E O Tt 
BOR 
r, o it 
210 ' 
pound weight avoirdupois of books, hound 
or unbound, and of maps and prints, im- 
ported into Great Britain, directly from Ire- 
land, or which shall be imported into Ireland 
from Great Britain, is substituted. 
BOOM, in the sea-language, a long piece 
of timber with which the clew of the stud- 
ding-sail is spread out ; and sometimes tire 
boom is used to spread or boom out the clew 
of the mainmast. 
The different kinds of booms have differ- 
ent names according to the purposes for which 
they are intended. 
Boom denotes also a cable stretched 
athwart the mouth of a river or harbour ; with 
yards, top-masts, battling, or spars of wood, 
lashed to it, to prevent an enemy’s coming in. 
BOOMKIN, in sea language, a short bar 
of timber projecting from each bow of a ship, 
to extend one edge of the fore-sail to the 
windward ; for which purpose there is a large 
block fixed to its outer end, through which 
the rope is passed that is fastened to the 
lower corner of the sail to windward, called 
the tack ; and this being drawn tight clown 
brings the corner of the sail close to the 
block, which being performed, the tack is 
said to be aboard. The boomkin is secured 
by a strong rope, which confines it downward 
to the ship’s bow, to counteract the strain it 
bears from the foresail above, dragging it up- 
wards. 
BOOTES, a constellation of the northern 
'hemisphere, consisting of 23 stars according 
to Ptolemy’s catalogue, of 28 in Tycho’s, of 
34 in Bayer’s, of 32 in Hevelius’s, and of 45 
in Mr. Flamsteed’s catalogue. 
BOQUINIANS, in church-history, a sect 
of heretics, so called from Boquinus their 
founder, who taught that Christ did not die 
for all mankind, but only for the faithful, 
and consequently was only a particular sa- 
viour. 
BORACIC acid. The word borax first 
occurs in the works of Geber, an Arabian 
chemist of the 10th century. If is a name 
given to a species of white salt much used by 
various artists. Its use in soldering metals 
appears to have been known to Agricola. 
Borax is found mixed with other substances 
in Thibet. It seems to exist in some lands 
adjacent to lakes, from which it is extracted 
by water, and deposited in those lakes ; 
whence in summer, when the water is shal- 
low, it is extracted and carried off in large 
lumps. Sometimes the water in these lakes 
is admitted into reservoirs; at the bottom of 
which, when the water is exhaled by the 
summer’s heat, this salt is found. Hence 
it is carried to the East Indies, where it is in 
some measure purified and crystallized: in 
this state it comes to Europe, and is called 
tincal. In other parts of Thibet, it seems, 
by accounts received from China, they dig 
it out of the ground at the depth of about 
two yards, where they find it in small cry- 
stalline masses. 
Though borax has been in common use 
for nearly three centuries, it was only in 1 702 
that Homberg, by distilling a mixture of bo- 
rax and green vitriol, discovered the boracic 
acid. He called it narcotic or sedative salt, 
from a notion of his that it possessed the pro- 
perties indicated by these names. Lemery 
the younger soon after discovered, that it 
could likewise be obtained from borax by 
means of the nitric and muriatic acids. 
Geoffrov afterwards discovered, that borax 
contained soda; and at last Baron proved, 
by a number of experiments, that borax is 
composed of barocic acid and soda ; and that 
it may be reproduced by combining these two 
substances. 
The easiest method of procuring boracic 
acid is the following : Dissolve borax in hot 
water, and filtre the solution ; then add sul- 
phuric acid, by little and little, till the liquid 
has a sensibly acid taste. Lay it aside to 
cool, and a great number of small shining la- 
minated crystals will form. 'These are the 
boracic acid, '[’hey are to be washed with cold 
water, and drained upon brown paper. 
Boracic acid, thus procured, is in the form 
of thin hexagonal scales, of a silvery white- 
ness, having some resemblance to sperma- 
ceti, and the same kind of greasy feel. It 
has a sourish taste at first, then makes a 
bitterish cooling impression, and at last leaves 
an agreeable sweetness. It has no smell ; 
but when sulphuric acid is poured on it, a 
transient odour of musk is produced. 
It reddens vegetable blues. Its specific 
gravity is 1.479, while in the form of scales ; 
after it has been fused it is 1.803, 
It is not altered by light. It is perfectly 
fixed in the fire. At a red heat it melts, and 
is converted into a hard transparent glass; 
which becomes somewhat opaque when ex- 
posed to the air, but does not attract mois- 
ture. It is much less soluble in water than 
any of the acids hitherto described. Boiling 
water scarcely dissolves 0.02 of boracic acid, 
and cold water a still smaller quantity. 
When this solution is distilled in close ves- 
sels, part of the acid evaporates along with 
the water, and crystallizes in the receiver. 
Water, therefore, renders it in some mea- 
sure volatile, though it is perfectly fixed 
when in a state of dryness. 
Neither oxygen gas, the simple combus- 
tibles, the simple incombustibles, nor the 
metals, produce any change upon boracic 
acid, as far as is at present known. It is 
soluble in alcohol; and alcohol containing, 
it burns with a green flame. Paper clipped 
into a solution of boracic acid burns with a 
green flame. 
Though mixed with fine powder of char- 
coal, it is nevertheless capable of vitr'fica- 
tion ; and with soot it melts into a black bitu- 
men-like mass, which is, however, soluble 
in water, and cannot be easily calcined to 
ashes, but sublimes in part. 
W ith the assistance of a distilling heat it 
dissolves in oils, especially in mineral oils ; 
and with these it yields fluid and solid pro- 
ducts, which give a green colour to spi.it of 
wine. 
When boracic acid is rubbed with phos- 
phorus, it does not prevent its inflammation ; 
but an earthy yellow matter is left behind. 
It is hardly capable of oxidizing or dissolv- 
ing any of the metals except iron and zinc, 
and perhaps copper. 
Boracic acid combines with alkalies, alka- 
line earths, and alumina, and most of the 
metallic oxides, and forms compounds which 
are called borats. 
Sub-borat of soda, or common borax. See 
Borax. 
BORAGO, in botany, a genus of the 
pentandria monogynia class and order of 
plants, the flower of which consists of a single 
petal of the length of the cup, and divided 
into five segments : there is no pericarpitim, 
but the cup grows larger and inflated ; and 
contains four seeds of a roundish figure, 
rugose, carinaied outwardly from the point, 
globose at the base, and inserted into a hol- 
low receptacle, 'There are five species. The 
leaves of borage are accounted good in re- 
moving faintness ; for which reason the -tops . 
are frequently put into wine and cool tank- 
ards. Boerhaave recommends the express- 
ed juice in all inflammatory diseases. The 
flowers are one of the four cordial flowers. 
'The only officinal preparation is the conserve 
of the flowers. 
BORASSUS, in botany, a genus of plants, 
of the dioecia hexandria class and order. The 
male and female flowers grow on separate 
plants, and give the plant such a different 
figure, that they are called by different 
names in the Ilortus Malabaricus ; the male 
being called ampana, and the female carim- 
pana. 'The male lias for the cup of its flower 
the whole compound spatha, which is amen- 
taceous and imbricated : the flower is divided 
into three segments, the petals being hol- 
lowed, and of an oval figure : the stamina 
are six thick filaments, and the anthere are 
thick and striated. In the female, the cup 
is the same as in the male ; but the petals of 
the flower, which is divided into three parts, 
in the manner of the male, are very small, of 
a roundish figure, and remain when the pis- 
til, &c. fall off. The germen of the pistil 
is roundish ; the styles are three, and small, 
and the stigmata are small ; the fruit is a 
roundish obtuse berry, of a rigid structure, 
and containing only one cell ; the seeds are 
three, and of an oval compressed figure. 
There is one species, a native of Ceylon. 
BORAX, or sub-borat of soda. This salt, 
according to Bergman, is composed of 
39 acid 
17 soda 
44 water 
100 . 
Tt is decomposed by the following salfiq 
according to Fourcroy: 1. Suiphats of Jime* 
ammonia, magnesia, glucina, alumina, zir- 
conia. 2. Suiphats of ammonia, magnesia. 
3. Nitrats of barytes, strontian, lime, aifv 
monia, magnesia, glueitia, alumina, zircon ia 
4. Muriats of barytes, strontian, lime, am 
monia, magnesia, glucina, alumina, zircon ia 
5. Super-phosphat o? lime. 6. Phosphate o 
ammonia, magnesia, glucina, alumina, zir 
conia. 7. Fluats of barytes, strontian, mag- 
nesia, ammonia, glucina, alumina, zireonia. 
Borax is sometimes used in medicine as d 
astringent. It is used as a flux for metals, 
and enters into the composition of some o 
the coloured glass pastes made in imitatioi 
of gems ; but its great use is to facilitate tl i 
soldering of the more precious metals. If 
is employed also as a flux by mineralogist: 
in essaying the properties of minerals by the 
blow-pipe. 
Borat of ammonia may be formed by sa 
tu rating boracic acid with ammonia. It has 
scarcely been examined. Fourcroy affirms, 
that when its solution is evaporated, the am- 
monia is volatilized, and the acid crystal- 
lizes. 
Borat of alumina may be formed by mix 
ing together the solutions of borat of sod; 
and sulphat of alumina. It is said to b< 
