the north
of France, Holland and Belgium is found mainly in hedgerows and near
cultivation, and it may have been one of the many introductions owed to
the Romans. Only a very small proportion of the wood suitable for
industrial uses is now obtained in Great Britain. The box is a very
slow-growing plant, adding not more than 1-1/2 or 2 in. to its diameter
in twenty years, and on an average attaining only a height of 16 ft.,
with a mean diameter of 10-1/2 in. The leaves of this species are small,
oval, leathery in texture and of a deep glossy green colour. _B.
balearica_ is a tree of considerable size, attaining to a height of 80
ft., with leaves three times larger than those of the common box. It is
a native of the islands of the Mediterranean, and grows in Turkey, Asia
Minor, and around the shores of the Black Sea, and is supposed to be the
chief source of the boxwood which comes into European commerce by way of
Constantinople. The wood of both species possesses a delicate yellow
colour; it is very dense in structure and has a fine uniform grain,
which has given it unique value for the purposes of the wood-engraver. A
large amount is used in the manufacture of measuring rules, various
mathematical instruments, flutes and other musical instruments, as well
as for turning into many minor articles, and for inlaying, and it is a
favourite wood for small carvings. The use of boxwood for turnery and
musical instruments is mentioned by Pliny, Virgil and Ovid.

BOYACA, or Bojaca, an inland department of Colombia, bounded by the
departments of Santander and Cundinamarca on the N., W. and S., and the
republic of Venezuela on the E., and having an area of 33,321 sq. m.,
including the Casanare territory. Pop. (1899, estimate) 508,940. The
department is very mountainous, heavily forested and rich in minerals.
The famous Muso emerald mines are located in the western part of Boyaca.
The capital, Tunja (pop. 1902, 10,000), is situated in the Eastern
Cordilleras, 9054 ft. above sea-level, and has a cool, temperate
climate, though only 5-1/2 deg. N. of the equator. It was an important
place in colonial times, and occupies the site of one of the Indian
towns of this region (Hunsa), which had acquired a considerable degree
of civilization before the discovery of America. Other towns of note in
the department are Chiquinquira (20,000), Moniquira (18,000), Sogamoso
(10,787), and Boyaca (7000), where on the 7th of August 1819 Bolivar
d