Band

a. To bind together; to tie. "With wings unfledged, his eyes were banded over."-Dryden. -To unite in a troop, company, or confederacy. "Some of the boys banded themselves as for the major, and others for the King."-Carew. -v. n. To unite in a band; to a ociate; to confederate. Ban'da, or BANDAH, a town of Hindostan, prov. of Allah a bad, cap. of dist. of S. Bundlecund, 80 m. W. of Allah a bad. Lat. 25° 50′ N., Lon. 80° 20′ E. It is a considerable place, and has an extensive trade in cotton. Ban'da, or NUTMEG ISLANDS, a group of 12 small islands, belonging to the 3d or E. division of the Malay archipelago, and owned by the Dutch; the principal, Banda Neira, lying in 4° 30' S. Lat., and 129° 30′ E. Lon.; 120 m. E.S.E. of Amboyna. Lantori, the largest of the islands, is only 8. m. long, and 3 broad. They are all high and of volcanic origin; one of them, Goonung Api, contains a volcano, 2,500 ft. above the sea, which is continually IMG:content-0525.png:[blocks in formation] emitting smoke, and sometimes flame. Climate , injurious to strangers; the W. monsoon brings rain and storms in Dec., and earthquakes occur from Oct. to April. Soil, chiefly a rich black mould. Four of the larger and central islands are almost entirely appropriated to the growth of nutmegs, their cultivation in the other islands being prohibited. The inhabitants consist mostly of Papuan Negroes, Chinese, and Dutch. Sago and cocoa form the chief vegetable food. The imports are provisions for the Europe ans, piece-goods, cutlery, and iron from Batavia; sago, salted deer, ., from Ceram: pearls, bird's-nests, tortoise-shell, and slaves for the Dutch and Chinese merchants, from Aru. Chief export . Nutmegs. The seat of govt. is at the fortified town of Banda Neira, where there is a good harbor. - A Portuguese, Antonio Abreus, discovered these islands in 1512. In 1524 the Portuguese, in 1589 the Dutch, and in 1810 the English, succe ively po e ed themselves of them. In 1814 they were restored to the Dutch. Banda Oriental. See URUGUAY.