BRACKEN 



53 



BRASSID1C 



Bracken, (brak'eo). [Gk. brake, brushwood.] 

 =Pteris : a coarse variety of fern. 



Bracket system of shipbuilding. A combi- 

 nation of longitudinal and transverse frames 

 bracketed together. 



Bracklesham beds, (brak' el-sham). [B. near 

 Chichester.]=Bagshot beds : a series of rocks 

 belonging to Upper Tertiary, above London 

 clay, contains fossil remains of crocodiles, 

 fishes, <fcc. 



Bract, (brakt). [L. bractea, thin layer.] 1. 

 A small leaf or scale from the axil of which 

 a leaf grows. 2. A part of a hydrozoon which 

 resembles a sheath of flowers. 



Bracteole, (brak'te-61). [Bract, 2.v.]=Bract- 

 let : a small bract. 



Bradford clay, (brad'ford). [B. in Yorkshire. ] 

 A sub-division of the Oolitic rocks ; contains 

 many Apiocrinites. 



Bradypodidse, ( brad-i-ppd'i-de ). [Bradypus, 

 q. v. ] Owen's term for animals such as the sloth . 



Bradypus, (bra'd-i-pus). [Gk. bradys } slow; 

 pous, foot;]=Sloth : an arboreal quadruped^ 

 belonging to Edentata, found only in South 

 America. . didactylus s Unaw = Two- 

 handed sloth. 



Brain, (bran). [A.-S. Bragen.]=Cerebrum : 

 the chief nervous ganglion, continuous with 

 the spinal cord; the organ of consciousness, 

 reasoning, and Volition. B. case Calva- 

 rium : the portion of the skull enclosing the 

 brain : in Orang about 28 cubic inches : in 

 Gorilla, 32 cubic inches; in man, average 

 about 90 cubic inches. B. coral, having 

 the polyps arranged in rows like the con- 

 volutions of the brain. 



Brainstpne, (bran'ston) Meandrina: a coral, 

 belonging to Anthozoa, in which rows of 

 corallites resemble the convolutions of tho 

 brain, often 10 or 20 feet in diameter. 



Braize, (braz) = Becker = Pagrus vulgaris = 

 Sparus pagrus: a fish. 



Brake, (brak). [1. Welsh, Irwg, brushwood; 

 2. A.-S. bracan, to pound.] 1. Bracken= 

 Pterisacquilina, q.v. 2. Rock=Brake, q.v. 3. 

 Break: an apparatus for retarding the motion 

 of machinery by the resistance of friction. 



Bramah press. An hydraulic machine by 

 which enormous force can be applied, owing 

 to the incompressibility of water. 



Bramble, (bram'bl). [Brembel, the A.-S. 

 name.]=Rubus fruticosus : a rough prickly 

 shrub, of which the blackberry is a variety. 



Branch-building, Building nests amongst 

 the branches of trees. B. birds'Rook, crow, 

 heron, chaffinch, goldfinch, oriole, mocking- 

 bird, <fec. B. mammaZia=Dormice, &c. 



Branchise, ( brangTd-5 ). [Gk. bragchion, 

 gill.] A respiratory organ adapted to the 

 use of aquatic animals who breathe the air 

 contained in water. 



Branchial, ( brang'ki-al ). [Gk. bragchion, 

 gill.] Connected with branchiae or gills. 

 B. animals = Oken's term for Crustacea. 

 B. arches = Bony arches supporting the 

 branchiae. B. cAm6er=Gill chamber of 

 fishes. B. ganglia = Parieto- splanchnic 

 ganglia, q.v, B. sac: in Tunicata, the 

 general cavity of the body, regarded as the 



homologue of the gills in bivalves ; in the 

 Lancelot, a large cavity into which tho 

 mouth opens. 



Branchiata, (brang-ki'a-ta). [Gk. bragchion, 

 gill.] A sub-division of Tunicata, marked 

 by a large branchial sac. 



Branchiate ( brang-ki'at ). [Gk. bragchion, 

 gill.] Having gills. B. vertebra=Ana.m- 

 niota = Anailantoidea, q. v. : a division of 

 vertebrata, comprising Fishes and Amphibia. 



Branchio-gasteropoda, (brang-ki-o-gas-ter-op'- 

 o-da). [Gk. brarichion, gill ; gaster, belly : 

 pous, foot.] = Whelks, periwinkles, &c. : 

 molluscous animals, belonging to Gastero- 

 poda, which breathe by gills. 



Eranchiopoda, (brang-ki-op'o-da). [Gk. brag- 

 chion, gill ; pous, foot.] Crustacean ani- 

 mals, whose feet serve also for respiration, 

 and whose bodies have either more or fewer 

 than twenty segments. 



Branchipstegal, ( brang-ki-os'te-gal ). [Gk. 

 bragchion, gill ; stego, I cover.] In fish, the 

 supports to the gill-covering membrane. 



Branchipstoma, ( brang-ki-os'to-ma ). [Gk. 

 bragchion, gill; stoma, mouth.]=Cirrostomi 



' = Lancelot, q.v. 



Branchipus, (brangTci-pus). [Gk. bragchion, 

 gill ; pous, foot.] An animal belonging to 

 Branchiopoda, q.v. 



Branchite, (brang'kIt)=C 9 H 16 : A hydrocar- 

 bon found in the lignites of Tuscany. 



Branchootoca, (brang-ko-ot'o-ka). Owen'a 

 term for a sub-division of Vertebrata=Dip- 

 noa. 



Brand goose. A variety of the wild goose. 



Brandreth, (brand'reth). [F. brandir, to 

 ward off.] A railing or other fence round 

 an opening. 



Brands=Blights=iMucoracea3, q.v. 



Brandy, (bran'di). [Ger. brant, burnt; wein, 

 wine.] Spirit of Wine, obtained from wine- 

 grapes, potatoes, pears, &c. British B. : 

 obtained from malt. 



Brandy-bottle=YeUow "Water Lily=Nuphar, 

 q.v. The flowers have a brandy-like odour. 



Branlin, (bran'lin). A variety of the salmon. 



Brash, (brash). [A provincial name. ] Angu- 

 lar fragments of rocks broken off by weathef 

 also called rubble. 



Brass, (bras). [Bras, the A.-S. name.] An 

 alloy of copper and zinc. Monumental B. : 

 an engraved plate of brass let into a stone 

 slab to serve as a memorial. 



Brassates, (bras'sats). [Brassic acid, q.v. 

 Salts of brassic acid. 



Brassic acid, (bras'sik). [Brassica, q.v.] A 

 constituent of colza oil found in the seeds 

 of Brassica ; a mixture of two glycerides. 

 Possibly=Erutic acid. 



Brassica, (bras'si-ka). [The Latin name.] 

 Cabbage, turnips, &c. ; herbs of very wide 

 cultivation, belonging to Brassicaceae. 



Brassicaceae, (bras-si-ka'se-e). [Brassica, q.v.] 

 =Cruciferse : radishes, turnips, cabbages, &c. ; 

 herbs with cruciform floM-ers belonging to 

 Cistales. 



Brassidic acid, (bras'si-dik). [Brassica, q.v.] 

 =Co2H42O2 : a monobasic acid derived from 

 erucic acid, q.v. 



