BET 



pofadifla. Park. par. 489. Tumep-rootedredbeet. ^.IB.lutel 

 maior. Bauli, pin. 1 18. Rail hift. 204. 11.5, — fyriaca. 

 Park, theatr. 752. n. 3. Ytllow-rooted beet. e. B. pallide 

 virens major. Dauh. pin. 118. Green-leaved red beet. 

 " Flowers heaped ; leafletsof the calyx toothed at thebaic."* 

 This fpecies has large, thick, fucculeiit leaves, generally of 

 a dark red or purple colour. Tlie roots are large and deep 

 red, on whicli their goodnefs depends ; for the larger they 

 grow, the more tender they will be, and the deeper their 

 co!o\ir, the more are they eileemed. A native of the fea- 

 coail of the fouthern parts of Europe. The variety a. has 

 the leaves ihorter than in the white beet, more or lefs red, 

 and fometimes fo dark, as to be called black beet ; it* root 

 white. /3. has leaves large and red, as is the whole of the 

 plant, as well root as llalk, and flowers full of a purple juice, 

 tending to rednefs ; the midribs of the leaves are very broad 

 and thick, like the cabbage leaf, and equal in goodnefs when 

 boiled. Gerard fays, that it grew with him in 1596, to 

 the height of eight cubits, and brought forth its rough 

 feeds very plentifully. Thefe, though taken from a plant 

 of one colour, produce plants of many and variable colours. 

 •y. Stem higher than the common red beet ; root thick, 

 within and without of a high blood colour. J. Leaves paler 

 than thofe of the white beet, of a greeni(h yellow colour ; 

 the root of a fine high yellow, fweet and well-tailed. All 



__ _ _ thefe are mere feminal varieties. The beet is fubjeft to 



who were Roman citizens; though it was the legal right of change, and to degenerate, at leaft in our chmate. It has 

 fuch to be exempt from it. been fuppofed, that the B. cida is not fpecifically different 



The fecond kind of beftiarii, Seneca obferves, confiftcd of from the -vuli^aris, and that both are derived from the mart- 



BET 



BESTAIL, or Bestial, in Ancient Statutes, is ufed for 

 all kinds of cattle. 4 Edw. III. c. 3. It has been appro- 

 priated more aixiently particularly to thofe that were pur- 

 veyed for the king's provifion. 



BESTARCHA, a dignity in the courts of the emperors^ 

 of Conftantinoplc, fuppofed to anfwer to that of the mqflcr of 

 the ivaifirobe among us. 



The word bellarcha feenis to have been termed from 'v?Jlar- 

 cT>a, by a change of the v into b. 



BESTERTZE. See Bistrit:. 



BESTIARII, among \.\\c ^ /Incunt Romans, thofe who 

 were hired to combat with bealb, or thofe who were expofed 

 to them, by fentencc of law. , r n. 



Wit ufually dilUngiufti two kii.d^ of bcitiani : the hrlt 

 were thofe condemned to the beads ; cither as being enemies 

 taken prifoners, or as being flaves, and guilty of fome enor- 

 mous crime. — Thefe were all expofed naked, and without de- 

 fence, to the beafts ; nor did it aught avail to conquer and kill 

 the bead, frefh ones being continually let looi'e on them, till 

 they were dead. But it I'eldom happened that two were re- 

 quired for the fame man ; on the contrary, one beafl fre- 

 quently difpatched feveral men. Cicero mentions a lion, 

 which alone difpatched two hundred beftiarii. — Thofe who 

 fucceeded the iirll were called E^isJpoi, and the laft f(7-;i^alM ; 

 among the Romans, merid'iani. 



The Chriftians were beftiarii of this kind, even fome of them 



young men, who, to become expert in managing their arms, 

 fought fometimes againft beafts, and fometimes againft one 

 another; andof bravoes, who, to (hew their courage and dex- 

 terity, expofed themfelves to this dangerous combat. Au- 

 gullus encouraged this praftice in young men of the firft: 

 rank ; Nero expofed hinifclf to it ; and it was for the kilhng 

 beads in the amphitheatre, that Commodus acquired the title 



of the Roman Hercules. 



Vigencre to thefe adds two kinds of beftiarii more : the firft 



were thofe who made a trade of it, and fought for money ; 



the fecond was where feveral beftiarii, armed, were let loofe 



at once, againft a number ot beafts. 



BESTOROZIN, or Beszermeny, in Geography, a town 



of Hungary, 8 miles N.N.W. of Debreciin 



tima, cultivated on a rich foil, in fouthern climes. The beet 

 is faid to be prejudicial to the ftomach, and to yield little 

 nouriftiment. Taken in quantity, it tends to loofen the belly. 

 The juice of the root and leaves is faid to be a powerful 

 errhine, and to occafion a copious difcharge of mucus, with- 

 out provoking fneezing. A good fugar may be obtained from 

 the juice of the frefh roots. This fpecies was cultivated in 

 1656 by Mr. JohnTradefcant, jun. z. B, dcla, white gar- 

 den beet. B.hortenfis. Mill. Did. n. 

 Lin. Spec. 322. B. alba. Gcr. 251 

 n. 1. Raii hift. 204. B. communis alba. 

 B. alba vel pallefcens, quse cicla ofGc. 



B. communis viridis /jufi/. " Flowers three-fold ; leaflets 

 of the calyx unarmed at the bafe." The root of this fort 



2. B. vulgaris, ^, ti. 



n. 1. emac. 318. 



Park, par 489. i. 

 Bauli. pin. 1 18. and 



BESTRITZA, or Bistricra, a large town of Lower feldom grows larger than a man's thumb; the ftalks grow 

 >Iungary, on the Wag, with a caftle facing it, feated on a high ereft, and have oblong, fpear-thaped leaves growing clofe to 

 rock on the oppofite i'lde of the river. the ftalk ; the fpikes of flowers are axillary, long, and have 



BETA, deriving its name from the form of the letter 

 R'Tse, whicii it has when fwellcd with feed, in Botany. Lin. 

 gen. 310. Reich. 338. Schreb. 436. Tourn. 286. Gx-rtn. 

 t.75. JufT. 85. Clafs and Order, ^i.7;/a«(/r/a ^//f_vn"J. Nat. 

 Ord. Holoracea. Atriplices, JufT. Gen. Char. CV. perianth 

 ilve-lcaved, concave, permanent ; diviiions ovate-oblong, 



narrow leaves placed between the flowers ; the lower leaves 

 are thick and fucculent, and their footftalks broad ; and for 

 the fake of thefe it is cultivated. A large variety of this 

 has been lately introduced from abroad, under the titles of 

 " Racine de difette," " Root of Scarcity," and " Mangel 

 Wurzel." The ancients called the white beet Ckla, or ra- 



obtufe. Cor. none. Stam. filaments five, fubulate, oppofite, ther Skia, by contraftion from Sicula, Sicilian beet ; as we 



call the Savoy-cabbage, Savoys. Mr. Miller mentions three 

 varieties of thi?:, viz. the white, the green, and the Swifs or 

 chard beet ; by the laft of which he probably intended the 

 fame as the modern " Mangel Wurzel." He fays that 

 they vary from one to another in culture, but that they 

 never alter to the firft or the third. 3. B. maritima, fea- 

 beet. Lin. fpec. 322. fyft. 262. Reich. 623. Hudf. 108. 

 Wither. 277. Eng. Bot. t. 285. Smith. Flor. Brit. 1 15. 

 B. fylveftris maritima. Baub. pin. 1 18. Park, theatr. 750. 2. 

 Raii fyn. 157. hift. 204. Ger. emac. 318. 2. Sea-Beet. 

 Pet. H. Brit. t. 8. f. 9. " Flowers double or twin ; ftalks 

 decumbent ; leaflets of the calyx even, not toothed." It 

 differs from the others, according to Linnsus, in flowering 

 the firft year ; in having oblique or vertical leaves ; and in 

 the leaflets of the calyx being equal, not toothed ; accord. 



ing 



to the leaves of the calyx, and of the fame length with them ; 

 anthers roundifti. /"//?. germ, in a manner below the recep- 

 tacle ; ftyles two, very flwrt, ereft ; ftigmas acute. Per. 

 capfule within the bottom of the calyx, one-celled, decidu- 

 ous. Sicd fingle, kidney-form, comprcficd, involved in the 

 calyx. 



Eff. Char. Ca!, five-leaved. Cor. none. Seed kidney-form, 

 within the fubftance of the bafe of the calyx. 



Species, 1. B. lu.'^aris, red garden beet. Varieties a. B. 

 rubra vulgaris, Bauh. pin. 1 18. Raii hift. 204. n. 2. Ger. 

 emac. 318. n. 2. Park, theatr. 751. f. 3. Common red 

 beet. j9. B. rubra major. Bauh. pin. 1 18. Blackw. t. 235. 

 Ger. 251. n. 3. emac. 392. B. italica. Park. par. 49c. 

 Raii hift. 205. Great red beet. y. B. rubra, radice rapx, 

 Bauh. pin- Ii3. Raii hift. 204. n. 4.— romana rubra, ra- 

 7 



