BISMILLAH-BISMUTH.

BISMILLAH, int. bis-milla [Ar. In the name of God!]: an exclamation common among the Mohammedans.

BISMUTH, n. biz' muth [Ger. wiszmuth-said to be from weisz, white; muth, lively mood: F. bismuth]: one of the elementary bodies; a hard brittle reddish-white metal, used in making pewter, printer's types, etc., non-malleable, but easily fusible. BIS'MUTHINE, n. in, sulphuret of bismuth of a grayish-tin color. BIS'MUTHITE, n. it, or BIS'MUTITE, n. -mu-tit, a yellow carbonate of bismuth, or of a white or dull mountain-green. BIS' MUTHAL, a. -al, and BIS'MUTHIC, a. ik, of or from bismuth. BISMUTH-BLENDE, -blend, a bismuth-silicate, with a little iron phosphate; same as Eulytite.-BISMUTH (sym. Bi, at. wt. 208, sp. gr. 9.823) is a highly crystalline, very brittle metal, of grayish-white color

a, example of native bismuth from Redruth, in Cornwall:
b, crystal of bismuth.

with distinct reddish tinge, melting at 518° F., and expanding in the act of solidification. B. volatilizes at a high temperature; is the most diamagnetic of all known bodies; is little oxidized by air, but burns with bluish flame, when strongly heated: nitric acid somewhat diluted dissolves it freely. A mixture of B. 8 parts, lead 5, and tin 3, known as fusible metal, is used for taking impressions from dies and for other purposes; its fusion temperature is below 212° F. Spoons made of this alloy are'employed in a familiar conjuring trick, in which they are seen to melt away when put in boiling water. The principal sources of B. are the smalt-works of Saxony, where ores containing B. and cobalt are worked. The ores are roasted, and afterward smelted in the pots of the smalt furnaces, with addition of iron, carbon, and slag. Two layers are thus obtained, the lower consisting of nearly pure B., which, because of its low melting-point, can be drawn off in the liquid state after the upper layer of cobalt-speiss has solidified. Of oxides of B. the most important is the trioxide, Bi2O,, a straw-yellow powder obtained by gently igniting the neutral or basic nitrate: it is used in porcelain manufacture for fixing the gilding and for increasing the fusibility of fluxes, at the same time neutralizing the colors which are often communicated by them. Trichloride of B. (bismuthous chloride), BiCl,, is formed when B. is heated in a current of chlorine gas: it passes over as a white, easily fusible substance, which readily attracts moisture from air, being converted into a crystallized hydrate. Normal Nitrate of B., Bi(NO3)3.5H2O, forms large transparent colorless crystals

BISNOW.

which are decomposed by water, yielding an acid solution and a brilliant white crystalline powder, hydroxy-nitrate of B., Bi(NO3)(OH)2. An insoluble basic nitrate containing rather a larger proportion of B. oxide, is the substance sold under the names Pearl White,' 'Pearl Powder,' 'Blanc d'Espagne,' etc.: it is said to be injurious to the skin, rendering it yellow and leather-like. Among medicinal preparations of B. are the Subnitrate, the Subcarbonate, and the Salicylate. Of these the subnitrate is a heavy smooth white powder, only slightly soluble when taken internally, and for this reason is used extensively in gastric and intestinal troubles, where it acts in a purely mechanical manner, coating over the inflamed mucous membrane, and so preventing and allaying irritation. It is also feebly astringent, and tends to diminish secretion. The subcarbonate is very similar in its action to the subnitrate, but is more soluble. The salicylate of B. combines the antiseptic action of salicylic acid with the soothing effect of B., and therefore is a most useful preparation in diarrhea due to fermentation of the contents of the intestinal tract.

BISNOW, n. bi-sno: a member of a sect of Banyans (after whom the banyan-tree was named and which they consider sacred).* The Bisnows recognize but one god whom they call Ram-Ram (Most High), and who, according to their belief, created all things by his own power, without external agents. They constitute one of the four principal sects of the Banyans. Their food consists of fruits, vegetables, milk diet, etc.; and they abstain from meat and in general from everything that has life, pushing their scruples on this subject even to the point of using for fuel cow-dung dried in the sun and mixed with dry herbs, lest by using wood they might cause the death of some worms which might be imbedded in it. This respect for every living being is occasioned by their belief that human souls in their wanderings often pass into and inhabit the bodies of inferior animals: see TRANSMIGRATION. They solemnize the worship of their god, Ram-Ram, by songs and dances, with an accompaniment of many diverse instruments, drums, flutes, etc. In this sect the widows are not obliged to burn themselves with the bodies of their deceased husbands, but must preserve a perpetual widowhood.

See also Sir T. Herbert's A Relation of some Years travaile, begunne anno 1626; into Afrique and the greater Asia, especially the Territories of the Persian Monarchie and some parts of the Orientall Indies, and Iles adjacent, London, Printed by William Stanaly, and Jacob Bloom, 1634.

BISON, n. bizon [F. bison-from L. or Gr. bison]: a kind of wild ox, with short black rounded horns, and a large fleshy hunch on the shoulders. The ancients gave the name to an animal of the same genus with the ox (q.v.) still called the B., or the European B. (Bos Bison of some naturalists, Bos Urus of others, though properly the Urus (q.v.) or Aurochs is a distinct animal.) This animal at one time abounded in most parts of Europe, but is now found only in the forests of Moldavia, Walachia, Lithuania, and Caucasus. Herds of bisons, carefully protected by the emperor of Russia, and believed to amount to about 800 in all, roam through the great forest of Bialowieza, in Lithuania. The B. differs from all varieties of the common ox, in the arched line of the back, which rises in a sudden elevation behind the neck; the hump which is formed not consisting, however, of mere fat, but in great part of the very thick and strong muscles which support the large head. It is remarkable for strength in the fore-parts, and trees of five or six inches in diameter cannot withstand the thrusts of old bulls. It is capable of repelling all the attacks of the wolf or bear, rushing upon, overthrowing, and then trampling an adversary. Its horns are short, tapering, very distant, spreading, a little curved inwards at the point. They are affixed not at the extremities of the most elevated salient line of the head, as in the ox, but considerably in front of it. The figure of the forehead differs also from that of the ox in its greater breadth, and in its convex profile. Another important anatomical difference is in the number of ribs, of which the B. has fourteen pair, while the ox has only thirteen; and the vertebræ of the tail are fewer, being only nineteen instead of twenty-one. The hair of the forehead is long and shaggy; that under the chin and on the breast forms a sort of beard; and in winter the neck, hump, and shoulders are covered with long woolly hair, of a dusky brown color, intermingled with a short, soft, fawn-colored fur. This long hair is gradually cast in summer. The legs, back, and hinder-parts are covered with short dark-brown hair. The tail terminates in a large tuft. The females are not so large as the males, nor do they exhibit the same shagginess of the fore-parts. The B. is the largest quadruped now existing in Europe, although within the historic period there ap pears to have existed with it an ox exceeding it in size; and it appears to have been this ox, and not the B., which was called Urus (q.v.) by the ancients, although their Bonasus (or Bonassus) was probably the same with the bison. The food of the B. consists of grass and brushwood, and the leaves and bark of young trees. Its cry is peculiar, resembling a groan or a grunt, more than the lowing of an ox.' It does not attain its full stature till after its sixth year, and lives about thirty or forty years. The period of gestation appears to be the same with that of the ox. B. has never been reduced to subjection by man, and the domestication even of individuals taken young has been very partial. It generally shows a great aversion to the domestic ox. The common statement, however, that the B. calf invariably refuses to be suckled by the domestic

The

cow is contradicted on the excellent authority of the master of the imperial forests in the Russian govt. of Grodno.-The B. is generally very shy, and can be approached only from the leeward, its smell being very acute. It is easily provoked, and is not approached without danger. It runs very swiftly, although it cannot long continue its flight, galloping with its head very low, so that the hoofs are raised higher than the head.

There is no historical evidence that the B. ever existed in Britain; but remains of this, or of a very closely allied species, are found in pliocene fresh-water beds in several parts of England, as well as on the continent of Europe. The size of these B. bones is, however, so great as of itself to cause a doubt of the identity of the species, and the horns are longer in proportion. The fossil B. has been called Bison priscus, Bison being by some naturalists separated as a genus from Bos, upon the ground chiefly of the osteological differences in the head.

The American B. (Bos Americanus of some naturalists, B. Bison of others) is interesting as the only species of the ox indigenous to Amer., though the Bovida include the Amer. antelope, Rocky Mt. sheep and goat, and the musk-sheep or musk-ox.' The B. is called Buffalo by the Anglo-Americans, although it is very different from the Buffaloes (q.v.) of the old world. Until within a few years it was found in vast numbers in the great prairies between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains; it occurs as far n. as the vicinity of Great Marten Lake, lat. 63° or 64°; exten sive level and marshy tracts there affording it suitable food.

The following account is a record of the past, the bison having become nearly extinct. It was probably rare to the e. of the Appalachians, even on the first settlement of Europeans. Within the present century, however, it was found in the w. parts of the state of New York, and in large numbers in Ohio; but it has for many years disappeared from the whole region e. of the Mississippi, and it is necessary to advance about 100 m. w. of that river before encountering it; indeed, it is now becoming rare where, in its old haunts on the far western prairies, enormous herds formerly congregated, and great plains were sometimes spotted and darkened with bison as far as the eye could reach; countless thousands' are described as coming to refresh themselves in stagnant pools; and their paths are said to have been, in some parts of the wilderness, as frequent and almost as conspicuous as the roads in populous parts of the United States. The advance of civilization, narrowing the animal's range for food, has combined with the brutal and wasteful destruction by hunters, to bring the B. to the verge of extermination.

Until late years about 300,000 Indians were supposed to be subsisting almost entirely on the flesh of the B. The spear and the bow and arrow are still somewhat used by them in hunting it, though many of them also use firearms. They pursue it frequently on horseback; but the hunter, whether on horseback or on foot, has often much difficulty in getting within shot, on account of its keenness of scent,

and its speed. The chase of the B. is also very dangerous, as it is apt to turn upon an adversary, and even a fleet horse cannot always escape it. Great numbers, however, are sometimes killed when the hunters can succeed in throwing the herds that are scattered over the plains into confusion, so that they run wildly, without hecding whither. Another expedient of the Indians is to set fire to the grass of the prairies around them, when they retire in great consternation to the centre, and are easily killed. A sort of pound or enclosure is sometimes made, with a long avenue leading to it, and an embankment of snow, such that when the animals have descended over it they cannot return, and by this means many are captured and killed. Livingstone describes a similar expedient in use for killing wild animals in s. Africa. Sometimes, also, the Indians contrive to throw them into consternation, and to make them run towards a precipice, over which many of the foremost are driven by the crowds which throng up behind.

"The American B. is very similar to the European. In

general, it is of rather smaller size, but not always, and it is said sometimes to attain a weight of 2,000 lbs. Its limbs and tail are shorter, and the tail consists of fewer vertebræ. The borns are shorter and more blunt. The fore-parts are still more shaggy, and retain more of their shagginess in summer. The ground upon which many naturalists have rested their chief confidence of specific difference has been, however, the presence of an additional pair of ribs, the American B. being said to have fifteen pair; but Mr. Vasey has recently ascer tained that, like the European B., it has only fourteen. The more gregarious habit may perhaps be accounted for, like that of the American beaver, by difference of circumstances. The wolf is quite unable to contend with the B., but many wolves often hang around the herds, to devour calves which may stray or aged animals which have become too weak to keep up with the rest. These have sometimes been seen assailed by whole packs of wolves, and dealing death to many of their assailants, before they were compelled to yield to numbers and hungry pertinacity. The only American animal that is singly capable of overcoming the B. is the grizzly bear., See BEAR.