cessful. His only publications were three dissertations, giving an account of his experiments on magnesia, quicklime, and other alkaline substances; his observations on the more ready freezing of water that has been boiled; and his analysis of some boiling springs in Iceland.

BLACKALL, Offspring, an English prelate, born in London in 1654, died in Exeter in 1716. For two years after the coronation of William III. he refused to take the oath of allegiance, but finally yielded. In 1699 he engaged in a controversy with Toland, who had denied in his "Life of Milton" that Charles I. was the author of the "Icon Basilike," and expressed doubts of the genuineness of the Scriptures. Blackall was consecrated bishop of Exeter in 1707. His works, in 2 vols. folio, were published in 1723.

BLACKBERRY. See BRAMBLE.

BLACKBIRD, & N. E. county of Nebraska, separated from Iowa on the E. by the Missouri river, and watered by Blackbird, Middle, and Omaha creeks; pop. in 1870, 31.

BLACKBIRD. I. A European species of the thrush family (turdus merula, Linn.), called

yellowish streaks; pale yellowish brown, spotted with dusky, beneath. Albino specimens are occasionally seen. The blackbird is an admirable singer, its notes, though simple, being loud, rich, and mellow, most frequently heard in the morning and evening. It prefers cultivated districts, in winter frequenting the neighborhood of houses, and keeping in the shelter of the garden hedges. Its food consists of snails, seeds of grasses and grain, insects, larvæ, worms, berries of various kinds, and also fruits. It is a very shy and active bird, hopping on the ground with tail raised and wings loose; its flight along the hedges is fitful and wavering, but in an open field very steady and sustained. It is not gregarious, more than three or four being seldom seen together. The blackbird pairs in early spring, making a nest externally of grass stalks, twigs, fibrous roots, and mosses, the inside being lined with mud and afterward with dry grass; the nest is usually placed in a hedge, bramble thicket, or bushy pine. The eggs are from four to six in number, of a pale bluish green, spotted with pale umber. The female sits 13 days, the male singing till the young are hatched; two broods are commonly reared, one in May, the second in July. The flesh is excellent for food. The blackbird is often kept in cages, where its song is as joyous as in its native haunts; it is a troublesome species in an aviary, as it pursues and harasses other birds; in confinement it will eat crumbs and raw or cooked flesh. II. A bird more commonly called in New England red-winged blackbird, and belonging to the family of sturnida (agelaius phoeniceus, Linn.). The bill is straight, strong, conical, and black; the hind toe and claw the stronger. The plumage of the adult male is glossy black, except the smaller wing coverts, the first row of which are cream-colored, the rest scarlet; the length is 9 inches, extent of wings 14 inches. The female is nearly 2 inches less;

Blackbird (Turdus merula).

also merle in France and some parts of England. The plumage is full, soft, and glossy; the length in the male is 10 inches, and the extent of wings 16 inches; the length in the female is 10 inches, and the extent of wings 15 inches. In the adult male the bill is five sixths of an inch long, and of a bright orange color, as are the mouth, tongue, and margins of the lids, the iris hazel, the feet and claws dusky brown, the heel and soles yellow; the general color of the plumage is deep black, sometimes slightly tinged with brown; the primaries are lighter, and obscurely edged with brown; the central part of the hidden portion of each feather is light gray. In the female, the bill is dark brown; the general color of the plumage is deep brown above, lighter beneath; the throat and fore neck pale brown, streaked with darker triangular spots. The young are dusky brown above, with dull

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus).

the upper part black, the feathers with a pale brown margin, underneath streaked with black and dull white; a band of pale brown over the

eye, and some of the smaller wing coverts slightly tinged with red. According to Nuttall, this bird is found during the summer over the whole of North America from Nova Scotia to Mexico. It arrives in New York and New England about the 1st of April, preferring swamps, meadows, and low situations; at this season it lives on insects and grubs, afterward on the young and tender corn. It begins to build its nest early in May, on an alder bush or tuft of grass in some marsh or meadow; the eggs, from three to six, are white, tinged with blue, with faint purple marks. These birds congregate in such numbers in a very small space, that great havoc may be made at a single discharge of a gun. The flight is usually even; on the wing the brilliant scarlet of the coverts contrasts tinely with the black of the general plumage. Some of its notes are agreeable to the ear. In August, when the young are ready to associate in flocks, they do considerable mischief to the Indian corn; they are then killed in abundance, and are very good eating. Such is their confidence in man, in spite of his persecutions, that when fired upon they only remove from one part of a field to another. III. The name blackbird is given in the northwestern states and Canada to the rusty grakle (scolecophagus ferrugineus, Wils.), and in other parts of the country to the purple grakle (quiscalus versicolor, Vieill.); both belong to the family sturnida, or starlings.

BLACKBURN, a town, parish, and parliamentary borough of Lancashire, England, 22 m. N. N. W. of Manchester; pop. in 1871, 76,337. It stands in the midst of a barren district, containing a number of valuable coal mines, to which, as well as to its proximity to the London and Liverpool canal, the importance of Blackburn as a commercial place is mainly to be ascribed. Cotton goods, especially of the coarser kinds, are manufactured to a great extent in the town and vicinity. Blackburn is irregularly built, but contains some fine edifices. In addition to a number of chapels, schools, public halls, &c., it has a magnificent church, rebuilt in 1819 at a cost of £26,000.

BLACKCAP. I. A bird of the family luscinida, or warblers (sylvia atricapilla, Briss.), a native of Europe, migrating to the north in early spring. The male has the upper parts light yellowish gray; the head black; cheeks, neck, and lower parts ash-gray, paler behind and tinged with yellow; wings and tail grayish brown; length to end of tail about 6 inches, extent of wings 9 inches. The female is a trifle larger, but is colored like the male, except that the upper part of the head is light reddish brown. It frequents woods and thick hedges, gardens and orchards. With the exception of the nightingale, it is considered the finest songster in Great Britain; its notes are full, deep, and mellow, and its trill is exceedingly fine; it will imitate very exactly the notes of the nightingale, thrush, and blackbird. Its song is continued from early in April to the

insects, larvæ, and berries. The nest, which is placed in the fork of some shrub, is made of dried stalks of grass, bits of wool, moss, fibrous roots, and hairs; the eggs are four or five in number, about two thirds of an inch long, and very nearly as broad, grayish white, faintly stained and freckled with purplish gray and blackish brown. Both sexes sit upon the eggs. II. An American species of titmouse, belonging also to the luscinida (parus atricapillus, Wils.). It is 54 inches long and 8 in extent of wings. The bill is brownish black; whole upper part of the head and hind neck, and a large patch on the fore neck and throat, pure black; between these a white band, from the bill down the sides of the neck, growing broader behind and encroaching on the back, which, with the wing coverts, is ash-gray tinged with brown; lower parts brownish white; quills brown, and, with the secondaries, edged with white, leaving a conspicuous white bar on the wings; tail brown, white-edged. The Carolina tit (parus Carolinensis, Aud.) is almost precisely the same, being only an inch smaller. The blackcap is better known in New England as the chickadee, which is an imitation of its note as it explores the trees in search of the eggs and grubs of insects, which form its principal food. It destroys immense numbers of canker-worms, doing in this way eminent service to man; in the winter it comes near the houses, picking up seeds and crumbs which are thrown out of doors. It is an exceedingly lively bird, running over trees in all directions, and thrusting its bill into every crevice where an insect might creep. The severest cold does not affect its vivacity or numbers. The eggs are six to ten, of a white color, with brownish red specks, and are generally laid in holes excavated in trees by means of their bills.

BLACK COCK, or Black Grouse (tetrao tetrix, Linn.), a highly prized game bird, of the family tetraonida, very generally spread over the

northern parts of Europe and Great Britain, particularly in the wild and wooded districts of Scotland. The male weighs sometimes as

Blackcock (Tetrao tetrix).

much as four pounds, and the female about two. In the male, the length to the end of the tail is about 23 inches, and the extent of wing 33 inches; bill an inch long, strong, and brownish black; the iris brown; over the eye a bare granulated skin of a scarlet color; the whole upper plumage of a steel-blue color, the scapulars and wings tinged with brown; the primaries brown, with brownish white shafts, the secondaries tipped with whitish, forming a bar across the wings, conspicuous in flight; the under wing coverts white, a few of them being visible when the wing is closed; the breast and sides brownish black, the abdominal feathers tipped with white; the legs and thighs dark brown, with grayish white specks, the former feathered to the toes; the lower tail coverts white, the upper brownish black; the tail, which is forked, with the lateral feathers curved outward, deep black. The female is about 18 inches long and 31 inches in extent of wings; she resembles the other females of the family in her less brilliant markings; the general color of the plumage is ferruginous, mottled and barred with black above, and with dusky and brown bars on a paler ground below; the tail is nearly even at the end, straight, and variegated with ferruginous and black; the white about the secondaries and bend of the wing is much as in the male. The favorite abode of the blackcock is in the highlands and glens, among the hills clothed with a luxuriant growth of birch, hazel, willow, and alder, with an undergrowth of deep fern; here they find abundant food and shelter from the winter's cold and summer's sun. Their food consists of tender twigs, berries, heaths, and occasionally the seeds from the stubble fields. Their flight is heavy, straight, of moderate velocity, and capable of being protracted. They perch readily

on trees, but the ordinary station is the ground, on which they repose at night. The blackcocks are polygamous, and fight desperately for the females during April; having driven off all rivals, the male selects some eminence early in the morning, on which he struts, trailing his wings, swelling out his plumage and wattles over the eyes like a turkey cock; the females answer to his call and soon crowd around him. After the courting season the males associate together peaceably. The eggs are six to ten in number, of a dirty white color, with rusty spots, and are laid in a very rude nest on the ground, among the heaths; the young are reared entirely by the female, which they resemble in color. Their flesh is an excellent article of food. Foxes and rapacious birds kill great numbers of them.

BLACK DEATH. See PLAGUE.

BLACKFEET, or Satsika, the most westerly tribe of the Algonquin family of American Indians, with a dialect which differs greatly from others of the family. They were originally on the Saskatchewan; but from intestine dissensions the Satsika or Blackfeet proper separated from the Kena or Blood Indians, and retired to the Missouri, where the name Blackfeet was given to them by the Crows. A chief named Piegan or the Pheasant caused a second division, making three bands which continue to this day. They extend from the waters of Hudson bay to the Missouri and Yellowstone. They have always been great warriors, and, having early obtained horses, maintain their stock by robbery. They do not bury their dead. The warrior is left in his cabin in full array, and horses are killed at the door for his use. Their worship of Natous or the sun is clearly marked. Those in the United States are in Montana, and were estimated by the Indian bureau in 1870 at 7,500. Canadian authorities estimate those within the British lines at 6,000; but as they are constantly moving, a large number are reckoned by both. They have been constantly at war, carrying their predatory incursions into Oregon, but are now diminishing through intemperance, and becoming less formidable.

BLACKFISH, a name improperly given by seamen to several species of small whales, especially to the round-headed dolphin (globicephalus, Less.), (see DOLPHIN), and also in New England to a marine species of fish of the family labrida, the tautog (tautoga Americana, De Kay). The latter abounds on the coast of New England, on both sides of Long Island, and off Sandy Hook, New Jersey. Originally they were not found north of Cape Cod; but between 1820 and 1830 a number of them were brought alive in boats to Massachusetts Bay, and being set free have spread all along the eastern coast of the continent. Its back and sides are black; the lips, lower jaw, and belly, in the males particularly, are white. The tail is entire, somewhat convex, the middle rays being somewhat longer than the external ones.

of about 18. The Black Forest consists of elevated plains or table land, and describes itself upon the horizon in regular undulating lines. Its greatest elevation is near and to the east of Freiburg, in the region where the Wiesen takes its rise, and where is the famous defile called Hölle, a narrow valley surrounded by lofty mountains, and celebrated in the retreat of Moreau in 1796. The highest summits of the range, the Feldberg, the Belchen, and the Kandel, are between 4,000 and 5,000 ft. above the level of the sea. The descent of the Black Forest toward the Rhine is very abrupt, causing the rivers which take their rise on this side, the Murg, Kinzig, and Elz, to assume during the rains the character of torrents. The eastern slope is very gentle, and gives rise to the Neckar and the Danube, the former soon changing its direction to the north and west, and joining the Rhine. The Black Forest is composed mainly of granite, though the surface is in some places covered with sandstone, and gneiss appears around its base. On some of the heights porphyry is found, and there are many mines of silver, copper, iron, lead, and cobalt. Its mineral waters too, especially those of Baden and Wildbad, are very famous. The summits of the Black Forest are

during eight months of the year covered with snow; they are generally destitute of trees, and except during the greatest heats of summer display no verdure. Descending from the top, the first trees that appear are the pine, the beech, and the maple; these are succeeded by the dense forests of fir with which all the middle and lower parts of the mountains are covered, and which furnish masts and timber for ships. Near the foot of the mountains are many picturesque valleys, of which that of the Murg, situated near the thermal waters of Baden, is particularly distinguished for its natural beauty. Villages and hamlets are interspersed, and the inhabitants are mainly engaged in rearing live stock, and in the manufacture of toys. The most famous of these articles is the wooden clock, of which it is estimated that 180,000 are annually produced. Agriculture is there of little importance, the soil being unfruitful and the climate severe, yet the valleys produce excellent fruit. The Black Forest abounds in historical remains and associations. BLACK GUM, the arbitrary name of a tree without gum, a species of nyssa or tupelo (Adanson), which is the only genus of Endlicher's sub-order nyssacea of his order santalacea. Linnæus had it in polygamia diacia; Elliot placed it in diecia pentandria, and Darlington in pentandria monogynia. The black gum is the N. multiflora, and is known in New England as snag tree and hornpipe, in New York as pepperidge, and as the gum tree in the middle states. It thrives in low, clayey soil, and in dense forests grows to a height of 40 ft. Its external habits are various, and it is often confounded with other trees. It has very many branches, which are often crooked; a dense

Black Gum, Leaves and Fruit.

pipes in the salt works at Syracuse; it is also good for hatters' blocks, wheel naves, and cog wheels. The tree is very vigorous. It was introduced into Europe as an ornamental tree in 1739; it thrives in the south of England, and even in Hanover.

BLACK HAWK, an Indian chief of the Sac and Fox tribe, born about 1768, at the principal Sac village on the E. shore of the Mississippi, near the mouth of Rock river, died at the village of his tribe on the Des Moines river, in