Barton-upon-Humber, a town of England, in Lincolnshire, on the Humber. It contains two old churches, one of which is an undoubted specimen of Anglo-Saxon architecture. Pop. (1921), 6454.
Bartsch (ba˙rch), Karl Friedrich, a German scholar, born in 1832, died in 1888, whose labours have been of immense service in elucidating the older literature and language of his native country as well as in the field of the Romance tongues. Among his publications were editions of the Nibelungenlied, Walther von der Vogelweide, Kudrun, &c.; Chrestomathie de l'ancien Français; Provençalisches Lesebuch; translations of Burns, of Dante, &c.
Bartsia, a genus of Scrophulariaceæ, green half-parasites upon roots of grasses. Three species are British; B. alpina has underground shoots, not unlike those of the allied Toothwort, with fleshy scale-leaves bearing water-secreting glands.
Baru (ba-rö´), a woolly substance used for caulking ships, stuffing cushions, &c., found at the base of the leaves of an East India sago palm.
Baruch (bā´ruk; literally, 'blessed'), a Hebrew scribe, friend and assistant to the prophet Jeremiah. At the captivity, after the destruction of Jerusalem, Jeremiah and Baruch were permitted to remain in Palestine, but were afterwards carried into Egypt, 588 B.C. His subsequent life is unknown. One of the apocryphal books bears the name of Baruch. The Council of Trent gave it a place in the canon, but its authenticity was not admitted either by the ancient Jews or the early Christian fathers.
Barwood, a dyewood obtained from Pterocarpus angolensis, a tall tree of West Africa. It is chiefly used for giving orange-red dyes on cotton yarns. See Camwood; Sandalwood.
Bary´ta, oxide of barium (BaO) is found in nature associated with sulphuric acid as barium sulphate, heavy-spar or Barytes (BaSO4), and with carbon dioxide as barium carbonate or witherite (BaCO3). Baryta is a heavy greyish powder of specific gravity 4.7, obtained by burning barium in oxygen or from barium nitrate or barium carbonate. It has a strong affinity for water, and combines with it in the evolution of lead and the formation of barium hydroxide (Ba(OH)2). Barium oxide is manufactured in quantity for the preparation of barium dioxide (BaO2), from which oxygen was at one time obtained. (See Oxygen.) Baryta forms white crystalline salts with acids, which are all poisonous with the exception of barium sulphate. Barium hydroxide is soluble in water, forming a strongly-alkaline solution, Baryta water, which is much used in chemical analysis. Barium sulphate is a white substance insoluble in water and in acids, and is the source of most of the barium compounds. Artificially-prepared barium sulphate is used as a pigment, Permanent White, also in the paper industry and in vulcanizing rubber. Other salts of barium of importance are barium chloride, barium nitrate, and barium carbonate, used in pyrotechny and in glass manufacture.
Barytes (American Barite), a rhombic mineral consisting of barium sulphate (specific gravity 4.5) occurring in veins and extensive masses as a subsequent deposit in various rocks. Colourless to brownish, the colourless massive examples being in great demand as a substitute for white lead in paint and for other purposes. Barytes is mined in the north of England and in County Cork.
Barytone. See Baritone.
