BEATER, _s._ An instrument with which any thing is beaten; a person attending a sportsman, as in pheasant or cock-shooting, to beat the covers and flush the birds. BEE, _s._ The insect that makes honey. BEE-EATER, _s._ (_Merops apiaster_, LINN.) A bird that feeds upon bees. Of this genus only one species is British.—_Montagu._ BEE-HIVE, _s._ The case or box in which bees are kept. BEES-WAX, _s._ Much used in forming ointment. BEECH, _s._ A tree. _Beechen_, _a._ Consisting of the wood of the beech. BEEF, _s._ The flesh of black cattle prepared for food; an ox, bull, or cow. BEER, _s._ Liquor made of malt and hops; a useful vehicle for tonics and cordials. When good it is an excellent restorative for a fatigued horse. Heated with spirits and ginger it relieves colic, gripes, &c. BEET, _s._ The name of a plant. BEETLE, _s._ An insect distinguished by having hard cases, or sheaths, under which he folds his wings; a heavy mallet. Beetles flying about late in an evening often foretel a fine day on the morrow.—_Foster._ BELLADONNA, _s._ Nightshade; a powerful narcotic. Mr. Youatt considers this to have some prophylactic powers against rabies, but particularly when in union with the scutellaria, or skull-cap. He begins “with a drachm ball to a moderate-sized dog, containing two scruples of the scutellaria, and about two and a half grains of the belladonna, to be given night and morning: on the second week two balls are given; on the third, three; and this continued for six weeks.” The nightshade is also a general sedative.—_The Horse._ BELLMETAL, _s._ The metal of which bells are made. BELLOW, _v._ To make a noise as a bull; to make any loud and violent outcry. BELLWETHER, _s._ A sheep which leads the flock with a bell hung on his neck. BELLY, _s._ That part of the body which reaches from the breast to the thighs, containing the bowels. BELLY-BOUND, _a._ Costive. BELT, _s._ A girdle; a cincture. BENZOIN, _s._ Called also GUM BENJAMIN. It is a yellow resinous substance, and from it _Flowers of Benjamin_ are extracted. It is used as an ingredient in Friar’s Balsam and Paregoric Elixir. BERNACLE, _s._ A bird like a goose, fabulously supposed to grow on trees. [Illustration]