Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/173

* BLACKMORE. 145 BLACK BIVER FALLS. 1779-1781): the Spcclator. Xo. 330; and the Dii'iriml. Hk. II.. •259-2(i8 (Loiulon, 1729). BLACKMORE, Rkii.vkd Dodukidge (1825- 1900). All English novelist. He was born at LongAvorth, Berkshire, June 7, 1825; the son of Rev. John Hlackiuore. Graduating from Exeter College. Oxford, in 1847. he was called to the bar five years later, and practiced as a conveyancer till his healtli failed. He then took up fruit- growing at Teddington, a little way up the Tliaines from London. He died at Teddington, January 20, 1900. He began his literary career as a poet, publishing Poems by Melanter ( 1853) ; Epullia (1854): The liugle of the Black Sea (1855): The Fate of Franklin (1800); and a translation of Vergil's Oeorcjics (complete in 1871). His first novel, Clara Vaughn, appeared in 1864. It was followed by Cradock S'owell (1866); Lorna Doone (1869); The Maid of Sker (1872) ; Alice Lorraine (1875) ; Cripps the Carrier (1S76); Erema: or. My Father's Sin (1877); Mary Ancrley (1880); Christowell (1882) ; Remarkable History of Tommy Up- more (1884); Springhai^en (1887); Kit and Kitty (1889); Perlycross (1894): Frinqilla (1895); Tales from the Telling-House (1896); and Dariel (1897). Though Blackniore thought some of his other books better and more interest- ing than Lorna Doone. his reputation as a novel- ist rests almost wholly upon this romance of the Seventeenth Century. It abounds in beautiful descriptions, is elevated in tone, and is written in a rhythmic prose which is rare in our lit- erature. It has made famous Exmoor and the neighboring district, the home of the Doones. BLACK MOUNTAINS. A mountain group in Buncombe and Yancey counties, Xorth Caro- lina, forming a spur of the Blue Ridge and a part of the Appalachian system (itap: Xort^ Carolina, B 4). They lie between the French Broad River and its main tributary, the Noli- ducky, and have a northwest and southeast trend transverse to the main line of the Blue Ridge elevations. The Black ilountains are the culminating points of the Appalachian sys- tem. Mount Mitchell, the highest peak, is 6710 feet, and Guvot's Peak, Sandoz Knob, Hairy Bear, Cat-Tail Peak, Gibbe's Peak, and Mitchell's Peak are more than 6500 feet above the sea. They form the divide between the Tennessee and Catawba river basins. Their slopes are forested with evergreens, while their valleys in places con- tain rich soil that is well adapted for agricul- tural purposes. See Appalachians and Blue EinfiE. BLACK OAK. See Oak. BLACK'POOL' (so named from a pool now drained: Irisli and Gael, poll, hole, pit, bog, AS. pel, Ger. J'fuhl, pool, puddle). A flourishing town and popular watering-place of Lancasliire, Kngland, on the Irish Sea, about 18 miles west- northwest of Preston. It is sometimes called the 'Brighton of the North' (ilaj): England, 3). It has an excellent bathing and promenade beach, a fine esphinade, three piers, a winter garden and pavilion, an aquarium, several theatres and mu- sic-halls. The principal streets and piers are lighted by electricity. Blackpool was incorpo- rated in 1876. Its water-supply is obtained from the Fylde water-works, manageil by a board com- posed of representatives from Blackpool and three other towns. The town ovn3 its gas-works. electric light plant, markets, slaughter-houses, and cemeteries. It also owns and operates its street railways by the overhead trolley system, and has a line connecting Blackpool with Lytham, another favorite bathing-place, and Saint Anne's-oii-the-Sea. There is a technical school, and a so-called continuation school, three public libraries, and a hospital. A branch rail- way connecting Blackpool with the Preston and Wyre Railway aft'oids easy access from Preston, Liverpool, Manchester, and all parts of the king- dom. Blackpool is annually visited by over 100.000 tourists. Population, in 1891, 23,846; in 1901, 47,340. BLACKPOOL, Stephen. A weaver in Charles Dickens's Hard Times. He was wrongly suspected of Tom Gradgiind's crime of robbing Bounder- by's bank in Coketown of £150. His love for Ra- chel, a 'hand' in Bounderby's mill, is one of the most touching elements in the story. BLACK PRINCE. The name usually given in liistory. on account of the color of his armor, to Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III. (q.v. ), the victor at the battle of Poitiers. He died in 1376. His son ascended the throne in 1377, as r.ichard II. BLACK-QUARTER. See Blackleg. BLACK RAIN. Showers of black rain have been recorded on many occasions in Ireland, and less frequently in other portions of Europe. The blackness comes from various sources, such as the soot from city fires and especially forest fires, which is washed down by rain ; black fungi or fungus-spores — such as produce smut, mildew, and rust — carried up by gusts of wind and sub- sequently falling with the rain. In a few special cases the spores of fungi, after being wetted by the rain, grow rapidly on the ground and produce a black coating, which has not necessarily fallen with the rain, but is often spoken of as black rain. See Dust, Atmosphebic. BLACK RIVER. A river in northern New York, rising in the southwestern part of the Adi- rondack region and flowing southwest, then north- west, 130 miles through Herkimer, Oneida, Lewis, and Jefferson counties to Black River Bay, at the extreme eastern end of Lake Ontario (Map: Xew York, E 2). Xunierous falls and rapids, with great possibilities for development, furnisli abun- dant water-power to half a dozen villages and the city of Watertown. From Lyons Falls to the mouth of the river, a distance of 72 miles, the fall is about 500 feet. Boats pass from this river just above Lyons Falls to the Sirie Canal at Rome, X. Y., through the Black River Canal. BLACK RIVER, or Big Black. An afflu- ent of White River, which, rising in Reynolds County, JIo., and flowing through Missouri, bends toward the southwest, enters Arkansas, and joins the Wliitc River a few miles above Xewport, Jackson County (Map: Missouri, F5). It is about 170 miles long, and iiavigal)Ie for about 100 miles, except in the dry season. Val- uable timber is fomid along its banks, and the lo.ver regions i>rodu<i' good crops of cotton. BLACK RIVER FALLS. . city and the county-seat of Jackson County, Wis., 171 miles northwest of Milwaukee; on Black River, and on the Chicaco, Saint Paul, .Minneapolis and Omaha Railroad (Map; Wisconsin, C 4). It contains a public library. Falls on the Black River afford