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LEFT BLACKLEG 52 BLACK SEA for making pencils. It is also exten- sively employed to give a black gloss to iron grates, railings, etc., and to dimin- ish the friction of belts, machinery, and rifle cartridges. BLACKLEG, a swindler, especially in cards and races. So called from game- cocks, vhose legs are always black. BLACK LETTER, the Gothic or Ger- man type. So called because of its black appearance. BLACK LETTER DAY, an unlucky day; one to be recalled with regret. The Romans marked their unlucky days with a piece of black charcoal, and their lucky ones with white chalk. BLACKMAIL, a certain rate of money, corn, cattle or the like, anciently paid, in the N. of England and in Scotland, to certain men who were allied to robbers, to be protected by them from pillage. In the United States, the word is ap- plied to money extorted from persons un- der threat of exposure in print for an alleged offense; hush-money. BLACKMAR, FRANK WILSON, an American author and educator, born in West Springfield, Pa., in 1854. He studied at the University of the Pacific and later at Johns Hopkins University. In 1889 he became professor of history and sociology at the University of Kan- sas, and took an active part in the uni- versity extension movement. He was made professor of sociology and eco- nomics at the University of Kansas in 1899. Among his publications are "Span- ish Colonization" (1890) ; "History of Higher Education in Kansas" (1900) ; "Elements of Sociology" (1905); "Eco- nomics for High Schools" (1907) ; and "Play-grounds and Parks" (1910). He was editor of the Cyclopedia History of Kansas." BLACK MARIA, a popular name in the United States applied to the covered wagon, generally painted black, used for the conveyance of prisoners; properly, a prison van. BLACK MONDAY. (1) A name for Easter Monday, in remembrance of the dreadful experiences of the army of Ed- ward III., before Paris, on Easter Mon- day, April 14, 1360. Many soldiers and horses perished from the extreme cold. (2) The 27th of Feb., 1865, a memorable day in Melbourne, Australia, when the country round was swept by a de- structive sirocco. BLACKMORE, RICHARD DODD- RIDGE, an English novelist, born in Longworth, Berkshii-e, June 9, 1825. He graduated from Oxford in 1847, was called to the bar in 1852, but devoted himself to literature. Among his novels are "Lorna Doone" (London, 1869), by far the most celebrated. "Clara Vaughan" (1864); "The Maid of Sker" (1872); "Cripps, the Carrier" (1876); "Erema" (1877); "Mary Anerley" (1880); "Cris- toweir (1882); "Springhaven" (1887); "Kit and Kitty" (1889) ; "Perlycross" (1894); "Slain by the Doones" (1895); and "Dariel" (1897). He also published a version of Vergil's "Georgics." He died in London, Jan. 21, 1900 BLACK MOUNTAINS, the group which contains the highest summits of the Appalachian system, Mt. Mitchell be- ing 6,710 feet, Guyot's Peak, 6,661. BLACKPOOL, a much frequented watering place of England, on the coast of Lancashire, between the estuaries of the Ribble and Wyre. It consists of lofty houses ranging along the shore for about 3 miles, with an excellent prom- enade and carriage drive, handsome promenade piers, a large aquarium, fine vdnter gardens, etc. Pop. (1917) 62,- 287. BLACK PRINCE, the son of Edward III. See Edward. BLACK QUARTER, a kind of apo- plectic disease which attacks cattle, in- dicated by lameness of the fore foot, one of the limbs swelling, and after death being suffused with black blood, which also is found throughout the body. BLACK RIVER, the name of several rivers in the United States: (1) An affluent of the Arkansas river, in Arkan- sas, 400 miles long. It is navigable to Poplar Bluff, 311 miles; (2) a river in New York, rising in the Adirondacks, and emptying into Lake Ontario near Watertown, length, 200 miles; (3) a river in Wisconsin, flowing S. W., and empty- ing into the Mississippi river near La- crosse; length, 200 miles; (4) a river ris- ing in the S. E. of Missouri, flowing nearly S., and entering the White river, of which it is the chief tributary, at Jacksonport, Ark.; length, 350 miles, of which 100 miles are navigable. BLACK SEA (ancient Pontus Euxi- nus), a sea situated between Eui'ope and Asia, and mainly bounded by the Russian and Turkish dominions, being connected with the Mediterranean by the Bosporus, Sea of Marmora, and Dardanelles, and by the Strait of Kertsch with the Sea of Azov, which is, in fact, only a bay of the Black Sea; area of the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov about 175,000 square