B L A 



B L A 



f\illy explained in trcatii;g of the dilTefent plants that le- 

 qiiire this foix of maiiaj^enK-nt. 



Blakching alfo denotes the operation of covering iron 

 plates with a thin coat or crull of tin. See Latten. 



Blanching of copper for fale, in imitation of filver ; or 

 mixing blanched copper witli filvcr, or expofing the fame to 

 iale ; or ativ malleable compofilion or mixture of metals, or 

 minerals heavier than filver, and which looks, and touches, 

 and wears like gold, but is manifetlly worfe thaii (tandard, 

 is made felony, 8 and 9 ^^^ III. &c. 26. 



Blamching of IV ax. See Wax. 



Blanching, in Cohuige, the operation of preparing the 

 pieces before llriki?ig, to give them the rtquiiitc luftre and 

 briglitnef'. 



The blanching, as now praftifed, is perfor:ned by nealing 

 or heating the pieces in a kind of pan or fliovel, with a wood- 

 firc, in manner of a reverberatorv furnact-, fo that the flame 

 paifes over the fhovel. The pieces being fnfHciently heated, 

 and cooled again, are put fucceffively to boil in two cop- 

 per pans, v.'herein are aqua fortis, common fait, and tartar 

 of Montpellier ; when they have been well-drained of this 

 firft water in a copper fieve, they throw faiid and freth water 

 over them ; and when dry, they are all v^'ell rubbed. 



Tlie ancient method of blanching was, by putting the 

 pieces, after heating, in a large velTel of common water; and 

 fome ounces of aqua fortis, but in different proportions for 

 gold and tilver. — The method is now diluled, partly by 

 reafon of its expenfivencfs, and partly becaufe it diminiflies 

 the weight of the metal. 



BLANC-JAUNE, in Ichthyology. Salmo niloficiis, of 

 Linnaeus, a liih of the falmon tribe found in the Nile, is 

 called blanc jaune by fome French authors. 



BLANCKAMliRE, in Geography, a town of Brabant, 

 2 miles S. of Breda. 



BLANCKENBERG, Blankenburg, or Blaken- 

 BERG, a town of Germany, in the circle of Upper Saxony, 

 and county of Schwartzburg-RudoUladt, feattd on the 

 Rinne, 4 miles S. W. of Rudollladt. 



BLANC-NEZ, in Zoology. Under this name the Lin- 

 njsan Slmia pelaurifla is defcribed, both in Buffon's Natural 

 Hillory, by M. AUamand, and Sonnini, and in the hiltory of 

 Au'-h, pubhlhed recently in Paris by Audcbert. The per- 

 vading colour of this animal is a very dark ohve ; the vifage 

 is black, with the exception of the nofe, a remarkable fnowy 

 white fpot of a triangular form being fituated on the latter, 

 which gives the creature a very fingular appearance. The 

 appellation of blanc-iie-z. or Guenon i/anc-nez, is very well ap- 

 plied, and might be rendered into Engli(h with much proprie- 

 ty, the white-nofe monkey, if that name had not been previ- 

 onfly affigned to another fpecies by Mr. Pennant and Dr. 

 Shaw. In the. Zoology ot the lall writer we are informed, 

 that the dillinguilhing charaAer of his white-nofe monkey 

 (5';';«/a nictitdnj, Liim.) is the tip of the note, which is 

 milk-white, while the face itfelf is black. Dr. Shaw ob- 

 ferves, however, fhortly after, that the white-nofe, in this 

 fpecies, is not abfolutely peculiar, but is found in another ; 

 alluding, as wt imagine, to his vaulting mo".key, which 

 anfwers to that defcription. The lad mentioned animal he 

 conliders as the Siiiiiu px-taiirj/la of Linnjcus, and ILwc-nex, 

 of AUamand's edition of Button's quadrupeds, as Gmelin 

 ftates them ; and fo far tlie countenance of the French na- 

 turalifts appears in favour of his opinion. But, perhaps, it 

 will admit of fome d lubt how far we may be authorifed in 

 believing ftill further with Dr. Shaw, that the Guenon 

 b!anc-tuz of Allamand, and Sonnini, in Buffon's Natural 

 Hiltory, and Cucnon a nez blanc proemmcnt of the Sup- 

 plement of that work, are of the fame fpecies. Dr. Shaw 

 thmks the llril of thefe mull be the female, and the other 



the male. Virey, and likewife Audeliert, are perfuaded that 

 they are certainly diftinft fpecies. Gueiwn blanc-nez, they 

 conf'ider as the Linnaean ; Simii! petaurJ/Li, and Guenon a nea 

 blanc proemineni, as Simla iiidilans of the falne author. 



BLANCO, in Gecgrjphy, the name of a cape of Afiica, 

 on thenorthcoaftofthekingdomof Tunis, called the "White 

 Promontory-," or, with the fame meaning by the inhabitants, 

 " Ras-el-abead ;" and fuppofed to be the " Promoi/torium 

 candidum" of Pliny ; and the " Promontorium pulchrnm" 

 of Livy, where Scipio lauded in his firft African expedition. 

 N. lat. ^57° 9'. E. long. 10° 18'. — AUb, a fmall point to 

 S. E. of cape Corfo, in the ifland of Corfica. — Alio, a cape 

 on the weftern coaft of Africa, in Negro-land; rirft difcovered 

 by the Portuguefe in the year 1441. N. lat. 20° 55' 

 30". W. long. 17° 10'. high water 9** 45'. — Alfo, a cape on 

 the weftern coaft of the territory of Tfchefme in Afiatic 

 Turkey, oppoiite to the fouthern point of the ifland of Scio. 

 N. lat. 38" 20'. E. long. 25° 9'. — Alfo, a cape of South 

 America, on the coaft of Brazil, between cape Roque on 

 the north, and cape St. Auguftine on the fouth. S. lat. 

 6° 50'. W.long. 35° 33'. — Alfo, a cape of South Am.erica, 

 on the eaftern coaft of Patagonia, north of port Defcado. 

 S. lat. 47° 20'. W. long. 64° 42'. — Alfo, the north-wefteni 

 point of the bay of Salinas, on the coaft of Nicaragua, N. 



W. from Panama-bay. N. lat. rf 20'. W. long. 85° 48' 



Alfo, a cape on the north-weft coaft of America in New 

 Albion, fouthward of the mouth of the river called " the 

 river of the weft," between cape Gregory and point St. 

 George, and at a further diftance between cape Foulweather 

 and Mendocino. N. lat. 43° 20'. W. long. 128^ 20'. — Alfo, 

 a promontory of Peru, in South America, on the coaft of 

 the South Sea, 120 miles S. W. of Guayaquil. S. lat. 

 3- 45'. \W. long 83°. 



Blanco, an ifland on the fouth-eaftern part of the penin- 

 fula of Yucatan in New Spain. N. lat. 21°. W. long. 

 88^ j'. See Blanca. 



BLANDA, in Entomology, a fpecies of Buprestis, 

 that inhabits South America. The wing-cafes arc attenu- 

 ated, ferrated, and fui rowed ; colour brafTy-green, with the 

 furrows coppery. Fabricius. 



Blanda, a fpecies of Tenthredo, found in England. 

 The colour is black ; abdomen rufous in the middle ; pofte- 

 rior thighs marked with a white fpot. Fabricius, &c. 



Blanda, \\\ ytncient Geography, a town of Hifpania Tar» 

 ragonenfis, mentioned by Mela, Ptolemy, and Pliny, fituate 

 on the coaft of the Lalctani, fouth of Garunda. — Alfo, a 

 town of Italy, in the country of the Brutii, according to 

 Pliny and Mela, but called " Elands, " by Livy, and placed 

 by him in Lucania. 



BLANDFORD, commonly called Blamlford-forum, in 

 Geography, is a market town of Dorfetfhire, England. It is 

 feated on the eaftern banks of the Slour, and on the great poft 

 road from London to Exeter, Cornwall, Sec. In the Domef- 

 day hook no lefs than nine parcels or parifhts are included 

 under the name of Blencford or Blancford, of which this is the 

 moft conilderable, and was ftiled a borough in fome ancient 

 records, though it does not appear to have been reprefented 

 in pailiamcnt more than twice ; once in the reign of Ed- 

 ward I. and again during the reign of Edward III. James 

 the firfl granted it a charter, and made it a free borough with 

 certain corporate grivileges and immunities. The town is 

 governed by a bailiff and fix capital burgefles ; a part of 

 whom is invefted with the power of det- rmining fuits not 

 exceeding lol. 



Here is a fmall manufaftor)- of ihirt and waiftcoat buttons, 

 and another of thread, but the principal trade of the town 

 depends upon its neighbourhood, and the paffage of travel- 

 lers. The town has been deftroycd feveral times by fire. 



In 



