BALL'S BLUFF, a spot on the right bank of the Potomac river, in Londoun co., Va., about 33 miles N. W. of Washington; where the bank rises about 150 feet above the level of the river. It is noted as the scene of a battle between a Union force under Col. Edward D. Baker, and a Confederate force under the command of General Evans, Oct. 21, 1861. The battle resulted in the serious defeat of the Union force and the instantaneous death of Colonel Baker.
BALMACEDA, JOSÉ MANUEL, a Chilean statesman, born in 1840; early distinguished as a political orator; advocated in Congress separation of Church and State; as Premier, in 1884, introduced civil marriage; elected President in 1886. A conflict with the Congressional party, provoked by his alleged cruelties and official dishonesty, and advocacy of the claim of Signor Vicuna as his legally elected successor, resulted in Balmaceda's overthrow and suicide in 1891.
BALMORAL CASTLE, the Highland residence of Queen Victoria, now owned by King George, beautifully situated on the S. bank of the Dee, in the county of, and 45 miles W. of Aberdeen.
BALSAM, the common name of succulent plants of the genus impatiens, family balsaminaceæ, having beautiful irregular flowers, cultivated in gardens and greenhouses. Impatiens balsamina, a native of the East Indies, is a common cultivated species. Impatiens noli-me-tangere, grows wild in Great Britain, but is not native.
BALSAM, an aromatic, resinous substance, flowing spontaneously or by incision from certain plants. A great variety of substances pass under this name. But in chemistry the term is confined to such vegetable juices as consist of resins mixed with volatile oils, and yield the volatile oil on distillation. The balsams are either liquid or more or less solid; as, for example, the Balm of Gilead, and the balsams of copaiba, Peru, and Tolu. The balsams are used in perfumery, medicine, and the arts.
BALTIC PROVINCES, a term which comprehends the three former Russian governments bordering on the Baltic, viz., Courland, Livonia, Esthonia. Since the European War they are independent states. The Baltic provinces once belonged to Sweden, except Courland, which was a dependency of Poland. They came into the possession of Russia partly in the beginning of the 18th century, through the conquests of Peter the Great, partly under Alexander in 1809 They form, however, a borderland between the Germanic and Slavonic areas, and have been a frequent cause of difficulty between Germany and Russia. In 1905, the Letts and Esthonians revolted against the German land owners and Russian Government, when much property was destroyed. Area 35,614 square miles; pop. about 2,750,000.
BALTIC SEA, the great gulf or inland sea bordered by Denmark, Germany, Russia, and Sweden, and communicating with the Kattegat and North Sea by the Sound and the Great and Little Belts. Its length is from 850 to 900 miles; breadth, from 100 to 200; and area, including the Gulfs of Bothnia and Finland, 184,496 square miles, of which 12,753 are occupied by islands. Its shallowness and narrowness, its numerous islands and reefs, the shoal coasts of Prussia on the one side, and the rocky coast of Sweden on the other, make the navigation of the Baltic very dangerous. The group of the Aland Islands divides the S. part of the sea from the N. part or Gulf of Bothnia. The Gulf of Finland, branching off eastward into Russia, separates Finland from Esthonia. A third gulf is that of Riga or Livonia. The water of the Baltic is colder and clearer than that of the ocean, and contains only a fourth of the proportion of salt found in the Atlantic. Ice hinders the navigation of the Baltic from three to five months yearly. Upward of 250 rivers flow into this sea, which, through them and its lakes, drains rather less than one-fifth of all Europe, its drainage area being estimated as 717,000 square miles. The chief of these rivers are the Oder, Vistula, Niemen, Dwina, Narva, Neva; the waters of Lake Maeler, and those of Wetter and other lakes reach the sea through the river Motala. The principal islands are Zealand, Fünen, Bornholm, Samsöe, Laaland, Gottland, Oland, Hveen, the Aland Islands and Rügen. Timber, hides, tallow, and grain are the exports from the countries bordering on the Baltic.
BALTIMORE, the largest city of Maryland, on Patapsco river, about 14 miles from Chesapeake Bay, and on the Baltimore and Ohio, the Pennsylvania, Western Maryland, and other railroads. It extends over 6 from E. to W. and between 4½ and 5 miles from N. to S., covering an area of 31½ square miles. Its convenient situation in relation to shipping has produced an increased industrial growth in recent years. One of the largest of these developments is the
