BLEACHING-POWDEK. 167 BLEEDING. I I powder has never been definitely established, but it is generally accepted to be a mixture of calcium ■chloride with calcium hypochlorite. The process tor its manufacture patented by Charles Macin- tosh, of Glasgow, in 1790, is still largely em- ployed, and consists essentially in the absorjition of chlorine by dry lime. The chlorine-gas was for this purpose originally made by heating a mi.xture of salt (sodium cliloride), manganese dioxide, and sulphuric acid in a glass or wooden apparatus. Subsequently, liowever, the process was simplified by heating hydrochloric acid, a by-product of the manufacture of soda, with man- ganese dioxide. The lime used is ordinary lime- stone calcined in any convenient kiln, and then slacked with water. It is spread on the floor of a stone or leaden ehamljcr, into which the chlorine-gas is introduced. The absorption is ■considered complete when a sample of the prod- uct is found to contain about .37 per cent, of^ chlorine. As tlius obtained, chloride of lime is a white or grayish-brown powder with a strong, pungent odor of chlorine, which is, however, de- stroyed in time, the substance gradually under- going decomposition. Besides its use as a bleach- ing agent, as for the removal of metallic and other colors in calico-printing, chloride of lime is considered a valuable disinfectant. BLEAK, or Blick (from the pallid color of the scales). A minnow (Albunuis aliurnu.s) of the family Cyprinida?. It is about 6 inches long, and slender, resembling the dace, but darker on the back, with, silvery sides and white fins. It inhabits in active shoals the streams of England and the Continent, spawning in May, and is nuich esteemed as food by anglers, and as a pet in the aquarium. The silvery substance beneath the scales is used for the manufacture of artifi- cial pearls, as in several related fishes. BLEAK HOUSE. The title of a novel by Charles Uickens (18.52-53). It exposes the in- terminable delays in chancery. The name is that of Mr. Jarndyce's residence, which is said to have Been drawn from a dreary house at Broad- stairs, Kent, occupied by Dickens in summer. See SuiiMEBSox, Esther. BLEB (allied to Engl, hloh, 5Z»6). A circum- scribed elevation of the superficial layers of the skin which contains fluid, usually serous in char- acter. Blebs are really large vesicles or pustules, and occur in certain skin-diseases, as erysipelas, pemphigus, or erythema multiforma. BLECHEN, bleK'en, Karl Eduabd (1798- 1840 ) . A German landscape painter. He was born at Kottbus. and studied at the Berlin Acad- <>my. After a residence of several years in Italy, he "established himself in Berlin in 1830, where he was appoi!ted professor at the Academy of Fine Arts in 1835. Blechcn was the earliest rep- resentative of the Berlin land.scape school. His works include: "Villa Este:" "View near Narni:" "Villa Borghese;" "View of Naples," and ""View at Tivoli." BLEDOW, bla'dA, LlDWio (179.5-1846). A German cliessplayer, born in Berlin. He founded the Berlin chess-school, which nourished from 1837 to 1842, and where Ileydebrand, Mayet, von der Lasa, Bilguer, and Hanstein contributed greatly to the development of the game. He established the first chess paper published in Ger- many (1846). His arrangement of the 100 games of the Syrian master Starama was pub- lished by von Oppen (Leipzig, 1865). The ex- tensive collection of chess literature which he had accunuilated during his lifetime was bought by the Royal Library in Berlin. BLEDSOE, Ided'so, Alkekt Taylor (1809- 77). An .Vuicrican metaphysician and educa- tional author. He was born in Frankfort, Ky. : graduated at West i'oint in 1830, and l)ccanic a lieutenant of infantry, but resigned in 1832, and was professor ot matlicmatics successively in Ken- yon College, in Miami University, and in the uni- versities of Virginia and ilississii)pi. During the Civil ar he was Assistant Secretary of War in the Southern Confederacy. He was a frequent con- tributor to ])eriodical reviews, and at the time of his death was editor of the l^outhent Review (Methodist). His published works include: An Exawinalion of Edirards on the Will (1845) ; Theodiey: or, Vindication of the Divine Glory (1S53) ; Is Davis a Traitor* or Was Secession a Constitutional Right previous to the War of ISalf and Philosophy of Mathematics (1806). BLEEDING (heinorrhaf/e) . One of the most serious accidents that can happen to an ani- mal, and one which constitutes an anxious com- plication in surgical operations. As there is but a limited quantity of blood in the body (about one-tenth of the body's weight), and as the sud- den escape of a large portion of it is sufficient to cause death, every one should be instructed as ta the measures which experience has shown to be the most eflicient for preventing a dangerous loss of blood. Bleeding may be either from a wounded artery or vein, or it may be in the form of a gen- eral oozing from a raw surface or a mucous mem- brane, or the blood may escajie into the surround- ing tissues or into a cavity like the pleura, and remain concealed. Arterial Bleedlsg. This is recognized by the florid redness of the blood, and by its issuing from the cut vessel in jets. There are excep- tions to this, however. When an artery has been tied, and bleeding occurs from below the ligature, the flow of blood is continuous and of a dark color. It is also dark during profound anaes- thesia. If a large artery be wounded, the first gush of blood may prove fatal, but generally there are rapid and feeble pulse, frequent and irregular breathiag, intense pallor; cold, moist skin, possibly nausea and vomiting, and prostra- tion merging into unconsciousness, and the pa- tient faints; the artery draws up within its sheath (see ^rtery) ; the blood, no longer im- pelled vigorously by the heart, clots between the cut end and the cellular tissue surrounding it; the inner and middle coats not only retract, but contract, and another clot forms within the arterial tube. These dots' — which, with the faint- ness and the contraction and retraction of the artery, are termed natural hirmostalics — are suf- ficient in many cases to prevent a recurrence of the bleeding; but we must be prepared to adopt some of the many surgical or artificial means for restraining the How of blood till adhesion (qv.) can occur between the cut surfiice of the coats of the artery. The principal surgical means are: Immediate pressure, which ma3- be applied by pressing the finger-tip on the place whence the blood is seen to flow, and may be kept up by pads secured with a bandage to the part; pressure on the artery above, or as it comes to the cut jiart, which requires some knowledge of anatomy, but not more than any intelligent person may
