B R E
B R E
Bread, in chcmiftry.— The chemifts art can extract from To | mild a fubjeft as bread, an acid, which is a powerful men- I ttruum. It is done in this manner : Put two pounds of coarfe bread, cut into (mall pieces, into a gjafs retort; place this in ; afand-heat, and, luting on a receiver, difttlwith a gentle tire, and there will be produced a liquor appearing like water, with
- a fmall quantity of oil ; fepwate the oil, and filtre and rectify the liquor by a fecond dift illation in balneo marine, and attcr- wards diftil tt again in a fand-heat, and there will be produced a moderately ftrong, clear, acid liquor. This is a meiiftnium tapable of extracting the red colour from coral, and even from garnets. Common bread affords it, but coarfe ryc-inw/ yields thegreateft quantity; Shaw's Lectures, p. 104. Oil of vitriol, poured upon crumbs of bread, will excite a tar- prifing degree of heat. Boyle's Works, Abr. Vol. 1 . p. 569.
Bre &d for Horfes. See Ho R.sf.-bread.
Bonpouruickel Bread, the name of a very coarfe bread eaten in Weftphaiia, and many other places.
This bread of the Weftphalians ftill retains the opprobrious name om-e given it by a French traveller, of bonpoumickel, good for his horfe Nickel; but is by no means a contemptible kind.
It is far from being peculiar to this age or country ; it has been known in diftam places, and in different ages, and was called by the antients panis furfuraceus, or pants impurus, from its not being fo thoroughly cleanfed from the hufk or bran, as the fine forts of brad are. Athenxus calls it fyncomijlon, prepared of uiifrfted meal ; and coliphium, or ftrength of the joints, becaufe of its great lfrersgrnening quality; and it has been called by CaeKus Rhodiginus panis gregarius, and by Terence, panis
It has ever been highly cfteemed for nourifhing the body, and rendering it robuft and ftrong, and was called by the Greeks tolytropbcros, as conveying much nouriihment ; they, in dis- tinction, called the fine bread, oligctropberos, fignifying its carrying but a final 1 fhare of nourifhment. The wreftlers of old cat only this fort of bread, to prefervethem in their flrength of limbs" j and we may learn from Pliny, that the Romans,
■ for three hundred years, knew no other bread: unquestion- ably, this coarfe bread nourifhes more, afTuages hunger bet- ter, and generates humours lefs fubject to corruption, than the white.
The inhabitants of Weftphaiia, who are a hardy and robuft people, and capable of enduring the greateft fatigues, are a living teftimony of the falutary effects of this fort of bread ; and 'tis remarkable, that they, are very feldom attacked by acute fevers, and thofe other difeafes which arife from an ebul- lition of the humours, and a malignant colliquation of the
. blood, and of the humours of which it is compofed : it feems extremely probable, that the mafterly turn of genius, and evennefs of temper, and that happy judgment in tranfaet- ing bufinefs, for which the Weftphalians are peculiarly re- markable, are circumftances as much to be afcribed to their manner of living, as to their education. They are all quali fled for induftry, to which they are habituated from their in- fancy ; and their method of living enables them to continue it. It cannot be objected, that this grofs food of the Weftphalians generates grofs fpirits ; fince the labour or exercife to which the fpirit it gives prompts thofe who eat it, fuffkiently divides its vifcid particles.
It is certain, that a lefs ftrong diet is more proper to weakly conftitutions, and people of fedentary lives, than this ; but for thofe who will ufe the neceffary exercife with it, it is eafy to fee that it is preferable to all other kinds of bread ; fince it re- markably reftores ftrength, and has another falutary effect, which is, that it renders the belly foluble : this was a qua- lity remarked in coarfe bread, and highly commended in it, io early as in the days of Hippocrates.
The Germans make two forts of waters by diftillation from this bread ; the one with, the other without the addition of a fpirituous liquor: to both which great virtues are afcribed. That without any thing fpirituous, is made of the juice of craw-fim, may-dew, rofe-watcr, nutmegs and fiiffron, diftiiled from a large quantity of this bread. This is eftcemed a great refiorative, and given in hectic habits. The other is diftiiled from this bread and Rhenifh wine, with nutmegs and cinna- . mon. This is given in all the diforders of the ftomach, vo- miting, and lofs of appetite, and other complaints of the fame kind ; and befides thefe, there is a fpirit diftiiled from it by the retort, in the dry way, which, when feparated from its fetid oil, is eftcemed a powerful fudorific, and very valuable medi - cine, in removing impurities of the blood. Hoffm. Obfervat. Chem.
Caffada or India?! Bread. Sec Yucca.
BREAK. See Breach, and Breaking.
A break, in Norfolk, denotes land ploughed or broke up the firft year, after it has lain fallow in the fheep-walks. Kenn. Glofi. ad Paroch. Antiq. in voc. Briga.
Break, in architecture, denotes a recefs, or giving back of a part behind its ordinary range or prefecture. In which fenfe, they fay, a break of a pediment a . A break of entablatures, whereby it fhrinks, as it were, between the co- lumns, is reputed a fault b . — [ * Oakl. Magaz. Archit. p. 69.
b Id. ibid. p. 63.] See the articles PEDIMENT, and ENTA- BLATURE, Cycl.
B r 1 a K-Z.v, among carpenters, is when they cut a hole in brick- walls with their ripping-chiflel-. bieve, Build. Diet, in voc.
\k \- AK-ncck, Bri/e-coit, in building, a fault in a ftair-cafe, as when a ftep is made higher or lower than the re!t, and landing- place too narrow, or the like. Davil. Explic. Term. Archit. p. 4 >6 BREAKING, (C cl ) in agriculture, denotes the ploughing up of grounds, cfpecia-lly fuch as have lain fome time fallow. Vid. Cah. Lex. J ur. p, 629. voc. Novalem. Du Cange, Gloff. Lat. T. ?.. p. 548. It. T. 4. p. 6-,o. voc. Rvmpere. Breaking ground, in the military art, is the firft operation of a fiegc ; it is ufually done in the night-time, by the advantage of fome rinng ground, hollow way, or other matter, which may cover the men from the fire of the enemy.
Breaking the angles of a battalion, denotes a military evolution, whereby the four angles turn, and make fo many fronts to- wards the enemy ; fo that the battalion, which before was only a fquare, becomes an oCtangle, and can lire on all fides. Fafcb. Ing. Lex. p. i2t.
This is otherwife called blunting the angles of a battalion ; by the French, emouffer les angles d'un bataillon. Breaking ofn:eajure, in fencing, denotes a moderate retiring, or giving of ground, in order to avoid the adverfary's thruit. Breaking of meafure differs much from going back, and lofing or yielding of ground ; the latter being reputed a great re- proach, the former a mark of judgment and adroitnefs. Some pretend, that a man retiring is obliged to forbear, if his adver- sary call him to third.
Breaking of ibe feet. Breaking of a wave, or the like, on a rock, a bank, or the like.
The waves which break in fuch a bay, are a fuffic'ient indica- tion to the pilots, that it is not fafe mooring there. Jubin, Diet. Mar. p 127. voc. Brifer.
Divers machines and ftructures have been contrived for break- ing the force of the wind, the ftream of water, and the like.
Breaking is alfo ufed for the taming of animals, or reducing them from a wild to a tractable fiate.
In this fenfe, we fay, to break an elephant a ; the centaurs in Theflalia firft invented the art of breaking horfes b .— [ a Vid. Phil. Tranf. N° 326. p. 67. b Hilt. Acad. Infer. T. 2. p. 27.
Breaking a horfe to ibe fuddle. See the articles Horse, Back- ing, and Travice.
To break a horfe for hunting, is to fupple him, and make him acquire the difpofition and habit of running. *-Tis a terrible fati<nie to run horfes at full fpeed before they are broken. Guill. Gent. Diet. P. 1. in voc.
Breaking herd, among fportfmen, denotes a deer's quitting the herd, and running by itfelf.
In which fenfe, the word ftands oppofed to herding. A deer, when clofe purfued, is loth to break herd \ When a hart breaks herd, and draws to the thickets or coverts, he is faid to harbour or take hold. — [ a Cox, Gent. Recr. P. 1 . p. 72. b Id. ibid. p. 13. j
Breaking up a deer, fignifies the opening or cutting it up.
Breaking ofprifon. See Prison.
Breaking the hgs, Crurifragium, was an appendage of cruci- fixion, ufed no where but among, the Jews. Pitifc. Lex. Ant. T. 1. p. 598. voc. Crurifragium. See the article Cross, Cycl
Br eaking bulk, In the fea language, fignifies taking part of the fhip's loading or cargo out of the hold. Diet. Rult. T. 1. in voc.
Br f aking of hemp. See the article Brake.
Breaking of bread, xt^d-i? «,-tp, is fometimes ufed, in ecclefiaf- tical writers, for celebrating the eucharift. Vid. Bingh. Orig. Ecclef 1. 'S- c. 3. §. 34'. Du Cange, Gloff. Lat. 1 . 4. p. 122. voc. Pants. See the article Eucharist, Cycl.
Breaking of wine, among vintners. — Wine is faid to break, when being left fome time in the air, in an open glafs, it changes colour; an indication that it will not keep. Savar. DicTComm. T. 2. p. 1414. voc Ron/pre. Trev. Diet. Univ. T. d. p. 1376.
This is the ufual method of trying the goodnefs of wine, among the merchants and vintners of Paris.
Breaking is alfo ufed in trade, for a perfon's failing or flopping payment.
In'which fenfe, breaking differs from becoming bankrupt. Sa- var. Diet. Comm. T. 1. p. 263. voc. Banaueroute. Seethe article Bankrupt, Cycl. and Suppl.
Breaking by times, while there is fomething left to pay withal, is a mark of ingenuity; and, generally, both entitles the un- happy perfon to companion and gentler ufage from, his credi- tors faves his credit of anhoneftman, and facilitates his re- trieving. A late fenfible writer on trade takes great pains to inculcate this precept, Break early. Vid. Compl. Engl. Trad. T. 1. p. 77- It. p. 80, 96,* 102, 174-
BREAM, in ichthyology, the Englifh name of the Cyprimts la~ tus, or broad cyprinus. Seethe article Cyprinus. This is but a coarfe fifh for the table, but it affords great fport to the angler. The method of taking it is this : Procure about a quart of large worms, put them into fome frefh mofs, well
wafhed
