Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 4.djvu/78

68 molanclioly, imbecility, and at last madness, with lucid intervals, aud died at Milan on the 13th of February 1787. In addition to the works already mentioned Boscovich published Memento, universe matheseos (1754), the sub stance of the course of study prepared for his pupils ; and a narrative of his travels, entitled Gioriude di un viayyio da Constantinopoli in Polonia, of which several editions aud a French translation appeared. His latest labour was. the editing of the Latin poems of his friend Benedict Stay on the philosophy of Descartes, with scientific annotations and supplements.  BOSNA SERAI,, or in Italian, a city of European Turkey, aud capital of the province ^ of Bosnia, is situated on the Migliazza near its junction with the .Bosna, 246 miles south of Buda in 43 54 1ST. lat. and 18 24 E. long. It occupies the declivities of several small hills, aud its numerous turrets give it a rather imposing aspect. It is defended by a strong citadel, and retains portions of its ancient walls. The houses are in general rather meagre, but of late there has been an improvement in the style of architecture, owing to the employment of Austrian and Italian workmen. The old Government buildings have been replaced by a handsome and spacious structure. There are upwards of 100 mosques, several Greek churches, and a few Roman Catholic convents. Educational establishments owe any merit they possess to foreign influence, and notably to the stimulus given by Miss Irby and Miss Mackenzie (afterwards Lady Scbright). Bosna Serai is one of the chief industrial and commercial cities in European Turkey. It manufactures tin, iron, and copper wares, fire-arms, cotton and woollen cloths, and leather, and is the centre of the Bosnian trade. In the neighbourhood are iron mines, and works of considerable extent. The city is the centre of a telegraphic system of some importance, and is well situated for railway communi cation with both north and south. Bosna Serai, originally called Bjsnavar, was founded in 12G3 by the Hungarian general Cotroman, and derives its present name from the Serai or palace bujlt by Mahomet II. The population is very variously stated ; the Prussian consul gives it as about 50,000 in 1865, and in 1867 as not more than 35,000, while Salaheddin Bey, in La Turquie a ^exposition uni- versctle de 1867, states it as high as 70,000.  BOSNIA, the most north-westerly province of Turkey in Europe, comprising Bosnia Proper, a part of Turkish- Croatia, or Craina, the district of Herzegovina, and the ancient Rascia. It extends from 42 3D to 45 15 N. lat., and from 15 40 to 21 2 E. long; is bounded on the N. and W. by the Austrian dominions, S. by Montenegro and Albania, and E. by Servia; and has an area of about 24,024 square miles. The whole province, with the excep tion of the valley of the Save, is more or less mountainous, many of the summits reaching the height of 6000 feet. A large proportion of the surface is valuable forest-land, which furnishes almost inexhaustible stores of timber and fuel. Plums are largely grown in the northern portion and ex ported as prunes, Beska on the Save being one of the chief centres of the trade. In Herzegovina the vine, olive, fig, and pomegranate flourish. Maize and wheat are the principal grains in cultivation, but barley, oats, hemp, and even rice are also grown. Abundance of pasture land occurs throughout the province, and cattle, sheep, and goats are reared; the number of the cattle was, however, greatly diminished by the plague in the decade ending with 1870. Large droves of swine are fed in the oak-forests. In mineral deposits the country is especially rich. The whole valley of the Bosnia is said to be one enormous coal-bed ; copper is worked in several places, and at Inatch is a veiy valuable cinnabar mine. There are also some quarries of good marble, and at Tuzla is a copious spring of alfc water, from which culinary salt is manufactured, though the de mand for this article has still to be met by a foreign supply. The manufactures of the province are on a small scale ; they include leather, cloth, aud iron wares. The principal exports are fruit, timber, cattle, wool, raw lamb-skins, furs of wild animals, wax, and honey. The foreign trade is almost solely confined to the Austrian dominions, the lack of a port on the Adriatic greatly impeding the intercourse by sea. Within the last ten years there have been constructed several carriage roads, the most important of which are from the capital to Brood, Gradishka, Mostar, and Yenibazar respectively. A railway has been constructed from Rasnice in Austria to Banyaluka, forming part of a great connecting line between Constantinople and Western Europe. The province is divided into the seven sandjaks of Banyaluka, Bihac, Herzegovina, Yenibazar, Serai evo, Travnik, and Zvornik. Ethnologically it is Servian, not even the aris tocracy being Turks, though they are principally Maho metans. A small part of the south has an Albanian population. Mahometanism is not only predominant, but is sometimes enforced by persecution. Education is said to be greatly neglected, though from the native statistics a different judgment might be formed, no fewer than 1079 schools being registered; but of these a large pro portion are attached to the mosques, and have a merely nominal existence. The total revenue of the province was, in 1871, 50,589,970 piastres (456,715), and the expenditure, 19,724,745 (.178,070). The population in creases very slowly, chiefly owing to mortality among the children occasioned by improper treatment. The climate is by no means unhealthy. The number of the inhabitants has remained almost stationary, being estimated at 1,100,000 in 1844, and at 1,279,296 in 1873. The largest cities after Bosna Seria, the capital, are Banyaluka (15,000), Fotcha, Mostar, Zvornik, and Travnik (about 12,000 each), and Yenibazar (from 9000 to 1 5,000). Bosnia was at first depen dent on the Servian and Croatian kings, but was raised for a time to a separate principality, which reverted about 1339 to the Servian king Stephen. After his death it was again independent, and continued to have its own rulers till the latter half of the 15th century, in spite of the encroach ments of the Turks, who at last succeeded in incorporat ing ifc in 1503. The Hungarians long disputed this appropriation, but the country was definitely ceded to Turkey at the peace of Carlovitz in 1699, which was con firmed by the treaty of Sistovar in 1791. It is at present (1875) the scene of a formidable insurrection.

1em  BOSPHORUS (or, more correctly,, from the Greek Boo-Tropo?, Ox-ford), originally used for a strait, was especially applied to the Bosporus Cimmerius, or Strait of Yenikale, and the Bosporus Thracius, or Strait of Con stantinople. In modern times it has almost become the exclusive designation of the latter strait, which unites the Black Sea with the Sea of Marmora and forms the bound ary between Europe and Asia. The channel is about 16 English miles in length, and has a maximum breadth of nearly 2 miles, a minimum breadth of 550 yards, and along the middle a varying depth of 148 to 388 feet. In the centre there is a rapid current from the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmora, and a counter-current sets in along each shore. At the narrows the three currents produce a most violent commotion. The average temperature of the water hardly differs from that of the air, but it almost never 