Billet

Chambers's Encyclopaedia, Volume 2: Beaugency to Cataract, p. 145
A technical drawing of a 'Billet' architectural ornament. It shows a horizontal row of five cylindrical billets, each with a central longitudinal groove. The billets are arranged in a slightly staggered pattern, with the ends of the billets facing each other, creating a series of notches or 'V' shapes between them. The drawing is a simple line illustration with some cross-hatching for shading.
Billet.

Billet, in Architecture, an ornament belonging to the Norman style. It was formed by cutting a moulding—generally a round moulding—into notches, so that the parts left resembled billets of wood. When used in several rows, the billets and empty spaces are placed interchangeably, as in the accompanying illustration.

Source scan(s): p. 0156