BOR 
of a pluerisy in his 72d year, December 31, 
1679. His principal work was “ De Motu 
Animalium,” in two volumes small 4to. The 
object of this work was to explain the func- 
tions of animal bodies, on mechanical prin- 
ciples. He describes the fibres of the 
muscles, and measures the power or force 
which each possesses, and the power of 
them collectively. He points out in what 
manner that power is increased or dimi- 
nished, by the manner in which the fleshy 
fibres are joined to the tendons. He calcu- 
lates the power of the heat, in propelling 
the blood, which he supposed equal to 
180,000 pounds weight. In his calculations 
Borelli was found to have erred in many 
respects, but his principles were generally 
admitted. 
BORER, an instrument invented for the 
purpose of searching or exploring the na- 
ture of soils, it consists of iron rods about 
six feet long, made to screw into one ano- 
ther: to the lower one is fixed a steel 
point : with an instrument of this kind two 
men will easily sound the depth of 12 feet 
in a quarter of an hour, if they do not meet 
with stones. When the rod becomes too 
heavy to be conveniently managed with the 
hand, it may be raised by a rope fastened at 
one end to the handle, and at the other to a 
roller, or kind of windlass, erected at a pro- 
per height, perpendicularly over the hole, 
and turned with one or two handles. The 
toughest iron is used for making this instru- 
ment, which should be well hammered, till 
its surface is quite smooth and even, for the 
least roughness and inequality would occa- 
sion a friction, that must greatly retard 
its working. For the same reason, and also 
to increase the force of its fall, it is necessary 
that it should be perfectly straight, nor 
should it ever be struck with a mallet, &c. 
to force it down, because a blow might 
bend it, and it would easily break after- 
wards. A bit, like that of an augre, propor- 
tioned to the thickness of the rod, may at 
any time, when necessary, be substituted 
instead of the steel point to draw up a sam- 
ple of the substance from the very bottom 
of the sounding. 
BORING, in a general sense, the art of 
perforating, or making a hole through any 
solid body. 
Boring, in mineralogy, a method of 
piercing the earth with scooping irons, 
which, being drawn back at proper times, 
bring up with them samples of the ditferent 
strata through which they have passed ; 
by the examination of which the skilful 
BOR 
mineralogist will be able to guess where- 
abouts a vein of ore may lie, or whether 
it will be worth while to opeu a mine there 
or no. 
Boring of water-pipes. The method of 
boring alder poles for water-pipes is thus : 
being furnished with poles of a fit size, 
horses or tressels are procured of a due 
height, both to lay the poles, and rest the 
augre on in boring ; they also set up a lathe, 
whereby to turn the lesser ends of the 
poles, and adapt them to the cavities of the 
greater ends of others, in order to make the 
joint shut each pair of poles together. The 
outer; or concave part, is called the female, 
and the other, or inner, the male part of the 
joint. In turning the male part, they make 
a channel, or small groove in it, at a proper 
distance from the end ; and, in the female 
part, bore a small hole to fit over this chan- 
nel ; they then bore through their poles, 
sticking up great nails at each end, to guide 
them right ; but they commonly bore a 
pole at both ends, so that if it he crooked one 
way, they can nevertheless bore it through, 
and not spoil it. 
BORONIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Octandria Monogynia class and order. Ca- 
lyx four-parted ; petals four ; antlierae pedi- 
celled below the summits of the filaments ; 
style from the top of the germ very short ; 
stigma capitate ; capsule four-united ; seeds 
coated. There are four species natives of 
New South Wales. 
BOROUGH, or Burgh, in a general 
sense, signifies a town ora corporation, which 
is not a city. The word, in its original sig- 
nification, is by some supposed to have 
meant a company, consisting of ten families, 
which were bound together at each other’s 
pledge. Afterwards, as Verstegan has it, 
borough came to signify a town, having a 
wall or some kind of inclosure round it. And 
all places that in old times had the name 
of borough, it is said, were fortified, or 
fenced in some shape or other. Borough is 
a place of safety and privilege ; and some 
are called free burghs, and the tradesmen in 
them free burgesses, from a freedom they 
had granted to them originally, to buy and 
sell without disturbance, and exempt them 
from toll. 
Borough is now particularly appro- 
priated to such towns or villages as send bur- 
gesses or representatives to parliament, whe- 
ther they may be incoiporated or not. 
They are distinguished into those by 
charter or statute, and those by prescrip- 
tion or custom ; the number in England 
