Page 124

( 124 )
With regard to their Form and Struclure, !Branches are
either firight, in form of a Piffol, for young Horfes, to
form their Mouth; or, after the Conflable of France's
Falhion, for Horfes that already carry the Head well:
Others are in form of a Gigot or Leg; others of a. bent
Knee; others in the French Falhion, &c.
Note, Thefe are Laws in the Manage, i. That the far-
ther the fbranch is from the Horfe's Neck, the more ef-
fed it will have. z. That Short B'ranches, ceteris pari-
bus, are ruder, and their Effeas more fudden than thofe
of others.  3. That the Branch be proportion'd to the
Length of the Horfe's Neck.
BRANCH, or BOUGH, in Botany, ajet or Arm of a Tree,
emitted from its Trunk: Rulintiny calls it, a Part of a Tree,
which coming from the Trunk, helps to form the Head.
The Word, according to Salrnaftus, comes from the Latin
Lranca; in the lower Latin, they faid !Barga: Others
derive it from lBrachium, an Arm i and others from Bran-
chie, the Gills of Fiffies.
The BZranches of Trees are obferv'd, almoff conflantly,
to Ihoot from the Trunk at an Angle of 45 Degrees: The
Reafon is, that the whole Spreading being generally con-
fin'd within an Angle of go Degrees, as the moll becoming
and ufeful Difpofition ; that fpace could not be well fill'd
up any other way, than by forming all the Interfeffions
which the Shoots and fBranclhes make, with Angles of 45
Degrees only. A ffrong Argument, that the Plaftick Ca-
pacities of Matter, are under the Guidance of a wife
Being.
Branches are diflinguifli'd into various Kinds: A Wood
.Branch, Ruintiny fays, is fuch a one, as fLooting out from
a Cut of the preceding Year, is naturally of a confide-
rable Thicknefs. A Fruit fBranch, is that which lhoots
out of a moderate Length and Breadth from the fame
Cut: Fruit Branches, he adds, have large Eyes, and
are very near each other. A f ranch half Wood, is that,
which being too flender for a Mood fBranch, and too
grofs for a Fruit Branch, is cut, at the Length of two
or three Inches, to make it produce a better Jet, whe-
ther Wood or Fruit. Spurious Wood !Branches, are fuch
as come contrary to the Order of Nature; or otherwife
than from Cuts of the preceeding Year; or which coming
on fuch Cuts, are big in the Place where they lhould be
fmall. To underfland this Order of Nature, it mufl be
obferved, I. That !Branyches 1hould never come, except on
thofe of the laff Cut; fuch, therefore, as fhoot from other
Parts are fpurious. 2. That the Order of the new !Bran-
ches is, if there be more than one, that the extreme
Biranch is thicker and longer than that immediately under
it; and this bigger and longer, again, than the third, &ic.
Hence, if any be big where it fhould be fmall, it is call'd
Spurious. There are, however, fome Exceptions : In
Trees that are vigorous, and yet bear a handfome Figure,
there can't well be too many Fruit Branches; provided
they make no Confufion; but for Wood Branches, there
Should not ordinarily be above one fuf-r'd to grow, of the
feveral which lhoot from each Cut of the preceeding Year.
See PRUNING.
BRANCHIA, a Name given by the Greek Naturalifls
to the Gills of Fifhes; which are Parts compos'd of Car-
tilages and Membranes, in form of a Leaf, and ferving
inflead of Lungs to refpire by. Galen obferves, they are
full of little Foramina, big enough to admit Air and Va-
pours, but too fine to give Paffage to Water. Pliny held,
that Fifties refpir'd by their Gills; but obferves that nri-
flotle was of another Opinion: To whom we may add Dr.
Needbar. The Word Brancbia, comes from the Greek
g3a4it, which fignify'd the fame thing.
BRANDY, a Spirituous, inflammable Liquor, drawn
from Wine, and other Liquors by Diflillation; ordinarily
in Balneo Marie; fometimes alfo by the Flame of a Fire.
See DISTILLATION. The Veftels ufed herein, are ufually
Copper: and fome Diflillers, to cool the Liquor more rea-
dily, make the Neck of the Matras, which is very long,
and winding like a Serpent, pafs through a Veffel of cold
Water.
to diftil BRANDY, they fill the Cucurbit half full of
the Liquor from which it is to be drawn; and raife it,
with a little Fire, till about one fixth Part be diflill'd; or
till they perceive that what falls into the Receiver is not
at all inflammable. The Liquor thus diffill'd the firflc time,
is call'd Spirit of Wine or B randy ; which Spirit, purify'd by
another, or feveral more Diflillations, is what we call Spirit
of Wine reffif'3d. The fecond Diflillation is made in fBal-
veo AMarie, and in a Glafs Cucurbit; and the Liquor put
therein; diffill'd to about one half the Quantity : Which
half is further reffify'd, as long as the Operator thinks fit.
To abridge thefe feveral Diflillations, which are long and
troublesome, they have invented a Chymical Infirument -
whereby the Reffification of Spirit of Wine is perform'd
at one fingle Diffillation : The Defcription and Figure of
which Infirumenrjeay be feen in Glajer's Chyiftry.
B R A
To try- the Goodnefs of Rec'ify'd Si
muff be lighted into a Blaze: if then it 4
without leaving any Impurity behind- or
ill; if after putting a little Gun-pouder
the Spirit, the Gunpouder take fire when
fum d, the Liquor is good. Thofe who
(we fpeak only of that made with Wine
clear, of a good Tafle, and fuch as will bear t
i.e. fuch as in pouring into a Glafs, forms,
white Lather, which, as it diminishes,
,n1'l 1. n1 - ver  , Wrn.~ , tesen
cal'd. by the rrencv ffrandy Merchants, the 1va~peietij or
Bead-Roll: there being no ZBrandy but that well defleg.
mated, and wherein there is no Humidity left, wherein
the Chatelet is entirely form'd.
The chief ufe of B randy, is as a Drink ; efpecially in the
cold Northern Countries ; among the Negros in Guinea,
who fell one another for a few Bottles of Brandy; and
among the Savages of Canada, and other Parts of N. Ame-
rica, who are infinitely fond of it. It is of fome ufe too in
Medicine; being faid to firengthen the Nerves: And in
Dying, when rais'd into rectify'd Spirit of Wine ; being acts
counted one of the Dyers Non-colouring Drugs.
Befides the Brandy made of Wine; there is other
made of Malt-Liquors, of Cyder, Syrop, Sugar and Molof-
fes, of Fruits, Berries, Cec.
The greatefl Part of the Brandies in ufe, and thofe too,
the beff, are prepared in France: Of the French Bran-
dies, thofe of Nanies and Poitou are the mofi efleem'd -
as being of a better Tafle, finer and ffronger, and endu-
ring the Teft of the Chapelet longer than any of the red+:
Thofe of AJnjou, T'ouraine and Orleans, claim the fecond
Place.
r randy makes a very confiderable Article in the French
Commerce: The Number of Foreign Veffels, wherewith
all their Ports are full in Time of Peace, and which are
loaden, in good meafure, with !Brandy, is incredible.
Nantes alone furnishes 174000 Gallons per Annum, and
7~ourdeaux above twice as much; the other Places in pro-
portion. The Dutch take off their Hands almofi as much
as all the refi of Europe. Poland and Sweden are the
only Nations which are not their Cuflomers; thefe prefer-
ring the B randies of their own Countries, made of Grains,
to the Wine-Brandies of France.
Of .Brandy, both plain and refify'd, are prepared vari-
ous Kinds of firong Liquors, with the Addition of other
Ingredients, Sugars, Spices, Flowers, Fruits, &c. which
are afterwards clarify'd, by pailing 'em thro a firaining
Bag, or filtering 'em  thro Brown Paper. See CLARIFI-
CATION. A great part of thefe are brought from mont-
pellier; where they are fuppos'd to be better prepar'd than
any where elfe. See WATER.
BRASIL, or BRAZIL, a Wood fo call'd, becaufe firfm
brought from .Brafzl, a Province of S. America: It is de-
nominated variously, according to the Places whence it is
brought. Thus we have B rafil of Fernambouc, .B'rafil of
.7apon, of Lamon,of St.Martha; and laffly.rarillet, brought
from the Antilles.
The .Brafil-Y'ree ordinarily grows in dry barren Places,
and in the middle of Rocks; it is very thick and large,
ufually crooked and knotty: Its Flowers, which are of a
beautiful red, exhale a very agreeable Smell, which fireng-
thens the Brain. Tho the Tree be very thick; it is co-
ver'd with fo thick a Bark, that when the Savages have
taken it off the Wood, a Trunk, which before was the
Thicknefs of a Man, is fcarce left equal to that of his Leg.
BraWl Wood is very heavy, dry, crackles much in the
Fire, and fcarce raifes any Smoak, by reafon of its extreme
Drynefs. None of the feveral Kinds have any Pith, ex-
cept that of Japon: that of Fernambouc is effeem'd the
bedt. It mu{l be chofen in thick Pieces, clofe, found, with-
out any Bark; and fuch as, upon Splitting, of pale be-
comes reddifh ; and when chew'd has a fugar Taffe. It is
much us'd in Turned Works, and takes a good Polilh ; but
its chief ufe is in Dying, where it ferves for a red Colour:
'Tis a fpurious Colour, however, it gives; and eafily eva-
porates and fades: Nor is the Wood to be us'd without
Allum and Tartar. From the Brall of rernambouc, is
drawn a kind of Carmine, by means of Acids. There is al-
fo a liquid Lacca made of it, for Miniature. See REn.
BRASS, Oricbalcum; or, as the French call it, rel/ox
Copper; a faffitious Metal, compos'd of Copper, and Lapis
Calaminaris. The Method of Preparation is as follows.
The Lapis being calcin'd, and ground fine as Flour, is
mix'd with ground Charcoal; and incorporated, by means
of Water, into a Mafs: Thus repar'd, about feven Pounds
of the Calamine is put into a  e ting-Pot of about a Gal-
lon; and over it, about five Pounds of Copper; which is
let down into a Wind-Furnace eight Foot deep, remaining
there about ii Hours ; in which Time 'tis converted into
S.ra.  After melting, it is cail into Plates, or Lumps:
45 Pounds of crude Calamine, produces 30 Pounds burnt,
or calcin'd. They fometimes ufe vraJs-/J;rgj inflead of
2.                           Copperi
t
B R A