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preach the lecture founded by Mr. Boyle, on which occasion hedelivered eight admirable discourses in confutation of atheism.In 1 byJ he was appointed keeper of the royal library. In 1097commenced his famous controversy with the honourable Mr.Boyle on the genuineness of the epistles of Phalaris, in whichmuch personal abuse passed on both sides; but though some ofthe greatest wits of the age aided Boyle on this occasion, im-partial posterity have determined the case in favour of Bentley.About this time he was presented to the mastership of Trinity-college, Cambridge, with which he held the archdeaconry ofEly. But he was soon brought into trouble ; for, in consequenceof some encroachments made by him in the college for his ownemolument, a charge was laid against him, which never came toa determination ; but afterwards when he was regis professor ofdivinity, having evaded an exorbitant fee from persons whowere admitted to the degree of D. D. by mandate, he was sus-pended in the vice-chancellor’s court. This arbitrary decree wasreversed by the Court of King’s Bench, and the doctor was re-stored to his privileges. He died in 1742. Dr. Bentley’s prin-cipal works were, 1. His animadversions and remarks on the poetCallimachus. 2. Annotations on the two first Comedies of Aris-tophanes. 3. Emendations, Ac. on the Fragment of Menander and Philemon. 4. Remarks upon Collins’s discourse of Free-thinking. 5. Beautiful ami correct editions of Horace, Terence,Pluedrifs, and Milton, with notes. His intended edition of theGreek Testament never appeared, owing to an attack made onthe prospectus by Dr. Middleton. The work however is now inthe possession of his executor, Dr. Richard Bentley , one of thesenior fellows of Trinity college, and it is hoped the public mayyet be favoured with"the publication. Mr. Cumberland, hisgrandson, lias also many valuable remains of his great and learnedrelative. Among others his classic books, with the Doctor’s mar-ginal notes. Dr. Bentley’s critical correspondence with hisliterarvfriends, which must be very instructive and entertaining, is notonly preserved, but designed to be laid before the public. Mr.Cumberland, in the Memoirs of his own life, lately published,has related many anecdotes of the Doctor , which place his cha-racter in a very amiable and pleasing point of view, a light inwhich we believe it has seldom before been exhibited. To theseinteresting memoirs we refer the reader for a farther account ofthe great Dr. Bentley.

BENZOATES, salts formed of the benzoic acid and alkaliesand most of the earths.

BENZOIN, [benznut, Arab .] in chemistry, a gum called gumBenjamin ; is brought from the East Indies in brittle masses of un-equal degrees of purity, and varying in colour from yellow towhite. It has but little taste ; but if previously dissolved it israther pungent and aromatic. Its smell is grateful when rubbedor warmed, and when the heat is increased the resin melts, awhite and most fragrant vapour rises, which is easily condensedon the surrounding bodies into beautiful shining saline needles.These are what are denominated benzoic acid. Benzoin is verysoluble in alcohol, but separates on the addition of water. Thebenzoic acid is contained in styiax and balsam of Tolu, givingthem the characters of true balsams. It is likewise met with,but more sparingly, in several fragrant barks, resins, and othervegetable matters.

iiERAMS, a coarse cloth, made with cotton thread, whichcomes from the East Indies.

BERAR, a province in the dominions of the Great Mogul,near the kingdom of Bengal.

BEUBERIS, [berberi, wild, Arab, ] the Barberry ; a genusof the monogynia order, and hexandria class of plants; calyxsix-leaved, petals six, with two glands at the ungues ; no stylus ;berry tv o-seeded. The species are four.

B. Vulgaris, the common barberry , grows naturally in hedgesin many T parts of England, and in some parts of Scotland ; but isalso cultivated in gardens on account of its fruit, which is pickledand used for garnishing dishes. It is a shrub rising eight or tenfeet, with many stalks, which have a white bark, yellow on theinside. The stalks and branches are armed with sharp thorns,which commonly grow by threes; the leaves are oval, obtuse,and slightly sawed on their edges. The tlowers come out fromthe wings of the leaves in ramose bunches, like those of the currantbush, and are of a yellow colour ; these are succeeded by oval

fruit, which are at first green, hut when ripe turn to a fine recolour. 'Fhe flowers appear in Mav, and the fruit ripens in Sep-tember. There are two or three varieties of this shrub, which bysome have been taken for distinct species; one is the barberry with-out stone ; another, the barberry with white fruit; and a third iscalled by Tournefoit taller eastern barberry, with a black sweetlimit. Tills species is generally propagated by suckers, which aresent out in great plenty from the root; but such plants are veryapt to send out suckers in greater plenty than those that are propa-gated by layers; so that the latter method is preferable. The*berries, which arc so acid that birds will not feed upon them, aremoderately astringent; and have been given with success in bilious *fluxes, and diseases proceeding from heat, acrimony, and thinnessof the juices. The leaves also are gratefully acid". 'Fhe flowersare offensive to the smell when near, but at a distance their odouris extremely fine. An infusion of the bark in white wine is pur-gative. Tlie roots, boiled in ley, dve wool yellow'. In Poland they dye leather of a most beautiful yellow with the bark of theroot. 'Fhe inner bark of the stems dyes linen of a line yellow withthe assistance of alum. The shrub should never be permitted togrow pi corn lands; for the ears of wheat that grow near it nevertill, but its influence in this respect lias never been known to ex -tend across a field of 300 or 400 yards. Cows, sheep, and goals,eat it; horses and swine refuse it.

BERB1CE, a river of South America in Guiana .

Berbice, a river of Terra Firma in America , which falls into 'the North Sea , in l.al. ti. 30. S.

Berbice, a town of South America, on the coast of Surinam .

BERCAR1A, BERQUEKIA, or BEKKERIA, in writers ofthe middle age, denotes a sheep-fold, or other inclosure, for Diesafe keeping oi a flock of sheep. The word is abbreviated from ber-bicaria; of berbex, delorted from vervex. Hence also a shepherdwas denominated berbicarius and berquarius.

BERCHEROIF, or BERKOITS, a weight used in the Rus-sian dominions, about 364 lli. English avoirdupois weight.

BERCKHEV A, in botany, a genus of the syngenesia frustraneaclass and order. Receptacle chaffy; seeds hairy, crowned with chat);calyx imbricate ; florets of the ray hermaphrodite, with the staminacastrate. There are more than twenty species natives of the Cape.

BERK, BAULEY-BIG, or SQUARE BARLEY, is a verystrong luxuriant plant, both in grain and straw: it resembles barleyin growth, and cone-wheat in size. It is generally cultivated iiiIreland , for malt, in the best and richest soil, usually after potatoes :the time of sowing is between Michaelmas and Christmas , at therate of one barrel, which is two hundred weight, to an Irish acre ;and its produce is said to be, generally, from twenty to twenty-fivebarrels an acre. Two "bushels and a half of seed to an English acre, will he in the same proportion. The culture of here is re-commended in this country—1. Because it will succeed extremelyw ell in any soil tit to produce a crop of.barley, and even on coldstifflands, where barley will not thrive: 2. As it ripens from oneto three weeks sooner than any other grain : 3. It may, if generallycultivated, be introduced into our malt-distilleries, not only insteadof barley, but, what is of much greater importance, as a substitutefor wheat, of which so much is used in these manufactories .- ami,lastly, it may, with great advantage, be given to swine, instead ofbarley-meal. Moreover, it lias been asserted, that an acre of landwill yield more of this grain than of barley. Here labours underthe disadvantage of not being easily cleared of its awns, or beard.This has been imputed to carelessness in cleansing, or preservingit from moisture in the stacks; but the difficulty is more probablyowing to the grain being cut down before it is thoroughly ripe. Ifsown earlier than usual, it is still more productive.

BEIIEA, or BEIIOEA, in ancient geography, a noble citv ofMacedonia, the birth-place of Alexander the Great , and lying S. E.of Cyrtus.

HEU FANS, in ancient churchahistorv, the inhabitans of Berea.They are highly commended in scripture, tor their ready receptionof the gospel, upon a fair and impartial examination of its agree-ment with the old testament prophecies. Sopater, a Bereau, at-tended the apostle Paul to Asia .

BEREANS, in modern church history, a sect of protestant dis-senters from die church of Scotland, who take their title from, andprofess to follow the example of the ancient Bereans, in buildingtheir system of faith and practice upon tlie scriptures alone, witli-

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