Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/165

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.
*
137
*

BLACKBUCK. 137 BLACKCAP. or even thousands, in number. Onlinarily, how- ever, bands containing only from ten to forty individuals are met with, led by one shining, bhick-foated old buck. See Plate of G.zeixes. Sport. — They are a favorite object of sport, but in many parts of India are so protected by the prejudice of the natives as to suffer little from the gun. The literature of sport with the gun in India abounds in descriptions of black- buck hunting. The usual method is by chasing them with greyhounds. Where the plains are very sandy, this coursing is usually successful, and it affords the sportsmen who follow the dogs on horseback the exhilaration of a fine burst of speed before seeing the prey pulled down ; but elsewhere, on open, hard deserts, or where plains of tough turf give the fleet little animals a good foothold and fair start, it is rare that the best of dogs can catch them. They are also chased with the cheeta and with falcons. The name is sometimes applied to the .frican sable antelope. BLACK BULLY, Ballv-tree Wood, or SapoI)II.i,a Pl.fM {Arhras aofiota). A tree pe- culiar to South America and the West Indies, having a durable wood that is used for ship- building, and a milky juice which is thickened by evaporation and imported as gutta-percha. The tree is extensively cultivated throughout the tropics, on account of its excellent fruit. The bark is febrifugal, and the seeds have diuretic and aperient properties, BLACK'BURN ( named after the river Black- bum, from AS. bin-na, brook, stream, Ger, Brnnnen, well, Engl, burn, rivulet, brook), A manufacturing town in Lancashire, England, on the Blackburn, and the Leeds and Liverpool Canal, 21 miles north -northwest of Manchester (Map: England, D 3). Among its notable pub- lie buildings are a handsome town-hall, a fine Gothic exchange, and a newly erected Drapers' Hall. There are two large parks — Corporation Park and Queen's Park, opened in 1887. Black- burn was incorporated in 1851, and since that date has rapidly advanced to the front rank of flourishing manufacturing towns. It has owned its water-supply since 1875. The acquisition of the gas-works followed in 1877. and in 1805 the corporation began the supplying of electricity. The street railways and suburban lines were taken over in 1899. 'The town also maintains public baths, markets, slaughter-houses, and cemeteries. Among its educational institutions are an an- cient grammar school, founded by Queen Eliza- beth in 1567; a technical school, maintained by the corporation; a public library, with which is connected a museum; and an art gallery. The town also maintains two hospitals. It has a modern and profitable sev.age .system, including extensive irrigatiimworks, precipitation jjlaiit, and two sewage farms. The great business of the town is the manufacture of cotton stuffs. There are also woolen-factories, and large establish- ments for the manufacture of weaving-machinery. Here .Tames Hargreaves (q.v.), a native of the town, invented the spinning-jenny in 1767. He was driven out of the town by a mob of working- men, who feared that niacliiiicrT would deprive them of Iheir livclibood. Population, in 1891, 120.064; in MIOl, 127,527. BLACKBURN, William Maxwell (1828- lllOO). An .merican clergynuin and author. He was born in Carlisle, Ind., graduated in 1850 at Hanover College, and in 1854 at the Princeton Theological Seminary; and held pastorates in Erie, Pa., and Trenton, N. .1. In 1808 he was ap- |)ointed professor of biblical and ecclesiastical liistoryin the Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Chicago, 111. He was appointed president of the Territorial University of Xorth Dakota in 1884, and in 1886 of Pierre University (now Huron College), He contributed to the I'riuceton J{e- ricw and other periodicals, and published: Exiles of Madeira (1802); The Rebel Prinee (1864); The CoUeqe Days of Calvin (1800); Ulrich Ziiiniili. the Pdiriolic Reformer (1868); and The Theban Legion (1871). BLACK'BURNE, Fkancis (1782-1867). An Irish Lord Chancellor. He was born at Great Footstown, County Meath, November 11, 1728, He entered Trinity College, Dublin, in 1798, where he brilliantly distinguished himself. He studied law in Dublin and London, and was ad- n.icted tc the English bar in 1805 and to the Irish bar in 1822. In 18.30 he was Attorne,v-Gen- eral for Ireland, under Earl Grey's Government. When a renewal of the Insurrection Act was necessitated l>y the disturbed state of Ireland, Blackburne devoted himself to the vigorous ap- plication of that measure in Limerick, and at the end of two years succeeded in restoring order. His activity against the riotous opponents of the collection of tithes, and a legal victory gained over O'Connell, antagonized that politician and his followers, and their bitter attacks led to his resignation. In the critical period of 1847-48 he presided with conspicuous ability in the prosecu- tion of Smith O'Brien and others who were con- victed of treason. In 1852 he was made Lord Chancellor, but resigned soon afterwards. In the same year he was appointed a commissioner of education, and in 1856 became Lord Justice of Appeals. He accepted the office of Chancellor for the second time in 1806; but his appointment be- ing loudly condemned, he was induced to resign. He was for some years vice-chancellor of Dublin University, and in 1867 declined Lord Derby's offer of a baronetcy. See O'Conkell. Daniel, and consult K. Blackburne, Life of Lord Chaneel- lor Friiiicif HUirkhitriie (London, 1874), BLACKBURNE, Jame.s Harry (1842—). An English chess-player. He was born in Man- chester, and first became known as a chess-player in 1861. There have been few tournaments with- in the past thirty years in which Blackburne has not been successful, and he has won more prizes than any other player of his day. Although less fortunate in single-handed competitive contests, his a<'hievements as a blindfolded pbiyer may be ranked with those of Paulsen and Zuckertort, BLACKCAP, A name in England and Amer- ica of various small birds which have the top of the head black. In .merica it is properly ai)plied to one of the fly-catching warblers (Si/l- vania pti.silla), a small olive and yellow bird, the male of which has the top of the head rich, lus- trous black. It frequents swamps and low wood- lands, where it is very active in search of its insect prey, and builds its nest near the ground. The black-capped titmouse, or chickadee, also frequently receives this name in the United States, See Titmoise. In Europe the name is given to one of the warblers (Curruea nlrieapilln) . closely allied to the nightingale, and one of the sweetest song-