Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/247

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fcdhht, calls them ialeniart^ which imports a fomewhat greater weight The greater ballijfa: could throw three talents. They could alfo throw a thoufand large {tones at a time, and were kept playing at fiegcs night and day h. — [* Plin. Kift. Nat. 1. 7. c. 56. * Aquin. Lex-. MiHt. T. t. p. 108, feq.J Perrault, in his notes on Vitruvius, gives a new contrivance of a like engine for throwing bombs without gunpowder, p. 337. Vid. Wolf. Lex. Math. p. 238. Ballista, in practical geometry, the geometrical crofs, called alfo Jacob's Jtaff. /T^".L. Math, p. 237. SeeCaoss Staff,Cyd. Ballista, or Us Ballist je, is a denomination given hy fome anatomifls to the firft bone of the tarfus, other wife called talus and aflragalus. Drake, Anthrop. 1. 4. c. 8. p. 44?. See Astra- gal, Cyd. BALL1STARII, or Ballistrarii, inantiquity, {lingers in the antient armies, or foldiers who fought with the ballijla. See Ballista.

There were two kinds of ballifarii miliiss; the former caft ftones, and other miflive weapons, with the hand, called manu- balliflarii ; fometimes fimply, manubalUflee. The latter, called carrohattijtarii, fometimes only carrobatlijles, made ufe of a ma- chine. Some fpeak of a third kind, called arcuballijlarti ; but thefe are better reduced to the fecond. Aquin. Lex. Milit T. 1. p log.

The ballijlarii are fcarce heard of before the age of Conft.m- tine. Pttije. Lex- Ant. T. 1. p. 245, b. B. fl. llistarius is alfo ufed in middle age writers, for a crofs-

bowman, or arhaleiier. BALLISTES, in ichthyology, the name of a genus of the bran- chioftegous fifties ; the characters of which are thefe : There is no branchiofiege membrane ; the belly-fin is fingle and fimplc, aculeated, fituated perpendicularly and longitudinally, in the fame manner as ike finna am; there are two, three, or four very robuit and {harp prickles on the back ; the jaws con- tain very large teeth, which ftand very clofe to one another, and are protruded forwards ; the head and body are broad and camprefied. The fpecies of this genus are thefe; 1. The ballijies, with three prickles on the back, and with a forked tail. This is the guaperva of Marcgrave, and is called by theEnglxfh in America the ddiuife fijh. 2. The balUJles, with two fpines on the back, and with a fquare tail. This is the guaperva hnga. It has no fpine on the belly. 3. The balUJles, with a forked tail, and with the back-fin fpotted. This is the gua- perva lata of Lifter. The prickle of the hack in this fpecies refembles a horn, and is befet every way with tubercles or teeth. 4. T he balUJles, with ftriated lines, and a forked tail. The teeth ■ of this are extremely like the denies inciforss in man. 5. The hallifles, with five prickles on each fide. 1 his is the guaperva hiflrix of authors. It has a remarkable hairinefs about the tail. 6. The balUJles, with two fpines in the place of belly-fins, and with one fingle fpine below. This is the fcoispax of authors, and the trombctta of the Italians ; hut it differs fo little from the for- mer, that it fcems only a variety of it. Artedi, Gen. Fife. 38. BALLISTEUM, or BaLLisT^EA, in antiquity, a military fong or dance ufed on occafions of victory.

Vopifcus has preferred the balUJleum fung in honour of Au- relian, who, in the Sarmatian war, was fail] to have killed forty eight of the enemy in one day, with his own hand. Milk, 7,Mk, milk, milk, mill; mitle decollavimus ; Unus homo milk, milk, milk, milk dexollawimus ; milk, milk, mills vivat, qui milk, milk occidit. Tantum vim habet nemo, quantum fuditfan- giants. The fame writer futjoins another popular fong of the fame kind : Milk Francos, milk Sarmatas, femel occidimus ; milk, mi'k, mille,mlVe, milk Perfas queerimus. Vapifc. in Aurel. It took the denomination balUJleum from the Greek QaKKu; ja- cio, or jaclo, to caft or tofs, on account of the motions ufed in this dance, which was attended with great elevations and fwingings of the hands.

The ha iiflea were a kind of popular ballads, compofed by po- ets of the lower clafs, without much regard to the laws of metre. Aquin. Lex. Mil. BALLISTICA, Ballistics, is ufed for the art of throwing heavy bodies. >F. Merfennus has publifhed a treatiie on the projection of bodies, under this title. ' BALLOON, or Ballon, in building, (Cycl.) — This word is . French, Ballon, or Bahn, where it literally fignifies a great ball ; though we do not find that the French architects ufe it in the fenfe abovementioned, but, in lieu thereof, bouk d'amor- tiffement, which is applied to any fpherical body, ferving to terminate a decoration ; as the ball on the top of a fteeple, a lanthorn, dome, or the like.

A balloon is to be proportioned to the magnitude, and altitude of the body, to which it ferves as an acroter, or crowning. See Crown, Cyd.

That on the top of St. Peter's at Rome is of brafs, fuftained hy an iron arming within ; and, being at the height of fixty-feven fathoms, is above eight foot in diameter. Davikr, P. 2. p. 432. Balloon alfo denotes a kind of game fomething refembhng tennis.

The balloon is played in the open field, with a great round ball of double leather blown up with wind, and thus driven to and fro with the ftrength of a man's arm, fortified with a brace of wood. School of Rccr. p. 135.

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Balloon^ or Balosw, U there* particularly ufed iairibfiff V6V5g s ers, for the ftate barges of Siam.

The balloons are a kind of brigantihe, managed with bars, of very odd figures, as ferpents, fea-horfes, t3V. but, by their fharpnefs and number of oars, of incredible fwiftiicfs; Ta- chart. Voyage de Siam, ap. Phil. Tfarif. N° 185. p. 251.- The balloons are faid to be made of a fingle piece of timber, of" uncommon length ; they are raifed high, and much decorated with carving at head and ftern : fome are gilt over* and carry an hundred and twenty, or even ari hundred and fifty rowers on each fide. The oars are either plated over with filvcr, or gilt, or radiated with gold ; and the dome or canopy in ths middle, where the company is placed, is ornamented with fome rich fluff, and furnifhed with a balluftrade of ivory, or other" cofHy matter, enriched with gilding. The edges of the bal- loon juft touch the water, but the extremities rife with a fweep to a great height. Some arc adorned with variety of figures* made of pieces of mother of pearl inlaid : the richer fort, in- ftead of a dome, carry a kind of fteeple in the middle ; fo that coniideringthe flendcrnefs of the veiYel, which is ufually an hundred, or an hundred and twenty feet long, and fcarce fix broad, the height of the two ends, and of the fteeple, with the load of decorations, it is a kind of miracle they are not overfet. AuUn. Diet. Marin, p. 6j, feq. Savar. Diet. Comm. T. 1. p. 217, feq. BALLOT E, ;SaWvT-.-, /linking horehound, in botany, the name of a genus of plants ; the characters of which are thefe. The flower confilts of one leaf, and is of the labiated kind ; the upper lip is hollowed in the manner of a fpoon, and the lower is divided into three fegments ; the middle one much larger than the others, and of a hcart-fafhioned fhape ; the piftill arifes from the cup, and is fixed in the manner of a nail to the hinder, part of the flower, and furrounded by four embryos, which afterwards become four oblong feeds, ripening in a tubular pent- angular capfule, divided into five fegments at the edge, which was the cup of the flower. The only fpecies of ballots is the common ftinking kind ; with the white flowered one, no other way differing from it but in'the colour of the flower. Tourn. Inft. p. 184. BALLOTADE, in the manege, the leaps of a horfe between the pillars, or upon a ftreight line ; fo that when his fore-feet are in the air, he mews nothing but the fhoes uf his hinder feet, without yerking out.

The ballotade differs from a capriole, for that in the latter the horfe jerks or ftrikes out his hind-legs with all his force, keep- ing them near and even.

Balkiades alfo differ from croupades, in this, that in the former the horfe fhews his fhoes, when he lifts or raifes his croup; whereas, in the latter, he draws his feet under him. See Crou- Pade, Cyd.

A horfe naturally takes to balhiades, after putting him on. ca> prioles ; when the fire and mettle of the caprioles is over, he falls of courfe to ballotades, and then to croupades, unlefs a poinfon in a hard hand make him ycrk out, and continue the air of caprioles. Guill, Gent. Diet. P. 1. BALLUSTER, or Ballister, a fmall kind of column or pil- lar, whereof balluftrades were formed. Davil. P. 2. p. 408. See the article Ballustrade, Cyd.

•The word is French, balujhe, which fignifies the fame ; formed from the Latin baluQrum, or bnluflrium, a place among the an- tients where the baths were railed in. Cafencuv. in voc. Me- nage, p. 74, a.

Balhtjlers arc of divers forms, as well as matters, according to the different occafions, and different orders of architecture wherein they are ufed. We meet with ftone balluf.ers, iron bal- lujlcrs, brafs or filver ballujlers, round bal'uflers, fquare bal- lujlers, whole Imlluflers, half ballufters, &c a. Alfo Tufcan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, Compofite balluflers ; fluted and ruftick balluflers ; balluflers in form of urns, of vafes, &c b. — [ a Vid. Davil. P. 1. p. 318. pi. 94. Idem, P. 2. Ls Ckrc, Traite d'Archit. p 168. b Davil. P. 1. p. 318. pi. 315.] Balluster of the Ionic capita], denotes the lateral part of the volute, anfwering to what Vitruvius calls pulvinata, on account of its refemblance to a pillow. Cormilk, Diet, des Arts, T. 1. p. 8 ? . a. BALLUSTRADE, (Cyd.)— The modern balluflrade amounts to the fame with what Vitruvius calls podium, fometimes pulieus. Davil. p. 408. BALM, in' botany. The manner of propagating this plant is by parting the roots either in autumn, or in (bring, and planting them at eight inches afunder.

When they are firft planted, they muff, if the feafon prove dry, be well watered, till they have taken root j after this, they will require no farther care, only that they ought to be tranfplanted every other ye^r ; for otherwife the roots increafe fo fall as to choak one another. Mill. Gard. Diet. voc. Melifja. Balm, in medicine, a denomination fometimes given to what is more ufually called balfam. See Balsam, Cyd. The word bahn rarely occurs, except in Scripture; where we read of bahn of Gikad, a precious kind of medicine produced in that country, of which the Ifhmaelites made a confiderable trade to Egypt.

What this balm was, does not appear ; the Hebrew name %ori, which our tranflators have rendered balm, being by the Rabbins

interpreted