blenny Any of numerous and diverse fishes (suborder Blenniodei, order Perciformes) that are mostly small, marine species found from tropical to cold seas. Blennies are slim, rang¬ ing from moderately elongated to very long and eel-like. Their habitats range from rocky pools to sandy beaches, reefs, and beds of kelp.
Many live in shallow water, but some range to depths of about 1,500 ft (450 m). Some are mainly herbi¬ vores; others are partial or complete carnivores. They are generally unob¬ trusive and of little economic impor¬ tance.
Bleriot, Louis (b. July 1, 1872,
Cambrai, France—d. Aug. 2, 1936,
Paris) French aviator who made the first airplane flight across the English Channel between continental Europe and Great Britain. A successful manufacturer of automotive accessories, Bleriot also built and tested a variety of powered aircraft. On July 25, 1909, he piloted his Bleriot XI, a monoplane with a 28-horsepower engine, from Calais, France, to Dover, Eng., winning a prize of £1,000 and demonstrating the power of airplanes to overcome geographic barriers. Bleriot remained a leader of the avia¬ tion industry through World War I and in the immediate postwar decade.
Blessing Way Central ritual in the complex system of ceremonies per¬ formed by the Navajo to restore equilibrium to the cosmos. Of the major categories of Navajo rituals, the largest group is the Chant Ways, which are concerned with curing. The Chant Ways include a subgroup of chants called the Holy Ways, which are further divided into the Blessing Way and the Wind Ways (used to cure illness). Lasting for two days, the Bless¬ ing Way is a simple chant performed for the well-being of the commu¬ nity rather than for a specific curative purpose.
Bleuler \'bl6i-br\, Eugen (b. April 30, 1857, Zollikon, Switz.—d. July 15, 1939, Zollikon) Swiss psychiatrist. He is best known for his studies of schizophrenia and for introducing (1908) the term for the disorder pre¬ viously called dementia praecox. Bleuler argued (against accepted wis¬ dom) that schizophrenia was more than one disease, was not always incurable, and did not always progress to full dementia. He described the basic symptoms—disordered mental associations and splitting or frag-
Bleeding heart (Dicentra spectabilis)
GRANT HEILMAN
Shanny (Blennius pholis), a common European blenny
JANE BURTON-BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Bligh ► Bloc National I 233
mentation of the personality—but believed that many cases were not apparent. He insisted that psychosis did not need to result from organic brain damage and could have psychological causes instead. His Textbook of Psychiatry (1916) became a standard text.
Bligh, William (b. Sept. 9, 1754, county of Cornwall, Eng.—d. Dec. 7, 1817, London) English admiral. He went to sea at the age of seven and joined the Royal Navy in 1770. After serving as the sailing master on Capt. James Cook’s final voyage (1776-80), he was named to command the HMS Bounty in 1787. While en route from Tahiti to Jamaica, the ship was seized by Fletcher Christian, the master’s mate, and Bligh and loyal crew members were set adrift; some two months later, they reached Timor. The mutiny made little difference to Bligh’s career, though he had two more encounters with mutineers, including one while he was governor of New South Wales, Australia (1805-08). Described as overbearing, he was unpopular as a commander but was also courageous and a greatly skilled navigator.
blight Any of various plant diseases whose symptoms include sudden and severe yellowing, browning, spotting, withering, or dying of leaves, flow¬ ers, fruit, stems, or the entire plant. Usually the shoots and other young, rapidly growing tissues of a plant are attacked. Most blights are caused by bacteria or fungi (see fungus); some result from drought. Fungal and bac¬ terial blights are most likely under cool, moist conditions. Most economi¬ cally important plants are susceptible to one or more blights. Measures taken to fight blight include destroying the infected plant parts; using disease-free seed or stock and resistant varieties; rotating crops (see crop rotation); pruning and spacing plants for better air circulation; controlling pests that carry the fungus from plant to plant; avoiding overhead watering and working among wet plants; and, where needed, applying fungicides or antibiotics. Maintaining sanitary conditions is the most important measure for stopping the spread of the infestation. See also chestnut blight.
blind fish Any of various species of sightless fishes, among them sev¬ eral unrelated cave-dwelling species. Blind cave fishes are pale and small, growing to about 4 in. (10 cm) long, and are found in dark limestone caves of the U.S. All have small but nonfunctional eyes and tactile organs that are sensitive to touch, allowing the fish to feel what it cannot see. Other cave-dwelling fishes tending toward blindness are found in Cuba, Mexi¬ co’s Yucatan, South America, and Africa.
blindness Inability to see with one or both eyes. Transient blindness (blackout) can result from vertical acceleration causing high gravitational forces, glomerulonephritis (a kidney disease), or a clot in a blood vessel of the eye. Continuing blindness may arise from injuries or diseases of the eye (e.g., cataract, glaucoma), including the retina, the optic nerve, or the brain’s visual centres. Many infectious, noninfectious, and parasitic systemic diseases can cause blindness. Sexually transmitted diseases and rubella in pregnant women can cause blindness in their infants. See also MACULAR DEGENERATION; VISUAL-FIELD DEFECT.
Bliss, Sir Arthur (Edward Drummond) (b. Aug. 2, 1891, Lon¬ don, Eng.—d. March 27, 1975, London) British composer. He studied with Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst. Though he was compo- sitionally adventurous at first, he later adopted a conservative, Romantic style. His works include A Colour Symphony (1922), Pastoral (1928), the choral symphony Morning Heroes (1930), Music for Strings (1936), and the ballets Checkmate (1937) and Miracle in the Gorbals (1944).
Bliss, Tasker (Howard) (b. Dec. 31, 1853, Lewisburg, Pa., U.S.—d. Nov. 9, 1930, Washington, D.C.) U.S. general. After attending West Point (1875), he served in various military assignments, including that of instructor at West Point and military attache at the U.S. legation in Madrid. In the Spanish-American War, he was chief of staff under Gen. James H. Wilson in Puerto Rico; he later served in the Philippines (1905-09). As army chief of staff in 1917, he made the U.S. Army battle-ready for World War I and resisted attempts to divide the force among the various Allied commands. He was a delegate to the Paris Peace Conference and an ardent supporter of U.S. participation in the League of Nations.
Bliss, William D(wight) P(orter) (b. Aug. 20, 1856, Constantino¬ ple, Tur.—d. Oct. 8, 1926, New York, N.Y., U.S.) U.S. social reformer. The son of U.S. missionaries, he graduated from Hartford Theological Seminary and held Congregationalist and Episcopalian pastorates. An advocate of Christian socialism, he organized the first such group in the U.S. in 1889. He lectured widely on labour and social reform and com¬ piled many books, including the Encyclopedia of Social Reform (1897).
blister Rounded skin elevation in which fluid fills a separation between layers of epidermis or between the epidermis and the dermis. The fluid is usually clear; yellowish fluid contains pus, and red fluid contains blood. Blisters often occur on the palms or soles when pressure and friction cause an upper skin layer to move back and forth over the one under it. A small gap opens between them and becomes filled with fluid. This type gener¬ ally heals spontaneously, sometimes leaving a thickened callus. Blisters that occur as symptoms of contact dermatitis, viral infection, or autoimmune disease can appear anywhere on the body and may leave scars.