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vend colours they have different names ; as besants, when the co-lour is or ; plates when argent; hurls when azure ; lorteaux whengules ; pomcis when vert; pellets or ugresses when sable ; golpcswhen purple; orenges when taunt:; ami guzes when san-guine.
BALLICONNEI-, a town of Ireland , in the county ofCavan .
BALLlX AGAR, a town of Ireland, in King’s county, Lein-ster, 41 miles from Dublin .
BALLINASLOE, a village of Ireland , in the province ofConnaught, near 72 miles from Dublin , noted for its great fairs ofcattle, wool, &c.
BALLIN'DAGCIN, a town of Ireland , in the county ofMayo, nearly 100 miles from Dublin .'
BALLLSll ANXON, a large town of Ireland , in the county ofDonegal , 10 miles S. of the town. Lon. S. 25. M . Lat. 54.25. N
BALLISTA, [Lat from #axi.ov, to shoot,] a machine used bythe ancients for shooting darts ; it resembled in some measure ourcross-bow. Vegetius informs us, that the ballista discharged dartswith such rapidity and violence, that nothing could resist theirforce : and Atliena-us adds, that Agistralus made one of little morethan two feet in length, which shot darts 500 paces. In Plate X.fig. 1 1, is represented the ballista used in sieges, according to theChevalier Lolard : 2, 2, the base of the ballista; .3,4, uprightbeams; a, 6, transverse beams; 7, 7, the two capitals in the up-»er transverse beam (the lower transverse beam has also two simi-ar capitals, w hich cannot be seen in this transverse ligure) ; y, 9,two posts or supports for strengthening the transverse beams ; 10,10, two skains of cords fastened lo the capitals; 11,11, two armsinserted between the two strands, or parts of the skains ; 12, acord fastened to the two arms ; 13, darts which are shot by theballista; 14, 15, curves in the upright beams, and in the conca-vity of which cushions are fastened, in order lo break the force ofthe arms which strike against them with great force when the dartis discharged ; lb, the arbor of the machine, in which a groove orcanal perfectly straight is formed, and in which the darts areplaced in order to their being shot by the ballista; 17, the nutof the trigger; 18, the roll or windlass, about which the cord iswound; 19, ail hook, by which the cord is drawn towards tirecentre, and the ballista cocked; 20, a stage or table on which thearbor is in part sustained.
Ballista , in practical geometry, the geometrical cross, calledalso Jacob’s staff.
BALLISTARII, or B ALLISTR AllII, in antiquity, slingersbr soldiers who fought with the ballista:.
BALL1STEUM, or BALLIST1GKA, [from /Nxiv, to toss,to throw, or to shoot,] in antiquity, a military song or dance usedon occasions of victory.
BALLISTIC Pendulum, an ingenious machine invented bvMr. Robins for ascertaining the velocity of military projectiles,force of gunpowder, Ac. Il consists of a blopk of wood attachedto an iron stein with a steel axis at the upper end, about which themachine vibrates. The ball is discharged directly against thewooden block or ball of the pendulum at rest, and from the extentof vibration, caused by the projectile, the projectile force, velo-city, and other effects of the discharge, are estimated. A particu-lar" description of this machine, with excellent rules relative to itsuse mav be seen in Dr. I lutton’s Tracts, vol. i.
Ballistics, the art of throwing heavy bodies. F. Mersemrushas published a treatise on the projection of bodies, under thistitle.
BALLOG1STAX, a district of Indostan, bordering on the L.within 24 miles ot Delhi .
BALLOON, [ ballon , Fr.] 1. A large, round, short-neckedvessel used in chemistry. 2. [In architecture.] A ball Or globeplaced on the top of a pillar. 3. [In tire-works.] A ball of paste-board, started with combustible matter, which, w hen tired, mountsto a considerable height in the air, and then bursts into brightsparks of fire, resembling stars.
Balloon', in a general sen e, signifies any spherical hollowbody for whatever purposes it be designed.
Balloon- likewise denotes a kind of game something resem-bling tennis.
Balloon', or Bali.of.n, is particularly iced among voyagers'"or the state barges of Siam.vol. l.— no. 54.
Balloon, or Ballot, in the French glass-trade, signifies acertAm quantity of giass-plates, smaller or greater ac cm ding totheir quality.
Balloon, Air. See Aerostation.
BALLOT, f ballnte , Fr.] 1. A little ha!) or ticket u-ed in giv-ing votes, being put privately into a box er urn. 2. The act ofvoting by ballot.
BALI .OTA, black liorehound : a genus of the gymnospgrmiaorder, and didynamia class of plants: natural order, Verlicillat:e.Calyx witli ten stria;; coiolla upper lip erer.aled, five-toothed,concave. It is a common weed growing on the sides of banks mmost parts of England and Scotland . The flowers grow in whorl--,upon branched peduncles, and lean on one side of the stalk. TheSwedes reckon it almost an universal remedy in the diseases oftheir cattle. It has six species.
BALLRIEN AN, a pleasant peninsula of Ireland , in the coun-ty of Louth ; iu which there are relics of a Druid 's Grove; sup-posed to have been the chief seat of the Arch-Druid.
BALLSTOVVN, a town of New York, 30 miles N. of Al-bany .
BALLYBOY, a town iu King’s County, Leinster ; 56 mill'sfrom Dublin .
BALLYCASTLE, a sea-port of Antrim , about 30 miles N.of Carrickfergus, and 113 from Dublin ; noted for its chalybeatespring and collieries.
BALLYGOXX EL, a town of Cavan, in Ulster , 67 miles fromDublin, and 11 X. F,. of Cavan .
BALLY COTTON ; l. a bay ; 2. an island ; and, 3. a villagein Cork, 4 miles from Cloyne.
BALLYMAIIOX, a town in Longford, 52 miles from Dub-lin .
BALLYMENA, a town in-Antrim; 20 miles N. W. of Bel-fast . Lon. 6. 30. \V. J.at. 54. 52. N T .
BALLYMONKY, two towns; 1. in Antrim , and 2. 1*Calwav.
BAl'XYMORE, a town in West Mcalh, 47 miles W. ofDublin .
BAi.LYNAIIIKCII, in Down, 7fi miles from Dublin .
BALLYNAK1LL, a town in Queen’s County , 48 miles S.W.. of Dublin .
BALM, in botany. See Melissa.
Balm, or Balsam. See Balsam.
Balm ok Gilead, the juice drawn from the ba'mm-trce, bymaking incisions in its bark. Its colour is first while, soon altergreen ; but when it comes to be old, it is of the colour of honey,'l'he smell of it is agreeable, and very penetrating; the taste of itbitter, sharp, and astringent. As little issues from the plant by in-cision, the bahn, sold bv the merchants, is made of the wood" andgreen branches of the tree, distilled by fire, which is generallyadulterated with turpentine.
BALN AI1UATC11, one of the Western Isles of Scotland , onthe coast of Argvleshire.
BALN EAR 1 1 Skrvi, in antiquity, servants or attendants be-longing to the baths.
BA LX EUM, a term used bv chemists to signify a vessel filledwith some matter, as sand, water, Ac. in which another is placedthat requires a more gentle heat than the naked lire. Thus bal-neum urenosum, failed also balneum siccum, or sand-heat, iswhen the cucurbit is placed in sand, in ashes, or filings of iron.Balneum mtiriir, or inttris, is when the. vessel, containing the in-gredients to be distilled, Ac. is put into a vessel ot water, which ismath: to boil ; so that no greater heat than that of boiling watercan be communicated to tin; substance to be treated. And bal-neum rupuris, or raporurinm, is w hen two vessels are disposed insuch a maimer, that the vapour raised Iron! the water contained inthe lower, heats the matter contained in the upper. See Che-mistry.
BALSAM, or NATIVE BALSAM, !]!:» Sjta, haol s.tmcn ,the prince of oils, Heb.] an oily resinous, liquid substance, flow-ing either spontaneously, or by means of incision, from certainplants. There are a great variety of balsams, particularly distin-guished by the names of the substances from which they are oi>tamed. 'I'lie term balsam, or balm, was originally confined to athick fragrant juice, obtained from the anivris Cileadensis, and.afterwards applied by chemists to all substances which possessedthe same degree of con.Lienee* and a stew*g smell, whether natural5 C n