with coarser clay added in a frame, and this is solidified in a screw-press. Then comes the filling in of the design, which the maker does by spreading the coloured clay in a creamy or slip state on the indented surface. After a few days evaporation, the surface is scraped or planed, and the tile passes successively to the drying house and the oven. The colours desired in encaustic tiles are some times those given by the clay in ordinary treatment, some times they are obtained by staining with manganese, cobalt, &c. The products of this branch of manufacture are much
admired.The fine ornamental bricks of various shape and colour known as terra cotta have of late been much used, especially in the faciug of public buildings, and with the happiest effects.
BRIDAINE, Jacques, a celebrated French preacher and home-missionary, was born in 1701 at Chuslau in the department of Gard. Though a rigid Catholic in principle, he gained the good-will of the Protestants of France by the boldness with which he advocated their cause on many occasions, and the personal kindness which he displayed towards many of their number during the persecutions to which they were exposed under the Regent Orleans and Louis XV. He accomplished no fewer than 250 evange lizing journeys through various parts of France, in the course of which he made himself universally popular, being possessed of a powerful though rugged eloquence. He was the author of a collection of C antiques Spirituels, which has been frequently reprinted, and of five volumes of ser mons, printed at Avignon in 1825. In the neighbourhood of this town he died in 1767.
BRIDGENORTH, a parliamentary and municipal borough and market town of England, in the county of Shropshire, on both sides of the Severn, 18 miles S.E. by E. of Shrews bury. The river, which is here crossed by a handsome stone bridge of six arches, separates the upper from the lower town. The former is built on the acclivities and summit of a rock which rises abruptly from the river to the height of 180 feet, and gives the town a very picturesque appearance. The railway passes under by a long tunnel. On the summit is the tower of the old castle, leaning about 17 degrees from the perpendicular ; two parish churches, one of which, St Leonard s, was rebuilt in 1862 ; and a large public reservoir. There are in the town a mechanics institute, a public library founded by the Rev. Mr Stackhouse, an infirmary, a jail, a theatre (1824), a market hall (1855), and a considerable number of schools and charities. It has manufactures of carpets, worsted, and tobacco-pipes, and some trade in agricultural produce. It returns one member to parliament. The population of the parlia mentary borough amounted in 1871 to 7317 ; that of the municipal borough to 5876.
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Arms of Bridgenorth.
Bridgenorth, or Brigge, is said to have been founded by Ethelileda, the daughter of Alfred, and it was fortified with a castle and walls by Eobert de Belesme, earl of Shrewsbury. On the earl s rebellion the town was besieged and taken by Henry I. in 1102 ; and in the reign of Henry II. the castle was dismantled. In 1646 the town, being held by a Royal garrison, sustained a remarkable siege by the Parliamentary forces, who at last obtained possession.
BRIDGEPORT, a seaport town in the county of Fairfield, Connecticut, United States, is situated on an arm of Long Island Sound, 58 miles N.E. of New York, in 41° 10′ N. lat. and 73° 11′ W. long. It has several iron-foundries and manufactures fire-arms, metallic cartridges, sewing-machines, carriages, harness, locks, blinds, &c. The coasting trade and the fisheries are both extensive. The bar at the mouth of the harbour, which is formed by the Pequonnock Creek, has 13 feet at high water. Bridgeport is the centre of an extensive system of railways, and steamboats ply between it and New York. The township was separated from Stratford in 1821, and the city, formerly called Newfield, was incorporated in 1836. Population in 1870, 19,835.
BRIDGES
§ 1.
Definitions and General Considerations.—Bridges are
structures designed to carry roads across streams,
gullies, or roads. A viaduct may be distinguished from a
bridge, inasmuch as the object of the former is to carry a
road at a considerable elevation above the surrounding
country, by means of structures, similar indeed to bridges,
but in which the object of the open spans is to save expense
rather than to cross some obstacle which could not be passed
by a level road or embankment. The aqueduct is a structure
similar to the viaduct, but employed to convey or support
water. A culvert may be distinguished from a bridge as
an opening, the primary object of which is to let water
flow past a road or other obstacle, the object being similar to
that of a large drain. A large culvert might be called a
small bridge, and a bridge having long approaches with
many spans might be called a viaduct. The present article
will treat only of Bridges.
Every bridge may be divided into two parts, the sub structure and the superstructure. The substructure of a bridge consists of foundations, abutments, and piers. The end supports of the bridge are the abutments, and the intermediate supports are called piers. Piers and abut ments rest on foundations in the ground. A bridge of one span has no piers. The superstructure of a bridge consists of the roadway and the beam, arch, or chain used to carry the roadway from support to support.
The dimensions and design of a bridge depend on the nature of the obstacle to be crossed and on the traffic to which the road over the bridge is subject. The engineer is usually bound to design the cheapest structure which will perform the required duties; he has, therefore, in each case to consider whether a small number of large spans or a large number of small spans will be cheaper. Large spans will be desirable where foundations cannot be easily obtained, or where the height of the structure is great. The engineer has also to determine whether, considering the prices of materials, labour, and transport, one or other form of super structure is to be preferred. The traffic to be accommodated will determine the width of the bridge and the load which the superstructure must bear. In many cases it will also be the duty of the designer to endeavour to combine beauty with utility. Beauty does not require ornament or expense, but demands, what may be more difficult to supply, correct taste in the designer.
dimensions for the over and under bridges of railways. (An over bridge is one in which the road goes over the railway; an under bridge one in which the road goes under the railway.) Over bridges. Width : turnpike road, 35 feet; other public carriage road, 25 feet; private road, 12 feet. Span over two lines (narrow gauge), generally about 26 feet; head room, 14 feet 6 inches above outer rail. Under bridges. Spans: turnpike road, 35 feet; other public carriage road, 25 feet; private road, 12 feet. Head room : turnpike road, 12 feet at springing of arch, and 16
feet throughout a breadth of 12 feet in the middle; for