Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/609

BARN-OWL. ally seen over most of the United States, but is most numerous in the southern portion, and thence to Patagonia. It seems to be partly migratory, retreating in winter from its most northerly ranges. In the Old World it breeds mainly in church-towers, ruins, and similar places, and its eerie hoot has contributed much to the poetry and fables connected with its race: but in less civilized, or less ruinous, parts of the world it chooses for a nesting-place a cavity in an old tree, a device among rocky crags, or (as very frequently in the southwestern United States) a niche in some steep earthen bank. Even in the United States, however, it makes its home in belfries and stone buildings when it can. The nest is a bed of straw and feathers, and the eggs, four to eight, are white. "This owl." Fisher remarks, "is one of the most distinctively nocturnal of the tribe, but like all the others it can see perfectly well in the bright- est daylight, when, for any reason, it is re- quired to leave its retreat. It usually sleeps during the day, sitting upright in a dark nook or crevice, in the shadow of a bridge, or among the dense foliage of some grove or reedy marsh."

Food and Economic Value. — This species is perhaps the most beneficial of its tribe to the agriculturist, because its food consists almost wholly of the small rodents so injurious to him. Naturalists recognize this in all parts of the world. In the United States this owl subsists mainly in the East on rats and wild mice; in the South on the cotton-rat, and certain mice doing great injury there; and in the West on gophers, ground-squirrels, and rabbits, even those so large as the jack-rabbit. Its services in the destruc- tion of cotton-rats and pouched gophers alone would entitle it to gratitude and protection. Consult Fisher, Hawks and Owls of the United States (Agric. Dept., Washington, 1893). See Owl, and plate of Owls.

BARNSTLEY. A town in the West Riding of Yorkshire. England, about 21 miles north of Sheffield, on the Dearne (Map: England, E 3). Although the town is of great antiquity, most of its buildings are of a comparatively recent date. It was incorporated in 1869, and maintains public libraries, baths, and markets. It has a large number of educational and benevolent institutions, and a public park of about 20 acres. It is situated within the coal district, and has manufactures of linen, paper, glass, and steel wire. There are also iron and steel foundries and dyeing-works. It is on three railway lines and a canal. The United States has a resident consular agent. Population, in 1891, 35,000; in 1901, 41,000. Barnsley dates from pre-Norman times. Consult Jackson, History of Barnsley (London. 1858).

BARNSTABLE, barn'sta-b'l. A town and county-seat of Barnstable County, Mass., 75 miles southeast of Boston, on Barnstable Bay, and on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad (Map: Massachusetts, G 4). It contains 12 villages, several of which are well-known summer resorts, and is principally engaged in farming, fishing, and cranberry cultivation. Within the town limits are several public libraries and a State normal school. Barnstable was first settled in 1639. In the part called West Barnstable, James Otis, sen., lived, and James Otis, jun., was born. The government is administered by town-meetings. Population, in 1890, 4023; in 1900. 4364. Consult "Annals of Barnstable," in Freeman's History of Cape Cod, 2 vols. (Boston, 1860-1869).

BARNSTAPLE, biirn'sta-pT (locally known as Barum). A town in Devonshire, England, on the Taw, 6 miles from its mouth, and 34 miles northwest of Exeter (Map: England, B 5). The Taw is here crossed by a bridge of the Thir- teenth Century, consisting of 16 arches, which has been widened by iron-work on each side. Its noteworthy buildings are a parish church, dating from the Fourteenth Century; the old grammar school, at which the poet John Gay was educa- ted; and some quaint old houses" in Bontport Street. Before the silting of the river, Barn- staple was a seaport of some importance. It has manufactures of lace, gloves, and pottery known as 'Barum-ware.' Barnstaple has ex- isted since the reign of Athelstan, in the Tenth Century, who built a castle here, but was in- corporated in the reign of Henry I. Population, in 1891, 13,000: in 1901, 14,100.

BARN-SWAL'LOW. Two distinct species of swallow frequent barns and outhouses in North America, but that to which the name properly applies, and should be restricted, is the fork-tailed one which makes its nest inside the building, while the other, square-tailed one, which nestles on the outside of the walls, should be called eaves or cliff swallow. The barn- swallow proper, then, is the one named by naturalists Chelidon crythrogaster, and it is among the most widely familiar birds of the whole Continent. It is lustrous blue above, and below is pale reddish-brown, with the forehead, chin, and throat bright chest- nut, bounded by a collar-like band of blue across the breast; the tail is deeply forked, and each tail-feather, except the central pair, has a white spot on its inner web. These swallows arrive from the south, where they have wintered in the tropics, in May, and at once renew our acquaintance, perching in twittering lines upon the roadside telegraph-wires, hawking about our gardens and barn-yards for winged insects, skim- ming gracefully the surface of river or pond, and alighting upon their soft banks or about puddles in the road to gather pellets of mud with which to construct their homes.

Nesting Habits. — Before the country was civilized, these swallows frequented only such parts of it as had rocky exposures, and they made their nests in niches on the face of a cliff, as they yet do in some remote parts of the western mountains. As soon, however, as stables and sheds were erected by white settlers the swallows took possession, and this increasing and welcome acquaintance with man has continued as civilization pushed west and north, until now a swallow dwelling in aboriginal fashion is a curiosity. The nest is composed of pellets of mud plentifully mixed with straw, and may sit flat upon a frame-beam at a safe height, when it is a simple cup; or it may be plastered, in the form of a hollow bracket, against the rafters or higher walls. Invariably, however, the nest of this species is inside the barn or shed. It is bedded with soft grass and feathers, and contains five rather elongated, buff-white eggs, spotted about the large end with reddish and purple dots and splashes. These birds are not only perfectly harmless, and usually warmly welcomed