BRO 
the flower-stalk, which is near three feet 
high ; the lower part is garnished with entire 
•leaves, placed alternately at every joint. 
The upper part is garnished with flowers set 
in a loose spike or thyrse quite round : these 
are succeeded by oval seed-vessels, having 
a longitudinal partition, in the centre of 
which are fastened smooth cylindrical seeds. 
Of this there are six varieties. 
2. Bromelia lingulata, with obtuse, sawed, 
and prickly leaves. 
3. Bromelia nudicaulis, with the lower 
leaves indented and prickly. The leaves of 
this species are shorter than those of the 
ananas. They are sharply sawed on their 
edges, and of a deep green colour. The 
flower stem arises from the centre of the 
plant, which divides upward into several 
branches ; the upper part of these are gar- 
nished with spikes of flowers, which come 
out alternately from the sides of the branch- 
es, each having a narrow entire leaf just be- 
low it, which are longer than the spike. The 
flowers are placed very close on the spikes : 
and when they decay, the empalement turns 
to an oval-pointed seed-vessel, inclosing 
seeds of the same shape with the other. 
The plants of the pine-apple are propa- 
gated by planting the crowns which grow on 
the fruit, or the suckers which are produced 
■either from the sides of the plants or under 
the fruit The suckers and crowns must be 
laid to dry in a warm place for four or five 
days, or more ; for if they are immediately 
planted, they will rot. dhe certain rule of 
judging when they are fit to plant, is by ob- 
serving if the bottom is healed over and be- 
come hard. In summer, they must be fre- 
quently watered ; but not w ith large quanti- 
ties at a time ; and the moisture should not 
be detained in the pots by the holes being 
stopped, for that will soon destroy the plants. 
If the season is warm, they should be watered 
twice a week ; but in a cool season, once a 
week will be sufficient ; and in summer they 
should once a week be watered gently all 
over the leaves ; which will greatly promote 
their growth. During the winter, they will 
not require to be watered oftener than once 
a week, according as the earth in the pots 
seems to dry. Plants beginning to show 
their fruit should never be shifted; for if they 
are removed after the fruit appears, it stops 
the growth, and thereby causes the fruit to 
be smaller, and retards its ripening, so that it 
will be October or November before the 
fruit is ripe ; therefore the plants should be 
kept in a vigorous growing state from the 
first appearance of the fruit, as upon this 
depend the goodness and the size of it. 
After cutting oil’ the fruit from the plant in- 
tended to be propagated, the leaves should 
be trimmed, and the pots plunged again into 
a moderate hot-bed, observing to refresh 
them frequently with water, which will make 
them put out suckers in plenty ; so that one 
may be soon supplied with plants enough of 
any of the kinds, who will but observe to 
keep the plants in health. The most dange- 
rous thing that can happen to these plants 
is their being attacked by small white in- 
sects, which appear at first like a white mil- 
dew, but soon after have the appearance of 
lice : these attack both root and leaves at the 
same time ; and if they are not soon de- 
stroyed, will spread over a whole stove in a 
short time, and in a few weeks entirely stop 
VoL. I. 
BRO 
the growth of the plants by sucking out the 
nutritious juice, so that the leaves will appear 
yellow and sickly, and have a number ot 
yellow' transparent spots all over them. 
These insects, after they are fully grown, ap- 
pear like bugs, adhering so closely to the 
leaves as not to be easily washed off, and 
seem to have no local motion. They were 
originally brought from America upon the 
plants imported from thence. Tire only 
method yet discovered of destroying them, 
is by frequently washing the leaves, branches, 
and stems, of such plants as they attack, with 
water in which there has been a strong in- 
fusion of tobacco-stalks. But this method 
cannot be practised on the ananas plants, 
because the insects fasten themselves so low 
between the leaves, that it is impossible to 
come at them with a sponge to wash them 
off; so that although they seem to be all 
cleared off, they are soon succeeded by a 
fresh supply from below, and the roots are 
also equally infected at the same time. 
Therefore, whenever they appear on the 
plants, the safest method is to take the plants 
out of the pots, and clear the earth from tire 
roots; then put them into a tub, filled with 
w'ater in which there has been a strong in- 
fusion of tobacco-stalks ; and lay some sticks 
across to keep them immersed in the water, 
wherein they should remain twenty-four 
hours ; then take them out, and with a sponge 
wash off all the insects from the leaves and 
roots, and wash the plants in a tub of fresh 
water. This is the most effectual way to clear 
them from the insects. After this, you 
should put them in fresh earth ; and, having 
stirred up the bark-bed, and added some new 
tan to give a fresh heat to the bed, the pots 
should be plunged again, observing to water 
them all over the leaves, and this should be 
repeated once a week during summer ; for 
these' insects always multiply much faster 
where the plants are kept dry, than when 
they are sometimes sprinkled over with 
w r ater, and kept in a growing state. 
Of late, some very considerable improve- 
ments have been made in this article, l ire 
leaves of the oak have been substituted for 
the more expensive bark ; and the pines 
treated with them are found to thrive as well, 
and to produce as good fruit as the others. 
But the most considerable improvement is 
that mentioned in the 67th volume of the 
Philosophical Transactions, where the follow- 
ing method is shown by William Bastard, Esq. 
of Devonshire, of raising these fruits in water. 
“ The way in which I treat them,” says he “ is 
as follows : I place a shelf near the highest part 
of the back wall, that the pine plants may 
stand without absolutely touching the glass, 
but as near as it can be : on this shelf I place 
pans full of water, about seven or eight 
inches deep;; and in these pans I put the 
pine-apple plants, growing in the same pots 
of earth as they are generally planted in, to 
be plunged into the bark-bed in the common 
w'ay ; that is, I put the pot of earth, with the 
pine plant in it, in the pan full of water, and 
as the water decreases I constantly fill up 
the pan. I place either plants in fruit, or 
young plants as soon as they are well rooted, 
in these pans of water, and find they thrive 
equally w'ell : the fruit reared this way is 
always much larger as well as better flavour- 
ed, than when ripened in the bark-bed. I 
liave more than once put only the plants 
M m 
BRO 2/3 
themselves without any earth, I mean after 
they had roots, into these pans of water, 
with only water sufficient to keep the roots 
ahvays covered, and found them flourish be- 
yond expectation. In my house, the shelf 1 
mention is supported by irons from the top, 
and there is an intervening space ot about 
ten inches between the back wall and the 
shelf. A neighbour of mine lias placed a 
leaden cistern upon the top of the back flue, 
(in which, as it is in contact witli the flue, 
the water is always warm when there is fire 
in the house,) and finds his fruit excellent 
and large. My shelf does not touch the 
back flue, but is about a foot above it ; and 
consequently only wanned by the air in the 
house. Both these methods do well. The 
w'ay I account for this success is, that the 
warm air always ascending to the part w here 
this shelf is placed, as being the highest part 
of the house, keeps it much hotter than in 
any other part. The temperature at that 
place is, I believe, seldom less than what is 
indicated by 73° of Fahrenheit’s thermome- 
ter, and when the sun shines it is often above 
100°: the w'ater the plants grow in, seems to 
enable them to bear the greatest heat, if suf- 
ficient air is allowed ; and I often see the 
roots of the plants growing out of the holes 
in the bottom of tire pot of earth, and shoot- 
ing vigorously in the water.” 
BROMUS, broom-grass, in botany: a 
genus of the digynia order, and triandria 
class of plants ; and, in the natural method, 
ranking under the 4th order, gramina. The 
calyx is bivalved, having a partial spike, 
oblong and round, opposite grains, with an 
awn below r the point of each outer valve. 
There are 25 species, of which seven are 
natives of Britain, viz. 
] . Bronrus arvensis, common broom-grass : 
2. Bromus ciliatus, wall broom-grass: 
3. Bromus giganteus, tall broom-grass : 
4. Bromus pinnatus, spiked broom-grass : 
5. Bromus ramosus, wood broom-grass : 
6. Bromus secalinus, field broom-grass : 
7. Bromus sterilis, barren broom-grass. 
BRONCHIA. See Anatomy. 
BRONCHOCELE, in surgery, a tumour 
rising in the forepart of the neck. This dis- 
order with us is frequently called a Derby- 
shire neck, on account of the inhabitants of 
that county being much subject to it: pro- 
bably for the same reasons that the inhabitants 
about the valleys of the Alps, and other 
mountainous countries, arc so much affected 
with it. The most common situation of this 
swelling is the sides of the thyroid gland, 
and in many cases it seems to consist of a ge- 
neral enlargement of that organ. This dis- 
ease is known to predominate most in coun- 
tries affected by the humidity of the atmo- 
sphere, joined with excessive heat: it in- 
creases in the spring time, and diminishes in 
the autumn ; it is less prevalent in cold and 
dry seasons, than in those that are damp, 
and moderately warm ; it has . been asserted 
that its progress, wherever it is endemial, 
is in exact proportion to the degree of mois- 
ture indicated by the hydrometer. 
BRONCIIOTOMY, in surgery, an in- 
cision made in the aspera arteria, or wind- 
pipe, which is necessary in many cases, and 
especially in a violent quinsey, to prevent 
suffocation from the great inflammation or 
tumour of the parts. It is also called laryn- 
gotoniy and tracheotomy. See Surgery. 
