BRANDY 463 



its own weight into the teeth of the crown of the bobbin, in which case this cannot 

 revolve ; but when the detent is raised so far as to disengage the tooth, and at the 

 same time to pull the thread, tho bobbin turns, and lets out thread till the detent falls 

 back into these same teeth. 



A skewer of iron wire, k, is loaded with a small weight, I, melted upon it. The top 

 of this skewer has an eye in it, and tho bottom is recurved, as is shown in fig. 206, so 

 that supposing the thread comes to break, this skowor falls into tho actual position in 

 the figure, where we see its lower end extending beyond the tube a, by about \ of an 

 inch ; but as long as tho thread is unbroken, the skewer k, which serves to keep it 

 always tense during the excentric movement of tho puppet, does not pass out below 

 the tube. 



This disposition has naturally furnished the means of causing the machine to stop 

 whenever one of tho threads breaks. This inferior protrusion of the skewer pushes in 

 its progress a detent, which instantly causes the band to slide from tho driving pulley 

 to the loose pulley. Thus tho machine cannot operate unless all the threads be entire. 

 It is the business of the operative, who has 3 or 4 under her charge, to mend the 

 threads as they break, and to substitute full bobbins for empty ones, whenever the 

 machine is stopped. 



BRAN (Son, Fr. ; Kleie, Ger.) The husky portion of ground wheat, separated 

 by the boulter from the flour. It is advantageously employed by the calico printers, 

 in the clearing process, in which, by boiling in bran-water, the colouring matters 

 adhering to the non-mordanted parts of maddered goods, as well as the dun matters 

 which cloud the mordanted portions, are removed. A valuable series of researches 

 by M. Daniel Kcechlin-Schouch, justified the following conclusions : 



1. The dose of two bushels of bran for 10 pieces of calico is the best, the ebullition 

 being kept up for an hour. A boil for the same time in pure water had no effect in 

 clearing either the grounds or tho figures. 



2. Fifteen minutes boiling are sufficient when the principal object is to clear white 

 grounds, but in certain cases 30 minutes are requisite to brighten the dyed parts. If, 

 by increasing tho charge of bran, the time of the ebullition could be shortened, it 

 would be, in some places, as Alsace, an economy; because in the passage of the 10 

 pieces through a copper or vat heated with steam, 1 cwt. of coal is consumed in fuel, 

 which costs from 2 to 3 francs, while 2 bushels of bran are to be bought for 1 franc. 



3. By increasing the quantity of water from 12 to 24 hectolitres with 2 bushels of 

 bran, the clearing effect upon the 10 pieces was impaired. It is therefore advan- 

 tageous not to use too much water. 



4. Many experiments concur to prove that flour is altogether useless for the clearing 

 boil, and that finer bran is inferior for this purpose to the coarser. 



5. The white ground of the calicoes boiled with wheat bran is distinguishable by 

 its superior brightness from that of those boiled with rye bran, and especially with 

 barley bran ; the latter having hardly any effect. 



6. There is no advantage in adding soap to the bran boil ; though a little potash or 

 soda may be properly introduced when the water is calcareous. 



7. The pellicle of the bran is the most powerful part ; the flour and the starch are of 

 no use in clearing goods, but the mucilage, which forms one-third of the weight of the 

 bran, has considerable efficacy, and seems to act in the following way : In proportion 

 as the mucilaginous substance dissolves the colouring and tawny matters upon the 

 cloth, the husky surface attracts and fixes upon itself the greater part of them. Ac- 

 cordingly, when used bran is digested in a weak alkaline bath, it gives up the colour 

 which it had absorbed from the cloth. 



From bran, Peligot obtained 8'0 per cent, of cellulose. Millon succeeded in ex- 

 tracting considerable quantities of glutinous substances from the bran with acetic acid 

 and alcohol. He found in 100 parts, starch, dextrine, and sugar, 50'0 ; sugar, I'O ; 

 gluten, 14-9; fat, 3-6 ; cellulose, 97; salts, 57; water, 13'9; and of odorous and 

 resinous matters, 1'2 per cent. 



BRANCH COAXi. A term applied in Yorkshire to cannel and other kinds of 

 coal, which occurs in layers traversing the ordinary coal of the district. The 

 branching coal of South Wales derives its name from tho peculiar swelling which 

 takes place in the operation of coking, after which it becomes very light. 



BRANDS. Imperfectly carbonised pieces of wood taken from a charcoal heap. 



BRANDY. (Eau de vie, Fr. ; Branntwein, Ger.) The name given in this 

 country to ardent spirits distilled from wine, and possessing a peculiar taste and 

 flavour, due to a minute portion of a volatile oil. Each variety of alcohol has an 

 aroma characteristic of the fermented substance from which it is procured ; whe- 

 ther it be the grape, cherries, sugar-cane, rice, corn, or potatoes ; and it may be 

 distinguished even as procured from different growths of the vino. The brandies of 



