BRA 



Leonicini, two celebrated profenbrs at Ferrara, but fuiiflied 

 his ftudies at Pan's. On his return, he wiis made phyficiau 

 '' to HercultsII. his fovertign, to whole daiiglitt-r he dedi- 

 cated one of his worlds. As he loon came into great rtqiiell; 

 in his profcfUon, and had acquired cor.ficlerablc kuow!t:'ge 

 in bota'iy, and other parts ol natural hillory, to wliich lie 

 had, in a particular manner, turned lii.s attention, he was able, 

 from his own experience, to eorredl levtral errors of his 

 teachers, on the nature and qualities of drugs. The tirll 

 work by which he became known, is " Exanien oinniimi 

 fimplieiuni medicamentorum, quorum iifus in publieis ofli- 

 cinis eft," Romx, i5,-;6, fol. This work has been frequeiitly 

 re-printed. In the courfe of it he examnies the qualities of 

 fome poifonous drugs, and their effecls on dogs, and other 

 animals. He twice faw a cartilage, he fays, of the form of 

 a crofs, in the hearts of two ftags. He had received manna 

 from Syria, bat preferred the Calabrian. He ftiews that cal- 

 cined mercury had been early given in the cure of the lues 

 venerea, though then difufed. " De medicamcntis tam fim- 

 plicibus, quam compofitis, qua: unicuique humeri funt 

 propria," Tiguri, i5';i;,Svo.; containing many valuable ob- 

 fervntions, principally from experience, on the cfTcfls o'f 

 various purging medicines. He cffefled the cure of a 

 maniacal coniplaiut, in a perfon of rank, by the ufe of black 

 hellebore, which had been many years diluled and profcribed. 

 " Examtn omnium fyruporum, quorum publicus ufus eft," 

 LugdJni, 1540, 8vo. This, as well as feveral other of his 

 works, is written in the fi.>rm of a dialogue, between hinifelf 

 and an apothecary. In the commencement, the apothecary 

 gives an account of his manner of treating his wife, from 

 whom he exafts the fame implicit fubmiffion that Petruchio 

 requires from Catherine, on their wedding-day. When re- 

 tired to their chamber, he fays, he threw a pair of breeches 

 on the ground, and giving his bride a ftick, fimilar to one he 

 held in his hand, infilled on her contending with him who 

 fhould thereafter wear them ; and having then conquered her, 

 lie had taken care to keep up his authority. I'he doftor 

 reproves liis gueft, and gives him fome good rules for his 

 future conduct. He afterwards, and in fucceffion, pubhflied 

 '• Examinations of the compoiltious of eleitnaries, pills, lo- 

 hoclis, trocliiles, &c." befides " Commentaries on parts of 

 the works of Hippocrates," " A Complete lilt of Galen's 

 works," " A Treatife on the venereal difeafe, on the ufe 

 of China root, guiacum, &c." in all of which he has many 

 original obfjrvations. He died, according to Carrere, in. 

 1554. His fon, 



Brassavola, Jerom, publilhed, in 1590, " De officiis 

 Riedicis libellus," 4to. Ferrara. In this he treats largely on 

 the duties of phylicians, on their conduft in confultation, on 

 the ligns from which the prognortics in difeafes may be 

 drawn ; alfo, " In primuni Hippocratis aphoriimorumhbrum 

 e.xpolitio," 4to. Ferrara. Haller. Bib. Med. Botan. Eloy 

 Dia. Hift. 



BRASSBRIDGE, Thomas, of Northampton, pub- 

 liflied, in 1578, " The poor man's jewel," " A treatife of 

 the peftileuce, and a declaration of the. virtues of the herbs 

 carduus benediiitus, and angehca," 8vo. London. Haller. 

 Bib. Botan. 



BRASSE, in hhlhyoh^y, a fpecies of PercI. 



BRASSI, in Geography, a town of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Nievre, and chief place of a canton in the dillrift 

 of Clamecy ; 10 miles E. of Corbigny. 



BRASSICA, in Botany, is derived by C.Bauhine from 

 Sfci^ai or iSfKctrw, which he fays fignifies to devour, becaufe it 

 is eagerly eaten by cattle ; but tliis is a fenfe in which the 

 Greek word does not appear to be ufed by ancient writers. 

 LiiHisus derives it from the fame word,. and rightly rendering 



BRA 



it to boil, fuppofes the plant was fo called from itr hr'-^r sr 

 common pot-lirrb. Scaligcr cotjidurts il ' it 

 nally written TTfao-iM,- t'on^ irfccanx, a divlfi. 1, 01 

 garden. But as the word was not kiuuui co i e 

 who tirll called the plant from wiixh hinniua iias 

 the genus fa^Kvoj and afterwards xpu,?^, it is probab / ot 

 Latin oi-igin. By Varro and Fellus it is derived from 

 pralica, on account of iis being cut oif from the lltm. This 

 Uems foiced, and trx etymology mull be allowed to be 

 altogether uncertain. Lin. gen. pl.S20. Reich. 884. .Schreb- 

 J096. Jun". 238. Gxrt. 4J4. Tab. J43. La Marck PI. 565.. 

 Smith Elor. Brit. 311. Clafs, telr adynamia Jiliquofa. NaU- 

 ord. filiqiiofa or cnicifijn.us. Crucifnt, Juff. 



Gen. Char. Per'taiilb four-Ieavcd, crtdt, a little converging. 

 Leaves lanceolate-linear, concave channelled, gibbous at the 

 bafe, ered, parallel, deciduous. Cor. four-pctalled, cruci- 

 form. Petals fubovate, flat, expanding, entire, gradually 

 leilening into claws about the length of the calyx ; nidtari- 

 ferous glands four, ovate, one between each of the fhorter 

 flamens ai.'d the pillil, and one between each of the longer 

 ftamens and the calyx. Stam. Pilamcnts fix, awl-fliaped, 

 erect, of which two oppofue to each other arc the length of 

 the calyx, and four longer. Anthers ertft, acuminate.. 

 PiJ}. germ, cohunnar, the length of the ftamens ; ftyle (hort,. 

 the thicknefs of the germ : ftigma capitate, entire. Peri- 

 carp, lilique long, rather round, but flattened on each lide, 

 and in ionie fpecies quadrangular, two-celled ; partitior» 

 prominent at the apex, two-valved, valves (liortcr than the 

 diffepiment. Seeds many, globular. 



Elf. Char. Cal. ered't, a httle converging. Seeds globular. 

 DilTtpiment prominent. Neftariferous glands four. 



It is diftinguiftied from linapis by its firm and clofe calyx, 

 and from raphanus by its hliques not being articulated. 

 Its diftinftive charadler is however very obfcure, and fome of 

 its fpecies might be referred to other genera. 



* Sdiques Jletukr, four-angled, ivitlj a very Jliort permanent 



Sp. I. B. or/ra/j/w, Lin. /ir/;/"ci//rtto, La Marck. "Stem- 

 leaves coidate, embracing the Hem, fmooth ; root leaves,, 

 rough, very entire." Root annual, fpindle-fhaped, fmall,. 

 white. Stem generally branched at the bafe, about a foot 

 high, round, imooth, glaucous. Leaves glaucous, very en- 

 tire, obtufe : root leaves obovate : , ftem leaves alternate t; 

 flowers fmall : petals white or yellowifn, narrow: filiques 

 very long, eredt. A native of Spain, France &c. and 

 rarely in England on the coafts of Suffolk, Ellex and 

 Suflex. 2. B. aujlriaca, Jacquin Auft. Tab. 283. " Leaves 

 cordate, embracing the item, very entire, fmooth. Siliqucs 

 deeply furrowed." Diltinguiftied from the foregoing by 

 its furrowed lihques and yellow flowers. AVillden. Dr. 

 Smith deems it only a variety of the former. Corn-fields in 

 Aullria and Thuriugia. 3. B. campcjlris, Linn. " Root and 

 ftem (lender, leaves cordate-acuminate, embracing the item ;. 

 lower leaves lyrate, toothed, foraewhat hifpid." Smith, 

 Roat annual, fpindle-fliapcd, fmall. Stem crcdl, branched, 

 round, fmooth, rather glaucous : upper JLm leaves alternate, 

 very entire, imooth ; hiucr a little toothed, loiucjl and ef- 

 pecially the root ones, lyrate, toothed, and waved, hifpid 

 beneath at the veins; alt glaucous, and paler beneath. 

 Leaves of the calyx fcarcely cohering, a little fprcading. 

 Petals yellow, three times larger than thofe of the orientalis.. 

 Stltques eredl, romid, obfoletely quadrangular, relicularly 

 veined, torulofe, with an awl-lhaped beak, quadrangular at 

 the bafe, ftriated. A clearly diftiiidt fpecies. Smith. A native 

 of Europe, and plentiful in fome parts of England. La 

 Marck coniiders both the campcltris and the auftriaca as va- 

 viciies of tlic onentalis. 4. B. avvenJU, Lii.n. Miint. " Leaves 



cwbiating 



