BRU 



B UL 



of Cuvier's first family of the order 

 Grallce, of which the ostrich is the type. 



BRE'ZILIN. The colouring matter of 

 Brazil wood, obtained from several spe- 

 cies of Ccesalpinia. 



BRISTOL STONES or DIAMONDS. 

 Small brilliant crystals of quartz found 

 in the neighbourhood of Bristol. 



BRITISH GUM. This is starch re- 

 duced to a gum-like state by great heat, 

 and used by calico printers. 



BRITTLENESS. A quality of certain 

 bodies by which they admit of being 

 easily broken, or separated into irregular 

 fragments. 



BRO'MAL. A colourless oily liquid, 

 corresponding with chloral, and formed 

 by adding bromine to alcohol. 



BROMATO'LOGY (ySpS^ua, food, \6- 

 YOf, a description}. A description or 

 treatise of food. 



BROMELIA'CE^. The Pine-apple 

 tribe of Dicotyledonous plants, named 

 from the genus bromelia, and chiefly in- 

 teresting from their capability of existing 

 in a hot dry air without contact with the 

 earth, ^qg Air Plants. 



BRO'MINE (/Spajyuof, a stench). A 

 deep red-coloured fetid liquid, formerly 

 called muride; an ingredient of sea- 

 water, of several salt springs, of the 

 ashes of sea-weeds, and of those of the 

 Janthina violacca, and other animals. It 

 combines with oxygen, and forms bromic 

 acid; and with hydrogen, forming the 

 hydrobromic. 



BRO'MURET. A combination of the 

 bromic acid with iodine, phosphorus, 

 sulphur, &c. 



BRONZE. An alloy of copper, 8 or 10 

 per cent of tin and other metals. 



BRO'NZITE. A variety of diallage, 

 of a metallic or bronze colour. 



BROWN COAL. An imperfect kind 

 of coal, termed also, from its ligneous 

 structure, bituminous wood. 



BROWN SPAR. Pearl spar ox sidero- 

 calcite. A massive mineral, harder than 

 calcareous spar, but yielding to the 

 knife. 



BRU'CIA. A substance procured from 

 the bark and seeds of nux vomica, and 

 from St. Ignatius's bean. It is said to be 

 a compound of strychnia and resin, and 

 not a peculiar alkaloid. 



BRUNO'LIC ACID. One of the par- 

 ticular products which have been isolated 

 in the distillation of coal. 



BRUNSWICK GREEN. An ammo- 

 niaco-muriate of copper, used for oil 

 painting. 

 62 



BRYOZO'A {fipvov, moss, fSoi/, an 

 animal). A term applied by Ehrenberg 

 to a class of highly-organized polyps, 

 most of the species of which incrust 

 other animals or bodies like moss. They 

 have been recently designated by Dr. 

 Arthur Farre, ciliobrachiate polyps. They 

 are among the species ranged by Cuvier 

 under the head of tubular polyps. 



BU'CCAL (bucca, the mouth or cheeks). 

 Belonging to the mouth. 



BUCCINI'N^. Whelks ; a sub-family 

 of the Muricidie, named from the genus 

 buccinum, and including shells generally 

 recognized by the abrupt termination of 

 the base, which is deeply notched. 



BUCE'RlDiE. The Hornbills ; a fa- 

 mily of the Insessores, or Perching-birds, 

 readily distinguished by the enormous 

 size of their bills, which are enlarged 

 into protuberances resembling horns. 

 See Conirostres. 



BUD, LEAF, and FLOWER. 1. A 

 leaf -bud (bourgeon) is a young plant 

 produced without the agency of sexes, 

 and consisting of rudimentary leaves 

 surrounding a growing vital point, which 

 elongates upwards in the form of stem, 

 and downwards in the form of root. 

 2. A flower-bud (bouton) consists also of 

 rudimentary leaves surrounding a fixed 

 vital point, which, when fully developed, 

 assumes the form of floral envelopes, or 

 sexual apparatus. 



BUFO'ID^ (6m/o, atoad). The Toad 

 tribe ; one of the principal divisions of 

 the Anoural order of Amphibious ani- 

 mals, which undergo a metamorphosis 

 similar to that of the frogs, but, unlike 

 these, are usually found at a distance 

 from water. See Ranidce. 



BULB. A scaly leaf-bud, which deve- 

 lopes roots from its base, and a stem from 

 its centre. When the outer scales are 

 thin, and cohere in the form of a thin 

 envelope, as in the onion, this is the 

 tunicated bulb. When the outer scales 

 are distinct and fleshy, as in the lily, this 

 is called the naked bulb. There can be no 

 such thing as a solid bulb. See Cormus. 



BU'LBLET. Bulbille. A bulb which 

 separates spontaneously from the stem 

 of a plant, as in lilium bulbiferum. 



BULBOTU'BER. A short, roundish, 

 underground stem, resembling a bulb. 

 The term was applied by Ker to the 

 Cormus. 



BU'LLAD^. A family of marine 

 mollusca, belonging to the fourth order 

 of Cuvier's Gasteropoda, and named from 

 the genus bulla . 



