a general sense, denotes an agitation of the air, whether performed with a pair of bellows, the mouth, a tube, or the like. Butchers have a practice of blowing up veal, especially the loins, as soon as killed, with a pipe made of a sheep's shank, to make it look larger and fairer.

Blowing of Glass, one of the methods of forming the various kinds of works in the glass manufacture. It is performed by dipping the point of an iron blowing pipe in the melted glass, and blowing through it with the mouth, according to the circumstances of the glass to be blown. See Glass.

Blowing of Tin, denotes the melting its ore, after being first burnt to destroy the mende.

Blowing Machines. See also Blowing Machines, Supplement.

Blowing, among gardeners, denotes the action of flowers, whereby they open and display their leaves. In which sense, blowing amounts to much the same with flowering or blossoming.

The regular blowing season is in the spring; though some plants have other extraordinary times and manners of blowing, as the Glastonbury thorn. Divers flowers also, as the tulip, close every evening, and blow again in the morning. Annual plants blow sooner or later as their seeds are put in the ground; whence the curious in gardening sow some every month in summer, to have a constant succession of flowers. The blowing of roses may be retarded by shearing off the buds as they put forth.

Blubber, denotes the fat of whales and other large sea-animals, whereof is made train-oil. It is properly properly the adeps of the animal: it lies immediately under the skin, and over the muscular flesh. In the porpoise it is firm and full of fibres, and invests the body about an inch thick. In the whale its thickness is ordinarily six inches; but about the under lip, it is found two or three feet thick. The whole quantity yielded by one of these animals ordinarily amounts to 40 or 50, sometimes to 80 or more, hundred weight. The use of blubber to the animal seems to be partly to poise the body, and render it equidistant to the water; partly to keep off the water at some distance from the blood, the immediate contact whereof would be apt to chill it; and partly also for the same use that clothes serve us, to keep the fish warm, by reflecting or reverberating the hot steams of the body, and so redoubling the heat: since all fat bodies are, by experience, found less sensible of the impressions of cold than lean ones. Its use in trade and manufactures is to furnish train-oil, which it does by boiling down. Formerly this was performed ashore in the country where the whales were caught: but of late the fishers do not go ashore; they bring the blubber home stowed in casks, and afterwards boil it down in the preparation of the oil.

Sea-Blubber. See Medusa.