Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 3.djvu/606

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placed underneath. It is allowed to rest till a greasy sub stance bergamot camphor deposits, after which it is bottled for use. Bergamot oil is a limpid greenish-yellow fluid of a specific gravity of 869, of a powerful but plea sant citrine odour and an aromatic bitterish taste. It con sists of a mixture of two essential oils, the most volatile of which is a pure hydrocarbon isomeric with oil of turpen tine ; the other, containing oxygen, being regarded as a hydrate of lemon oil. The chief use of bergamot oil is in perfumery and as a flavouring material in cookery.

BERGEN, a city and seaport on the west coast of Nor way, capital of the province of South Bergen, in 529 E. long, and 60 U 23 N. lat. It is situated on a rocky promontory at the head of a deep bay called the Vaag, has a fine harbour with two good entrances, and is surrounded by hills, some of which attain the height of 2000 feet. Towards the sea it is defended by the ancient fortress of Bergenhuus, the citadels of Fredericksberg and Sverresberg, and some lesser works. The appearance of the town, which rises in the form of an amphitheatre and is generally well built, is decidedly picturesque, with its wooden houses painted of various colours. It contains a cathedral, several churches, of which the oldest, St Mary s, dates from the 12th cen tury, hospitals, a lazaretto, a national museum, a diocesan college, a naval academy, a school of design, public lib raries, various charitable institutions, and a theatre. It is the seat of a bishopric, and possesses a tribunal of secondary jurisdiction and one of the three public treasuries of Nor way. Bergen has a considerable export trade, which con sists of stockfish, lobsters, fish-roes, herrings, whale oil, horns, skins, rock moss, and timber, and is chiefly carried on with the northern countries of Europe. In 1867 the number of steamships that entered the port was 164, with a tonnage of 28,454. The imports of that year amounted to 92,600, and the exports to 344,000. Bergen was founded in the llth century by Olaf the Peaceful, king of Norway. In 1445 the Hanseatic League established a factory in the city, and continued to have almost the sole control of the trade till 1558, when it was expelled by the Norwegians, who found its presence oppressive. There is still a kind of German colony in the place, which keeps up the Hanseatic tradition, and the old German church, hospital, and "factory" or contor are still extant, the latter furnishing excellent warehouse accommodation. A large part of the town was burnt down in 1855, and has since been rebuilt in a more regular and open manner. It is the second largest town in Norway. Population (1870), 30,252.

BERGEN-OP-ZOOM, a town of Holland, in the pro vince of North Brabant, situated on both sides of the River Zoom, near its confluence with the East Scheldt, in 51 29 N. lat. and 4 17 E. long. It is about 15 miles N. of Antwerp, and 22 W.S.W. of Breda. The houses are well built, the market-places and squares handsome and spacious. It possesses a port and an arsenal, and contains a town- house, a Latin school, and an academy of design and archi tecture. The tower of the old castle is remarkable for an increase of its breadth from the bottom upwards, and for its liability to be rocked when struck by a strong wind. There are numerous tile-works and potteries of fine ware ; and a considerable trade is carried on in anchovies caught in the Scheldt.


In the 13th century Bergen-op-Zoom became the seat of Count Gerhard of Wesemael, who surrounded it with walls. In 1533 it was erected by Charles V. of Germany into a marquisate, which was successively held by the families of Berghes, Merode, "Witthem, s Heerenbergh, Hohenzollern, Tour d Auvergne, and Sulzbach, and thus passed to the house of Bavaria, which, however, in 1801 abdi cated ite rights in favour of the Dutch republic. In 1576 the town joined the United Netherlands, and was shortly afterwards fortified. in 1588 it was unsuccessfully besieged by the duke of Parma (see Motley s United Netherlands, chap, xx.), and in 1605 it was sud denly attacked by Du Terail (Ibid. chap, xliv.) In 1622 it deiied the utmost attempts of Spinola, who was forced to abandon the enterprise after a siege of ten weeks and the loss of 1200 men. Its fortifications were greatly strengthened in 1688 by Cooehoorn, who, it was believed, had almost rendered it impregnable ; and in 1725 they were further extended. In 1747, however, the town was taken by the French general Lowendal. Restored at the end of the war, it war, again in 1795 taken by Pichegru. The English, under Sir Thomas Graham, afterwards Lord Lynedoch, in March 1814 made an attempt to take it by a coup do main, but were driven back with great loss by the French, who, however, surrendered the place by the treaty of peace in the following May.

BERGERAC, the chief town of an arrondissement in the department of Dordogne, in France, situated in a fer tile plain, 30 miles S.S.W. of Pthigueux, on both banks of the Dordogne, which is here crossed by a fine bridge of five arches and rendered navigable by a large dam. The town is rather poorly built, and, in spite of its age, con tains no monuments of antiquarian interest. It is, how ever, a place of great industrial activity, has a communal college, tribunals of primary jurisdiction and commerce, and a public library; and manufactures paper, iron and copper wares, hats, hosiery, and leather. The wines of the neighbourhood are in good repute, and form an important article in the trade of the town, which is principally car ried on with Bordeaux and Libourne. Bergerac owes its origin to the abbey of St Martin, which was founded iu 1080, and during the English invasions it played an im portant part as a fortress. In the 16th century it was a very flourishing and populous place, but most of its inhabi tants having embraced Calvinism it suffered greatly during the religious wars. Its fortifications and citadel were de molished by Louis XIII. in 1621, and it was injuriously affected by the revocation of the Edict of Nantes. Popu lation in 1872, 8679.

BERGMANN, Torbern Olof, Swedish chemist and naturalist, was born at Catherinberg, West Gothland, in 1735. At the age of seventeen he entered the University of Upsala, and distinguished himself by extraordinary assi duity in study, directing his attention more particularly to the natural sciences. During a residence at home rendered necessary by his weak health, he employed himself in col lecting specimens of insects and plants, which he forwarded to Linna3us, who was much pleased with them. In 1756 he gained great reputation by his memoir on the Coccus aquaticus, which, contrary to the opinion of Linnaeus, he proved to be nothing but the ovum of a certain species of leech. Some years later he was made professor of physics at Upsala, and published numerous scientific memoirs. In 1767 the chair of chemistry and mineralogy having become vacant through the resignation of Wallerius, Bergmann resolved to become a candidate. He had not hitherto de voted special attention to chemistry, but in a very short period by incredible application he produced as evidence of his fitness for the post a paper on the composition of alum, which is still regarded as a masterpiece. He was appointed to the chair, which he held till his death in 1784. In 1776 he had declined an offer from the king of Prussia inviting him to settle in Berlin. Bergmann was an un usually acute and sagacious analytical chemist, and made extensive and constant use of the laboratory. He described very carefully the properties of carbonic acid gas, and gave a valuable analysis of mineral waters. His researches in mineralogy, to which he applied his geometrical knowledge, were even, more important, and led the way to Hauy s discovery and classification. The theory of elective or chemical affinities, which he worked out very fully, has had great influence in the history of chemistry. A collection of Bergmann s papers was published from 1779 to 1783, Opuscula Physim et Cli*mica, 6 vols. They have been translated into French, German, and English.