602B

into the field, and at a point B, 154 ft. from point A, lay off lines BC and BD at right angles to the line AB; then with B as centre, and 63.63945 ft. (roughly, 63 ft. 73 in.) as radius, describe arcs cutting the lines BA at F and BC at G, BD at H, and BE at 1. Draw lines FG, GI, IH, and HF, and said lines will be the containing lines of the diamond or infield.

E

63.63945

The Catcher's Lines.-With F as centre, and 10 ft. radius, describe an arc cutting line FA at L, and draw lines LM and LO at right angles to

H

out the 'diamond,' a square 90 feet on a side set cornerwise to the field. At each corner is a base--the one at which the batsman stands to hit the ball, and at which the runs terminate, being called the 'home plate.' The base in the point of the diamond opposite to the homeplate is second base, and, looking toward second base from the home plate, the base at the right is first base, and that at the left third base. The following are the official rules for laying out the baseball field, as adopted (1911) by the Joint Playing Rules Committee of the National and American Leagues:

a

From point A within the grounds project a straight line out

5

W

Baseball

until they intersect at the points T and w.

The Captain and Coacher's Line. -With R and s as centres, and 15 ft. radius, describe arcs cutting lines RW and ST at X and Y, and from the points x and y draw lines parallel with lines FH and FG, and continue same out to the boundary lines of the ground.

The Three Foot Line.-With F as centre, and 45 ft. radius, describe an arc cutting line FG at 1, and from 1 out to the distance of 3 ft. draw a line at right angles to FG, and marked point 2; then from point 2 draw a line parallel with the line FG to a point 3 ft. beyond the point G, and marked 3; then from the point 3 draw a line at right angles to line 2, 3, back to and intersecting with line FG, and from thence back alone line GF to point 1.

FA, and continue same out from FA not less than 10 ft.

The Batsman's Line.-On either side of the line AFB describe two parallelograms 6 ft. long and 4 ft. wide, their length being parallel with the line AFB, their distance apart being 6 in. added to each end of the length of the diagonal of the square within the angle F, and the centre of their length being upon said diagonal.

The Foul Lines.-From the intersection point F continue the straight lines FG and FH until they intersect the lines LM and LO, and then from the points G and H in the opposite direction until they reach the boundary lines of the grounds.

The Pitcher's Plate.-With point F as centre, and 60.5 ft. as radius, describe an arc cutting the line FB at a point 4, and draw a line 5, 6, perpendicular thereto, passing through point 4 and extending 12 in, on either side of line FB; then with line 5, 6, as a side, describe a parallelogram 24 in. by 6 in., in which shall be located the pitcher's plate.

The Players' Lines.-With F as centre and 50 ft. radius, describe arcs cutting lines FO and FM at P and Q; then with F as centre again, and 75 ft. radius, describe arcs cutting FG and FH at R and s; then from the points P, Q, R, and s draw lines at right angles to the lines FO, FM, FG, and FH, and continue same

The Bases. Within the angle F describe a five-sided figure two of the sides of which shall coincide with the lines FG and FH to the extent of 12 in. each, thence parallel with the line FB 84 in. to the points x and y, a straight line between which (17 in.) will form the front of the plate; and within the angles G, I, and H describe squares the sides of which shall be 15 in., the two outer sides of said square lying upon the lines FG and GI, GI and IH, and FH and HI, which squares shall be the location of first, second, and third bases, respectively.

HOW TO PLAY BASEBALL. game of baseball is played by two sides, each consisting of nine players. An inning is completed when three men on the batting side are out, and a game consists of nine innings played by each side. If the score be a tie at the end of nine innings, play shall be continued until one side has scored more than the other in an equal number of innings. The batsman takes his position in the batsman's box at the home-base, armed with a round hardwood bat not exceeding 24 in. in diameter at the thickest part, nor exceeding 42 in. in length. To him the pitcher, standing in the pitcher's box, delivers a ball weighing not less

The batsman's endeavor is to hit the ball inside the foul lines in such a manner as to enable him to make the circuit of the bases in a variety of ways provided for by the rules. After making a successful hit, or when he has been given four bad balls, or has been hit by the pitcher, the batsman becomes a base-runner, and is said to have scored a run after traversing the 120 yards necessary to enable him to touch first, second, third, and home bases in succession without being put out in the process. After first base is reached, subsequent bases may be secured by clever 'stealing,' which demands great quickness of perception and promptitude of movement even more than fast runPol. 1-8

Base of Operations

ping out the country to be surveyed.

Base of Operations, that part of a country from which an army moves out for an offensive operation, to which it falls back in case of reverse, which serves it as a point or line of support on the defence or from which it draws or collects its supplies. The base of an army is generally fortified. New bases taken up during the campaign are called secondary or successive bases. In 1805 Napoleon took as his original base the Rhine from Strassburg to Mayence, and followed up his victories by bases on the Main, Lech, Inn, and finally the Danube at Vienna. The Japanese in their war with Russia established bases at Nagasaki, Shimonoseki, and Sasebo, and followed this up by secondary bases at Chemulpo, Dalny and Niuchwang.

Bashan, an extensive region of ancient Palestine lying to the E. of the Upper Jordan. Bashan (properly The Bashan-i.e. 'rich earth') is a fertile table-land, broken by volcanic cones, both sporadic and grouped, and furrowed by deep valleys, some 2,000 ft. above sea-level,

Bashford, JAMES WHITFORD (1849), American clergyman, born at Fayette, Wis., and graduated (1873) at the University of Wisconsin. He was graduated in divinity at Boston University, and after serving as tutor in Greek at Wisconsin was pastor of M. E. churches at Boston and Auburndale, Mass., and, 1875-89, at Buffalo, N. Y.; president of Ohio Wesleyan University, 1889-1904, then became a bishop in his church. Author of Outlines of the Science of Religion.

Bashi-bazouks, Turkish irregular troops, who serve without uniform or direct pay, are usually mounted, and are addicted to pillage. They were notorious in the Bulgarian atrocities of 1876.

Bashkires, or BASHKIRS, people inhabiting Ural slopes, Russia; Ural-Altaic in origin, Mohammedan in religion; partly nomadic, partly settled; Tartars in habits and speech. Their wealth consists chiefly in horses; from the milk of the mares they prepare koumiss. They number over three-quarters of a million, and make good horse soldiers.

Bashkirtseff, MARIE (1860–84), Russian painter, born of noble family near Poltava. After making the tour of Europe, she settled at Paris. Devoting herself from 1878 with inordinate enthusiasm to art, she exhibited the Umbrella (1882), Jean et Jacques (1883), The Meeting (1884), now in the Luxembourg. She had real genius, though immature. Her Journal (1887), translated into English (1890), and Further Memoirs

604

(1901), reveal the inner life of a profoundly emotional, egotistic, and unbalanced nature. See Catalogue des Euvres, with preface by F. Coppée (1885).

Basidium. See FUNGI.

Basil, various herbaceous plants of the order Labiatæ. Ocimum basilicum is sweet, or common, basil, a native of India; the whole plant is fragrant and of a sweet taste, the young leaves being used for seasoning dishes, and the leafy stems cut and dried for winter use. Holy basil (O. sanctum) is another Indian species. Bush basil is O. minimum, and is cultivated like sweet basil. Basil vinegar is made by steeping basil plants in vinegar, which absorbs and retains their flavor. Sweet basil occurs in the old story of Isabella and the Pot of Basil, which has been the subject of works of art by Boccaccio, Keats, and several painters.

Basil, ST., THE GREAT (about 329-379), one of the fathers of the Greek Church, born at Cæsarea, of which he became bishop (370). He was much involved in the religious controversies of the time, an insight into which is afforded by his letters to Gregory Nazianzen, with whom he was united in tender friendship. He resolutely opposed Arianism. Threatened by Valens with exile and death if he did not open the churches to the Arians, he continued inflexible. To him is also largely due the triumph of monachism over the hermit life. He embellished Cæsarea, and raised in it numerous workshops and schools. The works he has left include the Hexameron, Ascetics, Reading of Projane Authors, and 365 Letters. His efforts at reforming the services of the church were embodied in the liturgy which bears his name, and is still in use in the East. There is a Benedictine edition of his works in 3 vols. (1739), and a complete French translation of his works in 12 vols. by Roustan (1847), and an English translation in Nicene and Post Nicene Fathers, 2d series, vol. viii. (1895), including a biography.

Basil, two Byzantine emperors. (1.) BASIL I. (867-886), born at Adrianople, assassinated Michael III. and seized the throne. Basil was founder of the Macedonian dynasty, and his reign opens a new era in the history of the Byzantine empire. (2.) BASIL II. (957–1025), Byzantine emperor, only six years old at the death of his father, Romanus II., became emperor in 976. For nearly thirty years (990-1018) he carried on a protracted struggle against Samuel, king of Bulgaria. For the ruthless severity with which he finally destroyed his rivals he was nicknamed 'Slayer of the Bulgarians.' He converted

Basilides

to Christianity Vladimir, the prince of Kiev (998).

Basilan, isl. and str. in Sulu Archipelago, Philippine Is., s.W. of Mindanao. The area is 304 sq. m., and with the 54 small dependent islands, 354 sq. m. It is volcanic, has a healthy climate, and the chief industry is fishing. It has valuable teak forests. Cap. Isabella. Pop. (1901) 8,000.

Basilica. (1.) The ancient basilica was that part of the palace wherein justice was administered to the people. These structures were first erected by the Romans in 184 B.C., and continued to be built by them to the end of the 3rd century A.D. They consisted of a long central hall or nave, with aisles-the aisles being separated from the nave by pillars supporting the roof. At the end of the nave was a dais for the judges, and at the other end a semicircular structure called an apse. The name was afterward transferred to the first buildings for Christian worship. The term is also applied by Palladio to those buildings in the cities of Italy which are analogous to English town halls. (See APSE, ARCHITECTURE.) (2.) À code of laws begun by the Byzantine emperor Basil I., and completed by his son Leo VI., who issued it in sixty books in 887. In it was embodied much of Justinian's Corpus Juris Civilis. A good edition is Basilicorum Libri LX. Gr. et Lat., issued by Heimbach (183350). See Haubold's Manual Basilicorum (1819), and Montreuil's Histoire du Droit Byzantin.

Basilicata, the ancient Lucania, compartimento, S. Italy, coincident with the province of Potenza (name used since 1871), stretching from the head of the Gulf of Tarentum N.W. through the middle of Italy. It pastures sheep and cattle, and produces grain, wine, fruits, olive oil, and timber. Chief town, Potenza. Area, 4,121 sq. m. Pop. (1881) 524,504; (1901) 490,705.

Basilicon, an ointment composed of yellow wax, resin, and olive oil, with suet and turpentine added for basilicon proper, black pitch for black basilicon, Burgundy pitch for yellow basilicon, and verdigris for green.

Basilides, founder of the Basilidian sect of the Gnostics, lived under the Emperors Trajan and Hadrian in Alexandria. He is the apostle of the Abraxas religion' and the doctrine of 'emanation.' From the Supreme Power, Abraxas, emanated mind; from mind, the word; from the word, providence; from providence, virtue and wisdom; from these two, principalities and powers; and from them, an infinity of angels -who, in turn, created the heav ens, 365 in number. It is from

Basilikon Doron

this number (365) that the name Abraxas is formed, as its letters, according to the Greek computation, make up 365. The later Basilidians became more and more imbued with the philosophy of the Stoics, and they abandoned altogether that obedience to the moral law which their master strongly inculcated. See Schaff's History of the Christian Church, ii. (1891).

Basilikon Doron, a work on the art of government, written (1599) by James VI. of Scotland for his son Prince Henry, and memorable as containing the king's own statement of the doctrine of divine right.

Basilisk, the name given by the Greeks and Romans to a fabulous monster possessed of many marvellous attributes, its glance alone being sufficient to kill, and its breath being the concentration of the most deadly poisons. It has been applied by zoologists to certain American tree-lizards which, despite their hideous appearance, are both harmless and edible. In Basilicus mitratus the head is covered by a scaly, distensible cap, the so-called helmet.

Basin, GEOLOGICAL. A depression in the rocks at the earth's surface caused by differential movements, by folding, or by erosion. When extensive faulting has taken place, a considerable area may be brought to a lower level compared with its previous position, thus producing a depression with more or less abrupt walls.

Rift valleys partake of this character and are well illustrated by the great rift valley of Central Africa in which lie the large lakes of Tanganyika, Nyassa and Albert Nyanza. Basins formed by folding occur in mountainous regions where the strata have been bent by compression into synclines and troughs. The coal-fields of Pennsylvania afford examples of this type. (See SYNCLINE). Erosional basins are those produced by the erosive action of water or ice upon the earth's surface. Most river basins have been formed in this manner. Baskerville, JOHN (1706-75), English printer, was born at Wolverley, in Worcestershire. Without any special training he started type-founding (1750) and printing in Birmingham. His books are chiefly reprints, including Virgil (1757), Milton (1758), Juvenal (1772-3), Addison, Horace (1770), and the New Testament (1763). He was also the inventor of vellum paper.

Basket, a vessel made of willows, osiers, twigs, or splits interwoven, mentioned frequently in the Bible, and represented in the monuments of ancient Egypt. The ancient Britons were famed for their baskets, which found favor in Rome after the occupa

Basket

basket, and the smaller for weaying the bottom and sides. Should the latter be applied to ordinary work, they are taken whole; but for implements of slight and finer texture, each osier is divided into 'splits' and 'skeins.' Splits are osiers cleft into four parts by an implement consisting of two edge tools placed at right angles, whereby the rod is longitudinally divided down the pith. These are next drawn through a machine resembling the common spokeshave, keeping the grain of the split next the wood or stock of the shave; while the pith is presented to the edge of the iron which is set in an oblique direction to the wood. In order to bring the split into a shape still more regular, it is passed through another instrument consisting of a flat piece of steel, each end of which is fashioned into a cutting edge like that of an ordinary chisel. The flat is bent round, so that the two edges approach each other at a greater or less interval by means of regulating screws, and the whole is fixed in a handle. By passing the splits between the two edges they are reduced to skeins, the thickness of which is determined by the intervals between the edges of the tool.

The implements required by a basket-maker are few and simple. In making an ordinary basket, the osiers are laid out in a length considerably greater than that of the finished work. They are ranged in pairs on the floor parallel to each other, at small intervals, in the direction of the longer diameter; and this may be called the woof, for basket-work is, in fact, a web. These parallel rods are then crossed at right angles by two of the larger osiers, with the thick ends towards the workman, who places his foot upon them, and weaving each alternately over and under the parallel pieces first laid down, he confines them in their places. The whole now forms what is technically called the 'slat' or slate, which is the foundation of the basket. Next, the long end of one of the two rods is taken and woven under and over the pairs of short ends all round the bottom, until the whole is woven in. A similar process is applied to the other rod, and then additicnal long osiers are woven in until the bottom is of the desired size, and the woof is occupied by them. Thus the bottom, or foundation on which the superstructure is to be raised, is completed, and this latter part is accomplished by sharpening the large ends of as many long and stout osiers as may be necessary to form the ribs or skeleton. They are forced or plaited between the rods of the bottom, from the edge

606

towards the centre, and are turned up in the direction of the sides; then other rods are woven in and out between each of them, until the basket is raised to the requisite height. The brim is finished by turning down the perpendicular ends of the ribs, while a handle is made by forcing two or three osiers, sharpened at the end, down the weaving of the sides, close together. They are then pinned fast about two inches from the edge. After the osiers have been bound or plaited the basket is complete.

In many parts of the world houses, fences, and gates are formed of basket or wicker work; as also are screens, chairs, and trays.

The

Basketball was invented in 1891 by James Naismith under a suggestion from Dr. L. H. Gulick that there was an opportunity to fill in the time between the football and the baseball seasons with an indoor game. first printed statement about the game was made in 1892 and the game was taken up and met with favor at once. It was played by the Young Men's Christian Associations at first, and then the athletic clubs, National Guardsmen, schools, and colleges took it up, and now (1906) it has a large and increasing following, the colleges devoting almost as much time and care to the game as to their football. It is also played extensively in girls' schools and colleges. There are leagues all over the United States and championship games are held in each.

Basketball is played on any floor free from obstructions with 3,500 square feet of space. The ball is round, is made of a rubber bladder covered with leather, is not more than 32 inches or less than 30 inches in circumference, and may not weigh less than 18 or more than 20 ounces. The baskets are hammock nets of cord suspended from metal rings 18 inches inside diameter. The rings are placed 10 feet above the ground in the centre of the short side of the playing floor and the inside rim extends six inches from a rigid supporting surface, which, if not a wall of the building, must be a special background which shall measure at least six feet horizontally and four feet vertically, and extend not less than three feet above the top of the basket.

The playing floor, according to the present rules, is 50 by 70 feet with the basket in the middle of the short end. In the middle of the floor is a circle with two feet radius. Twenty feet from the middle of each basket, at right angles to the back line, is the centre of another circle with a radius of six feet, and at right angles from the back line to the circum

Basking Shark

ference of this circle two parallel lines are drawn, each being three feet from the middle of the basket, making a line six feet wide ex tending out into the floor. In the line-up there are five players on each side-centre, right and left guards, and right and left forwards. Guards are opposed to forwards and centre to centre. The officials are referee, umpire, scorer, and timekeeper. The duties of the officials are about the same as those in football, upon which the game is modelled. The game consists of two halves of twenty minutes each with a rest of ten minutes between.

The referee puts the ball in play, the centres standing with both feet within the centre circle, by tossing up the ball in a plane at right angles to the side lines to a greater height than either of the centres can jump, and so that it will drop between them. The ball may be batted or caught by the centre men. Centres must not stand more than two feet from the spot indicated by the referee where the ball is to fall when the ball is put in play anywhere but in the centre. The ball may be batted or thrown in any direction with one or both hands, but a player may not run with it. goal is made by throwing or batting the ball into the basket of the opposing side and counts two points. Goals from fouls count one point and the side having the highest score at the end of the game is the winner. A foul allowed by the referee permits the player on the opposing side to have a free throw for the basket at a distance of not less than 20 feet from the basket. Authority, Spalding's Official Basketball Guide, published yearly.

A

Basket-Fish, an echinoderm related to star-fishes, sea urchins, etc. The basket-fish belongs to the Ophiuroida, but is distinguished by the peculiar and elaborate ramification of its arms. Its body, which is five-sided, is 2 or 3 in. broad, while its arms are