Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/176

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170 BOX ELDER 1-328. It is prepared for industrial uses by steeping large blocks in water during 24 bours, after which it is boiled in water, and then al- lowed to dry slowly, immersed in sand or ashes Leaves and Fruit of Box. to exclude the air and prevent rapid desicca- tion. It is much used by the turner, the math- ematical instrument maker, and the wood en- graver, and for certain uses no other kind of wood can replace it with advantage. It is sent in large quantities from Spain to Paris, and great quantities of a very fine quality are im- ported from the Levant into the manufacturing countries of Europe. The . JBalearica, or Majorca box, is a handsomer plant than the preceding, having wide leaves, but requires a warmer climate or more careful culture. It will grow, however, in the open air, in the milder exposures of northern latitudes. It abounds on the hills of Majorca at the height of 1,500 ft. above the level of the sea, and is supposed to furnish a part of the Spanish and Turkey box wood. Box wood is sometimes used in medicine as a substitute for guaiacum, and the leaves have been employed as a substi- tute for Peruvian bark. The leaves have also been used instead of hops in the brewing of beer, but they give an acrid, unpleasant flavor to tbe liquor. BOX ELDER, a N. W. county of Utah, bound- ed N. by Idaho and W. by Nevada ; area, 6,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 4,855, of whom 403 were Chinese. About half of Great Salt lake lies in the S. E. part of the county. Bear river flows through the E. part. The surface is broken. The Central Pacific railroad traverses the county. The chief productions in 1870 were 26,972 bushels of wheat, 4,539 of Indian corn, 2,324 of oats, 4,240 of barley, 10,692 of potatoes, 1,784 tons of hay, 3,394 Ibs. of wool, and 3,910 gallons of sorghum molasses. There were 434 horses, 801 milch cows, and 2,582 sheep. Capital, Brigham City. BOXING. See PUGILISM. BOYAR BOTACi. I. An inland state of the United States of Colombia, divided into the provinces of Pamplona, Casanare, Socorro, and Tunja, and bordering upon Venezuela and the states of Cundinamarca and Santander ; area, 33,- 349 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 482,874. The capital is Tunja, once the court of the Zaques kings, the implacable enemies of the Zipas of Bo- gota. The face of the country is traversed in the west by a chain of the Andes, and slopes toward the east into immense llanos or plains, little cultivated, and covered in part by dense forests and marshes, and in part by luxuriant pastures watered by the Meta and other tributaries of the Orinoco. Along the banks of the former river are almost the only inhabitants to be found in this region. The S. part of the state is intersected by mo- rasses. The soil in some places is remarkably fertile; the lowlands yield in abundance all the tropical fruits and vegetables, as also cot- ton, cacao, sugar, tobacco, dyes, medicinal drugs, and an infinite variety of useful timber. The productions of the highlands are similar to those of Europe. Honey is plentiful, and the preserves from this state are much esteemed. Vapors from numerous thermal springs in the south are condensed in dry weather and cover the surrounding fields with sulphate of soda, which is sold in the plains for the use of cattle at a high price. Near Tunja there are springs cold by day and very hot 'by night. The climate on the plains is hot and unhealthy, and fevers are common ; in the valleys of the west and centre, though warm, it is very salubrious ; in the highlands it is much cooler, but, as in most alpine regions, the inhabitants suffer very much from goitre, due in some localities to the use of impure water. Coarse cotton and woollen cloths, blankets, and flannels are manufactured, as also straw hats; and there are dyeworks, powder mills, tanneries, and spinning mills, and' a considerable internal traffic. Cattle are extensively raised. Eme- ralds and some gold are found, but the mines are no longer worked. There are some lead mines in Socorro, as also fossil remains of colossal mammifers. The forests are infested by jaguars, wild cats, mapurites (species of badger), hideous snakes, coyas (venomous spiders), and green mosquitoes formidable on account of a worm which they deposit in the skin whenever they bite. II. A small town of the above described state, on the road from Tunja to Bogota, 12 m. from the former, in lat. 5 20' N., Ion. 73 39' W. It is celebrated for the victory gained by the forces of New Gra- nada, commanded by Bolivar, over the Span- iards, the whole of whose surviving troops, with arms, ammunition, and baggage, fell into the hands of the victor. This battle, fought Aug. 7, 1819, near the bridge of Boyaca, was decisive of the independence of New Granada. A college was established here in 1821. BOYAR, or Boiar (from boi, battle), a Slavic title, first especially used by the Bulgarians,