I 



WIND 



IllSoKKR. 



IB the department of antiquities ' Description of the Ancient Tern 

 Gjtta,'by Mr. Taylor Combe, was publil.., I in IMn; and*' Dewrriptio 

 onim Vetorum,' by the woe officer in 1814. He mhw com- 

 I a ' Description ol the Ancient Marbl. in the British Museum/ 



plates, of which ten have 



. the fint bearing date 1810, and the last 1845. The 

 that photograph* are now taken from the wulpturw, 

 and aold by the Museum seems to announce that thin undertaking will 

 not be earned on on the same eoale and plan, for in nothing does the 

 artist so thoroughly fail in comparison with the tun as in delineating 

 sculpture. The Mtter-pross of thie ten volumes comprise* a description 

 of the Townley marble*, and the miscellaneous collection of ancient 

 marble* by Mr. Taylor Combe, in the ftnt four volume*; of the 

 room oiled the ' Columbarium ' in the fifth, by Messrs. Combe and 

 Hawkins ; of the Parthenon, it* metope* and frieze, by Mr. Hawking, 

 in the three following ; and of miscellaneous sculpture*, partly of the 

 Townley collection, in the two lart, by Mestn. Hawkins, Birch, and 

 Newton. 



The department* of Natural History were long unrepreMnted in the 

 official publication* of the Mu*eum of ooune, excepting the Synopsis 

 the public** 



publication* of that department are now more numerous 

 than those of all the other*. They consist in general of small closely 

 printed volume*, of an unpretending appearance, and sold at moderate 

 prices. One series, the ' List of British Animals/ extends to seventeen 

 part* in anal! volume* ; and from the list given in the ' Guide to the 

 Exhibition Room* ' for 1859, there appear to be no leas than fifty-two 

 distinct works or set* of works, either published or in course of publi- 

 cation. The whole are under the editorship of Dr. J. E. Gray, who 

 suggested their preparation. 



The unofficial guide-books to the Museum are numerous. One 

 entitled ' A View of the British Museum, or a regular Account relating 

 what is most remarkable and curious to be seen there,' bears no date, 

 but appear* to have been issued soon after its opening, and they have 

 grown more abundant of late yean than ever. Much has been written 

 on the subject of the Museum in periodical publications at different 

 time*. There are articles containing original information in vol. xv. of 

 the ' North British Review,' and in the ' Edinburgh Review ' for 1859. 

 But it i* certainly remarkable that of so important a building there 

 is no detailed architectural description ; and of so important an insti- 

 tution, no history that approaches to amplitude or completeness. The 

 subject is one which abounds in interest of all kinds, but no one 

 ha* taken it up. It would be impossible to do it justice in narrower 

 limits than those of at least one octavo volume. 



BROKEN WIND is a peculiar affection of the wind or breathing of 

 the hone, in which the expiration of the air from the lungs, occupying 

 double the time that the inspiration of it does, requires also two efforts 

 rapidly succeeding to each other, and attended by a slight spasmodic 

 action, in order fully to accomplish it. Examination of the animal 

 after death ha* satisfactorily explained the reason of this. Some of 

 the air-cells, particularly round the edges of the lungs, are ruptured; 

 they have run into one another, and irregularly -formed cavities have 

 thus been made, into which the air may easily enter but cannot without 

 considerable difficulty be expelled. This disease may also be recog- 

 nised by a characteristic low grunting cough, likewise easily explained 

 by this morbid structure of the lungs. 



If the usual breathing has been rendered thus laborious, it is evident 

 that the hone, without skilful management, will be utterly incapable 

 of rapid and continued exertion. In fact, if he is but a little hurried 

 he evince* evident distress, and, if still urged on, he drops and dies ; 

 this, therefore, i* one of the worst species of uxwundnm. 



The cause of the rupture of the air-cells may be previous inflam- 

 mation of the lungs, by which a portion of them has been rendered 

 impervious, and thus greater labour thrown on the remaining part*. 

 The delicate structure of the cells, probably weakened by the inflam- 

 mation in which it had shared, yields to the unnatural distension to 

 which they are thus exposed. Many a hone ha* become broken-winded 

 when urged to extra exertion immediately after he has been fed ; for 

 the air mining violently into the lungs in the act of sudden and forcible 

 inspiration, and the full stomach lying against the diaphragm, with 

 which the body of the lungs is in contact, their perfect expansion is 

 prevented, awl those part* of them, the edges, which are free from 

 this pressure, are unnaturally dilated and ruptured. The kind of food 

 also to which the hone U accustomed ha* much to do with this disease 

 If it i* comparatively innutritive, a greater bulk of it muit be eaten, 

 and the dfatended stomach will oftener and longer press upon the 

 diaphragm and impede the dilatation of the lungs, or render it unequal 

 in diffcrrnt part*. Thus, broken-wind fa a disease of the farmer 1 * 

 ban* fed too much on h*y or chaff; it is often produced in the straw 

 yard, where little more than the coarsest food fa allowed ; but it is 

 comparatively seldom Men in the *table of the coach-proprietor, in 

 which the food fa of a better quality, and lie* in a smaller compass, and 

 fa more regularly adminMeml ; and it never dfagnoe* the hunting or 

 racing -table. It must, however, be confessed, that there fa sometimes 

 an hereditary predfapoation to thfa di*ea*e, coufating in a narrowness 

 of ohest, or a weakne** of *traetaiw hi the lung*, 



Then fa no cure for broken-wind ; no art can restore the dilated 

 eeO* to their former dimensions, or build up again a wall between 

 But palliative mea*ure* may be adopted to a very considerable 



extent. The food should be of a more nutritive kind, and lying in a 

 smaller compass. Straw and chaff should lie forbidden, the quantity 

 of hay perhaps a little diminished, and that of corn correspondingly 

 increased. A mash should constitute a part of the evening's fare ; 

 water should be sparingly given during the day, and exercise should 

 not be required when the stomach is full. Occasional or periodical 

 fit* of greater difficulty of breathing should be met by small bleeding* 

 and gentle laxatives. By this management, not only will the broken- 

 winded horse be rendered useful for many ordinary purposes, but will 

 M capable of service and labour, which it would otherwise be cr 

 require of him. 



11UOK Kll, a person who is employed on commission in negotiating 

 mercantile transactions between other parties, generally in the interest 

 of one of the principals, either the buyer or the seller, but who some- 

 jmee acts a* the agent of both. As it usually happens that individual 

 Brokers apply themselves to negotiations for the purchase and sale of 

 some particular article or class of articles, they by that means acquire 

 in intimate knowledge of the qualities and market value of the goods 

 In which they deal, and obtain an acquaintance with the sellers and 

 i. p. -i - . - \\, '.! .-.- u ;!] !. - .; - "i Mffb ***1 demand, sad in tlm- 

 enabled to bring the dealers together ana to negociate between them 

 on terms favourable for both. A merchant who trades in a great 

 variety of goods and product* drawn from different countries, and 

 destined for the use of different classes, cannot have the same intimate 

 knowledge for his guidance, and will consequently find it advantageous 

 to employ several broken to assist him in making his purchases and 

 sales. 



M iii-l>rdken form an important class in all great mercantile ports. 

 It is their business to procure goods on freight or a charter for ships 

 outward bound ; to enter and clear vessels at the Custom House ; to 

 collect the freight on the goods which vessels bring into the port, and 

 generally to take on active part in the management of all business 

 matters occurring between the owners of the vessels and the merchants, 

 whether shippers or consignees of the goods which they carry. In the 

 principal ports of this kingdom almost all ship-brokers act also as 

 inturanct-brukert, in which latter capacity they procure the names 

 of underwriters to policies of insurance, settling with the latter tin- 

 rate of premium and the various condition;- mult -r which they engage 

 to take the risk, and receiving from ththi the amount of their 

 respective subscriptions in the event of loss. When such loss is 

 partial, it becomes the duty of the broker to arrange the proportion 

 to be recovered from the underwriters. The business of an insurance- 

 broker differs from that of other brokers in one particular. The latter, 

 when they give up the name of the party for whom they act, incur no 

 responsibility as to the fulfilment of the conditions of the contnu-t, 

 while an insurance-broker is in all cases personally liable to the under- 

 writers for the amount of the premiums. But he does not incur any 

 liability to make good the amount insured, to the owner of the ship or 

 goods, who must look to the underwriter alone for indemnification in 

 case of loss. Under these circumstances, it is the duty of the 

 insurance-broker to make a prudent selection of underwriters, 

 chant* frequently act as insurance-brokers. 



Exchange-brokers negociate the purchase and sale of bills of exchange 

 drawn upon foreign countries, for which business they should have 

 a knowledge of the actual rates of exchange current between their 

 own and every other country, and should keep themselves acquainted 

 with circumstances by which those rates are liable to be raised or 

 depressed ; and they should besides acquire such a general knowledge 

 of the transactions and credit of the merchants whose bills they buy, 

 as may serve to keep their employers from* incurring undue risks. 

 Persons of this class are sometimes called bill-brokers, a title which 

 is likewise given to another class of brokers, whose business it is to 

 employ the spore money of bankers and capitalists in discounting 

 bills of exchange which have some time to run before they will 

 become due. 



The business of a stock-broker is that of buying and selling, for the 

 account of others, stock in the public funds, and shares in the capitals 

 of joint-stock companies. The acts of parliament by which the ]! 

 ceedings of stock-brokers are in certain cases regulated are the 7 Ueo. 

 II. cap. 8, and 10 Geo. II. cap. 8 ; and under these, every bargain 

 or contract for the purchase and sole of stock which is not made 

 Ixmd fdt for that purpose, but is entered into as a speculation 

 upon the fluctuations of the market, is declared \ ',<!; and all 

 parties engaged in the same are liable to a penalty of 60(V. for each 

 transaction. 



Every person desirous of acting as a broker for the purchase and 

 sale of goods within the city of London must be licensed for that 

 purpose by the lord mayor and court of aldermen. When odi. 

 the broker must give bond, conditional with a penalty of 600?.. for 

 the faithful discharge of his duties, without fraud or collusion, 

 tin- utmost of his skill and knowledge. He is sworn to this effect, 

 and further binds himself not to deal in goods upon his own account 

 a stipulation which is very commonly brdlcen. It is the indis]>en- 

 sable duty of a broker to keep a book in which all the contracts which 

 he makes must be entered; and this book may be called for and 

 received as evidence of transactions when questioned in court* of law. 

 Each broker pays on admission a fee of 67., and an cxju.il sum annually 

 so long as he continues to act under his licence : any person acting as 



