B A L
B A L
pentme two ; after dipping, they cover it round with tow, and dip again, till itbe brought to thejuft diameter required Wolf. § 53- Light Balls, glohi lucentcs, are fuch as difFufe an intenfe light around ; or they are bulls which being caft out of a mor.ar, or the hand, burn for fome time, and illuminate the adja- cent patts. Id. ibid. §. 73. Luminous, or light Balls, for the hand, are made of ground powder, faltpetre, brimftone, camphor, and borax, all fprinklcd with oil, and mouldered into a mafs with flier, common and Greek pitch, to the flze of an ordinary granado : this is wrap- ped up in tow, with a ihect of ftrong paper over it. To fire it, they make a hole into it with a bodkin, into which they put fome priming, that will burn flow. Its ufe is to be call into any works they would difcover in the night time. Milk. Diet., in voc. Tire-ball.
For the larger light Ba lls, or thofe to be thrown to a greater diftance, they melt equal quantities of fulphur, turpentine, and pitch ; and herein dipan earthen, orftone ball, ofa diameter much lei's than that of the mort :r out of which the fire hall is to be caft : then rolling it in gun-powder, and covering it round with gaufe, they dip it again, and repeat the reft till it come to fit the cavity of the mortar : laftly, they fprinkle it around with gun-powder. This being once kindled, will ftrongly il- luminate all round the place where it is thrown, and give op- portunity for examining the Irate and condition thereof' Wolf. ibid §. 65. J '
Smoak, or dark Balls; thofe which fill the air with fmoak, and thus darken a place, to prevent difcoveries. To prepare a darkening ball, make an oval, or fpherical bag ; melt rofm over the coals, and add an equal part of faltpetre not purified, alfo of fulphur, and a fifth part of charcoal. The whole be- ing well incorporated, put in tow firft fhred, and fill the hao- with this compofition, and dip it after the fame manner as a fire ball. Wolf ibid. §. 66. Stink Balls, globi fcaUntes, thofe which yield a great flench where fired to annoy the enemy. Wolf. ibid. §. 48. feq. Their preparation is thus ; melt ten pounds of pitch, fix of rofin, twenty of faltpetre, eight of gun-powder, and four of colophony ; to thel'e add two of" charcoal, fix of horfe hoofs cut fmall, three of afta fcetida, one of ftinking faracen, and any other offenfive ingredients. The reft as in the former Wolf. ibid. §. 67. Sky Balls, gloli aerii, thofe caft on high out of mortars, and which, when arrived at their height, burfling like roc- kets, afford a fpecfacle of decoration. Sky balls are made of a wooden fhcll, filled with various compofitions, particu- larly that of the ftars of rockejs. Wolf. 1. c. §. 70. Thefe are fometimes intermixed with crackers, and other combuftibles, making rains of fire, etc. Watsr Balls, gloli aquatici, thofe which fwim, and burn a confiderable time in the water, and at length burft therein Wolf 1. c. §. 95.
Thefe are made in. a wooden fliell, the cavity of which is filled with a compofition of refined faltpetre, fulphur, faw- duft boiled in water of faltpetre, and dried ; to which fome- times other ingredients are added, as iron filings, Greek pitch, amber duft, glafs powdered, and camphor. The ingredients are to be ground and mixed up, and moiftcned with lintfeed- oil, nut-oil, olive-oil, hempfeed-oil, or petrol. At the bot- tom is placed an iron coffin, filled with whole gun-powder, that the ball may at laft burft with a great noife ; and laftly, the halt is, by the addition of lead, or otherwife, made of the fame fpecific gravity wi.h water. Wolf. 1. c §.95. Land Balls, gloli Urrejlres, thofe which being thrown out of a mortar, fall to the ground, burn, and burft there. The ingredients are much the fame as in the water balls, only the fpecific gravity is not attended to. Wolf. 1. c. §. 96. Herds Ball, pila Hcrouis, is a kind of artificial fountain, where- in the w iter is made to fpout out of a hollow ball, or elobe. V. Wolf. Elem. Hydraul. §. ,24. fcq.
It takes the denomination from the inventor Hero of Alexan- dria, who has left the defcription of it in his fpiritalia. See Fountain, Cycl. Ball of a pendulum, the weight at the bottom. In fhorter pen- dulums, this is called the lob. Derham, Artif. Clock-mak. c. 1. p. 4. Ball alfo gives the denomination to a fpecies of game or fport frequent among the ancients; among the Latins under the denomination pila ; among the Greeks under that of <rp al?a , fometi.nes of Kopxw : faid to have been firft invented by Ana- gallis of Corcyra. V. Sahmth. ad Pancirol. P. 1 . tit. 23. p. 7c. Fabric Bibl. Gra?c. 1. 5. c. 40. p. 974: The Romans had four kinds of Pila, or Balls ; the firft called pigon, or trigonalis, by reafon the three gamefters at it were placed in a triangle : thefe caught and toffed the ball, taking great care not to let it fall to the ground. The fecond called follis, made of leather, blown up like our foot-balls : the Iargeft fort of thefe were ftruck with the arm, the fmaller with the fift : The former feem to have been di- ftinguiihed by the appellation paganica, as being much ufed in country villages. The fourth was the harpaft.;, a kind of fmall ball, fo called becaufe the gamefters endeavoured to fnatch it from each other. Voff. de Qiiat. Art. Paiul. c. ■?. S. be. Suppl. Vol. I. s
Galen has an entire treatife on the exercife of the iejfer ball: Cajlel. Lex. _ See alfo Fabric. Bibl. Antiq. c. 2z. §. 6. Tirow's Ball, is a little globe, made and covered with cloth' ufed in playing at the game of tennis. Savar. Difl. Com.T. 1' p. 227. Billiard Balls, are ivory bal's ufed in the game of billiards:
Ball, among printers, a kind of wooden tunnel fluffed with wool, contained in a leather cover, which is nailed to the wood ; with which the ink is applied on the forms, to be Wrought off. Savar: Difl. Comm. T. 1 . p. 227. The prefiman holding one of thefe bails in either hand, firft daubs them on the ink-block, and afterwards on the forms,' which retain the ink necefl'ary to make an imprefEon.
Ball, pila, is alfo the denomination of a form of medicines; Wemeetwith balls for the tooth-azh,pila: cdontavlUa: ; fpitting balls, piU majiicaterix, ufed to promote a difebarge of fali- va, &c.
Horfe Balls, among farriers, a kind of cordial medicines, ad- miniftred in form of balls, fuppofed of great virtue for feed- ing and flrengthening found, as wei] as healing andraifing un- found horfes.
Markbam's horfe Balls, are a preparation of anifeeds, cartha- mus, elicampane, and other ingredients, wrought into a ftiff pafte, and thence formed into balls. They are cleanfmg and emollient, efficacious in colds, furfeits, and hard labour, and efpecially ufeful where any of the chief vifcera are decayed : nothing r.dfes a lean jade fo foon, being partly food, partly phyfic. Ruff. Diet, in voc. Farr. Difl. p. 50. feq.
Treack Balls, fometimes alfo called in a more efpecial manner, co-dial balls, are made of juniper-berries, beaten, boiled, preffed, and ftrained ; then the liquor, boiled up a fecond time to the confidence ofa broth, and mixed with the cordial powder known among farriers, made of anife, fennel, liquorice, &c. adding to the whole fome of the grains of 'kermes powdered. The mafs being made into balls, is commended againft dif- orders of the ftomach, breaft, wind, &c. and is by fome called the treacle of the Germans. Ruft. Diet, in voc. Cor- dial.
Chewing Balls, are thefe which the horfe is to keep champing, or mafticating in his mouth, a confiderable time, without fwal- lowing. Thefe are chiefly ufed for loft appetite ; a thing very incidental to horfes.
They are ufually made of affa fcetida, liver of antimony, ju- niper, bay wood, and pellitory of Spain, beaten and in- corporated into a mafs with verjuice. The method of admi- niftration is to wrap one of the balls in a linnen cloth, and having a firing fattened to it, make the horfe chew it two or three hours at a time. Die!. Ruft. in voc. Chewing.
Ball of the foot of a dog, is the prominent part of the middle of the foot, called by Latin writers of the middle age, pelota, which is to be taken away in expeditation. Dh Ca»ge,Glo(s. Lat.
Ball is alfo ufed in Cornwall, &c. for a tin-mine.
In this fenfe Godolphin's ball is faid to be the moft famous of all the balls or mines in Cornwall, for quantity of metal. Phil. Tranf. N°. 138. p. 9;..
Ball is alfo ufed, in a well-known fenfe, for an aflembly of both fexes, who dance to the found of inftruments. RUM. T. 1. p. 168. a
The word in this fenfe is formed from the barbarous Latin, ballare, to dance, of the Greek, £aWu, I dance ; whence alfo 6aW«rp 3 , and ballimathia, promifcuous and lafcivious dancing, cenfuredby antient councils b . — [■ V. Suicer. Thef. T. 1. p 214. D11 Caige, Glofs. Grajc. T. 1. p. 171. Mem. Acad. Infcrip. T. 2. p. 135. Skinn. in voc. b V . Bingham, Orig. Ecclef I 16. c. i I. §. 15.]
CryflallineYiALLS, there are two forts of foflil bodies, mentioned in authors by this name, and diftinguifhed into the echinated, and concave.
The firft are roundifh nodules of ftrong matter, covered over with points of cryftal ; and the others, flints and other ftones, having cavities in their middles, which are lined, or crufled over with thefe cryftals.
Ball vein, in mineralogy, a name given by the miners in Suffex to a fort of iron ore, common there, and wrought to confi- derable advantage. It yields not any great quantity of metal, but what it has runs freely in the fire ; it is ufually found in loofe mafTes, net in form of ftrata, and is often covered with one or more crufts. It generally contains fome fparkling particles, and is ufually of a circular form, in the perfect mafles ; thickeft in the middle, and gradually thinner as it approaches the fides. The ores of Suflex in general are poor, but they require very little trouble in the working ; fo that a confiderable profit is annually made from them.
Glafs Balls. See Glass Balls.
Hair Balls. See Hair.
Paff&ALL. See Lycoperdon.
Wool Balls. See Wool.
BALLAD, or Ballet, a popular fong, containing the recital of fome action, adventure, or intrigue. The French confine their ballade to ftriiter terms. A ballade, according to Richelet, is a fong confifting of three ftrophes, or ftanzas, of eight verfes each, befides a half ftrophe; the whole in rhime, of two, three, or four verfes, with a burthen 4 C repeated
