Bitt′er-sweet. Woody nightshade.
Bitt′er-wort‡ (-wŭrt). Gentian.
BITT′ERN. The ‘mother-water’ or ‘bitter liquor’ of salt-works from which the chloride of sodium (sea-salt) has been separated by crystallisation.
Bittern. An intoxicating poisonous mixture sold by the brewers’ druggists, composed of 1 part each of extract of quassia and powdered sulphate of iron, with 2 parts of extract of cocculus indicus, 4 parts of Spanish liquorice, and about 8 parts of treacle; the liquorice being first boiled with a little water until dissolved, and the solution evaporated to a proper consistence before adding the other ingredients. Used by fraudulent brewers and publicans to impart a false bitter and apparent strength to their liquors.
BITT′ERS (-ĕrz). Syn. Ama′′ra, &c., L. Vegetable bitters are commonly regarded as tonic and stomachic, and to improve the appetite when taken occasionally and in moderation. The best time is early in the morning, or half an hour or an hour before a meal. An excessive, or a too prolonged use of them, tends to weaken the stomach, and to induce nervousness. They should not be taken for a longer period than about 8 or 10 days at a time, allowing a similar period to elapse before again having recourse to them.
Among the most useful and generally employed bitters are—calumba, cascarilla, chamomiles, gentian, hops, orange peel, quassia, and wormwood.
Bitters. In the liquor-trade, a compound prepared by steeping vegetable bitters, and some aromatics as flavouring, in weak spirit, for some 8 or 10 days; a little sugar or syrup being subsequently added to the strained or decanted tincture. In that of the taverns and gin-shops the menstruum is usually gin, or plain spirit reduced to a corresponding strength. Bran′dy-bitters and WINE′-BITTERS are prepared in a similar way with common British brandy, or some cheap white wine (Cape or raisin), as the case may be. Each maker has usually his own formulæ, which he modifies to suit the price and the palate of his customer.—This class of liquors has been justly charged with being the fertile cause of habitual intemperance, of disease, and even of death! Their occasional use as tonics or stomachics is also objectionable, owing to the trash, and even deleterious substances, which so frequently enter into their composition. See Liqueurs.
BITU′MEN. [Eng., L.] Syn. Bitume, Fr.; Erdpech, Erdtheer, &c., Ger. A term of a very comprehensive character, and, in general, very loosely applied, including a variety of inflammable mineral substances, consisting
of varying proportions of hydrocarbons, having a strong smell and differing in consistence, all the varieties being found in the earth, of which asphaltum, naphtha, and petroleum may be mentioned as examples.
Asphalt is very extensively disseminated throughout Europe, Asia, and America. Considerable quantities are exported from the West Indian Islands, and from the Dead Sea, in Judæa; hence its commercial name, ‘Jewish bitumen,’ or ‘Jew’s pitch.’ The different kinds vary greatly in quality, according to the amount of earthy matter and other impurities contained in them; they may all, however, be reduced to a state of equal purity by boiling or macerating them in hot water, by which means the earthy and siliceous matters are more or less completely removed. These latter fall to the bottom of the vessel, and the bitumen rises to the surface, or forms clots on the sides of the boiler, when it is skimmed off, and thrown into a large cooler, where more water separates. At the Seyssel and Bechelbronn bitumen works the bitumen so obtained is thrown into large cauldrons and boiled for some time, by which means the volatile products and water accompanying it are driven off, and the remaining sand and impurities fall to the bottom of the cauldron, leaving the purified asphalt in the form of a thick fatty pitch, in which state it comes into the market or is applied to various purposes. In the following table we give the composition of a few bitumens: