Boot
an article of dress, generally of leather, covering the foot and extend ing to a greater or less distance up the leg. Hence the name was given to an instrument of torture made of iron, or a combination of iron and wood, fastened on to the leg, between which and the boot wedges were introduced and driven in by repeated blows of a mallet, with such violence as to crush both muscles and bones. The special object of this form of torture was to extort a confession of guilt from an accused person. See also BOOTS AND SHOES.
BOÖTES (bō-e'tēs), in astronomy, a constellation called also Arctophylax, or the Bear Driver. It is situated between Corona Borealis on the E., and Cor Caroli, or the Greyhounds, on the W.
It contains 54 stars, including 1 of the first magnitude, Arcturus, 7 of the third, and 10 of the fourth. Its mean declination is 20° N., and its mean right ascension is 212°; 212°; its center is, therefore, on the meridian on June 9.