BARREL 



to Barre in honor of Isaac Barre, a defender of 

 American rights in the British Parliament. In 

 1894 the city was incorporated and made inde- 

 pendent of the town of Barre, but the interests 

 of town and city are closely interwoven. Scotch 

 and Italians predominate in the foreign element 

 of the population, which increased from 10,734 

 in 1910 to 11,706 in 1914. The area is four and 

 one-half square miles. 



The quarrying and cutting of granite has 

 made Barre one of the leading industrial cen- 

 ters of New England. There are more than 

 100 granite quarries and establishments; these 

 employ about 4,500 men and have an annual 

 output worth about $4,000,000. Granite-cutting 

 tools, granite-polishing machines and derricks 

 are manufactured here. In addition to its pub- 

 lic schools Barre has Goddard Seminary and a 

 $90,000 public library. The Federal building, 

 completed in 1912 at a cost of $125,000, a $100,- 

 000 city hospital and a $125,000 hotel are the 

 noteworthy buildings. The public square con- 

 tains an imposing granite statue of Robert 

 Burns, erected by the Scotsmen of Barre. Three 

 miles southeast of the city is Millstone Hill, a 

 huge mass of finest granite. H.A.P. 



BARREL, a vessel made of pieces of wood 

 called staves, bound together by metal or 

 wooden hoops. The staves are wider in the 

 middle than at the ends, causing the barrel to 

 bulge in the middle. This shape has been found 

 most suitable, giving increased strength, though 

 causing a waste of space in shipment. The top 

 and bottom, called heads, are formed by circu- 

 lar boards which fit into grooves near the ends 

 of the staves. When used for liquids, a hole is 

 bored in one end, through which to fill and 

 empty the barrel ; this hole is called a bung, a 

 name also given to the cork or plug used to fill 

 the hole to preserve the contents. 



For many centuries barrels were made en- 

 tirely by hand, but now labor-saving machinery 

 is employed. The barrel as a measure has many 

 different meanings. In England a barrel of 

 wine contains 31% gallons; a barrel of beer, 

 36% gallons though for convenience beer is 

 usually sold in 4%, 9 and 18-gallon kegs. Can- 

 ada adheres to what is called the imperial 

 standard; a wine barrel contains 26^4 gallons; 

 an ale barrel, 31 % ; beer, 36% gallons. 



In the United States a standard measurement 

 for barrels was established for the first time in 

 1915. The law provides for a barrel with 21%- 

 inch staves, 17%-inch heads, and the material 

 must not be more than %o of an inch in thick- 

 ness. The capacity must be 7,056 cubic inches. 



600 BARRIE 



A barrel having that capacity, whether its 

 measurements agree with those stated or not, 

 may be considered as standard. To sell what 

 is stated to be a barrel of any commodity in 

 a vessel of less than 7,056 cubic inches capacity 

 is an offense punishable by a fine of $500, or six 

 months' imprisonment. 



The workmen who construct barrels from 

 previously measured staves which are sawed 

 into shape are called coopers, and the name of 

 their trade is cooperage. When all barrels were 

 made by hand cooperage was an excellent trade 

 for a young man to learn; workmen were paid 

 by the piece, and rapid assemblers could earn 

 good wages. However, the advent of machinery 

 has nearly destroyed this trade, except in coun- 

 try districts. 



BARRETT, bair' et, LAWRENCE (1831-1891), 

 an American actor whose best work was done 

 during a memorable association with the fam- 

 ous Edwin Booth. He was born in Paterson, 

 N. J. x and made his first appearance on the 

 stage at Detroit, Mich., in 1863, as Murad, in 

 the drama, The French Spy. In 1861, at the 

 beginning of the War of Secession, Barrett for 

 a time served as captain of a company of 

 Massachusetts infantry. After his retirement 

 from the army he returned to the stage, taking 

 important roles in Edwin Booth's company and 

 varying his work with the management of 

 theaters in New Orleans and San Francisco. 



He acted successfully in England during a 

 short visit there in 1884. Three years later 

 Barrett became again associated with Booth 

 and remained with him until his death, playing 

 Othello to Booth's lago, and Cassius to his 

 Brutus, and interpreting many other Shakes- 

 pearian roles with distinction. Though he had 

 not the genius of Booth, nevertheless his act- 

 ing had high intellectual quality. His Life of 

 Edwin Forrest and a sketch of Edwin Booth 

 are admirable. 



BARRIE, bair' ie, SIR JAMES MATTHEW 

 (1860- ), a Scotch dramatist and story- 

 writer, of quaint and delicate humor, tender 

 pathos and poetic fancy, whose fairy play, 

 Peter Pan, is undoubtedly one of the best- 

 loved dramas of all time. He was born in 

 Kirriemuir, Scotland, and soon after his grad- 

 uation from Edinburgh University, in 1882, 

 began to find a loyal reading public for his 

 sketches and stories. In 1885 he removed to 

 London, and by 1900 had become one of the 

 most popular writers of his time. King George 

 V made him a baronet in 1913. 



Auld Licht Idylls and The Window in 



