B I L 



BIT.ANITS, !n Botany, See Crat.€va. 

 BII.ARIUS, PoRLS. See BiLlARii Pon. 

 BILATERAL Cognation, denotes kinfliip, or kin- 

 dred, 0:1 both fides ; that of the father as wtU as molhcr. 



Such is- tht relation of brothers, fillers. Bilateral ilands 

 contnidi;ii!iguilhed to unilateral. 



BILBA, ill y/n-;.-«: Geography, 3 town of ACa, in Bab}- 

 loni;i. Ptoltr.iy. 



BILBAO, fometimes called 5//.W, in Gn^aphy^ a port- 

 toivn of Spiiiii, in the province of Difcay, featcd on the banks 

 of the 1 iver Ybaizabal, about 6 mile-, from the fea. On tlw 

 Vatc!-fide is a laigefqiiaic,\veli fliaded u-ith pleafaiit walks.eK- 

 tending to the omletson the banks of the river, and coutain- 

 injj a n'lmiber of hoiifis and gardens, «hich form an a jrfeablc 

 ptofpcit, partieularly in failiii); i:p the river. The number of 

 foiilcs mthis toivn is about 800, fome of which are built on 

 piles ; they are fohd and lofty ; the llreets are well paved 

 and level ; and as they may be wafhcJ at pleafurc, Bilboa is 

 one of the neatell towns in Europe. The tide that flows 

 into the river forms a feeurc and much frequented harbour ; 

 and a conliderable commerce is thus carried on in iron, 

 wool, of which, it is fajd, 60,000 bags are annually exported 

 to Great Britain, France, and Holland, faffron, and chef- 

 nuts. Towards the clofe of the loth century, the people of 

 fefcay, having maintained their independence, together 

 with their proteffion of Chriftianity, even when the Moors 

 gained podefTion of the other parts of Spain, and having 

 about this time obtained fome advantages over them, began 

 to direft their attention to the manufacture of their own ex- 

 cellent iron, not only for their own ufe, but for the fupply of 

 other nations ; and their port of Bilboa began to have fhip- 

 ping, and to engage in foreign trade, perhaps before any 

 ether nation to the weft of the Mediterranean fea, at loaft in 

 a very confid^fsble degree. In the lad year of the 1 3th cen- 

 tur\-, this to^'n was refounded, or new built, by Didacus 

 Lopez, then prince, or lord of the province ; and as it was 

 the ftapie port for the iron and wool of Spain, its commerce 

 rapidly ir.creafed ; and it appears from Rymer's Foedera, that 

 in the reign of king Edward IV. A.D. 1474, the merchants 

 of Guipufcoa carried on, probably by the port of Bilboa, a 

 tonfiderable trade with England. It appears, alfo, that the 

 Bifcayncrs, availing theinielves of the advantage of their 

 (hipping and port, were concerned in the whalt-fifhery at an 

 earlier peri id than arv other nation of Europe, Norway ex- 

 cepted. The town i^ fnpphcd with fleili and poultiy, and alfo 

 with fiili of various kinds, and particularly with a fort of 

 eels in .vinttr, which arc fmall, of a pale colour, about three 

 inches long, and without a back bone, caught in prodigious 

 i^uantitics at low tide?, and in fummer with the cuttle-fifh. 

 "The ihambles are a Tufcan btilding, in the centre of the 

 town, with an open court, and a fountain in the middle, by 

 means of which it is kept clean, and free from oftenfive oflals 

 r.nd fcents. The environs abound in" gardens, which are fer- 

 tile in legumes and fruits. This town has five churches, and 

 fcveral religjojs houfes ; and in its police it has one law of a 

 peculiar kind, which renders ingratitude criminal, and fiib- 

 ";ci5l to a penalty. Although the air is generally damp, the 

 town is remarkably healthy, and the inhabitants are robuft, 

 cheerful, and long-lived ; fo that the hofpital is frequently 

 Nvilhout a patient. The women arc capable of enduring 

 1.:bour as well as the men, and arc employed in unloading 

 the (hips, carrying burdens, and perforriiing the bufincfs of 

 porters. At t!>€ c'.ofe of the day tliey return to their ha- 

 bitations, witliout any uppearance of laffilude, dancing and 

 Cinging to the pipf acid tabor. Their mufic is defrayed at 

 the fjpence of the town ; and on holidays it is performed 

 't the vi>m ti a jjrea! concouife of p«'r>oi.t un^Jerthe trees 

 7 



B I I- 



in ths great fquare. The women of Bilbao, tliough con- 

 ftantly expt>led to the air, haNC good coraplesioiis. lively 

 eyes, and line black Lair, w^iich they curionfly braid, and 

 which they rcckoii pecuharly ornamental. Married women 

 wrap a white handkerchief round their heads, fo knotted as 

 to f.iU down in three plaits behind, and over this they wear 

 tlic Moiittra cap. 1 hofe who underftand their language 

 fav it is very loft and liarnionsous, as well as energetic. 

 N'. laf . 4^° T 5'. W. long. 2" 45'. See Bi sc A Y. 

 BILBERRY, in Bntany. See Vaccinium. 

 BILBlLINili Ac>u.«, in indent Geography, Alhamn, 

 mineral and ii:edieinal waters of Spain, 24 miles from BiU 

 bills, according to the itinerary of Antonine. The name 

 Alhama, given by the Arabians to this place, has the fame 

 meaning with the aqux calidx of the Latins. See Al- 

 hama. 



BILBILIS, Bambola, a town of Hifpania Tarragonen- 

 fis, belonging to the Celtiberi, fouth of Turiafco ; featedon 

 a mountain fuiroundcd by the waters of Salo or Xalon. 

 BilbiUs was a municipal town, and bore the title of Augutla, 

 which is found on feveral medals. The poet Martial was of 

 this city, called by Ptolemy Btlh]s. 



" Mur.icipts Augulla mihi quos Bilbilis "xcn 

 Monte creat, rapidis quos Salo cingit aquis." 



Martial, 1. 10, epig. 103. 

 On moft of tl»e medals of Bilbilis, we perceive, on one fide 

 a head of Auguftus,and, on the other, a cavalier, arnud with 



a lance and a helmet Alfo, a river of Spain, the waters of 



which were famous for tempering iron ; called alfo Salo. 



BILBOWS, in Sm-phrafe, a puni(hmeut aRfwering to the 

 flocks at land. 



They confill of long bars, or bolts of iron, with fhackles 

 Aiding on them, and a lock at the end, ufed to confine the 

 feet of prifoners, in a manner fimilar to the confinement of 

 the hands in handcuffs. See Stocks. 



BILCOCK, in Ormlho!ogy, one of the fynonymous 

 Engli(h names of RtiUus aqvat'tcus, or water-rail. 



BILDERWERTSCHEN, in Geography, a town of 

 PiufTia, in the province of Lithuania, 4 miles W.N.W. of 

 Stalluponcn. 



BILDESTON. See Bilston. 



BILDGE, or Bilge of a Ship, denotes the bottom of 

 her floor ; or the breadth of that part which (he rells on, 

 when (he is a-ground. 



Hence, when a fliip receives a frafture in this place, by 

 flriking on a rock, or otherwife, (lie is faid to be lllged, or 

 bulged, 



BiLDCE-ZFa/fr, is that which, by reafon of the ilatnefs of 

 the (hip's bottom, lies on her floor, and cannot go to the 

 well of the pump. This water is aKvays, if the (hip does 

 not le;ik, of a dirty colour, and difagreeable fmell. 



The Dutch, whofc (liips are often of this form, ufe a fort 

 of pumps, called " bildge-pumps," or, as we call them " burr- 

 pumps," to carry off the bildge-water. 



BILE, in Phyfwlogy, isthe fluid prepared from the blood by 

 the hver of animals. The colour of healthy bile in the human 

 fubjeft is probably of a deep yellow brown. In oxen, it is fre- 

 quently of a yeUowifh green. In the gall bladder, it is of a 

 lhickifhconfiltcnce,of an unftuousfecl, or like that of mucus, 

 of a bitter talle, and peculiar fmell. Its fpecilic gravity is 

 about 1.027. 1' readily mixes with water, but will not in- 

 corporate with oil, yet it takes greafe out of cloths. Albumen 

 may be precipitated from it by alcohol and acids ; and Cadet 

 afcertained its proportion in 100 parts of ox bile to be about 

 0.52. (Cadet, Mem. Par. J 767.) If a folution of bile in 

 muriatic acid be concentrated by heat, a copious precipi- 

 tate takes place, and the folution changes its colour from a 



grafs 



