BOA 
being marked throughout the whole length 
by a broad undulating black band, with a 
narrow yellowish white margin, while 
along the sides runs a row of somewhat irre- 
gular roundish black spots: the under part 
of the animal is of a pearl-colour. The head 
is hardly broader than the neck, oblong, 
roundish', depressed, subtnmcate, and covered 
with small scales*, the teeth are small and nu- 
merous, and as there is a marginal row in the 
tipper jaw, there are of course no fangs : 
the trunk or body is round, of nearly equal 
thickness, and coated with small, orbicular, 
close-set, carinated scales. 
This snake. Dr. Russel informs us, is said 
to produce by its bite a slow wasting of the 
lingers and toes, similar to what h .ppens in 
some leprous cases. A living specimen, 
however, which he obtained in Dec. 178S, 
from Ganjam, enabled him to make some ex- 
periments with it on chickens ; but though 
it arrived in excellent order, and bit fero- 
ciously, the bite was followed by no symptoms 
of poison. 
14. Boa lineata, geedi paragoodoo, or co- 
bra monil, is of au extremely dark blue co- 
lour, so as to appear almost black in certain 
lights, and is marked throughout the whole 
length of the upper part by several transverse 
curved and dotted white lines at somewhat 
unequal distances. The natives of India, 
who generally exaggerate the noxious cha- 
racter of their serpents, assert that the bite of 
this animal produces immediate death. The 
experiments of Dr. Russel, however, prove 
that it is seldom fatal to chickens in less than 
half an hour, and to dogs in less than an hour 
and ten minutes. Its poison was also ob- 
served to cause less violent convulsions in the 
animals infected by it than that of the cobra 
de capello, and another highly poisonous In- 
dian snake called katuka rekula poda ; but 
produced a greater degree of stupor. 
15. Boahoratta is a small species, measur- 
ing only about fifteen inches in length. Its co- 
lour is a dark brown, with a row of spots on 
the ridge of the back, from the neck to the 
end of the tail, varying a little in size and 
figure, but all of a dull yellowish colour edged 
with black. The fangs or poisoning organs 
of this snake show it to be noxious; but in 
what degree could not be ascertained by Dr. 
Russel, who could not meet with a living sub- 
ject to make the necessary experiments with. 
■ It is reported, however, to be one of the most 
fetal of serpents. 
16. Boa Siamese, a small species, but very 
long in proportion to its breadth ; the cir- 
cumference of the body being scarcely more 
than an inch and a half, and the length from 
two to three feet: the head shaped like that 
of the boa canina : the colour of the whole 
animal pale yellow above, with pretty nu- 
merous transverse broken bars of white, with 
black or deep brown edges ; the abdomen 
yellow. This species is said to be a native of 
the East Indies, and particularly of the king- 
dom of Siam. 
17. Boacontorix, a small species, seldom 
exceeding the length of about fifteen inches': 
head large, with the cheeks swelling out like 
those of vipers; the nose turning up, lik 
that of a hog : the body very thick towards 
the head : colour pale brown, with several 
large black spots or patches disposed -along 
the back and sides. This species is a native of 
North America, and is of a poisonous nature : j 
BOA 
it is slow in its motions, and lias a malevolent 
aspect: the tail is nearly a third of the length 
of the whole animal. 
18. Boa palpebrosa. Length about fifteen 
inches: head rather large, and covered in 
front with large scales : eyebrows remark- 
ably prominent ; body thick in proportion 
to ‘its length: colour pearly grey above, 
with ob cure transverse dusky or blueish un- 
dulations ; beneath pale yellow-brow n : native 
country unknown. 
19. Boa annulata. TTiisjs rather a small 
species, measuring about tvVo feet in length : 
in its general appearance it is allied to the 
boa hortulana ; but the back is marked with 
large round black spots, almost encircled by 
a narrow zone of the same colour. It is a 
native of South America. 
BOAR. See Sus. 
BOARD, among seamen. To go a- 
board, signifies to go into the ship, do slip 
by the board, is to slip down by the ship’s 
side. Board and board, is when two ships 
come so near as to touch one another, or 
when they lie side by side. To make a 
board, is to turn to windward ; and the 
longer your boards are, the more yon work 
into the wind. To board it up, is to beat it 
up sometimes upon one tack, and. sometimes 
upon another. She makes a good board, 
that is, the ship advances lfiuch at one tack. 
The weather board, is that side of the ship 
which is to windward. 
BOAT, a small open vessel, commonly 
wrought by rowing. 
The structure, and even the names of 
boats, are different, according to the different 
uses they are designed for, and the places 
w'here they are to be used. 
The several boats and their names are as 
follow : a long-boat, a jolly-boat, a skilt, a 
pinnace, a water-boat, a yaul ; the preceding 
six are boats for ships. Other boats are, a 
gondola, a Greenland boat, a Bermudas 
boat, a ballon of Siam, a horse-boat, a peria- 
ga, a pleasure-boat, a ponton, a canoe, a 
crude, a curry-curry, a deal hooker, a fe- 
lucca, a ferry-boat, a praw, a flying-pravv, a 
punt, a tilt-boat, a tod-boat, a well-boat, a 
wherry, &c. 
The boats or wherries plying about Lon- 
don, are either scullers, wrought by a single 
person with two oars ; or oars, wrought by 
two persons, with each an oar. All boats 
rowed with more than four oars above or be- 
low London-bridge, are forfeited. 
Boat, life, a boat invented by Mr. Hen- 
ry Greathead, of South Shields, for the pur- 
pose of preserving the lives of shipwrecked 
persons. The following circumstance gave 
rise to this invention: 
In September 1789, the ship Adventure, 
of Newcastle, was stranded on the Herd sand, 
on the south side of Tynemouth haven, in 
the midst of tremendous breakers ; and all 
ihe crew dropped from the rigging one by 
one, in the presence of thousands of spec- 
tators ; not one of whom could be prevailed 
upon, by any reward, to venture out to her 
assistance, in any boat or coble of the com- 
mon construction. 
On this occasion the gentlemen of South 
Shields called a meeting of the inhabitants, 
at which a committee was appointed, and 
premiums were offered for plans of a bout 
which should be the best calculated to brave 
BOA . 237 
the dangers of the sea, particularly of broken 
water. ; 
Many proposals were offered ; but the 
preference was unanimously given to that of 
Mr. Greathead, who was immediately di- 
rected to build a boat at the expence of the 
committee. 
This boat went off on the 30th of January, 
1790; and so well has it answered, and in- 
deed exceeded, every expectation, in the 
most tremendous broken sea, that since that 
time, not fewer than two hundred lives have 
been saved at the entrance of the Tyne alone, 
i which otherwise must have been lost ; and in 
no instance has it ever tailed. 
The principle of this boat appears to have 
been suggested to Mr. Greathead by the fol- 
lowing simple fact : 1 ake a spheroid, and 
divide it into quarters ; each quarter is ellip- 
tical, and nearly resembles the half of a 
; wooden bowl, having a curvature with pro- 
jecting ends; this, thrown into the sea or 
broken water, cannot be upset, or lie with 
the bottom upwards. 
The length of the boat is thirty feyt ; the 
breadth ten feet ; the depth, from the top of 
the gunwale to the lower part of the keel in 
midships, three feet three inches ; from the 
gunwale to the platform (within), two feet 
four inches; from the top of the stems (both 
ends being similar) to the horizontal line of 
the bottom of the keel, five feet nine inches. 
The keel is a plank of three inches thick, of 
a proportionate breadth in midships, narrow- 
ing gradually towards the ends, to the breadth 
of the stems at the bottom, and forming a 
great convexity downwards. The stems are 
segments of a circle, with considerable rakes. 
The bottom section, to the floor-heads, is a 
curve fore and aft, with the sweep of the 
keel. The floor timber lias a small rise 
curving from the keel to the floor-heads. A 
bilge plank is wrought in on each side, next 
the ttoor-heads, with a double rabbit or 
groove, of a similar thickness with the keel ; 
and, on the outside of this, .are fixed two 
bilge-trees, corresponding nearly with the le- 
vel of the keel. The ends of the bottom sec- 
tion form that fine kind of entrance observ- 
able in the lower part of the bow of the fish- 
ing-boat called a coble, much used in the 
north. From this part to the top of the stein 
it is more elliptical, forming a considerable 
projection. The sides, from the noor-heads 
to the top of the gunwale, flaunch off on 
each side, in proportion to above half the 
breadth of the floor. The breadth is con- 
tinued far forwards towards the ends, 
leaving a sufficient length of straight side at 
the top. The sheer is regular along the 
straight side, and more elevated towards the 
end.-. The gunwale fixed to the outside is 
three inches thick. The sides, from the un- 
der part of the gunwale, along the whole 
length of the regular sheer, extending twen- 
ty-one feet six inches, are cased with layers 
of cork to the depth of sixteen inches down- 
wards ; and the thickness of this casing of 
cork being four inches, it projects at the top 
a little without the gunwale. The cork, on 
the outside, is secured with thin plates or 
slips of copper, and the boat is fastened with 
copper nails. The thwarts, or seats, are five 
in number, double-bunked : consequently the 
boat may be rowed with ten oars. The 
thwarts are firmly stanchioned. The side 
oars are short, with iron tholes and rope groin- 
