Beer, Sulphu′′ric Acid. Syn. Sulphuric lemonade; Cerevisia acidi sulphu′′rici, C. anticol′ica, L. Prep. 1. Treacle beer, or other weak mild beer or ale, to which a little concentrated sulphuric acid has been added, in the proportion of about 1 dr. to every 8 or 10 pints; the whole being well agitated together, and allowed a few hours to settle.
2. Treacle, 14 lbs.; bruised ginger, 1⁄2 lb.; coriander, 1⁄2 oz.; capsicum and cloves, of each 1⁄4 oz.; water, 121⁄2 galls.; yeast, 1 pint; proceed as for ginger-beer, and when the fermentation is nearly over, add of oil of vitriol, 11⁄2 oz. (diluted with 8 times its weight of water), and of bicarbonate of soda, 11⁄2 oz. (dissolved in a little water). It is fit to drink in 3 or 4 days.
Uses, &c. It is taken with great benefit by workers in lead, especially by those employed in white lead works; also in cases of lead colic, poisoning by lead or its salts, &c. A tumblerful twice or thrice daily. It is both harmless and wholesome.
Beer, Tar. Syn. Cerevis′ia pi′cis, C. p. liq′uidæ, L. Prep. (Duhamel.) Bran, 2 pints; tar, 1 pint; honey, 1⁄2 pint; water, 6 pints; mix, and gently simmer together for 3 hours; when lukewarm add of yeast, 1⁄2 pint; let it ferment for 36 hours, and strain. Pectoral, anti-asthmatic, anti-phthisic, &c.—Dose. One wine-glassful before each meal, in bronchial and chest diseases, and incipient consumption. See Beers (In Pharmacy; above).
BEES′WING. The second or pseudo-crust so much admired in port and a few other wines, and which forms in them only when kept for some time after the first or true crust has formed. It consists of minute, glittering, floating particles or lamellæ of tartar, purer, and freer from astringent matter, than that deposited in the first crust. See Crust, Wines, &c.
BEET (bēte). Syn. Be′ta, L.; Biet, D.; Bette, Fr.; Beete, Mangold, M.-kraut, Ger.; Bietola, It. The common name of plants of the genus ‘beta,’ and the nat. ord. Chenopodæ (DC.). There are said to be only two distinct species cultivated—beta vulgār′is and b. horten′sis—each of which occurs in several varieties; those of the first, and which we have chiefly to consider, producing a large fleshy root (BEET′-ROOT, MAN-GOLD-R.; RA′DIX BE′TÆ, L.; BETTERAVE, Fr.; ROTHE RÜBE,
&c., Ger.), which is both sweet and succulent; those of the other, only succulent leaves. The varieties most useful, and now the most extensively cultivated in England, are of comparatively recent introduction; field-beet, the mangold-wurzel of the Germans, having been only brought under the notice of our agriculturists towards the end of the last century.
Beet, Field. See Beet, Hybrid (below).
Beet, Hy′brid. Syn. Common beet, Field′-b.; Be′ta Hy′brida, B. vulgar′′is, h.; L.; Bette commune, Betterave c., Racine d’abondance, R. de disette, &c., Fr.; Mangold, M.-wurzel, Mangel-w., &c., Ger. A variety of beta vulgaris (Linn.), and that usually cultivated by English farmers. Root red on the outside, white inside; chiefly grown as winter-food for cattle, being vastly superior to turnips. It has been used in Germany as a substitute for bread in times of scarcity. Leaves dressed and eaten like spinach.
Beet, Red. Syn. Cu′linary beet, Garden b., Beet′-radish, Beet′-rave, &c.; Be′ta ru′bra, B. vulg′′aris r., L.; Betterave, &c., Fr.; Rothe rübe, &c., Ger. Root tender, well-flavoured, and of a rich red colour throughout, and hence much used in salads, pickles, and cookery; also made into a conserve, jam, or confection. The kinds most esteemed for salads are the small red and the yellowish-red varieties of Castelnaudari.