Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 02.djvu/65

BLACK FOREST bluish or crow black; the under parts, especially in the males, are white. Another fish, the centrolŏphus morio, found in the Mediterranean and on the coasts of western Europe, is also called blackfish. It belongs to the mackerel family. In Scotland the term is applied to foul or newly spawned fish. In the United States two species of small whale of the genus globiocephălus also have this name.

BLACK FOREST, a great forest, part of the hercynia silva of the Roman period. It is situated in Baden and Württemberg, near the source of the Danube.

BLACK FRIARS, friars of the Dominican Order: so called from their costume.

BLACK FRIDAY, the Friday, Sept. 24, 1869, when the attempt of Jay Gould and James Fisk, Jr., to create a corner in the gold market by buying all the gold in the banks of New York City, amount- ing to $15,000,000, culminated. For several days the value of gold had risen steadily, and the speculators aimed to carry it from 144 to 200. Friday the whole city was in a ferment, the banks were rapidly selling, gold was at 162½, and still rising. Men became insane, and everywhere the wildest excitement raged, for it seemed probable that the business houses must be closed, from ignorance of the prices to be charged for their goods. But in the midst of the panic it was reported that Secretary Boutwell of the United States Treasury had thrown $4,000,000 on the market, and at once gold fell, the excitement ceased, leaving Gould and Fisk the winners of $11,000,000. The term was first used in England, being applied in the first instance to the Friday on which the news reached London, Dec. 6, 1745, that the young Pretender, Charles Edward, had arrived at Derby, creating a terrible panic; and finally to May 11, 1866, when the failure of Overend, Gurney & Co., London, the day before, was followed by a widespread financial ruin.

BLACK GUM (nyssa multiflōra, order cornaceæ), an American tree, yielding a close-grained, useful wood; fruit a drupe of blue black color, whence it seems to get its name of black: it has no gum about it. It is called also pepperidge, and has been introduced into Europe as an ornamental tree.

BLACK HAWK, a famous chief of the Sac and Fox Indians, born in 1767. He the removal W. of his tribe, fought against the United States in 1831-1832. He died in 1838. There are "Lives" by Patterson and Snelling.

BLACK HOLE OF CALCUTTA, a small chamber, 20 feet square, in the old fort of Calcutta, in which, after their capture by Surajah Dowlah, the whole garrison of 146 men were confined during the night of the of June 21, 1756. Only 23 survived. The spot is now marked by a monument.

BLACKIE, JOHN STUART, a Scottish author, born in Glasgow in July, 1809; received his education in Edinburgh, Göttingen, Berlin, and Rome; was Professor of Greek in Edinburgh University from 1852 till 1882, and continued to write and lecture till his death. He advocated preserving the Gaelic language, and founded a Celtic chair in Edinburgh University. His books include translations from the Greek and German; "Lays of the Highlands and Islands" (1872); "Self-Culture" (1874); "Language and Literature of the Scottish Highlands” (1875); “Altavona" (1882); "Wisdom of Goethe" (1883); "Life of Burns" (1888); and "Essays on Subjects of Moral and Social Interest" (1890). He died in Edinburgh, March 2, 1895.

BLACK LEAD, GRAPHITE, or PLUMBAGO, a mineral consisting chiefly of carbon, but containing also more or less of alumina, silica, lime, iron, etc., to the extent of 1 to 47 per cent., apparently mixed rather than chemically combined. Black lead is the popular name, and that by which it is generally known in the arts, though no lead enters into the composition of the mineral; graphite is that generally preferred by mineralogists. It sometimes occurs crystallized in flat hexagonal tables; but generally massive, and more or less radiated, foliated, scaly, or compact. It is of a grayish black color, with a somewhat metallic luster, and a black and shining streak, and is perfectly opaque. It is greasy to the touch, and is a perfect conductor of electricity. It occurs in beds and masses, laminæ or scales in the schistose rocks (gneiss, mica schist, clay slate, etc.), and is sometimes in such abundance as to give its name to the schist (graphite schist) in which it appears. Thick, vein-like masses of black lead are met with in Siberia, Spain, Canada, New Brunswick, United States, Ceylon, and elsewhere. It is far more incombustible than even anthracite (or blind coal), on which account it is much joined the British in 1812, and opposing used for the manufacture of crucibles or melting-pots. These are half clay, and black lead. Black lead is employed