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BUTTES their lamps. The wood is hard and valuable. The mahwa, madfiaca, or madhooka tree (. latifolia), native of the mountainous parts of Bengal, furnishes a hard tough wood; the flowers distilled afford a strong intoxicating liquor, and from the seeds is expressed a greenish-yellow oil used in lamps. The shea ree, or African butter plant (B. ParMi), is Shea Tree (Bassla Parkli). not cultivated, but grows naturally in great abundance in the equatorial parts of Africa. The fruit resembles the Spanish olive, and from the kernel, dried in the sun and then boiled in water, is extracted a sweet, white, firm butter, which will keep for a year without salting. This is a very important article of African industry and inland trade. BDTTES, a village of Switzerland, in the canton and 19 m. 8. W. of Nenfchatel; pop. in 1870, 1,468. Situated in a narrow valley, and surrounded by high mountains, its position is such that during many months of the year its inhabitants never see the sun. BCTTISHOLZ, a village and parish of Switz- erland, in the canton and 11 m. N. W. of Lu- cerne; pop. in 1870, 1,596. In its vicinity is a remarkable mound called Englanderhubel, or "Englishman's hillock." It is the grave of a large number of Englishmen, followers of Enguerrand or Ingelram de Coucy, son-in-law of Edward III. and earl of Bedford. This no- bleman, in the course of a quarrel with Leo- pold of Austria, began to devastate the Swiss cantons, when he was defeated by the peasants near Buttisholz, and his troops were cut to pieces (1375). BCTTMANN, Phllipp Karl, a German philologist, born at Frankfort-on-the-Main, Dec. 5, 1764, died in Berlin, June 21, 1829. He finished his education at Gottingen, and in 1789 was ap- pointed assistant librarian to the king of Prus- sia, but was constrained to turn schoolmaster in order to supply the deficiencies of his sal- ary. In 1808, when the new university was BUTTON opened in Berlin, he was appointed one of it;- first professors. He published three Greek grammars, one etymological, which for a long time were universally used in Germany, and two of which have been translated into English. He was also the author of a Lexilogus, espe- cially for Hesiod and Homer (translated into English, 3d ed., London, 1846), and Mytfioloyut, oder gesammelte Abhandlungen nber die Sagen des Alterihums (2 vols., Berlin, 1828-'9; 2d ed., 1865). BUTTON, an article used for the fastening of clothing and for ornament. Buttons may be divided into two classes, those with shanks or loops for fastening them to garments, and those without. The manufacture of these useful ar- ticles involves various processes, some of them very interesting, and varying according to the materials used. These are metal, horn, shell, glass, mother-of-pearl, jet, vegetable ivory, and whalebone, besides the woven stuffs which are employed for covering button moulds. Bir- mingham is the most noted place in the world for the manufacture of buttons. In this coun- try it is extensively carried on in Waterbury, Oonn., and in Easthampton, Mass. The prin- cipal manufactories in the latter place were es- tablished about 1848 by Samuel Williston and co., who had previously owned similar estab- lishments in Haydenville, in the same state. They give employment to 250 hands, consume annually $75,000 worth of stock, and produce from $200,000 to $250,000 worth of buttons. In the manufacture of gilt buttons, brass con- taining very little zinc is used.- This is fur- nished to the buttonmaker in strips, out of which the disks are cut by a machine. This process is so rapid that one person can prepare about 12 gross in an hour. The preparing of the shanks is a distinct branch of trade. They are made of brass wire, a coil of it being put into a machine, in which one end is pushed forward gradually to a pair of shears, and the wire is cut off in small pieces. It is then bent, and, being compressed between the jaws of a vice, forms an eye. A small hammer next strikes the two ends, flattening them, and ren- dering the shank ready for use. The labor of fastening these to the button is performed by women. When properly adjusted, a little sol- der and rosin are applied to the spot where the two come in contact, which melts on being heated, and on cooling firmly unites them. The buttons, after thorough cleansing, are now ready for being ornamented, either sil- vered or gilded, as may be desired. If the former, a mixture of silver in solution, salt, and cream of tartar, with some other ingre- dients, must be stirred together, and the but- tons washed with this preparation. For gild- ing, great care is necessary. An amalgam of gold leaf and mercury is used. This is gently heated, poured into cold water, and then strained through wash leather to remove the excess of mercury. The portion left in the leather is dissolved in dilute nitric acid, and