze on an 

 extenfive common belonging to the town, which was given 

 by the I.anefljorough family, to which it iormeily belonged, 

 and which feems to have fpared no cxpence for its improve- 

 ment. Another grant of two hundred acres has become the 

 property of the burgeftes, who divided it, and have tranf- 

 mitted it down in their refpcftive families. Tliere are fome 

 neat houfes, efpecially thofe lately ereiSed on the part now be- 

 longing to lord Farnham ; but in general they are mean and 

 thatched. There are an excellent flonr-mill, a brewery, di- 

 ftillery, and malt-houfes in the town ; and fome yarn is 

 brought to market, but no webs. Cultivation is improved 

 in the neighbourhood ; but is yet vny defective. The ma- 

 nures ufed are aflic?, marl, and dung ; though there is good 

 limeftone, and much of the foil confills of deep clays which 

 could be fo well reclaimed with lime, yet this is never uftd, 

 but fent by the lake to the county of Fennanagh. In the 

 church-yard is the veftiire of a great fortification, inclofing 

 an exteufive plot of ground, the ballions and faliant angles 



