BORING 118 BORNEO cany called suffioni, or fumaroles. These are directed into artificial lagoons, the water of which becomes charged with boric acid, and it is obtained from it by evaporation. Boric acid is supposed to be formed by the action of water on BN (nitride of boron), which is decomposed by it into boric acid and ammonia. Boric acid is a most valuable antiseptic, and is particularly useful as a dressing for a wound from which it is probable pyaemia will result. It has a very marked effect in subduing the attacks of disease germs on the mucous membranes of the body, and, used in due season, will avert many evil consequences arising from con- tact with bacilli. BORING, a process in mechanical and engineering operations, variously per- formed according to the medium dealt with. For making small holes in soft woods and like substances, awls are em- ployed, which merely cut and displace a portion of the yielding material. In bor- ing hard woods and large holes, cai'pen- ters use gimlets, augers, and the brace and bits, which all cut and scoop out the material. In the jewelry and small metal industries, hand drills, which consist of a spindle with steel bits, to which recip- rocating rotation is given, are the im- plements for piercing small holes. The boring of holes in metal plates is effected by means of drills driven by machinery. As applied to the earth and to rocks, boring embraces two classes of operations — boring of shot holes for blasting, and the sinking of bores in prospecting for minerals, and in forming wells for water, salt brine, and mineral oils. Blast holes in rocks are made from one to two — sometimes more — inches in diameter, and may pierce to the depth of 9 feet. Such holes are most simply made in hard rock by a steel-pointed drill, struck by a ham- mer, and turned partly round after each blow to make the hole cylindrical. BORIS III., King of Bulgaria; born Jan. 30, 1894. He was the eldest son of King Ferdinand, and succeeded to the ■ throne when the latter abdicated and fled to Vienna, Oct. 4, 1918. BORNEO, an island, next to Australia and Papua, the largest in the world, is situated in the Indian Archipelago, in 7° 3' N.— 4° 10' S. lat., and 108° 53'— 119° 22' E. long. It is bounded on the E. by the Sea of Celebes and the Ma- cassar Strait, S. by the Sea of Java, W. and N. by the Gulf of Siam and the China Sea. Its length is about 800 miles, with a breadth of 700, and an area of about 284,000 square miles. Topography. — The coasts, which are often low and marshy, and rendered dangerous to navigation by numerous islets and I'ocks, present no deep inden- tations, though they are pierced by nu- merous small bays and creeks. A great part of the island must be described as mountainous. In the far N. rises the magnificent structure of Kinabalu (13,- 698 feet high), the culminating peak probably of the whole Indian Archipel- ago, and not unworthy in its picturesque- ness of such a rank. Throughout the narrow northern portion of the island there runs a kind of central ridge in a general S, W. direction, with highest points ranging from 4,000 to 8,000 feet; and this can be traced, at least as a water parting, far to the S. W. So far as is known the mountain framework of the whole island consists, like Kinabalu, of eruptive and crystalline rocks of high antiquity. Of modern volcanic activity, so prevalent elsewhere in the Indian Archipelago, there is, in Borneo, no trace either in tradition or in the rec- ord of the rocks. A large portion of the surface, not covered by alluvium, consists of tertiary deposits, in regard to the age of which, however, geologists are not agreed. Though there are many powerful streams, navigable far inland for boats of considerable burden, their value as waterways is lessened by the bars which usually prevent the entrance of sea-going vessels, and in their upper reaches by frequent rapids and occa- c sional waterfalls. In connection with the river systems there are numerous lakes in Borneo; but of true mountain lakes on a large scale there are prob- ably few. CU'mate and Productions. — The climate in the low grounds is humid, hot, and unhealthful for Europeans; but in the higher parts toward the N. the temper- ature is generally moderate, the ther- mometer at noon varying from 81° to 91° F. During the rainy season, from November to May, heavy storms of wind with loud thunder are experienced on the W. coast. The influence of the land and sea breezes passes inland to quite remarkable distances across the level plains and up the river valleys. Vege- tation is extremely luxuriant. _ The for- ests produce ironwood, bilian, teak, ebony, sandalwood, gutta percha, dye woods, benzoin, wax, dragon's blood, sago, various resins, vegetable oils, and gums. The camphor of Brunei is the best in Asia. The mohor tree, well adapted for making native boats, attains a height of 80, and the kaladang, suited for large masts, of 200 feet. Nutmegs,
