BOX. 



BRAMBLE. 



sive; being 51. a ton if brought from a foreign 

 country, and I/, a ton if from a British pos- 

 session. It is from Turkey that the principal 

 part of the wood is imported into England ; 

 whether or not all this is really furnished by 

 Buxns scmpcrrirens is not known. It is not im- 

 probable that Buxus balearica, a larger species, 

 too tender to thrive in this country, may far- 

 nish a part, at least, of that which comes from! 

 the Mediterranean. It is said, that the wood 

 of this species is coarser, and of a brighter yel- 

 low than that of the common species. At an 

 average of the three years ending with 1831, 

 the entries of box-wood for home consumption 

 amounted to 382 tons a year. In 1832, the 

 duty produced 1867Z. 17s. 4d. Turkey box- 

 wood sells in the London market for from 71. 

 to 14/. a ton, duty included. Box is a very 

 valuable wood. It is of a yellowish colour, 

 close-grained, very hard, and heavy ; it cuts 

 better than any other wood, is susceptible of a 

 very fine polish, and is very durable. In con- 

 sequence it is much used by turners and ma- 

 thematical and musical instrument makers. It 

 is too heavy for furniture. It is the only wood 

 used by the engravers of wood-ci ts for books; 

 and, provided due care be exercised, the num- 

 ber of impressions that may be taken from a 

 box-wood cut is very great; In France, box- 

 wood is extensively used for combs, knife 

 handles, and button moulds. The value of 

 the box-wood sent from Spain to Paris is re- 

 ported to amount to 10,000 fr. a year. 



Where box trees are required, they should 

 be raised from seed, which should be sown 

 soon after it is ripe, in a shady border of light 

 loam, or sand ; but it is generally propagated 

 by cuttings planted in the autumn, and kept 

 moist, until they have taken root. The box 

 plant is best known for its use in gardens as 

 hedgings to borders ; the kind so employed is 

 a dwarf variety. It is very useful, as it grows 

 freely under the drip and shade of trees. 

 Dwarf box is increased by parting the roots, or 

 planting the slips. The best time for trans- 

 planting this shrub is October; though it may 

 be removed almost at any time, except sum- 

 mer, if it be taken up with a good ball of 

 earth. 



With respect to its medicinal properties, 

 box-wood has been substituted for guaiacum 

 as a sudorific in rheumatism ; but is now seldom 

 prescribed. Oil of box root is a popular reme- 

 dy for the toothache, when dropped on cotton, 

 and put into a carious tooth. (Phillips'* Sylv. 

 Flor. vol. i. p. 44; Brande's Diet, of Science; 

 M'Culloch's Com. Diet.) 



BOX of a Wheel. The aperture wherein the 

 axis turns. 



BOX of a Plough. The cross-piece in the 

 head of the plough which supports the two 

 crow-staves. 



BRACE. The general name for a couple, 

 or pair, of such animals as bucks, hounds, 

 partridges, &c. It is also applied to any thing 

 that serves to strengthen or support. 



BRACKEN. It is written also braken, and 

 sometimes pronounced breckin in the north of 

 England. The same with brake or fern. See 

 FEKX. 



BRAIRD. In the agriculture and gardening 

 216 



of Scotland, the term braird is applied to the 

 springing up of seeds, which, when they come 

 up well, are said to have a fine braird. 



BRAKE. The name of a wooden instru- 

 ment for dressing hemp and flax, used to bruise 

 or break the bun or stem, &c. in order to 

 separate the cortical part or rind from it. It 

 is sometimes applied to a thicket, or the 

 place where fern grows ; and is another name 

 for the barnacles, or pincers, used by farriers* 

 Brake is also a sharp bit, or snaffle for horses. 

 A smith's brake is a machine in which horses 

 unwilling to be shod are confined during that 

 operation. Some species of large heavy har- 

 rows are frequently called brakes. See HAR- 

 110 w. 



BRAMBLE, FLOWERING (Rubus odorn- 

 tus). A hardy exotic shrub, five or six feet in 

 height, blowing a pinkish violet-coloured flower 

 in June and August. It loves shade and moist- 

 ure, and is propagated by suckers. It is known 

 also as the flowering raspberry. 



BRAMBLE or BRAMBLE-BERRY (Sax. 

 bjiffirnbel, formerly written bremble ; Lat. jRw- 

 bus). The bramble, or blackberry, the generic 

 name of a large family of shrubs which creep 

 along the hedge in every soil. The common 

 bramble (Rubus fruticosus) derives both its La- 

 tin and English common name from the colour 

 of its fruit at different stages of ripeness. 

 However generally the bramble is reprobated 

 as a troublesome weed, we must acknowledge 

 that, when either in fruit or flower, it forms a 

 principal among the numberless hedgerow 

 beauties, and is not without its utility in par- 

 ticular soils, especially in poor sandy lands, 

 where the growth of other hedges is slow, and 

 where, by reason of the looseness of the soil, 

 the ditch is no defence. When planted in 

 such situations, it will, by its quick growth, 

 soon entwine its thorny branches in the dead 

 hedge, and form an almost impervious fence 

 against the invasions of cattle, sheep, and 

 other trespassers. Brambles mixed with other 

 hedge plants will render them thicker and 

 stronger. The objections urged against the 

 more general adoption of bramble fences are, 

 that, by the yearly decay of a portion of the 

 shoots, they soon fill the hedge with dead wood, 

 which has not only an unsightly appearance, 

 but is also hurtful to the other plants; and 

 again it is said, that the leaves are so broad 

 and numerous as to smother every other plant, 

 by depriving it of both sun and air. When 

 brambles are in considerable abundance, as is 

 often the case in waste and other lands tha 

 require to be brought into cultivation, they 

 should always be grubbed or hoed up ; and if 

 the land be afterwards ploughed with a good 

 furrow, the remaining roots will be torn up, 

 and the plants at length destroyed. This shrub, 

 which is only used by the chance passenger 

 occasionally plucking its fruit, possesses, how- 

 ever, several advantages which deserve our 

 attention. Its long branches can, in case of 

 need, be employed as cords ; and its fruit pro- 

 duces an excellent wine, the mode of making 

 which is as follows : Five measures of the j 

 ripe fruit, with one of honey and six of wine, 

 are taken and boiled ; the froth is skimmed 

 off, the fire removed, and the mixture being 



