Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/754

BEDBUG. of the bedbug are minute, whitish oval objects, laid in clusters in the crevices used by the bugs for concealment, and hatch in about 8 days, the young being almost transparent 'nits,' which grow darker in color as they increase in size, until, when full-grown, they may be a quarter of an inch long. This growth is attained by means of five molts, and if food and warmth be plenty, maturity may be attained in three months; but under adverse conditions growth may be greatly prolonged. A female may lay several packets of eggs and several broods be raised each year, so that under favorable conditions (slovenly housekeeping) the multiplication is extremely rapid. These insects have been known as house-pests from the earliest times, and it is believed came originally from India. Aristotle alleged that they arose spontaneously from sweat. Their spread is mainly due to their being carried from place to place in furniture, vehicles; and clothing. They do not seem to have reached England previous to the Seventeenth Century; at any rate, to a notable extent, since the word 'bug,' which now designates this pest primarily in British speech, is not so used in Shakespeare's writings. America received it from Europe, and ships have now spread it all over the world. There is a popular belief that it dwells in the woods under bark of decaying timber, and also that it infests certain other domestic animals, especially poultry. That it may sometimes prey upon other animals is possible; but entomologists believe it to be restricted to humanity, and that all the similar bugs (see ) found upon bats, swallows, pigeons, and poultry are other species peculiar to each of those animals, and not attacking men. Certain bird-lice have a deceptive resemblance, also, to the Cimicidæ. Bedbugs are eaten by various predatory insects, especially cockroaches.

The remedy lies in persistent and minute cleanliness. "The application," says Osborn, "of the common remedies, such as benzine, corrosive sublimate, kerosene, and hot water, will usually suffice to rid an ordinary dwelling of these pests; but in larger buildings, probably nothing is more effectual than thorough fumigation with sulphur, brimstone, or perhaps bisulphide of carbon. ... For immediate relief in a sleeping-room, pyrethrum is most available, since it can be used while a room is occupied. Dusted between the sheets of a bed, it will protect the sleeper from the most voracious hotel bug." Consult Osborn, Insects Affecting Domestic Animals (United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1896). See.

BED'CHAM'BER, Officers in the British royal household, twelve in number, who wait in turn upon the sovereign's person. The salary is £1000. These offices in the reign of a queen are performed by ladies. Queen Victoria usually had from ten to twelve ladies, and extra ladies of the bedchamber, and eight bedchamber women. These offices are objects of high ambition, from the access they give to the person of the sovereign, and are for the most part filled by 'the prime nobility of England.' They are usually vacated at each change of ministry. On Victoria's departure from the usual etiquette in 1839, Sir Robert Peel declined to form a ministry, and Lord Melbourne returned to office. The incident caused some excitement, and is amusingly known as 'The Bedchamber Plot.' Consult Armytage, Old Court Customs and Modern Court Rule (London, 1883).

BED'DARD, (1858—). An English zoölogist, born at Dudley. He studied at New College, Oxford, was naturalist to the Challenger Expedition Commission in 1882-84, and assistant editor in the preparation of the reports of the expedition. For a time he was examiner in zoölogy and comparative anatomy at the University of London, and lecturer on biology at Guy's Hospital. In 1884 he was appointed prosector of the Zoölogical Society of London. His publications include: Animal Coloration (1892); a Monograph of the Oligochæta (1895); a Text-book of Zoögeography (1895); and Structure and Classification of Birds (1898).

BEDDOES, bed'dz, (1760-1808). An English physician and author. He was born in Shropshire, was educated at Oxford, and studied medicine in Edinburgh and London. He was appointed lecturer on chemistry at Oxford in 1788, but his unconcealed sympathies with the French Revolution rendered his post uncomfortable, and he resigned in 1792. Retiring into the country, he then wrote his History of Isaac Jenkins, a moral tale, in which he laid down, in a popular style, rules of sobriety and health for the benefit of the working classes, and which soon became exceedingly popular. He established in 1798 a 'pneumatic institute' at Clifton, for the treatment of disease by inhalation. It did not succeed, but is memorable as having introduced to the world Humphry Davy (q.v.), who was for some time its superintendent. Beddoes settled in London in 1801, where he published his Hygeia, a collection of popular essays on medical subjects. Consult the Life by Dr. Stock (London, 1811).

BEDDOES, (1803-49). An English dramatist. He was born at Clifton, July 20, 1803. His father was the distinguished physician, Thomas Beddoes (noticed above). His mother was a sister of Maria Edgeworth, the novelist. In 1808 Dr. Beddoes died, leaving his son to the guardianship of Davies Giddy, afterwards Sir Davies Gilbert, president of the Royal Society. Young Beddoes was placed at the Bath Grammar School: from thence, in 1817, he removed to the Charterhouse, and in May, 1820, he entered a commoner at Pembroke College, Oxford. In 1821 he published the Improvisatore. On this volume he looked with no favor at a later period, and was accustomed to destroy stray copies wherever he could find them, in 1822 he published The Bride's Tragedy, a work of great promise. In 1825 he went to Göttingen to study medicine, and from this time forth continued to live in Germany, with occasional visits to England. While engaged at Frankfort (1848), in dissecting, he received a slight wound, which was the means of infusing a noxious virus into his system. Under most distressing circumstances, he committed suicide at Basel, January 26, 1849. During his wanderings in Germany, Beddoes was engaged at intervals in the composition of a drama entitled Death's Jest-Book. This work, together with his other manuscripts, consisting chiefly of