the state of health at the time that such ship sailed. A clean bill imports that at the time that the ship sailed no infectious disorder was known to exist. A suspected bill, commonly called a touched patent or bill, imports that there were rumours of an infectious disorder, but that it had not actually appeared. A foul bill, or the absence of clean bills, imports that the place was infected when the vessel sailed. -(See QUARANTINE.) - BILL OF LADING, is a formal receipt subscribed by the master of a ship in his capacity of carrier, acknowledging that he has received the goods specified in it on board his ship, and binding himself (under certain exceptions) to deliver them, in the like good order as received, at the place and to the individual named in the bill, or his assigns, on his or their paying him the stipulated freight, &c. When goods are sent by a ship hired by a charterparty, the bills of lading are delivered by the master to the merchant by whom the ship is chartered; but when they are sent by a general ship, — that is, by a ship not hired by charterparty, but employed as a general carrier, - each individual who sends goods on board, receives a bill of lading for the same. In all cases, therefore, the bill of lading is the evidence of and title to the goods shipped. The liability of a carrier, at common law, to deliver the goods intrusted to his care, is cancelled only by "the act of God and the king's enemies." But to limit this responsibility, the following exception is now, invariably almost, introduced into the clause in bills of lading, binding the master to the delivery of the goods : "The act of God, the king's enemies, fire, and all and every other dangers and accidents of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of whatever nature and kind soever, excepted.” Bills of lading are not, in general, immediately given by the master on receiving the goods. The usual practice is for the master or his deputy to give a common receipt for the goods, which is delivered up on receiving the bill of lading. The latter should always be required within 24 hours after the goods are received on board. Three sets of all bills of lading are made out on stamped paper: one of these should he remitted by the first post to the person to whom the goods are consigned, a second being sent to him by the ship; the third is retained by the shipper of the goods. The master ought always to retain copies of the bills of lading for his government. A stamp duty of 38. is charged on all bills of lading, whether for goods exported or carried coast wise. The usual form of a bill of lading is as follows: W. B. No. 1. a. 10. N. B.-SHIPPED, in good order and well conditioned, by A. B. merchant, in and upon London, this But in the case of ships homeward bound from the West Indies, which send their boats to fetch the cargo from the shore, the exception in the bill of lading is usually expressed as follows: -"The act of God, the king's enemies, fire, and all and every other dangers and accidents of the seas, rivers, and navigation, of whatever nature and kind soever, save risk of boats, so far as ships are liable thereto, excepted." Other exceptions may be and are sometimes introduced; but the above is the general form. Transfer of Bills of Lading. · - Bills of lading are transferable either by blank or special indorsement, like bills of exchange. And whatever may be the character of the person to whom the goods are consigned, whether he be a buyer, or merely the factor, agent, or broker of the consignor, the bona fide holder of a bill of lading indorsed by the consignee is entitled to the goods, and may claim them from the master, if he can prove that he has purchased the bill for a good consideration; but unless he can do this, he is not entitled to the goods. (Holt, Law of Shipping, 2d ed. p. 363.) Formerly, a factor, though he might sell, could not pledge the goods of his principal. But the hardship and inconvenience arising from this rule were such, that it was set aside by the act 6 Geo. 4. c. 94. The second section of this act declares, that any person in possession of a bill of lading shall be deemed the true owner of the goods specified in it, so as to make a sale or pledge by him of such goods or bill of lading valid, unless the person to whom the goods are sold or pledged has notice that the seller or pledger is not the actual and bonâ fide owner of the goods. (See FACTOR.) Delivery under Bill of Lading. It being usual to sign and deliver three bills of lading, it is possible that there may be conflicting demands upon the captain by the different holders. Nothing, however, is, in such a case, required of him, except that he act with good faith, and to the best of his judgment; and that he make delivery of the goods to the person who first demands them of him, upon presentment of the bill of lading, provided the circumstances be not such as to justify a suspicion of his having unfairly got possession of it. If he act differently, he is answerable, according to the peculiarities of the case, to the person injured by his negligence; the bill of lading being not only the instructions of the merchant to him, as his carrier or servant, but his own especial agreement to deliver according to its conditions. Where several bills of lading of a different import have been signed, no regard is to be paid to the time when they were first signed by the master; but the person who first gets legal possession of one of them from the owner or shipper, has a right to the consignment; and where such bills of lading, though different upon the face of them, are constructively the same, and the master has acted bonâ fide, a delivery according to such legal title will discharge him from all. - (Holt, p. 375. and 377.) BILL OF SALE, a contract under seal, by which an individual conveys or passes away the right and interest he has in the goods or chattels named in the bill. The property of ships is transferred by bill of sale. - (See REGISTRY.) BILL OF SIGHT. When a merchant is ignorant of the real quantities or qualities of any goods assigned to him, so that he is unable to make a perfect entry of them, he must acquaint the collector or comptroller of the circumstance; and they are authorised, upon the importer or his agent making oath that he cannot, for want of full information, make a perfect entry, to receive an entry by bill of sight, for the packages, by the best description which can be given, and to grant warrant that the same may be landed and examined by the importer in presence of the officers; and within 3 days after any goods shall have been so landed, the importer shall make a perfect entry, and shall either pay down the duties, or shall duly warehouse the same. - (3 & 4 Will. 4. c. 52. § 24.) In default of perfect entry within 3 days, such goods are to be taken to the king's warehouse; and if the importer shall not, within 1 month, make perfect entry, and pay the duties thereon, or on such parts as can be entered for home use, together with charges of moving and warehouse rent, such goods shall be sold for payment of the duties. - § 25. The East India Company are authorised, without the proof before-mentioned, to enter goods by bill of sight, and to make perfect entry, and pay the duties within 3 months. § 26. BILL OF STORE, is a licence granted by the Custom-house, to merchants, to carry such stores and provisions as are necessary for a voyage, free of duty. By the act 3 and 4 Will. 4. c. 52. returned goods may be entered by bill of store, as follows: From 5th January, 1826, it shall be lawful to re-import into the United Kingdom, from any place, in a ship of any country any goods (except as herein-after excepted) which shall have been legally exported from the United Kingdom, and to enter the same by bill of store, referring to the entry outwards, and exportation thereof; provided the property in such goods continue in the person by whom or on whose account the same have been exported; and if the goods so returned be foreign goods which had before been legally imported into the United Kingdom, the same duties shall be payable thereon as would, at the time of such re-importation, be payable on the like goods, under the same circumstances of importation as those under which such goods had been originally imported; or such goods may be warehoused upon a first importation thereof: provided always, that the several sorts of goods enumerated or described in the list following shall not be re-imported into the United Kingdom for home use, upon the ground that the same had been legally exported from thence, but that the same shall be deemed to be foreign goods, whether originally such or not, and shall also be deemed to be imported for the first time into the United Kingdom; viz. Goods exported, which may not be re-imported for Home Use. Corn, grain, meal, flour, and malt; hops, tobacco, tea. Goods for which any bounty or any drawback of excise had been received on exportation, unless by special permission of the commissioners of customs, and on repayment of such bounty or such drawback. All goods for which bill of store cannot be issued in manner herein-after directed, except small remnants of British goods, by special permission of the commissioners of customs, upon proof to their satisfaction that the same are British, and had not been sold. — § 33. The person in whose name any goods so re-imported were entered for exportation, shall deliver to the searcher, at the port of exportation, an exact account signed by him of the particulars of such goods, referring to the entry and clearance outwards, and to the return inwards of the same, with the marks and numbers of the packages both inwards and outwards; and thereupon the searcher, finding that such goods had been legally exported, shall grant a bill of store for the same; and if the person in whose name the goods were entered for exportation was not the proprietor thereof, but his agent, he shall declare upon oath on such bill of store the name of the person by whom he was employed as such agent; and if the person to whom such returns are consigned shall not be such proprietor and exporter, he shall declare upon oath on such bill of store the name of the person for whose use such goods have been consigned to him; and the real proprietor, ascertained to be such, shall make oath upon such bill of store to the identity of the goods so exported and so returned, and that he was at the time of exportation and of re-importation the proprietor of such goods, and that the same had not during such time been sold or disposed of to any other person; and such affidavits shall be made before the collectors or comptrollers at the ports of exportation and of importation respectively, and thereupon the collector and comptroller shalf admit such goods to entry by bill of store, and grant their warrant accordingly. — § 34. BILLINGSGATE, a market for fish, contiguous to the Custom-house in London. It is held every lawful day, and was established in 1669 by stat. 10 & 11 Will. 3. c. 24. Every person buying fish in Billingsgate market may sell the same in any other market-place or places within the city of London or elsewhere, by retail, with this condition, that none but fishmongers be permitted to sell in fixed shops or houses. No person or persons shall purchase at Billingsgate any quantity of fish, to be divided by lots or in shares amongst any fishmongers or other persons, in order to be afterwards put to sale by retail or otherwise; nor shall any fishmonger engross, or buy in the said market, any quantity of fish, but what shall be for his own sale or use, under the penalty of 201. No person is to have in his possession, or expose to sale, any spawn of fish, or fish unsizeable, or out of season. —(36 Geo. 3. c. 118.) The minimum size of the lobsters to be sold at Billingsgate is fixed by statute. (See LOBSTER.) Down to 1842 no fish of foreign taking or curing, or in foreign vessels, could be imported into the United Kingdom, under penalty of forfeiture, except turbots and lobsters, stock-fish, live eels, anchovies, sturgeon, botargo, and caviare. But now all sorts of fish may be imported on payment of moderate duties. Fresh fish of British taking, and imported in British ships, may be landed without report, entry, or warrant. -(6 Geo. 4. c. 107.) For some further remarks with respect to this subject, see FISH. BIRCH (Fr. Bouleau; Du. Berke; Ger. Birke; It. Betulla; Lat. Betula; Pol. Brzoza; Rus. Bereza; Sp. Abedul, Betulla), a forest tree met with every where in the north of Europe. It is applied to various purposes. In Lapland, Norway, and Sweden, the long twigs of the birch are woven into mats and twisted into ropes; the outer bark forms an almost incorruptible covering for houses; and the inner bark is used, in periods of scarcity, as a substitute for bread. Russia leather is prepared by means of the empyreumatic oil of the birch. It is an excellent wood for the turner, It is some being light, compact, and easily worked. Its durability is not very great. times used in the manufacture of herring barrels. BIRDLIME (Ger. Vogelleim; Fr. Glu; It. Pania; Sp. Liga; Rus. Ptitschei Klei) exudes spontaneously from certain plants, and is obtained artificially from the middle bark of the holly. Its colour is greenish, its flavour sour, and it is gluey, shining, and tenacious. The natural is more adhesive than the artificial birdlime. —-( Thomson's Chemistry.) BIRDS NESTS (Ger. Indianische Vogelnester; Du. Indiaansche Vogelnestjes; Fr. Nids de Tunkin; It. Nidi di Tunchino; Sp. Nidos de la China; Javan. Susu; Malay, Sarungburung), the nests of a species of swallow peculiar to the Indian islands (Hirundo esculenta), very much esteemed in China. In shape this nest resembles that of other swallows; it is formed of a viscid substance; and in external appearance, as well as consistence, is not unlike fibrous, ill-concocted isinglass. Esculent nests are principally found in Java, in caverns that are most frequently, though not always, situated on the sea-coast. Many conflicting statements have been made as to the substance of nests; some contending that they are formed of sea-foam or other marine products, and others that they are elaborated from the food of the bird, &c. But these are points as to which nothing satisfactory is known. We borrow from Mr. Crawfurd's valuable work on the Eastern Archipelago (vol. iii. pp. 432-437-) the following authentic and curious details as to the traffic in this singular production: -"The best nests are those obtained in deep damp caves, and such as are taken before the birds have laid their eggs. The coarsest are those obtained after the young are fledged. The finest nests are the whitest, that is, those taken before the nest has been rendered impure by the food and feces of the young birds. They are taken twice a-year, and, if regularly collected, and no unusual injury be offered to the caverns, will produce very equally, the quantity being very little, if at all, improved by the caves being left altogether unmolested for a year or two. Some of the caverns are extremely difficult of access, and the nests can only be collected by persons accustomed from their youth to the office. The most remarkable and productive caves in Java, of which I superintended a moiety of the collection for several years, are those of Karang-bolang, in the province of Baglen, on the south coast of the island. Here the caves are only to be approached by a perpendicular descent of many hundred feet, by ladders of bamboo and rattan, over a sea rolling violently against the rocks. When the mouth of the cavern is attained, the perilous office of taking the nests must often be performed by torch-light, by penetrating into recesses of the rock where the slightest trip would be instantly fatal to the adventurers, who see nothing below them but the turbulent surf making its way into the chasms of the rock. "The only preparation which the birds' nests undergo is that of simple drying, without direct exposure to the sun, after which they are packed in small boxes, usually of half a picul. They are assorted for the Chinese market into three kinds, according to their qualities, distinguished into first or best, second, and third qualities. Caverns that are regularly managed, will afford, in 100 parts, 53-3 parts of those of the first quality, 35 parts of those of the second, 117 parts of those of the third. "The common prices for birds' nests at Canton are, for the first sort, no less than 3,500 Spanish dollars the picul, or 51. 18s. 1d. per lb.; for the second, 2,800 Spanish dollars per picul; and for the third, 1,600 Spanish dollars. From these prices it is sufficiently evident, that the birds' nests are no more than an article of expensive luxury. They are consumed only by the great; and, indeed, the best part is sent to the capital for the consumption of the court. The sensual Chinese use them, under the imagination that they are powerfully stimulating and tonic; but it is probable that their most valuable quality is their being perfectly harmless. The people of Japan, who so much resemble the Chinese in many of their habits, have no taste for the edible nests; and how the latter acquired a taste for this foreign commodity is no less singular than their persevering in it. Among the western nations there is nothing parallel to it, unless we except the whimsical estimation in which the Romans held some articles of luxury, remarkable for their scarcity rather than for any qualities ascribed to them." Mr. Crawfurd estimates the whole quantity of birds' nests exported from the Archipelago at 242,400 lbs. worth 284,2901. "The value," he observes," of this immense property to the country which produces it, rests upon the capricious wants of a single people. It is claimed as the exclusive property of the sovereign, and every where forms a valuable branch of his income, or of the revenue of the state. This value, however, is of course not equal, and depends upon the situation and the circumstances connected with the caverns in which the nests are found. Being often in remote and sequestered situations, in a country so lawless, a property so valuable and exposed is subject to the perpetual depredation of freebooters, and it not unfrequently happens that an attack upon it is the principal object of the warfare committed by one petty state against another. In such situations, the expense of affording them protection is so heavy, that they are necessarily of little value. In situations where the caverns are difficult of access to strangers, and where there reigns enough of order and tranquillity to secure them from internal depredation, and to admit of the nests being obtained without other expense than the simple labour of collecting them, the value of the property is very great. The caverns of Karang-bolang, in Java, are of this description. These annually afford 6,810 lbs. of nests, which are worth, at the Batavia prices of 3,000, 2,500, and 1.200 Spanish dollars the picul, for the respective kinds, nearly 139.000 Spanish dollars; and the whole expense of collecting, curing, and packing, amounts to no more than 11 per cent. on this amount. The price of birds' nests is of course a monopoly price, the quantity produced being by nature limited, and incapable of augmentation. The value of the labour expended in bringing birds' nests to market is but a trifling portion of their price, which consists of the highest sum that the luxurious Chinese will afford to pay for them, and which is a tax paid by that nation to the inhabitants of the Indian islands. There is, perhaps, no production upon which human industry is exerted, of which the cost of production bears so small a proportion to the market price."— (See also the valuable work of Count Hogendorp, Coup d'Eil sur l'Ile de Java, p. 291.) BISMUTH (Ger. Wismuth; Du. Bismuth, Bergsteen; Fr. Bismuth; It. Bismutte; Sp. Bismuth, Piedra inga; Rus. Wismut; Lat. Bismuthum), a metal of a reddish white colour, and almost destitute of taste and smell. It is softer than copper; its specific gravity is 9.822. When hammered cautiously, its density is considerably increased; it breaks, however, when struck smartly by a hammer, and, consequently, is not malleable, neither can it be drawn out into wire; it melts at the temperature of 476°. —( Thomson's Chemistry.) "Bismuth is used in the composition of pewter, in the fabrication of printers' types, and in various other metallic mixtures. With an equal weight of lead, it forms a brilliant white alloy, much harder than lead, and more malleable than bismuth, though not ductile; and if the proportion of lead be increased, it is rendered still more maileable. Eight parts of bismuth, 5 of lead, and 3 of tin, constitute the fusible metal, sometimes called Newton's, from its discoverer, which melts at the heat of boiling water, and may be fused over a candle in a piece of stiff paper without burning the paper. Pew. terers' solder is formed of one part of bismuth, with 5 of lead, and 3 of tin. It forms the basis of a sympathetic ink." — (Ure.) BITUMEN (Ger. Judenpech; Du. Jodenlym; It. Asfalto; Sp. Asfalto; Port. Asphalto; Rus. Asfalt; Lat. Asphaltum Bitumen Judaicum). This term includes a considerable range of inflammable mineral substances, burning with the flame in the open air. They differ in consistency, from a thin fluid to a solid; but the solids are for the most part liquefiable at a moderate heat. They are,-1. Naphtha; a fine, white, thin, fragrant, colourless oil, which issues out of white, yellow, or black clays in Persia and Media. This is highly inflammable. Near the village of Amiano, in the state of Parma, there exists a spring which yields this substance in sufficient quantity to illuminate the city of Genoa, for which purpose it is employed. With certain vegetable oils, naphtha is said to form a good varnish.-2. Petroleum is much thicker than naphtha, resembling in consistence common tar. It has a strong disagreeable odour, and a blackish or reddish brown colour. During combustion, it emits a thick black smoke, and leaves a little residue in the form of black coal. It is more abundant than the firstmentioned variety, from which it does not seem to differ, except in being more inspissated. It is found in various countries, and is especially abundant in the Birman empire, where it is met with above Prome, within about 2 miles of the Irrawadi. The gross annual produce of the wells in this place has been estimated at about 80,000,000 lbs., worth on the spot about 18. 8d. a cwt; and the supply might, if a market could be found, be indefinitely increased. It is used as a lamp oil, and, when mingled with earth or ashes, as fuel and in the paying of boats. (Geographical Dictionary, i. 377.) In the United States it is found abundantly in Kentucky, Ohio, and New York, where it is known by the name of Seneca or Genesee oil. It is also obtained from wells in the island of Zante. Herodotus tells us, that he had seen these wells-(lib. iv. c. 195.); and the description he has given of them, and of the mode of obtaining the petroleum, corresponds, in all respects, with the accounts of the best modern travellers. The average annual produce of the Zante springs is about 100 barrels. (Chandler's Travels in Greece, 4to. ed. p. 301.; Holland's Travels in Greece, 4to. ed. p. 18.) Petroleum is particularly abundant in Persia. "When taken from the pit, it is a thick liquid resembling pitch. The bottoms of most vessels which navigate the Euphrates and Tigris are covered with it, and it is also used in lamps, instead of oil, by the natives. The most productive fountains are those of Kerkook, Mendali, and Badku. The wells in the neighbourhood of the latter seem to be quite inexhaustible, being no sooner emptied than they again begin to fill. Some of them have been found to yield from 1,000 to 1,500 lbs. a day!"- Kinneir's Persian Empire, p. 39. and 359.)-3. Moltha, or Sea-wax, is a solid whitish substance, not unlike tallow. It melts when heated, and in cooling assumes the consistence of white cerate. This is, most probably, the bitumen candidum of Pliny (Hist. Nat. lib. xxxv. c. 15). It is not used as pitch; but it affords a better light than petroleum, and emits a less disagreeable smell. It is found on the surface of the Baikal Lake in Siberia, at the foot of the mountains of Bucktiari in Persia, and in some other places.-4. Elastic Bitumen yields easily to pressure; is flexible and elastic. It emits a strong bituminous odour, and is about the weight of water. On exposure to the air it hardens, and loses its elasticity. It takes up the traces of crayons in the same manner as caoutchouc, or Indian rubber, whence it has obtained the name of mineral caoutchouc. It has hitherto been found only in the lead mines of Derbyshire. — 5. Compact Bitumen, or Asphaltum, is of a shining black colour, solid, and brittle, with a conchoidal fracture. Its specific gravity varies from 1 to 16. Like the former varieties, it burns freely, and leaves but little residuum. It is found in India, on the shores of the Dead Sea, in France, in Switzerland, and in large deposits in sandstone in Albania; but nowhere so largely as in the island of Trinidad, where it forms a lake three miles in circumference, and of a thickness unknown. A gentle heat renders it ductile, and, when mixed with grease or common pitch, it is used for paying the bottoms of ships, and is said to protect them from the teredo of the West Indian seas. The ancients employed bitumen in the construction of their buildings. The bricks of which the walls of Babylon were built were, it is said (Herodotus, lib. i. § 179.), cemented with hot bitumen, which gave them unusual solidity. BLACKING (Ger. Schuhschwärze, Wichse; Fr. Noir (de cordonnier;) It. Nero da ugner le scarpe; Sp. Negro de zapatos). A factitious article, prepared in various ways, used in the blacking of boots and shoes. The principal ingredients in its manufacture are oil, vinegar, and various sorts of blacking matter. It is in very extensive demand. Some of the establishments for its manufacture, especially those in the metropolis, are on a very large scale; and it is in such only that it can be cheaply and advantageously produced. One of the principal, or rather we may say the principal outlay in establishing a blacking business, consists in advertising. Indeed any individual or set of individuals, provided they supply a reasonably good article, may by continuous advertising and puffing attain to the highest eminence in the "blacking line." Exclusive of that used at home, blacking is a considerable article of export. BLACK-LEAD, PLUMBAGO, OR WAD, (Du. Potloot; Fr. Mine de plomb noir, Plomb de mine, Potelot; Ger. Pottloth, Reissbley; It. Miniera di piombo, Piombaggine, Corezolo; Lat. Plumbago; Sp. Piedra mineral de plomo), a mineral of a dark steel grey colour, and a metallic lustre; it is soft, has a greasy feel, and leaves a dark coloured line when drawn along paper. This mineral is found only in a state of purity in Borrowdale in Cumberland, the mines in which have been wrought since the days of Elizabeth. The lead is not found in veins but in detached pieces, or in what are called sops or bellies, so that the supply is very irregular, the miners being frequently employed for a lengthened period in seeking at random for the lead. Its quality also differs very widely. The best is that which is lightest, and the trace of which on paper is easily and completely removed by the application of India rubber. The mine used only to be opened at intervals, but for a considerable number of years past it has been constantly open. The supply, however, has been extremely scanty, and mostly also very inferior. The trade is supplied at sales held on the first Monday of each month, in Essex Street, Strand, London. This lead is now almost wholly employed in making pencils: an inferior variety from Spain and Ceylon being used in the manufacture of crucibles, the polishing of cast iron utensils, the diminishing of friction, and other purposes to which genuine black lead was formerly applied. BLACK LEAD PENCILS (Du. Potlootpennen; Fr. Crayons noirs; Ger. Bleystifte; It. Lapis nero; Port. Lapis negro; Rus. Karanaschü; Sp. Lapiz negro) are formed of black lead, encircled with cedar. There is hardly, perhaps, any thing in which the temptation to substitute a spurious for a genuine article is greater, or in which, consequently the purchaser is more liable to be deceived, than black lead pencils. This is occasioned by the vast difference between the cost of genuine Cumberland lead, and of the other articles that are or may be substituted for it. Pencils are usually described as follows: First quality, or drawing pencils. Third ditto, or composition pencils. I. Pencils of the first quality are, when genuine, made of pure Cumberland lead, which costs at present (1843) 308. per lb. or 1687, per cwt. From 18 to 20 dozen such pencils are produced from a pound of this lead. These pencils are usually made by sawing the lead into the pieces inserted in the cedar. Sometimes, however, the lead is in parts gritty and defective, so that a pencil of this kind may, in fact, be very inferior. To obviate this defect, some makers prepare the lead, to free it from the grit or earthy particles; and, provided no antimony or other alloy be mixed up with the prepared lead, the pencils produced from it are most to be depended on. II. Peucils of the second quality are manufactured out of the sawings or dust of pure lead, with the dust of the small pieces picked up by poor people from the rubbish thrown out of the mine, mixed or alloyed with a greater or less quantity of antimony. The goodness of this pencil depends, of course, on the proportion in which the pure lead exceeds the antimony. But as the cost of the former may be taken at 100l. a cwt, and that of the latter at only 268., there is an all but irresistible temptation to increase the proportion of the latter beyond due bounds. This sort of composition produces about 15 or 16 dozen pencils to the pound; their price varying according to the purity of the lead. III. The third quality of pencil is made by using Mexican or Spanish lead dust, costing 45s. or 50s. a cwt., with antimony costing about 26s. per cwt. It produces about 14 or 15 dozen pencils to the lb, which may be sold at from 2s. 6d. to 12s. per gross, according to the cost of the articles employed and the care taken in mixing them. This sort of pencil may take a firm point, and make a fine stroke, but its trace will not obliterate on being rubbed with Indian rubber. The easy and complete obliteration of the strokes is, in fact, the best and perhaps only test of a pencil being of pure Cumberland lead. — -(Private information.) BLUBBER (Ger. Thran, Fischtran; Du. Thraan; It. Olio di pesce; Sp. Grassa, Aceite de pescado; Rus. Salo worwannoe, Worwan; Lat. Oleum piscinum), the fat of whales and other large sea-animals, of which train oil is made. The blubber is the adeps of the animal: it lies under the skin, and over the muscular flesh; it is about 6 |