made to overhang those below, and are furnished with machicolations or loopholes in the overhung floor, so that a perpendicular fire can be directed against the enemy in close attack. Block-houses are often of great advantage, and in wooded localities readily constructed.

Blocksberg, another name of the Brocken (which see).

Block-system, a system of working the traffic on railways according to which the line is divided into sections of 3 or 4 miles,

Court of the Castle of Blois

each section generally stretching from one station to the next, with a signal and telegraphic connection at the end of each section. The essential principle of the system is that no train is allowed to enter upon any one section till the section is signalled wholly clear, so that between two successive trains there is not merely an interval of time, but also an interval of space.

Block-tin, tin at a certain stage of refinement, but not quite pure.

Bloemaart (blo'märt), ABRAHAM, a Dutch painter, born about 1565, died in 1657. He was the son of an architect and sculptor, who sent him to Paris, where he studied for three years, subsequently returning to Amsterdam and Utrecht, where he settled and painted all sorts of subjects, his landscapes being the most esteemed. He had four sons, of whom Cornelis (born 1603, died 1680) was sent by his father as an art student to Paris, and afterwards lived and worked in Rome as a distinguished engraver. Bloemfontein (blöm'fon-tin), the chief town and seat of government of the Orange

BLOND.

River Col., South Africa, 680 miles N.E. of Cape Town, situated in a high but healthy region. Pop. 4600.

Blois (blwä), capital of the French dep. Loir-et-Cher, 99 miles s.s.w. Paris, on the Loire. It consists of an upper town, a lower town, and several suburbs, with one of which it communicates by a stone bridge of eleven arches. The old castle, which has played an important part in French history, was restored by the government in 1845. The main entrance is by a fine Gothic portal

opening into a quadrangle, on the east side of which is a pillared cloister, on the north a pile of buildings in the Renaissance style, on the west some unfinished buildings, and on the south is the ancient part begun by the Dukes of Orleans. There is also a cathedral of late date, the Church of St. Nicholas (12th century), a bishop's palace, Roman aqueduct, &c. The castle was long occupied by the counts of the name; and became a favourite residence of the kings of France. Louis XII. was born, Francis I., Henry II., Charles IX., and Henry III. held their courts in it. Pop. 21,077.

Blomfield, CHARLES JAMES, Bishop of London, born at Bury-St.-Edmunds in 1786, died at Fulham 1857. He studied at Cambridge, where he took high honours; and after filling successively several curacies, and acting for a time as chaplain to the Bishop of London, was presented to the rectory of St. Botolph, Bishopsgate. In 1824 he was made Bishop of Chester, and in 1828 Bishop of London. He was a distinguished classical scholar, and published editions of several of the dramas of Eschylus and one of Callimachus. His chief distinction was gained by his activity in the management of his diocese, and his energy in the cause of church extension.

Blond, JACQUES CHRISTOPHE LE, miniature painter and originator of colour printing, born at Frankfort-on-the-Main 1670, died in an hospital in Paris 1741. He spent the most of his life and all his means in comparatively unsuccessful experiments in printing engravings in colour, and in attempts to reproduce the cartoons of Raphael in tapestry

BLONDEL

Blon'del, a French minstrel and poet of the twelfth century, a confidential servant and instructor in music of Richard Coeur de Lion. While his master was the prisoner of the Duke of Austria, Blondel, according to the story, went through Palestine and all parts of Germany in search of him. He sang the king's own favourite lays before each keep and fortress till the song was at length taken up and answered from the windows of the castle of Loewenstein, where Richard was imprisoned. This story is preserved in the Chronicles of Rheims, of the thirteenth century. The poems of Blondel, with all the legendary and historical data relating to him, were published by Prosper Tarbé (Rheims, 1862).

Blood, the fluid which circulates through the arteries and veins of the human body and that of other animals, which is essential to the preservation of life and nutrition of the tissues. This fluid is more or less red in vertebrates, except in the lowest fishes. In insects and in others of the lower animals there is an analogous fluid which may be colourless, red, bluish, greenish, or milky. The venous blood of mammals is a dark red, but in passing through the lungs it becomes oxidized and acquires a bright scarlet colour, so that the blood in the arteries is of a brighter hue than that in the veins. The central organ of the blood circulation is the heart (which see). The specific gravity of human blood varies from 1045 to 1075, and its normal temperature is 99° Fahr. 1000 parts contain 783-37 of water, 2.83 fibrin, 67-25 albumen, 126-31 blood corpuscles, 5.16 fatty matters, 15:08 various animal matters and salts. When ordinary blood stands for a time it separates into two portions, a red coagulated mass consisting of the fibrin, corpuscles, &c., and a yellowish watery portion, the serum. blood corpuscles or globules are characteristic of the fluid. These are minute, red and white bodies floating in the fluid of the blood. The red ones give colour to the fluid, and are flattish discs, oval in birds and reptiles, and round in man and most mammals. In man they average 300th inch in diameter, and in the Proteus, which has them larger than any other vertebrate, th inch in length andth in breadth. The white or colourless corpuscles are the same as the lymph or chyle corpuscles, and are spherical or lenticular, nucleated, and granulated, and rather larger than the red globules.

The

Blood, AVENGER OF, in Scripture, the

nearest relation of any one that had died by manslaughter or murder, so called because it fell to him to punish the person who was guilty of the deed.

Blood, THOMAS (commonly called Colonel Blood), born in Ireland about 1618, died in London 1680, was a disbanded officer of Oliver Cromwell, and lost some estates in Ireland at the Restoration. His whole life was one of plotting and adventure, though it is probable that he acted a double part, keeping the government informed of so much as might secure his own safety. His most daring exploit was an attempt to steal the crown jewels (9th May, 1671) from the Tower. He was seized with the crown in his possession, but was not only pardoned by Charles, but obtained forfeited Irish estates of £500 annual value.

Blood-bird (Myzoměla sanguinolenta), an Australian species of honey-sucker so called from the rich scarlet colour of the head, breast, and back of the male.

Blood-flower, the popular name for some of the red-flowered species of Hamanthus, a genus of bulbous plants of the Amaryllis family, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The most common species is Haemanthus coccineus, or Cape Tulip, a very showy plant, the bulb of which is used as a diuretic.

Blood-hound, a variety of dog with long smooth and pendulous ears, remarkable for

the acuteness of its smell, and employed to recover game or prey which has escaped wounded from the hunter, by tracing the lost animal by the blood it has spilt: whence the name of the dog. There are several varieties of this animal, as the English, the Cuban, and the African bloodhound. In former times blood-hounds were not only trained to the pursuit of game, but also to the chase of man. In America they used to be employed in hunting fugitive slaves.

Blood-letting. See Phlebotomy. Blood-money, the compensation by a homicide to the next of kin of the person slain, securing the offender and his relatives against subsequent retaliation; once common in Scandinavian and Teutonic countries, and still a custom among the Arabs. The term is also applied to money earned by laying or supporting a charge implying peril to the life of an accused person.

Blood-rain, showers of grayish and reddish dust mingled with rain which occasionally fall usually in the zone of the earth which extends on both sides of the Mediterranean westwardly over the Atlantic, and eastwardly to Central Asia. The dust is largely made up of microscopic organisins, especially the shells of diatoms; the red colour being owing to the presence of a red oxide of iron.

Blood-root (Sanguinaria canadensis), a plant of Canada and the U. States, belong ing to the poppy order, and so named from its root-stock yielding a sap of a deep orange colour. Its leaves are heart-shaped and deeply lobed, the flower grows on a scape and is white or tinged with rose. The plant has acrid narcotic properties, and has been found useful in various diseases. Geum canadense, another American plant used as a mild tonic, is also known as blood-root.

Blood-stone. See Heliotrope.

Blood-vessels are the tubes or vessels in which the blood circulates. See Arteries, Veins, Heart.

Blood-wood, a name of several trees. Indian blood-wood (Lagerstroemia regina), is a large tree of the henna family with wood of a blood-red colour, used for many purposes. It is called also jarool.

Blood-wort, same as blood-root (Sanguinaria).

Bloody Assizes, those held by Judge Jeffreys in 1685, after the suppression of Monmouth's rebellion. Upwards of 300 persons were executed after short trials; very many were whipped, imprisoned, and fined; and nearly 1000 were sent as slaves to the American plantations.

Bloom, a lump of puddled iron, which leaves the furnace in a rough state, to be subsequently rolled into the bars or other material into which it may be desired to convert the metal. Also a lump of iron made directly from the ore by a furnace called a "bloomery.'

Bloomer Costume, a style of dress adopted about the year 1849 by Mrs. Bloomer of

BLOUSE.

New York, who proposed thereby to effect a complete revolution in female dress, and add materially to the health and comfort of women. It consisted of a jacket with close sleeves, a skirt reaching a little below the knee, and a pair of Turkish pantaloons. Bloomfield, Essex co., N. J. Pop. 9668. Bloom'field, ROBERT, an English poet, born in Suffolk 1766, died in Bedfordshire 1823. In 1781 he was sent to learn the trade of a shoemaker with his brother in London. In the country, where he resided for a short time in 1786, he first conceived the idea of his poem the Farmer's Boy, which was written under the most unfavourable circumstances in a London garret. It was published in 1800, and had a great popularity. He subsequently published Rural Tales, Wild Flowers, The Banks of the Wye, May Day with the Nurses, &c. Several efforts were made to place him in good circumstances, but he died in poverty.

Bloomington, Monroe co., Ind. P. 6460. Bloom'ington, a thriving city, state of Illinois, U.S., 60 m. N.N.E. of Springfield. It has several important educational institutions, including the Illinois Wesleyan University, a college for women, and the state Normal University in the vicinity. Has coal-mines, iron industries, railway works, &c., and a large trade. Pop. 23,286.

Bloomsburg, Colum. co., Pa. Pop. 6170.

Blount (blunt), CHARLES, son of Sir H. Blount, born 1654; a deistical writer, is said to have had the assistance of his father in writing a work called Anima Mundi, or a Historical Account of the Opinions of the Ancients concerning the Human Soul after Death, &c. He wrote various other works of the same nature, and also an excellent treatise on the liberty of the press. He shot himself 1693.

Blount, SIR HENRY, English traveller, born 1602, died 1682. He travelled through various parts of the s. of Europe and Egypt, and published an account of his travels, which passed through at least eight editions. He was knighted by Charles I., and during the civil war took part with the royalists. After the king's death he came to London, and was employed by Cromwell and the Parliament in several important affairs.

Blouse (blouz), a light loose upper garment, resembling a smock-frock, made of linen or cotton, and worn by men as a protection from dust or in place of a coat. blue linen blouse is the common dress of French workmen.

A

BLOW

Blow, JOHN, & musical composer, born in 1648, died 1708. He became organist of Westminster Abbey, and was afterwards appointed composer to the Royal Chapel. His secular compositions were published under the name of Amphion Anglicus.

Blow-fly, a name for Musca vomitoria, Sarcophaga carnaria, and other species of two-winged flies that deposit their eggs on flesh, and thus taint it.

Blowing-machine, any contrivance for supplying a current of air, as for blowing glass, smelting iron, renewing the air in confined spaces, and the like. This may consist of a single pair of bellows, but more generally two pairs are combined to secure continuity of current. The most perfect blowing-machines are those in which the blast is produced by the motion of pistons in a cylinder, or by some application of the fan principle. For smelting and refining furnaces, where a blast with a pressure of 3 or 4 lbs. to the square inch is required, blowing-engines of large size and power, worked by steam, are employed.

Blow-pipe, an instrument by which a current of air or gas is driven through the flame of a lamp, candle, or gas jet, and that flame directed upon a mineral substance, to fuse or vitrify it, an intense heat being created by the rapid supply of oxygen and the concentration of the flame upon a small area. In its simplest form it is merely a conical tube of brass, glass, or other substance, usually 7 inches long and inch in diameter at one end, and tapering so as to have a very small aperture at the other, within 2 inches or so of which it is bent nearly to a right angle, so that the stream of air may be directed sideways to the oper

Blow-pipe-a Ball to catch moisture from the mouth.

ator.

The flame is turned to a horizontal direction, assumes a conical shape, and consists of two parts of different colours. The greatest heat is obtained at the tip of the inner blue flame. Here the substance subjected to it is burned or oxidized, a small piece of lead or copper, for instance, being converted into its oxide. Hence the name of the oxidizing flame. By shifting the substance to the interior blue flame, which is wanting in oxygen, this element will be abstracted from the substance, and a metallic oxide, for instance, will give out its metal; hence this is called a reducing flame.

BLUCHER.

Thus various minerals can be either oxidized or reduced at pleasure, and the pipe forms a ready test in the hands of the mineralogist, who may use fluxes along with substances tested, watch how they colour the flame, what vapour they give out, &c. The blow-pipe may be provided with several movable nozzles to produce flames of different sizes. The current of air is often formed by a pair of bellows instead of the human breath, the instrument being fixed in a proper frame for the purpose. The most powerful blow-pipe is the oxyhydrogen or compound blow-pipe, an instrument in which oxygen and hydrogen (in the proportions necessary to form water), propelled by hydrostatic or other pressure, and coming from separate reservoirs, are made to form a united current in a capillary orifice at the moment when they are kindled. The heat produced is such as to consume the diamond and to dissipate in vapour or in gaseous forins most known substances. The blowpipe is used by goldsmiths and jewellers in soldering, by glass-workers in sealing the ends of tubes, &c., and extensively by chemists and mineralogists in testing the nature and composition of substances.

The name is also given to the pipe or tube through which poisoned arrows are blown by the breath, used by South American Indians and natives of Borneo. The tube or blow-pipe is 8 to 12 feet long, with a bore scarcely large enough to admit the little finger; and the arrow is forced through by a sudden expulsion of air from the lungs (like a pea from a boy's pea-shooter), being sometimes propelled to a distance of 140 yards.

Blubber, the fat of whales and other large sea animals, from which train-oil is obtained. The blubber lies under the skin and over the muscular flesh. It is eaten by the Eskimo and the sea-coast races of the Japanese islands, the Kuriles, &c. The whole quantity yielded by one whale ordinarily amounts to 40 or 50, but sometimes to 80 or more cwts.

Blücher (blü'her), GEBHARD LEBERECHT VON, distinguished Prussian general, born at Rostock 1742, died at Krieblowitz, in Silesia, 1819. He entered the Swedish service when 14 years of age and fought against the Prussians, but was taken prisoner in his first campaign, and was induced to enter the Prussian service. Discontented at the promotion of another officer over his head, he left the army, devoted himself to agriculture,