BROOM 197 BBOTHEBHOODS saulted Senator Charles Sumner in the Senate Chamber, beating him into in- sensibility with a cane. He afterward resigned, but was immediately returned to the House by his District. He died in Washington, D. C, Jan. 27, 1857. BROOM, the English name of the common shrub, sarothamnus, formerly cytisus scoparius, and of the genus to which it belongs. It has large beautiful yellow flowers. Butchers' broom is the English name for the liliaceous genus rusmis, and especially for the ruscus aculeatus. Irish broom is the sarotham- nus patens, a native of Spain and Portu- gal. The word is also applied to a besom for sweeping. BROOM CORN, a name for two plants of the order grammacese (grasses) : (1) Sorghum vulgare. Its panicles are made into brooms for sweeping and into clothes brushes. (2) Sorghutn sacchara- tum, of which a species of molasses or syrup is made. BROOM RAPE, the English name of orobanche, a genus of plants constitut- ing the typical one of the order oro- hanclvaceas (broom rapes). All are par- asitic on other plants. They grow upon furze, broom, a galium, on thymus, a centaurea, a picris, on clover, milfoil, on hemp roots, etc. Some broom rapes confine themselves to a single genus or even species of plants, while others range over a considerable variety. The greater broom rape, one of the eleven which grows on leguminous plants, es- pecially on furze, broom, and clover, is so destructive to the last named genus of plants in Flanders that it prevents many farmers from attempting their cultivation. The tall broom rape {oro- banche elatior) , though preferring cen- taurea scabiosa, also attacks clover, as does the lesser broom rape (orobanche minor) . BROOM TOPS, the fresh and dried tops of cytistis scoparius (common broom). There are two officinal prepara- tions; the decoction (decoctum scoparii), consisting of a pint of distilled water to. an ounce of the dried tops, and the juice (succus scoparii), made of three ounces of the fresh expressed juice to a pint of rectified spirits. They are valu- able diuretics, especially in cardiac dropsies. Scoparine and sparteia are the two active principles; the action of sparteia is analogous to that of conia. BROSE (Gaelic brothas), a dish some- times used in Scotland, made by pouring boiling water, milk, or the liquor in which meat has been boiled, on oatmeal, and mixing the ingredients by imme- diate stirring. Butter may be addea, and sweet milk when the brose is made with water. It is kail brose, water brose, or beef brose, according to the liquid used. Athole brose, a famous Highland cordial, is a compound of honey and whiskey. BROTHERHOODS, RELIGIOUS, were societies instituted for pious and bene- volent purposes, and were numerous in the Middle Ages. Such brotherhoods or confraternities, were, in earlier times, those of Mary, of the Scapular, and of the Rosary; in later times, that of the Sacred and Immaculate Heart of Mary, foi the conversion of sinners, that of Francis Xavier, or the Mission Brother- hood, and that of Christian Learning (Freres Ignorantins) for the education of the people. The bridge-building brotherhood (Fratres Pontifices) orig- inated in southern France toward the end of the 12th century, and was recog- nized by Pope Clement in 1189. Their occupation was to keep up hospices at the most frequented fords of great rivers, maintain ferries and build bridges. Other brotherhoods were the Familiars and Crossbearers of the Inquisition in Spain, and the Fratres Caleridarii in north Germany and the Netherlands. The great Brotherhood of Common Life was founded about 1376 by Geert Groote (born 1340; died 1384) and Florentius Radewin (born 1350; died 1400) at De- venter, Its members were sometimes styled Brethren of Good Will, also Hier- onjnnites and Gregorians, from Hierony- mus and Gregory the Great, whom they claimed as patrons. Community of goods, ascetic habits, industry, and the use of the vernacular language in divine service, were some of the chief points insisted on by the brethren, who were not fettered by monastic or any other vows. Their principal occupations were the copying of the Bible and other books for the common purse, prayer and the instruction of the young, and their ser- vices in the last direction can hardly be overestimated. Their most famous houses were those of Windesheim, near Deventer, and Agnetenberg, near ZwoUe. They be- came numerous in the Netherlands and north Germany, but also spread them- selves in Italy, Sicily, and Portugal, so that in 1430 they reckoned more than 130 societies. The last was founded in Cambrai in 1505. The most important and distinguished members of the society were Gerhard Zerbold of Zutphen, the famous Thomas a Kempis, and the learned Cardinal Nicholas Cusa. Fe- male societies of a similar character sprung up at the same time with those of the Brothers of Common Life. Even
