B L U 



wiflies. Befidea the Greek and Latin, he well underftood 

 the French, Italian, and Englifh languages ; and he had 

 ftudied with great attention the hillory of the Chriftian 

 church. Gen. Biog. 



BLUMBERG, in Geography, a fmall town of Germany, 

 in the landgravate of Baar. 



BLUMENAU, a bailiwick of Germany, in the princi- 

 pality of Calcnberg, featcd on the Leine. 



BLUMENFELD, a town of Germany, in the circle of 

 Sivabia, and comniandery of Minau, feated on the river 

 Ach ; 8 miles N.N. E. of SchafThaufen. 



BLUMENSTRAST, J. Deodatus, in Biography, 

 took his degree of dodlor in medicine in Leyden. Return- 

 ing thence to Ruffia, his native country, he was foon dif- 

 tinguifhcd by the emperor, who made him archiator, or 

 principal phyfician to his court. He had alfo the honour 

 of being appointed the lirll prefidcnt of the Royal Academy 

 of Sciences at Peterfburg, which had been inllituted, 

 Haller fays, by his exertions. He died at Mofcow at an 

 advanced age, in April i 755, leaving only one publication, 

 which was firft printed in the year 1700, 4to. " Medicus 

 Caftrenfis Exercitui Mofcovitarum." Haller Bib. Med. 

 Prael. Eloy. Did. Hill. 



BLUMENTHAL, in Geography, a bailiwick of Ger- 

 many, in the duchy of Bremen. 



BIAJMLIS Alp, a majeftic eminence of the Alps, in 

 the canton of Bern, in Swifferland, terminating the valley 

 of Lauterbrunnen, and having at its feet a large glacier, 

 which llretclies towards the valley of Galler. The Blumlis 

 Alp, and aifo the feet of the Aipfchelenhorn, are covered 

 with black fchiftus ; but the granite is not apparent, except 

 at a confiderablc height. The fides of the Bhunlis Alp, 

 bordering the glacier, are black flate, in which have been 

 found feveral belemnitcs, and a fragment of a Cornu Am- 

 monis, a foot in diameter. 



BLUNDERBUSS, in the Military Art, a (liort fort of 

 fire arm, with a large bore contrived to carry a number of 

 muiket or pillol bullets at once. The blunderbufs is pro- 

 per to do execution in a crowd, or to make good a narrow 

 pa(ra.^e, as the door of a houfe, ftair-cafe, or the like. 



BLUNT, in Fencing. To fight with blunts, is to exer- 

 cife or parade with weapons without points or edges. 



BLUNTING the angles of a hatlalhn, in the Military 

 Jirt, fignifies to retrench the four corners, and turn the 

 fquare into an o£lagon. This is done in order to give an 

 opportunity for prcfenting the pikes, or firing on all fides, 

 and was a mihtary evolution formerly much in ufe, but now 

 difufed. 



BLUSHING, a fuffufion or rednefs of the cheeks, ex- 

 cited by a fcnfe of lliame, on account of confcioulnefa of fome 

 failing or imperfection. See Enchymoma. 



Blufhing is fuppofcd to be produced from a kind of con- 

 fent or fvmpathy between feveral parts of the body, oc- 

 cafioned by the fame ne've being extended to th.em all. 

 Tims the fifth pair of nerves being branched from the 

 brain to the eye, eai-, mufcles of the lips, cheeks, palate, 

 tongue, and nofe ; a thing leen or heard, that is flumefu!, 

 aftedls the cheeks with blulhcs, driving the blood into the 

 minute vclTcIs thereof ; at the fame time that it affefts the 

 eye and ear. For the fame reafon it is, as Dr. Dcrham 

 obftrves, that a favoury thing feen or fmelt, aficCls the 

 glands and parts of the moutli : if a thing heard be plcafing, 

 it affefts the mufcles of the face with laughter ; if melan- 

 oholv, it exerts itfelf on the glands of the eyes, and occa- 

 fions weeping, S:c. And to the lame caufe Dr. Willis 

 afcribes the pleafure of kiflli.g. 



BLUSTERING -aicather is that where the wini blows 

 8 



BOA 



with various degrees of ftrength, attended with a dark (ky, 

 rain, fnow, &c. 



BLUTEAU, Don Raphael, in Biography, a religious 

 theatine, was born of French parents in London in 163S. 

 After having dillinguiflied himfolf in facred and profane 

 hterature, he vifited Portugal and acquired fuch knowledge 

 of the language as to be able to preach in it with applaufe. 

 From Portugal he returned to Paris, and was for fome time 

 pi^acher to Henriett.->-Maria, queen of England. Upon 

 revifiting Portugal, he obtained an office in the inquilition, 

 and became member of the Royal Academy of Hillory. 

 Of his works, the moll efleemed is " A Portngutfe and 

 Latin Dirtionary," in 8 vols. fol. Coimbra 17J2 — 1721, to 

 which he added a Supplement in 2 vols. fol. Lilb.m, 1727, 

 1728. He died at Liibon in 1734, at the advanced age of 

 96. Moreri. 



BLUTFINK, in Ornithology, one of the fynonyn-.ous 

 names of loxia pyrrhu'a, the common bulfinch. Frifch, 

 Av. 



BLYSOOG, in Geography, a river of South Wales, 

 which runs into the Tivy, about 3 miles S.S.E. of Car- 

 digan. 



BLYTH, in Geogra/ihy, a fmall market town of Notting- 

 hamlhire, in England, has been the feat of a callle and a 

 priory ■, but thefe buildings, with their endowments and pri- 

 vileges, being entirely demolifhed at the dilTolutiim, the 

 town alfo funk in the general wreck, and has never fince 

 been renovated. The whole parilli confiils now only of 

 157 houfes, with 589 inhabitants. Here are a fmall market 

 on Wednefdays, and two annual fairs. The church is a 

 large handfonie llrufture, and contains feveral ancient 

 monuments. Some of the CrefTy family built an hofpital 

 here, which bears the name of Blyth-fpittle. 



Blyth, or South Blyth, a fmall fca-port town of Northum- 

 berland, in England, is a place that has obtained its fole con- 

 fequence fince the reftoration ; for, previous to that period, 

 here were fcarcely any houfes. In the year 1728, its trade 

 had fo much increafcd that above 2C-0 veflcls were entered in 

 the cnllom-houfe books as failing from this port. It is con- 

 fidered as a creek to the port of Nev.callle, and its principal 

 trade is in coals. Blyth is 14 miles N. E. of Newcaftle, 

 and 288 miles N. of London. The townfiiip contains 

 183 houfes, and 1170 inhabitants, of whom 234 are em- 

 ployed in trade. Here is a fmall market on Saturdays. 

 About three miles fouth of Bl) th is Scaton Delaval, a feat 

 belonging to lord Delaval, whofe grandfather, fir Francis 

 Blake Delaval, was an able admiral in the beginning of the 

 laft century. He was often projecling fome improvements 

 in the ports near his feat, and after furmounting great difficul- 

 ties, conlhucted one upon a new plan, which now bears his 

 name. 



BMl, in M-i/lc. See Gamut. 



BO7V., in Zoology, a genus of the Serpent race, diflin- 

 guilhed by having plates, or undivided feuta, both on the 

 belly, and be.ieath the tail ; the latter of which, unlike the 

 crotali, does not terminate in a rattle. 



Such is the Linnaean cliarafter of tliis genus, the fpeciea 

 of which are not very numerous. Gmelin enumerates the 

 following kinds in the Syllema Naturse : contortrix, canina, 

 hipnale, conilrictor, cenchris, ophryas, enydris, murina, 

 Icytale, and hortulana* But in addition to' thefe, we are 

 to mention a fe\y ether fpecies dcfcribed by Dr. Patrick 

 Rufiel in a recent publication on the ferpents of India, 

 with the obfervatlons of Dr. Shaw upon the newly dif- 

 covered kinds, and feveral others lately fpoken of by con- 

 tinental vvritcrs. 



Dr. Ruiiel, in the wo:k iibove cited, las four new fpecies 



of 



