BISMUTH.

12J.

alkalisacids

lime-wateralum -red sulphate of ironsulphate of copperproto-muriate of tin

cultivated in Provence , Languedoc, and Dauphine, for the sake of its berries, which ateplucked before they-are ripe, while they have a greenish hue. Another variety comestrom Persia , whence its trivial name : it is larger than the French kind, and has superiorproperties. The principal substances contained in these berries are, 1. A coloring mat-ter, which is united with a matter insoluble in ether, little soluble in concentrated alcohol,and very soluble in water: it appears to be volatile. 2. A matter remarkable for itsbitterness, which is soluble in water and alcohol. 3. A third principle, in small quantity.A decoction of one part of the Avignon or Persian berry in ten of water affords a brown-yellow liquor bordering upon green, having the smell of a vegetable extract, and a slightly“ttter taste.

With gelatine that decoction gives, after some time, a slight precipitate,—

- - a yellow hue,

- a slight muddiness,a greenish-yellow tint,

- a yellow color,an olive-green color,

- an olive color,a greenish yellow with a slight

• precipitate. (See Calico

Printing.)

BERYL. A beautiful mineral ir gem, of moderatcprice, usually of a green color ofv arious shades, passing into honey-yellow and sky blue.

BEZOAR. The name of certain concretions found in the stomachs of animals, towhich many fanciful virtues were formerly ascribed. They are interesting only to thebhemical pathologist.

BILE . (Site, Fr.; galle, Germ.) The secreted liquor of the liver in animals. For anac count of the uses of animal bile in the arts, see Gall.

BIRDLIME. (Glu, Fr.; Vogelleim, Germ.) The best birdlime may be made from theMiddle bark of the holly, boiled seven or eight hours in water, till it is soft and tender,*cn laid by heaps in pits under ground, covered with stones after the water is drainedr °m it. There it must be left during two or three weeks, to ferment in the summer sea-.®° n ) and watered if necessary, till it passes into a mucilaginous state. It is then to bePounded in a mortar to a paste, washed in running water, and kneaded till it be free fromextraneous matters. It is next left for four or'five days in earthen vessels to ferment andPurify itself^ w hen it is fit for use. Birdlime may be made by the same process from the'stletoe ( viburnum lantana), young shoots of elder, and the barks of other vegetables,

' s )^ell as from most parasite plants.

-rood birdlime is of a greenish color, and sour flavor, somewhat resembling that of lin-, e d pil; gluey, stringy, and tenacious. By drying in the air it becomes brittle, and mayW .?°'ydered; but its viscosity maybe restored by moistening it. It has an acid reactiondh liimus paper. It contains resin, mucilage, a little free acid, coloring and extractive■Ruf - ^'* le res r n l' as been called Viscine.

j t BISMUTH. ( Bismuth , Fr.; Wismuth , Germ.) Called also marcasite and tin-glass.aniTn s ' 10wn to Be a metal somewhat different from lead, by G. Agricola, in 1546 ; StahlU "? u Biy proved its peculiarity; but it was more minutely distinguished by Pott andottroy, about the middle of the last century. It is a rare substance, occurring native,a ?Wde, under the name of bismuth ochre; as a sulphuret, called bismuth glance ; asPeertl Uret with c0 PP er > called copper bismuth ore; as also with copper and lead, calledmet l ° re ’ ’ s B>und associated likewise with selenium and tellurium. The nativeand fl 0ccurs * n various forms and colors, as white, reddish, and variegated; in primitiveoch a ° elz formations, along with the ores of cobalt, nickel, copper, silver, and bismuthat the Saxon Erzegebirge, near Shneeberg, and Joh. Georgenstadt; also in Bohe-■j?, Baden, Wurtemberg, Hessia, Sweden, Norway, England, and France .

E rze e Production of this metai is but a limited object of the smelting-works of the Saxonof Spurge at Schneeberg. It there occurs, mixed with cobalt speiss, in the proportionhn a t-" 1 " P e y cent . upon the average, and is proenred by mean? of a peculiar furnace ofof ti,,, 1 ?? 5 w hich is the most economical method, both as to saving fuel, and oxydizementbismuth.

°f whl eliquation furnace at Schneeberg is represented in figs. 112,113, and 114,

v crse C * . f' rst is a view from above, the second a view in front, and the third a trans-qootio^ 11 ™ ’ n the dotted line A b of Jig. 112. a is the ash-pit; b, the fireplace; c, the eli-the fire j'f 65 ’ tbe grate of masonry or brickwork, upon which the fuel is thrown throughth e dav 1° t 6 f ^- le anter * or deeper lying orifice of the eliquation pipes is closed with’Petal fl e «-’ has beneath a small circular groove,through which the liquefied

Prifice nCtif v ^- is a . wall extending from the hearth-sole nearly to the anteriorPipes in «. V ’1 uatlon . Pipes, in which wall there are as many fire-holes, h, as there aree turnace : j are iron pans, which receive the fluid metal; h, a wooden water-.