BALTA, the chief town of a circle of the same name in the Russian government of Podolia. It stands on the Kodima, near its junction with the Bug, and carries on a large trade in cattle and horses and the raw products of the surrounding district. It has two great annual fairs, the more important being held at Whitsuntide and the other in June. A variety of industries, such as tallow-melting, soap-boiling, tile-making, and brewing are likewise prosecuted. The Jews form a very considerable part of the population, which in 1867 numbered 14,528. Balta was in great part destroyed by the Russians in 1780.

BALTARD, Louis Pierre, a distinguished French architect and engraver, was born at Paris in 1765, and died in 1846. He was originally a landscape painter, but in his travels through Italy was so much struck with the beauty of the Italian buildings, that he changed his profession and devoted himself to architecture. In his new occupation he achieved great success, and was selected to prepare the plans for some of the largest public edifices in Paris. His reputation, however, rests not so much on his practical performances in architecture as on his great skill in the art of engraving. Among the best known of his plates are the drawings of Paris (Paris et ses Monuments, 2 vols, fol., 1803), the engravings for Denon’s Égypte, the illustrations of Napoleon’s wars (La Colonne de la grande Armée), and those contained in the series entitled the Grand Prix de ΓArchitecture, which for some time he carried on alone. He has also gained distinction as an engraver of portraits.