BUS 
maintained for the space of four years at 
tlie rate of lOOi. per ann. Scots. 
BURSE, in a commercial sense, a place 
for merchants to meet in and negociate 
tlieir business publicly, with us called ex- 
change. 
BURSERA, in botany, so called in ho- 
nour of Joachim Burser, a genus of the 
Polygamia Dioecia. Essential character : 
Herm. calyx three-leaved; corolla three- 
petalled ; capsule fleshy, three-valved, one- 
seeded. Male, calyx five-toothed ; corolla 
five-petalled ; Stamina ten. There is but 
one species, riz. B. gummifera, Jamaica 
birch tree, is very lofty, with an upright, 
round, smooth trunk, covered with a livid 
shining bark, peeling olF in round pieces, 
like the European birch; branches termi- 
nating, smooth, horizontal; flowers small 
and white ; capsule red, resembling a drupe. 
On the male trees the flowers are more 
copious, and crowded in the racemes, but 
are scarcely larger. This tree is common 
in all the sugar islands of the West Indies. 
The bark is very thick and exudes a clear 
transparent resin, which soon hardens in the 
air. It flowers from May to July. ATith 
us it has not flowered, although it has been 
cultivated since the year 1690. 
BUfcH, burning, that bush wherein the 
Lord appeared to Bloses at the foot of 
Mount Horeb, as he was feeding his father- 
in-law’s flocks. As to the person tliat ap- 
peared in the bush the scripture, in several 
places, calls him by the name of God : he 
says of himself, “ that he is the Lord, the 
God who is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and 
Jacob, &c.” And Moses, blessing Joseph, 
says, “ let the blessing of him that dwelt in 
the bush come upon tire head of Joseph.” 
But the Hebrew and the Greek septuagint 
import that the angel of the Lord appeared 
to him. St. Stephen, and several others, read 
it in the same manner ; and, moreover, some 
say tliat it was an angel that represented 
the Lord : yet there are persons hold the 
son of God to be the person that appeared 
in the bush. 
The Mahometans believe that one of 
Moses’s shoes, put off by him as he drew 
near the burning-bush, was placed in the 
ark of the covenant in order to preserve the 
memory of this miracle. 
BUSHEL, a measure of capacity for dry 
things, as grain, fruits, dry pulse, &c. con- 
taining four pecks, or eight gallons, or one- 
eighth of a quarter. 
A bushel, by 12 Henry VII. c. 5, is to 
contain eight gallons of wheat ; the gallon 
BUS 
eight pounds of troy weight; the ounce 
twenty sterlings; and the sterling thirty- 
two grains, or corns of wheat growing in 
the midst of the ear. See Measure and 
ATeight. 
BUSKIN, a kind of shoe, somewhat in 
manner of a boot, and adapted to either 
foot, and worn by either sex. 
This part of dress, covering both the foot 
and mid-leg, was tied underneath the knee ; 
it was very rich and fine, and principally 
used on the stage by actors in tragedy. It 
was of a quadrangular form, and the sole 
was so thick as that by means thereof men 
of the ordinary stature might be raised to 
the pitch and elevation of the heroes they 
personated. The colour was generally pur- 
ple on the stage : herein it was distinguish- 
ed from the sock worn in comedy, that be- 
ing only a low common shoe. The buskin 
seems to have been worn not only by actors, 
but by girls to raise their height ; travellers 
and hunters also made use of it to defend 
themselves from the mire. 
In classic authors we frequently find the 
buskin used to signify tragedy itself, be- 
cause it was a mark of tragedy on the 
stage. 
It is also sometimes understood for a 
lofty strain, or high style. 
BUSS, ill maritime affairs, a small sea 
vessel, used by us and the Dutch in the her- 
ring fishery, commonly from forty-eight to 
sixty tons burden, and sometimes more : a 
buss has two small sheds or cabins, one at 
the prow, and the other at the stern ; that 
at the prow serves for a kitchen. Every 
buss has a master, an assistant, a mate, and 
seamen in proportion to the vessel’s big- 
ness; the master commands in chief, and 
without his express order, the nets cannot 
be cast nor taken up ; the assistant has the 
command after him ; and the mate next, 
whose business is to see the seamen ma- 
nage their rigging in a proper manner, 
to mind those who draw in their nets, 
and those who kill, gut, and cure the 
herrings, as they are taken out of the 
sea. The seamen generally engage for a 
whole voyage in the lump. The provi- 
sions which they take on board the busses, 
consist commonly in biscuit, oatmeal, 
and dried or salt fish; the crew being 
content for the rest with what fresh fish 
they catch. 
BUST, or Bdsto, in sculpture, &c. a 
term used for the figure or portrait of a per- 
son in relievo, shewing only the head, 
shoulders, and stomach, the arms being lop- 
