BITTER. 129 BITTERSWEET. erary activity was fonlined almost exclusively to works (111 music. BITTER ASH. Sec Quassia. BITTERFELD, bit'tcr-felt. A town in the Prussian Province of Saxony, about 20 miles north of Leipzig, on the Mulde (.Map: Prus- sia, E 3). It has foundries and breweries, and anionj; its various manufactures may be men- tioned ornan-pipes and volatile oils. Bitterfeld was founded in the Twelfth Century bv the Fleni- inirs. Population, in 1S!)0, 9047; in 1000, 11,8-10. BITTERN (OE. bifourc, bitter, from Fr. hiitor: origin uncertain). Any heron of the genus Botaurus and related genera, forming the separate sub-family Uotaurinie. Bitterns are chiefly distinguished from herons by the long, loose plumage of the sides of the neck, which they have the power of erecting at pleasure, along with the rest of their clothing feathers, so as greatly to increase their apparent size. Bitterns also differ from herons in the greater length of their toes, the middle toe being as long as the shank; in the presence of only two pairs of powder-tracts, and in having only ten tail- feathers. They are almost all solitary birds, inhabiting reedy and marshy places, where they remain during the day. and will almost allow themselves to be trodden upon before taking wing; they feed during the night on frogs, and partly, also, on fish, lizards, water-insects, etc., and even small birds and quadrupeds. The claw of the middle toe is serrated on the inner edge, probably to aid in securing slippery prey. The common bittern of .America {liotniiriis lentigi- nosus) is a bird very widely diffused over the whole continent of Xorth America. In size it varies greatly, from 2 to 3 feet in length, and with an expanse of wing up to nearly 4 feet; the bill is about 3 inches long. The feathers on the crown of the head are dull- brown, and the plumage in general of a dull tawnr color, beautifully and irregularly marked and mottled with black and white. The bit- tern makes a rude ne.st of sticks, reeds, etc., in its marshy haunts, and lays four or five eggs (illustrated in the Plate of Eggs of Water and Hame Bieos). It has a peculiar bellowing cry, which has obtained for it such names as stake- driver, bull of the bog, etc., and many of its appellations in other languages, perhaps even its name bittern tbitnitr. botur, botaurus). Some naturalists used to assert that the boom- ing cry of the bittern was produced by the bird inserting its bill into a reed or into the mud, but that notion has long since been exploded. This bird's spring notes are, however, very reniarkalile, making a booming which has been aptly compared to the noise made by an old wooden pump-handle. Said Thoreau (Journals, .hine 20, 18.52) : "The stake-driver is at it in his favorite meadow. I followed the sound, and . . . heard some lower sounds at the beginning, like striking on a stump or stake, a dry, hard Bound, and then followed the gurgling, pumping notes fit to come from a meadow. ... It .sounds more like wooil-chopping or pumping because you seem to hear the echo of the stroke or the reverse motion of the pump-handle. After the warm weather has come both morning and even- ing you hear the bittom pumping in the fens." Wattcrs (Birds of Irclnnd) says of the British bittern: "Remarked, during the breeding season, for its peculiar spiral flight in the air, it is to this it is indebted for the beautiful poetic name bestowed upon it by the Latins, 'Cheron of the Stars' or 'star-mounter,' an idea as quaint in its beauty as is the German 'Earth-spurner' for the skylark." When assailed, it fights des- perately with bill and claws; and it is dangerous to a])proach it incautiously when wounded, as it strikes with its long, sharp bill, if jiossible, at the eye. The bittern of Europe ( lioliiurus stt'l- laris) is very similar to that of America, but dirt'crs in having the crown black and in some other details of color; the eggs also are different, being greenish-brown. It is a common bird throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. The Aus- tralian species (Hotaurus austroVs) is generally diffused throughout Australia, wherever marshes or sedgy rivers occur. In habits it closely resem- bles the bittern of Europe. The head and upper parts generally are purplish-brown, except the wings, which are buff", conspicuously freckled with brown ; the throat, breast, and belly mot- tled brown and buff. Least Bittern. — Nearly allied to the bitterns are birds of the genus Ardetta, eommonlj' known as 'least bitterns.' So similar are they to Botau- rus that they are included in that genus by many of the best ornithologists. They are much more highly colored and are only about a foot in length. They are found in North America and Europe, but are rarely seen because of their retiring habits, and the fact that they live in reedy swamps, where they are easily hidden. The most common North American species is Ardetta exilis. BITTERN, Bitter Liquid, or Salt Oil. An oily liquid, obtained in salt manufactni'e. left when the mother-liquor of the evaporating- pans ceases to deposit crystals of common salt. It consists principally of a strong solution of com- mon salt, along with the chlorides of magnesium and calcium, and bromide of potassium. The bittern obtained from the salt-works of Epsom was at one time the source of the sulphate of magnesium (hence called Epsom salts). Bit- tern is also a valuable source of the element bromine, the extraction of which is usually effected by electrolytic methods. See Salt; Bkomixe. BITTERNXJT. See Hickory. BITTERS. .V term applied in popular speech to beverages containing alcohol and either aloes for a cathartic effect, or Angostura bark, gen- tian, calisaya, etc., for stimulating the appetite and digestion. Medically, bitters are mild tonic or pungent aromatic stimulants, to be ii.sed in improving digestive conditions. The "simple bit- ters' include quassia, gentian, calumba, eupato- rium (boneset), etc.; the 'aromatic bitters' in- clude chamomile, cascarilla, angostura, and cimi- cifuga (snakeroot) ; the 'peculiar hitters' include wild cherry, cinchona, and picric acid. BITTER SPAR (Ger. liittcrspat) . A name given by the Germans to the mineral dolomite, owing to the magnesia which it contains, salts of magni'si;! Iiaving a bitter taste, BITTERSWEET, Dulcamara, or Woody Nightshade (Holanum dulcamara). A plant found in hedges and thickets in most parts of Europe and in Asia, and introduced in the United States. The root is perennial: the stem climbing and shrubby, many feet in length: the leaves ovate-heart-sliapcd, the upper ones spear-shaped;
