Beale, Lionel Smith, English physician and biologist, born in 1828, died in 1906. He was educated at King's College School and King's College, London, and was a professor in the medical department of the latter institution for forty-three years, finally holding the chair of the principles and practice of medicine. His numerous published works treat of medical, anatomical, physiological, and biological subjects; the microscope; various questions of morality, &c. They include How to Work with the Microscope, The Structure of the Tissues, Protoplasm, Disease Germs, Life Theories and Religious Thought, The Mystery of Life, Bioplasm, On Slight Ailments, Religio Medici, Religio Scientiæ, Religio Vitæ, &c.
Beam, a long, straight, and strong piece of wood, iron, or steel, especially when holding an important place in some structure, and serving for support or consolidation; often equivalent to girder. In a balance it is the part from the ends of which the scales are suspended. In a loom it is a cylindrical piece of wood on which weavers wind the warp before weaving; also, the cylinder on which the cloth is rolled as it is woven. In a ship, one of the strong transverse pieces stretching across from one side to the other to support the decks and retain the sides at their proper distance: hence a ship is said to be 'on her beam ends' when lying over on her side. For calculations relating to beams, see Morley's Strength of Materials and Theory of Structures.
Beam Tree (Pyrus aria), a tree of the same genus as the apple, mountain-ash, and service tree found throughout Britain, having berries that are edible when quite mellow, and yielding a hard and fine-grained wood.
Bean, a name given to several kinds of leguminous seeds and the plants producing them, probably originally belonging to Asia. They belong to several genera, particularly to Vicia, garden and field bean; Phaseŏlus, French or kidney bean; and Dolichos, tropical bean. The common bean (Vicia Faba) is cultivated both in fields and gardens as food for man and beast. Beans were believed by some of the ancients to contain the souls of their ancestors, and Pythagoras would not eat beans for this reason. One of the bean family still retains the name of the Pythagorean bean. Beans were introduced by the Moors into Spain, whence they came to France and later to England. It is possible, however, that they were brought to Britain by the Romans. They are now largely imported from Egypt, Turkey, Greece, and the Netherlands. There are many varieties, as the Mazagan, the Windsor, the long-pod, &c., in gardens, and the horse or tick bean in fields. The soil that best suits is a good strong clay. The seed of the Windsor is fully an inch in diameter; the horse bean is much less, often not much more than half an inch in length and three-eighths of an inch in diameter. Beans are very nutritious, containing nearly 50 per cent of digestible carbohydrate and 25 per cent of nitrogenous matter. The bean is an annual, from 2 to 4 feet high. The flowers are beautiful and fragrant. The kidney bean, French bean, or haricot is the Phaseŏlus vulgāris, a well-known culinary vegetable. There are two principal varieties, annual dwarfs and runners. The beans cultivated in America and largely used as articles of food belong to the genus Phaseŏlus. The scarlet-runner bean (Phaseŏlus multiflorus), a native of Mexico, is cultivated on account of its long rough pods and its scarlet flowers.
Bean-goose (Anser segĕtum), a species of wild goose, a migratory bird which arrives in Britain in autumn and retires to the north in the end of April, though some few remain to breed. Being rather less in size than the common wild goose, it is sometimes called the small grey goose.
Bean-king, the person chosen king in Twelfth Night festivities in virtue of having got the piece of cake containing the bean buried in the cake for this purpose.
Bear, the name of several large plantigrade carnivorous mammals of the genus Ursus. The teeth are forty-two in number, as in the dog, but there is no carnassial or sectorial tooth,
and the molars have a more tubercular character than in other carnivores. The eyes have a nictitating membrane, the nose is prominent and mobile, and the tail very short. The true bears are about ten in number, natives chiefly of Europe, Asia, and N. America. They generally lie dormant in their den during the winter months. The brown or black bear of Europe is the Ursus arctos. It is a native of almost all the northern parts of Europe and Asia, and was at one time common in the British Islands. It feeds on fruits, roots, honey, ants, and, in case of need, on mammals. It sometimes reaches the length of 7 feet, the largest specimens being found farthest to the north. It lives solitarily. The American black bear is the U. americānus, with black shining fur, and rarely above 5 feet in length. It is a great climber, is less dangerous than the brown bear, and is hunted for its fur and flesh. It is very amusing in captivity. The grizzly bear (U. ferox or horribilis) is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains; it is a ferocious animal, sometimes 9 feet in length, and has a bulky and unwieldy form, but is nevertheless capable of great rapidity of motion. The extinct cave-bear (U. spelæus) seems to have been closely akin to the grizzly. The Siberian bear (U. collāris) is perhaps a variety of the brown bear. The polar or white bear (U. maritĭmus) is an animal possessed of great strength and fierceness. It lives in the polar regions, frequents the sea, feeds on fish, seals, &c., and usually is 7 to 8 feet in length. The Malayan or coco-nut palm bear (U. malayānus) inhabits Cochin-China, Nepaul, the Sunda Islands, &c., lives exclusively on vegetable food, and is an expert climber. It is called also sun-bear and bruang. The Indian black bear or sloth-bear of India and Ceylon (U. labiātus) is reputed to be a fierce and dangerous animal.