public buildings, besides a city hall and court house, are a public library and an opera house. Population (1910), 10,031.
Bill of Rights. This name is commonly given to the declarations of the rights of citizens which are prefixed to the constitutions of most of the states of the Union. It is also given to the first ten amendments to the U. S. constitution, proposed by the first constitutional congress and adopted in 1791 by the states. The original bill of rights was, however, an English act of Parliament which summed up the results of the revolution which had placed William and Mary on the throne. This bill of 1689 made it illegal for the crown to suspend the laws, levy money without the consent of parliament, or keep a standing army in time of peace. It also declared the rights of citizens to impartial and not over-severe justice, frequent parliaments, carrying arms for self-defense, free elections and petition to the king. To this bill of rights was added an act for the settlement of the crown upon William and Mary and their children; and next upon Anne and her children.
Bimet′allism. The system of money which admits both gold and silver to coinage at a fixed relative value, and which regards them as having the same legal-tender value is called Bimetallism. Up to the time of the Civil War, the bimetallic system was the legal system in the United States. In 1873 the gold standard was recognized by law. Silver coins are used, but are not coined upon the same terms as gold, and not all of them have the same legal-tender value as gold, hence the system is not bimetallic. It is claimed by the adherents of bimetallism that if a definite ratio of value were established by law between gold and silver that (1) the exchanges between nations would be simplified, and (2) that the price of commodities would fluctuate less, since the fluctuations in the prices of the latter are, so it is claimed, associated with the fluctuations in the value of silver. The question of bimetallism was the great issue in the presidential campaign of 1896, and the candidate who advocated that theory was defeated. Since that time discoveries of gold in great quantities have relieved the financial situation to such an extent that a change in the money standard is not urged with the same earnestness as formerly.
Bingen (bĭng′en), a picturesque old town of Germany, on the Rhine, in the grand duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt. Population of the commune, 8,187. Neighboring mountains, crowned with ruins, and an old bridge, dating back to the era of the Romans, increase the beauty of the place. Below the town is the famous Bingerloch or Bingen Hole, where the Rhine narrows into a strait between towering rocks. Above them, rises the Maüsethurm or Mouse-tower in the middle of the river, where, in the 10th century, Bishop Hatto, of Metz, collected toll from all passing vessels, and where he himself was finally eaten alive by mice attracted to the tower by the grain he had stored away in a time of famine. In popular legend it was near Bingen that the treasure of King Nibelung, which gave its name to the Nibelungen-Lied, was sunk in the Rhine.
Bing′hamton, the county seat of Broome County, N. Y., lies on both sides of the Susquehanna River, at the mouth of the Chenango River, and both rivers are spanned by several bridges. It is an important railroad town, and has more than 700 manufacturing establishments, the leading ones being furniture, glass, gloves, scales, leather, boots, shoes and cigars. It takes third rank in the U. S. in the last named industry. Among its noted buildings are the U. S. government building, the state armory, the state insane asylum, two orphan asylums, etc. The use of anthracite coal has kept the city clean and free from smoke, earning it the title of the parlor city. Population, 48,443.
Biology, a subject of great interest and importance, not only to scholars and medical men, but to all intelligent people who care for living nature. All questions in regard to the living world belong here. An animal or plant is wonderfully constructed, but, after all, the most wonderful thing about it is that it is endowed with life. While it is interesting to observe the structure of animals and plants, it is even more interesting to learn the purpose of the structure and to determine what is taking place within their bodies, what has been their past history, how they behave in reference to their surroundings, etc. This is, of course, very difficult; it requires observations with and without the microscope, experiments, and the use of the best powers of the mind.
Biology is an attempt to analyze the activities of life and finally, if possible, to give an explanation of the same. It is one of the natural sciences and is related to many branches of learning. It is easily separated from physics and chemistry, both of which deal with lifeless matter, but is is closely connected with natural history, medicine, physiology, botany, zoölology, psychology and with many affairs of everyday life.
Biology in its modern sense is of recent origin. It is customary to consider it as having taken rise about 1860, but in order to understand the reason for this way of looking at the matter, it will be necessary to trace the growth of the subject. It is
