BISMUTH, a metallic chemical element; symbol Bi, atomic weight 208.5 (O
= 16). It was probably unknown to the Greeks and Romans, but during the
middle ages it became quite familiar, notwithstanding its frequent
confusion with other metals. In 1450 Basil Valentine referred to it by
the name "wismut," and characterized it as a metal; some years later
Paracelsus termed it "wissmat," and, in allusion to its brittle nature,
affirmed it to be a "bastard" or "half-metal"; Georgius Agricola used
the form "wissmuth," latinized to "bisemutum," and also the term
"plumbum cineareum." Its elementary nature was imperfectly understood;
and the impure specimens obtained by the early chemists explain, in some
measure, its confusion with tin, lead, antimony, zinc and other metals;
in 1595 Andreas Libavius confused it with antimony, and in 1675 Nicolas
Lemery with zinc. These obscurities began to be finally cleared up with
the researches of Johann Heinrich Pott (1692-1777), a pupil of Stahl,
published in his _Exercitationes chemicae de Wismutho_ (1769), and of N.
Geoffroy, son of Claude Joseph Geoffroy, whose contribution to our
knowledge of this metal appeared in the _Memoires de l'academie
francaise_ for 1753. Torbern Olof Bergman reinvestigated its properties
and determined its reactions; his account, which was published in his
_Opuscula_, contains the first fairly accurate description of the metal.
_Ores and Minerals._--The principal source of bismuth is the native
metal, which is occasionally met with as a mineral, usually in
reticulated and arborescent shapes or as foliated and granular masses
with a crystalline fracture. Although bismuth is readily obtained in
fine crystals by artificial means, yet natural crystals are rare and
usually indistinct; they belong to the rhombohedral system and a
cube-like rhombohedron with interfacial angles of 92 deg. 20' is the
predominating form. There is a perfect cleavage perpendicular to the
trigonal axis of the crystals; the fact that only two (opposite) corners
of the cube-like crystals can be truncated by cleavage at once
distinguishes them from true cubes. When not tarnished, the mineral has
a silver-white colour with a tinge of red, and the lustre is metallic.
Hardness 2-2-1/2; specific gravity 9.70-9.83. The slight variations in
specific gravity are due to the presence of small amounts of arsenic,
sulphur or tellurium, or to enclosed impurities.
Bismuth occurs in metalliferous veins traversing gneiss or clay-slate,
and is usually associated with ores of silver and cobalt. Well-known
localities are Schneeberg in Saxony and Joachimsthal in Bohemia; at the
former it has been found as arborescent groups penetrating brown jasper,
which material has occasionally been cut and polished for small
ornaments. The mineral has been found in some Cornish mines and is
fairly abundant in Bolivia (near Sorata, and at Tasna in Potosi). It is
the chief commercial source of bismuth.
The oxide, bismuth ochre, Bi2O3, and the sulphide, bismuth glance or
bismuthite, are also of commercial importance. The former is found,
generally mixed with iron, copper and arsenic oxides, in Bohemia,
Siberia, Cornwall, France (Meymac) and other localities; it also occurs
admixed with bismuth carbonate and hydrate. The hydrated carbonate,
bismutite, is of less importance; it occurs in Cornwall, Bolivia,
Arizona and elsewhere.
Of the rarer bismuth minerals we may notice the following:--the complex
sulphides, copper bismuth glance or wittichenite, BiCu3S3, silver
bismuth glance, bismuth cobalt pyrites, bismuth nickel pyrites or
saynite, needle ore (patrinite or aikinite), BiCuPbS3, emplectite,
CuBiS2, and kobellite, BiAsPb3S6; the sulphotelluride tetradymite; the
selenide guanajuatite, Bi2Se3, the basic tellurate montanite,
Bi2(OH)4TeOe; the silicates eulytite and agricolite, Bi4(SiO2)3; and the
urnayl arsenate walpurgite, Bi(UO2),(OH)24(A3O4)4.
_Metallurgy._--Bismuth is extracted from its ores by dry, wet, or
electro-matallurgical methods, the choice depending upon the
composition of the ore and economic conditions. The dry process is
more frequently practised, for the easy reducibility of the oxide and
sulphide, together with the low melting-point of the metal, renders it
possible to effect a ready separation of the metal from the gangue and
impurities. The extraction from ores in which the bismuth is present
in the metallic condition may be accomplished by a simple liquation,
or melting, in which the temperature is just sufficient to melt the
bismuth, or by a complete fusion of the ore. The first process never
extracts all the bisbuth, as much as one-third being retained in the
matte or speiss; the second is more satisfactory, since the extraction
is more complete, and also allows the addition of reducing agents to
decompose any admixed bismuth oxide or sulphide. In the liquidation
process the ore is heated in inclined cylindrical retorts, and the
molten metal is tapped at the lower end; the residues being removed
from the upper end. The fusion process is preferably carried out in
crucible furnaces; shaft furnaces are unsatisfactory on account of the
disintegrating action of the molten bismuth on the furnace linings.
Sulphuretted ores are smelted, either with or without a preliminary
calcination, with metallic iron; calcined ores may be smelted with
carbon (coal). The reactions are strictly analogous to those which
occur in the smelting of galena (see LEAD), the carbon reducing any
oxide, either present originally in the ore or produced in the
calcination and the iron combining with the sulphur of the bismuthite.
A certain amount of bismuth sulphate is always formed during the
calcination; this is subsequently reduced to the sulphide and
ultimately to the metal in the fusion. Calcination in reverberatory
furnaces and a subsequent smelting in the same type of furnace with
the addition of about 3% of coal, lime, soda and fluorspar, has been
adopted for treating the Bolivian ores, which generally contain the
sulphides of bismuth, copper, iron, antimony, lead and a little
silver. The lowest layer of the molten mass is principally metallic
bismuth, the succeeding layers are a bismuth copper matte, which is
subsequently worked up, and a slag. Ores containing the oxide and
carbonate are treated either by smelting with carbon or by a wet
process.
In the wet process the ores, in which the bismuth is present as oxide
or carbonate, are dissolved out with hydrochloric acid, or, if the
bismuth is to be extracted from a matte or alloy, the solvent employed
is _aqua regia_ or strong sulphuric acid. The solution of metallic
chlorides or sulphates so obtained is precipitated by iron, the
metallic bismuth filtered, washed with water, pressed in canvas bags,
and finally fused in graphite crucibles, the surface being protected
by a layer of charcoal. Another process consists in adding water to
the solution and so precipitating the bismuth as oxychloride, which is
then converted into the metal.
The crude metal obtained by the preceding processes is generally
contaminated by arsenic, sulphur, iron, nickel, cobalt and antimony,
and sometimes with silver or gold. A dry method of purification
consists in a liquation on a hearth of peculiar construction, which
occasions the separation of the unreduced bismuth sulphide and the
bulk of the other impurities. A better process is to remelt the metal
in crucibles with the addition of certain refining agents. The details
of this process vary very considerably, being conditioned by the
composition of the impure metal and the practice of particular works.
The wet refining process is more tedious and expensive, and is only
exceptionally employed, as in the case of preparing the pure metal or
its salts for pharmaceutical or chemical purposes. The basic nitrate
is the salt generally prepared, and, in general outline, the process
consists in dissolving the metal in nitric acid, adding water to the
solution, boiling the precipitated basic nitrate with an alkali to
remove the arsenic and lead, dissolving the residue in nitric acid,
and reprecipitating as basic nitrate with water. J.F.W. Hampe prepared
chemically pure bismuth by fusing the metal with sodium carbonate and
sulphur, dissolving the bismuth sulphide so formed in nitric acid,
precipitating the bismuth as the basic nitrate, re-dissolving this
salt in nitric acid, and then precipitating with ammonia. The bismuth
hydroxide so obtained is finally reduced by hydrogen.
_Properties._--Bismuth is a very brittle metal with a white
crystalline fracture and a characteristic reddish-white colour. It
crystallizes in rhombohedra belonging to the hexagonal system, having
interfacial angles of 87 deg. 40'. According to G.W.A. Kahlbaum, Roth
and Siedler (_Ziet. Anorg. Chem. 29_, p. 294), its specific gravity is
9.78143; Roberts and Wrightson give the specific gravity of solid
bismuth as 9.82, and of molten bismuth as 10.035. It therefore expands
on solidification; and as it retains this property in a number of
alloys, the metal receives extensive application in forming
type-metals. Its melting-point is variously given as 268.3 deg. (F.
Rudberg and A.D. von Riemsdijk) and 270.5 deg. (C.C. Person);
commercial bismuth melts at 260 deg. (Ledebur), and electrolytic
bismuth at 264 deg. (Classen). It vaporizes in a vacuum at 292 deg.,
and its boiling-point, under atmospheric pressure, is between 1090
deg. and 1450 deg. (T. Carnelley and W.C. Williams). Regnault
determined its specific heat between 0 deg. and 100 deg. to be 0.0308;
Kahlbaum, Roth and Siedler (_loc. cit._) give the value 0.03055. Its
thermal conductivity is the lowest of all metals, being 18 as compared
with silver as 1000; its coefficient of expansion between 0 deg. and
100 deg. is 0.001341. Its electrical conductivity is approximately
1.2, silver at 0 deg. being taken as 100; it is the most diamagnetic
substance known, and its thermoelectric properties render it
especially valuable for the construction of thermopiles.
The metal oxidizes very slowly in dry air at ordinary temperatures,
but somewhat more rapidly in moist air or when heated. In the last
case it becomes coated with a greyish-black layer of an oxide (dioxide
(?)), at a red heat the layer consists of the trioxide (Bi2O3); and is
yellow or green in the case of pure bismuth, and violet or blue if
impure; at a bright red heat it burns with a bluish flame to the
trioxide. Bismuth combines directly with the halogens, and the
elements of the sulphur group. It readily dissolves in nitric acid,
_aqua regia_ and hot sulphuric acid, but tardily in hot hydrochloric
acid. It is precipitated as the metal from solutions of its salts by
the metals of the alkalis and alkaline earths, zinc, iron, copper, &c.
In its chemical affinities it resembles arsenic and antimony; an
important distinction is that it forms no hydrogen compound analogous
to arsine and stibine.
_Alloys_.--Bismuth readily forms alloys with other metals. Treated
with sodammonium it yields a bluish-black mass, BiNa3, which takes
fire in the air and decomposes water. A brittle potassium alloy of
silver-white colour and lamellar fracture is obtained by calcining 20
parts of bismuth with 16 of cream of tartar at a strong red heat. When
present in other metals, even in very small quantity, bismuth renders
them brittle and impairs their electrical conductivity. With mercury
it forms amalgams. Bismuth is a component of many ternary alloys
characterized by their low fusibility and expansion in solidification;
many of them are used in the arts (see FUSIBLE METAL).
_Compounds_.--Bismuth forms four oxides, of which the trioxide, Bi2O3,
is the most important. This compound occurs in nature as bismuth
ochre, and may be prepared artificially by oxidizing the metal at a
red heat, or by heating the carbonate, nitrate or hydrate. Thus
obtained it is a yellow powder, soluble in the mineral acids to form
soluble salts, which are readily precipitated as basic salts when the
solution is diluted. It melts to a reddish-brown liquid, which
solidifies to a yellow crystalline mass on cooling. The Hydrate,
Bi(OH)3, is obtained as a white powder by adding potash to a solution
of a bismuth salt. Bismuth dioxide, BiO or Bi2O2, is said to be formed
by the limited oxidation of the metal, and as a brown precipitate by
adding mixed solutions of bismuth and stannous chlorides to a solution
of caustic potash. Bismuth tetroxide, Bi2O4, sometimes termed bismuth
bismuthate, is obtained by melting bismuth trioxide with potash, or by
igniting bismuth trioxide with potash and potassium chlorate. It is
also formed by oxidizing bismuth trioxide suspended in caustic potash
with chlorine, the pentoxide being formed simultaneously; oxidation
and potassium ferricyanide simply gives the tetroxide (Hauser and
Vanino, _Zeit. Anorg. Chem_., 1904, 39, p. 381). The hydrate,
Bi2O4.2H2O, is also known. Bismuth pentoxide, Bi2C5, is obtained by
heating bismuthic acid, HBiO3, to 130 deg.C.; this acid (in the form
of its salts) being the product of the continued oxidation of an
alkaline solution of bismuth trioxide.
Bismuth forms two chlorides: BiCl2 and BiCl3. The dichloride, BiCl2,
is obtained as a brown crystalline powder by fusing the metal with the
trichloride, or in a current of chlorine, or by heating the metal with
calomel to 250 deg. Water decomposes it to metallic bismuth and the
oxychloride, BiOCl. Bismuth trichloride, BiCl3, was obtained by Robert
Boyle by heating the metal with corrosive sublimate. It is the final
product of burning bismuth in an excess of chlorine. It is a white
substance, melting at 225 deg.-230 deg. and boiling at 435 deg.-441
deg. With excess of water, it gives a white precipitate of the
oxychloride, BiOCl. Bismuth trichloride forms double compounds with
hydrochloric acid, the chlorides of the alkaline metals, ammonia,
nitric oxide and nitrosyl chloride. _Bismuth trifluoride_, BiF3, a
white powder, _bismuth tribromide_, BiBr3, golden yellow crystals,
_bismuth iodide_, BiI3, greyish-black crystals, are also known. These
compounds closely resemble the trichloride in their methods of
preparation and their properties, forming oxyhaloids with water, and
double compounds with ammonia, &c.
_Carbonates_.--The basic carbonate, 2(BiO)2CO3.H2O, obtained as a
white precipitate when an alkaline carbonate is added to a solution of
bismuth nitrate, is employed in medicine. Another basic carbonate,
3(BiO)2CO3.2Bi(OH)3.3H2O, constitutes the mineral bismutite.
_Nitrates_.--The normal nitrate, Bi(NO3)3.5H2O, is obtained in large
transparent asymmetric prisms by evaporating a solution of the metal
in nitric acid. The action of water on this solution produces a
crystalline precipitate of basic nitrate, probably Bi(OH)2NO3, though
it varies with the amount of water employed. This precipitate
constitutes the "magistery of bismuth" or "subnitrate of bismuth" of
pharmacy, and under the name of pearl white, _blanc d'Espagne_ or
_blanc de fard_ has long been used as a cosmetic.
_Sulphides_.--Bismuth combines directly with sulphur to form a,
disulphide, Bi2S2, and a trisulphide, Bi2S3, the latter compound being
formed when the sulphur is in excess. A hydrated disulphide,
Bi2S2.2H2O, is obtained by passing sulphuretted hydrogen into a
solution of bismuth nitrate and stannous chloride. Bismuth disulphide
is a grey metallic substance, which is decomposed by hydrochloric acid
with the separation of metallic bismuth and the formation of bismuth
trichloride. Bismuth trisulphide, Bi2S3, constitutes the mineral
bismuthite, and may be prepared by direct union of its constituents,
or as a brown precipitate by passing sulphuretted hydrogen into a
solution of a bismuth salt. It is easily soluble in nitric acid. When
heated to 200 deg. it assumes the crystalline form of bismuthite.
Bismuth forms several oxysulphides: Bi4O3S constitutes the mineral
karelinite found at the Zavodinski mine in the Altai; Bi6O3S4 and
Bi2O3S have been prepared artificially. Bismuth also forms the
sulphohaloids, BiSCl, BiSBr, BiSI, analogous to the oyxhaloids.
Bismuth sulphate, Bi2(SO4)3, is obtained as a white powder by
dissolving the metal or sulphide in concentrated sulphuric acid. Water
decomposes it, giving a basic salt, Bi2(SO4)(OH)4, which on heating
gives (BiO)2SO4. Other basic salts are known.
Bismuth forms compounds similar to the trisulphide with the elements
selenium and tellurium. The tritelluride constitutes the mineral
tetradymite, Bi2Te3.
_Analysis_.--Traces of bismuth may be detected by treating the
solution with excess of tartaric acid, potash and stannous chloride, a
precipitate or dark coloration of bismuth oxide being formed even when
only one part of bismuth is present in 20,000 of water. The blackish
brown sulphide precipitated from bismuth salts by sulphuretted
hydrogen is insoluble in ammonium sulphide, but is readily dissolved
by nitric acid. The metal can be reduced by magnesium, zinc, cadmium,
iron, tin, copper and substances like hypophosphorous acid from acid
solutions or from alkaline ones by formaldehyde. In quantitative
estimations it is generally weighed as oxide, after precipitation as
sulphide or carbonate, or in the metallic form, reduced as above.
_Pharmacology_.--The salts of bismuth are feebly antiseptic. Taken
internally the subnitrate, coming into contact with water, tends to
decompose, gradually liberating nitric acid, one of the most powerful
antiseptics. The physical properties of the powder also give it a mild
astringent action. There are no remote actions.
_Therapeutics_.--The subnitrate of bismuth is invaluable in certain
cases of dyspepsia, and still more notably so in diarrhoea. It owes
its value to the decomposition described above, by means of which a
powerful antiseptic action is safely and continuously exerted. There
is hardly a safer drug. It may be given in drachm doses with impunity.
It colours the faeces black owing to the formation of sulphide.
BISMUTHITE, a somewhat rare mineral, consisting of bismuth trisulphide,
Bi2S3. It crystallizes in the orthorhombic system and is isomorphous
with stibnite (Sb2S3), which it closely resembles in appearance. It
forms loose interlacing aggregates of acicular crystals without terminal
faces (only in a single instance has a terminated crystal been
observed), or as masses with a foliated or fibrous structure. An
important character is the perfect cleavage in one direction parallel to
the length of the needles. The colour is lead-grey inclining to
tin-white and often with a yellowish or iridescent tarnish. The hardness
is 2; specific gravity 6.4-6.5. Bismuthite occurs at several localities
in Cornwall and Bolivia, often in association with native bismuth and
tin-ores. Other localities are known; for instance, Brandy Gill in
Caldbeck Fells, Cumberland, where with molybdenite and apatite it is
embedded in white quartz. The mineral was known to A. Cronstedt in 1758,
and was named bismuthine by F.S. Beudant in 1832. This name, which is
also used in the forms bismuthite and bismuthinite, is rather
unfortunate, since it is readily confused with bismite (bismuth oxide)
and bismutite (basic bismuth carbonate), especially as the latter has
also been used in the form bismuthite. The name bismuth-glance or
bismutholamprite for the species under consideration is free from this
objection. (L. J. S.)
BISMYA, a group of ruin mounds, about 1 m. long and 1/2 m. wide,
consisting of a number of low ridges, nowhere exceeding 40 ft. in
height, lying in the Jezireh, somewhat nearer to the Tigris than the
Euphrates, about a day's journey to the south-east of Nippur, a little
below 32 deg. N. and about 45 deg. 40' E. Excavations conducted here for
six months, from Christmas of 1903 to June 1904, for the university of
Chicago, by Dr Edgar J. Banks, proved that these mounds covered the site
of the ancient city of Adab (Ud-Nun), hitherto known only from a brief
mention of its name in the introduction to the Khammurabi code (c. 2250
B.C.). The city was divided into two parts by a canal, on an island in
which stood the temple, E-mach, with a _ziggurat_, or stage tower. It
was evidently once a city of considerable importance, but deserted at a
very early period, since the ruins found close to the surface of the
mounds belong to Dungi and Ur Gur, kings of Ur in the earlier part of
the third millennium B.C. Immediately below these, as at Nippur, were
found the remains of Naram-Sin and Sar-gon, c. 3000 B.C. Below these
there were still 35 ft. of stratified remains, constituting
seven-eighths of the total depth of the ruins. Besides the remains of
buildings, walls, graves, &c., Dr Banks discovered a large number of
inscribed clay tablets of a very early period, bronze and stone tablets,
bronze implements and the like. But the two most notable discoveries
were a complete statue in white marble, apparently the most ancient yet
found in Babylonia (now in the museum in Constantinople), bearing the
inscription--"E-mach, King Da-udu, King of Ud-Nun"; and a temple refuse
heap, consisting of great quantities of fragments of vases in marble,
alabaster, onyx, porphyry and granite, some of which were inscribed, and
others engraved and inlaid with ivory and precious stones.
(J. P. Pe.)
BISON, the name of the one existing species of European wild ox, _Bos
(Bison) bonasus_, known in Russian as _zubr_. Together with the nearly
allied New World animal known in Europe as the (North) American bison,
but in its own country as "buffalo," and scientifically as _Bos (Bison)
bison_, the bison represents a group of the ox tribe distinguished from
other species by the greater breadth and convexity of the forehead,
superior length of limb, and the longer spinal processes of the dorsal
vertebrae, which, with the powerful muscles attached for the support of
the massive head, form a protuberance or hump on the shoulders. The
bisons have also fourteen pairs of ribs, while the common ox has only
thirteen. The forehead and neck of both species are covered with long,
shaggy hair of a dark brown colour; and in winter the whole of the neck,
shoulders and hump are similarly clothed, so as to form a curly, felted
mane. This mane in the European species disappears in summer; but in the
American bison it is to a considerable extent persistent.
The bison is now the largest European quadruped, measuring about 10 ft.
long, exclusive of the tail, and standing nearly 6 ft. high. Formerly it
was abundant throughout Europe, as is proved by the fossil remains of
this or a closely allied form found on the continent and in England,
associated with those of the extinct mammoth and rhinoceros. Caesar
mentions the bison as abounding, along with the extinct aurochs or wild
ox, in the forests of Germany and Belgium, where it appears to have been
occasionally captured and afterwards exhibited alive in the Roman
amphitheatres. At that period, and long after, it seems to have been
common throughout central Europe, as we learn from the evidence of
Herberstein in the 16th century. Nowadays bison are found in a truly
wild condition only in the forests of the Caucasus, where they are
specially protected by the Russian government. There is, however, a
herd, somewhat in the condition of park-animals, in the forest of
Byelovitsa, in Lithuania, where it is protected by the tsar, but
nevertheless is gradually dying out. In 1862 the Lithuanian bisons
numbered over 1200, but by 1872 they had diminished to 528, and in 1892
there were only 491. The prince of Pless has a small herd at Promnitz,
his Silesian estate, founded by the gift of a bull and three cows by
Alexander II. in 1855, his herd being the source of the menagerie
supply.
Bison feed on a coarse aromatic grass, and browse on the leaves, shoots,
bark and twigs of trees.
The American bison is distinguished from its European cousin by the
following among other features: The hind-quarters are weaker and fall
away more suddenly, while the withers are proportionately higher.
Especially characteristic is the great mass of brown or blackish brown
hair clothing the head, neck and forepart of the body. The shape of the
skull and horns is also different; the horns themselves being shorter,
thicker, blunter and more sharply curved, while the forehead of the
skull is more convex and the sockets of the eyes are more distinctly
tubular. This species formerly ranged over a third of North America in
countless numbers, but is now practically extinct. The great herd was
separated into a northern and southern division by the completion of
the Union Pacific railway, and the annual rate of destruction from 1870
to 1875 has been estimated at 2,500,000 head. In 1880 the completion of
the Northern Pacific railway led to an attack upon the northern herd.
The last of the Dakota bisons were destroyed by Indians in 1883, leaving
then less than 1000 wild individuals in the United State.
A count which was concluded at the end of February 1903, put the number
of captive bisons at 1119, of which 969 were in parks and zoological
gardens in the United States, 41 in Canada and 109 in Europe. At the
same time it was estimated that there were 34 wild bison in the United
States and 600 in Canada.
In England small herds are kept by the duke of Bedford at Woburn Abbey,
Bedfordshire, and by Mr C.J. Leyland at Haggerston Castle,
Northumberland.
Two races of the American bison have been distinguished--the typical
prairie form, and the woodland race, _B. bison athabascae_; but the two
are very similar. (R. L.*)
BISQUE (a French word of unknown origin, formerly spelt in English
"bisk"), a term for odds given in the games of tennis, lawn tennis,
croquet and golf; in the two former a bisque is one point to be taken at
any time during a "set" at the choice of the receiver of the odds, while
in croquet and golf it is one extra stroke to be taken similarly during
a game. The name is given, in cookery, to a thick soup, made
particularly of crayfish or lobsters.
BISSELL, GEORGE EDWIN (1839- ), American sculptor, son of a quarryman
and marble-cutter, was born at New Preston, Connecticut, on the 16th of
February 1839. During the Civil War he served as a private in the 23rd
Connecticut volunteers in the Department of the Gulf (1862-1863), and on
being mustered out became acting assistant paymaster in the South
Atlantic squadron. At the close of the war he joined his father in
business. He studied the art of sculpture abroad in 1875-1876, and lived
much in Paris during the years 1883-1896, with occasional visits to
America. Among his more important works are the soldiers' and sailors'
monument, and a statue of Colonel Chatfield, at Waterbury, Connecticut;
and statues of General Gates at Saratoga, New York, of Chancellor John
Watts in Trinity churchyard, New York City; of Colonel Abraham de
Peyster in Bowling Green, New York City; of Abraham Lincoln at
Edinburgh; of Burns and "Highland Mary," in Ayr, Scotland; of Chancellor
James Kent, in the Congressional library, Washington; and of President
Arthur in Madison Square, New York City.
BISSEXT, or BISSEXTUS (Lat. _bis_, twice; _sextus_, sixth), the day
intercalated by the Julian calendar in the February of every fourth year
to make up the six hours by which the solar year was computed to exceed
the year of 365 days. The day was inserted after the 24th of February,
i.e. the 6th day before the calends (1st) of March; there was
consequently, besides the _sextus_, or sixth before the calends, the
_bis-sextus_ or "second sixth," our 25th of February. In modern usage,
with the exception of ecclesiastical calendars, the intercalary day is
added for convenience at the end of the month, and years in which
February has 29 days are called "bissextile," or leap-years.
BISTRE, the French name of a brown paint made from the soot of wood, now
largely superseded by Indian ink.
BIT (from the verb "to bite," either in the sense of a piece bitten off,
or an act of biting, or a thing that bites or is bitten), generally, a
piece of anything; the word is, however, used in various special senses,
all derivable from its origin, either literally or metaphorically. The
most common of these are (1) its use as the name of various tools, e.g.
centre-bit; (2) a horse's "bit," or the metal mouth-piece of the bridle;
(3) in money, a small sum of money of varying value (e.g.
threepenny-bit), especially in the West Indies and southern United
States.
BITHUR, a town in the Cawnpore district of the United Provinces of
India, 12 m. N.W. of Cawnpore city. Pop. (1901) 7173. It is chiefly
notable for its connexion with the mutiny of 1857. The last of the
peshwas, Baji Rao, was banished to Bithur, and his adopted son, the Nana
Sahib, made the town his head-quarters. It was captured by Havelock on
the 19th of July 1857, when the Nana's palaces were destroyed.
BITHYNIA ([Greek: Bituvia]), an ancient district in the N.W. of Asia
Minor, adjoining the Propontis, the Thracian Bosporus and the Euxine.
According to Strabo it was bounded on the E. by the river Sangarius; but
the more commonly received division extended it to the Parthenius, which
separated it from Paphlagonia, thus comprising the district inhabited by
the Mariandyni. On the W. and S.W. it was separated from Mysia by the
river Rhyndacus; and on the S. it adjoined Phrygia Epictetus and
Galatia. It is in great part occupied by mountains and forests, but has
valleys and districts near the sea-coast of great fertility. The most
important mountain range is the (so-called) "Mysian" Olympus (7600 ft.),
which towers above Brusa and is clearly visible as far away as
Constantinople (70 m.). Its summits are covered with snow for a great
part of the year. East of this the range now called Ala-Dagh extends far
above 100 m. from the Sangarius to Paphlagonia. Both of these ranges
belong to that border of mountains which bounds the great tableland of
Asia Minor. The country between them and the coast, covered with forests
and traversed by few lines of route, is still imperfectly known. But the
broad tract which projects towards the west as far as the shores of the
Bosporus, though hilly and covered with forests--the Turkish Aghatch
Denizi, or "The Ocean of Trees"--is not traversed by any mountain chain.
The west coast is indented by two deep inlets, (1) the northernmost, the
Gulf of Ismid (anc. Gulf of Astacus), penetrating between 40 and 50 m.
into the interior as far as Ismid (anc. Nicomedia), separated by an
isthmus of only about 25 m. from the Black Sea; (2) the Gulf of Mudania
or Gemlik (Gulf of Cius), about 25 m. long. At its extremity is situated
the small town of Gemlik (anc. Cius) at the mouth of a valley,
communicating with the lake of Isnik, on which was situated Nicaea.
The principal rivers are the Sangarius (mod. Sakaria), which traverses
the province from south to north; the Rhyndacus, which separated it from
Mysia; and the Billaeus (Filiyas), which rises in the Ala-Dagh, about 50
m. from the sea, and after flowing by Boli (anc. Claudiopolis) falls
into the Euxine, close to the ruins of the ancient Tium, about 40 m.
north-east of Heraclea, having a course of more than 100 m. The
Parthenius (mod. Bartan), the boundary of the province towards the east,
is a much less considerable stream.
The natural resources of Bithynia are still imperfectly developed. Its
vast forests would furnish an almost inexhaustible supply of timber, if
rendered accessible by roads. Coal also is known to exist near Eregli
(Heraclea). The valleys towards the Black Sea abound in fruit trees of
all kinds, while the valley of the Sangarius and the plains near Brusa
and Isnik (Nicaea) are fertile and well cultivated. Extensive
plantations of mulberry trees supply the silk for which Brusa has long
been celebrated, and which is manufactured there on a large scale.
According to ancient authors (Herodotus, Xenophon, Strabo, &c.), the
Bithynians were an immigrant Thracian tribe. The existence of a tribe
called Thyni in Thrace is well attested, and the two cognate tribes of
the Thyni and Bithyni appear to have settled simultaneously in the
adjoining parts of Asia, where they expelled or subdued the Mysians,
Caucones, and other petty tribes, the Mariandyni alone maintaining
themselves in the north-east. Herodotus mentions the Thyni and Bithyni
as existing side by side; but ultimately the latter must have become the
more important, as they gave their name to the country. They were
incorporated by Croesus with the Lydian monarchy, with which they fell
under the dominion of Persia (546 B.C.), and were included in the
satrapy of Phrygia, which comprised all the countries up to the
Hellespont and Bosporus. But even before the conquest by Alexander the
Bithynians appear to have asserted their independence, and successfully
maintained it under two native princes, Bas and Zipoetes, the last of
whom transmitted his power to his son Nicomedes I., the first to assume
the title of king. This monarch founded Nicomedia, which soon rose to
great prosperity, and during his long reign (278-250 B.C.), as well as
those of his successors, Prusias I., Prusias II. and Nicomedes II.
(149-91 B.C.), the kingdom of Bithynia held a considerable place among
the minor monarchies of Asia. But the last king, Nicomedes III., was
unable to maintain himself against Mithradates of Pontus, and, after
being restored to his throne by the Roman senate, he bequeathed his
kingdom by will to the Romans (74 B.C.). Bithynia now became a Roman
province. Its limits were frequently varied, and it was commonly united
for administrative purposes with the province of Pontus. This was the
state of things in the time of Trajan, when the younger Pliny was
appointed governor of the combined provinces (103-105 A.D.), a
circumstance to which we are indebted for valuable information
concerning the Roman provincial administration. Under the Byzantine
empire Bithynia was again divided into two provinces, separated by the
Sangarias, to the west of which the name of Bithynia was restricted.
The most important cities were Nicomedia and Nicaea, which disputed with
one another the rank of capital. Both of these were founded after
Alexander the Great; but at a much earlier period the Greeks had
established on the coast the colonies of Cius (afterwards Prusias, mod.
Gemlik); Chalcedon, at the entrance of the Bosporus, nearly opposite
Constantinople; and Heraclea Pontica, on the Euxine, about 120 m. east
of the Bosporus. All these rose to be flourishing places of trade, as
also Prusa at the foot of M. Olympus (see BRUSA). The only other places
of importance at the present day are Ismid (Nicomedia) and Scutari.
See C. Texier, _Asie Mineure_ (Paris, 1839); G. Perrot, _Calatie et
Bithynie_ (Paris, 1862); W. von Diest in _Petermanns Mittheilungen_,
Ergansungshelt, 116 (Gotha, 1895). (E. H. B.; F. W. Ha.)
BITLIS, or BETLIS (Arm. _Paghesh_), the chief town of a vilayet of the
same name in Asiatic Turkey, situated at an altitude of 4700 ft. in the
deep, narrow valley of the Bitlis Chai, a tributary of the Tigris. The
main part of the town and the bazaars are crowded alongside the stream,
while suburbs with scattered houses among orchards and gardens extend up
two tributary streams. The houses are massive and well built of a soft
volcanic tufa, and with their courtyards and gardens climbing up the
hillsides afford a striking picture. At the junction of two streams in
the centre of the town is a fine old castle, partly ruined, which,
according to local tradition, occupies the site of a fortress built by
Alexander the Great. It is apparently an Arab building, as Arabic
inscriptions appear on the walls, but as the town stands on the
principal highway between the Van plateau and the Mesopotamian plain it
must always have been of strategic importance. The bazaars are crowded,
covered across with branches in summer, and typical of a Kurdish town.
The population numbers 35,000, of whom about 12,000 are Armenians and
the remainder are Kurds or of Kurdish descent.
Kurdish beys and sheids have much influence in the town and wild
mountain districts adjoining, while the Sasun mountains, the scene of
successive Armenian revolutions of late years, are not far off to the
west. The town was ruled by a semi-independent Kurdish bey as late as
1836. There are some fine old mosques and _medresses_ (colleges), and
the Armenians have a large monastery and churches. There are British,
French and Russian consuls in the town, and a branch of the American
Mission with schools is established also. The climate is healthy and the
thermometer rarely falls below 0 deg. Fahr., but there is a heavy
snowfall and the narrow streets are blocked for some five months in the
year.
A good road runs southward down the pass, passing after a few miles some
large chalybeate and sulphur springs. Roads also lead north to Mush and
Erzerum and along the lake to Van. Postal communication is through
Erzerum with Trebizond. Tobacco of an inferior quality is largely grown,
and the chief industry is the weaving of a coarse red cloth. Manna and
gum tragacanth are also collected. Fruit is also plentiful, and there
are many vineyards close by.
The Bitlis vilayet comprises a very varied section of Asiatic Turkey, as
it includes the Mush plain and the plateau country west of Lake Van, as
well as a large extent of wild mountain districts inhabited by turbulent
Kurds and Armenians on either side of the central town of Bitlis, also
some of the lower country about Sairt along the left bank of the main
stream of the Tigris. The mountains have been little explored, but are
believed to be rich in minerals, iron, lead, copper, traces of gold and
many mineral springs are known to exist. (F. R. M.)
BITONTO (anc. _Butunti_), a town and episcopal see of Apulia, Italy, in
the province of Bari, 10 m. west by steam tramway from Bari. Pop. (1901)
30,617. It was a place of no importance in classical times. Its medieval
walls are still preserved. Its cathedral is one of the finest examples
of the Romanesque architecture of Apulia, and has escaped damage from
later restorations. The palazzo Sylos-Labini has a fine Renaissance
court of 1502.
BITSCH (Fr. _Bitche_), a town of Germany, in Alsace-Lorraine, on the
Horn, at the foot of the northern slope of the Vosges between Hagenau
and Saargemund. Pop. (1905) 4000. There are a Roman Catholic and a
Protestant church, a classical school and an academy of forestry. The
industries include shoe-making and watch-making, and there is some trade
in grain and timber. The town of Bitsch, which was formed out of the
villages of Rohr and Kaltenhausen in the 17th century, derives its name
from the old stronghold (mentioned in 1172 as Bytis Castrum) standing on
a rock some 250 ft. above the town. This had long given its name to the
countship of Bitsch, which was originally in the possession of the dukes
of Lorraine. In 1297 it passed by marriage to Eberhard I. of
Zweibrucken, whose line became extinct in 1569, when the countship
reverted to Lorraine. It passed with that duchy to France in 1766. After
that date the town rapidly increased in population. The citadel, which
had been constructed by Vauban on the site of the old castle after the
capture of Bitsch by the French in 1624, had been destroyed when it was
restored to Lorraine in 1698. This was restored and strengthened in 1740
into a fortress that proved impregnable in all succeeding wars. The
attack upon it by the Prussians in 1793 was repulsed; in 1815 they had
to be content with blockading it; and in 1870, though it was closely
invested by the Germans after the battle of Worth, it held out until the
end of the war. A large part of the fortification is excavated in the
red sandstone rock, and rendered bomb-proof; a supply of water is
secured to the garrison by a deep well in the interior.
BITTER, KARL THEODORE FRANCIS (1867- ), American sculptor, was born in
Vienna on the 6th of December 1867. After studying art there, in 1889 he
removed to the United States, where he became naturalized. In America he
gained great popularity as a sculptor, and in 1906-1907 was president of
the National Sculpture Society, New York. Among his principal works are:
the Astor memorial gates, Trinity church, New York; "Elements Controlled
and Uncontrolled," on the Administration Building at the Chicago
Exposition; a large relief, "Triumph of Civilization," in the
waiting-room of the Broad Street station of the Pennsylvania railway in
Philadelphia; decorations for the Dewey Naval Arch in New York City; the
"Standard Bearers," at the Pan-American Exposition grounds; a sitting
statue and a bust of Dr Pepper, provost of the University of
Pennsylvania; and the Villard and Hubbard memorials in the New York
chamber of commerce.
BITTERFELD, a town of Germany, in the Prussian province of Saxony, 26 m.
N. from Leipzig by rail, on the river Mulde, and an important junction
of railways from Leipzig and Halle to Berlin. Pop. (1900) 11,839. It
manufactures drain-pipes, paper-roofing and machinery, and has
saw-mills. Several coal-mines are in the vicinity. The town was built by
a colony of Flemish immigrants in 1153. It was captured by the landgrave
of Meissen in 1476, and belonged thenceforth to Saxony, until it was
ceded to Prussia in 1815. Owing to its pleasant situation and
accessibility, it has become a favourite residence of business men of
Leipzig and Halle.
BITTERLING (_Rhodeus amarus_), a little carp-like fish of central
Europe, belonging to the Cyprinid family. In it we have a remarkable
instance of symbiosis. The genital papilla of the female acquires a
great development during the breeding season and becomes produced into a
tube nearly as long as the fish itself; this acts as an ovipositor by
means of which the comparatively few and large eggs (3 millimetres in
diameter) are introduced through the gaping valves between the branchiae
of pond mussels (_Unio_ and _Anodonta_), where, after being inseminated,
they undergo their development, the fry leaving their host about a month
later. The mollusc reciprocates by throwing off its embryos on the
parent fish, in the skin of which they remain encysted for some time,
the period of reproduction of the fish and the mussel coinciding.
BITTERN, a genus of wading birds, belonging to the family _Ardeidae_,
comprising several species closely allied to the herons, from which they
differ chiefly in their shorter neck, the back of which is covered with
down, and the front with long feathers, which can be raised at pleasure.
They are solitary birds, frequenting countries possessing extensive
swamps and marshy grounds, remaining at rest by day, concealed among the
reeds and bushes of their haunts, and seeking their food, which consists
of fish, reptiles, insects and small quadrupeds, in the twilight. The
common bittern (_Botaurus stellaris_) is nearly as large as the heron,
and is widely distributed over the eastern hemisphere. Formerly it was
common in Britain, but extensive drainage and persecution have greatly
dimished its numbers and it is now only an uncertain visitor. Not a
winter passes without its appearing in some numbers, when its uncommon
aspect, its large size, and beautifully pencilled plumage cause it to be
regarded as a great prize by the lucky gun-bearer to whom it falls a
victim. Its value as a delicacy for the table, once so highly esteemed,
has long vanished. The old fable of this bird inserting its beak into a
reed or plunging it into the ground, and so causing the booming sound
with which its name will always be associated, is also exploded, and
nowadays indeed so few people in Britain have ever heard its loud and
awful voice, which seems to be uttered only in the breeding-season, and
is therefore unknown in a country where it no longer breeds, that
incredulity as to its booming at all has in some quarters succeeded the
old belief in this as in other reputed peculiarities of the species. The
bittern in the days of falconry was strictly preserved, and afforded
excellent sport. It sits crouching on the ground during the day, with
its bill pointing in the air, a position from which it is not easily
roused, and even when it takes wing, its flight is neither swift nor
long sustained. When wounded it requires to be approached with caution,
as it will then attack either man or dog with its long sharp bill and
its acute claws. It builds a rude nest among the reeds and flags, out of
materials which surround it, and the female lays four or five eggs of a
brownish olive. During the breeding season it utters a booming noise,
from which it probably derives its generic name, _Botaurus_, and which
has made it in many places an object of superstitious dread. Its plumage
for the most part is of a pale buff colour, rayed and speckled with
black and reddish brown. The American bittern (_Botaurus lentiginosus_)
is somewhat smaller than the European species, and is found throughout
the central and southern portions of North America. It also occurs in
Britain as an occasional straggler. It is distinguishable by its uniform
greyish-brown primaries, which want the tawny bars that characterize _B.
stellaris_. Both species are good eating.
[Illustration: Bittern.]
BITTERN (from "bitter"), the mother liquor obtained from sea-water or
brines after the separation of the sodium chloride (common salt) by
crystallization. It contains various magnesium salts (sulphate,
chloride, bromide and iodide) and is employed commercially for the
manufacture of Epsom salts (magnesium sulphate) and bromine. The same
term is applied to a mixture of quassia, iron sulphate, _cocculus
indicus_, liquorice, &c., used in adulterating beer.
BITTERS, the name given to aromatized (generally alcoholic) beverages
containing a bitter substance or substances, used as tonics, appetizers
or digestives. The bitterness is imparted by such substances as bitter
orange rind, gentian, rhubarb, quassia, cascarilla, angostura, quinine
and cinchona. Juniper, cinnamon, carraway, camomile, cloves and other
flavouring agents are also employed in conjunction with the bitter
principles, alcohol and sugar. Some bitters are prepared by simple
maceration and subsequent filtration (see LIQUEURS), others by the more
complicated distillation process. Those prepared by the latter process
are the finer commercial articles. Bitters are usually sold under the
name of the substance which has been used to give them the predominant
flavour, such as orange, angostura or peach bitters, &c. The alcoholic
strength of bitters varies, but is generally in the neighbourhood of 40%
of alcohol. Some bitters, although possessing tonic properties, may be
regarded as beverages pure and simple, notwithstanding the fact that
they are seldom consumed in an undiluted state; others again, are
obviously medicinal preparations and should be treated as such.
BITUMEN, the name applied by the Romans to the various descriptions of
natural hydrocarbons, the word _petroleum_ not being used in classical
Latin. In its widest sense it embraces the whole range of these
substances, including _natural gas_, the more or less liquid
descriptions of _petroleum_, and the solid forms of _asphalt, albertite,
gilsonite_ or _uintahite, elaterite, ozokerite_ and _hatchettite_. To
distinguish bitumen intermediate in consistency between asphalt and the
more liquid kinds of crude petroleum, the term _maltha_ (Latin) is
frequently employed. The bitumens of chief commercial importance may be
grouped under the three headings of (1) _natural gas_, (2) _petroleum_,
and (3) _asphalt_, and will be found fully described under these titles.
In the scriptures there are numerous references to bitumen, among which
the following may be quoted:--In Genesis ix. 3, we are told that in the
building of the tower of Babel "slime had they for mortar," and in
Genesis xiv. 10, that the vale of Siddim "was full of slime-pits," the
word _slime_ in the latter quotation from our version appearing as
_bitumen_ in the Vulgate. Herodotus alludes to the use of the bitumen
brought down by the Is, a tributary of the Euphrates, as mortar in
building the walls of Babylon. Diodorus, Curtius, Josephus, Bochart and
others make similar mention of this use of bitumen, and Vitruvius tells
us that it was employed in admixture with clay.
In its various forms, bitumen is one of the most widely distributed of
substances. It occurs, though sometimes only in small quantity, in
almost every part of the globe, and throughout the whole range of
geological strata, from the Laurentian rocks to the most recent members
of the Quaternary period. Although the gaseous and liquid forms of
bitumen may be regarded as having been formed in the strata in which
they are found or as having been received into such strata shortly after
formation, the semi-solid and solid varieties may be considered to have
been produced by the oxidation and evaporation of liquid petroleum
escaping from underlying or better preserved deposits into other strata,
or into fissures where atmospheric action and loss of the more volatile
constituents can take place. It should, however, be stated that there is
some difference of opinion as to the precise manner of production of
some of the solid forms of bitumen, and especially of ozokerite.
(B. R.)
BITURIGES, a Celtic people, according to Livy (v. 34) the most powerful
in Gaul in the time of Tarquinius Priscus. At some period unknown they
split up into two branches--Bituriges Cubi and Bituriges Vivisci. The
name is supposed to mean either "rulers of the world" or "perpetual
kings."
The Bituriges Cubi, called simply Bituriges by Caesar, in whose time
they acknowledged the supremacy of the Aedui, inhabited the modern
diocese of Bourges, including the departments of Cher and Indre, and
partly that of Allier. Their chief towns were Avaricum (Bourges),
Argentomagus (Argenton-sur-Creuse), Neriomagus (Neris-les-Bains),
Noviodunum (perhaps Villate). At the time of the rebellion of
Vercingetoix (52 B.C.), Avaricum, after a desperate resistance, was
taken by assault, and the inhabitants put to the sword. In the following
year, the Bituriges submitted to Caesar, and under Augustus they were
incorporated (in 28 B.C.) in Aquitania. Pliny (_Nat. Hist._ iv. 109)
speaks of them as _liberi_, which points to their enjoying a certain
amount of independence under Roman government. The district contained a
number of iron works, and Caesar says they were skilled in driving
galleries and mining operations.
The Biturgies Vivisci occupied the strip of land between the sea and the
left bank of the Garonne, comprising the greater part of the modern
department of Gironde. Their capital was Burdigala (Bordeaux), even then
a place of considerable importance and a wine-growing centre. Like the
Cubi, they also are called _liberi_ by Pliny.
See A. Desjardins, _Geographie historique de la Gaule romaine_, ii.
(1876-1893); A. Longnon, _Geographie de la Gaule on VI^e siecle_
(1878); A. Hohler, _Alt-celtischer Sprachschatz_; T.R. Holmes,
_Caesar's Conquest of Gaul_ (1899).
BITZIUS, ALBRECHT (1797-1854), Swiss novelist, best known by his pet
name of "Jeremias Gotthelf," was born on the 4th of October 1797 at
Morat, where his father was pastor. In 1804 the home was moved to
Utzenstorf, a village in the Bernese Emmenthal. Here young Bitzius grew
up, receiving his early education and consorting with the boys of the
village, as well as helping his father to cultivate his glebe. In 1812
he went to complete his education at Bern, and in 1820 was received as a
pastor. In 1821 he visited the university of Gottingen, but returned
home in 1822 to act as his father's assistant. On his father's death
(1824) he went in the same capacity to Herzogenbuchsee, and later to
Bern (1829). Early in 1831 he went as assistant to the aged pastor of
the village of Lutzelfluh, in the Upper Emmenthal (between Langnau and
Burgdorf), being soon elected his successor (1832) and marrying one of
his granddaughters (1833). He spent the rest of his life there, dying on
the 22nd of October 1854, and leaving three children (the son was a
pastor, the two daughters married pastors). His first work, the
_Bauernspiegel_, appeared in 1837. It purported to be the life of
Jeremias Gotthelf, narrated by himself, and this name was later adopted
by the author as his pen name. It is a living picture of Bernese (or,
strictly speaking, Emmenthal) village life, true to nature, and not
attempting to gloss over its defects and failings. It is written (like
the rest of his works) in the Bernese dialect of the Emmenthal, though
it must be remembered that Bitzius was not (like Auerbach) a peasant by
birth, but belonged to the educated classes, so that he reproduces what
he had seen and learnt, and not what he had himself personally
experienced. The book was a great success, as it was a picture of real
life, and not of fancifully beribboned 18th-century villagers. Among his
later tales are the _Leiden und Freuden eines Schulmeisters_
(1838-1839), _Uli der Knecht_ (1841), with its continuation, _Uli der
Pachter_ (1849), _Anne Babi Jowager_ (1843-1844), _Kathi die
Grossmutter_ (1847), _Die Kaserei in der Vehfreude_ (1850), and the
_Erlebnisse eines Schuldenbauers_ (1854). He published also several
volumes of shorter tales. One slight drawback to some of his writings is
the echo of local political controversies, for Bitzius was a Whig and
strongly opposed to the Radical party in the canton, which carried the
day in 1846.
Lives by C. Manuel, in the Berlin edition of Bitzius's works (Berlin,
1861), and by J. Ammann in vol. i. (Bern, 1884) of the _Sammlung
Bernischer Biographien_. His works were issued in 24 vols. at Berlin,
1856-1861, while 10 vols., giving the original text of each story,
were issued at Bern, 1898-1900 (edition not to be completed).
(W. A. B. C.)
BIVOUAC (a French word generally said to have been introduced during the
Thirty Years' War, perhaps derived from _Beiwacht_, extra guard),
originally, a night-watch by a whole army under arms to prevent
surprise. In modern military parlance the word is used to mean a
temporary encampment in the open field without tents, as opposed to
"billets" or "cantonment" on the one hand and "camp" on the other. The
use of bivouacs permits an army to remain closely concentrated for all
emergencies, and avoids the necessity for numerous wagons carrying
tents. Constant bivouacs, however, are trying to the health of men and
horses, and this method of quartering is never employed except when the
military situation demands concentration and readiness. Thus the
outposts would often have to bivouac while the main body of the army lay
in billets.
BIWA, a lake in the province of Omi, Japan. It measures 36 m. in length
by 12 m. in extreme breadth, has an area of 180 sq. m., is about 330 ft.
above sea-level, and has an extreme depth of some 300 ft. There are a
few small islands in the lake, the principal being Chikubu-shima at the
northern end.
Tradition alleges that Lake Biwa and the mountain of Fuji were produced
simultaneously by an earthquake in 286 B.C. On the west of the lake the
mountains Hiei-zan and Hira-yama slope down almost to its margin, and on
the east a wide plain extends towards the boundaries of the province of
Mino. It is drained by a river flowing out of its southern end, and
taking its course into the sea at Osaka. This river bears in succession
the names of Seta-gawa, Uji-gawa and Yodo-gawa. The lake abounds with
fish, and the beauty of its scenery is remarkable. Small steamboats ply
constantly to the points of chief interest, and around its shores are to
be viewed the _Omi-no-hakkei_, or "eight landscapes of Omi"; namely, the
lake silvering under an autumn moon as one looks down from Ishi-yama;
the snow at eve on Hira-yama; the glow of sunset at Seta; the groves and
classic temple of Mii-dera as the evening bell sounds; boats sailing
home from Yabase; cloudless peaks at Awazu; rain at nightfall over
Karasaki; and wild geese sweeping down to Katata. The lake is connected
with Kyoto by a canal constructed in 1890, and is thus brought into
water communication with Osaka.
BIXIO, NINO (1821-1873), Italian soldier, was born on the 2nd of October
1821. While still a boy he was compelled by his parents to embrace a
maritime career. After numerous adventures he returned to Italy in 1846,
joined the Giovine Italia, and, on 4th November 1847, made himself
conspicuous at Genoa by seizing the bridle of Charles Albert's horse and
crying, "Pass the Ticino, Sire, and we are all with you." He fought
through the campaign of 1848, became captain under Garibaldi at Rome in
1849, taking prisoners an entire French battalion, and gaining the gold
medal for military valour. In 1859 he commanded a Garibaldian battalion,
and gained the military cross of Savoy. Joining the Marsala expedition
in 1860, he turned the day in favour of Garibaldi at Calatafimi, was
wounded at Palermo, but recovered in time to besiege Reggio in Calabria
(21st of August 1860), and, though again wounded, took part in the
battle of Volturno, where his leg was broken. Elected deputy in 1861, he
endeavoured to reconcile Cavour and Garibaldi. In 1866, at the head of
the seventh division, he covered the Italian retreat from Custozza,
ignoring the Austrian summons to surrender. Created senator in February
1870, he was in the following September given command of a division
during the movement against Rome, took Civita Vecchia, and participated
in the general attack upon Rome (20th September 1870). He died of
cholera at Achin Bay in Sumatra _en route_ for Batavia, whither he had
gone in command of a commercial expedition (16th December 1873).
BIZERTA (properly pronounced Ben Zert; Fr. _Bizerte_), a seaport of
Tunisia, in 37 deg. 17' N., 9 deg. 50' E. Pop. about 12,000. Next to
Toulon, Bizerta is the most important naval port of France in the
Mediterranean. It occupies a commanding strategical position in the
narrowest part of the sea, being 714 m. E. of Gibraltar, 1168 m. W.N.W.
of Port Said, 240 m. N.W. of Malta, and 420 m. S. by E. of Toulon. It is
60 m. by rail N.N.W. of Tunis. The town is built on the shores of the
Mediterranean at the point where the Lake of Bizerta enters the sea
through a natural channel, the mouth of which has been canalized. The
modern town lies almost entirely on the north side of the canal. A
little farther north are the ancient citadel, the walled "Arab" town and
the old harbour (disused). The present outer harbour covers about 300
acres and is formed by two converging jetties and a breakwater. The
north jetty is 4000 ft. long, the east jetty 3300 ft., and the
breakwater--which protects the port from the prevalent north-east
winds--2300 ft. long. The entrance to the canal is in the centre of the
outer harbour. The canal is 2600 ft. long and 787 ft. wide on the
surface. Its banks are lined with quays, and ships drawing 26 ft. of
water can moor alongside. At the end of the canal is a large commercial
harbour, beyond which the channel opens into the lake--in reality an arm
of the sea--roughly circular in form and covering about 50 sq. m.,
two-thirds of its waters having a depth of 30 to 40 ft. The lake, which
merchant vessels are not allowed to enter, contains the naval port and
arsenal. There is a torpedo and submarine boat station on the north side
of the channel at the entrance to the lake, but the principal naval
works are at Sidi Abdallah at the south-west corner of the lake and 10
m. from the open sea. Here is an enclosed basin covering 123 acres with
ample quayage, dry docks and everything necessary to the accommodation,
repair, revictualling and coaling of a numerous fleet. Barracks,
hospitals and waterworks have been built, the military town, called
Ferryville, being self-contained.
Fortifications have been built for the protection of the port. They
comprise (a) the older works surrounding the town; (b) a group of coast
batteries on the high ground of Cape Bizerta or Guardia, 4 m.
north-north-west of the town; these are grouped round a powerful fort
called Jebel Kebir, and have a command of 300 to 800 ft. above
sea-level; (c) another group of batteries on the narrow ground between
the sea and the lake to the east of the town; the highest of these is
the Jebel Tuila battery 265 ft. above sea-level.
The LAKE OF BIZERTA, called Tinja by the Arabs, abounds in excellent
fish, especially mullets, the dried roe of which, called _botargo_, is
largely exported, and the fishing industry employs a large proportion of
the inhabitants. The western shore of the lake is low, and in many
places is covered with olive trees to the water's edge. The
south-eastern shores are hilly and wooded, and behind them rises a range
of picturesque hills. A narrow and shallow channel leads from the
western side of the lake into another sheet of water, the Lake of
Ishkul, so called from Jebel Ishkul, a hill on its southern bank 1740
ft. high. The Lake of Ishkul is nearly as large as the first lake, but
is very shallow. Its waters are generally sweet.
Bizerta occupies the site of the ancient Tyrian colony, Hippo Zarytus or
Diarrhytus, the harbour of which, by means of a spacious pier,
protecting it from the north-east wind, was rendered one of the safest
and finest on this coast. The town became a Roman colony, and was
conquered by the Arabs in the 7th century. The place thereafter was
subject either to the rulers of Tunis or of Constantine, but the
citizens were noted for their frequent revolts. They threw in their lot
(c. 1530) with the pirate Khair-ed-Din, and subsequently received a
Turkish garrison. Bizerta was captured by the Spaniards in 1535, but not
long afterwards came under the Tunisian government. Centuries of neglect
followed, and the ancient port was almost choked up, though the value of
the fisheries saved the town from utter decay. Its strategical
importance was one of the causes which led to the occupation of Tunisia
by the French in 1881. In 1890 a concession for a new canal and harbour
was granted to a company, and five years later the new port was formally
opened. Since then the canal has been widened and deepened, and the
naval port at Sidi Abdallah created.
BIZET [ALEXANDRE CESAR LEOPOLD] GEORGES (1838-1875), French musical
composer, was born at Bougival, near Paris, on the 25th of October 1838,
the son of a singing-master. He displayed musical ability at an early
age, and was sent to the Paris Conservatoire, where he studied under
Halevy and speedily distinguished himself, carrying off prizes for organ
and fugue, and finally in 1857, after an ineffectual attempt in the
previous year, the Grand Prix de Rome for a cantata called _Cloris et
Clotilde_. A success of a different kind also befell him at this time.
Offenbach, then manager of the Theatre des Bouffes-Parisiens, had
organized a competition for an operetta, in which young Bizet was
awarded the first prize in conjunction with Charles Lecocq, each of them
writing an operetta called _Docteur Miracle_. After the three years
spent in Rome, an obligation imposed by the French government on the
winners of the first prize at the Conservatoire, Bizet returned to
Paris, where he achieved a reputation as a pianist and accompanist. On
the 23rd of September 1863 his first opera, _Les Pecheurs de perles_,
was brought out at the Theatre Lyrique, but owing possibly to the
somewhat uninteresting nature of the story, the opera did not enjoy a
very long run. The qualities displayed by the composer, however, were
amply recognized, although the music was stated, by some critics, to
exhibit traces of Wagnerian influence. Wagnerism at that period was a
sort of spectre that haunted the imagination of many leading members of
the musical press. It sufficed for a work to be at all out of the common
for the epithet "Wagnerian" to be applied to it. The term, it may be
said, was intended to be condemnatory, and it was applied with little
understanding as to its real meaning. The score of the _Pecheurs de
perles_ contains several charming numbers; its dreamy melodies are well
adapted to fit a story laid in Eastern climes, and the music reveals a
decided dramatic temperament. Some of its dances are now usually
introduced into the fourth act of _Carmen_.