B O E 
144 
generic characters are—I. Male flowers in the fame plant 
with the females, either di ft in ft or mixed. Caiyx: peri- 
anthium one-leafed, four-parted to the bafe ; parts lan¬ 
ceolate, acute, ereft, coloured. Corolla: none. Stami¬ 
na : filaments four, longer than the calyx, fubulate, up¬ 
right ; antherce roundifh, ovate. Piitillum : a rudiment, 
■or none. XI. Female flowers. Calyx: none; but nume¬ 
rous, crowded, acuminate, fcales. Corolla: none. Pif- 
, tillum: germ ovate between each fcale, compreffed ; ftyle 
filiform, erect. permament; ftigma Ample, pubefcent. 
Pericarpium : none. Seeds : roundifli, comprefled, mar¬ 
gined. —EJfcntial Charafter. Male. Calyx, four-parted : 
corolla, none. Female; calyx, none, but crowded fcales; 
between each germ obovate ; ftyle, Angle ; feeds, Angle, 
comprefled. 
Species, i. Boehmeria caudata : leaves oppofite, ovate, 
acute, ferrate; racemes very long, pendulous; flowers 
dioecous, Item fuffruticofe. This is a fhrub growing to 
the height of ten or twelve feet. The leaves are very 
broad. It is frequent in the cooler mountains of Liguanea, 
in Jamaica. Browne calls it the nettle-tree. 
-2.. Boehmeria littoralis: leaves oppofite, lanceolate, fer¬ 
rate ; flowers conglomerate, axillary, monoecous, mixed; 
item herbaceous, four-cornered. Native of Hifpaniola. 
5. Boehmeria cylindrical leaves oppofite, ovate, acu¬ 
minate, ferrate; racemes fpiked, axillary, ereft, fimple. 
This is an annual plant, with a lucid herbaceous ftalk; divi¬ 
ding into feveral branches. Flowers in Angle catkins, which 
are not divided. Native of North America and Jamaica. 
4. Boehmeria ramiflora: leaves alternate, broad-lan¬ 
ceolate, acuminate, ferrate, wrinkled ; flowers aggregate, 
axillary and lateral, monoecous, diftinct; males three- 
ftamened. This is a flirub eight feet in height,with long 
branches. Leaves fickle-lhaped, rugged, on very fhort 
petioles. Native of the Weft-Indies. 
5. Boehmeria hirta: leaves alternate, ovate, acute, fer¬ 
rate, hirfute: flowers monoecous, heaped, axillary, mixed. 
Native of Jamaica. 
BOE'LE-BOE'XE, a diftrift of the ifland of Celebes, 
Atuated in the bay of Boni, near a river of the fame name. 
BOEXE-COM'BA, a territory of Celebes, anciently a 
feparate kingdom; but is now become one of the pro¬ 
vinces belonging to the Dutch Eaft-India company. 
BO'EN, a towur of France, in the department of the 
Rhone and Loire, and chief place of a canton, in the 
di ft rift of Montbrifon, Atuated on an eminence, near the 
river Lignon : 6 leagues S. Roanne, 32 N. Montbrifon. 
BOENA'SA, in ancient geography, a town of Cappa¬ 
docia, in the interior of the Galatic Pontus. Ptolemy. 
BOE'ON, a tow'n placed by Ptolemy in the interior of 
..the Tauric Cherfonefus. 
BCEO'TIA, the name of two ancient kingdoms, one 
cf which was founded by Cadmus, and named Bceotia, 
■from the ox which is laid to have direfted him to the 
place where he built the capital of his new kingdom, bet¬ 
ter known afterwards by the name of Thebes. But as the 
inhabitants were fcarcely ever diftinguilhed as a nation by 
the name of Boeotians, but of Thebans, we refer to the ar¬ 
ticle Thebes for their liiftory. 
The other Bceotia was in Theflaly, and is faid to have 
been founded by Boeotus the fon of Neptune, and brother 
of .ABolus, by Arne daughter of Aiolus king of Asolus. 
This laft having fent his daughter to Metapontiurn, a 
city of Italy, fhe was there delivered of thefe two fons, 
the eldeft of whom (he called after her father’s name JEolus, 
and he poflefled himfelf of the iflands in the Tyrrhenian, 
now the Tufcan,fea, and built the city of Lipara. Bceotus 
the younger fon went to his grandfather, and lucceeded 
him in his kingdom, called it after his own name, and the 
capital city Arne , from his mother. All that we know of 
thefe Boeotians is, that they held this fettlement upwards 
of 2.00 years; and that the Theflalians expelled them from 
it ; upon which they came and took poffefiion of that 
country, which till then had been called Cadmeis, and gave 
V-t the name of Bceotia. Diodorus and Romer tell us ; that 
B O E 
thefe Boeotians lignalized themfelves at the Trojan war; 
and the latter adds, that five of Boeotus’s grandfons, viz. 
Peneleus, Leitus, Protheenor, Arcefilaus, and Clonius, 
were the chiefs who led the Boeotian troops thither. This 
province was ultimately united to Attica, for which fee 
vol. ii. p. 498-537. 
BO'ER, a town of Germany, on the Lower Rhine; fix 
miles fouth-weft of Recklinghaufen, and forty-two north 
of Cologne. 
BO'EBHAAVE (Herman), an iliuftrious phyfician and 
profeflbr of Leyden, born Dec. 31, 1668, at Voorhoot, a 
village in Holland, about two miles from the above city. 
His father, intending him for divinity, fent him to the 
public fchool at Leyden ; but, juft as he was ready to be 
removed to the univerfity, his father died, who left nine 
children ; of whom Herman, though but fixteen, was the 
eldeft. He now' found himfelf deititute of parents, pro¬ 
tection, advice, or fortune; and, though he left at his 
death upwards of aoo,oooi. yet at this juncture his cir- 
cumltances were fo narrow, that for lome time he had a 
great difficulty in fupporting a reputable appearance. Upon 
his admiflion into the univerfity, however, he was parti¬ 
cularly noticed by a friend of his father, Mr. Trigland, 
one of the profeflbrs of divinity, who procured him the 
patronage of Mr. Daniel Van Alphen, burgo-mafter of 
Leyden ; and, by the advice of thefe gentlemen, he at¬ 
tended Senguerd’s lectures on logic, natural philofophy, 
jnetaphyfics, and ethics: he likewile attended the learned 
Jacob Gronovius on Greek and Latin authors, Rykius on 
Latin claflics, rhetoric, chronology, and geography; and 
Trigland and Scaafe on the Hebrew' and Chaldee langua¬ 
ges, in order to underhand the facred writings in their 
originals. In 1687 he applied to mathematics, and found 
the ltudy fo entertaining, that, after having gone through 
geometry and trigonometry, he proceeded to algebra, 
under Voider, in 1689. He now gave a fpecimen of his*' 
learning in an academic oration, proving, “ That the doc¬ 
trine of Epicurus concerning the chief good was well un- 
derftood by Cicero ;” and for this he received the gold 
medal. In 1690 he took a degree in philofophy. In his 
thefts on this occafion, with great ftrength of argument, 
he confuted the fyftems of Epicurus, Hobbes, and Spinofa. 
After having laid a folid foundation in all other parts of 
learning, he proceeded to divinity, under the profeflbrs 
Trigland and Spanheim ; the firft of whom gave leftures 
on Hebrew antiquities, the feccnd on ecclefiaftical hiftory. 
Notw'ithftanding he was thus far qualified for entering 
into orders, which, according to his father’s intention, he 
had hitherto chiefly in view; yet, fince his patrimony was 
almolt exhaufted, luch was his economy, that he refolved, 
by teaching the mathematics, to defray the expence at¬ 
tending a ltill farther leries of theological ftudies. By 
this means, he not only increaled his reputation, but (what 
laid the foundation of his future fortune) it got him in¬ 
troduced to the friendfhip of John Vaudenburg, burgo- 
mafter of Leyden. By this new connection he was re¬ 
commended to the curators, to compare the Voflian ma- 
nuferipts (purchaled in England for the public library at 
Leyden) with the catalogue of fale; w'hich he executed 
with fuch accuracy as procured him the efteem of the 
univerfity, and recommended him in fo particular a manner 
to Mr. Vandenburg, that this gentleman became ever after 
folicitous for his advancement; and,obferving the amazing 
progreis Boerhaave made in whatever he applied to, he 
perluaded him to join the ftudy of phyfic to philofophy and 
theology. As a relaxation, therefore, from divinity, and in 
complailance to this gentleman, added to a natural bent 
that way, he dipt into phyfic, being duly prepared for it by 
his acquaintance with the learned languages, mathematics, 
and natural philofophy ; and he relolved to take a degree 
in phyfic before his ordination. After a courf'e of rapid 
but fuccefsful ftudy, he went te the univerfity of Harder- 
wick,in Guelderiand,and in J ulj'-, 1693, was created M.D„ 
He at length applied ferioufly to phyfic, and joined praftice 
with reading. In 1701 he took the office of lecturer up¬ 
on 
