works of this kind are the biographical dictionary of Chalmers, in 32 volumes; the general biography of Aikin, in 10 volumes; the biographical dictionary of the society for the diffusion of useful knowledge; the universal biographical dictionary of Watkins, London, 1825; Rose's biographical dictionary, in 12 volumes, London, 1857, and the department of biography in Knight's English cyclopædia, 6 volumes. An imperial dictionary of universal biography is now in process of publication in Glasgow, edited by P. E. Dove, having in its list of associate editors the names of Prof. Nichol of Glasgow, and Prof. Francis Bowen, of Harvard university. The principal American work of the kind is Blake's biographical dictionary, in 1 large octavo volume, the 13th and enlarged edition of which appeared in 1856. There is also a convenient haud-book of universal biography by Parke Godwin, and a cyclopædia of biography, republished in this country by Appleton and co., under the editorial supervision of the Rev. Dr. Hawks. Some of the latest universal biographies contain accounts of living men, but there are also German works entitled Zeitgenossen, or Contemporaries, French biographies of the living, and English and American "Men of the Times," devoted only to contemporaries. There is a Galeria de Españoles celebres contemporaneos, edited by Cardenas and Diaz. Records of the distinguished dead of every year are also preserved in appropriate periodicals, as Longman's annual biography and obituary, the American almanac, the Nekrolog der Deutschen, published at Weimar, and the Fädrelansk Nekrolog, published at Copenhagen.

BIOLOGY (Gr. Bios, life, and Xoyos, doctrine), a term introduced by Treviranus of Bremen (1802) and used by Carus, Oken, Schelling, and other German philosophers, to denote the ultimate conditions of human life. It is now employed by some writers as synonymous with physiology.

BION. I. Of Abdera, a distinguished mathematician, and pupil of Democritus, lived in the 4th or 3d century B. C. He was the first who asserted that there were certain regions of the earth where the whole year consisted of but one day and one night, each 6 months long. II. Of Borysthenes, a Scythian philosopher, who lived in the middle of the 3d century B. C. His father was a freedman, and his mother a Lacedæmonian harlot. Because of some crime committed by the former, the whole family were sold for slaves, and Bion in consequence became the property of a rhetorician, who educated him and ultimately made him his heir. After the death of his patron, Bion went to Athens, and applied himself to the study of philosophy. Nor did he confine himself to the tenets of any particular sect, but embraced them all round in turn. He was successively an academician, a cynic, a sceptic, a stoic, and a peripatetic, and the effect of their jarring creeds on his moral and religious principles was just what might have been antici

pated. For though a man of considerable intellectual acuteness, he was a notorious atheist, and utterly depraved, so much so indeed, that he even derided Socrates for having led a virtuous life. Bion was remarkable for the shrewdness and sharpness of his sayings. We shall give a few examples: "The miser," says he, "does not possess wealth, but is possessed by it." He asserts that "good slaves are really free, while bad freemen are really slaves." He assures us that "it is useless to tear our hair when we are in grief, for sorrow is not cured by baldness." III. Of Smyrna, a Greek pastoral poet, who flourished in the latter part of the 3d century B. C. On attaining manhood, Bion emigrated to Sicily, where a conspiracy was formed against him, and he was basely poisoned. The poems of Bion were chiefly pastoral, occasionally erotic. The fragments of them that are extant fully justify the eulogies of his admirer, Moschus. Their sentiments are tender and delicate; their style is copious, graceful, and polished. The best edition of the remains of Bion's poetry is that of I. F. Manso, published at Leipsic, in 1807.

BIOT, JEAN BAPTISTE, a French savant, born in Paris, 1774, has pursued knowledge with eagerness and success, until he has passed his 80th year. Astronomy, acoustics, optics, magnetism, electro-magnetism, and thermotics are indebted to his skilful experiments, and to his laborious and accurate calculations; and other departments of learning have not been left untouched. His highest success has been in optics. He was a companion of Arago in measuring the arc of the meridian; he experimented on the pendulum in the Scottish isle of Unst; he published in 1802 a book on curves of the second degree; in later years, a volume on astronomy and another on physics; and has contributed largely to various scientific journals, and to the annals of the learned bodies of which he is a member.

BIPONT EDITIONS, famous editions of the Latin classics, published in Bavaria in the city of Deux Ponts, whose name in German is Zwei-brücken, and in Latin Bipontium. The publication was begun in 1779, but after the French conquest was finished in Strasburg. The collection forms 50 volumes, in Svo.

BIQUADRATIC, in algebra, signifies belonging to the 4th power, that is, to the square of the square.

BIR, a town of Asiatic Turkey, on the Euphrates; pop. about 5,000. It is a central point on the caravan route from Aleppo and Damascus to Persia and central Asia, at which the Euphrates is crossed in large boats.

BIRBHOOM, or BEERBHOOM, a district in the N. W. extremity of Bengal; pop. 1,040,876; area, 4,730 sq. m.; between 23° 32′ and 24° 40′ N., and long. 86° 25' and 88° 30' E. The district is mountainous, wooded, and full of jungles. Its principal productions are sugar, rice, and coal. Iron ore of excellent quality is found, but so mixed that it does not as yet pay to work it. The principal town is Soorie.

BIRCH (betula) a genus of monoecious trees or shrubs, which have, as generic features, both sterile and fertile flowers in scaly catkins, 3 of each under each bract, with no involucre to the broadly winged nutlet which results from a naked ovary. The sterile catkins are long and drooping, formed in summer, remaining naked through the succeeding winter, and expanding their golden flowers in early spring, preceding the leaves. The fertile catkins are oblong or cylindrical, protected by scales through the winter, and developed with the leaves. The outer bark is usually separable in thin horizontal sheets, the twigs and leaves are often spicy and aromatic, and the foliage mostly thin and light. The birch and the alder (alnus) were classified in the same genus by Linnæus in his later works, but are now generally regarded as distinct by botanists.-There are 19 recognized species of birch, for the most part lofty-growing and ornamental trees, found native in Asia, Europe and America, and almost all preferring the cold regions of the northern latitudes. The most widely extended of them is B. alba, or common white birch, a native of Europe, and found in America, near the coast, from Pennsylvania to Maine, which thrives in every kind of difficult and sterile soil, but decays where the ground is rich. It is found, though dwarfed in size, higher on the Alps than any other tree, approaches near to the icy regions of the north, and is almost the only tree which Greenland produces. It has a chalk-white bark, and triangular, very taper-pointed, shining leaves, tremulous as those of an aspen. It serves many purposes of domestic economy. The bark is employed by the Greenlanders, Laplanders, and inhabitants of Kamtchatka in covering their huts and in making baskets and ropes. An infusion of the leaves makes a yellow dye, and is also drunk like tea by the Fins; and the Russians and Swedes prepare from the sap of the trunk a fermented liquor resembling champagne. -The most graceful tree of the genus is the B. pendula, growing both in mountainous situations and bogs, from Lapland to the sub-Alpine parts of Italy and Asia. Its popular name is the weeping birch, and it is distinguished for its suppleness and the graceful bend and falling inclination of its long boughs. Its picturesque appearance, with its white and brilliant bark and gleaming, odoriferous leaves, makes it a favorite in parks and gardens.-The B. lenta or cherry birch, called also the mountain mahogany, from the hardness of its wood, has a dark, chestnut-brown bark, and abounds particularly from New England to Ohio, and on the summits of the Alleghany mountains. Its leaves and wood are aromatic; the latter also rosecolored, fine-grained, and valuable for cabinetwork.-The B. papyracea, or paper birch, is that from which the aborigines of America made the canoes with which they navigated lakes and rivers, and hence it is also called the canoe birch. It is a native of Canada and the northern United States, and is superior to all other

species for its tough bark, in paper-like layers, which is so durable that the wood of the fallen tree will rot entirely away, while the case of bark will be left sound and solid.-The B. nigra, the river or red birch, is an alder-like American species, with whitish leaves and reddish-brown bark, found from Massachusetts to the southern states. Barrel hoops are made from its branches, and its tough twigs are the best material for coarse brooms. The negroes also make vessels from it to contain their food and drink.—The B. nana, dwarf or Alpine birch, is a native of the Alps and of the mountains of Lapland. The Laplanders burn it on summer nights to drive off a kind of mosquito, and sleep in the fragrant smoke. It has been introduced into this country, and appears as a small shrub on the summits of mountains in Maine and New Hampshire, and in other frigid situations northward.

BIRCH, THOMAS, D. D. an English historical and biographical writer, born in London, Nov. 23, 1703, died by falling from his horse, Jan. 9, 1776. By his own exertions he qualified himself for admission into the church, and having been fortunate enough to obtain an introduction to Attorney-general Hardwicke, he gained the favor of that afterward distinguished judge. He became secretary of the royal society. He published a great number of works. "Thurlow's State Papers," "Lives of Archbishop Tillotson and Hon. Robert Boyle," an edition of Milton's prose works, and the works of Raleigh, "A General Dictionary, historical and critical," and "A series of Biographical Memoirs,” are among the most important of his publications.

BIRCH-PFEIFFER, CHARLOTTE, a German actress and dramatist, born at Stuttgart, 1800, whose father's name was Pfeiffer, married in 1825, Dr. Birch, of Copenhagen. She early displayed a passion for the stage, and for about 20 years she performed in the various theatres of Germany, made excursions to Petersburg, Pesth, Amsterdam, and other cities; in 1837, undertook the management of the Zurich theatre, which she retained until 1843, when she received an appointment at the royal theatre of Berlin. She is also a dramatist of great industry, and produces as many as 2 plays a year. Her last play, the Trauschein, or The Certificate of Marriage," appeared in the early part of 1858. She has also written several novels.

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BIRD, EDWARD, an English painter, born at Wolverhampton, April 12, 1772, died at Bristol, Nov. 2, 1819. His father, a house carpenter, apprenticed him in his 14th year, at Birmingham, to the business of painting and japanning. When his apprenticeship was ended, he went to Bristol, where he opened a drawing school. In his intervals of leisure, he made several designs and sketches, 2 of which, at the Bath exhibition, in 1807, were much admired, and sold for 30 guineas each. These were followed by a piece called "Good News," an alehouse scene, which made his name more widely

known. After this came "The Chorister Rehearsing," and "The Will." Soon after, he was elected member of the royal academy. In 1811 he commenced his best and most poetical work, Chevy Chase, after the battle, and Sir Walter Scott, who was consulted on the occasion, gave Mr. Bird some valuable information on the armor, costume, and local accessories. This picture was purchased by the marquis of Stafford for 300 guineas. Mr. Bird presented Scott with the original sketch. Bird's next picture, "The Death of Eli," was also purchased by the marquis of Stafford for 500 guineas, and the British institution awarded it a prize of 300 guineas. "The Blacksmith's Shop," "The Country Auction," "The Gypsy Boy," and a few other pictures, kept Bird's name before the public. He tried historical and sacred subjects, but without success. "The Embarkation of Louis XVIII. for Paris, in 1814," was his last subject. BIRD, GOLDING, M. D., an English naturalist, born in Norfolk, in 1815, died at Tunbridge Wells, in Oct. 1854. Educated for the medical profession, he obtained the prize for botany given by the apothecaries' company of England. In 1836, when he was only 22 years old, he was appointed lecturer on natural philosophy at Guy's hospital, and afterward included medical botany in his course. After long practice and marked success as a teacher, he abandoned his medical practice to follow his favorite studies more devotedly. In 1848-'9, symptoms of heart disease became evident, and he soon died.

BIRD, JOHN, an English astronomical mechanician, born in the year 1709, died March 31, 1776. He was originally a weaver in Durham; but having become acquainted with a watchmaker, had his attention directed to mechanics, and became a dial plate maker, effecting the divisions with great correctness. In 1740 he went to London, and was employed by Sisson in marking off the astronomical quadrants, and at last opened a workshop of his own. He constructed the large 8 foot mural instruments for Greenwich, Paris, Oxford, St. Petersburg, Mannheim, and Göttingen. He was the master of the celebrated Ramsden.

BIRD, ROBERT M, M. D., an American physician, author of several novels and plays, born at Newcastle, Del., in 1803, died in Philadelphia, in Jan. 1854. He was educated in Philadelphia, where he began the practice of his profession, and made his first literary ventures in the columns of the "Monthly Magazine" of that city. The most successful of his tragedies is the "Gladiator," which has retained its popularity upon the stage, and the principal character in which is one of the favorite personations of Mr. Edwin Forrest. His novels, published at intervals between 1830 and 1840, are chiefly historical romances, the scene of "Calavar," and the "Infidel" being in Mexico, at the time of the Spanish conquest; that of "Nick of the Woods, or the Jibbenainosay," being in Kentucky, at the close of the war of the revolution; "Peter Pilgrim, containing a minute description of the mammoth

cave in Kentucky, and the "Adventures of Robin Day" being the story of an orphan shipwrecked on the coast of Barnegat. They are marked by picturesqueness of description, and an animated narrative. After spending several years in cultivating a farm, Dr. Bird returned to Philadelphia as editor of the "North American Gazette."

BIRD, WILLIAM, an English composer, born about 1543, died in 1623. He was a pupil of Tallis, and in 1563 was chosen organist of Lincoln cathedral, which would seem to imply that he had early in life conformed to the doctrines of the reformed church, notwithstanding that he wrote and published, at various times during his long life, a great number of ecclesiastical compositions to Latin words, forming portions of the Roman ritual. In 1569 he was appointed gentleman of the chapel royal, a position which he appears to have held until his death. The number of his vocal compositions, chiefly sacred, was enormous; and his pieces for the organ and virginals were almost equally numerous. Among the latter is a collection of nearly 70 compositions in manuscript, known as queen Elizabeth's virginal book. The fine canon, Non nobis, Domine, which to this day is frequently sung in England, is a good specimen of his skill as a composer of sacred vocal music.

BIRD ISLANDS. There are several islands or clusters of islands so named. I. The most important cluster is one among what are called the Leeward islands of the Lesser Antilles. The Bird islands lie off the coast of Venezuela, and immediately N. of the gulf of Triste. They are so named from the immense numbers of birds that frequent them. They belong to the Dutch, and are settled only by a few fishers. II. The most important single island thus named is in the North Pacific ocean. It is a solitary rock rising out of the bosom of the sea, and has its name for the same reason assigned above. The Sandwich islanders had given this name in their language. It should probably be reckoned as one of the Sandwich group. It was discovered in 1788, by the captain of the Prince of Wales. It is in lat. 23° 6' N., and does not exceed one mile in diameter in any place.-There are also Bird islands on the coast of Ireland, Africa, Newfoundland, and in the Eastern archipelago.

BIRD LIME, a glutinous, viscid substance, of greenish color and bitterish taste, prepared by boiling the middle bark of the European holly (ilex aquifolium) or the young shoots of elder and other plants, as the mistletoe and other parasites, separating the gummy matter from the liquid, and leaving it for a fortnight in a moist cool place to become viscid. It is next to be pounded into a tough paste, well washed, and put aside for some days to ferment. Some oil or thin grease is to be incorporated with it, when it is ready for use. Its characteristic properties appear to identify it with the principle glu of the French chemists, which exudes spontaneously from certain plants. It differs from resins in being insoluble in the fixed oils.

Bird lime is so tenacious that small birds alighting upon sticks daubed over with it are unable to escape. It is used for this purpose and also for destroying insects. Large quantities of it were formerly exported from Great Britain to India, and it is now an article of import in England from Turkey.

These

BIRD OF PARADISE, genus paradisea, Linn; belonging to the order passeres, tribe conirostres, and family paradiseida. Seven species of the genus are described: P. apoda, Linn. P. papuana, Bechst. P. rubra, Vieill. P. speciosa, Bodd. P. regia, Linn. P. atra, Bodd. P. sexpennis, Bodd. The genus is characterized by a bill, long, strong, with the culmen curved to the emarginated tip, and the sides compressed; the nostrils lateral and covered by short feathers which conceal the base of the mandible; the wings long and rounded, with the 4th and 5th quills equal and longest; the tail is of various lengths, even or rounded; the tarsi as long as the middle toe, robust and covered by a single lengthened scale; the toes very long and strong, the outer larger than the inner, and united at the base, the hind toe long and robust; the claws long, strong, much curved and acute; the sides of the body, neck, breast, tail, and sometimes the head, ornamented with prolonged showy feathers. birds are peculiar to New Guinea and the neighboring islands; they are active and lively in their movements, and are usually seen on the tops of high trees, though they descend in the morning and evening to the lower branches to search for food, and to hide in the thick foliage from the heat of the sun. The food consists chiefly of the seeds of the teak tree, and of a species of fig; they also devour grasshoppers and other insects, stripping off the wings and legs before swallowing them; in confinement they will eat boiled rice, plantains, and similar food. Their cry is loud and sonorous, the notes being in rapid succession; the first 4 notes are said by Mr. Lay to be clear, exactly intonated, and very sweet, while the last 3 are repeated in a kind of caw, resembling, though more refined than those of a crow or daw.-The best known species is the greater paradise bird (P. apoda, Linn.), whose body is about as large as a thrush, though the thick plumage makes it appear as large as a pigeon; it is about 12 inches long, the bill being 1 inch. The head, throat, and neck are covered with very short dense feathers, of a pale golden color on the head and hind part of the neck, the base of the bill being surrounded with black velvety ones, with a greenish gloss; the fore part of the neck is green gold, with the hind part, back, wings, and tail chestnut; the breast chestnut, inclining to purple; beneath the wings spring a large number of feathers, with very loose webs, some 18 inches long, resembling the downy tufts of feather grass; these are of different colors, some chestnut and purplish, others yellowish, and a few nearly white; from the rump spring 2 middle tail feathers, without webs except for the

first few inches and at the tip, and nearly 3 feet in length; the remaining tail feathers are about 6 inches long, and even at the end. The natives call this bird Burung-dewata, or "bird of the gods," from which perhaps the common name is derived. The Malay traders, who first brought them from New Guinea, cut off the legs of these birds, and pretended that they lived in the air, buoyed up by their light plumage, never descending to the ground, and resting at night suspended from the trees by the long tail feathers; other fables, such as that they fed on the morning dew, hatched their eggs out between the shoulders, and came from the "terrestrial paradise," were added in order to increase the value of these beautiful birds in the Indian markets. From the nature of their plumage they cannot fly except against the wind; when the feathers get disordered by a contrary breeze they fall to the ground, from which they cannot readily arise; in this way many are caught; others are taken by bird lime, or shot by blunt arrows, or so stupefied by cocculus Indicus as to be caught by the hand; when at rest they seem to be very proud of their beauty, carefully picking from their feathers every particle of dust; they are shy and difficult of approach. Batavia and Singapore are the chief ports whence these birds are exported to Europe; the Bugis of Celebes bring great numbers of them thither in their boats from New Guinea and the Arroo group. The whole bird is a highly coveted ornament for the heads of the East Indian grandees as well as for the bonnets of the civilized fair sex.-The P. papuana, Bechst., is a smaller bird, of the same general appearance, with the throat and neck before green; top of the head, nape, and neck ferruginous yellow; back yellow with a grayish tinge; breast, belly, and wings chestnut. This and the preceding species are said to fly in flocks, led by a king who flies higher than the rest.-The P. rubra, Vieill., is about 9 inches long, and principally characterized by the fine red color of the subaxillary feathers, and the absence of the elongated slender shafts.

The magnificent paradise bird (P. speciosa, Bodd.), is of a general rufous color above, and of a brilliant green below, with a tuft of beautiful yellow feathers on the hind neck, marked at the end by a black spot.-The king paradise bird (P. regia, Linn.) is about 7 inches long; it has the head, neck, back, tail, and wings purplish chestnut, with the crown approaching to yellow and the breast to bloodred, all with a satiny gloss; on the breast is a broad bar of brilliant green, below which the belly is white; the subaxillary feathers are grayish white, tipped with shining green; the middle tail feathers are spirally coiled, with the webs of a glossy green color.-The superb paradise bird (P. atra, Bodd.) has a black crest, with the head, hind neck and back of a greenish gold color, of a velvety appearance, and overlying each other like the scales of a fish; the wings a dull deep black; tail black, with a

blue gloss and even at the end; throat changeable violet; belly bright golden green; subaxillary plumes black and velvety, rising upon the back and resembling a second pair of wings.-The gold-breasted paradise bird (P. sexpennis, Bodd.) is also crested; the top of the head, cheeks, and throat changeable violet black; fore neck and breast brilliant changeable green; back deep black, with a violet gloss; wings and tail black; the subaxillary feathers are long and black, with loose webs like those of an ostrich; on each side of the head are 3 long feathers, webless except at the end, where they are spread into an oval form.-The 12 wired paradise bird belongs to the family upupida, and to the genus epimachus; it is a native of New Holland, and is distinguished by a splendid green band across the breast, by the silky softness of the white feathers below, and by 12 wiry appendages prolonged from them. No description can give any idea of the graceful forms and brilliant hues of the paradise birds; our own beautiful humming birds come nearest to them in fairy-like structure of their plumage, and in the gorgeous, metallic, and ever changing lustre of their colors.

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW, the aspect of a thing as seen from above, just as a bird is supposed to see objects on the earth when soaring in the air. This is a favorite mode of taking pictures of places, as a bird's-eye view of the city and harbor of New York. The phrase, to take a bird'seye view of a thing is employed. It is sometimes used metaphysically to mean a cursory, not minute, mental glance at a subject.

BIRDS (aves), a class of vertebrate animals, distinguished from all others by certain peculiarities, and also by a combination of other characteristics, the union of which is not to be found elsewhere. They are biped, as are, also, certain mammalia; are oviparous exclusively, which no other class is; and are, with very few exceptions, covered with a feathered coat, adapted, more or less perfectly, for flight. They have frames penetrated through all their parts by air-cells that facilitate motion by increasing lightness. By means of external substitutes for organs of reproduction, usually called nests, they develop ova after excluding them. The last 2 peculiarities distinguish birds from all other animals. No others possess the same, or even similarly aerified structures, and none-though many, both vertebrate and invertebrate, are oviparous,-exhibit any corresponding resort to nests for the development of their eggs. All birds, without a single known exception, are biped, which, without being an exclusive peculiarity, is very nearly so. All, or nearly all, possess more or less perfect powers of flight. Even the few exceptions have certain rudimentary substitutes for wings, that are never so far completely developed as to become available. The families which constitute these exceptions are both small in number and varieties of species, and in regard to that of the individuals composing them. They

are all formed either for motion on the land, or in the water, exclusively. In all these instances the feathery coverings are incompletely developed, possessing a proximate resemblance to the hairy covering of certain land and water animals. The ostrich and the penguin may be named as typical of these 2 distinct forms of exception, both in regard to their inability to raise themselves into the air, and their exceptional hair-like plumage.-In the internal organization of the entire class of birds there are other and more noticeable anatomic peculiarities. Their skulls are without the sutures that are found in mammalia, forming consolidated bones. These are joined to the neck or spinal column by one single joint, so constructed as to give the most perfect freedom of motion in horizontal and lateral directions, without danger of dislocation or injury. In the place of teeth they have upper and lower jaw, forming unitedly the bills, which are composed of a hard horny substance. These subserve a similar purpose to the teeth, the place of which they take. In several families of birds the upper part of the bill is articulated with the skull. The parrots are familiar examples of this peculiarity of structure. More commonly the skull and upper jaw are united by means of an elastic bony plate, by the interposition of which the brain is admirably protected from injuries, to which it would otherwise be unavoidably exposed. The upper extremities of birds, analogous to the arms or forelegs of other animals, differ essentially in never being used as prehensile organs, or for motion in contact with the earth, as in walking or running. Their use is almost exclusively for flight, and they serve as the basis of their wings. The cervical vertebro of birds are more numerous than those of mammals. In the latter their number is uniformly 7, while in birds there are never less than 10, and in some instances as many as 23. Their dorsal vertebræ are more fixed and limited in their motion than the cervical, and are usually 10 in number, rarely 11, and in some instances only 7 or 8. The pelvis in birds is a simple elongated plate, open below, terminated by the rump, which supports the tail-feathers. The breast-bone, or sternum, is, perhaps, the most noticeable feature in the bony skeleton of birds. It is also one of the most important parts of the osseous frame-work, as it forms the base for the insertion of the most powerful of the muscles of flight. Its prolongation or crest determines with infallible accuracy the degree of power of flight of its possessor, and is entirely wanting in those destitute of the power of raising themselves in the air. The merry-thought (furcula) should be here mentioned as another peculiarity to birds of flight, and wanting only in those not possessed of that power. The lower extremities of birds are employed for purposes of locomotion, for standing and roosting, and, in some birds, for obtaining food. Their bony