BANK, _banc, atterrissement_, (_banc_, Sax.) an elevation of the ground, or bottom of the sea, which is often so high as to appear above the surface of the water, or at least so little beneath it, as to prevent a ship from floating over it: in this sense, bank amounts nearly to the same as shallows, flats, &c. The shelves that abound with rocks under water, are distinguished by other names, as reefs, ridges, keys, &c. An exact knowledge of the banks, their extent, and the different depths of water in which they lie, constitutes a very essential portion of the science of a pilot, or master of a ship. If the vessel be large, and draws much water, great attention will be necessary to avoid them. If, on the contrary, she is small, the same banks afford a sure asylum, where she may brave the largest ships, which dare not follow her to so dangerous a retreat. Many small vessels have eluded the pursuit of a superior enemy by means of this hospitable barrier. BANKS on the sea-coast are usually marked by beacons or buoys. In charts they are distinguished by little dots, as ridges of rocks are characterised by crosses. The principal banks in the Western Ocean, are those of Newfoundland, and the Bahama-Bank: the most remarkable one in Newfoundland is called the Grand Bank, which is of a vast extent, being nearly two hundred miles in length, and stretching north and south: its usual depth is from twenty to eighty fathoms: and this is the great scene of the cod-fishery, which is so material an article in European commerce. BANK _of oars_, a seat or bench of rowers in a galley. BANKER, a vessel employed in the cod-fishery on the Banks of Newfoundland. BAR _of a port or haven_, a shoal or bank of sand, gravel, &c. thrown up by the surge of the sea, to the mouth of a river or harbour, so as to endanger, and sometimes totally prevent the navigation. BARCA-LONGA, a large Spanish fishing-boat, navigated with lug-sails, and having two or three masts: these are very common in the Mediterranean. See VESSEL. BARGE (_bargie_, Dutch) a vessel or boat of state, furnished with elegant apartments, canopies, and cushions; equipped with a band of rowers, and decorated with flags and streamers: they are generally used for processions on the water, by noblemen, officers of state, or magistrates of great cities. Of this sort we may naturally suppose the famous barge or galley of Cleopatra, which, according to Shakespeare, ———————‘Like a burnish’d throne Burnt on the water; the poop was beaten gold; Purple her sails, and so perfumed, that The winds were love-sick with them: the oars were silver, Which to the tune of flutes kept stroke, and made The water which they beat to follow faster, As amorous of their strokes—— ——At the helm A seeming mermaid steer’d: the silken tackles Swell’d with the touches of those flower-soft-hands That yarely form’d their office.’——