The leading berries employed in domestic economy and the arts are noticed in their alphabetical places (which see).
BER′YL (bĕr-rĭl). Syn. Aquamarine′ (rēne); A′qua-mari′na, Beryl′lus, L.; Aigue-marine, Béril, Fr.; Beryll, &c., Ger.; Smaragd, It. A beautiful mineral, which, in its richer forms, is classed with the gems. It is usually of a green colour of various shades, passing into honey-yellow and sky-blue. It is allied in composition to the emerald; but occurs in much larger crystals than that gem, and owes its colour to oxide of iron instead of oxide of chromium. According to Gmelin its composition is—Silica, 68·7%; alumina, 17·6%; glucina, 13·4%; red oxide of iron, ·24%. Other (previous) authorities state that it contains fully 14% of glucina, 2% of lime, and 1% of oxide of iron.
The finest beryls come from Dauria on the frontiers of China, from Siberia, and from Brazil. Some of gigantic size have been found in the U.S., at Ackworth and Grantham, New Hampshire, and at Royalston, Mass. One of these measured 32 × 22 × 15 inches, and weighed 2900 lbs.; another, 12 × 24 × 45 inches, and weighed 1076 lbs.
Apatite or Saxony beryl, chrysolite or pierre d’asperge, coloured fluor-spar, and even natural crystals of phosphate of iron, are often worked up by the lapidaries and passed off as beryls, or false beryls, emeralds, topazes, &c. See Gems, Pastes, &c.
BERYL′LA*. See Glucinum, Oxide of.
BERYL′LIUM*. See Glucinium.
BETAINE. C5H11NO21. An alkaloid occurring in the juice of the mangold-wurzel. Scheibler prepares it as follows:—The expressed juice of the mangold-wurzel, strongly acidulated with hydrochloric acid, is mixed with a solution of sodium phosphotungstate;[165] the resulting precipitate containing albumen, colouring matter, woody fibre, and a small quantity of the base, is filtered as quickly as possible, and the filtrate, mixed with a fresh quantity of the precipitant, is left to itself for eight or ten days. It then gradually deposits on the bottom and sides of the vessel a crystalline precipitate, which is rinsed with a little water and treated with milk of lime, whereby insoluble calcium phosphotungstate is produced, while the betaine remains in solution. The filtered liquid freed from lime by carbonic acid, and evaporated, leaves impure betaine, which may be purified by recrystallisation from alcohol, with help of animal charcoal.
[165] Prepared by dissolving sodium bitungstate in ordinary phosphoric acid, adding hydrochloric acid, and decanting the clear solution from the precipitate thereby produced.
A hydrochlorate, a sulphate, an aurochloride, and a platinic chloride of betaine have been prepared.
BE′TEL (bē′tl). [Eng., Ger.] Syn. Be′tle, Be′tel-tree, B. pepper-tree; Bétel, Fr.; Wasserpfeffer, &c., Ger.; Pi′per be′tel (Linn.), Chavica betle (Miquel), L. A climbing plant of the nat. ord. Piperaceæ, common in India and the East. Its leaves, which somewhat resemble those of the citron, are bitter, stomachic, tonic, stimulant, and sialogogue.