bull-roarer Flat piece of wood, several inches to a foot in length, fas¬ tened at one end to a string, by which it is swung around in the air to produce a whirring or howling sound likened to those of animals or spir¬ its. It has been observed in Australia, the Americas, and other areas where indigenous societies survive. It may symbolize totemic ancestors, or it
© 2006 Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.
Bull Run ► Billow I 293
may be believed to cause or cure sickness, warn women and children away from men’s sacred ceremonies, control the weather, or promote fertility in animals and crops.
Bull Run, Battles of Two engagements of the American Civil War fought at a stream near Manassas, Va. The first battle (also called First Manassas) was fought on July 21, 1861, between 37,000 Union troops under Gen. Irvin McDowell (1818-85) and 35,000 Confederate troops under P.G.T. Beauregard and Joseph Johnston. In this first major encoun¬ ter of the war, the Union assault was beaten back and the army retreated to Washington, D.C. The second battle took place on Aug. 29-30, 1862, between a Confederate force of more than 56,000 under Robert E. Lee and a Union army of more than 70,000 under John Pope. To prevent the Union army from being joined by the Army of the Potomac, Lee sent troops under Stonewall Jackson to march around Pope’s right flank. Lee’s attack forced the Union troops to withdraw as far as Washington, D.C. Casual¬ ties numbered 15,000 for the North and 9,000 for the South. Both battles strengthened the South’s resolve and caused the North to review its mili¬ tary leadership and strategy.
bull terrier Breed of dog developed in 19th-century England from the bulldog and the now-extinct white English terrier. The Spanish pointer was later bred into the line to increase its size. The bull terrier was developed as a courageous fighting dog but not an aggressive fight provoker, and it is generally friendly. A muscular dog, it is considered, for its weight, the strongest of all dogs. It has a short coat, tapering tail, erect ears, and deep- set eyes. It stands 19-22 in. (48-56 cm) high and weighs 50-60 lbs (23-27 kg). There are two varieties, coloured and white.
bulldog or English bulldog Centuries-old breed of dog developed in Britain to fight bulls. Powerful and courageous, often vicious, and largely unaware of pain, the bulldog nearly disappeared when dogfight¬ ing was outlawed in 1835. Fanciers of the breed saved it and bred out its ferocity. It is now considered gentle and reliable. It has a large head, folded ears, a short muzzle, a protruding lower jaw, and loose skin that forms wrinkles on the head and face. Its short, fine coat is tan, white, reddish brown, brindle, or piebald. It stands 13-15 in. (34-38 cm) high and weighs 40-50 lbs (18-23 kg).
Buller River River, South Island, New Zealand. It was named for Charles Buller, founder of the New Zealand Co. It is the major river of the island’s west coast. Rising in the central highlands, it flows west 110 mi (177 km) into the Tasman Sea. Its gorge, which is most scenic at Inan- gahua Junction, is an important tourist attraction.
bulletin-board system (BBS) Computerized system used to exchange public messages or files. A BBS is typically reached by using a dial-up modem. Most are dedicated to a special interest, which may be an extremely narrow topic. Any user may “post” his or her own message (so that they appear on the site for all to read). Bulletin boards produce “conversations” between interested participants, who may download or print out messages they desire to keep or pass on to others. BBS sites today number in the tens of thousands. See also newsgroup.
bullfighting Spanish corrida de toros Spectacle, popular in Spain, Portugal, and Latin America, in which matadors ceremonially taunt, and usually kill, bulls in an arena.
Spectacles with bulls were common in ancient Crete, Thessaly, and Rome. In the modern era, Roman amphitheatres were rebuilt and embellished for use as bullrings. The largest are in Madrid, Barcelona, and Mexico City. The corrida, which usually involves six individual fights, begins with a procession of matadors and their entourages. At the beginning of each fight an assistant (banderillero) performs a prelimi¬ nary maneuver to allow the matador to assess the animal’s behaviour. The matador then performs his capework, drawing the bull as close to him as possible without being gored. This is followed by the entrance of the pica¬ dors, horsemen who jab the bull with
lances to weaken its neck and shoulder muscles. The matador then ritu¬ ally slays the bull using a sword. In the Portuguese version of the ritual, the bull is fought from horseback and is not killed in the arena. Bullfight¬ ing has been banned in many countries.
bullfinch Any of several species of stocky, stout-billed songbird (fam¬ ily Fringillidae). Eurasia has six spe¬ cies of the genus Pyrrhula, all boldly marked. The common bullfinch ( P. pyrrhula), 6 in. (15 cm) long, is black and white; the male has a pink¬ ish orange underside. It has a soft warbling call and is a popular cage bird. Usually found in evergreen groves and hedgerows, it is notorious for eating the buds of fruit trees. The trumpeter bullfinch {Rhodopechys githaginea), of arid localities from the Canary Islands to India, is a pale bird with a blaring buzzy note.
bullfrog Solitary aquatic frog (Rana catesbeiana) named for its loud call. The largest U.S. frog, native to the eastern states, the bull¬ frog has been introduced into the western states and into other coun¬ tries. The bullfrog is green or brown with a white to yellowish belly and dark-barred legs. Its body is about 8 in. (20 cm) long, and its hindlegs may be 10 in. (25 cm) long. Large adults weigh 1 lb (0.5 kg) or more.
Bullfrogs usually live in or near a body of still water. They are used for food and as laboratory animals. The name is sometimes applied to other large frogs.
bullhead Any of several species of North American freshwater catfish in the genus Ictalurus, valued as food and sport fishes. Bullheads are related to the channel catfish (/. punctatus ) and other large North Ameri¬ can species, but their tail is squared, rather than forked, and they are gen¬ erally less than 12 in. (30 cm) long. The black bullhead (/. melas) is found in the Mississippi Valley, the yellow and brown bullheads (/. natalis and I. nebulosus) east of the Rocky Mtns., and the flat bullhead (I. platyceph- alus ) in coastal streams between North Carolina and Florida. The name is sometimes applied to sculpins.
bullionism Monetary policy of mercantilism, which called for national regulation of transactions in foreign currency and precious metals (bul¬ lion) in order to maintain a favourable balance in the home country. Bul¬ lionism is most closely associated with 16th- and 17th-century Spain, which was thought to owe its prosperity and military might to the gold and silver of its New World colonies. This view gave rise to the theory that a favourable balance of trade would increase the nation’s supply of precious metals. Spain’s abundant treasure led it to buy goods and ser¬ vices abroad at the neglect of domestic industry, causing it to experience an economic decline.
Bullock, Wynn (b. April 18, 1902, Chicago. Ill., U.S.—d. Nov. 16, 1975, Monterey, Calif.) U.S. photographer. He was strongly influenced in his early work—mainly “solarizations,” in which the image is partly nega¬ tive and partly positive—by the avant-garde experiments of LAszlo Moholy-Nagy. In 1948 Edward Weston persuaded him to focus on real¬ ism and tonal beauty, and Bullock followed his advice so closely that his images often resembled Weston’s. He is best known for realistic images that are meant to be viewed as “equivalents,” or visual metaphors (e.g., the passing of time, the inevitability of death).
Bulow VbiE-loV Bernhard (Heinrich Martin Karl), prince von
(b. May 3, 1849, Klein-Flottbek, near Altona, Ger.—d. Oct. 28, 1929, Rome, Italy) German imperial chancellor and Prussian prime minister (1900-09). After holding a number of diplomatic posts, he was appointed state secretary for the foreign department in 1897. He quickly became a potent force and succeeded to the chancellorship in 1900. In cooperation with William II, he pursued a policy of German aggrandizement in the years preceding World War I. He was unable to prevent the formation of the