entertainments at which every person attending is expected to be in a fancy or peculiar national costume; in other respects they are conducted like ordinary Bs. Masked Bs., once so common, have now, for obvious reasons, lost their repute. Ball, (EPHRAIM,) inventor of the "Ohio Mower" and the "Buckeye" machine; b. in O. 1812, d. 1873. Ball, (GEORGE H., A.M., D.D.,) editor of the Baptist Union; pastor in Buffalo and Providence; b. 1818. Ball, (ROBERT S.,) Astronomer-Royal of Ireland and Prof. of Astronomy in the University of Dublin. The observatory is situated at Dunsink, near Dublin. Dr. B. is best known for his mathematical investigations and for the determinations of stellar parallax. B. 1840. Knighted 1886. Ball, (THOMAS,) Amer. sculptor, b. in Mass. 1819. Among his works are busts and statues of Washington, Lincoln, Everett, Webster, Choate, and others. Bal'lad. The name is of Ital. origin, (ballate,) and meant originally a dance-song, being derived from the Lat. ballare or balare, corresponding to the Gr. ballizein, "to dance." The B. has, in recent times, been cultivated chiefly by the Germans, and in their hands it has assumed a more artificial development. Bürger may be said to be the creator of the modern B. His Leonore has become at once classical and popular. Bürger, Schiller, Goethe, and Uhland are the greatest German names in this department of composition. Following the practice of these writers, it has become common to confine the name B. to an epic narrative with something fabulous and supernatural in the background. In this sense Goethe's Erlkönig is a B.; and Coleridge's Ancient Mariner is perhaps the best exemplification in English. Ballanche, (PIERRE S.,) Fr. sociologist and reformer; b. 1776, d. 1847. Ball-and-Sock'et Joint, is one which, by the peculiar insertion of a ball in a cavity, admits of motion in every direction. Ballantine, (WILLIAM GAY,) a Cong. minister; b. in Washington, D. C., 1848; was graduated from Marietta, Coll., O., 1868, and Union Theological Seminary, New York, 1872; Prof. Ripon Coll. 1874-76; in Ind. University 187678; since 1878 Oberlin Theological Seminary, 0. One of the editors of the Bibliotheca Sacra. Ball-and-Socket Joint. Ballantyne, (JAMES,) Scotch printer, school-fellow of Sir Walter Scott, who was his secret partner, and whose works he published; edited Edinburgh Weekly Journal, and printed Blackwood's Magazine; b. 1772, d. 1833. Ballarat, the oldest of the considerable gold-fields of Victoria, and in fact the oldest but one of all the gold-fields of the colony. The town of B. is about 65 m. W. by N. of Melbourne; pop., with suburbs, 46,033. Ballast is a heavy substance employed to give a ship sufficient hold of the water to insure her safe sailing with spread canvas when her cargo and equipment are too light. The amount of B. required by a ship depends not only on her size and cargo, but also on her build; some forms of construction requiring more B. than others. It is not merely the quantity of B. which a skillful mariner has to consider; he is required also to take into account its distribution. If a heavy mass of B. be deposited within a small compass near the keel it places the center of gravity very low down; the ship will sail sluggishly, and is said to be "stiff." If, on the other hand, the B. be massed too high up, the ship becomes 'crank," and cannot carry much sail without danger of being upset. 66 Bal'last Heav'ing, the loading or unloading of sand or mud ballast from ships. In order to prevent captains from filling up, or otherwise injuring, the entrance to rivers, ports, roadsteads, etc., by the discharge of ballast, its disposal is regulated by law. Bal'leny Islands, A group of five small volcanic islands discovered in the Antarctic Ocean 1839. Bal'let, a species of dance usually forming an interlude in theatrical performances, but confined principally to operas. Properly a B. is a theatrical exhibition of the art of dancing in its highest perfection, and must therefore in general comply with the rules of the drama as to its composition and form. The pantomimic sacrificial dances of antiquity, although they may be regarded as the source of Attic tragedy, are not to be considered as directly the origin of the B. The B., as known to us, undoubtedly originated in the service of the courts. We find it existing in Italy in the beginning of the 16th c., especially at the court of Turin, where it was enriched by the inventive genius of Count Aglio, and where the princes and princesses of the court themselves took part in it, in song and declamation as well as in the dance. The B. has survived to the present day, though chiefly as an adjunct to grand opera. Ball-flow'er, so named from its resembling a ball placed in a circular flower; an ornament peculiar to the decorated style of Gothic architecture which prevailed in the 14th c. Ballina', a sea-port town on the confines of Mayo and Sligo Cos., Ireland; pop. 5,843. Ballinasloe', a small town near the boundary of Galway and Roscommon Cos., Ireland; pop. 5,052. Ballinrobe, a town of Ireland, County Mayo, on the river Robe; pop. 2,408. Balliol College, Oxford, founded between 1263 and 1268 by John de Baliol, father of John Baliol, King of Scotland. The original foundation consisted of 16 poor scholars, and the revenue for their maintenance amounted for many yrs. to only 8d. per week for each. From 1340 to 1830 B. C. was greatly enriched by various benefactions. The society consists of a master, 13 fellows, and 24 scholars. The number of members on the books is about 600. The master and fellows enjoy the privilege of electing their own visitor. John Wyclif was master of this college 1361; among its scholars have been John Evelyn and Bradley the astronomer. The Snell Exhibitions for students of Glasgow University attract annually to this college a few distinguished Scottish students. Among these have been Sir William Hamilton, J. G. Lockhart, and Dr. Tait, Archbishop of Canterbury. Ballis'tic Pen'dulum. An instrument for ascertaining the velocity of projectiles, and, consequently, the quality or the force of explosives. One, invented by Robins, in the latter part of last c., consists of a large block of wood, suspended from a strong horizontal axis; and it is so solidly constructed as to bear the heaviest blow of the heaviest shot without injury. An excavated center on one side of the block is filled with sand, packed in leather upon an iron frame; four bags form a filling or core. The core, forming the place of impact, is easily replaced after each firing. Straps of wrought-iron suspend the block from the wrought-iron axis or shaft. The shaft-ends have knifeedges, which rest on V supports. The construction is such that a violent percussion makes only a very slight oscillatory movement in the block. A brass graduated limb measures the arc of vibration; and a brass slide is pushed forward by an index attached to a bar connected with the suspension straps. Ballistra'ria, (Ital. balestriera,) one of the names given to those projections with narrow apertures, frequent in the walls of old castles, and through which the crossbowmen discharged their arrows. B. do not seem to have come into use till the 13th c. The lower terminations of B. were generally circular, sometimes in the form of a shovel. Balloon', (Fr. ballon, a large ball.") The B., as it is at present employed, is a large pear-shaped bag, made of any pliable silk cloth, covered with a varnish, made by dissolving caoutchouc in oil of turpentine, to render it air-tight. The mouth or neck of this bag is just large enough to enable a man to get inside to make any necessary repairs, and is, of course, turned downward when the B. is inflated. A network of hempen or cotton twine is accurately fitted to the B., and the separate cords on which it ends are tied to a circular hoop placed a few ft. below the neck. The car is suspended by ropes from this hoop, and hangs at a considerable distance below, so that the aeronaut may be removed from the vicinity of the gas. The net-work serves to distribute the weight of the car and its charge equally over the whole upper surface of the B. One of the most important requisites in the construction is the valve, which is introduced into the top of the B. Bodies immersed in a fluid are buoyed upward with a force equivalent to the weight of the fluid displaced by them. If their own weight is not sufficient to counterbalance this force-i. e., if they are lighter than the fluidthey rise upward with a force equal to the difference of the weight of the displaced fluid and of their own weight. A B., therefore, which consists of an integument inclosing a gas within it, will rise in the air in the same way that a cork will rise in water, provided that the weight of the whole be less than that of an equal volume of air. If one, fot instance, occupy as much space as 1,000 lbs. of air, but weigh itself-covering, gas, and appendages-600 lbs., it will be impelled upward with a force of 400 lbs. The gases employed for filling Bs. are either hydrogen or ordinary coal-gas. The former, when pure, is between 14 and 15 BALLOON. times lighter than atmospheric air, and the latter generally about 2. The art of traversing the air by means of Bs., generally called aeronautics, and sometimes aerostation, is of comparatively recent date. The germ of the invention of Bs. is to be found in the discovery by Cavendish, in 1766, of the remarkable lightness of hydrogen gas, then called inflammable air. Prof. Black, of Edinburgh, seems to have been the first to have conceived the idea that a light envelope containing this gas would rise of itself. Mongolfier, about 1783, was the first to successfully launch the first B. The names of Glaisher, Cox, Biot, Gay-Lussac, and Goddard are inseparably associated with the annals of ballooning in the ensuing c. During the siege of Paris, 1870-71, the B. was 259 satisfied that the problem had been solved, yet the cost of working the invention is almost prohibitive of its use at present. In 1885 there was celebrated at Guisnes, in France, the centenary of Blanchard and Jeffries's famous ascent in 1785, when they rose from Dover, crossed the Channel, and alighted near Calais. Despite the many improvements that have been made, the fact remains that to-day we can do but little more than was done by the aeronauts of 100 yrs. ago. During a B. voyage of Messrs. L'Hoste and Mangot between Cherbourg and London, in 1886, M. L'Hoste made some interesting experiments to determine the feasibility of using Bs. for war purposes. The aeronauts maneuvered while passing over ships, and threw down unloaded torpedoes, which, extensively employed. Countless letters and several persons left the beleagured city in Bs. There was, of course, no attempt made to come back in such a conveyance; carrier-pigeons were the return messengers. Bs. have been enlisted in behalf of science. The first ascent for scientific objects was made at Hamburg, July 18, 1803, by Robertson and L'Hoste. Some success has attended the efforts of enthusiasts in the direction of aerial navigation in recent yrs. The first to apply his ingenuity to the problem was Henri Giffard, who experimented with steam in 1855. In 1872 Depuy de Lôme attempted B.-steering by hand-power. In 1883 F. A. Gower, an Amer. in France, succeeded in guiding a fish-shaped B., of 2,500 cubic meters capacity, with a bronze steamengine of 5 horse-power, consuming petroleum gas. Mr. Gower lost his life in 1885 by drowning in the English Channel, owing, it was supposed, to the bursting of his B. The same yr. Tissandier experimented in a cigar-shaped B. with a Siemens motor, actuated by a bichromate battery. The brothers Tissandier have worked as assiduously at the solution of the problem as the officers in the government works. The constructive features and mechanical principle are very nearly the same in both Bs. The Tissandier B. has symmetrical ends, and the propelling screw is behind the car. The Renard-Krebs B. has a propeller in | if charged with dynamite, would have played sad havoc, for front and a rudder behind. The steering is accomplished chiefly with the screw, which has a lateral play like a ship's rudder. In the Meudon experiments the B. was filled with hydrogen gas, and sustained a weight of 2,000 kilogrammes. In the first ascension the propulsive power was sufficient to drive the aerostat forward against a light breeze, which blew at a speed of about 18 ft. a second. The trial took place Aug. 9, 1884. "The B. rose to the h. of about 180 ft., took a straight course to the appointed goal, over 4 m. distant, described a curve of 300 meters radius, and sailed back to the starting-point, descending in a slanting direction to within a few ft. of the earth, where the machine was reversed and stopped, and the B. pulled down by a rope." In Sept., 1885, M. de la Rine made an ascent at Meudon in an aerostat that was steered successfully toward any point of the compass desired. The French military authorities were An Observation Balloon. the aim was almost uniformly successful. The result seems to establish the importance of the B. in future warfare. M. L'Hoste claims only partial control of the movements of Bs. by means of his patent steering apparatus, but he has demonstrated that by the use of the Flatteur apparatus he can maintain any desired altitude above the water. This apparatus consists of a contrivance which drags in the water, and is capable of being raised or lowered from the B. Successful experiments were made at Metz in 1887 with a navigable B., propelled by an electric motor. This is the invention of a German engineer named Welker. The German government bought the invention, paying for it 1,000,000 marks down, and another 1,000,000 in installments. The B. could be stopped and directed at will, moving against the wind. In the U. S. aerostation has been prosecuted with great zeal. Mr. J. Wise has more than once ex 260 BALLOON-FISH-BALTIMORE. ploded his B., when high up in the air, to show what he con- of Peru and Tolu are generally intended. (See CANADA siders to be always the case, that the fragments with the BALSAM.) B. is also the common name of a natural network form in such circumstances a parachute, which order of succulent herbaceous plants, much cultivated in moderates the rapidity of descent, and shields the aeronaut gardens and greenhouses. The lady-slipper is a familiar from danger. In 1859, a remarkable flight was made by Mr. example. J. Wise, Mr. La Mountain, and others, who, starting from St. Louis with the intention of reaching New York, traveled 1,150 m. in less than 20 hours. M. Nadar made an important ascent 1863, and M. Godard 1864. In 1873 a B. of 400,000 ft. of cubic capacity was made to enable Mr. Wise to cross the Atlantic; but the B. burst. Of late many ascents have been made for scientific purposes, as by Mr. Glaisher under the auspices of the B. committee of the British Association. That aerial navigation by means of a gasfilled B. will ever be successfully accomplished is, despite the many partial achievements above chronicled, extremely improbable. In recent yrs. military authorities have made extensive use of Bs. for observation purposes, and they are now found in the equipments of most armies. Balloon-fish, of the order Gymnodontida, have a power of inflating themselves, balloon-like. Ballot, (Fr. ballotte,) is, literally, a little ball or ticket used in the practice of secret voting, which is thence generally called "voting by B.," whether it be a ball or a ticket that is used. Votes may be taken by B. in various ways; the voter may deposit a ball in either of two boxes, so conjoined that no one shall he able to say into which one he drops it; or he may be presented with two balls-a white and a black -and so drop one of them into a box that it shall be unknown which he used. Tickets marked "Yes," "No," or with the names of candidates, will clearly serve the purpose of balls in private voting. The Dikasts in Greece voted secretly by means of balls, stones, or shells with marks. From this use of marked shells (Gr. ostrakon) in popular voting came the Greek ostracism, or secret vote of the people, by which they drove into exile those who became obnoxious to them. Tabulæ or tickets were chiefly used by the Romans. The system of the vote by B. is much in use among moderns in public elections. For BALLOT REFORM, see VOTING. Ballou', (HOSEA,) leader of Universalism in U. S.; preacher in New England; editor of Universalist Magazine; b. 1771, d. 1852. Ballou', (HOSEA, D.D.,) second editor of the Universalist Magazine and Universalist Quarterly; tirst Pres. of Tuft's Coll., 1853-61; b. in Halifax 1796, d. 1861. Ballou', (MATURIN, M.,) a son of Rev. HOSEA B., editor of B's Pictorial, B.'s Monthly, and other periodicals; b. 1820, d. 1895. Ball's Bluff, Va., was the scene of Col. Baker's defeat, Oct. 21, 1861. The Federal loss was 1,000. Col. Baker was killed, and Gen. Stone's advance not reaching the field, the Union army was literally cut to pieces. Ballycas'tle, small sea-port town in the N. of County Antrim, Ireland, in an open bay opposite Rathlin Isle, lies at the base of Knocklayd Mountain, 1,635 ft. h.; pop. 1,739. Ballyme'na, a town in County Antrim, Ireland, on the river Braid; pop. 7,981. Balm, (Melissa officinalis,) an erect, branching, perennial, herbaceous plant, of the natural order Labiata, a native of the S. of Europe, naturalized in a few places in England. It has ovate crenate leaves and axillary half-whorls of white flowers on one side of the stem. The whole plant has an agreeable, lemon-like smell, on account of which it is frequently cultivated in gardens. The stems and leaves are used in medicine as a gentle aromatic stimulant and tonic. B. is also employed for making an agreeable and exhilarating beverage called B. wine. Balmo'ral Cas'tle, the Scottish autumnal residence of Queen Victoria, is situated in a beautiful dell in Braemar, (the S.-W. district of Aberdeenshire,) 44 m. W.-S.-W. of Aberdeen. Balna'ves, (HENRY,) of Halhill, an eminent lay-reformer of the 16th c. In 1543 he was imprisoned on account of his Protestantism, but appears to have been liberated in the following yr. While in prison in Rouen, in 1547, B. wrote a treatise on Justification, to which Knox added marginal notes and prefixed a dedication, and which was afterward published with the title of The Confession of Faith. D. 1579. Balo'tra, a town of India, in the Rajpoot State of Joudpore; pop. 7,275. Bal'sam, a name formerly comprehensive of many resinous substances and oils, to which medicinal virtues were ascribed, as well as medicines compounded of resins and oils. When the term B. is now used without addition, the Bs. Bal'sam, or Balm of Gilead, is a liquid resinous substance, which has long enjoyed a very high reputation in the East, being prized not only for its fragrance, but also for the medicinal virtues which it is supposed to possess. It is the subject of several allusions in the O. T., which strongly indicate the prevalent opinion of its preciousness, and is celebrated by Strabo, Pliny, Diodorus Siculus, and other ancient writers, almost as a cure for every disease. It is still somewhat doubtful what tree furnishes it, but it is gener-. ally believed to be a species of Balsamodendron, a small tree growing in Arabia and Abyssinia, and known as B. Gileadense. The finest B., called Opobalsam, or Balm of Mecca, is obtained by incisions; is at first turbid and white; finally becomes golden-yellow with the consistency of honey. Balsamoden'dron, a genus of small trees or bushes of the natural order Amyridaceae, having small green axillary flowers, small dry oval fruits, and small pinnated leaves with 3 or 5 leaflets. Some are spiny; they generally have a scrubby appearance with little foliage. They are remarkable for the substances obtained from their wood and fruit-as balsam of Gilead, myrrh, bdellium, and Oriental elemi. Bal'sam of Sulphur is a mixture employed for medicinal purposes, and considered valuable in treating ulcers. Bal'ta, a well-built town of Russian Poland, in Podolia, on the Kodema River; pop. 31,319. Bal'tez, (PETER JOSEPH, D.D.,) R. C. Bishop of Alton, Ill., 1870; d. 1886. Bal'tic Ca-nal, a passage leading from Kiel to the North Sea; opened by William II. June 21, 1895; cost $37,400,000; is 30 ft. deep, 210 ft. wide at water surface, and 60 m. long. By this canal from 24 to 40 hours of time are saved to navigation. Bal'tic Provinces. This term, in a wider sense, comprehends the four Russian governments bordering on the Baltic, viz., Courland, Livonia, Esthonia, and Petersburg; in a restricted sense, it often designates the first three provinces. The B. P. once belonged to Sweden, except Courland, which was a dependency of Poland. They came into the possession of Russia partly in the 18th c., through the conquests of Peter the Great, and partly under Alexander in 1809; area 57,271 sq.m.; pop., including St. Petersburg, 4,247,814. Bal'tic Question, a controversy of long standing between the Baltic Provinces and Russia concerning rights and privileges confirmed to their inhabitants by Alexander II. Baltic Sea is the great gulf or shut sea bordered by Denmark, Germany, Russia, and Sweden, communicating with the Kattegat and North Sea by the Sound and Great and Little Belts. Its 1. is from 850 to 900 m., w. from 100 to 200, and area, including Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland, 160,000 sq. m. Its depth is, on an average, 15 to 20 fathoms, in many places not half so much, seldom more than 40 or 50, and never exceeding 167. Bal'timore, the chief city of Md., and a port of entry; lat. 39° 17′ N., long. 76° 37′ W.; on the N. bank of the Patapsco River, 14 m. from its entrance into Chesapeake Bay, 178 m. from the Atlantic Ocean, 40 m. N.-E. from Washington, 98 m. S.-W. from Philadelphia, 185 m. S.-W. from New York. B. is connected by railway with Philadelphia, Washington, Annapolis, Winchester, Columbia, York, Lancaster, Harrisburg, etc. It is about 4 m. 1. from E. to W. and 3 w. from N. to S.; area about 10,000 acres. A stream, called Jones's Falls, divides it into two nearly equal parts, and supplies water-power and pure water. The city was founded 1729. The surest test of its prosperity is to be found: rapid increase of its pop. B. has a capacious harbor, ing an inner basin suitable for small vessels, and a harbor which will accommodate the largest ships. lɩ nas an extensive corn-trade, and is one of the largest flour centers in the world, besides being the chief market for tobacco in the country. It has also extensive manufactories. The imports and exports of B. amount annually to nearly $75,000,000, almost equally divided between receipts and exports. From two to three thousand vessels enter and clear the port in the foreign trade every yr. Two great arteries of trade, the B. and O. and the Northern Central R. Rs., enable B. to compete successfully for the trade of the North and the North-west. B. is supplied with water by an artificial pond 8 m. N. of the city, known as Lake Roland, which has a capacity of 500,000,000 gallons, and is fed by Jones's Falls |