Republica hasta 1861_ (Santiago de Chile,
1874). (W. Hd.; G. E.)

BOLKHOV, a town of Russia, in the government of Orel, and 35 m. N. of
the city of Orel. Pop. (1897) 20,703. It is prettily situated amongst
orchards and possesses a cathedral. There is a lively trade in hemp,
hemp-seed oil, hemp goods and cattle, and there are hemp-mills,
soap-works and tanneries. The much-venerated monastery, Optina Pustyn,
is close by.

BOLL, a botanical term for a fruit-pod, particularly of the cotton
plant. The word is in O. Eng. _bolla_, which is also represented in
"bowl," a round vessel for liquids, a variant due to "bowl," ball, which
is from the Fr. _boule_. "Boll" is also used, chiefly in Scotland and
the north of England, as a measure of weight for flour = 140 lb., and of
capacity for grain: 16 pecks = 1 boll.

BOLLANDISTS, the Belgian Jesuits who publish the _Acta Sanctorum_, the
great collection of biographies and legends of the saints, arranged by
days, in the order of the calendar. The original idea was conceived by a
Jesuit father, Heribert Rosweyde (see HAGIOLOGY), and was explained by
him in a sort of prospectus, which he issued in 1607 under the title of
_Fasti sanctorum quorum vitae in Belgicis Bibliothecis manuscriptae_.
His intention was to publish in eighteen volumes the lives of the saints
compiled from the MSS., at the same time adding sober notes. At the time
of his death (1629) he had collected a large amount of material, but had
not been able actually to begin the work. A Jesuit father, John Bolland,
was appointed to carry on the project, and was sent to Antwerp. He
continued to amass material, and extended the scope of the work. In 1643
the two volumes for January appeared. The three volumes for February
appeared in 1658, the three for March in 1668, the three for April in
1675, and so on. In 1635 Henschenius (Godfried Henschen) was associated
with Bolland, and collaborated in the work until 1681. From 1659 to 1714
Papebroch (Daniel van Papenbroeck) collaborated. This was the most
brilliant period in the history of the _Acta Sanctorum_. The freedom of
Papebroch's criticism made him many enemies, and he had often to defend
himself against their attacks. The work was continued--with some
inequalities, but always in the same spirit--until the suppression of
the Society of Jesus in 1773. The last volume published was vol. iii. of
October, which appeared in 1770.

On the dispersion of t