BRA 



BRA 



cafes half thtf length of the body, a circumftance to which 

 its fpecific name alludes. 



BRACH YPYRENIA, from/;^«vl^,•,7^,o,/, a„d Tri-pr.v, ««• 

 cleu!-, in Natural I/i/loiy, a genus of toffils of the i lafs of iSe p- 

 TARi.iE. The brachvpyrenia liavc a flioit roii didi nucleus, 

 incluled by, and contained witiiiu, the body of the iw.iis. 



BRACHYTELOSTYLA, the name of a genus of 

 cryllals. 



The word is derived fronn lifX^v;, /I'orl, and Ts^isto;, perfcd, 

 and i-uK'ii, a column, and cxprefTes a perftil cryllal, with a 

 Jhort intermediate culnrnn. 



The bodies of this genus are cryftals compofed of a (liort 

 hexangular column, tcruiinated at each end by an hexan- 

 gnlar pyramid. Of this genus there arc fix known fp^cies. 

 Hill's HilL Fofllls, p. 163. 



BR ACHYURA, in Omhhohj^y, a fpecies of Fiungilla, 

 that inhabits Italy. It is briefly defcribed as being entirely 

 ycUowilh. 



This is the fhort-taikd fparrow, and ihort-tailed Italian 

 fpan-ow of Englilh writers. Briffon names it pajferculus 

 hononit-njis . 



BRACHYURUS, in Entomology, a fpecies of Ichneu- 

 mon, that inhabits Germany. The colour is fulvous : 

 fcutel fulvous ; thorax, eyes, and abdomen, (which is linear at 

 the bafe,) black. Schrank. — Abdomen and head tellaceous j 

 legs yellow. 



Bkachyurus, in Ornithology, a fpecies of Lanius, 

 defcribed by Pallas. The head above is ferruginous grey ; 

 eye-brows whitifli ; a black band from between the eyes to 

 the ears ; body above greyilh, cinereous ; beneath yellowilh 

 white J tail rounded. — This is x\\z Jliort-ta'ilcd Jlmkc of 

 Latham. Found but rarely in Hungary. 



Brachyurus, the fliort-tailed crow,a fpecies of Cor. vus, 

 of a green colour; beneath tawnyifli, and llneated on the 

 head with the fame colour ; wings with a white fpot. 



This bird inhabits the ill inds of the Indian ocean. The 

 fpecies admits of no lefs than feven dillinft varieties, accord- 

 ing to fome writers, of which n-umber Gmelin defcribes 

 three, corvvs Pb'ilippinenfis, corvus Bengalenjis, and corvus 

 Maddgafcar'tciijis . 



BRACIEUX, in Geography, a town of France, in t"!ie 

 department of the Loire and Cher, and chief place of a 

 caatoM, in the didrift of Blois, 3 leagues N. E. of Blois. 

 The place contains 700, and the canton 10,250 inhabitrtnts ; 

 the extent of the territory comprehends 345 kiliometrcs and 

 14 communes. 



BRACKE, a town of Germany, in the circle of Wetl- 

 phalia, and county of Oldenburgh ; i3 miles N.N.E. of 

 Oldenburg. 



Bracke, or Brake, a town of Germany, in the circle 

 of Wcrtplialia, and county of Lippe ; one mile S. E. of 

 Lcmgow. 



BR ACKENWITZ, a town of Germany, in the circle of 

 Upper Saxony, and middle mark of Brandenburg ; 3 miles 

 S. of Treuenbrietzen. 



BRACKET, in Building, denotes a kind of wooden ftay, 

 in form of a knee or fhoulder, ferving for the fiipport of 

 Ihelves, Sec. or a cramping-iron, which ferves as a ftay in 

 timber work. The word is alfo written bragel, and feems 

 derived from the Italian brachetto, a diminutive of hrachio, 

 arm. Modillons are a fort of brackets to the coronii of an 

 entablature. 



Brackets, in ylrt'iUery. See Cheeks of a Mortar. 



Brackets, in Skip-building, fmall knees ferving to fup- 

 port the galleries, and commonly ornamented with carving. 

 Alfo, the timbers fixed under the galleries and frame of a 

 foip's head to fupport the gratings. 



BRACKISH water, a mixture of freili and fait watfr. 

 BRACKLEY, in Geography, an ancient liorough town 

 of Northamptondiire, England, confills of the two parifliet 

 of St. James's and St. Peter's, and a hamlet called Old 

 Bracklty. Leland dates, that this place confided of many 

 llreets, in his time, and that it was a flourifliing town diirinj» 

 part of the Saxon dynally, till the Daiieo " nifed it." 

 Edward the lid. inade it a wool (laple, and gave it a cor- 

 poration ; but it was not invelled with borough privileges till 

 the lall parliament of Heniy VIII., when two members 

 were returned. " There was a fair callle," fays Leland, 

 " in the fouth-well end ; the fite and hill where it flood is 

 evidently feen, and beareth the name of the Callle Hill, but 

 not any piece of wall (lauding." Here were alio three 

 ancient catholic erodes, one of which, fays this relpedtable 

 antiquary, " was decorated with divers tabernacles, with 

 ladies and men armed. Some fay the dnplers of the town 

 made it ; hut I rather think fonic nobleman, lord of the 

 town." This crofs, 28 feet high, was taken down in 1706, 

 by the duke of Bridgewater, to build the handfome town- 

 houfe in its place. Robert BofTu, earl of Leiceder, founded 

 an hofpital here in th^ time of Henry III. John, fou of 

 lord chancellor Ellefmere, was created vifcount Brackley 

 14th James I., earl of Bridgewater the following year, and 

 marquis, afterward.s duke of Bridgewater, 6 George I. 

 On Bayard's Green, between Brackley and Mixty, was held 

 a famous tournament in 1249; and another was held here 

 about the fame time. The river Oufe rifes near this town, 

 and fupplies it with water. Here are a weekly market on 

 Wednefday, and five fairs annually. It is ij miles from 

 Northampton, and 6j N. W. from London. The two 

 paridies and hamlet contain 183 houfes, and 1495 inhabi- 

 tants, of whom 53J are employed in manufaftures. Gough's 

 edition of Camden's Britannia ; Bridge's hiftory of North- 

 amptonfliire, folio. 



BRACKWADE, a town of Germany, in the circle of 

 Wedphalia, and county of Ravenfberg ; 4 miles S. E. of 

 Bielefeld. 



BRACLAW, or Bracklau, a city of Poland, and capi- 

 tal of a palatinate of the fame name, called alfo Lower Po- 

 dolia, feated on the river Bog. 



BRACTEA, a thin flake or fpangle of any fubdancc ; 

 it is iifed by many authors in the lame fenfe with the word 

 lamina, but ufually in a fort of diminutive fenfe, exprefling a 

 fmall plate. 



Bractea, BRACTE,ini?o/(77/)i, z name given by the Latins 

 to very thin plates of gold, filver, or other metal, and ap- 

 plied by Linnxus to the floral leaves of a plant, fird dillin- 

 guifhed and defcribed by himfelf. They confill of fcales, or 

 of fmall leaves, which differ from the other leaves of the 

 plant generally in figure, and often in colour. They are 

 placed fometimes on the peduncle, and always near the 

 flower, fo that in fome cafes they are liable to be midakea 

 for a perianth : they may, however, be diflinguiflied from it 

 by their continuing as long as the proper leaves ; whereas 

 the perianth withers as foon as the fruit becomes ripe. Good 

 examples of braftese may be found in tilia (linden or lime- 

 tree), melampyrum (cow-wheat), monarda (ofwego balm), 

 &c. 



According to the phyfiology of Linnseus, and his imme* 

 diatc pupils, they are formed m the bud, by a kind of anti- 

 cipation, and become proper leaves of the new Ihoot or 

 branch in the fecond year, if the Hate of inflorefcence be 

 not haftened on by the force of the medullary principle : 

 but when that takes place, as in certain circumdances it 

 naturally does, part of the nourilhment which they would 

 otturrwifc have received, being diverted tg the ufe of the 



ftufti. 



