rating the soldiers from the citizens, and placing them in the hands of the ruling power. At first, barracks were built without much regard to the health of the troops, the only consideration ap- parently being their local usefulness. In the United States, great care is taken in the selection of site and in the building of military barracks or forts. Good elevation, water, and clean environ- ment are of the first importance; after which, in the design and construction, an abundant sup- ply of fresh air is made an important factor. Care is taken that each man shall have at least 800 cubic feet of air .space, and in hospitals, 2000 feet or more. In a room to be occupied by 30 men, at least 60,000 cubic feet of fresh air per hour should be admitted, and provision is made for this amount. The name is used as a part of the official designation of a number of important military posts in the United States, the best known of which are: Columbus Bar- racks. Jackson Barracks. JelTerson Barracks, Madison Barracks. Plattsburg Barracks, San Dieco Barracks, and Washington Barracks, which are described under their appropriate heads.
BARRACUDA, bar'ra-koo'da (native name) .
(1) A large, pike-shaped, predatory, marine fish
of the teleost family Sphyrenidse (allied to the
mullets), occurring in all tropical and sub-
tropical seas, and common on both coasts of
America. The great liarracuda or picuda (Sijhy-
rwna harrncudci) frequents our Southern coasts.
"It sometimes," says Dr. Theodore Gill, "attains a
length of 8 feet and a weight of about 40 pounds.
Such larf;e fishes are said to be as much dreaded
as the great sharks, and their formidable arma-
ture [of teeth] renders them capable of inflicting
severe and even fatal wounds. It is, of course, a
carnivorous fish, and destructive to the finny
tribes generally. As a food fish it is under suspi-
cion, and is, indeed, a species under the ban in the
Cuban markets, as there have been repeated in-
stances of severe sickness caused by eating its
flesh. It seems, however, only under special con-
ditions that the flesh is poisonous, for generally
it can be eaten with impunity, and is quite
savory." See Piate of Mullets.
The barracuda of the southern California coast (Sphi/rtrnn nrariitea) is 3 feet long, and an im- ]>ortant food fish, caught in summer, and espe- cially esteemed when dried and salted. The species seen in the North Atlantic, the becuaa (iSpltyrcena spet), is smaller.
(2) The snook of the Cape of Good Hope.
BABBA DO RIO NEGEO. biir'ra ilu re'6
lia'gru. See .l...U).s.
BARRAMUNDA. bar'ra-mnn'da (native
Australian name). An extraordinary lung-fish
(Ceratodus Fosteri) of the rivers of Queensland.
Australia, where it is sometimes called native
salmon, on account of the reddish hue of its
flesh, and also flathead. It is an ugly, dark-
colored creature. .3 to 6 feet long, looking more
like a huge salamander than a fish, though
clothed with large scales. It frequents muddy
ponds and streams, feeding on fallen leaves and
decayed vegetation, and occasionally goes on
shore : and it produces eggs in a gelatinous en-
velope like those of amphibians. Its flesh is
highly prized by the aborigines. The principal
interest of it lies in the fact that its two species
represent a family, Ceratodontidie. constituting
an order. Jlonopneumona. of dipnoans. Fossil
remains show that in tlie early ages the family
was distributed nearly all over the world, but
now it is restricted to Queensland. See Dii'>"oi.
BARRANDE, ba'riiNd', .Jo.^chim (179i»-
1833). An eminent French geologist and paleon-
tologist; born at Saugues, in the Department of
Haute-Loire. He made a special study of the
Silurian formations in Bohemia, on which he
wrote his principal work, tii/sti-me silurieii du
centre de la Bnheme (18.52 and 1887), and his
investigations brought out much new and valu-
able information concerning the trilobites. His
works include, Colonie dans le hassin silurien
de la Boheme (I860); Documents stir la fauiie
primordiale et le systeme taconique en Amcrique
(1861); Representation de colonies de la
Boheme dans le hassin silurien du nord-ottcst de
la France (18.53); and Ccphalopodcs, Etudes
ynirritli's.
BARRANQUILLA, bar'ran-ke'lya. A seaport of Colombia, situated on the Magdalena River, near its mouth in the Caribbean Sea (ilap: ('olomliia, C 1). The town is not very
well built, but is the terminus of the river
traffic, as the Magdalena is not navigable at
its entrance into the sea. Barranquilla is con-
nected with the' coast by a railroad to the port of
Sabanilla. 14 miles to the northwest, and is the
seat of a United States consulate. The large
number of river steamers bring prosperity to the
toTi. Population, 40.000.
HABEAS, ba'ras', Paul Fracois Jean NICOLA.S. Count de ( 1755-1829). A distinguished character of the French Revolution. He was born in Provence, and in his youth served as a
lieutenant against the British in India. He
eagerly joined the Revolutionary party, but was
not, as is generally but erroneously stated, a
member of the States-General in 1780. He was
actively concerned in the storming of the Bas-
tile and the Tuileries, and was appointed ad-
ministrator of the Department of Var, and
afterwards of the county of Nice. In the Con-
vention he voted for the execution of the King,
without delay or appeal, and on Hay 31, 1793,
declared against the Girondists. The siege of
Toulon, and the triumph of the Revolutionary
party in the south of France. Avere in a great
measure owing to his activity and energ-; and
after the victory he was deeply concerned in all
the bloody measures that were adopted. Yet
he was hated by Robespierre and the Terrorists
as one of the less-decided Revolutionists; and
their overthrow was accomplished mainly by
him, the Convention appointing him comman-
der-in-chief, and virtually investing him with a
dictatorship for the time. Wliile holding this
high oflice. in which he acted with great de-
cision and vigor, and on the same day on which
Robespierre fell (9 Thermidor, July 27, 17fl4),
he paid a visit to the Temple and provided for
the better treatment of the King's son. He
hastened also to the Palais de .Justice, and sus-
pended the order for the execution of a large
number of persons who had been condemned to
death. On subsequent occasions, as president of
the Convention, he acted with decision both
against the intrigues of the Royalists and the ex-
cesses of the Jacobins; and on 13th Vendt^niiaire
(October 5. 17!15). being again appointed com-
mander-in-chief by the Convention, he called his
young friend Bonaparte to his aid and crushed
