BRAXK. 



l:KA>s 



300 



that U quantity of brandy annually made i* equal to about 80,000,000 

 Enguah gallon*, of wUehbouton^thWtotportri,lTiiig 18,000,000 

 faUoM for cutMumptiun in France. The principal exportation* are 

 made from the Charente, from Bordeaux, and from the port of Cetto in 

 the Mediterranean. From Charente come* the brandy of Cognac, 

 which M principally used in England, to which country three-eighth* 

 of all the ahipmenU of French brandy are ordinarily made ; about one- 

 fourth U taken by the American*, chiefly from Bordeaux and Cette ; 

 and the remainder U chipped, in comparatively email quantities to the 

 French Antilles, to India, and to rarioui countrie* in Europe, chiefly 

 to the north. Until the early part of the preaent century, oonaiderable 

 piniiia*** of Spanish brandy were made by the English government for 

 the oat of the nary ; but at that time, with the view of encouraging 

 eur West India coioniee, rum waa substituted. The ahipmenta of brandy 

 from Spain are principally made at Barcelona, whence about 11,000 

 pipe* (about 1 ,200,000 gallon*) are annually exported. Of thU quantity 

 000 pipe* are sent to Cuba, 8000 pipe* to the former dominion* of 

 Spain in America, and 2000 pipe* to the north of Europe. 



The eoncumption of brandy in England wa* greater aerenty yean 

 ago than it wa* twenty yean ago, owing chiefly to the railing of the 

 duty from 6*. to the enormou* amount of 22*. 8d. per gallon. In esti- 

 mating the import, it U neoeaaary to distinguish between the portion 

 n^aiitH for home consumption and the portion re-exported to India 

 and the colonies. The following 6gurea exhibit the total imports in the 

 Ut three yean ; but it must be borne in mind, that the quantity 

 entered for home consumption, plus the quantity re-exported, do not 

 neceaaarily amount together to the quantity imported ; seeing that a con- 

 aiderable portion may remain in bond, under the charge of the Customs' 

 department, awaiting the time when the owner may choose to pay the 

 duty for home consumption. The quantity entered for home con- 

 sumption and the quantity re-exported may, in other instances, exceed 

 the quantity imported in that year ; in such case the reserve stock of 

 the previous year must have been drawn upon. 



Entered for llama 



Consumption. 



Proof Gallant. 



1,534,694 



1,291,489 



1,108,109 



QuantitiM Imported. 



Proof Gallon*. 



18S6. . . . 1,540,438 

 U57 . . . 2,S99,95J 



1858 .... 1,064,661 



The quantities re-exported were as follow : 



Proof Gallon*. 



18S6 1,559,075 



US7 ...... 1.047.76S 



IMS 671,474 



The brandy trade of these three yean exhibited strange fluctuations, 

 as will be evident from an inspection of the above figures. 



British or imitative brandy is among the alcoholic liquors which pay 

 excise duty. 



BRAXK. [BOCK WHEAT.] 



BRASS, JEf of the Romans, is an alloy of copper and zinc, which 

 ha* been known and used from the remotest antiquity ; it U now 

 extensively employed both for useful and ornamental purposes. 



The direct method of forming brass is by melting together its con- 

 stituent metals; but it was manufactured long before zinc was 

 obtained in its metallic form. Calamine, an ore of zinc, was mixed 

 with copper and charcoal ; and the zinc being, by the well-known 

 action of the carbonaceous matter, reduced to the metallic state imme- 

 diately combined with the copper, without separately exhibiting 

 metallic properties. In Germany bras* appean to have been made for 

 centuries before the manufacture was introduced into England : this is 

 stated to have been done by a German, who established works at 

 Eaher in Surrey in the year 1649. 



When the requisite furnace* have been erected, the next step in 

 the process is that of reducing copper to a convenient form for ensuring 

 it* ready combination by extending its surface. This is effected by 

 pouring the melted metal into water; by which process what is called 

 tkot copper is obtained, in piece* varying in size from that of small shot 

 to that of a bean. 



The next proce** is to prepare the calamine, which U a carbonate of 

 inc. ThU is first broken into small piece*, and then heated to redness 

 in a reverberatory furnace. In this way, by the loss of carbonic acid 

 and moisture, one ton of calamine is generally diminished to about 

 twelve cwt, and it is when cold reduced to a fine powder and 



The material* being thus prepared, 45 pounds of the shot copper, 60 

 pound* of the powdered calamine, and a quantity of powdered charcoal 

 equal to it in bulk, are carefully mixed and put into eight earthen 

 crucibles, this being the number placed in each furnace, made of a 

 peculiar form. There is al*o commonly mixed with these ingredient* 

 a quantity of .crap bra**. When the fire ha* been continued for about 

 .even or eight hour., the operation U i finished. Supposing 40 pound. 

 of scrap bra** to bar* been added to the above-mentioned quantities of 

 the ingredient*, a plate of brass U obtained by pouring the metal into 

 granite mould*, which U generally about 5i ft. in length and weigh* 

 about 108 pound*. ThU plate U used for rolling into thin sheet* called 

 latton. Very frequently the metal is poured into cast-iron moulds 

 by which ban about eight inches in length are obtained : these ban 



are employed by tho*e who cast brae* into small good*, or who mix it 

 by melting with additional quantities of copper so as to produce metal 

 having different shades of colour, as tombac, pinchbeck, Ac. Some- 

 times blende, or the sulphuret of sine, is employed instead of cala- 

 mine ; it i* first roasted to dissipate the sulphur, and there remains an 

 oxide. 



Such is the process formerly employed, and even still occasionally 

 used for the manufacture of brass, but it U now almost universally 

 made by the direct fusion of its constituent metals, copper and cine. 

 51 Ibs. of old brass free from solder, 65 Ibs. refined and granulated 

 copper, and 24 Ibs. of cine are melted together in four crucible*, the 

 loss being about 24 to 4 Ibs. upon the total quantity. 



Brass for various purposes is made of different proportions of the 

 two inetals, and consequently possease* different qualities ; its general 

 properties are, that it has a well-known fine yellow colour, is suscep- 

 tible of receiving a high polish, and U only superficially acted upon by 

 the air. It is very malleable and ductile when cold, and consequently 

 may be beaten into thin leaves and drawn into fine wire : at a high 

 temperature it U brittle. The specific gravity of brass is greater than 

 that deducible from the specific gravities of the metals which con- 

 stitute it, as shown by the following statement. 



Brass, containing copper 70 and line 30, would give a calculated 

 specific gravity of 8-31)0 ; but by experiment it is found to be 8'448 : 

 when the proportions are copper 80 and zinc 20, the calculated U to 

 the actual density as 8'4i*0 to 8'560. On comparing the composition 

 and density of different kinds of brass, it appears that the density 

 increases with the proportion of copper, as might indeed be expected, 

 and that it is sometimes even equal to that of the copper itself. 



Brass is more fusible, sonorous, a worse conductor of heat, and 

 harder, than copper. It is readily turned in a lathe, and is conse- 

 quently well adapted not only for philosophical instruments, but those 

 used in manufacturing processes and for domejtic purposes. In the 

 state of wire it is most extensively employed in pin-making, anil for 

 various other purposes ; the thin leaves into which brass is made by 

 hammering are called Dutch metal or Dutch gold. 



Authors differ widely as to the best proportions of copper and zinc 

 for making brass. It is stated, in the supplement to the ' Encycloptedia 

 Britannica,' that one part of copper and two parts of zinc are the beet 

 proportions for common brass; and that one part of each forms prince's 

 metal of a fine yellow colour. Mr. Parkes, ' Essays,' p. 210, states (and 

 we believe he obtained his information from an accurate source) that 

 the most useful proportions ore two parts of copper to one part of zinc, 

 which are not far from one equivalent of each metal. Bcrthier'n 

 analysis of the brass wire of Jemappes confirms the probability of this 

 statement, for he found it to consist of 



Copper 64-2 



Zinc 33-1 



Lead -8 



98-1 



The small quantity of lead is, of course, to be regarded a* an accidental 



admixture. Bristol brass consists of 



Copper 65-15 



Zinc 34-85 



100-00 

 Some old Dutch brass, much approved of by watchmakers, contained 



Copper 69-65 



Zinc. ... .... 80-46 



100-00 



Mr. D. Forbes has observed that a silver-white brass may be formed 

 by alloying seven equivalents of copper with eight equivalents of zinc ; 

 but if the quantity of zinc be either increased or diminished, the alloy 

 has the usual colour of brass. 



The following table exhibits the composition of several other varieties 

 of brass: 



I. II. III. IV. v. 

 Copper 66-8 64-6 69-7 82 70-1 

 Zinc 31-7 3.1-7 33-5 18 29-9 

 Lead 2-2 

 Tin -2 



II. 

 64-6 

 3.1-7 



! 

 J 



III. IV. 



6S-7 89 



3S-S 18 



-8 



* 



VI. 



80 

 17 



VII. 

 90-4 

 7-9 

 1-0 







VIII. 



91-2 

 C-6 

 1-4 

 1-8 



IX. 



60 

 40 



99-9 100-0 100-0 100 100-0 100 lOO'O 100-0 100 



No. 1. i* bras* from Stolberg in Germany, and No. 2. from Jemappes in 

 France ; both are well adapted for the lathe, and are highly esteemed. 

 No*. 3. and 4. are recommended by D'Arcet for gilding ; they fuse 

 easily, can be chased or turned with facility, and take up little gold in 

 the gilding operation. No. 6. is perfectly free from lead and tin, and 

 consequently works well under the hammer; it is made at Romillv, 

 and i* much esteemed. No. 6. is employed in France for ornamenting 

 fire-arms; its colour is good, and it is very permanent in the air. 

 No. 7. ChrrsocolU, No. 8. Statuary bras*. A statue by the brothers 

 Keller in the palace of Versailles U cast from this brass. No. 9. Muutz 

 metal, used for sheathing ships, admit* of being rolled while hot. 



