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BE A 
the letters of the Greek a'phabet, in their 
order, and according to the order of mag- 
nitude of the stars in each constellation. 
By means of these marks the stars of the 
heavens may, with as great facility, be dis- 
tinguished and referred to, as the several 
places of the earth are by means of geogra- 
phical tables ; and as a proof of the useful- 
ness of this method our celestial globes and 
atlasses have ever since retained it; and 
hence it is become of general use through 
all the literary world ; astronomers in speak- 
ing of any star in the constellation, denoting 
it by saying it is marked by Bayer, a, or ,3, 
or y, &c. 
Bayer lived many years after the first 
publication of this work, which he greatly 
improved and augmented by his constant 
attention to the study of the stars. At 
length, in the year 1627, it was republished 
under a new title, viz, “ Ccelum Stellatum 
Christianum, that is, the Christian Stellated 
Heaven, or the Starry Heavens Christianiz- 
ed for in this work, the Heathen names 
and characters, or figures of the constella- 
tions, were rejected, and others taken from 
the scriptures were inserted in their stead, 
to circumscribe the respective constella- 
tions. But this was considered too great an 
innovation, and we find in the later editions 
of the work that the ancient figures and 
names were restored. 
BAYONET, in the military art, a short 
broad dagger, formerly with a round handle 
fitted for the bore of s firelock, to be fixed 
there after the soldier had fired ; but they 
are now made with iron handles and rings 
that go over the muzzle of the firelock, and 
are screwed fast so that the soldier fires 
with his bayonet on the muzzle of his piece, 
and is ready to act against horse. 
BAYS, in commerce, a sort of open wool- 
len stuff, having a long knap, sometimes 
frized, and sometimes not. This stuff is 
without wale, and is wrought in a loom with 
two treddles like flannel. It is chiefly ma- 
nufactured at Colchester and Booking in 
Essex, where there is a hall called the 
Dutch bay hall, or raw hall. 
BEACON, a public signal, to give warn- 
ing against rocks, shelves, invasions, &c. 
The corporation of the Trinity-house are 
empowered to set up beacons wherever 
they shall think necessary, and if any de- 
stroy or take them down he shall forfeit 
1001. or be ipso facto, out-lawed, There are 
other beacons put up to give warning of the 
approach of an enemy ; these ar,e made by 
putting pitch barrels upon a long pole, to be 
BEA 
set upon an eminence so as they may be 
seen afar aff; for the barrels being fired, 
the flame in the night-time, and the smoke 
in the day, give notice, and in a few hours 
may alarm the whole kingdom upon an ap- 
proaching invasion, &c. 
BEADS, in the arts, are small globules 
chiefly used for necklaces, and are made of 
pearl, steel, garnet, coral, diamond, amber, 
crystal, paste, glass, &c. There is a large 
trade chiefly of coral, amber, and glass 
beads, carried on with the uninformed in- 
habitants of the coast of Africa and the 
East India islands. Roman Catholics make 
use of beads in rehearsing their prayers, 
and they are applied to the same use among 
the dervices and other religions sects in the 
East. 
Bead, in architecture, a round moulding 
commonly made upon the edge of a pieee 
of stuff, in the Corinthian and Roman or- 
ders, cut or carved in short embossments 
like beads in necklaces. 
Sometimes a plain bead is set on the edge 
of each fascia of an architrave, and some- 
times likewise an astragal is thus cut A 
bead is often placed on the lining-board 
of a door-case, and on the upper edges of 
skirting-boards. 
BEAK, or Beak -head, of a ship, that part 
without the ship, before the forecastle, 
which is fastened to the stem, and is sup- 
ported by the main knee. This name is 
appropriated to ships whose forecastle is 
square or oblong, a circumstance common 
to all vessels which have two or more tiers 
of guns. In smaller ships the forecastle is 
generally shaped like a parabola, the vertex 
of which lies immediately above the stem- 
The strong projecting pointed beaks used 
by the ancients in time of battle are entirely- 
disused since the invention of gunpowder. 
BEAKED, in heraldry, a term used to 
express the beak and bill of a bird. When 
the beak and legs of a fowl are of a different 
tincture from the body, we say beaked and 
membered of such a tincture. 
BEAM, in architecture, the largest piece 
of wood in a building, which lies across the 
walls and serves to support the principal 
rafters of the roof; and into which the feet 
of these rafters are framed. No building 
has less than two of these beams, viz. one at 
each end. Into these the girders of the 
garret roof are also framed; and if the 
building be of timber the teazle tenons of 
the posts are framed into them. The pro- 
portion of beams in or near Lohdon are 
fixed by statute. 
