Part 36

BLYTH, a market town and seaport of Northumberland, England, in the parliamentary borough of Morpeth, 9 m. E.S.E. of that town, at the mouth of the river Blyth, on a branch of the North Eastern railway. Pop. of urban district (1901) 5472. This is the port for a considerable coal-mining district, and its harbour, on the south side of the river, is provided with mechanical appliances for shipping coal. There are five dry docks, and upwards of 1-1/2 m. of quayage. Timber is largely imported. Some shipbuilding and the manufacture of rope, sails and ship-fittings are carried on, and the fisheries are valuable. Blyth is also in considerable favour as a watering-place; there are a pleasant park, a pier, protecting the harbour, about 1 m. in length, and a sandy beach affording sea-bathing. The river Blyth rises near the village of Kirkheaton, and has an easterly course of about 25 m. through a deep, well-wooded and picturesque valley.

B'NAI B'RITH (or SONS OF THE COVENANT), INDEPENDENT ORDER OF, a Jewish fraternal society. It was founded at New York in 1843 by a number of German Jews, headed by Henry Jones, and is the oldest as well as the largest of the Jewish fraternal organizations. Its membership in 1908 was 35,870, its 481 lodges and 10 grand lodges being distributed over the United States, Germany, Austria-Hungary, Rumania, Egypt and Palestine. Its objects are to promote a high morality among Jews, regardless of differences as to dogma and ceremonial customs, and especially to inculcate the supreme virtues of charity and brotherly love. Political and religious discussions were from the first excluded from the debates of the order. In 1851 the first grand lodge was established at New York; in 1856, the number of district lodges having increased, the supreme authority was vested in a central body consisting of one member from each lodge; and by the present constitution, adopted in 1868, this authority is vested in a president elected for five years, an executive committee and court of appeals (elected as before). The first lodge in Germany was instituted at Berlin in 1883. A large number of charitable and other public institutions have been established in the United States and elsewhere by the order, of which may be mentioned the large orphan asylum in Cleveland, the home for the aged and infirm at Yonkers, N.Y., the National Jewish hospital for consumptives at Denver, and the Maimonides library in New York City. The B'nai B'rith society has also co-operated largely with other Jewish philanthropic organizations in succouring distressed Israelites throughout the world.

See the _Jewish Encyclopaedia_ (1902), s.v.

BOA, a name formerly applied to all large serpents which, devoid of poison fangs, kill their prey by constriction; but now confined to that subfamily of the _Boidae_ which are devoid of teeth in the praemaxilla and are without supraorbital bones. The others are known as pythons (q.v.). The true boas comprise some forty species; most of them are American, but the genus _Eryx_ inhabits North Africa, Greece and south-western Asia; the genus _Enygrus_ ranges from New Guinea to the Fiji; _Casarea dussumieri_ is restricted to Round Island, near Mauritius; and two species of _Boa_ and one of _Corallus_ represent this subfamily in Madagascar, while all the other boas live in America, chiefly in tropical parts. All _Boidae_ possess vestiges of pelvis and hind limbs, appearing externally as claw-like spurs on each side of the vent, but they are so small that they are practically without function in climbing. The usually short tail is prehensile.

One of the commonest species of the genus _Boa_ is the _Boa constrictor_, which has a wide range from tropical Mexico to Brazil. The head is covered with small scales, only one of the preoculars being enlarged. The general colour is a delicate pale brown, with about a dozen and a half darker cross-bars, which are often connected by a still darker dorso-lateral streak, enclosing large oval spots. On each side is a series of large dark brown spots with light centres. On the tail the markings become bolder, brick red with black and yellow. The under parts are yellowish with black dots. This species rarely reaches a length of more than 10 ft. It climbs well, prefers open forest in the neighbourhood of water, is often found in plantations where it retires into a hole in the ground, and lives chiefly on birds and small mammals. Like most true boas, it is of a very gentle disposition and easily domesticates itself in the palm or reed thatched huts of the natives, where it hunts the rats during the night.

The term "boa" is applied by analogy to a long article of women's dress wound round the neck.

BOABDIL (a corruption of the name Abu Abdullah), the last Moorish king of Granada, called _el chico_, the little, and also _el zogoybi_, the unfortunate. A son of Muley Abu'l Hassan, king of Granada, he was proclaimed king in 1482 in place of his father, who was driven from the land. Boabdil soon after sought to gain prestige by invading Castile. He was taken prisoner at Lucena in 1483, and only obtained his freedom by consenting to hold Granada as a tributary kingdom under Ferdinand and Isabella, king and queen of Castile and Aragon. The next few years were consumed in struggles with his father and his uncle Abdullah ez Zagal. In 1491 Boabdil was summoned by Ferdinand and Isabella to surrender the city of Granada, and on his refusal it was besieged by the Castilians. Eventually, in January 1492, Granada was surrendered, and the king spent some time on the lands which he was allowed to hold in Andalusia. Subsequently he crossed to Africa, and is said to have been killed in battle fighting for his kinsman, the ruler of Fez. The spot from which Boabdil looked for the last time on Granada is still shown, and is known as "the last sigh of the Moor" (_el ultimo suspire del Moro_).

See J.A. Conde, _Dominacion de los Arabes en Espana_ (Paris, 1840), translated into English by Mrs J. Foster (London, 1854-1855); Washington Irving, _The Alhambra_ (New York, ed. 1880).

BOADICEA, strictly BOUDICCA, a British queen in the time of the emperor Nero. Her husband Prasutagus ruled the Iceni (in what is now Norfolk) as an autonomous prince under Roman suzerainty. On his death (A.D. 61) without male heir, his dominions were annexed, and the annexation was carried out brutally. He had by his will divided his private wealth between his two daughters and Nero, trusting thereby to win imperial favour for his family. Instead, his wife was scourged (doubtless for resisting the annexation), his daughters outraged, his chief tribesmen plundered. The proud, fierce queen and her people rose, and not alone. With them rose half Britain, enraged, for other causes, at Roman rule. Roman taxation and conscription lay heavy on the province; in addition, the Roman government had just revoked financial concessions made a few years earlier, and L. Annaeus Seneca, who combined the parts of a moralist and a money-lender, had abruptly recalled large loans made from his private wealth to British chiefs. A favourable chance for revolt was provided by the absence of the governor-general, Suetonius Paulinus, and most of his troops in North Wales and Anglesey. All south-east Britain joined the movement. Paulinus rushed back without waiting for his troops, but he could do nothing alone. The Britons burnt the Roman municipalities of Verulam and Colchester, the mart of London, and several military posts, massacred "over 70,000" Romans and Britons friendly to Rome, and almost annihilated the Ninth Legion marching from Lincoln to the rescue. At last Paulinus, who seems to have rejoined his army, met the Britons in the field. The site of the battle is unknown. One writer has put it at Chester; others at London, where King's Cross had once a narrow escape of being christened Boadicea's Cross, and actually for many years bore the name of Battle Bridge, in supposed reference to this battle. Probably, however, it was on Watling Street, between London and Chester. In a desperate soldiers' battle Rome regained the province. Boadicea took poison; thousands of Britons fell in the fight or were hunted down in the ensuing guerrilla. Finally, Rome adopted a kindlier policy, and Britain became quiet. But the scantiness of Romano-British remains in Norfolk may be due to the severity with which the Iceni were crushed.

See Tacitus, _Annals_, xiv.; _Agric_. xv.; Dio lxii. The name Boudicca seems to mean in Celtic much the same as Victoria. (F. J. H.)

BOAR (O. Eng. _bar_; the word is found only in W. Ger. languages, cf. Dutch _beer_, Ger. _Eber_), the name given to the un-castrated male of the domestic pig (q.v.), and to some wild species of the family _Suidae_ (see SWINE). The European wild boar (_Sus scrofa_) is distributed over Europe, northern Africa, and central and northern Asia. It has long been extinct in the British Isles, where it once abounded, but traces have been found of its survival in Chartley Forest, Staffordshire, in an entry of 1683 in an account-book of the steward of the manor, and it possibly remained till much later in the more remote parts of Scotland and Ireland (J.E. Harting, _Extinct British Animals_, 1880). The wild boar is still found in Europe, in marshy woodland districts where there is plenty of cover, and it is fairly plentiful in Spain, Austria, Russia and Germany, particularly in the Black Forest.

From the earliest times, owing to its great strength, speed, and ferocity when at bay, the boar has been one of the favourite beasts of the chase. Under the old forest laws of England it was one of the "beasts of the forest," and, as such, under the Norman kings the unprivileged killing of it was punishable by death or the loss of a member. It was hunted in England and in Europe on foot and on horseback with dogs, while the weapon of attack was always the spear. In Europe the wild boar is still hunted with dogs, but the spear, except when used in emergencies and for giving the _coup de grace_, has been given up for the gun. It is also shot in great forest drives in Austria, Germany and Russia. The Indian wild boar (_Sus cristatus_) is slightly taller than _Sus scrofa_, standing some 30 to 40 in. at the shoulder. It is found throughout India, Ceylon and Burma. Here the horse and spear are still used, and the sport is one of the most popular in India. (See PIG-STICKING.)

The boar is one of the four heraldic beasts of venery, and was the cognizance of Richard III., king of England. As an article of food the boar's head was long considered a special delicacy, and its serving was attended with much ceremonial. At Queen's College, Oxford, the dish is still brought on Christmas day in procession to the high-table, accompanied by the singing of a carol.

BOARD (O. Eng. _bord_), a plank or long narrow piece of timber. The word comes into various compounds to describe boards used for special purposes, or objects like boards (drawing-board, ironing-board, sounding-board, chess-board, cardboard, back-board, notice-board, scoring-board). The phrase "to keep one's name on the boards," at Cambridge University, signifies to remain a member of a college; at Oxford it is "on the books." In bookbinding, pasteboard covers are called boards. Board was early used of a table, hence such phrases as "bed and board," "board and lodging"; or of a gaming-table, as in the phrase "to sweep the board," meaning to pocket all the stakes, hence, figuratively, to carry all before one. The same meaning leads to "Board of Trade," "Local Government Board," &c.

From the meaning of border or side, and especially ship's side, comes "sea-board," meaning sea-coast, and the phrases "aboard" (Fr. _abord_), "over-board," "by the board"; similarly "weather-board," the side of a ship which is to windward; "larboard and starboard" (the former of uncertain origin, Mid. Eng. _laddeboard_ or _latheboard_; the latter meaning "steering side," O. Eng. _steorbord_, the rudder of early ships working over the steering side), signifying (to one standing at the stern and looking forward) the left and right sides of the ship respectively.

BOARDING-HOUSE, a private house in which the proprietor provides board and lodging for paying guests. The position of a guest in a boarding-house differs in English law, to some extent, on the one hand from that of a lodger in the ordinary sense of the term, and on the other from that of a guest in an inn. Unlike the lodger, he frequently has not the exclusive occupation of particular rooms. Unlike the guest in an inn, his landlord has no lien upon his property for rent or any other debt due in respect of his board (_Thompson v. Lacy_, 1820, 3 B. and Ald. 283). The landlord is under an obligation to take reasonable care for the safety of property brought by a guest into his house, and is liable for damages in case of breach of this obligation (_Scarborough v. Cosgrove_, 1905, 2 K.B. 803). Again, unlike the innkeeper, a boarding-house keeper does not hold himself out as ready to receive all travellers for whom he has accommodation, for which they are ready to pay, and of course he is entitled to get rid of any guest on giving reasonable notice (see _Lamond v. Richard_, 1897, I Q.B. 541, 548). What is reasonable notice depends on the terms of the contract; and, subject thereto, the course of payment of rent is a material circumstance (see LANDLORD AND TENANT). Apparently the same implied warranty of fitness for habitation at the commencement of the tenancy which exists in the case of furnished lodgings (see LODGER AND LODGINGS) exists also in the case of boarding-houses; and the guest in a boarding-house, like a lodger, is entitled to all the usual and necessary conveniences of a dwelling-house.

The law of the United States is similar to English law.

Under the French Code Civil, claims for subsistence furnished to a debtor and his family during the last year of his life by boarding-house keepers (_maitres de pension_) are privileged over the generality of moveables, the privilege being exerciseable after legal expenses, funeral expenses, the expenses of the last illness, and the wages of servants for the year elapsed and what is due for the current year (art. 2101 (5)). Keepers of taverns (_aubergistes_) and hotels (_hoteliers_) are responsible for the goods of their guests--the committal of which to their custody is regarded as a deposit of necessity (_depot necessaire_). They are liable for the loss of such goods by theft, whether by servants or strangers, but not where the loss is due to _force majeure_ (arts. 1952-1954). Their liability for money and bearer securities not actually deposited is limited to 1000 francs (law of 18th of April 1889). These provisions are reproduced in substance in the Civil Codes of Quebec (arts. 1814, 1815, 1994, 2006) and of St Lucia (art. 1889). In Quebec, boarding-house keepers have a lien on the goods of their guests for the value or price of any food or accommodation furnished to them, and have also a right to sell their baggage and other property, if the amount remains unpaid for three months, under conditions similar to those imposed on innkeepers in England (art. 1816 A; and see INNS AND INNKEEPERS); also in the Civil Code of St Lucia (arts. 1578, 1714, 1715) (A. W. R.)

BOARDING-OUT SYSTEM, in the English poor law, the boarding-out of orphan or deserted children with suitable foster-parents. The practice was first authorized in 1868, though for many years previously it had been carried out by some boards of guardians on their own initiative. Boarding-out is governed by two orders of the Local Government Board, issued in 1889. The first permits guardians to board-out children within their own union, except in the metropolis. The second governs the boarding-out of children in localities outside the union. The sum payable to the foster-parents is not to exceed 4s. per week for each child. The system has been much discussed by authorities on the administration of the poor law. It has been objected that few working-men with an average-sized family can afford to devote such an amount for the maintenance of each child, and that, therefore, boarded-out children are better off than the children of the independent (Fawcett, _Pauperism_). Working-class guardians, also, do not favour the system, being suspicious as to the disinterestedness of the foster-parents. On the other hand, it is argued that from the economic and educational point of view much better results are obtained by boarding-out children; they are given a natural life, and when they grow up they are without effort merged in the general population (Mackay, _Hist. Eng. Poor Law_). See also POOR LAW.

The "boarding-out" of lunatics is, in Scotland, a regular part of the lunacy administration. It has also been successfully adopted in Belgium. (See INSANITY.)

BOARDMAN, GEORGE DANA (1801-1831), American Baptist missionary, was born at Livermore, Me., and educated at Waterville College and Andover Theological Seminary. In 1825 he went to India as a missionary, and in 1827 to Burma, where his promising work among the Karens was cut short by his early death. His widow married another well-known Burmese missionary, Adoniram Judson.

His son, GEORGE DANA BOARDMAN, the younger (1828-1903), made the voyage from Burma to America alone when six years of age. He graduated in 1852 at Brown University, and from the Newton Theological Institution in 1855. He held Baptist pastorates at Rochester (1856-1864), and at Philadelphia, and was president of the American Baptist Missionary Union, 1880-1884. At Philadelphia he is said to have taken his congregation through every verse of the New Testament in 643 Wednesday evening lectures, which occupied nearly eighteen years, and afterwards to have begun on the Old Testament in similar fashion. Among his published works are _Studies in the Model Prayer_ (1879), and _Epiphanies of the Risen Lord_ (1879).

BOASE, HENRY SAMUEL (1799-1883), English geologist, the eldest son of Henry Boase (1763-1827), banker, of Madron, Cornwall, was born in London on the 2nd of September 1799. Educated partly at Tiverton grammar-school, and partly at Dublin, where he studied chemistry, he afterwards proceeded to Edinburgh and took the degree of M.D. in 1821. He then settled for some years as a medical practitioner at Penzance; there geology engaged his particular attention, and he became secretary of the Royal Geological Society of Cornwall. The results of his observations were embodied in his _Treatise on Primary Geology_ (1834), a work of considerable merit in regard to the older crystalline and igneous rocks and the subject of mineral veins. In 1837 he removed to London, where he remained for about a year, being elected F.R.S. In 1838 he became partner in a firm of bleachers at Dundee. He retired in 1871, and died on the 5th of May 1883.

BOAT (O. Eng. _bat_; the true etymological connexion with Dutch and Ger. _boot_, Fr. _bateau_, Ital. _battello_ presents great difficulties; Celtic forms are from O. Eng.), a comparatively small open craft for conveyance on water, usually propelled by some form of oar or sail.

The origin of the word "boat" is probably to be looked for in the A.S. _bat_ = a stem, a stick, a piece of wood. If this be so, the term in its inception referred to the material of which the primitive vessel was constructed, and in this respect may well be contrasted with the word "ship," of which the primary idea was the _process_ by which the material was fashioned and adapted for the use of man.

We may assume that primitive man, in his earliest efforts to achieve the feat of conveying himself and his belongings by water, succeeded in doing so--(1) by fastening together a quantity of material of sufficient buoyancy to float and carry him above the level of the water; (2) by scooping out a fallen tree so as to obtain buoyancy enough for the same purpose. In these two processes is to be found the genesis of both boat and ship, of which, though often used as convertible terms, the former is generally restricted to the smaller type of vessel such as is dealt with in this article. For the larger type the reader is referred to SHIP.

Great must have been the triumph of the man who first discovered that the rushes or the trunks he had managed to tie together would, propelled by a stick or a branch (cf. _ramus_ and _remus_) used as pole or paddle, convey him safely across the river or lake, which had hitherto been his barrier. But use multiplies wants, discovers deficiencies, suggests improvements. Man soon found out that he wanted to go faster than the raft would move, that the water washed over and up through it, and this need of speed, and of dry carrying power, which we find operative throughout the history of the boat down to the present day, drove him to devise other modes of flotation as well as to try to improve his first invention.

The invention of the hollowed trunk, of the "dug-out" (monoxylon), however it came about, whenever and wherever it came into comparison with the raft, must have superseded the latter for some purposes, though not by any means for all. It was superior to the raft in speed, and was, to a certain extent, water-tight. On the other hand it was inferior in carrying power and stability. But the two types once conceived had come to stay, and to them severally, or to attempts to combine the useful properties of both, may be traced all the varieties of vessel to which the name of boat may be applied.

The development of the raft is admirably illustrated in the description, given us by Homer in the Odyssey, of the construction by the hero Ulysses of a vessel of the kind. Floating timber is cut down and carefully shaped and planed with axe and adze, and the timbers are then exactly fitted face to face and compacted with trenails and dowels, just as the flat floor of a lump or lighter might be fashioned and fitted nowadays. A platform is raised upon the floor and a bulwark of osiers contrived to keep out the wash of the waves (cf. _infra_, Malay boats). It seems as if the poet, who was intimately acquainted with the sea ways of his time, intended to convey the idea of progress in construction, as illustrated by the technical skill of his hero, and the use of the various tools with which he supplies him.

On the other hand the dug-out had its limitations. The largest tree that could be thrown and scooped out afforded but a narrow space for carrying goods, and presented problems as to stability which must have been very difficult to solve. The shaping of bow and stern, the bulging out of the sides, the flattening of the bottom, the invention of a keel piece, the attempt to raise the sides by building up with planks, all led on towards the idea of constructing a boat properly so called, or perhaps to the invention of the canoe, which in some ways may be regarded as the intermediate stage between dug-out and boat.

Meanwhile the raft had undergone improvements such as those which Homer indicates. It had arrived at a floor composed of timbers squared and shaped. It had risen to a platform, the prototype of a deck. It was but a step to build up the sides and turn up the ends, and at this point we reach the genesis of ark and punt, of sanpan and junk, or, in other words, of all the many varieties of flat-bottomed craft.