Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/818

800 the middle of the 17th century it became famous for its &quot; checks,&quot; which were afterwards superseded by a similar linen-aiid-cotton fabric known as &quot; Blackburn greys.&quot; A charter of incorporation was obtained in 1851, when W. H. Hornby, one of the largest cotton manufacturers of the place, was elected first mayor. The population of the town, which was only about 5000 in 1790, had increased by 1801 to 11,980. In 1861 there were 11,306 inhabited houses in the municipal borough; and by the census of 1871 the number had increased to 14,690. In the former year the population of the municipal borough was 63,126, and in 1371 it amounted to 76,339 (males 36,099, females 40,240), while the parliamentary burgh with its extended boundaries contained 82,928 inhabitants. Blackburn re turns two members to parliament.  BLACKCOCK (Tetrao tetrix), a Gallinaceous Bird be longing to the family Tetraonidce or Grouse, the female of which is known as the Grey Hen and the young as Poults. In size and plumage the two sexes offer a striking contrast, the male weighing about 4 ft), its plumage for the most part of a rich glossy black shot with blue and purple, the lateral tail feathers curved outwards so as to form, when raised, a fan-like crescent, and the eyebrows destitute of feathers and of a bright vermilion red. The female, on the other hand, weighs only 2 Ib, its plumage is of a russet brown olour irregularly barred with black, and its tail feathers are of the ordinary form or but slightly forked. The males are polygamous, and during autumn and winter associate together, feeding in flocks apart from the females ; but with the approach of spring they separate, each selecting a locality for itself, from which it drives off all intruders, and where morning and evening it seeks to attract the other sex by a display of its beautiful plumage, which at this .season attains its greatest perfection, and by a peculiar cry, which Selby describes as &quot;a crowing note, and another similar to the noise made by the whetting of a scythe.&quot; Its nest, composed of a few stalks of grass, is built on the ground, usually beneath the shadow of a low bush or a tuft of tall grass, and here the female lays from six to ten eggs of a dirty-yellow colour speckled with dark brown. The blackcock then rejoins his male associates, and the female is left to perform the labours of hatching and rear ing her young brood. The plumage of both sexes is at first like that of the female, but after moulting the young males gradually assume the more brilliant plumage of their sex. There are also many cases on record, and specimens may be seen in the principal museums, of old female birds assuming, to a greater or less extent, the plumage of the male. The blackcock is very generally distributed over the highland districts of Northern and Central Europe, and in some parts of Asia. It is found on the principal heaths in the south of England, but is specially abundant in the Highlands of Scotland, where great numbers are killed annually during the statutory shooting season, which com mences on August 20 and extends to December 10. The bird does not occur in Ireland, and all attempts that have hitherto been made to naturalize it there have failed, al though it now thrives and breeds in the south-west of Scotland within 21 miles of the Irish coast. During sum mer, blackcock reside chiefly on the ground, feeding on seeds, the young shoots of heath, and insects ; in autumn they regularly frequent the stubble fields ; but in winter they perch on trees, especially the birch and fir, the tender shoots of which then form their principal food.  BLACKLOCK,, a Scottish poet and divine, was born of humble but respectable parents at Annan, in Dumfriesshire, in 1721. When not quite six months old he lost his sight by the smallpox. Under this misfortune, his father and friends endeavoured to amuse him as he grew up by reading to him various books, among others, the works of Milton, Spenser, Prior, Pope, and Addison. Shortly after the death of his father, which took place in. 1740, some of Blacklock s poems began to be handed about among his acquaintances and friends, and a few specimens were brought under th notice of Dr Stevenson of Edin burgh, who was struck by their merits, and formed the design of giving the author a classical education. Black- lock, in consequence, was enrolled a student of divinity in the university of Edinburgh in 1741, and continued his studies under the patronage of Dr Stevenson till 1745, when he retired to Dumfries, and resided there until the close of the civil war. When peace had been restored, he returned to the university, and during this residence in Edinburgh he made the acquaintance of several literary men, in particular of Hume, who was extremely useful to him in the publication by subscription of the 4to edition of his poems in 1756. Two editions in Svo had previ ously been published at Edinburgh, in 1746 and in 1754. After applying closely for a considerable time to the study of theology, he was in 1762 ordained minister of the church of Kirkcudbright ; but owing to an opposition to the appoint ment on the part of the parishioners, he resigned his right to the living, and accepted a moderate annuity in its stead. In 1767 the degree of doctor in divinity was conferred on him by Marischal College, Aberdeen. He died on the 7th of July 1791. His poems are pleasing but weak effusions, and there is nothing remarkable about them save that they were w/itten by one who laboured under the misfortune of blindness.  BLACKMORE,, a physician, and volu minous writer of theological and poetical works, was born in Wiltshire about 1650. He was educated at Westmin ster and Oxford, graduated in medicine at Padua, and settled in practice as a physician in London. Having early declared in favour of the Revolution, he was in 1697 chosen one of King William s physicians in ordinary, and received the honour of knighthood. On Queen Anne s accession, Sir Richard was also appointed one of her physicians, which office he held for some time. He died on the 9th October 1729. Blackmore had a passion for writing epics. No fewer than seven long poems were published by him between 1695 and 1723. The first was Prince Arthur, in 10 books ; then followed King Arthur, in 12 books; Eliza, in 10; Creation, in. 7; Redemption, in 6 ; Nature of Man, in 3 ; and Alfred, in 12. Of these Creation, a philosophic poem directed against the atomic theories of Epicurus and Lucretius, and intended to refute the atheism of Vanini, Hobbes, and Spinosa, and to unfold the intellectual philosophy of Locke, has been the most favourably received. Addison and Johnson praised it highly, the latter anticipating that this poem would transmit the author to posterity &quot; among the first favourites of the English muse.&quot; It would be hard to find grounds for this expectation, which has certainly not been realized. The poem, like everything else that Blackmore wrote, is dull and tedious, and exhibits in every part the author s want of true poetic sensibility and taste.  BLACKPOOL, a seaside town of England, in Lancashire, situated on the coast to the north of the estuary of the Ribble, about 20 miles W. of Preston by rail. It is largely frequented as a bathing-place. A good sandy beach, bracing air, and a fine view, are its chief attractions. In the end of last century it was a mere hamlet, but since then it has gradually increased. It has two churches, two market- halls, a court-house, and assembly rooms. The parade affords a fine promenade. A new pier was built in 1866. Population in 1871, 6100.  BLACKSTONE,, an eminent English jurist, was born at London, July 10, 1723. He was a posthumous child, and his mother died before he was twelve 