BEL 



of which are yet perFeft ; they were admirably planned and 

 of great itrtngtli. Bcltuibct was a borough lov/ii, and, 

 previous to th<r union, fent two members to parhament. 



BELTZ, or Belz, a palatinate of that part of Pol.r.id 

 which was formerly called Little, or Red Ruffia, and wliich 

 included three dillnas, viz. Bu!lc, Horodla, and Hrabowiec. 

 Its capital, bearinp^ the fame name, is a large town, feated 

 among marrties in the confines of Voliiynia. N. lat. 50° 15'. 

 E. long. 23° 50'. _ 



Beltz, a town of Croatia, 12 miles S. S. W. of » a- 

 rafdin. 



BELVEDERE, or BiitviDERE, a town of European 

 Turkey, and capital of a province of the fame name, in the 

 Morea, which province lies on the wc(l'-rn coaft, and is tlic 

 richell and moil fertile in the Morca. From this province the 

 railins called " Belvederes," derive their name. The tgwn lies 

 20milesfouthofChiar.n/.a. N. lat. 58° 5'. E. long, az" o". 



BELVEDERE, \a ylrMudurc: Set BtLviDKRE. 



BELVEZ, a town of France, and pnncipal place of a 

 diftridi, in the department of t'.ie Dordogne, <;* leagues 

 S. S. E. of Perigueux. N. lat. 44' 46. E. long, o^ 54'. 



BELUGA, "in Zoology, the name of Delphinus Luu- 

 CM in Pennant's Qiiadnipeds. 



Bell CA Jloiic, in A'.V;//-.?/ Ni/hiy, the name of a calculus 

 or ftone, found in the beluga filh. This ilone is found in filh 

 of both fexes, but moll frequently in the male ; and in thofe 

 of all ages and ii^e.'^. It occurs, however, but fcldom ; 

 whence it is inferred, that thefe Hones are no natural part 

 of the fifli, but mere morbid concretions like the bezoar 

 ftones in the animals which produce them, or like the 

 flone in human bladd.-rs. It is of various (hapes and fizes ; 

 but its moll ufual tigure is either globular or oval, it is of 

 a ytUowifh-white colour, and of a fmooth and naturally po- 

 liflied furface, and in fize it is between a pigeon's egg and that 

 of a goofe. It is ufually compad, ponderous, and folid, 

 not friable, but requiring a ftrong blow to break it ; how- 

 ever, it yields eafly to the faw, which defaces its internal 

 ftrudture, that is naturally very elegant and regular. It con- 

 fills of feveral concentric coats, adliering lirmly'to one ano- 

 ther, and formed about a nucleus, which generally appears 

 to be fome heterogeneous fnbilance. It differs from all other 

 Hones of the fame kind in its radiated ilriifture, as it is com- 

 pofed of a number of regular and even llri-.e proceeding from 

 the centre to the cireuinferer.ce, and reprefenting, both in 

 colour and form, the flakes of the " terra foliata tartan," 

 or the ftriated fpiculs of antimony. If the flone be fcrapcd 

 to powder and fprinkled upon a hot iron, it gives a faint 

 urinous fmell, and calcines into alight, iufipid, greyilh earth. 

 The people about the Volga hold it in high ellimation, and 

 afcribe to it great virtues. They fay, it promotes dchvery; 

 and they give it in cafes of the Hone, and diforders of the 

 urinary parts, in dofes of from 10 grains to a dram. Phil. 

 Tranf. vol. xliv. p. 2. n. 4. 



BELVIDERE, or Belvedere, in y//r/j/Vf iVwrf . This word 

 meaning beaut'ifu! -vu-w is ufed in Italy, to denote thofe edifices 

 built for the purpofe cf enjoying a fine profpeft ; thefe are of 

 tivo kinds, cither detached buildings, or little cupolas (or, to 

 life the txpriffive Englilh term, look-ouls,) raifed on the tops of 

 houfeswhichterniinate chcm ornamentally, and where one may 

 enjoy the freflincfs of the evening and the beauties of nature. 

 Almoft all the houfes in Rome hnve belvederes of the laft 

 kind, the others generally belong to the palaces and pleafure 

 grounds of the great. The moll celebrated and remarkable 

 of all is the Belvedere of the Vatican. This large edifice 

 was originally built by Bramante, detached from the ponti- 

 fical palace, to which it has fince been united by two long 

 galleries. It commands the view of the rich champaign, 



BEL 



which furrounds the town on this fide ; the chain of the Apcn- 

 nines forms the raa'^niif; ent dillance of the pielure, while the 

 foreground is occupied by the city itfelf, which is feen in its 

 whole extent. It is fromthence that one may fay with Martial: 

 " Hinc feptem dominos videre montes 

 Et totum licet eftimare Romam." 



Belvederes arecom:ron in France; they are generally fingle 

 faloons open to the air, or enclofed with doors and windows. 

 They are, however, fimetimes compofed of various apart- 

 ments, veftibules, faloons, cabinets, &c. fuch is the Belve- 

 dere in the menagerie of Seaux. When, however, thefe 

 buildino'S are at a confiderablc diftance from the manfion, 

 and contain feveral apartments for the purpofe of entertain- 

 ment, they are called Tr'tcir.ons. 



In England, though the name of Belvedere is not ufed, it 

 may be properly applied to many of our garden-buildings. 

 The old inanfions were very co.nmonly gloomy both in fitua- 

 tion and in conftruftion, but they generally poffefled a fum- 

 mtr-hoiip, which was built in an elevated and agreeable part 

 of the garden, where in the moil: genial m.onths of the year 

 the family might enjoy the air, the profpecl, and the focial 

 pleafures, without the ceremony of the drawing-room. In our 

 modern villas the beauties of fitnation are confulted, and every 

 idea of gloom is baniflied by the long windows, the fafh- 

 doors, and the wide extended lawn ; the fubftantial fummer- 

 houfe is, therefore, unneceffary ; but of the temples, cottages, 

 objects which adorn the modern grounds, while fome are 

 merely the ornaments of the landfcape, others very exa£lly 

 anfwer the defcription of the Belvedere. 



Belvidere, or Beh'ederi-,\n Botany, See Scoparia. 



Belvidere, in Geography, a new townlhip of America, 

 in Franklin county, and Hate of Vermont. — Alio, a village 

 in New Jerfey, in the Suffex county, on the Delaware river, 

 and at the mouth of Pequeft river, 1 1 miles above Eallon, 

 in Pennfylvania. 



BELVIS, a fmall town of Spain, in Eflremadura, with a 

 callle, feated between two mountains. 



BELULCUM, a furgical inllrument of various figures, 

 contrived for extrafting darts, arrows, or the like, from 

 wounds. Hence alfo the denomination bdulcum ; quafi to 



BELUNUM, in ^.nc'ieiit Geography, a town of Italy in 

 Rhsstia, and the country of the Veneti, now Behnto. 



BELUR, in Geography, the genera! name given to the 

 Alpine region, which divides the fouthern parts of the an- 

 cient iScythia, or Great Bucharia, from Little Bucharia, 

 lying in about N. lat. 37°. and E. long. 71°. between Kot- 

 lan to the north, and Kilan to the fouth, and Badakflian iu 

 Great Bucharia on the weft, and Balfiltan, or Little Thi- 

 bet, on the fouth-eall. Strahlenherg has introduced a town 

 of the fame name into his map, but its exillence is dubious. 

 Rennel places it at the foot of the mountain, in N. lat. 37°. 

 and E. long. 71°. He has alfo marked a lake near it, from 

 whence flows the Amu, which, after its junclion with feveral 

 others, proceeds to Badakflian. 



Belur Tag, denoting, in the Mungl language, " the 

 dark or cloudy mountains," part of that ridge of mountains 

 which, in a nearly meridional courfe, terminates Great Bucha- 

 ria on the eail, and divides it from Little Bucharia. Thefe 

 mountains are covered with perpetual fnow. They form a 

 chain, fuppofed to be the ancient Imaus, which proceeds 

 nearly north and fouth, and is continued by the mountains 

 of Alakor Alak Oola, on the north of Little Bucharia, which 

 join the Bogdo, and ow tiie fonth is more intimately con- 

 nected with the Hindooh Koh than with the northern 

 ridges of Thibet. Thofe who live at the foot of thefe moun- 

 ta'ns gather a great quantity of gold and filver dull; in the 



fpring, 



