Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/493

LEFT BAMBEBG 401 BANBURY the strain with which it was produced ; it is often coarse, often extravagant, occa- sionally dull. But few writers give such an impression of intellectual force and in the power of investing his creations with apparent reality he stands first among novelists. The edition definitive of his works was published in 25 volumes ( 1869- 1875) ; the last contains his correspond- ence from 1819 to 1850 (English trans- lation, with memoir, 2 vols., 1879). A supplemental volume is the "History of the Works of Honore de Balzac," by Lovenjoul (1879). A complete trans- lation was made by Miss K. F. Wormley (1889-1894) and another edition was edited by Saintbury (1899). BAMBERGr, a Bavarian city in Upper Franconia, beautifully situated on the banks of the Regnitz, 3 miles above its confluence with the Main, and 33 miles N, of Nuremberg by rail. Set in the midst of vineyards, orchards, and hop-gardens, and founded about 769, from 1007 to 1802 it was the seat of independent prince-bishops. The most noteworthy of its 14 churches is the cathedral, a mag- nificent edifice in the Romanesque style, founded by the Emperor Henry II. in 1004, and containing the tomb of his Em- press Cunigunda. St. Michael's Bene- dictine Abbey (1009) was in 1803 con- verted into an almshouse. The ruins of the castle of Altenburg, originally the seat of the Counts of Babenberg, are near the town. The inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the manufacture of beer, cotton, cloth, gloves, tobacco, musical instruments, etc. A large export trade in liquorice and garden seeds is carried on. Albrecht Pfister, one of the earliest print- ers, was practicing his art at Bamberg in 1461. Pop. about 50,000. BAMBOO, any species of the botanical genus bambusa, and especially the best known one, bambusa arundinacea. It is a giant grass, sometimes reaching the height of 40 or more feet, which is found everywhere in the tropics of the Eastern Hemisphere, and has been introduced into the West Indies, the Southern States of America, and various other regions of the Western world. It has the usual characteristics of a grass — the cylindrical stem, of flinty hardness externally, while soft or even hollow within. The uses to which the several species of bamboo are put in the regions where they grow are almost innumerable. In housebuilding they furnish the framework of the sides and roof, with the joists and other parts of the flooring. Bows, arrows, quivers, the shafts of lances, and other warlike weapons can be made from the stems of bamboo, as can ladders, rustic bridges, the masts of vessels, walking sticks, water pipes, flutes. The seeds are eaten by the poorer classes in parts of India ; and in the West Indies the tops of the tender shoots are pickled and made to supply the place of asparagus. BANANA, a fruit originally East In- dian, but much cultivated in warm countries over the whole globe. It is now generally regarded as a mere variety of the plantain. The banana has, generally, dark purple stripes and spots on the stems, and the fruit is smaller, less curved, and of a more delicate taste than the plantain, with a soft and luscious pulp. Each fruit is generally about four or five inches long. The banana is al- ways used in a ripe state, and never, like the plantain, as a substitute for bread. BANANA, an island in West Africa, N. of the mouth of the Kongo; also a seaport of the Kongo Free State on the island. BANANA-BIRD, a bird xanthornus icterus, belonging to the family stumidx (starlings), and the sub-family oriolinse, or orioles. It is tawny and black, with white bars on the wings. It occurs in the West Indies and the warmer parts of continental America. BANAS, or BUNAS, the name of three rivers of India. (1) A river of Rajputana, rising in the Aravulli Mountains, flows N. E. through Mewar for 120 miles, then S. E., and falls into the Chambal, after a total course of 300 miles; (2) a river which also rises in the Aravulli Mountains, and, after a southwestward course of 180 miles, is lost in the Runn of Cutch; (3) a river of Chutia Nagpur, Bengal, has a northwestward course of about 70 miles, and falls into the Sone, near Rampur. BANAT, a large and fertile region, formerly belonging to Hungary, consist- ing of the counties of Temesvar, Torontal, and Krisso; principal town,, Temesvar. The region originally belonged to Hun- gary; was occupied by the Turks in 1652- 1716; and was reunited to Hungary in 1799. By the treaty signed at Versailles on June 4, 1920, the Banat became part of Rumania. Area, 11,009 square miles. ■ Pop. about 1,600,000. BANBURY, a small town of Oxford- shire, on the Oxfoi-d canal and the Cherwell, 23 miles N. of Oxford^ and 78 N. W. of London by rail. Its strong castle, built about 1125, was demolished during the Great Rebellion, when Ban- bury was noted for Puritanical zeal. In