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 662 BIRR BISCIIOFF mild until his death. lie left two sons, the eldest of whom, PETER, succeeded to the duke- dom of Oourland. Driven thence in 1795, he went to Prussia, where he acquired by pur- chase several ducal estates, among others that of Sagan. He died on one of his estates in 1800, leaving four daughters, one of whom was known in the political world first as duchess of Dino, and afterward as duchess of Sagan. BIRR. See PARSONSTOWN. BIRS NIMRID. See BABEL. BIRSTALL, a parish of Yorkshire, England, in the West Riding, 7 m. S. W. of Leeds ; pop. in 1871, 43,605. It contains a large number of woollen and worsted mills, besides cotton and silk manufactories, and mines of coal and iron. A branch of the London and Northwest- ern railroad passes through the parish. BIRTH. See OBSTETRICS. BISACCIA, a town of S. Italy, in the province of Principato Ulteriore, 30 m. E. by N. of Avel- lino; pop. about 6,000. It is built on a hill, has several churches and a hospital, and is the seat of a bishop. Ancient remains discovered here seem to identify Bisaccia as the site of Romulea, captured by the Romans in the third Samnite war. Bis rqi I V), or Bnsaechino, a town of Sicily, 27 m. S. of Palermo ; pop. about 8,500. It has an extensive trade in grain, oil, and flax, and manufactures of linen. BISCAY, one of the Basque provinces of Spain, also called Bilbao, bounded N. by the bay of Biscay, E. by Guipuzcoa, S. by Alava and Bur- gos, and W. by Santander ; area, 848 sq. m. ; pop. in 1867, 183,098. It occupies the north- ern slopes of the E. portion of the Cantabrian mountains. The surface is mostly rugged and wooded, and the climate healthy ; the soil, not naturally fertile, is by cultivation made produc- tive. Fruit, Indian corn, and vegetables are raised abundantly, and of the finest quality. The country is principally divided into small farms, in the Hands of the owners, who are frequently the descendants of ancient families. The houses are mostly of stone, and many of the old cas- tles and towers have been converted into farm houses. The iron of Biscay is of the first ex- cellence. The great mine of Somorrostro pro- duces about 6,000 tons annually. The chief occupation of the Biscayans, besides agricul- ture, is fishing and the coasting trade. The chief towns are Bilbao, the capital, Somorros- tro, Bermeo, and Orozco. BISCAY, Bay of, an extensive bay of the At- lantic, N. of Spain and W. of France, the open- ing of which extends from Cape Ortegal to the island of Ushant. It is about 350 m. long, and 300 in width, being nearly semicircular. It is exceedingly stormy and tempestuous ; the whole force of the westerly winds is felt, while the recoil of the waves from the coast causes a very heavy sea. A current sweeps round the inside of the bay, known as Rennell's current, which runs sometimes 26 m. per day. The Spanish coast washed by the waters of the bay is bold and rocky. The French coast is low and sandy as far as the Loire, north of which it is of moderate height. The principal French harbors of the bay of Biscay are Bayonne, Bor- deaux, La Rochelle, Nantes, Vannes, Lorient, and Brest; the principal on the Spanish coast are San Sebastian, Santander, and Gijon. The rivers of the north of Spain, which from the contiguity of the mountain chain to the coast are of little size or importance, find their out- let in the bay of Biscay, which receives from France the Loire, the Garonne, and some small- er streams. BISCAY, New. See DUBANOO. BISCEGLIE, a strongly fortified seaport town of Italy, in the province and 21 m. W. N. W. of the city of Bari; pop. in 1872, 21,371. It is built on a promontory, is the seat of a bishop, and has a cathedral, two monasteries, a hos- pital, and a college. The harbor admits only small vessels. It is famous for its currants. BISCHOF, Karl Gustav, a German chemist and geologist, born at Word, a suburb of Nurem- berg, Jan. 18, 1792, died in Bonn, Nov. 30, 1870. He studied at Erlangen, devoting him- self at first to mathematics and astronomy, but soon turned his whole attention to chemistry and the physical sciences. In 1822 he became professor of chemistry at Bonn, and remained such for almost half a century. His principal works are: LelirbucTi der Cliemie (1816); Lehr- ~buch der StocJiiometrie (1819); Entwickelung der Pflanzensubstanz (1819) ; Lehrbuch der rei- nen Chemie (1824) ; Die vulkanischen Mineral- quellen Devtschlands und Frankreichs (1826); Die WiirmeleJire des Innern vnsers Erdkdrpers (1837); "Physical, Chemical, and Geological Researches on the Internal Heat of the Globe," written in English (London, 1841). His great work, however, is the Lehrbveh der cnemiscJien und physikalischen Geologic (2 vols., 1847-'54, enlarged and revised in 1863; English transla- tion by Paul and Drummond, 1854-'9). His essay Dei moyens de soustraire I 1 exploitation des mines de houille aux dangers d' 1 explosions (1840) gained the prize among 14 competitors, offered by the academy at Brussels. BISCHOFF. I. Christoph llciiirii-h Ernst, a Ger- man physician, born in Hanover, Sept. 14, 1781, died in Bonn, March 5, 1861. He was physician of the general staff of the army in the campaigns of 1813-'15, and from 1819 to 1861 he was professor of medical science at the university of Bonn. A second edition of his principal work, Die Lehre von den cfiemi- scfien JTeilmitteln, was published in Bonn in 1838-'40 (4 vols.). II. Theodor Ludwig Wil- helm, a German anatomist and physiologist, son of the preceding, born in Hanover, Oct. 28, 1807. He studied in Dusseldorf, Bonn, and Heidelberg, received his doctor's diploma from the university of Bonn in 1832, and be- came assistant in the midwifery department of that of Berlin. He continued his studies of anatomy and physiology under Ehrenberg and Johann Muller, in 1836 became professor of