B E R 



iron. The town is feated on the river Mies or Miza ; 14 

 miles S.W. of Prague. N. lat. 50° 2'. E. long. 14° 25'. 



BERBECZ, a river of European Tiukey, which runs 

 into the Rirlet, near Tecuczi, in the province of Moldavia. 



BERBEGAL, a town of Spain, in Aragon, 3 leagues 

 from Balbaitro. 



BERBERES. See Brebes, 



BER.BERINA, in Entomoln?y, a fpecies of Tipula, 

 with footy, inounbent wings, having the bafe, and marginal 

 fpot white. Schrarck. This infcft has the thorax and 

 abdomen red ; it feeds on the berberry, and forms fmall 

 llrumous excrefcences on the branches. 



Berberina, in Natural Hi/lory, a fpecies of Vorti- 

 CELLA, of a fimple oval form, with a branched rigid ftem, 

 and white granuhitions. Gmclin, This is VorticcUa com- 

 pofita, floribus ovalibus muticis, llirpe ramofa, of Linn. Syft. 

 Nat. edit. 12. It is alfo Brachionus berberiformis, of Pal- 

 las ; and Pfeiidopolypns beritormis, of Roefel. Found in 

 frelh water in Europe; ufually in clullers. 



BERBERIS, Bat-ba-ry, or Pipperiilge Bujb, in Botany, 

 Lin. gen. n. 442. Schreb. 595. Reich. 476. JufT. 286. 

 Gaertn. t. 242. Tournef. 385. Smith. 181. Clafs and Or- 

 der, Hexandrta Mnnogynta. Gen. Char. Cal. perianth fix- 

 leaved, patulous ; leaflets ovate, with a narrower bafe, con- 

 cave, alternately fmaller, coloured, deciduous. Cor. petals 

 fix, roundhh, concave, ereft-expanding, fcarcely larger than 

 the calyx: neftary, two fmall, roundilh, coloured bodies, faf- 

 tened to the bafe of each petal. Stam. filaments fix, eredl, com- 

 prefled, obtufe ; anthers two, faftened on each fide to the 

 top of the filaments. P//?. germ cyhndric, the length of the 

 ftamens ; (lylc, none: ftigma, orbiculate, broader than the 

 germ, furrounded with a fharp edge. Per. ben-y cylindrlc, 

 obtufe, umbilicatcd with a point, one-celled. Seedt two, 

 oblong, cylindric, obtufe. B. cretka has three feeds- 

 Reich. 



Efi". Char. Cal. fix-Icaved: pel. fix, with two glands at 

 the claws ; Jiyle none; lerry two-feeded. 



Species, i. B. vulgaris, common barberry ; B. dume- 

 torum. Ray, Syn. 469. Spina acida or oxycantha. Ger. 

 em. 1325. /5. B. valacea, purple-fruited barberry. 7. B. 

 canddenfis, Canada barberry. " Peduncles racemed, fpines 

 triple." A (hrub rifing to the height of 8 or 10 feet; with 

 ftems upright and branched, fmooth and flightly grooved, 

 brittle, with a large white pith, and covered with a whitilh 

 or afh-coloured bark, yellow on the infide : ftcms and 

 branches are armed with fharp thorns, commonly growing 

 by threes ; firft leaves obovate, ferrate cihate, not jointed; 

 ftem-leaves alternate ; fecondary leaves in pairs, oblong and 

 ferrate, with fmaller leaves concealed between the lowermoil 

 leaves and the thorns : flowers towards the ends of the 

 branches in pendulous racemes, with a bracle to each pedicel; 

 corolla yellow, petals frequently ferrate about the edge, and 

 at the bafe of each are two orange-coloured dots, which are 

 probably the neftaries : anthers roundifh, yellow; ftigma, 

 greenilh ; berries at firll green, and when ripe, changing to a 

 fine red colour ; feeds, two, rarely three, fallened at bottom 

 to a minute tubercle, oblong, fmooth, of a pale teftaceous co- 

 lour, and hard ; the feed-lobes of an elliptic form. A native 

 of the eaftern countries, and now of moll parts of Europe in 

 woods, coppices, and hedges ; in England, chiefly in a chalky 

 foil, as particularly about Saffron-Walden in Effex. The 

 flowers appear in May and June, and the fruit ripens in Sep- 

 tember. Miller mentions three varieties of this fhrub, viz. B. 

 fine nucleo ; Bauh. pin. 454, 2. or without flone, occafioned 

 by the age of the plant ; B. with white fruit, having leaves 

 of a lighter green colour, and the bark whiter than the com- 

 mon fort: and B. orientalis procerior frudu nigro luavifiirao, 



BE R 



Tournef. cor. difTeringf only in the cqlourand flavour cf the 

 fruit, fie makes the Canada barberry a dillinft fpecies, ar.d 

 fays, that the leaves are much broader and fhorter than ihofe 

 of the common fort, and that the fruit is black when ripe. 

 It has been long ago obferved by Linnxus, that when bees 

 in fearch of honey touch the filaments of this ftirub, the an- 

 thers approximate to the fligma, and explode the pollen. 

 This irritability is fo remarkable, that if the filaments arc 

 touched near the bafe with the point of a pin, a fuddcn con- 

 traftion is produced, and this may be repeated fevcral times. 

 Dr. Smith, w!io has made this property the fubjtcl of particu- 

 lar examination, obferves(SeePhil.Tranf. vol, Ixxviii. p. 158,) 

 that neither the outfide of the filament, nor the anther has 

 any irritabihty ; and that the fpring of the ftamens is owing 

 to an high degree of irritability in the fide of the filament 

 next the germ, by which, when touched, it contracts, that 

 fide becoming fhorter than the other, and confequently the 

 filament being bent towards the germ. After irritation, the 

 ftamens will return to their original place, and on being 

 again touched, they will contraft as tafily as before. Tiie pur- 

 poCe which this curiotis contrivance of nature is defigned to 

 anfwer is evident. When the ftamina ftand in their original 

 pofition, their anthers are effcclually fheltcred from rain by 

 the concavity of the petals. Thus they probably remain till 

 fome infeft, in order to extraft honey from the bafe of the 

 flower, thrulls ilfelf between their filaments, and almoll 

 unavoidably touches them in the moll irritable part ; ia 

 this way the impregnation of the germen is performed ; and 

 as it is chiefly in fine funny weather that inftfts are on the 

 wing, the pollen is alfo in fuch weather mofl fit for the pur- 

 pole of impregnation. Another peculiarity afcribed to this 

 fhrub is, that ears of corn growing near it conflantly prove 

 abortive, and that it extends this llerile influer.ce over them 

 to the dillance of 3 or 400 hundred yards acrofs a field. 

 Duhamel long fince looked upon the mildewing power of 

 barberry as totally void of foundation, and M. Brouflbnet 

 affured Dr. Smith, from his own obfervations, that the opi- 

 nion, though very prevalent, was altogether groundlefs. . 

 Young's Annals, vol. vii. p. 188. Eng. Bot. p. 4y. Wither- 

 ing's Bot. Arrang. vol. ii. p. 351, 



The leaves of barberry are gratefully acid ; the flowers ate 

 offenfive to the fmell when near ; but at a proper diftance their 

 odour is extremely agreeable. The berries are fo acid that 

 birds will not cat them. The barberry, however, is cultivated 

 for the fake of thefe, which are pickled and ufed forgarnifhing 

 difhes ; and being boiled with fugar,they form an agreeable rob 

 or jelly ; they are ufed alfo as a dry fweet-meat, and in fugar- 

 plumbs or comfits. They are moderately reftringent, and are 

 faid to be of great ufe in bilious fluxes, and in all cafes where 

 heat, acrimony, and putridity of the humours prevail. On the 

 authority of Profper Alpinus (Med. Egypt. 1. iv. c. i.J we 

 are informed, that the Egyptians employ them in peftilential 

 fevers and fluxes with great fuccefs; and Simon PauUi re- 

 lates, that he was cured of a mahgnant fever, accompanied 

 with a bilious diarrhrea, by ufing thefe berries according to 

 the Egyptian practice ; that is, macerating the fruit tor a 

 day and a night in twelve times its quantity of water; with 

 the addition of a little fennel feed ; and then ftraining and 

 fweetening the liquor, and ufing it as a common drink. Dr. 

 Woodville obfcrves, (Med. Bot. vol. iv. p. 62.) that thefe 

 berries are well calculated to allay heat and thnll, and to 

 correft a putrid tendency in the fluids ; but that in this 

 refpe£l they feem to poCTefs no peculiar advantage over moft 

 of the other acid fruits; hence the colleges of London and 

 Edinburgh have expunged this fruit from the Materia Me- 

 dica, and retained only that of the currant. The bark is 

 faid to be purgative, and Ray experienced its good eifeCls 



take a 



