Battery. In electro-chemistry, galvanism, &c., a pair, or series of pairs, of ‘excited’ metallic plates, so arranged as to act in unison, producing an electrical current by chemical decomposition.
BAUME (Baumé). See Areometer.
Baume Nerval. See Ointments.
BAUXITE. A ferruginous aluminic hydrate containing 55·4 per cent. of alumina and 44·5 of ferric oxide. It is met with in roundish masses in the crystalline limestone of Baux (hence its name) near Arles, in France. Bauxite is one of the sources of alum.
BAY. See Sweet Bay.
BAY ESSENCE. Bay Rum. This compound, which is largely employed as a perfume in America, and is one of the articles of the United States’ Pharmacopœia, is, when genuine, imported from the West Indies, where it is said to be prepared by distilling rum, with the leaves of the bayberry tree. More than three fourths, however, of the bay rum consumed is undoubtedly an imitation of the imported essence, and is a mechanical mixture of the volatile oil of the bayberry tree, rum, and spirit; sometimes with the addition of aromatic spices and various colouring matters. The volatile oil from which this last preparation is made is frequently adulterated to a large extent.
Mr Rother, an American chemist, states that in one sample alone he found about fifty per cent. of fixed oil. The imported rum is far superior in point of fragrance to the artificial. When mixed with water the genuine essence remains clear, whilst the imitation almost always becomes turbid or milky.
Mr Rother finds the following formula to yield a satisfactory product, and one much stronger in aroma than the imported perfume:
| Oil of bayberry tree and ml xx. | 1 fl. oz. |
| Jamaica rum | 1 pint o.m. |
| Strong alcohol | 4 pints o.m. |
| Water | 3 pints o.m. |
Mix the rum, alcohol, and water, then add the oil; mix, and filter.