Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/713

* BUFFALO-GKASS. 631 BUFFON. BUFFALO-GKASS, or Bi:ciiix)e {Bulbilis liactyluidcs} . A toimuon grass of the Western United States, ranging from Manitoba to Texas, where it is one of the best pasture grasses. It is a low, spreading grass seldom more than 6 inches in height. It spreads rapidly by runners, soon forming a dense sod. The grass is dioecious, the male (lowers conspicuous, while the female tlow- «rs, which occur on a different plant, are easily overlooked. It is readily propagated by seed or sod, and is improved by cultivation. Sod transplanted from the plains to Washington, D. C, quickly covered the ground, and is )eT- fectly adapted to its surroundings. It turns brown after frost, but during the summer pre- sents a dense growth of fine lierbage. It is ap- parently very nutritious and is relished by all kinds of stock. BtTFFALO-MOTH, See Cahpet-Beetle, BXrFFER (OE, buffe, slap, blow), Buffing Api'aratis. An arrangement projecting from the frame of a railway car to prevent injury from violent contact or collision, or to deaden the effect of the concussions caused when the velocity of a part of the train is cheeked, or when the engine is starting the train. Buffers are used .on passenger-cars in America, and con- sist of three parts — the head, the bar, and the stem. The stem passes through the spring and buffer-spring beam ; the shoulder formed by the junction of the stem with the bar bears directly, or by means of a plate, against the spring, which is usually of the volute or spiral type. This buffer- is placed at the centre of each end of the car. In English railway practice two buffers are used at each end of the car, one on each side of the centre. The general construction is much the same as that described above, except that flat springs, somewhat like a carriage-spring, are employed. BUFFET, bufa', Louis Joseph (1818-98). A French politician. He was born at ilirecourt, Vosges, and in 1848 entered the Chamber of Deputies. Under the Presidency of Louis Napo- leon he held the portfolio of Commerce and Agri- culture. He afterwards became leader of a 'Tiers Parti,' which tried to reconcile liberal reforms with loyalty to the Government, and in January, 1870, joined il. Emile OUivier's Cabinet as Finance ifinister. but resigned in April. He was elected to the National Assembly (1871), of which he became president in 1873, and formed a Cabinet in 1875, taking the portfolio of the Interior. In this latter office, however, he made himself obnoxious to the Republican Party, and when, in 1870, he failed to secure a reelection to the Assembly, he resigned. During the same years (1876) the Senate elected him a life member. BUF'FINGTON, Adelbert Rinaldo (1837 — ). An American soldier. He was born at Wheeling, W. Va.. and graduated at West Point in 18G1, He was brevetted major for meritorious service in the ordnance department in 186.5. and has t)een commander successively of the United States ordnance de])ot at Wheeling, W. Va., and of the arsenals in Xew York, Baton Rouge, Wa- tertown, Mass., Watervliet, Indianapolis, Pitts- burg, Springfield, Mass., and Rock Island. In 189t) he was appointed chief of ordnance, and was raised to the rank of brigadier-general. He is the inventor of a magazine firearm, a 'rod-bayonet,' and a rear sight for military firearms. Many other improvements in firearms have been intro- duced by him. BUFF LEATHER. A leather made out of salted and dried South American light oxhides and cowhides. Butt' leather is very pliant, is not liable to crack or rot, and is used for soldiers' Ijelts and cartridge-boxes. The natural color of the leather is light-yellow, but it is sometimes bleached white. It was formerlj' tanned soft and white and used for armor. BUFFLEHEAD (from Fr. buffle, buffalo; referring to the size of its head). A fresh-water duck [Ckaritonetta albeota) of North America, so named from the apparent bigness of the head, due to the elongated feathers. It is also called ■butterball,' for its fatness, and 'dipper' and 'spirit duck,' from its amazing skill in vanishing and reappearing. The body-colors of the drake are black and white, with the crested head "rich, silky, dark metallic green, bronze, and violet pur- ple," with a patch of white behind the eye. The female is dusky brown, with white markings. The length is about 13 inches. This small and beautiful duck frequents inland waters, espe- cially deep lakes, on its spring and fall migra- tions, and is a favorite with sportsmen, but not common, and hard to get. It breeds from the Great Lakes and New Brunswick northward to the Arctic Circle, in holes in trees, or, in the absence of trees, in gopher-burrows and similar holes in banks, and lays about twelve eggs, larger and darker than those of a teal. See Plate of Wild Ducks. BUFFON, bu'foN', George Louis Leclebc, Comte de (1707-88), A French naturalist and philosopher. He was born in Montbard, Sep- tember 7, 1707, and died in Paris, April 16, 17S8, He received a liberal education and traveled in Italy and England. His father was an eminent lawyer and wished his sou to follow his pro- fession; but the boy evinced a stronger liking for the sciences, and devoted all his earlier life to studies in mathematics, physics, and agricul- ture. In 1739 he was elected a member of the Academy of Sciences and also appointed keeper of the Royal Gardens and Museum in Paris, out of which were .subsequently formed the .Jardin des Plantes and the Museum of Natural History, Here he lived for several months of each year, in a large house, which is still standing, and which, after his death, became successively the lodging-place of many famous naturalists. The remainder of the time he lived in the rural vil- lage of Montbard, where, and not in the presence of the specimens in the museum in Paris, his Xatural History was written. His position, per- sonal influence, and wealth enabled him to be of great service to several students who became eminent investigators, the most important of whom was Lamarck, Buffon himself was never an investigator, nor even an observer. He wa.s a compiler and popularizer of scientific matters, which he presented in an attractive, even bril- liant way, and upon which he framed theories and generalizations, some of which were notable as foreshadowing the evolutionary notions of the succeeding generation, "His single positive addi- tion to zoological science," says Packard, "was generalizations on the geographical distribution of animals." His elaborate and picturesque theories in respect to the geological history of