B I S 



man fits npon the end of the machine, and literally rides up 

 and down throughout its whole circular diredioii, till the 

 dou^h is equally indented ; and this is repcattd till it is hif- 

 fK-icntly k'.icadcd ; nt which times, by the dilTerent pofitions 

 of the lines, large or fmall circles are dcfciibed, according 

 Bs tlicy are near to or dillaiit from the wail, till you have 

 fairly the idea of an immenfe peniagraph. The dough in 

 this Hate is handed over to a fccoiid workman, who dices it 

 with a prodigious knife ; and it is then in a pniper ftate for 

 the ufc of thofe bakers who attend the oven. Thcfe are five 

 in number ; and their different departments are as well cal- 

 culated for expedition and correclnefs, as the makinsj of 

 pins, or the working or printing of types. On each Cde of 

 a la-ge table, where the dough is hid, (lands a workman ; 

 al a fnall table .jear the oven Hands another ; a fourth Hands 

 by the fide of t!ie oven, to receive the bread ; and a fifth, to 

 fupply the i.ccl. By this arrangement the oven is as regu- 

 larly filled, inj the whole cxercife performed in as exaft 

 time as a military evolution. The man on the further fide 

 of the ' .rge table moulds the dough, having previoufly 

 formed it i:ilo fmall pieces, till it has the appearance of 

 mufSns, although rather thinner, and which he does two 

 to 'et'i r, with each hand ; and as fall as he accomplifhes 

 this ijlk, h - delivers his work over to the man on the other 

 fide oi tl'.e table, who llamps ihcm with a docker on both 



fides with a mark, on which are cut the broad W\, the let- 

 ters PLY, and the number of the oven in which the bifcuits 

 are to be baked. As he lids himfelf of this work, he throws 

 tlie billtets on the fmalkr table next the oven, where Hands 

 the third workman, whofe bufriefs is merely to feparate the 

 different pieces into two, and place them immediately under 

 the h^nd of him who fnpplies the oven, whofe work of 

 throwing, or rather chucking, the bread upon the peel, 

 muH be fo exaft, that if he looked round for a fingle mo- 

 ment, it is impoflible he Ihould perform it coiTeftly. The 

 fifth receives the biiket on the peel, and arranges it in the 

 oven ; in which duty he is fo ve!-y expert, that though the 

 different pieces are thrown at the rate of feventy in a minute, 

 the peel is always dlf.ngagcd in time to receive them fepa- 

 rately. A« the oven Hands open during the whole time of 

 filling it, the bifliets lirH thrown in v.ould be firft baked, 

 were there not foine counteraftion to fucli an inconvenience. 

 The remedy lies in the ingenuity of the man who forms the 

 pieces of dough, and who, by imperceptible degrees, pro- 

 portionably diminiHies their fize, till the lofs of that time, 

 which is taken up during the filling of the oven, has 

 no more c.Tcft to the difadvantage of one of tlie bifcuits 

 th^in to another. 



So much critical exaftnefs and neat aftivity occur in the 

 fxercife of this labour, that it is diffi'- It to decide whe- 

 ther the palm of excellence is diK lo the moulder, the 

 ir.a.kcr, the fplittcr, the chucker, or the depofiter ; all of 

 them, like the wheels of a machine, feoming to be ailuattd 

 by the fa.ne principle. Tiie bufinefs t.: to depofit in the 

 oven feventy bilkels in a minute ; and this is accompliflied 

 with the regularity of a clock ; the clack of the peel, during 

 its motion in the oven, opcratrng like the pendulum. 

 , The bifcuits thus brked are kipt in repofitories, which 

 receive warmth from being placed in drying lofts over the 

 ovr.is, till ihey are fuHiciently dr/ to be packed into bag?, 

 wit i.-.ut darger of gcttr.:g nxiuhiy ; and when in fuch a 

 ftate, they are then packed into b-.gs of a hundred weight 

 each, and removed into (iorehoufes for immediate ufe. 



The number ol Uane-houfcs, belonging to tlie Viflualling 

 Ollce at I'lymiuth, are two; each of which contains 

 four ovens, which are heated twenty times a day ; and in 



B I S 



the courfc of that time bake a fufScient quantity of breaf 

 for 16,000 men. The granaries are large. End well con- 

 Hruc\ed ; when the wheat is ground, the flour is- conveyed 

 into the uoper Hories of the bak:-houfe3, whence it dcfcends 

 through a trunk in each immediately into the hands of the 

 workmen. 



The bake-houfe, belongi.ig to the Viftualling Ofilce at 

 Deptford, confills of two divifions, Snd has twelve ovens ; 

 each of which bakes twenty fnoots daily (Sundays excepted); 

 the quantity of flour ufed for each flinot is t\'o bufhels, or 

 112 pounds, which baked produce 102 pounds of bilk. t. Ten 

 pounds arc regularly allowed on each ihoot for Hirinkage, &c. 

 The allowance of bidcet in the navy is one pound tor each 

 man per dav, fo that one of the o'. ens at Deptford iurnillies- 

 bread daily for 2040 men. 



BISLAN, in Geography, a town of Egypt on the Nile^ 

 3 miles fouth of Damietta. 



BISLEY, anciently called B':fi'hge, is a fmall market 

 town, and a very extenfive and populous pai-fii of Gloucef- 

 terlhire, in England. The pariih includes an area of 6000 

 acres, the furface of which is diverfified with Heep hills and 

 narrow valleys. On tlie fides of the former are fome inclofcd 

 arable lands, interfperfed with copfes ; and the latter are 

 molUy kept for meadow pailurage. Bifley, ChalFord, and 

 fome neighbouring hamlets, are chiefly inhabued by perlons. 

 engag-d in the woollen rr.anufaciurcs ; and many fulhiig a;.d 

 drefling mill.-^ are eretled on the river which runs through 

 this parifli. A fmall weekly market is held here on Thurf- 

 days, and her. are two confiderible fa rs yea- ly. The church 

 is a a large handfome building, and, being feated on a high 

 h'U, is confpicuouo f-jr many miles. Here is a Imall free 

 fchool, and an endowment for clothing lix widoivs yearly. 

 The Citniil, which unites the Thames and Severn, paffes 

 thr.v.igh this parifh ; and near the verge of it, at Sapperton, 

 enters a fubterrancous tunnel, which is cut through the 

 eartli to an extent of two miles and five furlongs. This 

 tunnel is lined with mafonry, and arched over at top, witli- ^ 

 an inverted arch at the bottom, except at thofe places where 

 the folid rock reudered it unneceffary. The expence of 

 cutting it was ab'>iit eight guineas per cnbic yaid ; but the 

 plan of uniting the waters of the two grent Britilh rivers 

 induced the proprietors to encounter extraordinary expence 

 and trouble. The connection of the rivers Thames and Se- 

 vern, by means of this canal, and alfo with the internal 

 parts of tiie kingdom, by the Oxford and Coventry canab, 

 which lead to Birmingham, and alfo fo the coiintiea of Staf- 

 ford, York, CheHcr, and even to WeHmDreland, formsalineof 

 communication with the capital of the greateH importaEce, 

 and which has proved of great utility to the manufafturinj 

 towns through which it paifes. On the 29th of Apiil 1789,, 

 the adling engineer, MrfCTowcs, pafTed throughthctunnel lor 

 the firH time, in a veffei of thirty tons burthen ; and the ju"C>- 

 tion was completed, and a vefiel pafTed from the Severn into 

 the Thames, for the firfi time, on the 19th of November in 

 the fame year, in the prcfe.ice of al,M-ge conconric of people, 

 who came to witncfs and rejoice at the figi^t.. In 17883. 

 their maj^Hies went from Cheltenham, on puvpofe to view 

 this tunnel, which excited their furprife and admiratiorh, 

 more paiticularly when they learnt it had been coiidu.-ted 

 and completed by a private gentleman. The canal is 30 

 miles and 7 chains in length ; in which courfe the water is 

 raifed 241 feet 3 inches, and made to fall 1^0 tcct 6 inches. 

 In the panih are 922 houfes, ant! 4227 inhabitants. Riidge's 

 HiHory of the County of Giocellei. Fhilhps' Hillory of 

 Inland Navigation. 



BISLIXGUA, doullc-longue, in Botany, a name ufed by 

 many authors for the jiarrow-leaved rufcm, or huicJur't 



traam ,• 



