BACON n.
and sides of a pig salted and smoked; formerly, the flesh of a pig salted or fresh. Bacon beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Dermestes lardarius) which, especially in the larval state, feeds upon bacon, woolens, furs, etc. See Dermestes. -- To save one's bacon, to save one's self or property from harm or less. [Colloq.]…
BEE n.
of the bowsprit, to reeve the fore-topmast stays through; -- called also bee blocks. Bee beetle (Zoöl.), a beetle (Trichodes apiarius) parasitic in beehives. -- Bee bird (Zoöl.), a bird that eats the honeybee, as the European flycatcher, and the American kingbird. -- Bee flower (Bot.), an orchidaceous plant of the g…
BLIND a.
c. -- Blind axle, an axle which turns but does not communicate motion. Knight. -- Blind beetle, one of the insects apt to fly against people, esp. at night. -- Blind cat (Zoöl.), a species of catfish (Gronias nigrolabris), nearly destitute of eyes, living in caverns in Pennsylvania. -- Blind coal, coal that burns w…
BLISTER n.
plaster of Spanish flies, or other matter, applied to raise a blister. Dunglison. Blister beetle, a beetle used to raise blisters, esp. the Lytta (or Cantharis) vesicatoria, called Cantharis or Spanish fly by druggists. See Cantharis. -- Blister fly, a blister beetle. -- Blister plaster, a plaster designed to raise a…
BOMBARDIER n.
A noncommissioned officer in the British artillery. Bombardier beetle (Zoöl.), a kind of beetle (Brachinus crepitans), so called because, when disturbed, it makes an explosive discharge of a pungent and acrid vapor from its anal glands. The name is applied to other related species, as the B. displosor, which can produc…
BUFFALO n.
irds perch upon buffaloes and cattle, in search of parasites. -- Buffalo bug, the carpet beetle. See under Carpet. -- Buffalo chips, dry dung of the buffalo, or bison, used for fuel. [U.S.] -- Buffalo clover (Bot.), a kind of clover (Trifolium reflexum and T.soloniferum) found in the ancient grazing grounds of the Am…
CABBAGE n.
reen plant-louse (Aphis brassicæ) which lives upon the leaves of the cabbage. -- Cabbage Beetle (Zoöl.), a small, striped flea-beetle (Phyllotreta vittata) which lives, in the larval state, on the roots, and when adult, on the leaves, of cabbage and other cruciferous plants. -- Cabbage butterfly (Zoöl.), a white butt…
CANE n.
A local European measure of length. See Canna. Cane borer (Zoö.), A beetle (Oberea bimaculata) which, in the larval state, bores into pith and destroy the canes or stalks of the raspberry, blackberry, etc. -- Cane mill, a mill for grinding sugar canes, for the manufacture of sugar. -- Cane trash, the crushed stalks a…
CANTHARIS n.
A beetle (Lytta, or Cantharis, vesicatoria), having an elongated cylindrical body of a brilliant green color, and a nauseous odor; the blister fly or blister beetle, of the apothecary; -- also called Spanish fly. Many other species of Lytta, used for the same purpose, take the same name. See Blister beetle, under Blist…