Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 01.djvu/535

LEFT BASALT 435 BASEBALL facture of jasper ware, and for the formation of white figures, etc. BASALT, a word said to have been derived from an African word, and to have meant basaltoid syenite, from Ethiopia or upper Egypt. In general the name is given to any trap rock of a black, bluish, or leaden gray color, and possessed of a uniform and compact tex- ture. In a special sense it is a trap rock consisting of augite, feldspar and iron intimately blended, olivine also being not unfrequently present. The augite is the predominant mineral; it is, sometimes, however, exchanged for hornblende, to which it is much akin. The iron is usu- ally magnetic, and is, moreover, often conjoined with titanium. Other minerals are also occasionally present, one being labradorite. It is distinguished from doleryte or dolerite by its possessing chlorine disseminated through it in grains. It is of a very hard, endurable nature, and may be used to advantage in macadamizing roads. The specilic gravity of basalt is 3.00. There are fine columnar basalts at the Giant's Causeway in the N. of Ireland; in Scotland at Fingal's Cave and other parts of the Island of Staff a; and along the sides of many hills in the old volcanic district of western and central India. At West Orange, N. J., the face of the First Mountain exhibits basaltic forma- tions, the lines being diagonal and sug- gesting a huge open fan, with its ribs converging near the ground. BASEBALL, a field game played prin- cipally in the United States. It origi- nated in the English school-boy game of "rounders." It is played by two teams of nine men each. There are four bases, 90 feet apart, forming a perfect square, which is called the diamond. The home plate, or starting point, is at right angles with the first and third bases, with the second base on a straight line from the home plate, and 127 ft. 3% in. distant. The pitcher is placed behind a line 60 ft. 6 in. away from the home plate, and on a straight imaginary line with the home and second base. The catcher must be within 10 ft. of home base when- ever the pitcher delivers the ball to the bat, nor may he leave his position directly back of the plate for the purpose of aid- ing the pitcher to give intentionally a base on balls. A player is stationed at each one of the three bases, and desig- nated first, second and third basemen. Another man known as the shortstop, is stationed midway between second and third bases, while the three men in the outfield are called the right, center and 29— Vol. I — Cyc left fielders. Lines are drawn from the home plate to first and third bases re- spectively, and extended to the boun- daries of the field, or to a point where a flag is stationed, and known as the foul flag. All balls hit within these lines are fair, and all those which are not, are foul. The umpires are the sole judges on all questions during the progress of the game. All fair or foul balls caught on the fly are out, and when three men are out all are out. The game consists of nine full innings, unless the side last at bat has made more runs at the conclusion of the eighth in- ning than the opposing side scored at the end of their ninth. Besides putting the side out on fly-ball catches, they are also put out at first base on balls thrown to that point by any of the in or out field- ers, before the batsman, who becomes a base runner the moment he hits the ball, reaches that point, and when the bats- man strikes three times at the ball with- out hitting it. They can also be put out before they reach the other three bases, but must be touched with the ball by a player on the opposing team. The game is one of great chance, which is the se- cret of its wide popularity. A regulation ball and bat are used. The ball weighs not less than 5 nor more than 5 M ounces, avoir., and measures not less than 9 nor more than 9^/4 in. in circumfer- ence. It has wrapped cork or rubber core covered with horsehide. The bat is round, made of wood, not to exceed 42 in. in length, and does not exceed 2% in. in diameter in the thickest part. The game has been developed into such a scientific state that the average time for playing is only two hours, while many games are played in an hour and a half. The sport has had an immense develop- ment in the present century. There is hardly a town or village in the country without its local team. In the great cities, baseball has become a great busi- ness enterprise with the highly paid teams, great crowds of spectators and receipts running into the millions. De- spite the commercial features of the game, however, it has been kept remark- ably clean from any suspicion of unfair play. The sporadic instances that have cropped up of players betting on games or throwing games have been instantly and severely dealt with. In the autumn of 1920 startling evidence was disclosed of the deliberate "throwing" of games in the world championship series of 1919. Drastic measures were at once taken to remedy these conditions. The first pro- fessional team of paid players was the Cincinnati Red Stockings organized in 1869. They had a remarkable series*