or BITT, an essential part of a bridle. Its kinds are various. 1. The mufrol, snaffle, or watering-bit. 2. The canon-mouth, jointed in the middle. 3. The canon with a fast mouth, all of a piece, only kneed in the middle, to form a liberty or space for the tongue; fit for horses too sensible or ticklish, and liable to be continually bearing on the hand. 4. The canon-mouth, with the liberty in form of a pigeon's neck; proper where a horse has too large a tongue. 5. The canon with a port-mouth, and an upset or mounting liberty; where a horse has a good mouth, but large tongue. 6. The scatch-mouth, with an upset; ruder but more secure than a canon-mouth. 7. The canon-mouth with a liberty; proper for a horse with a large tongue and round bars. 8. The masticadour, or slavering bit, &c. The several parts of a snaffle, or curb-bit, are the mouth-piece, the cheeks and eyes, guard of the cheek, head of the cheeks, the port, the welts, the campanel or curb and hook, the boffes, the bolsters and rabbets, the water-chains, the side-bolts and rings, kirbles of the bit or curb, trench, top-rol, flap and jieve. The importation of bits for bridles is now prohibited.

BITS, or Butts, in Ship-Building, the name of two great timbers, usually placed abaft the manger, in the ship's BIT ship's loof, through which the cross-piece goes: The use of it is to belay the cable thereto while the ship is at anchor.

BIT is also used in commerce for a piece of coin current in Jamaica, and valued at 7 1/2d.