Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume II.djvu/668

648 BIRCH BIRD favorite in parks and gardens. The B. lenta, cherry or black birch, called also the mountain mahogany from the hardness of its wood, has a dark, chestnut-brown bark, and abounds par- ticularly from New England to Ohio, and on the summits of the Allegheny mountains. Its leaves, bark, and wood are aromatic ; the wood is rose-colored, fine-grained, and valuable for cabinet work. The B. papyracea, or paper birch, is that from which the aborigines of America make the canoes with which they navigate lakes and rivers, and hence it is also called the canoe birch. It is a native of Canada and the northern United States, and is superior to all other species for its tough bark, in paper-like layers, which is so durable that the wood of the fallen tree will rot en- tirely away while the case of bark remains sound and solid. The B. niyra, the river or red birch, is an alder-like American species, with whitish leaves and reddish-brown bark, found from Massachusetts to the southern states. Barrel hoops are made from its branches, and its tough twigs are the best ma- terials for coarse brooms. The negroes also make vessels from it to contain their food and drink. The B. nana, dwarf or Alpine birch, is a native of the Alps and of the mountains of Lapland. The Laplanders burn it on summer nights to drive off a kind of mosquito, and sleep in the fragrant smoke. It has been intro- duced into this country, and appears as a small shrub on the summit of mountains in Maine and New Hampshire, and in other frigid situa- tions northward. BIRCH, Samuel, an English Egyptologist, born In London, Nov. 3, 1813. He is the son of a clergyman, entered the office of the commis- sioners of public records in 1834, and in 1836 became connected with the archaeological de- partment of the British museum, where from 1861 to 1870 he had charge of the oriental, mediaeval, and British antiquities and ethnog- raphy, but since 1870 only of the Egyptian and oriental antiquities. His publications in- clude descriptions of antiquities of the British museum ("Gallery of Antiquities," 1842); the text for Owen Jones's " Views on the Nile " (1843); "Catalogue of Greek and Etruscan Vases in the British Museum," in conjunction with Mr. Newton (1851); "Introduction to the Study of the Egyptian Hieroglyphs," contribut- ed to Wilkinson's " Egyptians in the Time of the Pharaohs" (1857); "History of Ancient Pottery " (2 vols., 1858) ; and " Description of the Papyrus of Nas-Khem," privately printed in 1863 at the request of the prince of Wales, under whose direction this discovery had been made at Thebes. He also prepared brief stories and romances from the Chinese, including in 1863 "The Elfin Foxes." At the request of his friend Bunsen he edited after his death and wrote the greater part of the 5th and last vol- ume of his work on Egypt, bringing the Egyp- tological discoveries down to 1867 in this as well as in his second edition of the first volume. BIRCH, Thomas, D. D., an English historical and biographical writer, born in London, Nov. 23, 1705, died by falling from his horse, Jan. 9, 1766. He was of Quaker parentage, entered the priesthood of the church of England with- out a university education, and became secre- tary of the royal society. "Thurlow's State Papers," " Lives of Archbishop Tillotson and Hon. Robert Boyle," editions of Milton's prose works and of the works of Raleigh, " A Gen- eral Dictionary, Historical and Critical," and " A Series of Biographical Memoirs," are among his publications. l!l Kt II- I'l I 1 1 1 1 K. Charlotte, a German actress and dramatist, born in Stuttgart in 1800, died in Berlin, Aug. 25, 1868. Her maiden name was Pfeiffer, and she married in 1825 Dr. Birch of Copenhagen. For about 20 years she performed in the various theatres of Germany, made excursions to St. Petersburg, Pesth, Am- sterdam, and other cities, and in 1837 under- took the management of the Zurich theatre, which she retained till 1843, when she received an appointment at the royal theatre of Berlin. She wrote several novels and some 70 plays. BIRD, Edward, an English painter, born in Wolverhampton, April 12, 1772, died in Bris- tol, Nov. 2, 1819. He was the son of a car- penter, and after serving an apprenticeship to a painter and japanner, opened a drawing school at Bristol. He succeeded best with do- mestic and general subjects. BIRD, Golding, an English physician and author, born in Norfolk in 1815, died at Tun- bridge Wells in October, 1854. He early re- ceived a prize from the apothecaries' company for his proficiency in botany, and in his 22d year he became lecturer on natural philosophy, and subsequently also on materia medica, at Guy's hospital, London. He had besides an ex- tensive medical practice. His "Elements of Natural Philosophy, being an Experimental In- troduction to the Physical Sciences" (in con- cert with C. Worth, London, 2d ed., 1844), is a standard work of great popularity in England and in the United States. His other publica- tions are : " Lectures on Electricity and Gal- vanism in their Physiological and Therapeutical Relations " (revised and enlarged ed., 1847), and " Urinary Deposits " (5th ed., by E. L. Birkett, 1857). See " Biographical Sketches of the late Dr. Golding Bird," by John Hutton Balfour (London, 1855). BIRD, Robert Montgomery, nn American physi- cian and author, born at Newcastle, Del., in 1803, died in Philadelphia, Jan. 22, 1854. He was educated in Philadelphia, where he began the practice of his profession, and made his first literary ventures in the columns of the " Month- ly Magazine." His tragedy of " The Gladiator " long retained its popularity upon the stage, chiefly through the personation of Mr. Edwin Forrest. His novels, published at intervals be- tween 1830 and 1840, are chiefly historical ro- mances. The scene of " Calavar " and "The Infidel " is in Mexico, at the time of the Spanish