Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/156

* BITTERSWEET. 130 BIVOUAC. the flo-icrs, purple or blue, in drooping eymes, much resenihlinfr those of its congener the potato, but much smaller, followed by ovate red berries of tempting appearance, are not unfrequently the cause of serious accident, particularly to chil- dren. The twigs are collected in autumn after the leaves are fallen. The lluid extract pre- pared from the twigs possesses the jxnver of blunting to some extent sensibility to pain, and of considerably increasing the secretions of the skin, the kidneys, etc. The extract is employed in medicine chiefly as a remedy for scaly erup- tions on the skin. Its principal chemical con- stituents are resin, gum, the alkaloid solantine, and the glucoside dulcamarin. Celastrus scan- dens, a woodv vine, is also called bittersweet in the United States. See Sol.'^num. BITTEB-SWEET. A poem of New England by J. G. Holland (1858). BITTER VETCH. See Orobus. BITTERWOOD. A name given to certain species of the genus Xylopia, trees and shrubs remarkable for the bitterness of their wood, par- ticularlv the West Indian Xylopia glabra. Furni- ture made of this wood is safe from the attacks of insects. The genus Xylopia belongs to the natural order Anonacea". The fruit of some of the species, particularly Xi/lojjia sericca. ishighly aromatic and pungent like pepper. Xyloi)ia seri- cea is a large tree, a native of Brazil; its bark is used for making excellent cordage. Bitterwood is also the name of Qufifisia ex- celsa or Shnaruba excelsa, a tree of the natural order SimaruhaeeiP, a native of Jamaica, the wood of which is used in medicine. Botanically, it is very nearly allied to the true quassia, and possesses very similar pr(>])erties, containing the crvstallizable" bitter principle called quassin. The wood, which is intensely bitter, is a very useful stomachic and tonic; if introduced by the rectum, it acts in certain eases as an excellent anthelmintic. An infusion of bitterwood is, further, a well-known and useful fly-poison; and it appears to act as a powerful narcotic on many quadrupeds. BITU'MEN (Lat., a kind of mineral i)itch). A name applied to a number of inflammable min- eral substances varying in chemical composition and ranging in consistency from solid to gaseous. The bitumens consist mainly of carbon and hy- drogen, but usually they contain also small amounts of sulphur! oxygen, and nitrogen. The most important substances included under the name are natural gas, naphtha, petroleum, mal- tha, mineral tar. asphalt, elaterite,wurtzilitc, al- bertite, grahamite, gilsonite, ozocerite, and coal. Natural gjxs is composed mostly of marsh-gas, ■with small quantities of other hydrocarbons and of carbon oxide. Petroleum and naphtha and the solid bitumens are essentially hydro<'arbon compounds, containing also subordinate amounts of sulphur, oxygen, and nitrogen, and other ele- ments which may be regarded as imi)irities. The bitumens are widely distributed over the earth's surface, and occur in all the geological formations from the Silurian to the present. Their origin in most eases can be traced to the decomposi- tion of vegetable matter, but various theories have been advanced to account for the deposits of petroleum. The several bitumens are de- sicribed in special articles. Sec Antiihacite; ASPHALTIC C0.L; BlTDMlNOrS COAL ; LiGNITE ; Coal; Gas (N.vruRAL) ; Naputiia; PETROLErM; Asphalt; Bituminoi's Limestone; Bitiminous Sh.vle: Et.aterite; Albertite; and Grahamite. BITU'MINOXJS COAL (I.at. bitumi)wsus, from hiluincii. a kind of mineral j)itch, bitumen). A term applied to the varieties of coal which contain a large percentage of volatile matter. They yield, by destructive distillation, a con- siderable quantity of gas, easily ])urifled. and with good illuminating qualities, and are conse- quently largely used fin- that purpose. Some varieties also cake when heated out of contact with the air, and yield a hard, porous product known as coke. See Coal; Coke. BITUMINOUS LIMESTONE. A limestone impregnated ami sometimes deeply colored with bituminous matter derived from the decompo- sition of animal and plant remains entombed within the mass or in its vicinity. The amount of bituminous matter or asphalt in the pores of the rock is sometimes suflicient to permit the material being used for asphalt pavements after simply powdering and heating it. Still better results are obtained by mixing it with bitu- minous sandstone. In the United States, bitu- minous limestone occurs in Indian Territory, Texas, and Utah. Much bituminous limeslime is also mined in Germany, Switzerland, and France, whence large quantities of it are brought to the United States. See Asphalt; Pavement; AspiiALTic Coal. BITUMINOUS SANDSTONE. A sedimen- tar- rock of silicrous eluiracter. I'ontaining more or less asphalt or bitimen. When rich in bitu- men it is a valuable economic product; some- times it is used directly as a paving material, but more often it is previously subjected to a process of refining. In the United States it ia rained in California, Kentucky, and Indian Ter- ritory. The outinit in 1900" was 34.277 short tons," valued at .$138,802. Consult the volume* of The Mineral Industry, especially Vol. VIII. (New York, llino). See BiTUMEX ; AsPHALT. BITUMINOUS SHALES. Beds of shale oc- curring chielly in the coal-measures, and con- taining such an amount of carbon and volatile matter that they are capable of being burned when mixeil with but a little coal. They are indeed impure coal, with a large percentage of ash or earthy matter, which after burning re- tains the original form. See Coal. BITZIUS, bet'sf-olis, Albert (175)7-18.54). A Swiss author, known also by his jiscudonj-m, Jeremius Ootlhclf. He was bom at Murten (Freiburg), studied at Gdttingen, and was pas- tor at Liitzelfliih (Bern) from 1832 until his death. His works deal with the Canton of Bern, and are written in the popular dialect. They have become classic in Switzxuland, and have found a wider circulation throiigh translations into High tierman. A fine edition of his coin- ])lete writings appeared at Chaux-de-Fondcs in 18n4-nfi (4 vols.). Selections are accessible under the title AtisfirH-iihlte Erziihlungen (1888) in P.ei-biiii's i'iiiirs(ilhibliothck. BIVOUAC, blv'wak (Fr., probably from Gcr. Bciirache, Heiwarht, from bci, by -f Wache, watch, gimrd), Mimtauy. An encampment of soldiers in the open air; generally of a tem- porary nature. In active service, and in nn enemy's country, great care must be exercised in