B L A 
handle. It is ufiially taken for a weapon, and fo called 
probably from the likenels of a fvvord black to a blade ot 
grafs. It is commonly, applied to the knite : 
She knew the virtue of her blade, nor would 
Pollute her fabre with ignoble blodd. Dryden. 
A brifk man, either fierce or gay, called fo in contempt. 
So we fay mettle -for courage : 
Then, turning about to the hangman, he faid, 
Difpatch me, I pri’thee, this troublefome blade. Prior. 
To BLADE, v. a. [from the noun.] To furnifh or fit 
with a blade. 
B-LADEBON£,yi or Blade of the Shoulder. The 
bone called by anatotnifts the fcapula, or fcapular bone. 
— He fell mofi furioully on the broiled relics of a flioulder 
of mutton, commonly called a bhadibone. Pope. 
.BI.AD'ED, adj. [from blade .] Having blades or fpires. 
As where the lightriing runs along the ground, 
Nor bladcd grals nor bearded corn fucceeds, 
Bfiit(bales of fcurf and putrefaction breeds. Dryden. 
BLA'DEN (Martin), a gentleman of Abrey Hatch, in 
Eflex, and formerly a lieutenant->eolonel in queen Anne’s 
reign, is more diftinguiihed by a, tranflation of Caefar’s 
Commentaries, which he dedicated to his general, the 
great duke of Marlborough, than by his dramatic pieces, 
Orpheus and Euridice, a mafque, and Solon, a tragi-comedy. 
However, it is but juftice to him to fay, that thefe were 
printed, 1705, without his content. This geiuleman was 
in five parliaments for the- borough of Portfmouth. In 
1714, he was made comptroller of theiMint; in 1717, 
one of the lords commiflioners of trade and plantations ; 
and, the fame year, appointed envoy extraordinary to 
the court of Spain, which he declined. He died in 1746. 
BLAD'HIA.yi [So named by Thumb erg, from Peter 
John Bladh, a Swede; fupercargo to the Ea(I India Com¬ 
pany, and refident at Canton. ] In botany, a genus of the 
clafs pentandria, order monogynia. The generic charac¬ 
ters are—Calyx : perianthium one-leafed, very fhort, per¬ 
manent, five-parted : parts ovate, concave, fpreading, 
torn-fubferrate. Corolla: one petalled, wheel-fhaped, 
five-parted: parts ovate, obtufe, fpreading. Stamina: 
filaments five, very fhort. Anthers heart-lliaped, acute, 
converging into a cone, (hotter than the corolla. Piftil- 
lutn : germ fuperior. Style filiform, longer than the co¬ 
rolla. Stigma fimple, acute. Pericarpium : berry gio- 
bofe, crowned by the permanent ftyle, one-celled. Seed : 
tingle, globofe, involved in a membrane_ EJfenlial Cha- 
rabler. Corolla wheel-fhaped, deciduous. Berry contain¬ 
ing one arilied feed. 
Species. 1. Bladhia japontca : leaves ferrate finooth. 
Root perennial, creeping with final! fibres. ■ Stem fhrubby, 
flexuofe, ereft, very thinly branched, from four inches to 
a Foot high. Leaves frequent towards the top, fpreading, 
an inch long, the upper ones a little larger. Petiole linear, 
a line long. Flowers axillary, umbel-racemed, nodding. 
Peduncle ftreaked, fmooth, erett, two inches long. Pe¬ 
dicles round, red, fmooth, nodding. Corolla white, fweet- 
fmelling. 
2. Bladhia villofa : leaves ferrate villofe. Stemalmoft 
ereff, aboiit a finger’s length. It is much fmaller than 
the foregoing, and entirely villofe. 
3. Bladhia crifpa : leaves oblong curled fmooth. Stem 
round, fmooth, fimple, upright, a fpan or more in height. 
Leaves very finely curled, paler underneath, nerved, up¬ 
right, the upper ones longer, a fpan in length. Flowers 
lateral, punicled. Berry red, the fize of a pea. Thun- 
•berg has another fpectes among his obfeure plants, which 
has ferrate, fmooth, even, leaves ; oppofite and aggregate 
on the top of the (talk, on Ihort petioles, ovate, acumi¬ 
nate, an inch and an half in length. Stem (hrubby, low, 
jointed, fimple. Berry red, the fize of a ftnall pea. Thefe 
are all natives of japan. 
BL’A'DUM, J'.- in middle-age writers, is taken for all 
B LA 83 
forts of (binding corn in the blade and ear. The. word is 
alfo written blatum t blava, and blavium. In our old char¬ 
ters, the word bladuni included the whole prod 1161 of the 
ground, fruit, corn, Hax, grafs, &c. and whatever was 
oppofed to living creatures. It was fometimes alfo applied 
to all forts of grain or corn threlhed on the floor. But the 
word was more peculiarly appropriated to bread-corn, or 
wheat, called in French ble. Thus the knights Templars 
are faid to have granted to Sir Wido de Meriton’s wife 
duas fummas bladi. 
BL/E'RIA, f. [from Patrick Blair , M. D. He prae- 
tifed phyfic at Bofton, in Lincolnfhire ; and was author of 
Miscellaneous Obfervations, 1718.; Botanic Eflays, 1720, 
&Cr] In botany, a genus of the clafs tetr^ndria, order 
monogynia, natural order bicornes. The generic charac¬ 
ters are—-Calyx : perianthium four-parted: leaflets li¬ 
near, erebt, a littlq (horter than the corolla, permanent. 
Corolla: nionopetalous, campanulate : tube cylindric, 
the length of the calyx, pervious : border final!, four- 
cleft ; divifions ovate, reflex. Stamina : filaments four, 
fetaceous, the length of the tube, inferted into the recep¬ 
tacle. Antherm oblong, comprefled, erebl, obtufe, emar- 
ginate. Piftillum : germ four-cornered, fhort. Style fe¬ 
taceous, much longer than the corolla. Stigma obtufe. 
Pericarpium : capfule obtufe, quadrangular, four-celled, 
gaping at the angles. Seeds : fome roundifh.— EJJcntial 
Charader. Calyx, four-parted; corolla, four-cleft; fta- 
mina, inferted into the receptacle; capfule, four-celled, 
many-feeded. 
Species. 1. BTteria ericoides, or heath-leaved blaeria.: 
antherae awnlefs, (landing out; calyxes four-leaved ; brac- 
tes the length of the calyx ; leaves in fours, oblong-acerofe, 
hairy, imbricate. This has the ftature of common heath. 
Leaves in fours, ovate-oblong,. gibbous, hairy-fcabrous, 
prefled to the ftem, the length of the internodes. Flowers 
terminating, white with a tinge of purple. Corollas tu- 
bulous, erecd. Antherae two-parted, fcabrous. Style ca¬ 
pillary, longer than the antherae. Introduced here., in 
1774, by Mr. Francis Maflbn. 
2. Blaeria ciliaris, or ciliated blteria : flowers in a head, 
calyxes ciliate. This refembles the foregoing ; but the 
ftamens are included, and it is readily known by its white 
calyxes, mdftdiftinblly ciliate. 
3. Blaeria articulata, or jointed-leaved bkeria : ftamens 
protruded two-parted, corollas cylindric. This is a dis¬ 
torted flirub, the ftature of.common heath. It differs from 
the firft,which has bell-fhaped corollas, in having equal 
ftamens, and leaves more imbricated. 
4. Blaeria purpurea, or purple-flowered blaeria : fta¬ 
mens included tvvo-parted ; corollas Oblong, ftraight; flow¬ 
ers terminating aggregate ; peduncles'eredf. Is like the 
third; but in th’at the heads are nodding. 
5. Bkeria pufilla, cr dwarf bla-riaa flowers fcattered; 
coroliastfunnel-form. This lias the ftature of final 1 heath. 
Branches pubefeent. Flowers minute, fcattered, (horter 
than the leaves. Gautioufly to be diftinguiihed from the 
heaths. 
6 Blaeria mufeofa, or mofs-leaved blaeria: antherae 
awnlefs, almoft (landing out; calyxes one-leafed, hairy ; 
corollas belLftvaped, hairy in the upper part ; flowers ax¬ 
illary ; ftigmas peltate. Found at the Cape of Good Hope 
by Mr. Francis Maflbn, and introduced in 1774. It flowers 
from June to Auguft. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe are all fhrubs, inhabi¬ 
tants of the Cape of Good Flope ; require the fame (helter 
and treatment with other Cape plants in the dry ftove ; 
and may be increafed by cuttings, like the ericas or heaths, 
which they much refemble. 
BLUE'S IT AS, J\ [from blcrfusj. A defebt in fpeech call¬ 
ed ftammering. 
BLHL'SUS,/. [/ 3 Aai ergy*, from i?Aa?r 7 «, to injure.] Any 
bodily defebt, or deformity ot body. Stammering or 
lifping in the fpeech. 
BLAEU, or JANSSEN (William), the difciple and 
intimate-friend of Tycho Brahe, acquired celebrity by his 
geogra- 
