[v.04 p.0498]

BRÉQUIGNY, LOUIS GEORGE OUDARD FEUDRIX DE (continued from
part 2)

… volumes x.-xiv., the preface to vol. xi. containing important
researches into the French communes. To the Table chronologique des
diplômes, chartes, lettres, et actes imprimés concernant l’histoire de
France he contributed three volumes in collaboration with Mouchet
(1769-1783). Charged with the supervision of a large collection of
documents bearing on French history, analogous to Rymer’s Foedera,
he published the first volume (Diplomatat. Chartae, &c.,
1791). The Revolution interrupted him in his collection of Mémoires
concernant l’histoire, les sciences, les lettres, et les arts des
Chinois, begun in 1776 at the instance of the minister Bertin, when
fifteen volumes had appeared.

See the note on Bréquigny at the end of vol. i. of the Mémoires de
l’Académie des Inscriptions (1808); the Introduction to vol. iv. of
the Table chronologique des diplômes (1836); Champollion-Figeac’s
preface to the Lettres des rois et reines; the Comité des
travaux historiques, by X. Charmes, vol. i. passim; N. Oursel,
Nouvelle biographie normande (1886); and the Catalogue des
manuscrits des collections Duchesne et Bréquigny (in the Bibliothèque
Nationale), by René Poupardin (1905).

(C. B.*)

BRESCIA (anc. Brixia), a city and episcopal see of
Lombardy, Italy, the capital of the province of Brescia, finely situated
at the foot of the Alps, 52 m. E. of Milan and 40 m. W. of Verona by
rail. Pop. (1901) town, 42,495; commune, 72,731. The plan of the city is
rectangular, and the streets intersect at right angles, a peculiarity
handed down from Roman times, though the area enclosed by the medieval
walls is larger than that of the Roman town, which occupied the eastern
portion of the present one. The Piazza del Museo marks the site of the
forum, and the museum on its north side is ensconced in a Corinthian
temple with three cellae, by some attributed to Hercules, but more
probably the Capitolium of the city, erected by Vespasian in A.D. 73 (if the inscription really belongs to the
building; cf. Th. Mommsen in Corp. Inscrip. Lat. v. No. 4312,
Berlin, 1872), and excavated in 1823. It contains a famous bronze statue
of Victory, found in 1826. Scanty remains of a building on the south side
of the forum, called the curia, but which may be a basilica, and
of the theatre, on the east of the temple, still exist.

Brescia contains many interesting medieval buildings. The castle, at
the north-east angle of the town, commands a fine view. It is now a
military prison. The old cathedral is a round domed structure of the 10th
(?) century erected over an early Christian basilica, which has forty-two
ancient columns; and the Broletto, adjoining the new cathedral (a
building of 1604) on the north, is a massive building of the 12th and
13th centuries (the original town hall, now the prefecture and law
courts), with a lofty tower. There are also remains of the convent of S.
Salvatore, founded by Desiderius, king of Lombardy, including three
churches, two of which now contain the fine medieval museum, which
possesses good ivories. The church of S. Francesco has a Gothic façade
and cloisters. There are also some good Renaissance palaces and other
buildings, including the Municipio, begun in 1492 and completed by Jacopo
Sansovino in 1554-1574. This is a magnificent structure, with fine
ornamentation. The church of S. Maria dei Miracoli (1488-1523) is also
noteworthy for its general effect and for the richness of its details,
especially of the reliefs on the façade. Many other churches, and the
picture gallery (Galleria Martinengo), contain fine works of the painters
of the Brescian school, Alessandro Bonvicino (generally known as
Moretto), Girolamo Romanino and Moretto’s pupil, Giovanni Battista
Moroni. The Biblioteca Queriniana contains early MSS., a 14th-century MS.
of Dante, &c., and some rare incunabula. The city is well supplied
with water, and has no less than seventy-two public fountains. Brescia
has considerable factories of iron ware, particularly fire-arms and
weapons (one of the government small arms factories being situated here),
also of woollens, linens and silks, matches, candles, &c. The stone
quarries of Mazzano, 8 m. east of Brescia, supplied material for the
monument to Victor Emmanuel II. and other buildings in Rome. Brescia is
situated on the main railway line between Milan and Verona, and has
branch railways to Iseo, Parma, Cremona and (via Rovato) to Bergamo, and
steam tramways to Mantua, Soncino, Ponte Toscolano and Cardone
Valtrompia.

The ancient Celtic Brixia, a town of the Cenomani, became Roman in 225
B.C., when the Cenomani submitted to Rome.
Augustus founded a civil (not a military) colony here in 27 B.C., and he and Tiberius constructed an aqueduct to
supply it. In 452 it was plundered by Attila, but was the seat of a duchy
in the Lombard period. From 1167 it was one of the most active members of
the Lombard League. In 1258 it fell into the hands of Eccelino of Verona,
and belonged to the Scaligers (della Scala) until 1421, when it came
under the Visconti of Milan, and in 1426 under Venice. Early in the 16th
century it was one of the wealthiest cities of Lombardy, but has never
recovered from its sack by the French under Gaston de Foix in 1512. It
belonged to Venice until 1797, when it came under Austrian dominion; it
revolted in 1848, and again in 1849, being the only Lombard town to rally
to Charles Albert in the latter year, but was taken after ten days’
obstinate street fighting by the Austrians under Haynau.

See Museo Bresciano Illustrato (Brescia, 1838).

(T. As.)

BRESLAU (Polish Wraclaw), a city of Germany, capital of
the Prussian province of Silesia, and an episcopal see, situated in a
wide and fertile plain on both banks of the navigable Oder, 350 m. from
its mouth, at the influx of the Ohle, and 202 m. from Berlin on the
railway to Vienna. Pop. (1867) 171,926; (1880) 272,912; (1885) 299,640;
(1890) 335,186; (1905) 470,751, about 60% being Protestants, 35% Roman
Catholics and nearly 5% Jews. The Oder, which here breaks into several
arms, divides the city into two unequal halves, crossed by numerous
bridges. The larger portion, on the left bank, includes the old or inner
town, surrounded by beautiful promenades, on the site of the ramparts,
dismantled after 1813, from an eminence within which, the Liebichs Höhe,
a fine view is obtained of the surrounding country. Outside, as well as
across the Oder, lies the new town with extensive suburbs, containing,
especially in the Schweidnitz quarter in the south, and the Oder quarter
in the north, many handsome streets and spacious squares. The inner town,
in contrast to the suburbs, still retains with its narrow streets much of
its ancient characters, and contains several medieval buildings, both
religious and secular, of great beauty and interest. The cathedral,
dedicated to St John the Baptist, was begun in 1148 and completed at the
close of the 15th century, enlarged in the 17th and 18th centuries, and
restored between 1873 and 1875; it is rich in notable treasures,
especially the high altar of beaten silver, and in beautiful paintings
and sculptures. The Kreuzkirche (church of the Holy Cross), dating from
the 13th and 14th centuries, is an interesting brick building, remarkable
for its stained glass and its historical monuments, among which is the
tomb of Henry IV., duke of Silesia. The Sandkirche, so called from its
dedication to Our Lady on the Sand, dates from the 14th century, and was
until 1810 the church of the Augustinian canons. The Dorotheenor
Minoritenkirche, remarkable for its high-pitched roof, was founded by the
emperor Charles IV. in 1351. These are the most notable of the Roman
Catholic churches. Of the Evangelical churches the most important is that
of St Elizabeth, founded about 1250, rebuilt in the 14th and 15th
centuries, and restored in 1857. Its lofty tower contains the largest
bell in Silesia, and the church possesses a celebrated organ, fine
stained glass, a magnificent stone pyx (erected in 1455) over 52 ft.
high, and portraits of Luther and Melanchthon by Lucas Cranach. The
church of St Mary Magdalen, built in the 14th century on the model of the
cathedral, has two lofty Gothic towers connected by a bridge, and is
interesting as having been the church in which, in 1523, the reformation
in Silesia was first proclaimed. Other noteworthy ecclesiastical
buildings are the graceful Gothic church of St Michael built in 1871, the
bishop’s palace and the Jewish synagogue, the finest in Germany after
that in Berlin.

The business streets of the city converge upon the Ring, the market
square, in which is the town-hall, a fine Gothic building, begun in the
middle of the 14th and completed in the 16th century. Within is the
Fürstensaal, in which the diets of Silesia were formerly held, while
beneath is the famous Schweidnitzer Keller, used continuously since 1355
as a beer and wine house. [v.04 p.0499]The university, a spacious Gothic
building facing the Oder, is a striking edifice. It was built (1728-1736)
as a college by the Jesuits, on the site of the former imperial castle
presented to them by the emperor Leopold I., and contains a magnificent
hall (Aula Leopoldina), richly ornamented with frescoes and capable of
holding 1200 persons. Breslau possesses a large number of other important
public buildings: the Stadthaus (civic hall), the royal palace, the
government offices (a handsome pile erected in 1887), the provincial
House of Assembly, the municipal archives, the courts of law, the
Silesian museum of arts and crafts and antiquities, stored in the former
assembly hall of the estates (Ständehaus), which was rebuilt for the
purpose, the museum of fine arts, the exchange, the Stadt and Lobe
theatres, the post office and central railway station. There are also
numerous hospitals and schools. Breslau is exceedingly rich in fine
monuments; the most noteworthy being the equestrian statues of Frederick
the Great and Frederick William III., both by Kiss; the statue of Blücher
by Rauch; a marble statue of General Tauentzien by Langhans and Schadow;
a bronze statue of Karl Gottlieb Svarez (1746-1798), the Prussian jurist,
a monument to Schleiermacher, born here in 1768, and statues of the
emperor William I., Bismarck and Moltke. There are also several handsome
fountains. Foremost among the educational establishments stands the
university, founded in 1702 by the emperor Leopold I. as a Jesuit
college, and greatly extended by the incorporation of the university of
Frankfort-on-Oder in 1811. Its library contains 306,000 volumes and 4000
MSS., and has in the so-called Bibliotheca Habichtiana a valuable
collection of oriental literature. Among its auxiliary establishments are
botanical gardens, an observatory, and anatomical, physiological and
kindred institutions. There are eight classical and four modern schools,
two higher girls’ schools, a Roman Catholic normal school, a Jewish
theological seminary, a school of arts and crafts, and numerous literary
and charitable foundations. It is, however, as a commercial and
industrial city that Breslau is most widely known. Its situation, close
to the extensive coal and iron fields of Upper Silesia, in proximity to
the Austrian and Russian frontiers, at the centre of a network of
railways directly communicating both with these countries and with the
chief towns of northern and central Germany, and on a deep waterway
connecting with the Elbe and the Vistula, facilitates its very
considerable transit and export trade in the products of the province and
of the neighbouring countries. These embrace coal, sugar, cereals,
spirits, petroleum and timber. The local industries comprise machinery
and tools, railway and tramway carriages, furniture, cast-iron goods,
gold and silver work, carpets, furs, cloth and cottons, paper, musical
instruments, glass and china. Breslau is the headquarters of the VI.
German army corps and contains a large garrison of troops of all
arms.

History.—Breslau (Lat. Vratislavia) is first
mentioned by the chronicler Thietmar, bishop of Merseburg, in A.D. 1000, and was probably founded some years before
this date. Early in the 11th century it was made the seat of a bishop,
and after having formed part of Poland, became the capital of an
independent duchy in 1163. Destroyed by the Mongols in 1241, it soon
recovered its former prosperity and received a large influx of German
colonists. The bishop obtained the title of a prince of the Empire in
1290.^[1] When
Henry VI., the last duke of Breslau, died in 1335, the city came by
purchase to John, king of Bohemia, whose successors retained it until
about 1460. The Bohemian kings bestowed various privileges on Breslau,
which soon began to extend its commerce in all directions, while owing to
increasing wealth the citizens took up a more independent attitude.
Disliking the Hussites, Breslau placed itself under the protection of
Pope Pius II. in 1463, and a few years afterwards came under the rule of
the Hungarian king, Matthias Corvinus. After his death in 1490 it again
became subject to Bohemia, passing with the rest of Silesia to the
Habsburgs when in 1526 Ferdinand, afterwards emperor, was chosen king of
Bohemia. Having passed almost undisturbed through the periods of the
Reformation and the Thirty Years’ War, Breslau was compelled to own the
authority of Frederick the Great in 1741. It was, however, recovered by the
Austrians in 1757, but was regained by Frederick after his victory at
Leuthen in the same year, and has since belonged to Prussia, although it
was held for a few days by the French in 1807 after the battle of Jena,
and again in 1813 after the battle of Bautzen. The sites of the
fortifications, dismantled by the French in 1807, were given to the civic
authorities by King Frederick William III., and converted into
promenades. In March 1813 this monarch issued from Breslau his stirring
appeals to the Prussians, An mein Volk and An mein
Kriegesheer, and the city was the centre of the Prussian preparations
for the campaign which ended at Leipzig. After the Prussian victory at
Sadowa in 1866, William I. made a triumphant and complimentary entry into
the city, which since the days of Frederick the Great has been only less
loyal to the royal house than Berlin itself.

See Bürkner and Stein, Geschichte der Stadt Breslau (Bresl.
1851-1853); J-Stein, Geschichte der Stadt Breslau im 19ten
Jahrhundert (1884); O Frenzel, Breslauer Stadtbuch (“Codex
dipl. Silisiae,” vol. ii. 1882); Luchs, Breslau, ein Führer durch die
Stadt (12th ed., Bresl. 1904).

BRESSANT, JEAN BAPTISTE PROSPER (1815-1886), French actor, was
born at Chalon-sur-Saône on the 23rd of October 1815, and began his stage
career at the Variétés in Paris in 1833. In 1838 he went to the French
theatre at St Petersburg, where for eight years he played important parts
with ever-increasing reputation. His success was confirmed at the Gymnase
when he returned to Paris in 1846, and he made his début at the
Comédie Française as a full-fledged sociétaire in 1854. From
playing the ardent young lover, he turned to leading rôles both in modern
plays and in the classical répertoire. His Richelieu in Mlle de
Belle-Isle, his Octave in Alfred de Musset’s Les Caprices de
Marianne, and his appearance in de Musset’s Il faut qu’une porte
soit ouverte ou fermée and Un caprice were followed by
Tartuffe, Le Misanthrope and Don Juan. Bressant
retired in 1875, and died on the 23rd of January 1886. During his
professorship at the Conservatoire, Mounet-Sully was one of his
pupils.

BRESSE, a district of eastern France embracing portions of the
departments of Ain, Saône-et-Loire and Jura. The Bresse extends from the
Dombes on the south to the river Doubs on the north, and from the Saône
eastwards to the Jura, measuring some 60 m. in the former, and 20 m. in
the latter direction. It is a plain varying from 600 to 800 ft. above the
sea, with few eminences and a slight inclination westwards. Heaths and
coppice alternate with pastures and arable land; pools and marshes are
numerous, especially in the north. Its chief rivers are the Veyle, the
Reyssouze and the Seille, all tributaries of the Saône. The soil is a
gravelly clay but moderately fertile, and cattle-raising is largely
carried on. The region is, however, more especially celebrated for its
table poultry. The inhabitants preserve a distinctive but almost obsolete
costume, with a curious head-dress. The Bresse proper, called the
Bresse Bressane, comprises the northern portion of the department
of Ain. The greater part of the district belonged in the middle ages to
the lords of Bâgé, from whom it passed in 1272 to the house of Savoy. It
was not till the first half of the 15th century that the province, with
Bourg as its capital, was founded as such. In 1601 it was ceded to France
by the treaty of Lyons, after which it formed (together with the province
of Bugey) first a separate government and afterwards part of the
government of Burgundy.

BRESSUIRE, a town of western France, capital of an
arrondissement in the department of Deux-Sèvres, 48 m. N. of Niort by
rail. Pop. (1906) 4561. The town is situated on an eminence overlooking
the Dolo, a tributary of the Argenton. It is the centre of a
cattle-rearing and agricultural region, and has important markets; the
manufacture of wooden type and woollen goods is carried on. Bressuire has
two buildings of interest: the church of Notre-Dame, which, dating
chiefly from the 12th and 15th centuries, has an imposing tower of the
Renaissance period; and the castle, built by the lords of [v.04
p.0500]Beaumont, vassals of the viscount of Thouars. The latter is
now in ruins, and a portion of the site is occupied by a modern château,
but an inner and outer line of fortifications are still to be seen. The
whole forms the finest assemblage of feudal ruins in Poitou. Bressuire is
the seat of a sub-prefect and has a tribunal of first instance. Among the
disasters suffered at various times by the town, its capture from the
English and subsequent pillage by French troops under du Guesclin in 1370
is the most memorable.

BREST, a fortified seaport of western France, capital of an
arrondissement in the department of Finistère, 155 m. W.N.W. of Rennes by
rail. Population (1906) town, 71,163; commune, 85,294. It is situated to
the north of a magnificent landlocked bay, and occupies the slopes of two
hills divided by the river Penfeld,—the part of the town on the
left bank being regarded as Brest proper, while the part on the right is
known as Recouvrance. There are also extensive suburbs to the east of the
town. The hill-sides are in some places so steep that the ascent from the
lower to the upper town has to be effected by flights of steps and the
second or third storey of one house is often on a level with the ground
storey of the next. The chief street of Brest bears the name of rue de
Siam, in honour of the Siamese embassy sent to Louis XIV., and terminates
at the remarkable swing-bridge, constructed in 1861, which crosses the
mouth of the Penfeld. Running along the shore to the south of the town is
the Cours d’Ajot, one of the finest promenades of its kind in France,
named after the engineer who constructed it. It is planted with trees and
adorned with marble statues of Neptune and Abundance by Antoine Coysevox.
The castle with its donjon and seven towers (12th to the 16th centuries),
commanding the entrance to the river, is the only interesting building in
the town. Brest is the capital of one of the five naval arrondissements
of France. The naval port, which is in great part excavated in the rock,
extends along both banks of the Penfeld; it comprises gun-foundries and
workshops, magazines, shipbuilding yards and repairing docks, and employs
about 7000 workmen. There are also large naval barracks, training ships
and naval schools of various kinds, and an important naval hospital.
Brest is the seat of a sub-prefect and has tribunals of first instance
and of commerce, a chamber of commerce, a board of trade-arbitrators, two
naval tribunals, and a tribunal of maritime commerce. There are also
lycées for boys and girls and a school of commerce and industry. The
commercial port, which is separated from the town itself by the Cours
d’Ajot, comprises a tidal port with docks and an outer harbour; it is
protected by jetties to the east and west and by a breakwater on the
south. In 1905 the number of vessels entered was 202 with a tonnage of
67,755, and cleared 160 with a tonnage of 61,012. The total value of the
imports in 1905 was £244,000. The chief were wine, coal, timber, mineral
tar, fertilizers and lobsters and crayfish. Exports, of which the chief
were wheat-flour, fruit and superphosphates, were valued at £40,000.
Besides its sardine and mackerel fishing industry, the town has
flour-mills, breweries, foundries, forges, engineering works, and
manufactures of blocks, candles, chemicals (from sea-weed), boots, shoes
and linen. Brest communicates by submarine cable with America and French
West Africa. The roadstead consists of a deep indentation with a maximum
length of 14 m. and an average width of 4 m., the mouth being barred by
the peninsula of Quélern, leaving a passage from 1 to 2 m. broad, known
as the Goulet. The outline of the bay is broken by numerous smaller bays
or arms, formed by the embouchures of streams, the most important being
the Anse de Quélern, the Anse de Poulmie, and the mouths of the
Châteaulin and the Landerneau. Brest is a fortress of the first class.
The fortifications of the town and the harbour fall into four groups: (1)
the very numerous forts and batteries guarding the approaches to and the
channel of the Goulet; (2) the batteries and forts directed upon the
roads; (3) a group of works preventing access to the peninsula of Quélern
and commanding the ground to the south of the peninsula from which many
of the works of group (2) could be taken in reverse; (4) the defences of
Brest itself, consisting of an old-fashioned enceinte possessing
little military value and a chain of detached forts to the west of the
town.

Nothing definite is known of Brest till about 1240, when it was ceded
by a count of Léon to John I., duke of Brittany. In 1342 John of Montfort
gave it up to the English, and it did not finally leave their hands till
1397. Its medieval importance was great enough to give rise to the
saying, “He is not duke of Brittany who is not lord of Brest.” By the
marriage of Francis I. with Claude, daughter of Anne of Brittany, Brest
with the rest of the duchy definitely passed to the French crown. The
advantages of the situation for a seaport town were first recognized by
Richelieu, who in 1631 constructed a harbour with wooden wharves, which
soon became a station of the French navy. Colbert changed the wooden
wharves for masonry and otherwise improved the post, and Vauban’s
fortifications followed in 1680-1688. During the 18th century the
fortifications and the naval importance of the town continued to develop.
In 1694 an English squadron under John, 3rd Lord Berkeley, was miserably
defeated in attempting a landing; but in 1794, during the revolutionary
war, the French fleet, under Villaret de Joyeuse, was as thoroughly
beaten in the same place by the English admiral Howe.

BREST-LITOVSK (Polish Brzesc-Litevski; and in the Chron.
Berestie and Berestov), a strongly fortified town of
Russia, in the government of Grodno, 137 m. by rail S. from the city of
Grodno, in 52° 5′ N. lat. and 23° 39′ E. long., at the
junction of the navigable river Mukhovets with the Bug, and at the
intersection of railways from Warsaw, Kiev, Moscow and East Prussia. Pop.
(1867) 22,493; (1901) 42,812, of whom more than one-half were Jews. It
contains a Jewish synagogue, which was regarded in the 16th century as
the first in Europe, and is the seat of an Armenian and of a Greek
Catholic bishop; the former has authority over the Armenians throughout
the whole country. The town carries on an extensive trade in grain, flax,
hemp, wood, tar and leather. First mentioned in the beginning of the 11th
century, Brest-Litovsk was in 1241 laid waste by the Mongols and was not
rebuilt till 1275; its suburbs were burned by the Teutonic Knights in
1379; and in the end of the 15th century the whole town met a similar
fate at the hands of the khan of the Crimea. In the reign of the Polish
king Sigismund III. diets were held there; and in 1594 and 1596 it was
the meeting-place of two remarkable councils of the bishops of western
Russia. In 1657, and again in 1706, the town was captured by the Swedes;
in 1794 it was the scene of Suvarov’s victory over the Polish general
Sierakowski; in 1795 it was added to the Russian empire. The
Brest-Litovsk or King’s canal (50 m. long), utilizing the Mukhovets-Bug
rivers, forms a link in the waterways that connect the Dnieper with the
Vistula.

BRETEUIL, LOUIS CHARLES AUGUSTE LE TONNELIER, Baron de (1730-1807), French diplomatist, was born at
the chateau of Azay-le-Féron (Indre) on the 7th of March 1730. He was
only twenty-eight when he was appointed by Louis XV. ambassador to the
elector of Cologne, and two years later he was sent to St Petersburg. He
arranged to be temporarily absent from his post at the time of the palace
revolution by which Catherine II. was placed on the throne. In 1769 he
was sent to Stockholm, and subsequently represented his government at
Vienna, Naples, and again at Vienna until 1783, when he was recalled to
become minister of the king’s household. In this capacity he introduced
considerable reforms in prison administration. A close friend of Marie
Antoinette, he presently came into collision with Calonne, who demanded
his dismissal in 1787. His influence with the king and queen, especially
with the latter, remained unshaken, and on Necker’s dismissal on the 11th
of July 1789, Breteuil succeeded him as chief minister. The fall of the
Bastille three days later put an end to the new ministry, and Breteuil
made his way to Switzerland with the first party of émigrés. At
Soleure, in November 1790, he received from Louis XVI. exclusive powers
to negotiate with the European courts, and in his efforts to check the
ill-advised diplomacy of the émigré princes, he soon brought
himself into opposition with his old rival Calonne, who held a chief
place in their councils. [v.04 p.0501]After the failure of the flight to
Varennes, in the arrangement of which he had a share, Breteuil received
instructions from Louis XVI., designed to restore amicable relations with
the princes. His distrust of the king’s brothers and his defence of Louis
XVI.’s prerogative were to some extent justified, but his intransigeant
attitude towards these princes emphasized the dissensions of the royal
family in the eyes of foreign sovereigns, who looked on the comte de
Provence as the natural representative of his brother and found a pretext
for non-interference on Louis’s behalf in the contradictory statements of
the negotiators. Breteuil himself was the object of violent attacks from
the party of the princes, who asserted that he persisted in exercising
powers which had been revoked by Louis XVI. After the execution of Marie
Antoinette he retired into private life near Hamburg, only returning to
France in 1802. He died in Paris on the 2nd of November 1807.

See the memoirs of Bertrand de Molleville (2 vols., Paris, 1816) and
of the marquis de Bouillé (2 vols., Paris, 1884); and E. Daudet,
Coblentz, 1789-1793 (1889), forming part of his Hist. de
l’émigration.

BRÉTIGNY, a French town (dept. Eure-et-Loir, arrondissement and
canton of Chartres, commune of Sours), which gave its name to a
celebrated treaty concluded there on the 8th of May 1360, between Edward
III. of England and John II., surnamed the Good, of France. The exactions
of the English, who wished to yield as few as possible of the advantages
claimed by them in the treaty of London, made negotiations difficult, and
the discussion of terms begun early in April lasted more than a month. By
virtue of this treaty Edward III. obtained, besides Guienne and Gascony,
Poitou, Saintonge and Aunis, Agenais, Périgord, Limousin, Quercy,
Bigorre, the countship of Gaure, Angoumois, Rouergue, Montreuil-sur-mer,
Ponthieu, Calais, Sangatte, Ham and the countship of Guines. John II.
had, moreover, to pay three millions of gold crowns for his ransom. On
his side the king of England gave up the duchies of Normandy and
Touraine, the countships of Anjou and Maine, and the suzerainty of
Brittany and of Flanders. As a guarantee for the payment of his ransom,
John the Good gave as hostages two of his sons, several princes and
nobles, four inhabitants of Paris, and two citizens from each of the
nineteen principal towns of France. This treaty was ratified and sworn to
by the two kings and by their eldest sons on the 24th of October 1360, at
Calais. At the same time were signed the special conditions relating to
each important article of the treaty, and the renunciatory clauses in
which the kings abandoned their rights over the territory they had
yielded to one another.

See Rymer’s Foedera, vol. iii; Dumont, Corps
diplomatique, vol. ii.; Froissart, ed. Luce, vol. vi.; Les Grandes
Chroniques de France, ed. P. Paris, vol. vi.; E. Cosneau, Les
Grands Traités de la guerre de cent ans (1889).

BRETON, JULES ADOLPHE AIMÉ LOUIS (1827- ), French painter, was
born on the 1st of May 1827, at Courrières, Pas de Calais, France. His
artistic gifts being manifest at an early age, he was sent in 1843 to
Ghent, to study under the historical painter de Vigne, and in 1846 to
Baron Wappers at Antwerp. Finally he worked in Paris under Drolling. His
first efforts were in historical subjects: “Saint Piat preaching in
Gaul”; then, under the influence of the revolution of 1848, he
represented “Misery and Despair.” But Breton soon discovered that he was
not born to be a historical painter, and he returned to the memories of
nature and of the country which were impressed on him in early youth. In
1853 he exhibited the “Return of the Harvesters” at the Paris Salon, and
the “Little Gleaner” at Brussels. Thenceforward he was essentially a
painter of rustic life, especially in the province of Artois, which he
quitted only three times for short excursions: in 1864 to Provence, and
in 1865 and 1873 to Brittany, whence he derived some of his happiest
studies of religious scenes. His numerous subjects may be divided
generally into four classes: labour, rest, rural festivals and religious
festivals. Among his more important works may be named “Women Gleaning,”
and “The Day after St Sebastian’s Day” (1855), which gained him a
third-class medal; “Blessing the Fields” (1857), a second-class medal;
“Erecting a Calvary” (1859), now in the Lille gallery; “The Return of the
Gleaners” (1859), now in the Luxembourg; “Evening” and “Women Weeding”
(1861), a first-class medal; “Grandfather’s Birthday” (1862); “The Close
of Day” (1865); “Harvest” (1867); “Potato Gatherers” (1868); “A Pardon,
Brittany” (1869); “The Fountain” (1872), medal of honour; “The Bonfires
of St John” (1875); “Women mending Nets” (1876), in the Douai museum; “A
Gleaner” (1877), Luxembourg; “Evening, Finistère” (1881); “The Song of
the Lark” (1884); “The Last Sunbeam” (1885); “The Shepherd’s Star”
(1888); “The Call Home” (1889); “The Last Gleanings” (1895); “Gathering
Poppies” (1897); “The Alarm Cry” (1899); “Twilight Glory” (1900). Breton
was elected to the Institut in 1886 on the death of Baudry. In 1889 he
was made commander of the Legion of Honour, and in 1899 foreign member of
the Royal Academy of London. He also wrote several books, among them
Les Champs et la mer (1876), Nos peintres du siècle (1900),
“Jeanne,” a poem, Delphine Bernard (1902), and La Peinture
(1904).

See Jules Breton, Vie d’un artiste, art et nature
(autobiographical), (Paris, 1890); Marius Vachon, Jules Breton
(1899).

BRETON, BRITTON or BRITTAINE, NICHOLAS (1545?-1626), English
poet, belonged to an old family settled at Layer-Breton, Essex. His
father, William Breton, who had made a considerable fortune by trade,
died in 1559, and the widow (née Elizabeth Bacon) married the poet George
Gascoigne before her sons had attained their majority. Nicholas Breton
was probably born at the “capitall mansion house” in Red Cross Street, in
the parish of St Giles without Cripplegate, mentioned in his father’s
will. There is no official record of his residence at the university, but
the diary of the Rev. Richard Madox tells us that he was at Antwerp in
1583 and was “once of Oriel College.” He married Ann Sutton in 1593, and
had a family. He is supposed to have died shortly after the publication
of his last work, Fantastickes (1626). Breton found a patron in
Mary, countess of Pembroke, and wrote much in her honour until 1601, when
she seems to have withdrawn her favour. It is probably safe to supplement
the meagre record of his life by accepting as autobiographical some of
the letters signed N.B. in A Poste with a Packet of Mad Letters
(1603, enlarged 1637); the 19th letter of the second part contains a
general complaint of many griefs, and proceeds as follows: “hath another
been wounded in the warres, fared hard, lain in a cold bed many a bitter
storme, and beene at many a hard banquet? all these have I; another
imprisoned? so have I; another long been sicke? so have I; another
plagued with an unquiet life? so have I; another indebted to his hearts
griefe, and fame would pay and cannot? so am I.” Breton was a facile
writer, popular with his contemporaries, and forgotten by the next
generation. His work consists of religious and pastoral poems, satires,
and a number of miscellaneous prose tracts. His religious poems are
sometimes wearisome by their excess of fluency and sweetness, but they
are evidently the expression of a devout and earnest mind. His praise of
the Virgin and his references to Mary Magdalene have suggested that he
was a Catholic, but his prose writings abundantly prove that he was an
ardent Protestant. Breton had little gift for satire, and his best work
is to be found in his pastoral poetry. His Passionate Shepheard
(1604) is full of sunshine and fresh air, and of unaffected gaiety. The
third pastoral in this book—”Who can live in heart so glad As the
merrie country lad”—is well known; with some other of Breton’s
daintiest poems, among them the lullaby, “Come little babe, come silly
soule,”^[1]—it is incorporated in A.H.
Bullen’s Lyrics from Elizabethan Romances (1890). His keen
observation of country life appears also in his prose idyll, Wits
Trenchmour, “a conference betwixt a scholler and an angler,” and in
his Fantastickes, a series of short prose pictures of the months,
the Christian festivals and the hours, which throw much light on the
customs of the times. Most of Breton’s books are very rare and have great
bibliographical value. His works, with the exception of some belonging to
private owners, were collected by Dr A.B. Grosart in the [v.04
p.0502]Chertsey Worthies Library in 1879, with an elaborate
introduction quoting the documents for the poet’s history.

Breton’s poetical works, the titles of which are here somewhat
abbreviated, include The Workes of a Young Wit (1577); A
Floorish upon Fancie (1577); The Pilgrimage to Paradise
(1592); The Countess of Penbrook’s Passion (MS.), first printed by
J.O. Halliwell Phillipps in 1853; Pasquil’s Fooles cappe, entered
at Stationers’ Hall in 1600; Pasquil’s Mistresse (1600);
Pasquil’s Passe and Passeth Not (1600); Melancholike
Humours (1600); Marie Magdalen’s Love: a Solemne Passion of the
Soules Love (1595), the first part of which, a prose treatise, is
probably by another hand; the second part, a poem in six-lined stanza, is
certainly by Breton; A Divine Poem, including “The Ravisht Soul”
and “The Blessed Weeper” (1601); An Excellent Poem, upon the Longing
of a Blessed Heart (1601); The Soules Heavenly Exercise
(1601); The Soules Harmony (1602); Olde Madcappe newe Gaily
mawfrey (1602); The Mother’s Blessing (1602); A True
Description of Unthankfulnesse (1602); The Passionate
Shepheard (1604); The Soules Immortall Crowne (1605); The
Honour of Valour (1605); An Invective against Treason; I would and
I would not (1614); Bryton’s Bowre of Delights (1591), edited
by Dr Grosart in 1893, an unauthorized publication which contained some
poems disclaimed by Breton; The Arbor of Amorous Devises (entered
at Stationers’ Hall, 1594), only in part Breton’s; and contributions to
England’s Helicon and other miscellanies of verse. Of his
twenty-two prose tracts may be mentioned Wit’s Trenchmour (1597),
The Wil of Wit (1599), A Poste with a Packet of Mad Letters
(1603). Sir Philip Sidney’s Ourania by N.B. (1606); Mary
Magdalen’s Lamentations (1604), and The Passion of a Discontented
Mind (1601), are sometimes, but erroneously, ascribed to Breton.

BRETÓN DE LOS HERREROS, MANUEL (1796-1873), Spanish dramatist,
was born at Quel (Logroño) on the 19th of December 1796 and was educated
at Madrid. Enlisting on the 24th of May 1812, he served against the
French in Valencia and Catalonia, and retired with the rank of corporal
on the 8th of March 1822. He obtained a minor post in the civil service
under the liberal government, and on his discharge determined to earn his
living by writing for the stage. His first piece, Á la vejez
viruelas, was produced on the 14th of October 1824, and proved the
writer to be the legitimate successor of the younger Moratin. His
industry was astonishing: between October 1824 and November 1828, he
composed thirty-nine plays, six of them original, the rest being
translations or recasts of classic masterpieces. In 1831 he published a
translation of Tibullus, and acquired by it an unmerited reputation for
scholarship which secured for him an appointment as sub-librarian at the
national library. But the theatre claimed him for its own, and with the
exception of Elena and a few other pieces in the fashionable
romantic vein, his plays were a long series of successes. His only
serious check occurred in 1840; the former liberal had grown conservative
with age, and in La Ponchada he ridiculed the National Guard. He
was dismissed from the national library, and for a short time was so
unpopular that he seriously thought of emigrating to America; but the
storm blew over, and within two years Bretón de los Herreros had regained
his supremacy on the stage. He became secretary to the Spanish Academy,
quarrelled with his fellow-members, and died at Madrid on the 8th of
November 1873. He is the author of some three hundred and sixty original
plays, twenty-three of which are in prose. No Spanish dramatist of the
nineteenth century approaches him in comic power, in festive invention,
and in the humorous presentation of character, while his metrical
dexterity is unique. Marcela o a cual de los trés? (1831),
Muérete; y verás! (1837) and La Escuela del matrimonio
(1852) still hold the stage, and are likely to hold it so long as Spanish
is spoken.

See Marqués de Molíns, Bretón de los Herreros, recuerdos de su vida
y de sus obras (Madrid, 1883); Obras de Bretón de Herreros (5
vols., Madrid, 1883); E. Piñeyro, El Romanticismo en España
(Paris, 1904).

(J. F.-K.)

BRETSCHNEIDER, KARL GOTTLIEB (1776-1848), German scholar and
theologian, was born at Gersdorf in Saxony. In 1794 he entered the
university of Leipzig, where he studied theology for four years. After
some years of hesitation he resolved to be ordained, and in 1802 he
passed with great distinction the examination for candidatus
theologiae, and attracted the regard of F.V. Reinhard, author of the
System der christlichen Moral (1788-1815), then court-preacher at
Dresden, who became his warm friend and patron during the remainder of
his life. In 1804-1806 Bretschneider was Privat-docent at the
university of Wittenberg, where he lectured on philosophy and theology.
During this time he wrote his work on the development of dogma,
Systematische Entwickelung aller in der Dogmatik vorkommenden Begriffe
nach den symbolischen Schriften der evangelisch-lutherischen und
reformirten Kirche (1805, 4th ed. 1841), which was followed by
others, including an edition of Ecclesiasticus with a Latin commentary.
On the advance of the French army under Napoleon into Prussia, he
determined to leave Wittenberg and abandon his university career. Through
the good offices of Reinhard, he became pastor of Schneeberg in Saxony
(1807). In 1808 he was promoted to the office of superintendent of the
church of Annaberg, in which capacity he had to decide, in accordance
with the canon law of Saxony, many matters belonging to the department of
ecclesiastical law. But the climate did not agree with him, and his
official duties interfered with his theological studies. With a view to a
change he took the degree of doctor of theology in Wittenberg in August
1812. In 1816 he was appointed general superintendent at Gotha, where he
remained until his death in 1848. This was the great period of his
literary activity.

In 1820 was published his treatise on the gospel of St John, entitled
Probabilia de Evangelii el Epistolarum Joannis Apostoli indole et
origine, which attracted much attention. In it he collected with
great fulness and discussed with marked moderation the arguments against
Johannine authorship. This called forth a number of replies. To the
astonishment of every one, Bretschneider announced in the preface to the
second edition of his Dogmatik in 1822, that he had never doubted
the authenticity of the gospel, and had published his Probabilia
only to draw attention to the subject, and to call forth a more complete
defence of its genuineness. Bretschneider remarks in his autobiography
that the publication of this work had the effect of preventing his
appointment as successor to Karl C. Tittmann in Dresden, the minister
Detlev von Einsiedel (1773-1861) denouncing him as the “slanderer of
John” (Johannisschänder). His greatest contribution to the science
of exegesis was his Lexicon Manuale Graeco-Latinum in libros Novi
Testamenti (1824, 3rd ed. 1840). This work was valuable for the use
which its author made of the Greek of the Septuagint, of the Old and New
Testament Apocrypha, of Josephus, and of the apostolic fathers, in
illustration of the language of the New Testament. In 1826 he published
Apologie der neuern Theologie des evangelischen Deutschlands. Hugh
James Rose had published in England (1825) a volume of sermons on the
rationalist movement (The State of the Protestant Religion in
Germany), in which he classed Bretschneider with the rationalists;
and Bretschneider contended that he himself was not a rationalist in the
ordinary sense of the term, but a “rational supernaturalist.” Some of his
numerous dogmatic writings passed through several editions. An English
translation of his Manual of the Religion and History of the Christian
Church appeared in 1857. His dogmatic position seems to be
intermediate between the extreme school of naturalists, such as Heinrich
Paulus, J.F. Röhr and Julius Wegscheider on the one hand, and D.F.
Strauss and F.C. Baur on the other. Recognizing a supernatural element in
the Bible, he nevertheless allowed to the full the critical exercise of
reason in the interpretation of its dogmas (cp. Otto Pfleiderer,
Development of Theology, pp. 89 ff.).

See his autobiography, Aus meinem Leben: Selbstbiographie von K.G.
Bretschneider (Gotha, 1851), of which a translation, with notes, by
Professor George E. Day, appeared in the Bibliotheca Sacra and
American Biblical Repository, Nos. 36 and 38 (1852, 1853); Neudecker
in Die allgemeine Kirchenzeitung (1848), No. 38; Wüstemann,
Bretschneideri Memoria (1848); A.G. Farrar, Critical History of
Free Thought (Bampton Lectures, 1862); Herzog-Hauck,
Realencyklopädie (ed. 1897).

BRETTEN, a town of Germany, in the grand duchy of Baden, on the
Saalbach, 9 m. S.E. of Bruchsal by rail. Pop. (1900) 4781. It has some
manufactories of machinery and japanned goods, and a considerable trade
in timber and livestock. Bretten was the birthplace of Melanchthon
(1497), and in addition to a [v.04 p.0503]statue of him by Drake, a memorial
hall, containing a collection of his writings and busts and pictures of
his famous contemporaries, has been erected.

BRETWALDA, a word used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
under the date 827, and also in a charter of Æthelstan, king of the
English. It appears in several variant forms (brytenwalda,
bretenanwealda, &c.), and means most probably “lord of the
Britons” or “lord of Britain”; for although the derivation of the word is
uncertain, its earlier syllable seems to be cognate with the words Briton
and Britannia. In the Chronicle the title is given to Ecgbert,
king of the English, “the eighth king that was Bretwalda,” and
retrospectively to seven kings who ruled over one or other of the English
kingdoms. The seven names are copied from Bede’s Historia
Ecclesiastica, and it is interesting to note that the last king
named, Oswiu of Northumbria, lived 150 years before Ecgbert. It has been
assumed that these seven kings exercised a certain superiority over a
large part of England, but if such superiority existed it is certain that
it was extremely vague and was unaccompanied by any unity of
organization. Another theory is that Bretwalda refers to a
war-leadership, or imperium, over the English south of the Humber,
and has nothing to do with Britons or Britannia. In support of this
explanation it is urged that the title is given in the Chronicle
to Ecgbert in the year in which he “conquered the kingdom of the Mercians
and all that was south of the Humber.” Less likely is the theory of
Palgrave that the Bretwaldas were the successors of the pseudo-emperors,
Maximus and Carausius, and claimed to share the imperial dignity of Rome;
or that of Kemble, who derives Bretwalda from the British word
breotan, to distribute, and translates it “widely ruling.” With
regard to Ecgbert the word is doubtless given as a title in imitation of
its earlier use, and the same remark applies to its use in Æthelstan’s
charter.

See E.A. Freeman, History of the Norman Conquest, vol. i.
(Oxford, 1877); W. Stubbs, Constitutional History, vol. i.
(Oxford, 1897); J.R. Green, The Making of England, vol. ii.
(London, 1897); F. Palgrave, The Rise and Progress of the English
Commonwealth (London, 1832); J. M. Kemble, The Saxons in
England (London, 1876); J. Rhys, Celtic Britain (London,
1884).

BREUGHEL (or Brueghel), PIETER,
Flemish painter, was the son of a peasant residing in the village of
Breughel near Breda. After receiving instruction in painting from Koek,
whose daughter he married, he spent some time in France and Italy, and
then went to Antwerp, where he was elected into the Academy in 1551. He
finally settled at Brussels and died there. The subjects of his pictures
are chiefly humorous figures, like those of D. Teniers; and if he wants
the delicate touch and silvery clearness of that master, he has abundant
spirit and comic power. He is said to have died about the year 1570 at
the age of sixty; other accounts give 1590 as the date of his death.

His son Pieter, the younger (1564-1637), known
as “Hell” Breughel, was born in Brussels and died at Antwerp, where his
“Christ bearing the Cross” is in the museum.

Another son Jan (c. 1569-1642), known
as “Velvet” Breughel, was born at Brussels. He first applied himself to
painting flowers and fruits, and afterwards acquired considerable
reputation by his landscapes and sea-pieces. After residing long at
Cologne he travelled into Italy, where his landscapes, adorned with small
figures, were greatly admired. He left a large number of pictures,
chiefly landscapes, which are executed with great skill. Rubens made use
of Breughel’s hand in the landscape part of several of his small
pictures—such as his “Vertumnus and Pomona,” the “Satyr viewing the
Sleeping Nymph,” and the “Terrestrial Paradise.”

BREVET (a diminutive of the Fr. bref), a short writing,
originally an official writing or letter, with the particular meaning of
a papal indulgence. The use of the word is mainly confined to a
commission, or official document, giving to an officer in the army a
permanent, as opposed to a local and temporary, rank in the service
higher than that he holds substantively in his corps. In the British army
“brevet rank” exists only above the rank of captain, but in the United
States army it is possible to obtain a brevet as first lieutenant. In
France the term breveté is particularly used with respect to the
General Staff, to express the equivalent of the English “passed Staff
College” (p.s.c.).

BREVIARY (Lat. breviarium, abridgment, epitome), the
book which contains the offices for the canonical hours, i.e. the
daily service of the Roman Catholic Church. As compared with the Anglican
Book of Common Prayer it is both more and less comprehensive; more, in
that it includes lessons and hymns for every day in the year; less,
because it excludes the Eucharistic office (contained in the Missal), and
the special offices connected with baptism, marriage, burial, ordination,
&c., which are found in the Ritual or the Pontifical. In the early
days of Christian worship, when Jewish custom was followed, the Bible
furnished all that was thought necessary, containing as it did the books
from which the lessons were read and the psalms that were recited. The
first step in the evolution of the Breviary was the separation of the
Psalter into a choir-book. At first the president of the local church
(bishop) or the leader of the choir chose a particular psalm as he
thought appropriate. From about the 4th century certain psalms began to
be grouped together, a process that was furthered by the monastic
practice of daily reciting the 150 psalms. This took so much time that
the monks began to spread it over a week, dividing each day into hours,
and allotting to each hour its portion of the Psalter. St Benedict in the
6th century drew up such an arrangement, probably, though not certainly,
on the basis of an older Roman division which, though not so skilful, is
the one in general use. Gradually there were added to these psalter
choir-books additions in the form of antiphons, responses, collects or
short prayers, for the use of those not skilful at improvisation and
metrical compositions. Jean Beleth, a 12th-century liturgical author,
gives the following list of books necessary for the right conduct of the
canonical office:—the Antiphonarium, the Old and New
Testaments, the Passionarius (liber) and the
Legendarius (dealing respectively with martyrs and saints), the
Homiliarius (homilies on the Gospels), the Sermologus
(collection of sermons) and the works of the Fathers, besides, of course,
the Psalterium and the Collectarium. To overcome the
inconvenience of using such a library the Breviary came into existence
and use. Already in the 8th century Prudentius, bishop of Troyes, had in
a Breviarium Psalterii made an abridgment of the Psalter for the
laity, giving a few psalms for each day, and Alcuin had rendered a
similar service by including a prayer for each day and some other
prayers, but no lessons or homilies. The Breviary rightly so called,
however, only dates from the 11th century; the earliest MS. containing
the whole canonical office is of the year 1099 and is in the Mazarin
library. Gregory VII. (pope 1073-1085), too, simplified the liturgy as
performed at the Roman court, and gave his abridgment the name of
Breviary, which thus came to denote a work which from another point of
view might be called a Plenary, involving as it did the collection of
several works into one. There are several extant specimens of
12th-century Breviaries, all Benedictine, but under Innocent III. (pope
1198-1216) their use was extended, especially by the newly founded and
active Franciscan order. These preaching friars, with the authorization
of Gregory IX., adopted (with some modifications, e.g. the
substitution of the “Gallican” for the “Roman” version of the Psalter)
the Breviary hitherto used exclusively by the Roman court, and with it
gradually swept out of Europe all the earlier partial books (Legendaries,
Responsories), &c., and to some extent the local Breviaries, like
that of Sarum. Finally, Nicholas III. (pope 1277-1280) adopted this
version both for the curia and for the basilicas of Rome, and thus made
its position secure. The Benedictines and Dominicans have Breviaries of
their own. The only other types that merit notice are:—(1) the
Mozarabic Breviary, once in use throughout all Spain, but now confined to
a single foundation at Toledo; it is remarkable for the number and length
of its hymns, and for the fact that the majority of its collects are
addressed to God the Son; (2) the Ambrosian, now confined to Milan, where
it owes its retention to the attachment of the clergy and people to their
traditionary rites, which they derive from St Ambrose (see Liturgy).

[v.04 p.0504]

Till the council of Trent every bishop had full power to regulate the
Breviary of his own diocese; and this was acted upon almost everywhere.
Each monastic community, also, had one of its own. Pius V. (pope
1566-1572), however, while sanctioning those which could show at least
200 years of existence, made the Roman obligatory in all other places.
But the influence of the court of Rome has gradually gone much beyond
this, and has superseded almost all the local “uses.” The Roman has thus
become nearly universal, with the allowance only of additional offices
for saints specially venerated in each particular diocese. The Roman
Breviary has undergone several revisions: The most remarkable of these is
that by Francis Quignonez, cardinal of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme (1536),
which, though not accepted by Rome,^[1] formed the model for the still
more thorough reform made in 1549 by the Church of England, whose daily
morning and evening services are but a condensation and simplification of
the Breviary offices. Some parts of the prefaces at the beginning of the
English Prayer-Book are free translations of those of Quignonez. The Pian
Breviary was again altered by Sixtus V. in 1588, who introduced the
revised Vulgate text; by Clement VIII. in 1602 (through Baronius and
Bellarmine), especially as concerns the rubrics; and by Urban VIII.
(1623-1644), a purist who unfortunately tampered with the text of the
hymns, injuring both their literary charm and their historic worth.

In the 17th and 18th centuries a movement of revision took place in
France, and succeeded in modifying about half the Breviaries of that
country. Historically, this proceeded from the labours of Jean de Launoy
(1603-1678), “le dénicheur des saints,” and Louis Sébastien le Nain de
Tillemont, who had shown the falsity of numerous lives of the saints;
while theologically it was produced by the Port Royal school, which led
men to dwell more on communion with God as contrasted with the invocation
of the saints. This was mainly carried out by the adoption of a rule that
all antiphons and responses should be in the exact words of Scripture,
which, of course, cut out the whole class of appeals to created beings.
The services were at the same time simplified and shortened, and the use
of the whole Psalter every week (which had become a mere theory in the
Roman Breviary, owing to its frequent supersession by saints’ day
services) was made a reality. These reformed French
Breviaries—e.g. the Paris Breviary of 1680 by Archbishop
François de Harlay (1625-1695) and that of 1736 by Archbishop Charles
Gaspard Guillaume de Vintimille (1655-1746)—show a deep knowledge
of Holy Scripture, and much careful adaptation of different texts; but
during the pontificate of Pius IX. a strong Ultramontane movement arose
against them. This was inaugurated by Montalembert, but its literary
advocates were chiefly Dom Gueranger, a learned Benedictine monk, abbot
of Solesmes, and Louis François Veuillot (1813-1883) of the
Univers; and it succeeded in suppressing them everywhere, the last
diocese to surrender being Orleans in 1875. The Jansenist and Gallican
influence was also strongly felt in Italy and in Germany, where
Breviaries based on the French models were published at Cologne, Münster,
Mainz and other towns. Meanwhile, under the direction of Benedict XIV.
(pope 1740-1758), a special congregation collected many materials for an
official revision, but nothing was published. Subsequent changes have
been very few and minute. In 1902, under Leo XIII., a commission under
the presidency of Monsignor Louis Duchesne was appointed to consider the
Breviary, the Missal, the Pontifical and the Ritual.

The beauty and value of many of the Latin Breviaries were brought to
the notice of English churchmen by one of the numbers of the Oxford
Tracts for the Times, since which time they have been much more
studied, both for their own sake and for the light they throw upon the
English Prayer-Book.

From a bibliographical point of view some of the early printed
Breviaries are among the rarest of literary curiosities, being merely
local. The copies were not spread far, and were soon worn out by the
daily use made of them. Doubtless many editions have perished without
leaving a trace of their existence, while others are known by unique
copies. In Scotland the only one which has survived the convulsions of
the 16th century is that of Aberdeen, a Scottish form of the Sarum
Office,^[2]
revised by William Elphinstone (bishop 1483-1514), and printed at
Edinburgh by Walter Chapman and Andrew Myllar in 1509-1510. Four copies
have been preserved of it, of which only one is complete; but it was
reprinted in facsimile in 1854 for the Bannatyne Club by the munificence
of the duke of Buccleuch. It is particularly valuable for the trustworthy
notices of the early history of Scotland which are embedded in the lives
of the national saints. Though enjoined by royal mandate in 1501 for
general use within the realm of Scotland, it was probably never widely
adopted. The new Scottish Proprium sanctioned for the Roman
Catholic province of St Andrews in 1903 contains many of the old Aberdeen
collects and antiphons.

The Sarum or Salisbury Breviary itself was very widely used. The first
edition was printed at Venice in 1483 by Raynald de Novimagio in folio;
the latest at Paris, 1556, 1557. While modern Breviaries are nearly
always printed in four volumes, one for each season of the year, the
editions of the Sarum never exceeded two parts.

Contents of the Roman Breviary.—At the beginning stands
the usual introductory matter, such as the tables for determining the
date of Easter, the calendar, and the general rubrics. The Breviary
itself is divided into four seasonal parts—winter, spring, summer,
autumn—and comprises under each part (1) the Psalter; (2)
Proprium de Tempore (the special office of the season); (3)
Proprium Sanctorum (special offices of saints); (4) Commune
Sanctorum (general offices for saints); (5) Extra Services. These
parts are often published separately.

1. The Psalter.—This is the very backbone of the
Breviary, the groundwork of the Catholic prayer-book; out of it have
grown the antiphons, responsories and versicles. In the Breviary the
psalms are arranged according to a disposition dating from the 8th
century, as follows. Psalms i.-cviii., with some omissions, are recited
at Matins, twelve each day from Monday to Saturday, and eighteen on
Sunday. The omissions are said at Lauds, Prime and Compline. Psalms
cix.-cxlvii. (except cxvii., cxviii. and cxlii.) are said at Vespers,
five each day. Psalms cxlviii.-cl. are always used at Lauds, and give
that hour its name. The text of this Psalter is that commonly known as
the Gallican. The name is misleading, for it is simply the second
revision (A.D. 392) made by Jerome of the old
Itala version originally used in Rome. Jerome’s first revision of
the Itala (A.D. 383), known as the
Roman, is still used at St Peter’s in Rome, but the “Gallican,” thanks
especially to St Gregory of Tours, who introduced it into Gaul in the 6th
century, has ousted it everywhere else. The Antiphonary of Bangor proves
that Ireland accepted the Gallican version in the 7th century, and the
English Church did so in the 10th.

2. The Proprium de Tempore contains the office of the seasons
of the Christian year (Advent to Trinity), a conception that only
gradually grew up. There is here given the whole service for every Sunday
and week-day, the proper antiphons, responsories, hymns, and especially
the course of daily Scripture-reading, averaging about twenty verses a
day, and (roughly) arranged thus: for Advent, Isaiah; Epiphany to
Septuagesima, Pauline Epistles; Lent, patristic homilies (Genesis on
Sundays); Passion-tide, Jeremiah; Easter to Whitsun, Acts, Catholic
epistles and Apocalypse; Whitsun to August, Samuel and Kings; August to
Advent, Wisdom books, Maccabees, Prophets. The extracts are often scrappy
and torn out of their context.

3. The Proprium Sanctorum contains the lessons, psalms and
liturgical formularies for saints’ festivals, and depends on the days of
the secular month. Most of the material here is hagiological biography,
occasionally revised as by Leo XIII. in view of archaeological and other
discoveries, but still largely uncritical. Covering a great stretch of
time and space, they do for the worshipper in the field of church history
what the Scripture readings do in that of biblical history. As something
like 90% of the days in the year have, during the course of centuries,
been allotted to some saint or other, it is easy to see how this section
of the Breviary has encroached upon the Proprium de Tempore, and
this is the chief problem that confronts any who are concerned for a
revision of the Breviary.

4. The Commune Sanctorum comprises psalms, antiphons, lessons,
&c., for feasts of various groups or classes (twelve in all);
e.g. apostles, martyrs, confessors, virgins, and the Blessed
Virgin Mary. These offices are of very ancient date, and many of them
were probably [v.04 p.0505]in origin proper to individual
saints. They contain passages of great literary beauty. The lessons read
at the third nocturn are patristic homilies on the Gospels, and together
form a rough summary of theological instruction.

5. Extra Services.—Here are found the Little Office of
the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Office of the Dead (obligatory on All Souls’
Day), and offices peculiar to each diocese.

It has already been indicated, by reference to Matins, Lauds, &c.,
that not only each day, but each part of the day, has its own office, the
day being divided into liturgical “hours.” A detailed account of these
will be found in the article Hours, Canonical.
Each of the hours of the office is composed of the same elements, and
something must be said now of the nature of these constituent parts, of
which mention has here and there been already made. They are: psalms
(including canticles), antiphons, responsories, hymns, lessons, little
chapters, versicles and collects.

The psalms have already been dealt with, but it may be noted
again how the multiplication of saints’ festivals, with practically the
same special psalms, tends in practice to constant repetition of about
one-third of the Psalter, and correspondingly rare recital of the
remaining two-thirds, whereas the Proprium de Tempore, could it be
adhered to, would provide equal opportunities for every psalm. As in the
Greek usage and in the Benedictine, certain canticles like the Song of
Moses (Exodus xv.), the Song of Hannah (1 Sam. ii.), the prayer of
Habakkuk (iii.), the prayer of Hezekiah (Isaiah xxxviii.) and other
similar Old Testament passages, and, from the New Testament, the
Magnificat, the Benedictus and the Nunc dimittis, are admitted as
psalms.

The antiphons are short liturgical forms, sometimes of
biblical, sometimes of patristic origin, used to introduce a psalm. The
term originally signified a chant by alternate choirs, but has quite lost
this meaning in the Breviary.

The responsories are similar in form to the antiphons, but come
at the end of the psalm, being originally the reply of the choir or
congregation to the precentor who recited the psalm.

The hymns are short poems going back in part to the days of
Prudentius, Synesius, Gregory of Nazianzus and Ambrose (4th and 5th
centuries), but mainly the work of medieval authors. Together they make a
fine collection, and it is a pity that Urban VIII. in his mistaken
humanistic zeal tried to improve them.

The lessons, as has been seen, are drawn variously from the
Bible, the Acts of the Saints and the Fathers of the Church. In the
primitive church, books afterwards excluded from the canon were often
read, e.g. the letters of Clement of Rome and the Shepherd of
Hermas. In later days the churches of Africa, having rich memorials
of martyrdom, used them to supplement the reading of Scripture. Monastic
influence accounts for the practice of adding to the reading of a
biblical passage some patristic commentary or exposition. Books of
homilies were compiled from the writings of SS. Augustine, Hilary,
Athanasius, Isidore, Gregory the Great and others, and formed part of the
library of which the Breviary was the ultimate compendium. In the
lessons, as in the psalms, the order for special days breaks in upon the
normal order of ferial offices and dislocates the scheme for consecutive
reading. The lessons are read at Matins (which is subdivided into three
nocturns).

The little chapters are very short lessons read at the other
“hours.”

The versicles are short responsories used after the little
chapters.

The collects come at the close of the office and are short
prayers summing up the supplications of the congregation. They arise out
of a primitive practice on the part of the bishop (local president),
examples of which are found in the Didachē (Teaching of the
Apostles) and in the letters of Clement of Rome and Cyprian. With the
crystallization of church order improvisation in prayer largely gave
place to set forms, and collections of prayers were made which later
developed into Sacramentaries and Orationals. The collects of the
Breviary are largely drawn from the Gelasian and other Sacramentaries,
and they are used to sum up the dominant idea of the festival in
connexion with which they happen to be used.

The difficulty of harmonizing the Proprium de Tempore and the
Proprium Sanctorum, to which reference has been made, is only
partly met in the thirty-seven chapters of general rubrics. Additional
help is given by a kind of Catholic Churchman’s Almanack, called the
Ordo Recitandi Divini Officii, published in different countries
and dioceses, and giving, under every day, minute directions for proper
reading.

Every clerk in orders and every member of a religious order must
publicly join in or privately read aloud (i.e. using the lips as
well as the eyes—it takes about two hours in this way) the whole of
the Breviary services allotted for each day. In large churches the
services are usually grouped; e.g. Matins and Lauds (about 7.30
A.M.); Prime, Terce (High Mass), Sext, and None
(about 10 A.M.); Vespers and Compline (4 P.M.); and from four to eight hours (depending on the
amount of music and the number of high masses) are thus spent in choir.
Laymen do not use the Breviary as a manual of devotion to any great
extent.

The Roman Breviary has been translated into English (by the marquess
of Bute in 1879; new ed. with a trans, of the Martyrology, 1908), French
and German. The English version is noteworthy for its inclusion of the
skilful renderings of the ancient hymns by J.H. Newman, J.M. Neale and
others.

Authorities.—F. Cabrol, Introduction
aux études liturgiques; Probst, Kirchenlex. ii., s.v.
“Brevier”; Bäumer, Geschichte des Breviers (Freiburg, 1895); P.
Batiffol, L’Histoire du bréviaire romain (Paris, 1893; Eng. tr.);
Baudot, Le Bréviaire romain (1907). A complete bibliography is
appended to the article by F. Cabrol in the Catholic
Encyclopaedia, vol. ii. (1908).

BREVIARY OF ALARIC (Breviarium Alaricanum), a collection
of Roman law, compiled by order of Alaric II., king of the Visigoths,
with the advice of his bishops and nobles, in the twenty-second year of
his reign (A.D. 506). It comprises sixteen
books of the Theodosian code; the Novels of Theodosius II., Valentinian
III., Marcian, Majorianus and Severus; the Institutes of Gaius; five
books of the Sententiae Receptae of Julius Paulus; thirteen titles
of the Gregorian code; two titles of the Hermogenian code; and a fragment
of the first book of the Responsa Papiniani. It is termed a code
(codex), in the certificate of Anianus, the king’s referendary, but
unlike the code of Justinian, from which the writings of jurists were
excluded, it comprises both imperial constitutions (leges) and
juridical treatises (jura). From the circumstance that the
Breviarium has prefixed to it a royal rescript (commonitorium)
directing that copies of it, certified under the hand of Anianus, should
be received exclusively as law throughout the kingdom of the Visigoths,
the compilation of the code has been attributed to Anianus by many
writers, and it is frequently designated the Breviary of Anianus
(Breviarium Aniani). The code, however, appears to have been known
amongst the Visigoths by the title of “Lex Romana,” or “Lex Theodosii,”
and it was not until the 16th century that the title of “Breviarium” was
introduced to distinguish it from a recast of the code, which was
introduced into northern Italy in the 9th century for the use of the
Romans in Lombardy. This recast of the Visigothic code has been preserved
in a MS. known as the Codex Utinensis, which was formerly kept in the
archives of the cathedral of Udine, but is now lost; and it was published
in the 18th century for the first time by P. Canciani in his collection
of ancient laws entitled Barbarorum Leges Antiquae. Another MS. of
this Lombard recast of the Visigothic code was discovered by Hänel in the
library of St Gall. The chief value of the Visigothic code consists in
the fact that it is the only collection of Roman Law in which the five
first books of the Theodosian code and five books of the Sententiae
Receptae of Julius Paulus have been preserved, and until the
discovery of a MS. in the chapter library in Verona, which contained the
greater part of the Institutes of Gaius, it was the only work in which
any portion of the institutional writings of that great jurist had come
down to us.

The most complete edition of the Breviarium will be found in the
collection of Roman law published under the title of Jus Civile
Ante-Justinianum (Berlin, 1815). See also G. Hänel’s Lex Romana
Visigothorum (Berlin, 1847-1849).

BREWER, JOHN SHERREN (1810-1879), English historian, was born
in Norwich in 1810, the son of a Baptist schoolmaster. He was educated at
Queen’s College, Oxford, was ordained in the Church of England in 1837,
and became chaplain to a central London workhouse. In 1839 he was
appointed lecturer in classical literature at King’s College, London, and
in 1855 he became professor of English language and literature and
lecturer in modern history, succeeding F.D. Maurice. Meanwhile from 1854
onwards he was also engaged in journalistic work on the Morning
Herald, Morning Post and Standard. In 1856 he was
commissioned by the master of the rolls to prepare a calendar of the
state papers of Henry VIII., a work demanding a vast amount of research.
He was also made reader at the Rolls, and subsequently preacher. In 1877
Disraeli secured for him the crown living of Toppesfield, Essex. There he
had time to continue his task of preparing his Letters and Papers of
the Reign of King Henry VIII., the Introductions to which (published
separately, under the title The Reign of Henry VIII., in 1884)
form a scholarly and authoritative history of Henry VIII.’s reign. New
editions of several standard historical works were also produced under
Brewer’s direction. He died at Toppesfield in February 1879.

[v.04 p.0506]

BREWING, in the modern acceptation of the term, a series of
operations the object of which is to prepare an alcoholic beverage of a
certain kind—to wit, beer—mainly from cereals (chiefly malted
barley), hops and water. Although the art of preparing beer (q.v.)
or ale is a very ancient one, there is very little information in the
literature of the subject as to the apparatus and methods employed in
early times. It seems fairly certain, however, that up to the 18th
century these were of the most primitive kind. With regard to
materials, we know that prior to the general introduction of the
hop (see Ale) as a preservative and astringent, a
number of other bitter and aromatic plants had been employed with this
end in view. Thus J.L. Baker (The Brewing Industry) points out
that the Cimbri used the Tamarix germanica, the Scandinavians the
fruit of the sweet gale (Myrica gale), the Cauchi the fruit and
the twigs of the chaste tree (Vitex agrius castus), and the
Icelanders the yarrow (Achillea millefolium).

The preparation of beer on anything approaching to a manufacturing
scale appears, until about the 12th or 13th century, to have been carried
on in England chiefly in the monasteries; but as the brewers of London
combined to form an association in the reign of Henry IV., and were
granted a charter in 1445, it is evident that brewing as a special trade
or industry must have developed with some rapidity. After the Reformation
the ranks of the trade brewers were swelled by numbers of monks from the
expropriated monasteries. Until the 18th century the professional
brewers, or brewers for sale, as they are now called, brewed chiefly for
the masses, the wealthier classes preparing their own beer, but it then
became gradually apparent to the latter (owing no doubt to improved
methods of brewing, and for others reasons) that it was more economical
and less troublesome to have their beer brewed for them at a regular
brewery. The usual charge was 30s. per barrel for bitter ale, and 8s. or
so for small beer. This tendency to centralize brewing operations became
more and more marked with each succeeding decade. Thus during 1895-1905
the number of private brewers declined from 17,041 to 9930. Of the
private brewers still existing, about four-fifths were in the class
exempted from beer duty, i.e. farmers occupying houses not
exceeding £10 annual value who brew for their labourers, and other
persons occupying houses not exceeding £15 annual value. The private
houses subject to both beer and licence duty produced less than 20,000
barrels annually. There are no official figures as to the number of
“cottage brewers,” that is, occupiers of dwellings not exceeding £8
annual value; but taking everything into consideration it is probable
that more than 99% of the beer produced in the United Kingdom is brewed
by public brewers (brewers for sale). The disappearance of the smaller
public brewers or their absorption by the larger concerns has gone
hand-in-hand with the gradual extinction of the private brewer. In the
year 1894-1895 8863 licences were issued to brewers for sale, and by
1904-1905 this number had been reduced to 5164. There are numerous
reasons for these changes in the constitution of the brewing industry,
chief among them being (a) the increasing difficulty, owing partly
to licensing legislation and its administration, and partly to the
competition of the great breweries, of obtaining an adequate outlet for
retail sale in the shape of licensed houses; and (b) the fact that
brewing has continuously become a more scientific and specialized
industry, requiring costly and complicated plant and expert manipulation.
It is only by employing the most up-to-date machinery and expert
knowledge that the modern brewer can hope to produce good beer in the
short time which competition and high taxation, &c., have forced upon
him. Under these conditions the small brewer tends to extinction, and the
public are ultimately the gainers. The relatively non-alcoholic, lightly
hopped and bright modern beers, which the small brewer has not the means
of producing, are a great advance on the muddy, highly hopped and
alcoholized beverages to which our ancestors were accustomed.

The brewing trade has reached vast proportions in the United Kingdom.
The maximum production was 37,090,986 barrels in 1900, and while there
has been a steady decline since that year, the figures for
1905-1906—34,109,263 barrels—were in excess of those for any
year preceding 1897. It is interesting in this connexion to note that the
writer of the article on Brewing in the 9th edition of the
Encyclopaedia Britannica was of the opinion that the brewing
industry—which was then (1875) producing, roughly, 25,000,000
barrels—had attained its maximum development. In the year ending
30th September 1905 the beer duty received by the exchequer amounted to
£13,156,053. The number of brewers for sale was 5180. Of these one firm,
namely, Messrs Guinness, owning the largest brewery in the world, brewed
upwards of two million barrels, paying a sum of, roughly, one million
sterling to the revenue. Three other firms brewed close on a million
barrels or upwards. The quantity of malt used was 51,818,697 bushels; of
unmalted corn, 125,671 bushels; of rice, flaked maize and similar
materials, 1,348,558 cwt.; of sugar, 2,746,615 cwt.; of hops, 62,360,817
lb; and of hop substitutes, 49,202 lb. The average specific gravity of
the beer produced in 1905-1906 was 1053.24. The quantity of beer exported
was 520,826; of beer imported, 57,194 barrels. It is curious to note that
the figures for exports and imports had remained almost stationary for
the last thirty years. By far the greater part of the beer brewed is
consumed in England. Thus of the total quantity retained for consumption
in 1905-1906, 28,590,563 barrels were consumed in England, 1,648,463 in
Scotland, and 3,265,084 in Ireland. In 1871 it was calculated by
Professor Leone Levi that the capital invested in the liquor trade in the
United Kingdom was £117,000,000. In 1908 this figure might be safely
doubled. A writer in the Brewers’ Almanack for 1906 placed the
capital invested in limited liability breweries alone at £185,000,000. If
we allow for over-capitalization, it seems fairly safe to say that, prior
to the introduction of the Licensing Bill of 1908, the market value of
the breweries in the United Kingdom, together with their licensed
property, was in the neighbourhood of £120,000,000, to which might be
added another £20,000,000 for the value of licences not included in the
above calculation; the total capital actually sunk in the whole liquor
trade (including the wine and spirit industries and trades) being
probably not far short of £250,000,000, and the number of persons
directly engaged in or dependent on the liquor trade being
under-estimated at 2,000,000. (For comparative production and consumption
see Beer.)

Taxation and Regulations.—The development of the brewing
industry in England is intimately interwoven with the history of its
taxation, and the regulations which have from time to time been formed
for the safeguarding of the revenue. The first duty on beer in the United
Kingdom was imposed in the reign of Charles II. (1660), namely 2s. 6d.
per barrel on strong and 6d. per barrel on weak beer. This was gradually
increased, amounting to 4s. 9d. on strong and 1s. 3d. on weak beer in the
last decade of the 17th century, and to 8s. to 10s. in the year 1800, at
which rate it continued until the repeal of the beer duty in 1830. A duty
on malt was first imposed in the reign of William III. (1697), and from
that date until 1830 both beer duty and malt tax were charged. The rate
at first was under 7d. per bushel, but this was increased up to 2s. 7d.
prior to the first repeal of the beer duty (1830), and to 4s. 6d. after
the repeal. In 1829 the joint beer and malt taxes amounted to no less
than 13s. 8d. per barrel, or 4½d. per gallon, as against 2½d. at the
present day. From 1856 until the abolition of the malt tax, the latter
remained constant at a fraction under 2s. 8½d. A hop duty varying
from 1d. to 2½d. per pound was in existence between 1711 and 1862. One of
the main reasons for the abolition of the hop duty was the fact that,
owing to the uncertainty of the crop, the amount paid to the revenue was
subject to wide fluctuations. Thus in 1855 the revenue from this source
amounted to £728,183, in 1861 to only £149,700.

It was not until 1847 that the use of sugar in brewing was permitted,
and in 1850 the first sugar tax, amounting to 1s. 4d. per cwt., was
imposed. It varied from this figure up to 6s. 6d. in 1854, and in 1874,
when the general duty on sugar was repealed, it was raised to 11s. 6d.,
at which rate it remained until 1880, when it was repealed simultaneously
with the malt duty. In 1901 a general sugar tax of 4s. 2d. and under
(according to the percentage of actual sugar contained) was imposed, but
no drawback was allowed to brewers using sugar, and therefore—and
this obtains at the present day—sugar used in brewing pays the
general tax and also the beer duty.

By the Free Mash-Tun Act of 1880, the duty was taken off the malt and
placed on the beer, or, more properly speaking, on the wort; maltsters’
and brewers’ licences were repealed, and in lieu thereof an annual
licence duty of £1 payable by every brewer for sale was [v.04
p.0507]imposed. The chief feature of this act was that, on and
after the 1st of October 1880, a beer duty was imposed in lieu of the old
malt tax, at the rate of 6s. 3d. per barrel of 36 gallons, at a specific
gravity of 1.057, and the regulations for charging the duty were so
framed as to leave the brewer practically unrestricted as to the
description of malt or corn and sugar, or other description of saccharine
substitutes (other than deleterious articles or drugs), which he might
use in the manufacture or colouring of beer. This freedom in the choice
of materials has continued down to the present time, except that the use
of “saccharin” (a product derived from coal-tar) was prohibited in 1888,
the reason being that this substance gives an apparent palate-fulness to
beer equal to roughly 4° in excess of its real gravity, the revenue
suffering thereby. In 1889 the duty on beer was increased by a reduction
in the standard of gravity from 1.057 to 1.055, and in 1894 a further 6d.
per barrel was added. The duty thus became 6s. 9d. per barrel, at a
gravity of 1.055, which was further increased to 7s. 9d. per barrel by
the war budget of 1900, at which figure it stood in 1909. (See also Liquor Laws.)

Prior to 1896, rice, flaked maize (see below), and other similar
preparations had been classed as malt or corn in reference to their
wort-producing powers, but after that date they were deemed sugar^[1] in that
regard. By the new act (1880) 42 lb weight of corn, or 28 lb weight of
sugar, were to be deemed the equivalent of a bushel of malt, and a brewer
was expected by one of the modes of charge to have brewed at least a
barrel (36 gallons) of worts (less 4% allowed for wastage) at the
standard gravity for every two bushels of malt (or its equivalents) used
by him in brewing; but where, owing to lack of skill or inferior
machinery, a brewer cannot obtain the standard quantity of wort from the
standard equivalent of material, the charge is made not on the wort, but
directly on the material. By the new act, licences at the annual duty of
£1 on brewers for sale, and of 6s. (subsequently modified by 44 Vict. c.
12, and 48 and 49 Vict. c. 5, &c., to 4s.) or 9s., as the case might
be, on any other brewers, were required. The regulations dealing with the
mashing operations are very stringent. Twenty-four hours at least before
mashing the brewer must enter in his brewing book (provided by the Inland
Revenue) the day and hour for commencing to mash malt, corn, &c., or
to dissolve sugar; and the date of making such entry; and also, two hours
at least before the notice hour for mashing, the quantity of malt, corn,
&c., and sugar to be used, and the day and hour when all the worts
will be drawn off the grains in the mash-tun. The worts of each brewing
must be
collected within twelve hours of the commencement of the collection, and
the brewer must within a given time enter in his book the quantity and
gravity of the worts before fermentation, the number and name of the
vessel, and the date of the entry. The worts must remain in the same
vessel undisturbed for twelve hours after being collected, unless
previously taken account of by the officer. There are other regulations,
e.g. those prohibiting the mixing of worts of different brewings
unless account has been taken of each separately, the alteration of the
size or shape of any gauged vessel without notice, and so on.

Taxation of Beer in Foreign Countries.—The following
table shows the nature of the tax and the amount of the same calculated
to English barrels.

Materials used in Brewing.—These are
water, malt (q.v.), hops (q.v.), various substitutes for
the two latter, and preservatives.

Water.—A satisfactory supply of water—which, it may
here be mentioned, is always called liquor in the brewery—is
a matter of great importance to the brewer. Certain waters, for instance,
those contaminated to any extent with organic matter, cannot be used at
all in brewing, as they give rise to unsatisfactory fermentation,
cloudiness and abnormal flavour. Others again, although suited to the
production of one type of beer, are quite unfit for the brewing of
another. For black beers a soft water is a desideratum, for ales of the
Burton type a hard water is a necessity. For the brewing of mild ales,
again, a water containing a certain proportion of chlorides is required.
The presence or absence of certain mineral substances as such in the
finished beer is not, apparently, a matter of any moment as regards
flavour or appearance, but the importance of the rôle played by these
substances in the brewing process is due to the influence which they
exert on the solvent action of the water on the various constituents of
the malt, and possibly of the hops. The excellent quality of the Burton
ales was long ago surmised to be due mainly to the well water obtainable
in that town. On analysing Burton water it was found to contain a
considerable quantity of calcium sulphate—gypsum—and of other
calcium and magnesium salts, and it is now a well-known fact that good
bitter ales cannot be brewed except with waters containing these
substances in sufficient quantities. Similarly, good mild ale waters
should contain a certain quantity of sodium chloride, and waters for
stout very little mineral matter, excepting perhaps the carbonates of the
alkaline earths, which are precipitated on boiling.

The following analyses (from W.J. Sykes, The Principles and
Practice of Brewing) are fairly illustrative of typical brewing
waters.

Our knowledge of the essential chemical constituents of brewing waters
enables brewers in many cases to treat an unsatisfactory supply
artificially in such a manner as to modify its character in a favourable
sense. Thus, if a soft water only is to hand, and it is desired to brew a
bitter ale, all that is necessary is to add a sufficiency of gypsum,
magnesium sulphate and calcium chloride. If it is desired to convert a
soft water lacking in chlorides into a satisfactory mild ale liquor, the
addition of 30-40 grains of sodium chloride will be necessary. On the
other hand, to convert a hard water into a soft supply is scarcely
feasible for brewing purposes. To the substances used for treating
brewing liquors already mentioned we may add kainite, a naturally
deposited composite salt containing potassium and magnesium sulphates and
magnesium chloride.

Malt Substitutes.—Prior to the repeal of the Malt Acts,
the only substitute for malt allowed in the United Kingdom was sugar. The
quantity of the latter employed was 295,865 cwt. in 1870, 1,136,434 cwt.
in 1880, and 2,746,615 cwt. in 1905; that is to say, that the quantity
used had been practically trebled during the last twenty-five years,
although the quantity of malt employed had not materially increased. At
the same time other substitutes, such as unmalted corn and preparations
of rice and maize, had come into favour, the quantity of these substances
used being in 1905 125,671 bushels of unmalted corn and 1,348,558 cwt. of
rice, maize, &c.

The following statistics with regard to the use of malt substitutes in
the United Kingdom are not without interest.

[v.04 p.0508]

The causes which have led to the largely increased use of substitutes
in the United Kingdom are of a somewhat complex nature. In the first
place, it was not until the malt tax was repealed that the brewer was
able to avail himself of the surplus diastatic energy present in malt,
for the purpose of transforming starch (other than that in malted grain)
into sugar. The diastatic enzyme or ferment (see below, under
Mashing) of malted barley is present in that material in great
excess, and a part of this surplus energy may be usefully employed in
converting the starch of unmalted grain into sugar. The brewer has found
also that brewing operations are simplified and accelerated by the use of
a certain proportion of substitutes, and that he is thereby enabled
appreciably to increase his turn-over, i.e. he can make more beer
in a given time from the same plant. Certain classes of substitutes, too,
are somewhat cheaper than malt, and in view of the keenness of modern
competition it is not to be wondered at that the brewer should resort to
every legitimate means at his disposal to keep down costs. It has been
contended, and apparently with much reason, that if the use of
substitutes were prohibited this would not lead to an increased use of
domestic barley, inasmuch as the supply of home barley suitable for
malting purposes is of a limited nature. A return to the policy of “malt
and hops only” would therefore lead to an increased use of foreign
barley, and to a diminution in the demand for home barley, inasmuch as
sugar and prepared cereals, containing as they do less nitrogen, &c.
than even the well-cured, sun-dried foreign barleys, are better diluents
than the latter. At the same time, it is an undoubted fact that an
excessive use of substitutes leads to the production of beer of poor
quality. The better class of brewer rarely uses more than 15-20%, knowing
that beyond that point the loss of flavour and quality will in the long
run become a more serious item than any increased profits which he might
temporarily gain.

With regard to the nature of the substitutes or adjuncts for barley
malt more generally employed, raw grain (unmalted barley, wheat, rice,
maize, &c.) is not used extensively in Great Britain, but in America
brewers employ as much as 50%, and even more, of maize, rice or similar
materials. The maize and rice preparations mostly used in England are
practically starch pure and simple, substantially the whole of the oil,
water, and other subsidiary constituents of the grain being removed. The
germ of maize contains a considerable proportion of an oil of somewhat
unpleasant flavour, which has to be eliminated before the material is fit
for use in the mash-tun. After degerming, the maize is unhusked, wetted,
submitted to a temperature sufficient to rupture the starch cells, dried,
and finally rolled out in a flaky condition. Rice is similarly
treated.

The sugars used are chiefly cane sugar, glucose and invert
sugar—the latter commonly known as “saccharum.” Cane sugar is
mostly used for the preparation of heavy mild ales and stouts, as it
gives a peculiarly sweet and full flavour to the beer, to which, no
doubt, the popularity of this class of beverage is largely due. Invert
sugar is prepared by the action either of acid or of yeast on cane
sugar. The chemical equation representing the conversion (or inversion)
of cane sugar is:—

Invert sugar is so called because the mixture of glucose and fructose
which forms the “invert” is laevo-rotatory, whereas cane sugar is
dextro-rotatory to the plane of polarized light. The preparation of
invert sugar by the acid process consists in treating the cane sugar in
solution with a little mineral acid, removing the excess of the latter by
means of chalk, and concentrating to a thick syrup. The yeast process
(Tompson’s), which makes use of the inverting power of one of the enzymes
(invertase) contained in ordinary yeast, is interesting. The cane sugar
solution is pitched with yeast at about 55° C., and at this comparatively
high temperature the inversion proceeds rapidly, and fermentation is
practically impossible. When this operation is completed, the whole
liquid (including the yeast) is run into the boiling contents of the
copper. This method is more suited to the preparation of invert in the
brewery itself than the acid process, which is almost exclusively used in
special sugar works. Glucose, which is one of the constituents of invert
sugar, is largely used by itself in brewing. It is, however, never
prepared from invert sugar for this purpose, but directly from starch by
means of acid. By the action of dilute boiling acid on starch the latter
is rapidly converted first into a mixture of dextrine and maltose and
then into glucose. The proportions of glucose, dextrine and maltose
present in a commercial glucose depend very much on the duration of the
boiling, the strength of the acid, and the extent of the pressure at
which the starch is converted. In England the materials from which
glucose is manufactured are generally sago, rice and purified maize. In
Germany potatoes form the most common raw material, and in America
purified Indian corn is ordinarily employed.

Hop substitutes, as a rule, are very little used. They mostly
consist of quassia, gentian and camomile, and these substitutes are quite
harmless per se, but impart an unpleasantly rough and bitter taste
to the beer.

Preservatives.—These are generally, in fact almost
universally, employed nowadays for draught ales; to a smaller extent for
stock ales. The light beers in vogue to-day are less alcoholic, more
lightly hopped, and more quickly brewed than the beers of the last
generation, and in this respect are somewhat less stable and more likely
to deteriorate than the latter were. The preservative in part replaces
the alcohol and the hop extract, and shortens the brewing time. The
preservatives mostly used are the bisulphites of lime and potash, and
these, when employed in small quantities, are generally held to be
harmless.

Brewing Operations.—The general scheme
of operations in an English brewery will be readily understood if
reference be made to fig. 1, which represents an 8-quarter brewery on the
gravitation system, the principle of which is that all materials
to be employed are pumped or hoisted to the highest point required, to
start with, and that subsequently no further pumping or hoisting is
required, the materials (in the shape of water, malt, wort or hops,
&c.) being conveyed from one point to another by the force of
gravity.

The malt, which is hoisted to the top floor, after cleaning and
grading is conveyed to the Malt Mill, where it is crushed. Thence
the ground malt, or “grist” as it is now called, passes to the Grist
Hopper, and from the latter to the Mashing Machine, in which
it is intimately mixed with hot water from the Hot Liquor Vessel.
From the mashing machine the mixed grist and “liquor” pass to the
Mash-Tun, where the starch of the malt is rendered soluble. From
the mash-tun the clear wort passes to the Copper, where it is
boiled with hops. From the copper the boiled wort passes to the Hop
Back, where the insoluble hop constituents are separated from the
wort. From the hop back the wort passes to the Cooler, from the
latter to the Refrigerator, thence (for the purpose of enabling
the revenue officers to assess the duty) to the Collecting
Vessel,^[4]
and finally to the Fermenting Vessels, in which the wort is
transformed into “green” beer. The latter is then cleansed, and finally
racked and stored.

It will be seen from the above that brewing consists of seven distinct
main processes, which may be classed as follows: (1) Grinding; (2)
Mashing; (3) Boiling; (4) Cooling; (5) Fermenting; (6) Cleansing; (7)
Racking and Storing.

Grinding.—In most modern breweries the malt passes, on
its way [v.04 p.0509]from the bins to the mill, through
a cleaning and grading apparatus, and then through an automatic measuring
machine. The mills, which exist in a variety of designs, are of the
smooth roller type, and are so arranged that the malt is crushed
rather than ground. If the malt is ground too fine, difficulties arise in
regard to efficient drainage in the mash-tun and subsequent
clarification. On the other hand, if the crushing is too coarse the
subsequent extraction of soluble matter in the mash-tun is incomplete,
and an inadequate yield results.

Fig. 1.—An 8-quarter Brewery (Messrs. L.
Lumley & Co., Ltd.).

Fig. 2.—Mash-tun with mashing machine.

Mashing is a process which consists mainly in extracting, by
means of water at an adequate temperature, the soluble matters
pre-existent in the malt, and in converting the insoluble starch and a
great part of the insoluble nitrogenous compounds into soluble and partly
fermentable products. Mashing is, without a doubt, the most important of
the brewing processes, for it is largely in the mash-tun that the
character of the beer to be brewed is determined. In modern practice the
malt and the mashing “liquor” (i.e. water) are introduced into the
mash-tun simultaneously, by means of the mashing machine (fig. 2, A).
This is generally a cylindrical metal vessel, commanding the mash-tun and
provided with a central shaft and screw. The grist (as the crushed malt
is called) enters the mashing machine from the grist case above, and the
liquor is introduced at the back. The screw is rotated rapidly, and so a
thorough mixture of the grist and liquor takes place as they travel along
the mashing machine. The mash-tun (fig. 2) is a large metal or wooden
vessel, fitted with a false bottom composed of plates perforated with
numerous small holes or slits (C). This arrangement is necessary in order
to obtain a proper separation of the “wort” (as the liquid portion of the
finished mash is called) from the spent grains. The mash-tun is also
provided with a stirring apparatus (the rakes) so that the grist
and liquor may be intimately mixed (D), and an automatic sprinkler, the
sparger (fig. 2, B, and fig. 3), which is employed in order to
wash out the wort remaining in the grains. The sparger consists of a
number of hollow arms radiating from a common centre and pierced by a
number of small perforations. The common central vessel from which the
sparge-arms radiate is mounted in such a manner that it rotates
automatically when a stream of water is admitted, so that a constant fine
spray covers the whole tun when the sparger is in operation. There are
also pipes for admitting “liquor” to the bottom of the tun, and for
carrying the wort from the latter to the “underback” or “copper.”

The grist and liquor having been introduced into the tun (either by
means of the mashing machine or separately), the rakes are set going, so
that the mash may become thoroughly homogeneous, and after a short time
the rakes are stopped and the mash allowed to rest, usually for a period
of about two hours. After this, “taps are set”—i.e.
communication is established between the mash-tun and the vessel into
which the wort runs—and the sparger is started. In this manner the
whole of the wort or extract is separated from the grains. The quantity
of water employed is, in all, from two to three barrels to the quarter
(336 lb) of malt.

In considering the process of mashing, one might almost say the
process of brewing, it is essential to remember that the type and quality
of the beer to be produced (see Malt) depends
almost entirely (a) on the kind of malt employed, and (b)
on the mashing temperature. In other words, quality may be controlled on
the kiln or in the mash-tun, or both. Viewed in this light, the following
theoretical methods for preparing different types of beer are
possible:—(1) high kiln heats and high mashing temperatures; (2)
high kiln heats and low mashing temperatures; (3) low kiln heats and high
mashing temperatures; and (4) low kiln heats and low mashing
temperatures. In practice all these combinations, together with many
intermediate ones, are met with, and it is not too much to say that the
whole science of modern brewing is based upon them. It is plain, then,
that the mashing temperature will depend on the kind of beer that is to
be produced, and on the kind of malt employed. For stouts and black beers
generally, a mashing temperature of 148° to 150° F. is most usual; for
pale or stock ales, 150° to 154° F.; and for mild running beers, 154° to
149° F. The range of temperatures employed in brewing English beers is a
very limited one as compared with foreign mashing methods, and does not
range further, practically speaking, than from 140° to 160° F. The effect
of higher temperatures is chiefly to cripple the enzyme or “ferment”
diastase, which, as already said, is the agent which converts the
insoluble starch into soluble dextrin, sugar and intermediate products.
The higher the mashing temperature, the more the diastase will be
crippled in its action, and the more dextrinous (non-fermentable) matter
as compared with maltose (fermentable sugar) will be formed. A pale or
stock ale, which is a type of beer that must be “dry” and that will keep,
requires to contain a relatively high proportion of dextrin and little
maltose, and, in its preparation, therefore, a high mashing temperature
will be employed. On the other hand, a mild running ale, which is a full,
sweet beer, intended for rapid consumption, will be obtained by means of
low mashing temperatures, which produce relatively little dextrin, but a
good deal of maltose, i.e. sweet and readily fermentable
matter.

Fig. 3.—Sparger.

Diastase is not the only enzyme present in malt. There is also a
ferment which renders a part of the nitrogenous matter soluble. This
again is affected by temperature in much the same way as diastase. Low
heats tend to produce much non-coagulable [v.04 p.0510]nitrogenous
matter, which is undesirable in a stock beer, as it tends to produce fret
and side fermentations. With regard to the kind of malt and other
materials employed in producing various types of beer, pale ales are made
either from pale malt (generally a mixture of English and fine foreign,
such as Smyrna, California) only, or from pale malt and a little flaked
maize, rice, invert sugar or glucose. Running beers (mild ale) are made
from a mixture of pale and amber malts, sugar and flaked goods; stout,
from a mixture of pale, amber and roasted (black) malts only, or with the
addition of a little sugar or flaked maize.

When raw grain is employed, the process of mashing is slightly
modified. The maize, rice or other grain is usually gelatinized in a
vessel (called a converter or cooker) entirely separated
from the mash-tun, by means of steam at a relatively high temperature,
mostly with, but occasionally without, the addition of some malt meal.
After about half an hour the gelatinized mass is mixed with the main
mash, and this takes place shortly before taps are set. This is possible
inasmuch as the starch, being already in a highly disintegrated
condition, is very rapidly converted. By working on the limited-decoction
system (see below), it is possible to make use of a fair percentage of
raw grain in the mash-tun proper, thus doing away with the “converter”
entirely.

The Filter Press Process.—The ordinary mash-tun process,
as described above, possesses the disadvantage that only coarse grists
can be employed. This entails loss of extract in several ways. To begin
with, the sparging process is at best a somewhat inefficient method for
washing out the last portions of the wort, and again, when the malt is at
all hard or “steely,” starch conversion is by no means complete. These
disadvantages are overcome by the filter press process, which was first
introduced into Great Britain by the Belgian engineer P. Meura. The malt,
in this method of brewing, is ground quite fine, and although an ordinary
mash-tun may be used for mashing, the separation of the clear wort from
the solid matter takes place in the filter press, which retains the very
finest particles with ease. It is also a simple matter to wash out the
wort from the filter cake in the presses, and experience has shown that
markedly increased yields are thus obtained. In the writer’s opinion,
there is little doubt that in the future this, or a similar process, will
find a very wide application.

Boiling.—From the mash-tun the wort passes to the
copper. If it is not possible to arrange the plant so that the
coppers are situated beneath the mash-tuns (as is the case in breweries
arranged on the gravitation system), an intermediate collecting
vessel (the underback) is interposed, and from this the wort is pumped
into the copper. The latter is a large copper vessel heated by direct
fire or steam. Modern coppers are generally closed in with a dome-shaped
head, but many old-fashioned open coppers are still to be met with, in
fact pale-ale brewers prefer open coppers. In the closed type the wort is
frequently boiled under slight pressure. When the wort has been raised to
the boil, the hops or a part thereof are added, and the boiling is
continued generally from an hour to three hours, according to the type of
beer. The objects of boiling, briefly put, are: (1) sterilization of the
wort; (2) extraction from the hops of substances that give flavour and
aroma to the beer; (3) the coagulation and precipitation of a part of the
nitrogenous matter (the coagulable albuminoids), which, if left in, would
cause cloudiness and fret, &c., in the finished beer; (4) the
concentration of the wort. At least three distinct substances are
extracted from the hops in boiling. First, the hop tannin, which,
combining with a part of the proteids derived from the malt, precipitates
them; second, the hop resin, which acts as a preservative and
bitter; third, the hop oil, to which much of the fine aroma of
beer is due. The latter is volatile, and it is customary, therefore, not
to add the whole of the hops to the wort when it commences to boil, but
to reserve about a third until near the end of the copper stage. The
quantity of hops employed varies according to the type of beer, from
about 3 lb to 15 lb per quarter (336 lb) of malt. For mild ales and
porters about 3 to 4 lb, for light pale ales and light stouts 6 to 10 lb,
and for strong ales and stouts 9 to 15 lb of hops are employed.

Cooling.—When the wort has boiled the necessary time, it
is turned into the hop back to settle. A hop back is a wooden or
metal vessel, fitted with a false bottom of perforated plates; the latter
retain the spent hops, the wort being drawn off into the coolers. After
resting for a brief period in the hop back, the bright wort is run into
the coolers. The cooler is a very shallow vessel of great area,
and the result of the exposure of the hot wort to a comparatively large
volume of air is that a part of the hop constituents and other substances
contained in the wort are rendered insoluble and are precipitated. It was
formerly considered absolutely essential that this hot aeration should
take place, but in many breweries nowadays coolers are not used, the wort
being run direct from the hop back to the refrigerator. There is much to
be said for this procedure, as the exposure of hot wort in the cooler is
attended with much danger of bacterial and wild yeast infection, but it
is still a moot point whether the cooler or its equivalent can be
entirely dispensed with for all classes of beers. A rational alteration
would appear to be to place the cooler in an air-tight chamber supplied
with purified and sterilized air. This principle has already been applied
to the refrigerator, and apparently with success. In America the cooler
is frequently replaced by a cooling tank, an enclosed vessel of some
depth, capable of artificial aeration. It is not practicable, in any
case, to cool the wort sufficiently on the cooler to bring it to the
proper temperature for the fermentation stage, and for this purpose,
therefore, the refrigerator is employed. There are several kinds
of refrigerators, the main distinction being that some are vertical,
others horizontal; but the principle in each case is much the same, and
consists in allowing a thin film or stream of wort to trickle over a
series of pipes through which cold water circulates. Fig. 5, Plate I.,
shows refrigerators, employed in Messrs Allsopp’s lager beer brewery, at
work.

Fermenting.—By the process of fermentation the wort is
converted into beer. By the action of living yeast cells (see Fermentation) the sugar contained in the wort is split
up into alcohol and carbonic acid, and a number of subsidiary reactions
occur. There are two main systems of fermentation, the top
fermentation system, which is that employed in the United Kingdom,
and the bottom fermentation system, which is that used for the
production of beers of the continental (“lager”) type. The wort,
generally at a temperature of about 60° F. (this applies to all the
systems excepting B [see below], in which the temperature is higher), is
“pitched” with liquid yeast (or “barm,” as it is often called) at the
rate of, according to the type and strength of the beer to be made, 1 to
4 lb to the barrel. After a few hours a slight froth or scum makes its
appearance on the surface of the liquid. At the end of a further short
period this develops into a light curly mass (cauliflower or
curly head), which gradually becomes lighter and more solid in
appearance, and is then known as rocky head. This in its turn
shrinks to a compact mass—the yeasty head—which emits
great bubbles of gas with a hissing sound. At this point the
cleansing of the beer—i.e. the separation of the
yeast from the liquid—has fairly commenced, and it is let down
(except in the skimming and Yorkshire systems [see below]) into the
pontos or unions, as the case may be. During fermentation the temperature
rises considerably, and in order to prevent an excessive temperature
being obtained (70-75° F. should be the maximum) the fermenting vessels
are fitted with “attemperators,” i.e. a system of pipes through
which cold water may be run.

Cleansing.—In England the methods of applying the top
fermentation system may be classified as follows: (A) The Cleansing
System: (a) Skimming System, (b) Dropping System
(pontos or ordinary dropping system), (c) Burton Union System. (B)
The Yorkshire Stone Square System.

Fig. 4.—Fermenting Round.
A,
Skimmer; B, Parachute; C, Attemperator.

(A) In (a) the Skimming System the fermentation from
start to finish takes place in wooden vessels (termed “squares” or
“rounds”), fitted with an attemperator and a parachute or other similar
skimming device for removing or “skimming” the yeast at the end of the
fermentation (fig. 4). The principle of (b) the Dropping
System is that the beer undergoes only the main fermentation in the
“round” or “square,” and is then dropped down into a second vessel or
vessels, in which fermentation and cleansing are completed. The
ponto system of dropping, which is now somewhat old-fashioned,
consists in discharging the beer into a series of vat-like vessels,
fitted with a peculiarly-shaped overflow lip. The yeast works its way out
of the vessel over the lip, and then flows into a gutter and is
collected. The pontos are kept filled with beer by means of a vessel
placed at a higher level. In the ordinary dropping system the
partly fermented beer is let down from the “squares” and “rounds” into
large vessels, termed dropping or skimming “backs.” These are fitted with
attemperators, and parachutes for the removal of yeast, in much the same
way as in the skimming system. As a rule the parachute covers the whole
width of the back. (c) The Burton Union System is really an
improved ponto system. A series of casks, supplied with beer at the
cleansing stage from a feed vessel, are mounted so that they may rotate
axially. Each cask is fitted with an attemperator, a pipe and cock at the
base for the removal of the finished beer and “bottoms,” and lastly with
a swan neck fitting through a bung-hole and commanding a common gutter.
This system yields excellent results for certain classes of beers, and
many Burton brewers think it is essential for obtaining [v.04 p.0511]the
Burton character. Fig. 6 (Plate II.) shows the process in operation in
Messrs Allsopp’s brewery.

(B) The Stone Square System, which is only used to a certain
extent (exclusively in the north of England), practically consists in
pumping the fermenting wort from one to the other of two superimposed
square vessels, connected with one another by means of a man-hole and a
valve. These squares are built of stone and kept very cool. At the end of
the fermentation the yeast (after closing the man-hole) is removed from
the top square.

Racking, &c.—After the fermentation and cleansing
operations are completed, the beer is racked off (sometimes after passing
a few hours in a settling tank) into storage vessels or trade casks. The
finest “stock” and “pale” ales are stored from six weeks to three months
prior to going out, but “running” beers (mild ales, &c.) are
frequently sent out of the brewery within a week or ten days of mashing.
It is usual to add some hops in cask (this is called dry hopping)
in the case of many of the better beers. Running beers, which must be put
into condition rapidly, or beers that have become flat, are generally
primed. Priming consists in adding a small quantity of sugar
solution to the beer in cask. This rapidly ferments and so produces
“condition.”

Fining.—As a very light article is desired nowadays, and
this has to be provided in a short time, artificial means must be
resorted to, in order to replace the natural fining or brightening which
storage brings about. Finings generally consist of a solution or
semi-solution of isinglass in sour beer, or in a solution of tartaric
acid or of sulphurous acid. After the finings are added to the beer and
the barrels have been well rolled, the finings slowly precipitate (or
work out through the bung-hole) and carry with them the matter which
would otherwise render the beer turbid.

Bottling.—Formerly it was the general custom to brew a
special beer for bottling, and this practice is still continued by some
brewers. It is generally admitted that the special brew, matured by
storage and an adequate secondary fermentation, produces the best beer
for bottling, but the modern taste for a very light and bright bottled
beer at a low cost has necessitated the introduction of new methods. The
most interesting among these is the “chilling” and “carbonating” system.
In this the beer, when it is ripe for racking, is first “chilled,” that
is, cooled to a very low temperature. As a result, there is an immediate
deposition of much matter which otherwise would require prolonged time to
settle. The beer is then filtered and so rendered quite bright, and
finally, in order to produce immediate “condition,” is “carbonated,”
i.e. impregnated under pressure with carbon dioxide (carbonic acid
gas).

Foreign Brewing and Beers.—The system of
brewing which differs most widely from the English infusion and
top fermentation method is the decoction and bottom
fermentation system, so widely employed, chiefly on the continent of
Europe, for the production of beers of the “lager” type.

The method pursued in the decoction system is broadly as
follows:—After the grist has been mashed with cold water until a
homogeneous mixture ensues, sufficient hot water is introduced into the
mash-tun to raise the temperature to 85-100° F., according to
circumstances. Thereupon, about one-third of the mash (including the
“goods”) is transferred to the Maisch Kessel (mash copper), in
which it is gradually brought to a temperature of (about) 165° F., and
this heat is maintained until the mash becomes transparent. The
Dickmaische, as this portion is called, is then raised to the
boil, and the ebullition sustained between a quarter and three-quarters
of an hour. Just sufficient of the Dickmaische is returned to the
mash-tun proper to raise the temperature of the whole to 111-125° F., and
after a few minutes a third is again withdrawn and treated as before, to
form the second “thick mash.” When the latter has been returned to the
mash-tun the whole is thoroughly worked up, allowed to stand in order
that the solids may deposit, and then another third (called the
Läutermaische or “clear mash”) is withdrawn, boiled until the
coagulable albuminoids are precipitated, and finally reconveyed to the
mash-tun, where the mashing is continued for some time, the final heat
being rather over 160° F. The wort, after boiling with hops and cooling,
much as in the English system, is subjected to the peculiar system of
fermentation called bottom fermentation. In this system the
“pitching” and fermentation take place at a very low temperature and,
compared with the English system, in very small vessels. The fermenting
cellars are maintained at a temperature of about 37-38° F., and the
temperature of the fermenting wort does not rise above 50° F. The yeast,
which is of a different type from that employed in the English system,
remains at the bottom of the fermenting tun, and hence is derived the
name of “bottom fermentation” (see Fermentation).
The primary fermentation lasts about eleven to twelve days (as compared
with three days on the English system), and the beer is then run into
store (lager) casks where it remains at a temperature approaching the
freezing-point of water for six weeks to six months, according to the
time of the year and the class of the beer. As to the relative character
and stability of decoction and infusion beers, the latter are, as a rule,
more alcoholic; but the former contain more unfermented malt extract, and
are therefore, broadly speaking, more nutritive. Beers of the German type
are less heavily hopped and more peptonized than English beers, and more
highly charged with carbonic acid, which, owing to the low fermentation
and storing temperatures, is retained for a comparatively long time and
keeps the beer in condition. On the other hand, infusion beers are of a
more stable and stimulating character. It is impossible to keep “lager”
beer on draught in the ordinary sense of the term in England. It will not
keep unless placed on ice, and, as a matter of fact, the “condition” of
lager is dependent to a far greater extent on the methods of distribution
and storage than is the case with infusion beers. If a cask is opened it
must be rapidly consumed; indeed it becomes undrinkable within a very few
hours. The gas escapes rapidly when the pressure is released, the
temperature rises, and the beer becomes flat and mawkish. In Germany
every publican is bound to have an efficient supply of ice, the latter
frequently being delivered by the brewery together with the beer.

In America the common system of brewing is one of infusion mashing
combined with bottom fermentation. The method of mashing, however, though
on infusion lines, differs appreciably from the English process. A very
low initial heat—about 100° F.—at which the mash remains for
about an hour, is employed. After this the temperature is rapidly raised
to 153-156° F. by running in the boiling “cooker mash,” i.e. raw
grain wort from the converter. After a period the temperature is
gradually increased to about 165° F. The very low initial heat, and the
employment of relatively large quantities of readily transformable malt
adjuncts, enable the American brewer to make use of a class of malt which
would be considered quite unfit for brewing in an English brewery. The
system of fermentation is very similar to the continental “lager” system,
and the beer obtained bears some resemblance to the German product. To
the English palate it is somewhat flavourless, but it is always retailed
in exceedingly brilliant condition and at a proper temperature. There can
be little doubt that every nation evolves a type of beer most suited to
its climate and the temperament of the people, and in this respect the
modern American beer is no exception. In regard to plant and mechanical
arrangements generally, the modern American breweries may serve as an
object-lesson to the European brewer, although there are certainly a
number of breweries in the United Kingdom which need not fear comparison
with the best American plants.

It is a sign of the times and further evidence as to the growing taste
for a lighter type of beer, that lager brewing in its most modern form
has now fairly taken root in Great Britain, and in this connexion the
process introduced by Messrs Allsopp exhibits many features of interest.
The following is a brief description of the plant and the methods
employed:—The wort is prepared on infusion lines, and is then
cooled by means of refrigerated brine before passing to a temporary store
tank, which serves as a gauging vessel. From the latter the wort passes
directly to the fermenting tuns, huge closed cylindrical vessels made of
sheet-steel and coated with glass enamel. There the wort ferments under
reduced pressure, the carbonic acid generated being removed by means of a
vacuum pump, and the gas thus withdrawn is replaced by the introduction
of cool sterilized air. The fermenting cellars are kept at 40° F. The
yeast employed is a pure culture (see Fermentation) bottom yeast, but the withdrawal of the
products of yeast metabolism and the constant supply of pure fresh air
cause the fermentation to proceed far more rapidly than is the case with
lager beer brewed on ordinary lines. It is, in fact, finished in about
six days. Thereupon the air-supply is cut off, the green beer again
cooled to 40° F. and [v.04 p.0512]then conveyed by means of filtered
air pressure to the store tanks, where secondary fermentation, lasting
three weeks, takes place. The gases evolved are allowed to collect under
pressure, so that the beer is thoroughly charged with the carbonic acid
necessary to give it condition. Finally the beer is again cooled,
filtered, racked and bottled, the whole of these operations taking place
under counter pressure, so that no gas can escape; indeed, from the time
the wort leaves the copper to the moment when it is bottled in the shape
of beer, it does not come into contact with the outer air.

The preparation of the Japanese beer saké (q.v.) is of
interest. The first stage consists in the preparation of Koji,
which is obtained by treating steamed rice with a culture of
Aspergillus oryzae. This micro-organism converts the starch into
sugar. The Koji is converted into moto by adding it to a
thin paste of fresh-boiled starch in a vat. Fermentation is set up and
lasts for 30 to 40 days. The third stage consists in adding more rice and
Koji to the moto, together with some water. A secondary
fermentation, lasting from 8 to 10 days, ensues. Subsequently the whole
is filtered, heated and run into casks, and is then known as saké.
The interest of this process consists in the fact that a single
micro-organism—a mould—is able to exercise the combined
functions of saccharification and fermentation. It replaces the diastase
of malted grain and also the yeast of a European brewery. Another liquid
of interest is Weissbier. This, which is largely produced in
Berlin (and in some respects resembles the wheat-beer produced in
parts of England), is generally prepared from a mash of three parts of
wheat malt and one part of barley malt. The fermentation is of a
symbiotic nature, two organisms, namely a yeast and a fission fungus (the
lactic acid bacillus) taking part in it. The preparation of this
peculiar double ferment is assisted by the addition of a certain quantity
of white wine to the yeast prior to fermentation.

Brewing Chemistry.—The principles of
brewing technology belong for the most part to physiological chemistry,
whilst those of the cognate industry, malting, are governed exclusively
by that branch of knowledge. Alike in following the growth of barley in
field, its harvesting, maturing and conversion into malt, as well as the
operations of mashing malt, fermenting wort, and conditioning beer,
physiological chemistry is needed. On the other hand, the consideration
of the saline matter in waters, the composition of the extract of worts
and beers, and the analysis of brewing materials and products generally,
belong to the domain of pure chemistry. Since the extractive matters
contained in wort and beer consist for the most part of the
transformation products of starch, it is only natural that these should
have received special attention at the hands of scientific men associated
with the brewing industry. It was formerly believed that by the action of
diastase on starch the latter is first converted into a gummy substance
termed dextrin, which is then subsequently transformed into a
sugar—glucose. F.A. Musculus, however, in 1860, showed that sugar
and dextrin are simultaneously produced, and between the years 1872 and
1876 Cornelius O’Sullivan definitely proved that the sugar produced was
maltose. When starch-paste, the jelly formed by treating starch with
boiling water, is mixed with iodine solution, a deep blue coloration
results. The first product of starch degradation by either acids or
diastase, namely soluble starch, also exhibits the same coloration when
treated with iodine. As degradation proceeds, and the products become
more and more soluble and diffusible, the blue reaction with iodine gives
place first to a purple, then to a reddish colour, and finally the
coloration ceases altogether. In the same way, the optical rotating power
decreases, and the cupric reducing power (towards Fehling’s solution)
increases, as the process of hydrolysis proceeds. C. O’Sullivan was the
first to point out definitely the influence of the temperature of the
mash on the character of the products. The work of Horace T. Brown (with
J. Heron) extended that of O’Sullivan, and (with G.H. Morris) established
the presence of an intermediate product between the higher dextrins and
maltose. This product was termed maltodextrin, and Brown and Morris were
led to believe that a large number of these substances existed in malt
wort. They proposed for these substances the generic name “amyloins.”
Although according to their view they were compounds of maltose and
dextrin, they had the properties of mixtures of these two substances. On
the assumption of the existence of these compounds, Brown and his
colleagues formulated what is known as the maltodextrin or amyloin
hypothesis of starch degradation. C.J. Lintner, in 1891, claimed to have
separated a sugar, isomeric with maltose, which is termed isomaltose,
from the products of starch hydrolysis. A.R. Ling and J.L. Baker, as well
as Brown and Morris, in 1895, proved that this isomaltose was not a
homogeneous substance, and evidence tending to the same conclusion was
subsequently brought forward by continental workers. Ling and Baker, in
1897, isolated the following compounds from the products of starch
hydrolysis—maltodextrin-α,
C₃₆H₆₂O₃₁, and maltodextrin-β, C₂₄H₄₂O₂₁
(previously named by Prior, achroodextrin III.). They also separated a
substance, C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁, isomeric with
maltose, which had, however, the characteristics of a dextrin. This is
probably identical with the so-called dextrinose isolated by V. Syniewski
in 1902, which yields a phenylosazone melting at 82-83° C. It has been
proved by H. Ost that the so-called isomaltose of Lintner is a mixture of
maltose and another substance, maltodextrin, isomeric with Ling and
Baker’s maltodextrin-β.

The theory of Brown and Morris of the degradation of starch, although
based on experimental evidence of some weight, is by no means universally
accepted. Nevertheless it is of considerable interest, as it offers a
rational and consistent explanation of the phenomena known to accompany
the transformation of starch by diastase, and even if not strictly
correct it has, at any rate, proved itself to be a practical working
hypothesis, by which the mashing and fermenting operations may be
regulated and controlled. According to Brown and Morris, the starch
molecule consists of five amylin groups, each of which corresponds to the
molecular formula
(C₁₂H₂₀O₁₀)₂₀. Four of these
amylin radicles are grouped centrally round the fifth, thus:—

By the action of diastase, this complex molecule is split up,
undergoing hydrolysis into four groups of amyloins, the fifth or central
group remaining unchanged (and under brewing conditions unchangeable),
forming the substance known as stable dextrin. When diastase acts on
starch-paste, hydrolysis proceeds as far as the reaction represented by
the following equation:—

The amyloins are substances containing varying numbers of amylin
(original starch or dextrin) groups in conjunction with a proportional
number of maltose groups. They are not separable into maltose and dextrin
by any of the ordinary means, but exhibit the properties of mixtures of
these substances. As the process of hydrolysis proceeds, the amyloins
become gradually poorer in amylin and relatively richer in
maltose-groups. The final products of transformation, according to Brown
and J.H. Millar, are maltose and glucose, which latter is derived from
the hydrolysis of the stable dextrin. This theory may be applied in
practical brewing in the following manner. If it is desired to obtain a
beer of a stable character—that is to say, one containing a
considerable proportion of high-type amyloins—it is necessary to
restrict the action of the diastase in the mash-tun accordingly. On the
other hand, for mild running ales, which are to “condition” rapidly, it
is necessary to provide for the presence of sufficient maltodextrin of a
low type. Investigation has shown that the type of maltodextrin can be
regulated, not only in the mash-tun but also on the malt-kiln. A higher
type is obtained by low kiln and high mashing temperatures than by high
kiln and low mashing heats, and it is possible therefore to regulate, on
scientific lines, not only the quality but also the type of amyloins
which are suitable for a particular beer.

The chemistry of the nitrogenous constituents of malt is equally
important with that of starch and its transformations. Without
nitrogenous compounds of the proper type, vigorous fermentations are not
possible. It may be remembered that yeast assimilates nitrogenous
compounds in some of their simpler forms—amides and the like. One
of the aims of the maltster is, therefore, to break down the protein
substances present in barley to such a degree that the wort has a maximum
nutritive value for the yeast. Further, it is necessary for the
production of stable beer to eliminate a large proportion of nitrogenous
matter, and this is only done by the yeast when the proteins are
degraded. There is also some evidence that the presence of albumoses
assists in producing the foaming properties of beer. It has now been
established definitely, by the work of A. Fernbach, W. Windisch, F.Weiss
and P. Schidrowitz, that finished malt contains at least two proteolytic
enzymes (a peptic and a pancreatic enzyme).

Fig. 6.—BURTON-UNION SYSTEM OF CLEANSING.
(MESSRS. ALLSOPP’S BREWERY.)

The green beer is filled into the casks, and the excess
of yeast, &c., then works out through the swan necks into the long
common gutter shown.

Fig. 5.—REFRIGERATORS IN “LAGER” BREWERY
OF MESSRS. ALLSOPP.

The hot wort trickles over the outside of the series of
pipes, and is cooled by the cold water which circulates in them. From
the shallow collecting trays the cooled wort is conducted to the
fermenting backs.

[v.04 p.0513]

The presence of different types of phosphates in malt, and the
important influence which, according to their nature, they exercise in
the brewing process by way of the enzymes affected by them, have been
made the subject of research mainly by Fernbach and A. Hubert, and by
P.E. Petit and G. Labourasse. The number of enzymes which are now known
to take part in the brewing process is very large. They may with utility
be grouped as follows:—

Bibliography.—W.J. Sykes, Principles
and Practice of Brewing (London, 1897); Moritz and Morris, A
Text-book of the Science of Brewing (London, 1891); H.E. Wright, A
Handy Book for Brewers (London, 1897); Frank Thatcher, Brewing and
Malting (London, 1898); Julian L. Baker, The Brewing Industry
(London, 1905); E.J. Lintner, Grundriss der Bierbrauerei (Berlin,
1904); J.E. Thausing, Die Theorie und Praxis der Malzbereitung und
Bierfabrikation (Leipzig, 1898); E. Michel, Lehrbuch der
Bierbrauerei (Augsburg, 1900); E. Prior, Chemie u. Physiologie des
Malzes und des Bieres (Leipzig, 1896). Technical journals: The
Journal of the Institute of Brewing (London); The Brewing Trade
Review (London); The Brewers’ Journal (London); The
Brewers’ Journal (New York); Wochenschrift für Brauerei
(Berlin); Zeitschrift für das gesammte Brauwesen (Munich).

(P. S.)

BREWSTER, SIR DAVID (1781-1868), Scottish natural philosopher,
was born on the 11th of December 1781 at Jedburgh, where his father, a
teacher of high reputation, was rector of the grammar school. At the
early age of twelve he was sent to the university of Edinburgh, being
intended for the clerical profession. Even before this, however, he had
shown a strong inclination for natural science, and this had been
fostered by his intimacy with a “self-taught philosopher, astronomer and
mathematician,” as Sir Walter Scott called him, of great local
fame—James Veitch of Inchbonny, who was particularly skilful in
making telescopes. Though he duly finished his theological course and was
licensed to preach, Brewster’s preference for other pursuits prevented
him from engaging in the active duties of his profession. In 1799 he was
induced by his fellow-student, Henry Brougham, to study the diffraction
of light. The results of his investigations were communicated from time
to time in papers to the Philosophical Transactions of London and
other scientific journals, and were admirably and impartially summarized
by James D. Forbes in his preliminary dissertation to the eighth edition
of the Encyclopaedia Britannica. The fact that other philosophers,
notably Etienne Louis Malus and Augustin Fresnel, were pursuing the same
investigations contemporaneously in France does not invalidate Brewster’s
claim to independent discovery, even though in one or two cases the
priority must be assigned to others.

The most important subjects of his inquiries are enumerated by Forbes
under the following five heads:—(1) The laws of polarization by
reflection and refraction, and other quantitative laws of phenomena; (2)
The discovery of the polarizing structure induced by heat and pressure;
(3) The discovery of crystals with two axes of double refraction, and
many of the laws of their phenomena, including the connexion of optical
structure and crystalline forms; (4) The laws of metallic reflection; (5)
Experiments on the absorption of light. In this line of investigation the
prime importance belongs to the discovery (1) of the connexion between
the refractive index and the polarizing angle, (2) of biaxial crystals,
and (3) of the production of double refraction by irregular heating.
These discoveries were promptly recognized. So early as the year 1807 the
degree of LL.D. was conferred upon Brewster by Marischal College,
Aberdeen; in 1815 he was made a member of the Royal Society of London,
and received the Copley medal; in 1818 he received the Rumford medal of
the society; and in 1816 the French Institute awarded him one-half of the
prize of three thousand francs for the two most important discoveries in
physical science made in Europe during the two preceding years. Among the
non-scientific public his fame was spread more effectually by his
rediscovery about 1815 of the kaleidoscope, for which there was a great
demand in both England and America. An instrument of higher interest, the
stereoscope, which, though of much later date (1849-1850), may be
mentioned here, since along with the kaleidoscope it did more than
anything else to popularize his name, was not, as has often been
asserted, the invention of Brewster. Sir Charles Wheatstone discovered
its principle and applied it as early as 1838 to the construction of a
cumbrous but effective instrument, in which the binocular pictures were
made to combine by means of mirrors. To Brewster is due the merit of
suggesting the use of lenses for the purpose of uniting the dissimilar
pictures; and accordingly the lenticular stereoscope may fairly be said
to be his invention. A much more valuable practical result of Brewster’s
optical researches was the improvement of the British lighthouse system.
It is true that the dioptric apparatus was perfected independently by
Fresnel, who had also the satisfaction of being the first to put it into
operation. But it is indisputable that Brewster was earlier in the field
than Fresnel; that he described the dioptric apparatus in 1812; that he
pressed its adoption on those in authority at least as early as 1820, two
years before Fresnel suggested it; and that it was finally introduced
into British lighthouses mainly by his persistent efforts.

Brewster’s own discoveries, important though they were, were not his
only, perhaps not even his chief, service to science. He began literary
work in 1799 as a regular contributor to the Edinburgh Magazine,
of which he acted as editor at the age of twenty. In 1807 he undertook
the editorship of the newly projected Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, of
which the first part appeared in 1808, and the last not until 1830. The
work was strongest in the scientific department, and many of its most
valuable articles were from the pen of the editor. At a later period he
was one of the leading contributors to the Encyclopaedia
Britannica (seventh and eighth editions), the articles on
Electricity, Hydrodynamics, Magnetism, Microscope, Optics, Stereoscope,
Voltaic Electricity, &c., being from his pen. In 1819 Brewster
undertook further editorial work by establishing, in conjunction with
Robert Jameson (1774-1854), the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal,
which took the place of the Edinburgh Magazine. The first ten
volumes (1819-1824) were published under the joint editorship of Brewster
and Jameson, the remaining four volumes (1825-1826) being edited by
Jameson alone. After parting company with Jameson, Brewster started the
Edinburgh Journal of Science in 1824, sixteen volumes of which
appeared under his editorship during the years 1824-1832, with very many
articles from his own pen. To the transactions of various learned
societies he contributed from first to last between three and four
hundred papers, and few of his contemporaries wrote so much for the
various reviews. In the North British Review alone seventy-five
articles of his appeared. A list of his larger separate works will be
found below. Special mention, however, must be made of the most important
of them all—his biography of Sir Isaac Newton. In 1831 he published
a short popular account of the philosopher’s life in Murray’s Family
Library; but it was not until 1855 that he was able to issue the much
fuller Memoirs of the Life, Writings and Discoveries of Sir Isaac
Newton, a work which embodied the results of more than twenty years’
patient investigation of original manuscripts and all other available
sources.

Brewster’s relations as editor brought him into frequent communication
with the most eminent scientific men, and he was naturally among the
first to recognize the benefit that would accrue from regular intercourse
among workers in the field of science. In an article in the Quarterly
Review he threw out a suggestion for “an association of our nobility,
clergy, gentry and philosophers,” which was taken up by others and found
speedy realization in the British Association for the Advancement of [v.04
p.0514]Science. Its first meeting was held at York in 1831; and
Brewster, along with Charles Babbage and Sir John F. W. Herschel, had the
chief part in shaping its constitution. In the same year in which the
British Association held its first meeting, Brewster received the honour
of knighthood and the decoration of the Guelphic order of Hanover. In
1838 he was appointed principal of the united colleges of St Salvator and
St Leonard, St Andrews. In 1849 he acted as president of the British
Association and was elected one of the eight foreign associates of the
Institute of France in succession to J.J. Berzelius; and ten years later
he accepted the office of principal of the university of Edinburgh, the
duties of which he discharged until within a few months of his death,
which took place at Allerly, Melrose, on the 10th of February 1868.

In estimating Brewster’s place among scientific discoverers the chief
thing to be borne in mind is that the bent of his genius was not
characteristically mathematical. His method was empirical, and the laws
which he established were generally the result of repeated experiment. To
the ultimate explanation of the phenomena with which he dealt he
contributed nothing, and it is noteworthy in this connexion that if he
did not maintain to the end of his life the corpuscular theory he never
explicitly adopted the undulatory theory of light. Few will be inclined
to dispute the verdict of Forbes:—”His scientific glory is
different in kind from that of Young and Fresnel; but the discoverer of
the law of polarization of biaxial crystals, of optical mineralogy, and
of double refraction by compression, will always occupy a foremost rank
in the intellectual history of the age.” In addition to the various works
of Brewster already noticed, the following may be mentioned:—Notes
and Introduction to Carlyle’s translation of Legendre’s Elements of
Geometry (1824); Treatise on Optics (1831); Letters on
Natural Magic, addressed to Sir Walter Scott (1831); The Martyrs
of Science, or the Lives of Galileo, Tycho Brahe, and Kepler (1841);
More Worlds than One (1854).

See The Home Life of Sir David Brewster, by his daughter Mrs
Gordon.

BREWSTER, WILLIAM (c. 1566-1644), American colonist, one of the
leaders of the “Pilgrims,” was born at Scrooby, in Nottinghamshire,
England, about 1566. After studying for a short time at Cambridge, he was
from 1584 to 1587 in the service of William Davison (? 1541-1608), who in
1585 went to the Low Countries to negotiate an alliance with the
states-general and in 1586 became assistant to Walsingham, Queen
Elizabeth’s secretary of state. Upon the disgrace of Davison, Brewster
removed to Scrooby, where from 1590 until September 1607 he held the
position of “Post,” or postmaster responsible for the relays of horses on
the post road, having previously, for a short time, assisted his father
in that office. About 1602 his neighbours began to assemble for worship
at his home, the Scrooby manor house, and in 1606 he joined them in
organizing the Separatist church of Scrooby. After an unsuccessful
attempt in 1607 (for which he was imprisoned for a short time), he, with
other Separatists, removed to Holland in 1608 to obtain greater freedom
of worship. At Leiden in 1609 he was chosen ruling elder of the
Congregation. In Holland he supported himself first by teaching English
and afterwards in 1616-1619, as the partner of one Thomas Brewer, by
secretly printing, for sale in England, books proscribed by the English
government, thus, says Bradford, having “imploymente inough.” In 1619
their types were seized and Brewer was arrested by the authorities of the
university of Leiden, acting on the instance of the British ambassador,
Sir Dudley Carleton. Brewster, however, escaped, and in the same year,
with Robert Cushman (c. 1580-1625), obtained in London, on behalf of his
associates, a land patent from the Virginia Company. In 1620 he emigrated
to America on the “Mayflower,” and was one of the founders of the
Plymouth Colony. Here besides continuing until his death to act as ruling
elder, he was also—regularly until the arrival of the first pastor,
Ralph Smith (d. 1661), in 1629 and irregularly afterward—a
“teacher,” preaching “both powerfully and profitably to ye great
contentment of ye hearers and their comfortable edification.” By many he
is regarded as pre-eminently the leader of the “Pilgrims.” He died,
probably on the 10th of April 1644.

See Ashbel Steele’s Chief of the Pilgrims; or the Life and Time of
William Brewster (Philadelphia, 1857); and a sketch in William
Bradford’s History of the Plimouth Plantation (new ed., Boston,
1898).

BRÉZÉ the name of a noble Angevin family, the most famous
member of which was Pierre de Brézé (c.
1410-1465), one of the trusted soldiers and statesmen of Charles VII. He
had made his name as a soldier in the English wars when in 1433 he joined
with Yolande, queen of Sicily, the constable Richmond and others, in
chasing from power Charles VII.’s minister La Trémoille. He was knighted
by Charles of Anjou in 1434, and presently entered the royal council. In
1437 he became seneschal of Anjou, and in 1440 of Poitou. During the
Praguerie he rendered great service to the royal cause against the
dauphin Louis and the revolted nobles, a service which was remembered
against him after Louis’s accession to the throne. He fought against the
English in Normandy in 1440-1441, and in Guienne in 1442. In the next
year he became chamberlain to Charles VII., and gained the chief power in
the state through the influence of Agnes Sorel, superseding his early
allies Richmond and Charles of Anjou. The six years (1444-1450) of his
ascendancy were the most prosperous period of the reign of Charles VII.
His most dangerous opponent was the dauphin Louis, who in 1448 brought
against him accusations which led to a formal trial resulting in a
complete exoneration of Brézé and his restoration to favour. He fought in
Normandy in 1450-1451, and became seneschal of the province after the
death of Agnes Sorel and the consequent decline of his influence at
court. He made an ineffective descent on the English coast at Sandwich in
1457, and was preparing an expedition in favour of Margaret of Anjou when
the accession of Louis XI. brought him disgrace and a short imprisonment.
In 1462, however, his son Jacques married Louis’s half-sister, Charlotte
de Valois, daughter of Agnes Sorel. In 1462 he accompanied Margaret to
Scotland with a force of 2000 men, and after the battle of Hexham he
brought her back to Flanders. On his return he was reappointed seneschal
of Normandy, and fell in the battle of Montlhéry on the 16th of July
1465. He was succeeded as seneschal of Normandy by his eldest son Jacques
de Brézé (c. 1440-1490), count of Maulevrier; and by his grandson,
husband of the famous Diane de Poitiers, Louis de Brézé (d. 1531), whose
tomb in Rouen cathedral, attributed to Jean Goujon and Jean Cousin, is a
splendid example of French Renaissance work.

The lordship of Brézé passed eventually to Claire Clémence de Maillé,
princess of Condé, by whom it was sold to Thomas Dreux, who took the name
of Dreux Brézé, when it was erected into a marquisate. Henri Evrard, marquis de Dreux-Brézé (1762-1829),
succeeded his father as master of the ceremonies to Louis XVI. in 1781.
On the meeting of the states-general in 1789 it fell to him to regulate
the questions of etiquette and precedence between the three estates. That
as the immediate representative of the crown he should wound the
susceptibilities of the deputies was perhaps inevitable, but little
attempt was made to adapt traditional etiquette to changed circumstances.
Brézé did not formally intimate to President Bailly the proclamation of
the royal séance until the 20th of June, when the carpenters were about
to enter the hall to prepare for the event, thus provoking the session in
the tennis court. After the royal séance Brézé was sent to reiterate
Louis’s orders that the estates should meet separately, when Mirabeau
replied that the hall could not be cleared except by force. After the
fall of the Tuileries Brézé emigrated for a short time, but though he
returned to France he was spared during the Terror. At the Restoration he
was made a peer of France, and resumed his functions as guardian of an
antiquated ceremonial. He died on the 27th of January 1829, when he was
succeeded in the peerage and at court by his son Scipion (1793-1845).

The best contemporary account of Pierre de Brézé is given in the
Chroniques of the Burgundian chronicler, Georges Chastellain, who
had been his secretary. Chastellain addressed a Déprécation to
Louis XI. on his behalf at the time of his disgrace.

[v.04 p.0515]

BRIALMONT, HENRI ALEXIS (1821-1903), Belgian general and
military engineer, son of General Laurent Mathieu Brialmont (d. 1885),
was born at Venlo in Limburg on the 25th of May 1821. Educated at the
Brussels military school, he entered the army as sub-lieutenant of
engineers in 1843, and became lieutenant in 1847. From 1847 to 1850 he
was private secretary to the war minister, General Baron Chazal. In 1855
he entered the staff corps, became major in 1861, lieutenant-colonel
1864, colonel in 1868 and major-general 1874. In this rank he held at
first the position of director of fortifications in the Antwerp district
(December 1874), and nine months later he became inspector-general of
fortifications and of the corps of engineers. In 1877 he became
lieutenant-general. His far-reaching schemes for the fortification of the
Belgian places met with no little opposition, and Brialmont seems to have
felt much disappointment in this; at any rate he went in 1883 to Rumania
to advise as to the fortification works required for the defence of the
country, and presided over the elaboration of the scheme by which
Bucharest was to be made a first-class fortress. He was thereupon placed
en disponibilité in his own service, as having undertaken the
Bucharest works without the authorization of his sovereign. This was due
in part to the suggestion of Austria, which power regarded the Bucharest
works as a menace to herself. His services were, however, too valuable to
be lost, and on his return to Belgium in 1884 he resumed his command of
the Antwerp military district. He had, further, while in eastern Europe,
prepared at the request of the Hellenic government, a scheme for the
defence of Greece. He retired in 1886, but continued to supervise the
Rumanian defences. He died on the 21st of September 1903.

In the first stage of his career as an engineer Brialmont’s plans
followed with but slight modification the ideas of Vauban; and his
original scheme for fortifying Antwerp provided for both enceinte and
forts being on a bastioned trace. But in 1859, when the great entrenched
camp at Antwerp was finally taken in hand, he had already gone over to
the school of polygonal fortification and the ideas of Montalembert.
About twenty years later Brialmont’s own types and plans began to stand
out amidst the general confusion of ideas on fortification which
naturally resulted from the introduction of long-range guns, and from the
events of 1870-71. The extreme detached forts of the Antwerp region and
the fortifications on the Meuse at Liége and Namur were constructed in
accordance with Brialmont’s final principles, viz. the lavish use of
armour to protect the artillery inside the forts, the suppression of all
artillery positions open to overhead fire, and the multiplication of
intermediate batteries (see Fortification and
Siegecraft). In his capacity of inspector-general Brialmont
drafted and carried out the whole scheme for the defences of Belgium. He
was an indefatigable writer, and produced, besides essays, reviews and
other papers in the journals, twenty-three important works and forty-nine
pamphlets. In 1850 he originated the Journal de l’armée Belge. His
most important publications were La Fortification du temps présent
(Brussels, 1885); Influence du tir plongeant et des obus-torpilles sur
la fortification (Brussels, 1888); Les Régions fortifiées
(Brussels, 1890); La Défense des états et la fortification à la fin du
XIX^e siècle (Brussels, 1895); Progrès de la défense des
états et de la fortification permanente depuis Vauban (Brussels,
1898).

BRIAN (926-1014), king of Ireland, known as Brian Boru, Boroma, or Boroimhe (from boroma, an Irish word for
tribute), was a son of a certain Kennedy or Cenneide (d. 951). He passed
his youth in fighting against the Danes, who were constantly ravaging
Munster, the northern part of which district was the home of Brian’s
tribe, and won much fame in these encounters. In 976 his brother,
Mathgamhain or Mahon, who had become king of Thomond about 951 and
afterwards king of Munster, was murdered; Brian avenged this deed, became
himself king of Munster in 978, and set out upon his career of conquest.
He forced the tribes of Munster and then those of Leinster to own his
sovereignty, defeated the Danes, who were established around Dublin, in
Wicklow, and marched into Dublin, and after several reverses compelled
Malachy (Maelsechlainn), the chief king of Ireland, who ruled in Meath,
to bow before him in 1002. Connaught was his next objective. Here and
also in Ulster he was successful, everywhere he received hostages and
tribute, and he was generally recognized as the ardri, or chief
king of Ireland. After a period of comparative quiet Brian was again at
war with the Danes of Dublin, and on the 23rd of April 1014 his forces
gained a great victory over them at Clontarf. After this battle, however,
the old king was slain in his tent, and was buried at Armagh. Brian has
enjoyed a great and not undeserved reputation. One of his charters is
still preserved in Trinity College, Dublin.

See E.A. D’Alton, History of Ireland, vol. i. (1903).

BRIANÇON, a strongly fortified town in the department of
Hautes-Alpes in S.E. France. It is built at a height of 4334 ft. on a
plateau which dominates the junction of the Durance with the Guisane. The
town itself is formed of very steep and narrow, though picturesque
streets. As it lies at the foot of the descent from the Mont Genèvre
Pass, giving access to Turin, a great number of fortifications have been
constructed on the heights around Briançon, especially towards the east.
The Fort Janus is no less than 4000 ft. above the town. The parish
church, with its two towers, was built 1703-1726, and occupies a very
conspicuous position. The Pont d’Asfeld, E. of the town, was built in
1734, and forms an arch of 131 ft. span, thrown at a height of 184 ft.
across the Durance. The modern town extends in the plain at the S.W. foot
of the plateau on which the old town is built and forms the suburb of Ste
Catherine, with the railway station, and an important silk-weaving
factory. Briançon is 51½ m. by rail from Gap. The commune had a civil
population in 1906 of 4883 (urban population 3130), while the permanent
garrison was 2641—in all 7524 inhabitants.

Briançon was the Brigantium of the Romans and formed part of
the kingdom of King Cottius. About 1040 it came into the hands of the
counts of Albon (later dauphins of the Viennois) and thenceforth shared
the fate of the Dauphiné. The Briançonnais included not merely the upper
valley of the Durance (with those of its affluents, the Gyronde and the
Guil), but also the valley of the Dora Riparia (Césanne, Oulx,
Bardonnèche and Exilles), and that of the Chisone (Fénestrelles, Pérouse,
Pragelas)—these glens all lying on the eastern slope of the chain
of the Alps. But by the treaty of Utrecht (1713) all these valleys were
handed over to Savoy in exchange for that of Barcelonnette, on the west
slope of the Alps. In 1815 Briançon successfully withstood a siege of
three months at the hands of the Allies, a feat which is commemorated by
an inscription on one of its gates, Le passé répond de
l’avenir.

(W. A. B. C.)

BRIAND, ARISTIDE (1862- ), French statesman, was born at
Nantes, of a bourgeois family. He studied law, and while still young took
to politics, associating himself with the most advanced movements,
writing articles for the anarchist journal Le Peuple, and
directing the Lanterne for some time. From this he passed to the
Petite République, leaving it to found, with Jean Jaurès,
L’Humanité. At the same time he was prominent in the movement for
the formation of labour unions, and at the congress of working men at
Nantes in 1894 he secured the adoption of the labour union idea against
the adherents of Jules Guesde. From that time, Briand became one of the
leaders of the French Socialist party. In 1902, after several
unsuccessful attempts, he was elected deputy. He declared himself a
strong partisan of the union of the Left in what is known as the
Bloc, in order to check the reactionary deputies of the Right.
From the beginning of his career in the chamber of deputies, Briand was
occupied with the question of the separation of church and state. He was
appointed reporter of the commission charged with the preparation of the
law, and his masterly report at once marked him out as one of the coming
leaders. He succeeded in carrying his project through with but slight
modifications, and without dividing the parties upon whose support he
relied. He was the principal author of the law of separation, but, not
content with preparing it, he wished to apply it as well, especially as
the existing Rouvier [v.04 p.0516]ministry allowed disturbances to
occur during the taking of inventories of church property, a clause of
the law for which Briand was not responsible. Consequently he accepted
the portfolio of public instruction and worship in the Sarrien ministry
(1906). So far as the chamber was concerned his success was complete. But
the acceptance of a portfolio in a bourgeois ministry led to his
exclusion from the Unified Socialist party (March 1906). As opposed to
Jaurès, he contended that the Socialists should co-operate actively with
the Radicals in all matters of reform, and not stand aloof to await the
complete fulfilment of their ideals.

BRIANZA, a district of Lombardy, Italy, forming the south part
of the province of Como, between the two southern arms of the lake of
that name. It is thickly populated and remarkable for its fertility; and
being hilly is a favourite summer resort of the Milanese.

BRIARE, a town of north-central France in the department of
Loiret on the right bank of the Loire, 45½ m. S.E. of Orléans on the
railway to Nevers. Pop. (1906) 4613. Briare, the Brivodorum of the
Romans, is situated at the extremity of the Canal of Briare, which unites
the Loire and its lateral canal with the Loing and so with the Seine. The
canal of Briare was constructed from 1605 to 1642 and is about 36 m.
long. The industries include the manufacture of fine pottery, and of
so-called porcelain buttons made of felspar and milk by a special
process; its inventor, Bapterosses, has a bust in the town. The canal
traffic is in wood, iron, coal, building materials, &c. A modern
hospital and church, and the hôtel de ville installed in an old moated
château, are the chief buildings. The lateral canal of the Loire crosses
the Loire near Briare by a fine canal-bridge 720 yds. in length.

BRIAREUS, or Aegaeon, in Greek
mythology, one of the three hundred-armed, fifty-headed Hecatoncheires,
brother of Cottus and Gyges (or Gyes). According to Homer (Iliad
i. 403) he was called Aegaeon by men, and Briareus by the gods. He was
the son of Poseidon (or Uranus) and Gaea. The legends regarding him and
his brothers are various and somewhat contradictory. According to the
most widely spread myth, Briareus and his brothers were called by Zeus to
his assistance when the Titans were making war upon Olympus. The gigantic
enemies were defeated and consigned to Tartarus, at the gates of which
the three brothers were placed (Hesiod, Theog. 624, 639, 714).
Other accounts make Briareus one of the assailants of Olympus, who, after
his defeat, was buried under Mount Aetna (Callimachus, Hymn to
Delos, 141). Homer mentions him as assisting Zeus when the other
Olympian deities were plotting against the king of gods and men
(Iliad i. 398). Another tradition makes him a giant of the sea,
ruler of the fabulous Aegaea in Euboea, an enemy of Poseidon and the
inventor of warships (Schol. on Apoll. Rhod. i. 1165). It would be
difficult to determine exactly what natural phenomena are symbolized by
the Hecatoncheires. They may represent the gigantic forces of nature
which appear in earthquakes and other convulsions, or the multitudinous
motion of the sea waves (Mayer, Die Giganten und Titanen,
1887).

BRIBERY (from the O. Fr. briberie, begging or vagrancy,
bribe, Mid. Lat. briba, signifying a piece of bread given
to beggars; the Eng. “bribe” has passed through the meanings of alms,
blackmail and extortion, to gifts received or given in order to influence
corruptly). The public offence of bribery may be defined as the offering
or giving of payment in some shape or form that it may be a motive in the
performance of functions for which the proper motive ought to be a
conscientious sense of duty. When this is superseded by the sordid
impulses created by the bribe, a person is said to be corrupted, and thus
corruption is a term sometimes held equivalent to bribery. The offence
may be divided into two great classes—the one where a person
invested with power is induced by payment to use it unjustly; the other,
where power is obtained by purchasing the suffrages of those who can
impart it. It is a natural propensity, removable only by civilization or
some powerful counteracting influence, to feel that every element of
power is to be employed as much as possible for the owner’s own behoof,
and that its benefits should be conferred not on those who best deserve
them, but on those who will pay most for them. Hence judicial corruption
is an inveterate vice of imperfect civilization. There is, perhaps no
other crime on which the force of law, if unaided by public opinion and
morals, can have so little influence; for in other crimes, such as
violence or fraud, there is generally some person immediately injured by
the act, who can give his aid in the detection of the offender, but in
the perpetration of the offence of bribery all the immediate parties
obtain what they desire, and are satisfied.

The purification of the bench from judicial bribery has been gradual
in most of the European countries. In France it received an impulse in
the 16th century from the high-minded chancellor, Michel de L’Hôpital. In
England judicial corruption has been a crime of remarkable rarity.
Indeed, with the exception of a statute of 1384 (repealed by the Statute
Law Revision Act 1881) there has been no legislation relating to judicial
bribery. The earliest recorded case was that of Sir William Thorpe, who
in 1351 was fined and removed from office for accepting bribes. Other
celebrated cases were those of Michael de la Pole, chancellor of England,
in 1387; Lord Chancellor Bacon in 1621; Lionel Cranfield, earl of
Middlesex, in 1624; and Sir Thomas Parker, 1st earl of Macclesfield, in
1725. In Scotland for some years after the Revolution the bench was not
without a suspicion of interested partiality; but since the beginning of
the 19th century, at least, there has been in all parts of the empire a
perfect reliance on its purity. The same may be said of the higher class
of ministerial officers. There is no doubt that in the period from the
Revolution to the end of Queen Anne’s reign, when a speaker of the House
of Commons was expelled for bribery, and the great Marlborough could not
clear his character from pecuniary dishonesty, there was much corruption
in the highest official quarters. The level of the offence of official
bribery has gradually descended, until it has become an extremely rare
thing for the humbler officers connected with the revenue to be charged
with it. It has had a more lingering existence with those who, because
their power is more of a constitutional than an official character, have
been deemed less responsible to the public. During Walpole’s
administration there is no doubt that members of parliament were paid in
cash for votes; and the memorable saying, that every man has his price,
has been preserved as a characteristic indication of his method of
government. One of the forms in which administrative corruption is most
difficult of eradication is the appointment to office. It is sometimes
maintained that the purity which characterizes the administration of
justice is here unattainable, because in giving a judgment there is but
one form in which it can be justly given, but when an office has to be
filled many people may be equally fitted for it, and personal motives
must influence a choice. It very rarely happens, however, that direct
bribery is supposed to influence such appointments. It does not appear
that bribery was conspicuous in England until, in the early part of the
18th century, constituencies had thrown off the feudal dependence which
lingered among them; and, indeed, it is often said, that bribery is
essentially the defect of a free people, since it is the sale of that
which is taken from others without payment.

In English law bribery of a privy councillor or a juryman (see Embracery) is punishable as a misdemeanour, as is the
taking of a bribe by any judicial or ministerial officer. The buying and
selling of public offices is also regarded at common law as a form of
bribery. By the Customs Consolidation Act 1876, any officer in the
customs service is liable to instant dismissal and a penalty of £500 for
taking a bribe, and any person offering or promising a bribe or reward to
an officer to neglect his duty or conceal or connive at any act by which
the customs may be evaded shall forfeit the sum of £200. Under the Inland
Revenue Regulations Act 1890, the bribery of commissioners, collectors,
officers or other persons employed in relation to the Inland Revenue
involves a fine of £500. The Merchant Shipping Act 1894, ss. 112 and 398,
makes provision for certain offences in the nature of bribery. Bribery
is, by the Extradition Act 1906, [v.04 p.0517]an extraditable
offence. Administrative corruption was dealt with in the Public Bodies’
Corrupt Practices Act 1889. The public bodies concerned are county
councils, town or borough councils, boards, commissioners, select
vestries and other bodies having local government, public health or poor
law powers, and having for those purposes to administer rates raised
under public general acts. The giving or receiving, promising, offering,
soliciting or agreeing to receive any gift, fee, loan or advantage by any
person as an inducement for any act or forbearance by a member, officer
or servant of a public body in regard to the affairs of that body is made
a misdemeanour in England and Ireland and a crime and offence in
Scotland. Prosecution under the act requires the consent of the attorney
or solicitor-general in England or Ireland and of the lord advocate in
Scotland. Conviction renders liable to imprisonment with or without hard
labour for a term not exceeding two years, and to a fine not exceeding
£500, in addition to or in lieu of imprisonment. The offender may also be
ordered to pay to the public body concerned any bribe received by him; he
may be adjudged incapable for seven years of holding public office,
i.e. the position of member, officer or servant of a public body;
and if already an officer or servant, besides forfeiting his place, he is
liable at the discretion of the court to forfeit his right to
compensation or pension. On a second conviction he may be adjudged
forever incapable of holding public office, and for seven years incapable
of being registered or of voting as a parliamentary elector, or as an
elector of members of a public body. An offence under the act may be
prosecuted and punished under any other act applicable thereto, or at
common law; but no person is to be punished twice for the same offence.
Bribery at political elections was at common law punishable by indictment
or information, but numerous statutes have been passed dealing with it as
a “corrupt practice.” In this sense, the word is elastic in meaning and
may embrace any method of corruptly influencing another for the purpose
of securing his vote (see Corrupt Practices).
Bribery at elections of fellows, scholars, officers and other persons in
colleges, cathedral and collegiate churches, hospitals and other
societies was prohibited in 1588-1589 by statute (31 Eliz. c. 6). If a
member receives any money, fee, reward or other profit for giving his
vote in favour of any candidate, he forfeits his own place; if for any
such consideration he resigns to make room for a candidate, he forfeits
double the amount of the bribe, and the candidate by or on whose behalf a
bribe is given or promised is incapable of being elected on that
occasion. The act is to be read at every election of fellows, &c.,
under a penalty of £40 in case of default. By the same act any person for
corrupt consideration presenting, instituting or inducting to an
ecclesiastical benefice or dignity forfeits two years’ value of the
benefice or dignity; the corrupt presentation is void, and the right to
present lapses for that turn to the crown, and the corrupt presentee is
disabled from thereafter holding the same benefice or dignity; a corrupt
institution or induction is void, and the patron may present. For a
corrupt resignation or exchange of a benefice the giver and taker of a
bribe forfeit each double the amount of the bribe. Any person corruptly
procuring the ordaining of ministers or granting of licenses to preach
forfeits £40, and the person so ordained forfeits £10 and for seven years
is incapacitated from holding any ecclesiastical benefice or
promotion.

In the United States the offence of bribery is very severely dealt
with. In many states, bribery or the attempt to bribe is made a felony,
and is punishable with varying terms of imprisonment, in some
jurisdictions it may be with a period not exceeding ten years. The
offence of bribery at elections is dealt with on much the same lines as
in England, voiding the election and disqualifying the offender from
holding any office.

Bribery may also take the form of a secret commission (q.v.), a
profit made by an agent, in the course of his employment, without the
knowledge of his principal.

BRIC À BRAC (a French word, formed by a kind of onomatopoeia,
meaning a heterogeneous collection of odds and ends; cf. de bric et de
broc, corresponding to our “by hook or by crook”; or by reduplication
from brack, refuse), objects of “virtu,” a collection of old
furniture, china, plate and curiosities.

BRICK (derived according to some etymologists from the Teutonic
bricke, a disk or plate; but more authoritatively, through the
French brique, originally a “broken piece,” applied especially to
bread, and so to clay, from the Teutonic brikan, to break), a kind
of artificial stone generally made of burnt clay, and largely used as a
building material.

History.—The art of making bricks dates from very early
times, and was practised by all the civilized nations of antiquity. The
earliest burnt bricks known are those found on the sites of the ancient
cities of Babylonia, and it seems probable that the method of making
strong and durable bricks, by burning blocks of dried clay, was
discovered in this corner of Asia. We know at least that well-burnt
bricks were made by the Babylonians more than 6000 years ago, and that
they were extensively used in the time of Sargon of Akkad (c. 3800
B.C.). The site of the ancient city of Babylon
is still marked by huge mounds of bricks, the ruins of its great walls,
towers and palaces, although it has been the custom for centuries to
carry away from these heaps the bricks required for the building of the
modern towns in the surrounding country. The Babylonians and Assyrians
attained to a high degree of proficiency in brickmaking, notably in the
manufacture of bricks having a coating of coloured glaze or enamel, which
they largely used for wall decoration. The Chinese claim great antiquity
for their clay industries, but it is not improbable that the knowledge of
brickmaking travelled eastwards from Babylonia across the whole of Asia.
It is believed that the art of making glazed bricks, so highly developed
afterwards by the Chinese, found its way across Asia from the west,
through Persia and northern India, to China. The great wall of China was
constructed partly of brick, both burnt and unburnt; but this was built
at a comparatively late period (c. 210 B.C.), and there is nothing to show that the Chinese
had any knowledge of burnt bricks when the art flourished in
Babylonia.

Brickmaking formed the chief occupation of the Israelites during their
bondage in Egypt, but in this case the bricks were probably sun-dried
only, and not burnt. These bricks were made of a mixture of clay and
chopped straw or reeds, worked into a stiff paste with water. The clay
was the river mud from the banks of the Nile, and as this had not
sufficient cohesion in itself, the chopped straw (or reeds) was added as
a binding material. The addition of such substances increases the
plasticity of wet clay, especially if the mixture is allowed to stand for
some days before use; so that the action of the chopped straw was
twofold; a fact possibly known to the Egyptians. These sun-dried bricks,
or “adobes,” are still made, as of old, on the banks of the Nile by the
following method:—A shallow pit or bed is prepared, into which are
thrown the mud, chopped straw and water in suitable proportions, and the
whole mass is tramped on until it is thoroughly mixed and of the proper
consistence. This mixture is removed in lumps and shaped into bricks, in
moulds or by hand, the bricks being simply sun-dried.

Pliny mentions that three kinds of bricks were made by the Greeks, but
there is no indication that they were used to any great extent, and
probably the walls of Athens on the side towards Mount Hymettus were the
most important brick-structures in ancient Greece. The Romans became
masters of the brickmaker’s art, though they probably acquired much of
their knowledge in the East, during their occupation of Egypt and Greece.
In any case they revived and extended the manufacture of bricks about the
beginning of the Christian era; exercising great care in the selection
and preparation of their clay, and introducing the method of burning
bricks in kilns. They carried their knowledge and their methods
throughout western Europe, and there is abundant evidence that they made
bricks extensively in Germany and in Britain.

Although brickmaking was thus introduced into Britain nearly 2000
years ago, the art seems to have been lost when the Romans withdrew from
the country, and it is doubtful whether any burnt bricks were made in
England from that time until the 13th century. Such bricks as were used
during this long [v.04 p.0518]period were generally taken from
the remains of Roman buildings, as at Colchester and St Albans Abbey. One
of the earliest existing brick buildings, erected after the revival of
brickmaking in England, is Little Wenham Hall, in Suffolk, built about
A.D. 1210; but it was not until the 15th
century that bricks came into general use again, and then only for
important edifices. During the reign of Henry VIII. brickmaking was
brought to great perfection, probably by workmen brought from Flanders,
and the older portions of St James’s Palace and Hampton Court Palace
remain to testify to the skill then attained. In the 16th century bricks
were increasingly used, but down to the Great Fire of London, in 1666,
the smaller buildings, shops and dwelling-houses, were constructed of
timber framework filled in with lath and plaster. In the rebuilding of
London after the fire, bricks were largely used, and from the end of the
17th century to the present day they have been almost exclusively used in
all ordinary buildings throughout the country, except in those districts
where building stone is plentiful and good brick-clay is not readily
procurable. The bricks made in England before 1625 were of many sizes,
there being no recognized standard; but in that year the sizes were
regulated by statute, and the present standard size was adopted, viz. 9 x
4½ x 3 in. In 1784 a tax was levied on bricks, which was not repealed
until 1850. The tax averaged about 4s. 7d. per thousand on ordinary
bricks, and special bricks were still more heavily taxed.

The first brick buildings in America were erected on Manhattan Island
in the year 1633 by a governor of the Dutch West India Company. These
bricks were made in Holland, where the industry had long reached great
excellence; and for many years bricks were imported into America from
Holland and from England. In America burnt bricks were first made at New
Haven about 1650, and the manufacture slowly spread through the New
England states; but for many years the home-made article was inferior to
that imported from Europe.

The Dutch and the Germans were the great brickmakers of Europe during
the middle ages, although the Italians, from the 14th to the 15th
century, revived and developed the art of decorative brick-work or
terra-cotta, and discovered the method of applying coloured enamels to
these materials. Under the Della Robbias, in the 15th century, some of
the finest work of this class that the world has seen was executed, but
it can scarcely be included under brickwork.

Brick Clays.—All clays are the result of the denudation
and decomposition of felspathic and siliceous rocks, and consist of the
fine insoluble particles which have been carried in suspension in water
and deposited in geologic basins according to their specific gravity and
degree of fineness (see Clay). These deposits
have been formed in all geologic epochs from the “Recent” to the
“Cambrian,” and they vary in hardness from the soft and plastic
“alluvial” clays to the hard and rock-like shales and slates of the older
formations. The alluvial and drift clays (which were alone used for
brickmaking until modern times) are found near the surface, are readily
worked and require little preparation, whereas the older sedimentary
deposits are often difficult to work and necessitate the use of heavy
machinery. These older shales, or rocky clays, may be brought into
plastic condition by long weathering (i.e. by exposure to rain,
frost and sun) or by crushing and grinding in water, and they then
resemble ordinary alluvial clays in every respect.

The clays or earths from which burnt bricks are made may be divided
into two principal types, according to chemical composition: (1) Clays or
shales containing only a small percentage of carbonate of lime and
consisting chiefly of hydrated aluminium silicates (the “true clay
substance”) with more or less sand, undecomposed grains of felspar, and
oxide or carbonate of iron; these clays usually burn to a buff, salmon or
red colour; (2) Clays containing a considerable percentage of carbonate
of lime in addition to the substances above mentioned. These latter clay
deposits are known as “marls,”^[1] and may contain as much as 40% of
chalk. They burn to a sulphur-yellow colour which is quite
distinctive.

Brick clays of class (1) are very widely distributed, and have a more
extensive geological range than the marls, which are found in connexion
with chalk or limestone formations only. These ordinary brick clays vary
considerably in composition, and many clays, as they are found in nature,
are unsuitable for brickmaking without the addition of some other kind of
clay or sand. The strongest brick clays, i.e. those possessing the
greatest plasticity and tensile strength, are usually those which contain
the highest percentage of the hydrated aluminium silicates, although the
exact relation of plasticity to chemical composition has not yet been
determined. This statement cannot be applied indiscriminately to all
clays, but may be taken as fairly applicable to clays of one general type
(see Clay). All clays contain more or less free
silica in the form of sand, and usually a small percentage of
undecomposed felspar. The most important ingredient, after the
clay-substance and the sand, is oxide of iron; for the colour, and, to a
less extent, the hardness and durability of the burnt bricks depend on
its presence. The amount of oxide of iron in these clays varies from
about 2 to 10%, and the colour of the bricks varies accordingly from
light buff to chocolate; although the colour developed by a given
percentage of oxide of iron is influenced by the other substances present
and also by the method of firing. A clay containing from 5 to 8% of oxide
of iron will, under ordinary conditions of firing, produce a red brick;
but if the clay contains 3 to 4% of alkalis, or the brick is fired too
hard, the colour will be darker and more purple. The actions of the
alkalis and of increased temperature are probably closely related, for in
either case the clay is brought nearer to its fusion point, and
ferruginous clays generally become darker in colour as they approach to
fusion. Alumina acts in the opposite direction, an excess of this
compound tending to make the colour lighter and brighter. It is
impossible to give a typical composition for such clays, as the
percentages of the different constituents vary through such wide ranges.
The clay substance may vary from 15 to 80%, the free silica or sand from
5 to 80%, the oxide of iron from 1 to 10%, the carbonates of lime and
magnesia together, from 1 to 5%, and the alkalis from 1 to 4%. Organic
matter is always present, and other impurities which frequently occur are
the sulphates of lime and magnesia, the chlorides and nitrates of soda
and potash, and iron-pyrites. The presence of organic matter gives the
wet clay a greater plasticity, probably because it forms a kind of
mucilage which adds a certain viscosity and adhesiveness to the natural
plasticity of the clay. In some of the coal-measure shales the amount of
organic matter is very considerable, and may render the clay useless for
brickmaking. The other impurities, all of which, except the pyrites, are
soluble in water, are undesirable, as they give rise to “scum,” which
produces patchy colour and pitted faces on the bricks. The commonest
soluble impurity is calcium sulphate, which produces a whitish scum on
the face of the brick in drying, and as the scum becomes permanently
fixed in burning, such bricks are of little use except for common work.
This question of “scumming” is very important to the maker of high-class
facing and moulded bricks, and where a clay containing calcium sulphate
must be used, a certain percentage of barium carbonate is nowadays added
to the wet clay. By this means the calcium sulphate is converted into
calcium carbonate which is insoluble in water, so that it remains
distributed throughout the mass of the brick instead of being deposited
on the surface. The presence of magnesium salts is also very
objectionable, as these generally remain in the burnt brick as magnesium
sulphate, which gives rise to an efflorescence of fine white crystals
after the bricks are built into position. Clays which are strong or
plastic are known as “fat” clays, and they always contain a high
percentage of true “clay substance,” and, consequently, a low percentage
of sand. Such clays take up a considerable amount of water in
“tempering”; they dry slowly, shrink greatly, and so become liable to
lose their shape and develop cracks in drying and firing. “Fat” clays are
greatly improved by the addition of coarse sharp sand, [v.04 p.0519]which
reduces the time of drying and the shrinkage, and makes the brick more
rigid during the firing. Coarse sand, unlike clay-substance, is
practically unaffected during the drying and firing, and is a desirable
if not a necessary ingredient of all brick clays. The best brick-clays
feel gritty between the fingers; they should, of course, be free from
pebbles, sufficiently plastic to be moulded into shape and strong enough
when dry to be safely handled. All clays are greatly improved by being
turned over and exposed to the weather, or by standing for some months in
a wet condition. This “weathering” and “ageing” of clay is particularly
important where bricks are made from tempered clay, i.e. clay in
the wet or plastic state; where bricks are made from shale, in the
semi-plastic condition, weathering is still of importance.

The lime clays or “marls” of class (2), which contain essentially a
high percentage of chalk or limestone, are not so widely distributed as
the ordinary brick-clays, and in England the natural deposits of these
clays have been largely exhausted. A very fine chalk-clay, or “malm” as
it was locally called, was formerly obtained from the alluvium in the
vicinity of London; but the available supply of this has been used up,
and at the present time an artificial “malm” is prepared by mixing an
ordinary brick-clay with ground chalk. For the best London facing-bricks
the clay and chalk are mixed in water. The chalk is ground on
grinding-pans, and the clay is mixed with water and worked about until
the mixture has the consistence of cream. The mixture of these “pulps” is
run through a grating or coarse sieve on to a drying-kiln or “bed,” where
it is allowed to stand until stiff enough to walk on. A layer of fine
ashes is then spread over the clay, and the mass is turned over and mixed
by spade, and tempered by the addition of water. In other districts,
where clays containing limestone are used, the marl is mixed with water
on a wash-pan and the resulting creamy fluid passed through coarse sieves
on to a drying-bed. If necessary, coarse sand is added to the clay in the
wash-pan, and such addition is often advisable because the washed clays
are generally very fine in grain. Another method of treating these marls,
when they are in the plastic condition, is to squeeze them by machinery
through iron gratings, which arrest and remove the pebbles. In other
cases the marl is passed through a grinding-mill having a solid bottom
and heavy iron rollers, by which means the limestone pebbles are crushed
sufficiently and mixed through the whole mass. The removal of limestone
pebbles from the clay is of great importance, as during the firing they
would be converted into quicklime, which has a tendency to shatter the
brick on exposure to the weather. As before stated, these marls (which
usually contain from 15 to 30% of calcium carbonate) burn to a yellow
colour which is quite distinctive, although in some cases, where the
percentage of limestone is very high, over 40%, the colour is grey or a
very pale buff. The action of lime in bleaching the ferric oxide and
producing a yellow instead of a red brick, has not been thoroughly
investigated, but it seems probable that some compound is produced,
between the lime and the oxide of iron, or between these two oxides and
the free silica, entirely different from that produced by oxide of iron
in the absence of lime. Such marls require a harder fire than the
ordinary brick-clays in order to bring about the reaction between the
lime and the other ingredients. Magnesia may replace lime to some extent
in such marls, but the firing temperature must be higher when magnesia is
present. Marls usually contract very little, if at all, in the burning,
and generally produce a strong, square brick of fine texture and good
colour. When under-fired, marl bricks are very liable to disintegrate
under the action of the weather, and great care must be exercised in
burning them at a sufficiently high temperature.

Brickmaking.—Bricks made of tempered clay may be made by
hand or by machine, and the machines may be worked by hand or by
mechanical power. Bricks made of semi-plastic clay (i.e. ground
clay or shale sufficiently damp to adhere under pressure) are generally
machine-made throughout. The method of making bricks by hand is the same,
with slight variation, the world over. The tempered clay is pressed by
hand into a wooden or metal mould or four-sided case (without top or
bottom) which is of the desired shape and size, allowance being made for
the shrinkage of the brick in drying and firing. The moulder stands at
the bench or table, dips the mould in water, or water and then sand, to
prevent the clay from sticking, takes a rudely shaped piece of clay from
an assistant, and dashes this into the mould which rests on the moulding
bench. He then presses the clay into the corners of the mould with his
fingers, scrapes off any surplus clay and levels the top by means of a
strip of wood called a “strike,” and then turns the brick out of the
mould on to a board, to be carried away by another assistant to the
drying-ground. The mould may be placed on a special piece of wood, called
the stock-board, provided with an elevated tongue of wood in the centre,
which produces the hollow or “frog” in the bottom of the brick.

Machine-made bricks may be divided into two kinds, plastic and
semi-plastic, although the same type of machine is often used for both
kinds.

The machine-made plastic bricks are made of tempered clay, but
generally the tempering and working of the clay are effected by the use
of machinery, especially when the harder clays and shales are used. The
machines used in the preparation of such clays are grinding-mills and
pug-mills. The grinding-mills are either a series of rollers with
graduated spaces between, through which the clay or shale is passed, or
are of the ordinary “mortar pan” type, having a solid or perforated iron
bottom on which the clay or shale is crushed by heavy rollers. Shales are
sometimes passed through a grinding-mill before they are exposed to the
action of the weather, as the disintegration of the hard lumps of shale
greatly accelerates the “weathering.” In the case of ordinary brick-clay,
in the plastic condition, grinding-mills are only used when pebbles more
than a quarter of an inch in diameter are present, as otherwise the clay
may be passed directly through the pug-mill, a process which may be
repeated if necessary. The pug-mill consists of a box or trough having a
feed hole at one end and a delivery hole or nose at the other end, and
provided with a central shaft which carries knives and cutters so
arranged that when the shaft revolves they cut and knead the clay, and at
the same time force it towards and through the delivery nose. The cross
section of this nose of the pug-mill is approximately the same as that of
the required brick (9 in. × 4½ in. plus contraction, for ordinary
bricks), so that the pug delivers a solid or continuous mass of clay from
which bricks may be made by merely making a series of square cuts at the
proper distances apart. In practice, the clay is pushed from the pug
along a smooth iron plate, which is provided with a wire cutting frame
having a number of tightly stretched wires placed at certain distances
apart, arranged so that they can be brought down upon, and through, the
clay, and so many bricks cut off at intervals. The frame is sometimes in
the form of a skeleton cylinder, the wires being arranged radially (or
the wires may be replaced by metal disks); but in all cases bricks thus
made are known as “wire-cuts.” In order to obtain a better-shaped and
more compact brick, these wire-cuts may be placed under a brick press and
there squeezed into iron moulds under great pressure. These two processes
are now generally performed by one machine, consisting of pug-mill and
brick press combined. The pug delivers the clay, downwards, into the
mould; the proper amount of clay is cut off; and the mould is made to
travel into position under the ram of the press, which squeezes the clay
into a solid mass.

There are many forms of brick press, a few for hand power, but the
most adapted for belt-driving; although in recent years hydraulic presses
have come more and more into use, especially in Germany and America. The
essential parts of a brick press are: (1) a box or frame in which the
clay is moulded; (2) a plunger or die carried on the end of a ram, which
gives the necessary pressure; (3) an arrangement for pushing the pressed
brick out of the moulding box. Such presses are generally made of iron
throughout, although other metals are used, occasionally, for the moulds
and dies. The greatest variations found in brick presses are in the means
adopted for actuating the ram; and many ingenious mechanical devices have
been applied to this end, each claiming some particular advantage over
its predecessors. In many recent presses, especially where semi-plastic
clay is used, the brick is pressed simultaneously from top and bottom, a
second ram, working upwards from beneath, giving the additional
pressure.

Although the best bricks are still pressed from tempered or plastic
clay, there has recently been a great development in the manufacture of
semi-plastic or dust-made bricks, especially in those districts where
shales are used for brickmaking. These semi-plastic bricks are stamped
out of ground shale that has been sufficiently moistened with water to
enable it to bind together. The hard-clay, or shale, is crushed under
heavy rollers in an iron grinding-pan having a perforated bottom through
which the crushed clay passes, when sufficiently fine, into a small
compartment underneath. This clay powder is then delivered, by an
elevator, into a sieve or screen, which retains the coarser particles for
regrinding. Sets of rollers may also be used for crushing shales that are
only moderately hard, the ground material being sifted as before. The
material, as fed [v.04 p.0520]into the mould of the press, is a
coarse, damp powder which becomes adhesive under pressure, producing a
so-called “semi-plastic” brick. The presses used are similar to those
employed for plastic clay, but they are generally more strongly and
heavily built, and are capable of applying a greater pressure.

The semi-plastic method has many advantages where shales are used,
although the bricks are not as strong nor as perfect as the best
“plastic” bricks. The method, however, enables the brickmaker to make use
of certain kinds of clay-rock, or shale, that would be impracticable for
plastic bricks; and the weathering, tempering and “ageing” may be largely
or entirely dispensed with. The plant required is heavier and more
costly, but the brickyard becomes more compact, and the processes are
simpler than with the “plastic” method.

The drying of bricks, which was formerly done in the open, is now, in
most cases, conducted in a special shed heated by flues along which the
heated gases from the kilns pass on their way to the chimney. It is
important that the atmosphere of the drying-shed should be fairly dry, to
which end suitable means of ventilation must be arranged (by fans or
otherwise). If the atmosphere is too moist the surface of the brick
remains damp for a considerable time, and the moisture from the interior
passes to the surface as water, carrying with it the soluble salts, which
are deposited on the surface as the water slowly evaporates. This deposit
produces the “scum” already referred to. When the drying is done in a dry
atmosphere the surface quickly dries and hardens, and the moisture from
the interior passes to the surface as vapour, the soluble salts being
left distributed through the whole mass, and consequently no “scum” is
produced. Plastic bricks take much longer to dry than semi-plastic; they
shrink more and have a greater tendency to warp or twist.

The burning or firing of bricks is the most important factor in their
production; for their strength and durability depend very largely on the
character and degree of the firing to which they have been subjected. The
action of the heat brings about certain chemical decompositions and
re-combinations which entirely alter the physical character of the dry
clay. It is important, therefore, that the firing should be carefully
conducted and that it should be under proper control. For ordinary bricks
the firing atmosphere should be oxidizing, and the finishing temperature
should be adjusted to the nature of the clay, the object being to produce
a hard strong brick, of good shape, that will not be too porous and will
withstand the action of frost. The finishing temperature ranges from 900°
C. to 1250° C., the usual temperature being about 1050° C. for ordinary
bricks. As before mentioned, lime-clays require a higher firing
temperature (usually about 1150° C. to 1200° C.) in order to bring the
lime into chemical combination with the other substances present.

It is evident that the best method of firing bricks is to place them
in permanent kilns, but although such kilns were used by the Romans some
2000 years ago, the older method of firing in “clamps” is still employed
in the smaller brickfields, in every country where bricks are made. These
clamps are formed by arranging the unfired bricks in a series of rows or
walls, placed fairly closely together, so as to form a rectangular stack.
A certain number of channels, or firemouths, are formed in the bottom of
the clamp; and fine coal is spread in horizontal layers between the
bricks during the building up of the stack. Fires are kindled in the
fire-mouths, and the clamp is allowed to go on burning until the fuel is
consumed throughout. The clamp is then allowed to cool, after which it is
taken down, and the bricks sorted; those that are under-fired being built
up again in the next clamp for refiring. Sometimes the clamp takes the
form of a temporary kiln, the outside being built of burnt bricks which
are plastered over with clay, and the fire-mouths being larger and more
carefully formed. There are many other local modifications in the manner
of building up the clamps, all with the object of producing a large
percentage of well-fired bricks. Clamp-firing is slow, and also
uneconomical, because irregular and not sufficiently under control; and
it is now only employed where bricks are made on a small scale.

Brick-kilns are of many forms, but they can all be grouped under two
main types—Intermittent kilns and Continuous kilns. The
intermittent kiln is usually circular in plan, being in the form of a
vertical cylinder with a domed top. It consists of a single
firing-chamber in which the unfired bricks are placed, and in the walls
of which are contrived a number of fire-mouths where wood or coal is
burned. In the older forms known as up-draught kilns, the products
of combustion pass from the fire-mouth, through flues, into the bottom of
the firing-chamber, and thence directly upwards and out at the top. The
modern plan is to introduce the products of combustion near the top, or
crown, of the kiln, and to draw them downwards through holes in the
bottom which lead to flues connected with an independent chimney. These
down-draught kilns have short chimneys or “bags” built round the
inside wall in connexion with the fire-mouths, which conduct the flames
to the upper part of the firing-chamber, where they are reverberated and
passed down through the bricks in obedience to the pull of the chimney.
The “bags” may be joined together, forming an inner circular wall
entirely round the firing-chamber, except at the doorway; and a number of
kilns may be built in a row or group having their bottom flues connected
with the same tall chimney. Down-draught kilns usually give a more
regular fire and a higher percentage of well-fired bricks; and they are
more economical in fuel consumption than up-draught kilns, while the hot
gases, as they pass from the kiln, may be utilized for drying purposes,
being conducted through flues under the floor of the drying-shed, on
their way to the chimney. The method of using one tall chimney to work a
group of down-draught kilns naturally led to the invention of the
“continuous” kiln, which is really made up of a number of separate kilns
or firing-chambers, built in series and connected up to the main flue of
the chimney in such a manner that the products of combustion from one
kiln may be made to pass through a number of other kilns before entering
the flue. The earliest form of continuous kiln was invented by Friedrich
Hoffman, and all kilns of this type are built on the Hoffman principle,
although there are a great number of modifications of the original
Hoffman construction. The great principle of “continuous” firing is the
utilization of the waste heat from one kiln or section of a kiln in
heating up another kiln or section, direct firing being applied only to
finish the burning. In practice a number of kilns or firing-chambers,
usually rectangular in plan, are built side by side in two parallel
lines, which are connected at the ends by other kilns so as to make a
complete circuit. The original form of the complete series was elliptical
in plan, but the tendency in recent years has been to flatten the sides
of the ellipse and bring them together, thus giving two parallel rows
joined at the ends by a chamber or passage at right angles. Coal or gas
is burnt in the chamber or section that is being fired-up, the air
necessary for the combustion being heated on its passage through the
kilns that are cooling down, and the products of combustion, before
entering the chimney flue, are drawn through a number of other kilns or
chambers containing unfired bricks, which are thus gradually heated up by
the otherwise waste-heat from the sections being fired. Continuous kilns
produce a more evenly fired product than the intermittent kilns usually
do, and, of course, at much less cost for fuel. Gas firing is now being
extensively applied to continuous kilns, natural gas in some instances
being used in the United States of America; and the methods of
construction and of firing are carried out with greater care and
intelligence, the prime objects being economy of fuel and perfect control
of firing. Pyrometers are coming into use for the control of the firing
temperature, with the result that a constant and trustworthy product is
turned put. The introduction of machinery greatly helped the brickmaking
industry in opening up new sources of supply of raw material in the
shales and hardened clays of the sedimentary deposits of the older
geologic formations, and, with the extended use of continuous firing
plants, it has led to the establishment of large concerns where
everything is co-ordinated for the production of enormous quantities of
bricks at a minimum cost. In the United Kingdom, and still more in
Germany and the United States of America, great improvements have been
made in machinery, firing-plant and organization, so that the whole
manufacture is now being conducted on more scientific lines, to the great
advantage of the industry.

Blue Brick is a very strong vitreous brick of dark, slaty-blue
colour, used in engineering works where great strength or impermeability
is desirable. These bricks are made of clay containing front 7 to 10% of
oxide of iron, and their manufacture is carried out in the ordinary way
until the later stages of the firing process, when they are subjected to
the strongly reducing action of a smoky atmosphere, which is produced by
throwing small bituminous coal upon the fire-mouths and damping down the
admission of air. The smoke thus produced reduces the red ferric oxide to
blue-green ferrous oxide, or to metallic iron, which combines with the
silica present to form a fusible ferrous silicate. This fusible “slag”
partly combines with the other silicates present, and partly fills up the
pores, and so produces a vitreous impermeable layer varying in thickness
according to the duration and character of the smoking, the finishing
temperature of the kiln and the texture of the brick. Particles of carbon
penetrate the surface during the early stages of the smoking, and a small
quantity of carbon probably enters into combination, tending to produce a
harder surface and darker colour.

Floating Bricks were first mentioned by Strabo, the Greek
geographer, and afterwards by Pliny as being made at Pitane in the Troad.
The secret of their manufacture was lost for many centuries, but was
rediscovered in 1791 by Fabroni, an Italian, who made them from the
fossil meal (diatomaceous earth) found in Tuscany. These bricks are very
light, fairly strong, and being poor conductors of heat, have been
employed for the construction of powder-magazines on board ship,
&c.

Mortar Bricks belong to the class of unburnt bricks, and are,
strictly speaking, blocks of artificial stone made in brick moulds. These
bricks have been made for many years by moulding a mixture of sand and
slaked lime and allowing the blocks thus made to harden in the air. This
hardening is brought about partly by evaporation of the water, but
chiefly by the conversion of the calcium hydrate, or slaked lime, into
calcium carbonate by the action of the carbonic acid in the atmosphere. A
small proportion of the lime enters into combination with the silica and
water present to form hydrated calcium silicate, and probably a little
hydrated basic carbonate of lime is also formed, both of which substances
are in the nature of cement. This process of natural hardening by
exposure to the air was a very long one, occupying from six to eighteen
months, and many improvements were introduced during the latter half of
the 19th century to improve the strength of the bricks and to hasten the
hardening. [v.04 p.0521]Mixtures of sand, lime and cement
(and of certain ground blast-furnace slags and lime) were introduced; the
moulding was done under hydraulic presses and the bricks afterwards
treated with carbon dioxide under pressure, with or without the
application of mild heat. Some of these mixtures and methods are still in
use, but a new type of mortar brick has come into use during recent years
which has practically superseded the old mortar brick.

Sand-lime Bricks.—In the early ‘eighties of the 19th
century, Dr Michaelis of Berlin patented a new process for hardening
blocks made of a mixture of sand and lime by treating them with
high-pressure steam for a few hours, and the so-called sand-lime
bricks are now made on a very extensive scale in many countries. There
are many differences of detail in the manufacture, but the general method
is in all cases the same. Dry sand is intimately mixed with about
one-tenth of its weight of powdered slaked lime, the mixture is then
slightly moistened with water and afterwards moulded into bricks under
powerful presses, capable of exerting a pressure of about 60 tons per sq.
in. After removal from the press the bricks are immediately placed in
huge steel cylinders usually 60 to 80 ft. long and about 7 ft. in
diameter, and are there subjected to the action of high-pressure steam
(120 lb to 150 lb per sq. in.) for from ten to fifteen hours. The
proportion of slaked lime to sand varies according to the nature of the
lime and the purity and character of the sand, one of lime to ten of sand
being a fair average. The following is an analysis of a typical German
sand-lime brick: silica (SiO₂), 84%; lime (CaO), 7%; alumina
and oxide of iron, 2%; water, magnesia and alkalis, 7%. Under the action
of the high-pressure steam the lime attacks the particles of sand, and a
chemical compound of water, lime and silica is produced which forms a
strong bond between the larger particles of sand. This bond of hydrated
calcium silicate is evidently different from, and of better type than,
the filling of calcium carbonate produced in the mortar-brick, and the
sand-lime brick is consequently much stronger than the ordinary
mortar-brick, however the latter may be made. The sand-lime brick is
simple in manufacture, and with reasonable care is of constant quality.
It is usually of a light-grey colour, but may be stained by the addition
of suitable colouring oxides or pigments unaffected by lime and the
conditions of manufacture.

Strength of Brick.—The following figures indicate the
crushing load for bricks of various types in tons per sq. in.:—

See also Brickwork.

(J. B.*; W. B.*)

BRICKFIELDER, a term used in Australia for a hot scorching wind
blowing from the interior, where the sandy wastes, bare of vegetation in
summer, are intensely heated by the sun. This hot wind blows strongly,
often for several days at a time, defying all attempts to keep the dust
down, and parching all vegetation. It is in one sense a healthy wind, as,
being exceedingly dry and hot, it destroys many injurious germs of
disease. The northern brickfielder is almost invariably followed by a
strong “southerly buster,” cloudy and cool from the ocean. The two winds
are due to the same cause, viz. a cyclonic system over the Australian
Bight. These systems frequently extend inland as a narrow V-shaped
depression (the apex northward), bringing the winds from the north on
their eastern sides and from the south on their western. Hence as the
narrow system passes eastward the wind suddenly changes from north to
south, and the thermometer has been known to fall fifteen degrees in
twenty minutes.

BRICKWORK, in building, the term applied to constructions made
of bricks. The tools and implements employed by the bricklayer
are:—the trowel for spreading the mortar; the plumb-rule to keep
the work perpendicular, or in the case of an inclined or battering wall,
to a regular batter, for the plumb-rule may be made to suit any required
inclination; the spirit-level to keep the work horizontal, often used in
conjunction with a straight-edge in order to test a greater length; and
the gauge-rod with the brick-courses marked on it. The quoins or angles
are first built up with the aid of the gauge-rod, and the intermediate
work is kept regular by means of the line and line pins fixed in the
joints. The raker, jointer, pointing rule and Frenchman are used in
pointing joints, the pointing staff being held on a small board called
the hawk. For roughly cutting bricks the large trowel is used; for neater
work such as facings, the bolster and club-hammer; the cold chisel is for
general cutting away, and for chases and holes. When bricks require to be
cut, the work is set out with the square, bevel and compasses. If the
brick to be shaped is a hard one it is placed on a V-shaped cutting
block, an incision made where desired with the tin saw, and after the
bolster and club-hammer have removed the portion of the brick, the
scutch, really a small axe, is used to hack off the rough parts. For
cutting soft bricks, such as rubbers and malms, a frame saw with a blade
of soft iron wire is used, and the face is brought to a true surface on
the rubbing stone, a slab of Yorkshire stone.

In ordinary practice a scaffold is carried up with the walls and made
to rest on them. Having built up as high as he can reach from the ground,
the scaffolder erects a scaffold with standards, ledgers and putlogs to
carry the scaffold boards (see Scaffold, Scaffolding). Bricks are carried to the scaffold on a
hod which holds twenty bricks, or they may be hoisted in baskets or boxes
by means of a pulley and fall, or may be raised in larger numbers by a
crane. The mortar is taken up in a hod or hoisted in pails and deposited
on ledged boards about 3 ft. square, placed on the scaffold at convenient
distances apart along the line of work. The bricks are piled on the
scaffold between the mortar boards, leaving a clear way against the wall
for the bricklayers to move along. The workman, beginning at the extreme
left of his section, or at a quoin, advances to the right, carefully
keeping to his line and frequently testing his work with the plumb-rule,
spirit-level and straight-edge, until he reaches another angle, or the
end of his section. The pointing is sometimes finished off as the work
proceeds, but in other cases the joints are left open until the
completion, when the work is pointed down, perhaps in a different mortar.
When the wall has reached a height from the scaffold beyond which the
workman cannot conveniently reach, the scaffolding is raised and the work
continued in this manner from the new level.

Fig. 1.

It is most important that the brickwork be kept perfectly plumb, and
that every course be perfectly horizontal or level, both longitudinally
and transversely. Strictest attention should be paid to the levelling of
the lowest course of footings of a wall, for any irregularity will
necessitate the inequality being made up with mortar in the courses
above, thus inducing a liability for the wall to settle unequally, and so
perpetuate the infirmity. To save the trouble of keeping the plumb-rule
and level constantly in his hands and yet ensure correct work, the
bricklayer, on clearing the footings of a wall, builds up six or eight
courses of bricks at the external angles (see fig. 1), which he carefully
plumbs and levels across. These form a gauge for the intervening work, a
line being tightly strained between and fixed with steel pins to each
angle at a level with the top of the next course to be laid, and with
this he makes his work range. If, however, the length between the quoins
be great, the line will of course sag, and it must, therefore, be
carefully supported at intervals to the proper level. Care must be taken
to keep the “perpends,” or vertical joints, one immediately over the
other. Having been carried up three or four courses to a level with the
guidance of the line which is raised course by course, the work should be
proved with the level and plumb-rule, particularly with the latter at the
quoins and reveals, as well as over the face. A smart tap with the end of
the handle of the trowel will suffice to make a brick yield what little
it may be out of truth, while the work is green, and not injure it. The
work of an efficient craftsman, however, will need but little
adjustment.

For every wall of more than one brick (9 in) thick, two men should be
employed at the same time, one on the outside and the [v.04 p.0522]other
inside; one man cannot do justice from one side to even a 14-in. wall.
When the wall can be approached from one side only, the work is said to
be executed “overhand.” In work circular on plan, besides the level and
plumb-rule, a gauge mould or template, or a ranging trammel—a rod
working on a pivot at the centre of the curve, and in length equalling
the radius—must be used for every course, as it is evident that the
line and pins cannot be applied to this in the manner just described.

Bricks should not be merely laid, but each should be placed
frog upwards, and rubbed and pressed firmly down in such a manner as to
secure absolute adhesion, and force the mortar into joints. Every brick
should be well wetted before it is laid, especially in hot dry weather,
in order to wash off the dust from its surface, and to obtain more
complete adhesion, and prevent it from absorbing water from the mortar in
which it is bedded. The bricks are wetted either by the bricklayer
dipping them in water as he uses them, or by water being thrown or
sprinkled on them as they lie piled on the scaffold. In bricklaying with
quick-setting cements an ample use of water is of even more
importance.

All the walls of a building that are to sustain the same floors and
the same roof, should be carried up simultaneously; in no circumstances
should more be done in one part than can be reached from the same
scaffold, until all the walls are brought up to the same height. Where it
is necessary for any reason to leave a portion of the wall at a certain
level while carrying up the adjoining work the latter should be racked
back, i.e. left in steps as shown in fig. 7, and not carried up
vertically with merely the toothing necessary for the bond.

Fig. 2.—Section of a Hollow Wall.

Buildings in exposed situations are frequently built with
cavity-walls, consisting of the inside or main walls with an outer skin
Hollow walls. usually half a brick thick,
separated from the former by a cavity of 2 or 3 in. (fig. 2). The two
walls are tied together at frequent intervals by iron or stoneware ties,
each having a bend or twist in the centre, which prevents the
transmission of water to the inner wall. All water, therefore, which
penetrates the outer wall drops to the base of the cavity, and trickles
out through gratings provided for the purpose a few inches above the
ground level. The base of the cavity should be taken down a course or two
below the level of the damp-proof course. The ties are placed about 3 ft.
apart horizontally, with 12 or 18 in. vertical intervals; they are about
8 in. long and ¾ in. wide. It is considered preferable by some architects
and builders to place the thicker wall on the outside. This course,
however, allows the main wall to be attacked by the weather, whereas the
former method provides for its protection by a screen of brickwork. Where
door and window frames occur in hollow walls, it is of the utmost
importance that a proper lead or other flashing be built in, shaped so as
to throw off on each side, clear of the frames and main wall, the water
which may penetrate the outer shell. While building the wall it is very
essential to ensure that the cavity and ties be kept clean and free from
rubbish or mortar, and for this purpose a wisp of straw or a narrow
board, is laid on the ties where the bricklayer is working, to catch any
material that may be inadvertently dropped, this protection being raised
as the work proceeds. A hollow wall tends to keep the building dry
internally and the temperature equable, but it has the disadvantage of
harbouring vermin, unless care be taken to ensure their exclusion. The
top of the wall is usually sealed with brickwork to prevent vermin or
rubbish finding its way into the cavity. Air gratings should be
introduced here to allow of air circulating through the cavity; they also
facilitate drying out after rain.

Hollow walls are not much used in London for two reasons, the first
being that, owing to the protection from the weather afforded by
surrounding buildings, one of the main reasons for their use is gone, and
the other that the expense is greatly increased, owing to the authorities
ignoring the outer shell and requiring the main wall to be of the full
thickness stipulated in schedule I. of London Building Act 1894. Many
English provincial authorities in determining the thickness of a
cavity-wall, take the outer portion into consideration.

In London and the surrounding counties, brickwork is measured by the
rod of 16½ ft. square, 1½ bricks in thickness. A rod of brickwork
Materials and labour. gauged four courses
to a foot with bricks 8¾ in. long, 4¼ in. wide, and 2¾ in thick, and
joints ¼ in. in thickness, will require 4356 bricks, and the number will
vary as the bricks are above or below the average size, and as the joints
are made thinner or thicker. The quantity of mortar, also, will evidently
be affected by the latter consideration, but in London it is generally
reckoned at 50 cub. ft. for a ¼-in. joint, to 72 cub. ft. for a joint
⅜ in. thick. To these figures must be added an allowance of about
11 cub. ft. if the bricks are formed with frogs or hollows. Bricks weigh
about 7 lb each; they are bought and sold by the thousand, which quantity
weighs about 62 cwt. The weight of a rod of brickwork is 13½-15 tons,
work in cement mortar being heavier than that executed in lime. Seven
bricks are required to face a sq. ft.; 1 ft. of reduced
brickwork—1½ bricks thick—will require 16 bricks. The number
of bricks laid by a workman in a day of eight hours varies considerably
with the description of work, but on straight walling a man will lay an
average of 500 in a day.

The absorbent properties of bricks vary considerably with the kind of
brick. The ordinary London stock of good quality should Varieties of bricks. not have absorbed, after
twenty-four hours’ soaking, more than one-fifth of its bulk. Inferior
bricks will absorb as much as a third. The Romans were great users of
bricks, both burnt and sun-dried. At the decline of the Roman empire, the
art of brickmaking fell into disuse, but after the lapse of some
centuries it was revived, and the ancient architecture of Italy shows
many fine examples of brick and terra-cotta work. The scarcity of stone
in the Netherlands led to the development of a brick architecture, and
fine examples of brickwork abound in the Low Countries. The Romans seem
to have introduced brickmaking into England, and specimens of the large
thin bricks, which they used chiefly as a bond for rubble masonry, may be
seen in the many remains of Roman buildings scattered about that country.
During the reigns of the early Tudor kings the art of brickmaking arrived
at great perfection, and some of the finest known specimens of ornamental
brickwork are to be found among the work of this period. The rebuilding
of London after the Great Fire of 1666 gave considerable impetus to
brickmaking, most of the new buildings being of brick, and a statute was
passed regulating the number of bricks in the thickness of the walls of
the several rates of dwelling-houses.

The many names given to the different qualities of bricks in various
parts of Great Britain are most confusing, but the following are those
generally in use:—

Stocks, hard, sound, well-burnt bricks, used for all ordinary
purposes.

Hard Stocks, sound but over-burnt, used in footings to walls
and other positions where good appearance is not required.

Shippers, sound, hard-burnt bricks of imperfect shape. Obtain
their name from being much used as ballast for ships.

Rubbers or Cutters, sandy in composition and suitable
for cutting with a wire saw and rubbing to shape on the stone slab.

Grizzles, sound and of fair shape, but under-burnt; used for
inferior work, and in cases where they are not liable to be heavily
loaded.

Place-bricks, under-burnt and defective; used for temporary
work.

Chuffs, cracked and defective in shape and badly burnt. [v.04
p.0523]Burrs, lumps which have vitrified or run together in
the burning; used for rough walling, garden work, &c.

Pressed bricks, moulded under hydraulic pressure, and much used
for facing work. They usually have a deep frog or hollow on one or both
horizontal faces, which reduces the weight of the brick and forms an
excellent key for the mortar.

Blue bricks, chiefly made in South Staffordshire and North
Wales. They are used in engineering work, and where great compressional
resistance is needed, as they are vitrified throughout, hard, heavy,
impervious and very durable. Blue bricks of special shape may be had for
paving, channelling and coping.

Fire-bricks, withstanding great heat, used in connexion with
furnaces. They should always be laid with fire-clay in place of lime or
cement mortar.

Glazed bricks, either salt-glazed or enamelled. The former,
brown in colour, are glazed by throwing salt on the bricks in the kiln.
The latter are dipped into a slip of the required colour before being
burnt, and are used for decorative and sanitary purposes, and where
reflected light is required.

Moulded bricks, for cornices, string courses, plinths, labels
and copings. They are made in the different classes to many patterns; and
on account of their greater durability, and the saving of the labour of
cutting, are preferable in many cases to rubbers. For sewer work and
arches, bricks shaped as voussoirs are supplied.

The strength of brickwork varies very considerably according to the
kind of brick used, the position in which it is used, the kind and Strength of brickwork. quality of the lime or
cement mortar, and above all the quality of the workmanship. The results
of experiments with short walls carried out in 1896-1897 by the Royal
Institute of British Architects to determine the average loads per sq.
ft. at which crushing took place, may be briefly summarized as follows:
Stock brickwork in lime mortar crushed under a pressure of 18.63 tons per
sq. ft., and in cement mortar under 39.29 tons per sq. ft. Gault
brickwork in lime mortar crushed at 31.14 tons, and in cement mortar at
51.34 tons. Fletton brickwork in lime crushed under a load of 30.68 tons,
in cement under 56.25 tons. Leicester red brickwork in lime mortar
crushed at 45.36 tons per sq. ft., in cement mortar at 83.36 tons.
Staffordshire blue brick work in lime mortar crushed at 114.34 tons, and
in cement mortar at 135.43 tons.

The height of a brick pier should not exceed twelve times its least
width. The London Building Act in the first schedule prescribes that in
buildings not public, or of the warehouse class, in no storey shall any
external or party walls exceed in height sixteen times the thickness. In
buildings of the warehouse class, the height of these walls shall not
exceed fourteen times the thickness.

In exposed situations it is necessary to strengthen the buildings by
increasing the thickness of walls and parapets, and to provide heavier
copings and flashings. Special precautions, too, must be observed in the
fixing of copings, chimney pots, ridges and hips. The greatest wind
pressure experienced in England may be taken at 56 lb on a sq. ft., but
this is only in the most exposed positions in the country or on a sea
front. Forty pounds is a sufficient allowance in most cases, and where
there is protection by surrounding trees or buildings 28 lb per sq. ft.
is all that needs to be provided against.

In mixing mortar, particular attention must be paid to the sand with
which the lime or cement is mixed. The best sand is that Mortar. obtained from the pit, being sharp and
angular. It is, however, liable to be mixed with clay or earth, which
must be washed away before the sand is used. Gravel found mixed with it
must be removed by screening or sifting. River sand is frequently used,
but is not so good as pit sand on account of the particles being rubbed
smooth by attrition. Sea sand is objectionable for two reasons; it cannot
be altogether freed from a saline taint, and if it is used the salt
attracts moisture and is liable to keep the brickwork permanently damp.
The particles, moreover, are generally rounded by attrition, caused by
the movement of the sea, which makes it less efficient for mortar than if
they retained their original angular forms. Blue or black mortar, often
used for pointing the joints of external brickwork on account of its
greater durability, is made by using foundry sand or smith’s ashes
instead of ordinary sand. There are many other substitutes for the
ordinary sand. As an example, fine stone grit may be used with advantage.
Thoroughly burnt clay or ballast, old bricks, clinkers and cinders,
ground to a uniform size and screened from dust, also make excellent
substitutes.

Fat limes (that is, limes which are pure, as opposed to “hydraulic”
limes which are burnt from limestone containing some clay) should not be
used for mortar; they are slow-setting, and there is a liability for some
of the mortar, where there is not a free access of air to assist the
setting, remaining soft for some considerable period, often months, thus
causing unequal settlement and possibly failure. Grey stone lime is
feebly hydraulic, and makes a good mortar for ordinary work. It, however,
decays under the influence of the weather, and it is, therefore,
advisable to point the external face of the work in blue ash or cement
mortar, in order to obtain greater durability. It should never be used in
foundation work, or where exposed to wet. Lias lime is hydraulic, that
is, it will set firm under water. It should be used in all good class
work, where Portland cement is not desired.

Of the various cements used in building, it is necessary only to
mention three as being applicable to use for mortar. The first of these
is Portland cement, which has sprung into very general use, not only for
work where extra strength and durability are required, and for
underground work, but also in general building where a small extra cost
is not objected to. Ordinary lime mortar may have its strength
considerably enhanced by the addition of a small proportion of Portland
cement. Roman cement is rarely used for mortar, but is useful in some
cases on account of the rapidity with which it sets, usually becoming
hard about fifteen minutes after mixing. It is useful in tidal work and
embankments, and constructions under water. It has about one-third of the
strength of Portland cement, by which it is now almost entirely
supplanted. Selenitic cement or lime, invented by Major-General H. Y. D.
Scott (1822-1883), is lias lime, to which a small proportion of plaster
of Paris has been added with the object of suppressing the action of
slaking and inducing quicker setting. If carefully mixed in accordance
with the instructions issued by the manufacturers, it will take a much
larger proportion of sand than ordinary lime.

Lime should be slaked before being made into mortar. The lime is
measured out, deposited in a heap on a wooden “bank” or platform, and
after being well watered is covered with the correct proportion of sand.
This retains the heat and moisture necessary to thorough slaking; the
time required for this operation depends on the variety of the lime, but
usually it is from a few hours to one and a half days. If the mixing is
to be done by hand the materials must be screened to remove any unslaked
lumps of lime. The occurrence of these may be prevented by grinding the
lime shortly before use. The mass should then be well “larried,”
i.e. mixed together with the aid of a long-handled rake called the
“larry.” Lime mortar should be tempered for at least two days, roughly
covered up with sacks or other material. Before being used it must be
again turned over and well mixed together. Portland and Roman cement
mortars must be mixed as required on account of their quick-setting
properties. In the case of Portland cement mortar, a quantity sufficient
only for the day’s use should be “knocked up,” but with Roman cement
fresh mixtures must be made several times a day, as near as possible to
the place of using. Cement mortars should never be worked up after
setting has taken place. Care should be taken to obtain the proper
consistency, which is a stiff paste. If the mortar be too thick, extra
labour is involved in its use, and much time wasted. If it be so thin as
to run easily from the trowel, a longer time is taken in setting, and the
wall is liable to settle; also there is danger that the lime or cement
will be killed by the excess of water, or at least have its binding power
affected. It is not advisable to carry out work when the temperature is
below freezing point, but in urgent cases bricklaying may be successfully
done by using unslaked lime mortar. The mortar must be prepared in small
quantities immediately before being used, so that binding action takes
place before it cools. When the wall is left at night time the top course
should be covered up to prevent the penetration of rain into the work,
which would then be destroyed by the action of frost. Bricks used during
frosty weather should be quite dry, and those that have been exposed to
rain or frost should never be employed. The question whether there is any
limit to bricklayers’ work in frost is still an open one. Among the
members of the Norwegian Society of Engineers and Architects, at whose
meetings the subject has been frequently discussed, that limit is
variously estimated at between -6° to -8° Réaumur (18½° to 14° Fahr.) and
-12° to -15° Réaumur (5° above to 1¾° below zero Fahr.). It has been
proved by hydraulic tests that good bricklayers’ work can be executed at
the latter minimum. The conviction is held that the variations in the
opinions held on this subject are attributable to the degree of care
bestowed on the preparation of the mortar. It is generally agreed,
however, that from a practical point of view, bricklaying should not be
carried on at temperatures lower than -8° to -10° Réaumur (14° to 9½°
Fahr.), for as the thermometer falls the expense of building is greatly
increased, owing to a larger proportion of lime being required.

For grey lime mortar the usual proportion is one part of lime to two
or three parts of sand; lias lime mortar is mixed in similar proportions,
except for work below ground, when equal quantities of lime and sand
should be used. Portland cement mortar is usually in the proportions of
one to three, or five, of sand; good results are obtained with lime
mortar fortified with cement as follows:—one part slaked lime, one
part Portland cement, and seven parts sand. Roman cement mortar should
consist of one or one and a half parts of cement to one part of sand.
Selenitic lime mortar is usually in the proportions of one to four or
five, and must be mixed in a particular manner, the lime being first
ground in water in the mortar mill, and the sand gradually added. Blue or
black mortar contains equal parts of foundry ashes and lime; but is
improved by the addition of a proportion of cement. For setting
fire-bricks fire-clay is always used. Pargetting for rendering inside
chimney flues is made of one part of lime with three parts of cow dung
free from straw or litter. No efficient substitute has been found for
this mixture, which should be used fresh. A mortar that has found
approval for tall chimney shafts is composed by grinding in a mortar-mill
one part of blue lias lime with one part each of sand and foundry ashes.
In the external walls of the Albert Hall the mortar used was one part
Portland cement, one part grey Burham lime and six parts pit sand. The
lime was slaked twenty-four hours, and after being mixed [v.04 p.0524]with
the sand for ten minutes the cement was added and the whole ground for
one minute; the stuff was prepared in quantities only sufficient for
immediate use. The by-laws dated 1891, made by the London County Council
under section 16 of the Metropolis Management and Building Acts Amendment
Act 1878, require the proportions of lime mortar to be one to three of
sand or grit, and for cement mortar one to four. Clean soft water only
should be used for the purpose of making mortar.

Grout is thin liquid mortar, and is legitimately used in gauged
arches and other work when fine joints are desired. In ordinary work it
is sometimes used every four or five courses to fill up any spaces that
may have been inadvertently left between the bricks. This at the best is
but doing with grout what should be done with mortar in the operation of
laying the bricks; and filling or flushing up every course with mortar
requires but little additional exertion and is far preferable. The use of
grout is, therefore, a sign of inefficient workmanship, and should not be
countenanced in good work. It is liable, moreover, to ooze out and stain
the face of the brickwork.

Lime putty is pure slaked lime. It is prepared or “run,” as it
is termed, in a wooden tub or bin, and should be made as long a time as
possible before being used; at least three weeks should elapse between
preparation and use.

Fig. 3.—Forms of Joints.

The pointing of a wall, as previously mentioned, is done either with
the bricklaying or at the completion of the work. If the Pointing. pointing is to be of the same mortar as
the rest of the work, it would probably greatly facilitate matters to
finish off the work at one operation with the bricklaying, but where, as
in many cases, the pointing is required to be executed in a more durable
mortar, this would be done as the scaffold is taken down at the
completion of the building, the joints being raked out by the bricklayer
to a depth of ½ or ¾ in. By the latter method the whole face of the work
is kept uniform in appearance. The different forms of joints in general
use are clearly shown in fig. 3. Flat or flush joints (A) are formed by
pressing the protruding mortar back flush with the face of the brickwork.
This joint is commonly used for walls intended to be coated with
distemper or limewhite. The flat joint jointed (two forms, B and C) is a
development of the flush joint. In order to increase the density and
thereby enhance the durability of the mortar, a semicircular groove is
formed along the centre, or one on each side of the joint, with an iron
jointer and straight-edge. Another form, rarely used, is the keyed joint
shown at D, the whole width of the joint in this case being treated with
the curved key. Struck or bevelled, or weathered, joints have the upper
portion pressed back with the trowel to form a sloping surface, which
throws off the wet. The lower edge is cut off with the trowel to a
straight edge. This joint is in very common use for new work. Ignorant
workmen frequently make the slope in the opposite direction (F), thus
forming a ledge on the brick; this catches the water, which on being
frozen rapidly causes the disintegration of the upper portion of the
brick and of the joint itself. With recessed jointing, not much used, a
deep shadow may be obtained. This form of joint, illustrated in G, is
open to very serious objections, for it encourages the soaking of the
brick with rain instead of throwing off the wet, as it seems the natural
function of good pointing, and this, besides causing undue dampness in
the wall, renders it liable to damage by frost. It also leaves the
arrises of the bricks unprotected and liable to be damaged, and from its
deep recessed form does not make for stability in the work. Gauged work
has very thin joints, as shown at H, formed by dipping the side of the
brick in white lime putty. The sketch I shows a joint raked out and
filled in with pointing mortar to form a flush joint, or it may be
finished in any of the preceding forms. Where the wall is to be plastered
the joints are either left open or raked out, or the superfluous mortar
may be left protruding as shown at J. By either method an excellent key
is obtained, to which the rendering firmly adheres. In tuck pointing (K)
the joints are raked out and stopped, i.e. filled in flush with mortar
coloured to match the brickwork. The face of the wall is then rubbed over
with a soft brick of the same colour, or the work may be coloured with
pigment. A narrow groove is then cut in the joints, and the mortar
allowed to set. White lime putty is next filled into the groove, being
pressed on with a jointing tool, leaving a white joint ⅛ to ¼ in.
wide, and with a projection of about 1/16 in. beyond the face of the
work. This method is not a good or a durable one, and should only be
adopted in old work when the edges of the bricks are broken or irregular.
In bastard tuck pointing (L), the ridge, instead of being in white lime
putty, is formed of the stopping mortar itself.

Footings, as will be seen on reference to fig. 1, are the wide courses
of brickwork at the base or foot of a wall. They serve to spread Footings. the pressure over a larger area of
ground, offsets 2¼ in. wide being made on each side of the wall until a
width equal to double the thickness of the wall is reached. Thus in a
wall 13½ in. (1½ bricks) thick, this bottom course would be 2 ft. 3 in.
(3 bricks) wide. It is preferable for greater strength to double the
lowest course. The foundation bed of concrete then spreading out an
additional 6 in. on each side brings the width of the surface bearing on
the ground to 3 ft. 3 in. The London Building Act requires the projection
of concrete on each side of the brickwork to be only 4 in., but a
projection of 6 in. is generally made to allow for easy working. Footings
should be built with hard bricks laid principally as headers; stretchers,
if necessary, should be placed in the middle of the wall.

Fig. 4.—Diagram of Bonding.

Bond in brickwork is the arrangement by which the bricks of every
course cover the joints of those in the course below it, and so Bonding. tend to make the whole mass or
combination of bricks act as much together, or as dependently one upon
another, as possible. The workmen should be strictly supervised as they
proceed with the work, for many failures are due to their ignorance or
carelessness in this particular. The object of bonding will be understood
by reference to fig. 4. Here it is evident from the arrangement of the
bricks that any weight placed on the topmost brick (a) is carried
down and borne alike in every course; in this way the weight on each
brick is distributed over an area increasing with every course. But this
forms a longitudinal bond only, which cannot extend its influence beyond
the width of the brick; and a wall of one brick and a half, or two
bricks, thick, built in this manner, would in effect consist of three or
four half brick thick walls acting independently of each other. If the
bricks were turned so as to show their short sides or ends in front
instead of their long ones, certainly a compact wall of a whole brick
thick, instead of half a brick, would be produced, and while the
thickness of the wall would be double, the longitudinal bond would be
shortened by one-half: a wall of any great thickness built in this manner
would necessarily be composed of so many independent one-brick walls. To
produce a transverse and yet preserve a true longitudinal bond, the
bricks are laid in a definite arrangement of stretchers and headers.

Fig. 5.—English Bond.

In this and following illustration of bond in brickwork
the position of bricks in the second course is indicated by dotted
lines.

In “English bond” (fig. 5), rightly considered the most perfect in
use, the bricks are laid in alternate courses of headers and stretchers,
thus combining the advantages of the two previous modes of arrangement. A
reference to fig. 5 will show how the process of bonding is pursued in a
wall one and a half bricks in thickness, and how the quoins are formed.
In walls which are a multiple of a whole brick, the appearance of the
same course is similar on the elevations of the front and back faces, but
in walls where an odd half brick must be used to make up the thickness,
as is the case in the illustration, the appearance of the opposite sides
of a course is inverted. The example illustrates the principle of English
bond; thicker walls are constructed in the same manner by an extension of
the same methods. It will be observed that portions of a brick have to be
inserted near a vertical end or a quoin, in order to start the regular
bond. These portions equal a half header in width, and are called queen
closers; they are placed next to the first header. A three-quarter brick
is obviously as available for this purpose as a header and closer
combined, but the latter method is preferred because by the use of it
uniformity of appearance is preserved, and whole bricks are retained on
the returns. King closers are used at rebated openings formed in walls in
Flemish bond, and by reason of the greater width of the back or “tail,”
add strength to the work. They are cut on the splay so that the front end
is half the width of a header and one side half the length of the brick.
An example of their use will be seen in fig. 15. In walls of almost all
thicknesses above 9 in., except in the [v.04 p.0525]English bond,
to preserve the transverse and yet not destroy the longitudinal bond, it
is frequently necessary to use half bricks. It may be taken as a general
rule that a brick should never be cut if it can be worked in whole, for a
new joint is thereby created in a construction, the difficulty of which
consists in obviating the debility arising from the constant recurrence
of joints. Great insistence must be laid on this point, especially at the
junctions of walls, where the admission of closers already constitutes a
weakness which would only be increased by the use of other bats or
fragments of bricks.

Fig. 6.—Flemish Bond.

Another method of bonding brickwork, instead of placing the bricks in
alternate courses of headers and stretchers, places them alternately as
headers and stretchers in the same course, the appearance of the course
being the same on each face. This is called “Flemish bond.” Closers are
necessary to this variety of bond. From fig. 6 it will be seen that,
owing to the comparative weakness of the transverse tie, and the numbers
of half bricks required to be used and the thereby increased number of
joints, this bond is not so perfect nor so strong as English. The
arrangements of the face joints, however, presenting in Flemish bond a
neater appearance than in English bond, it is generally selected for the
external walls of domestic and other buildings where good effect is
desirable. In buildings erected for manufacturing and similar purposes,
and in engineering works where the greatest degree of strength and
compactness is considered of the highest importance, English bond should
have the preference.

A compromise is sometimes made between the two above-mentioned bonds.
For the sake of appearance the bricks are laid to form Flemish bond on
the face, while the backing is of English bond, the object being to
combine the best features of the two bonds. Undoubtedly the result is an
improvement on Flemish bond, obviating as it does the use of bats in the
interior of the wall. This method of bonding is termed “single Flemish
bond,” and is shown in fig. 7.

In stretching bond, which should only be used for walls half a brick
in thickness, all the bricks are laid as stretchers, a half brick being
used in alternate courses to start the bond. In work curved too sharply
on plan to admit of the use of stretchers, and for footings, projecting
mouldings and corbels, the bricks are all laid as headers, i.e. with
their ends to the front, and their length across the thickness of the
wall. This is termed “heading bond.”

Fig. 7.—Single Flemish Bond.

In thick walls, three bricks thick and upwards, a saving of labour is
effected without loss of strength, by the adoption of “herring bone” or
“diagonal bond” in the interior of the wall, the outer faces of the wall
being built in English and Flemish bond. This mode should not be had
recourse to for walls of a less thickness than 27 in., even that being
almost too thin to admit of any great advantage from it.

Hoop-iron, about 1½ in. wide and 1/16 in. thick, either galvanized or
well tarred and sanded to retard rusting, is used in order to obtain
additional longitudinal tie. The customary practice is to use one strip
of iron for each half-brick in thickness of the wall. Joints at the
angles, and where necessary in the length, are formed by bending the ends
of the strips so as to hook together. A patent stabbed iron now on the
market is perforated to provide a key for the mortar.

A difficulty often arises in bonding when facing work with bricks of a
slightly different size from those used in “backing,” as it is
technically termed. As it is, of course, necessary to keep all brickwork
in properly levelled courses, a difference has to be made in the
thickness of the mortar joints. Apart from the extra labour involved,
this obviously is detrimental to the stability of the wall, and is apt to
produce unequal settlement and cracking. Too much care cannot be taken to
obtain both facing and backing bricks of equal size.

Fig. 8.

Dishonest bricklayers do not hesitate, when using for the face of a
wall bricks of a quality superior to those used for the interior, to use
“snapped headers,” that is cutting the heading bricks in halves, one
brick thus serving the purposes of two as regards outward appearance.
This is a most pernicious practice, unworthy of adoption by any craftsman
of repute, for a skin of brickwork 4½ in. thick is thus carried up with a
straight mortar joint behind it, the proper bonding with the back of the
wall by means of headers being destroyed.

American building acts describe the kind of bond to be used for
ordinary walls, and the kind for faced walls. Tie courses also require an
extra thickness where walls are perforated with over 30% of flues.

The importance for sanitary and other reasons of keeping walls dry is
admitted by all who have observed the deleterious action of damp upon a
building.

Walls are liable to become damp, (1) by wet rising up the wall from
the earth; (2) by water soaking down from the top of the Prevention of damp. wall; (3) by rain being
driven on to the face by wind. Dampness from the first cause may be
prevented by the introduction of damp-proof courses or the construction
of dry areas; from the second by means of a coping of stone, cement or
other non-porous material; and from the third by covering the exterior
with impervious materials or by the adoption of hollow walls.

Fig. 9.

After the footings have been laid and the wall has been brought up to
not less than 6 in. above the finished surface of the ground, and
previous to fixing the plate carrying the ground floor, there should
always be introduced a course of some damp-proof material to prevent the
rise of moisture from the soil. There are several forms of damp-proof
course. A very usual one is a double layer of roofing slates laid in neat
Portland cement (fig. 8), the joints being well lapped. A course or two
of Staffordshire blue bricks in cement is excellent where heavy weights
have to be considered. Glazed stoneware perforated slabs about 2 in.
thick are specially made for use as damp-proof courses. Asphalt (fig. 9)
recently has come into great favour with architects; a layer ½ or ¾ in.
thick is a good protection against damp, and not likely to crack should a
settlement occur, but in hot weather it is liable to squeeze out at the
joints under heavy weights. Felt covered with bitumen is an excellent
substitute for asphalt, and is not liable to crack or squeeze out. Sheet
lead is efficient, but very costly and also somewhat liable to squeezing.
A damp-proof course has been introduced consisting of a thin sheet of
lead sandwiched between layers of asphalt. Basement storeys to be kept
dry require, besides the damp-proof course horizontally in the wall, a
horizontal course, usually of asphalt, in the thickness of the floor, and
also a vertical damp-proof course from a level below that of the floor to
about 6 in. above the level of the ground, either built in the thickness
of the wall or rendered on the outside between the wall and the
surrounding earth (fig. 10).

By means of dry areas or air drains (figs. 11 and 12), a hollow [v.04
p.0526]space 9 in. or more in width is formed around those
portions of the walls situated below the ground, the object being to
prevent them from coming into contact with the brickwork of the main
walls and so imparting its moisture to the building. Arrangements should
be made for keeping the area clear of vermin and for ventilating and
draining it. Dry areas, being far from sanitary, are seldom adopted now,
and are being superseded by asphalt or cement applied to the face of the
wall.

Fig. 12.

Fig. 11.

Fig. 10.

Moisture is prevented from soaking down from the top of the wall by
using a covering of some impervious material in the form of a coping.
This may consist of ordinary bricks set on edge in cement with a double
course of tiles immediately below, called a “creasing,” or of specially
made non-porous coping bricks, or of stone, cast-iron, or cement sloped
or “weathered” in order to throw the rain off.

Fig. 13.

The exterior of walls above the ground line may be protected by
coating the surface with cement or rough cast; or covering with slates or
tiles fixed on battens in a similar manner to those on a roof
(fig.13).

The use of hollow walls in exposed positions has already been referred
to.

The by-laws dated 1891, made by the London County Council under
section 16 of the Metropolis Management and Buildings Acts Amendment Act
1878, require that “every wall of a house or building shall have a damp
course composed of materials impervious to moisture approved by the
district surveyor, extending throughout its whole thickness at the level
of not less than 6 in. below the level of the lowest floor. Every
external wall or enclosing wall of habitable rooms or their appurtenances
or cellars which abuts against the earth shall be protected by materials
impervious to moisture to the satisfaction of the district surveyor…”
“The top of every party-wall and parapet-wall shall be finished with one
course of hard, well-burnt bricks set on edge, in cement, or by a coping
of any other waterproof and fire-resisting material, properly
secured.”

Arches are constructions built of wedge-shaped blocks, which by reason
of their shape give support one to another, and to the Arches. super-imposed weight, the resulting load
being transmitted through the blocks to the abutments upon which the ends
of the arch rest. An arch should be composed of such materials and
designed of such dimensions as to enable it to retain its proper shape
and resist the crushing strain imposed upon it. The abutments also must
be strong enough to take safely the thrust of the weighted arch, as the
slightest movement in these supports will cause deflection and failure.
The outward thrust of an arch decreases as it approaches the semicircular
form, but the somewhat prevalent idea that in the latter form no
thrusting takes place is at variance with fact.

Fig. 14.

Arches in brickwork may be classed under three heads: plain arches,
rough-cut and gauged. Plain arches are built of uncut bricks, and since
the difference between the outer and inner periphery of the arch requires
the parts of which an arch is made up to be wedge-formed, which an
ordinary brick is not, the difference must be made in mortar, with the
result that the joints become wedge-shaped. This obviously gives an
objectionable inconsistency of material in the arch, and for this reason
to obtain greatest strength it is advisable to build these arches in
independent rings of half-brick thickness. The undermost rings should
have thin joints, those of each succeeding ring being slightly thickened.
This prevents the lowest ring from settling while those above remain in
position, which would cause an ugly fissure. In work of large span
bonding blocks or “lacing courses” should be built into the arch, set in
cement and running through its thickness at intervals, care being taken
to introduce the lacing course at a place where the joints of the various
rings coincide. Stone blocks in the shape of a voussoir (fig. 14) may be
used instead. Except for these lacing courses hydraulic lime mortar
should be used for large arches, on account of its slightly accommodating
nature.

Rough-cut arches are those in which the bricks are roughly cut with an
axe to a wedge form; they are used over openings, such as doors and
windows, where a strong arch of neat appearance is desired. The joints
are usually made equal in width to those of the ordinary brickwork.
Gauged arches are composed of specially made soft bricks, which are cut
and rubbed to gauges or templates so as to form perfectly fitting
voussoirs. Gauging is, of course, equally applicable to arches and
walling, as it means no more than bringing every brick exactly to a
certain form by cutting and rubbing. Gauged brickwork is set in lime
putty instead of common mortar; the finished joints should not be more
than 1/32 in. wide. To give stability the sides of the voussoirs are
gauged out hollow and grouted in Portland cement, thus connecting each
brick with the next by a joggle joint. Gauged arches, being for the most
part but a half-brick in thickness on the soffit and not being tied by a
bond to anything behind them—for behind them is the lintel with
rough discharging arch over, supporting the remaining width of the
wall—require to be executed with great care and nicety. It is a
common fault with workmen to rub the bricks thinner behind than before to
lessen the labour required to obtain a very fine face joint. This
practice tends to make the work bulge outwards; it should rather be
inverted if it be done at all, though the best work is that in which the
bricks are gauged to exactly the same thickness at the back as at the
front. The same fault occurs when a gauged arch is inserted in an old
wall, on account of the difficulty of filling up with cement the space
behind the bricks.

The bond of an arch obtains its name from the arrangement of headers
and stretchers on its soffit. The under side of an arch built in English
bond, therefore, will show the same arrangement as the face of a wall
built in English bond. If the arch is in Flemish the soffit presents the
same appearance as the elevation of a wall built in that bond.

It is generally held that the building of wood into brickwork Plates. should as far as is possible be avoided.
Wall plates of wood are, however, necessary where wood joists are used,
and where these plates may not be supported on corbels of projecting
brickwork or iron they must be let flush into the wall, taking the place
of a course of bricks. They form a uniform bed for the joists, to which
easy fixing is obtained. The various modes adopted for resting and fixing
the ends of joists on walls are treated in the article Carpentry.

Fig. 15.

Lintels, which may be of iron, steel, plain or reinforced concrete, or
stone, are used over square-headed openings instead of or in conjunction
with arches. They are useful to preserve the square form and receive the
joiners’ fittings, but except when made of steel or of concrete
reinforced with steel bars, they should have relieving arches turned
immediately over them (Fig.15).

“Fixing bricks” were formerly of wood of the same size as the ordinary
brick, and built into the wall as required for fixing joinery. Owing to
their liability to shrinkage and decay, their use is now practically
abandoned, their place being taken by bricks of coke-breeze concrete,
which do not shrink or rot and hold fast nails or screws driven into
them. Another method often adopted for [v.04 p.0527]providing a
fixing for joinery is to build in wood slips the thickness of a joint and
4½ in. wide. When suitable provision for fixing has not been made, wood
plugs are driven into the joints of the bricks. Great care must be taken
in driving these in the joints of reveals or at the corners of walls, or
damage may be done.

The name “brick-ashlar” is given to walls faced with ashlar stonework
backed in with brickwork. Such constructions are liable in an aggravated
degree to the unequal settling and its attendant evils pointed out as
existing in walls built with different qualities of bricks. The outer
face is composed of unyielding stone with few and very thin joints, which
perhaps do not occupy more than a hundredth part of its height, while the
back is built up of bricks with about one-eighth its height composed of
mortar joints, that is, of a material that by its nature and manner of
application must both shrink in drying and yield to pressure. To obviate
this tendency to settle and thus cause the bulging of the face or failure
of the wall, the mortar used should be composed of Portland cement and
sand with a large proportion of the former, and worked as stiff as it
conveniently can be. In building such work the stones should be in height
equal to an exact number of brick courses. It is a common practice in
erecting buildings with a facing of Kentish rag rubble to back up the
stonework with bricks. Owing to the great irregularity of the stones,
great difficulty is experienced in obtaining proper bond between the two
materials. Through bonding stones or headers should be frequently built
in, and the whole of the work executed in cement mortar to ensure
stability.

Not the least important part of the bricklayer’s art is the formation
of chimney and other flues. Considerable skill is required in Chimneys and flues. gathering-over properly above
the fireplace so as to conduct the smoke into the smaller flue, which
itself requires to be built with precision, so that its capacity may not
vary in different parts. Bends must be made in gradual curves so as to
offer the least possible resistance to the up-draught, and at least one
bend of not less than 60° should be formed in each flue to intercept
down-draughts. Every fireplace must have a separate flue. The collection
of a number of flues into a “stack” is economical, and tends to increase
the efficiency of the flues, the heat from one flue assisting the
up-draught in those adjoining it. It is also desirable from an aesthetic
point of view, for a number of single flue chimneys sticking up from
various parts of the roof would appear most unsightly. The architects of
the Elizabethan and later periods were masters of this difficult art of
treating a stack or stacks as an architectural feature. The shaft should
be carried well above the roof, higher, if possible, than adjacent
buildings, which are apt to cause down-draught and make the chimney
smoke. When this is found impossible, one of the many forms of patent
chimney-pots or revolving cowls must be adopted. Each flue must be
separated by smoke-proof “withes” or divisions, usually half a brick in
thickness; connexion between them causes smoky chimneys. The size of the
flue for an ordinary grate is 14×9 in.; for a kitchen stove 14×14 in. The
outer wall of a chimney stack may with advantage be made 9 in. thick.
Fireclay tubes, rectangular or circular in transverse section, are
largely used in place of the pargetting; although more expensive than the
latter they have the advantage in point of cleanliness and durability.
Fireplaces generally require more depth than can be provided in the
thickness of the wall, and therefore necessitate a projection to contain
the fireplace and flues, called the “chimney breast.” Sometimes,
especially when the wall is an external one, the projection may be made
on the back, thus allowing a flush wall in the room and giving more space
and a more conveniently-shaped room. The projection on the outside face
of the wall may be treated as an ornamental feature. The fireplace
opening is covered by a brick relieving arch, which is fortified by
wrought-iron bar from ½ to ¾ in. thick and 2 to 3 in. wide. It is usually
bent to a “camber,” and the brick arch built upon it naturally takes the
same curve. Each end is “caulked,” that is, split longitudinally and
turned up and down. The interior of a chimney breast behind the stove
should always be filled in solid with concrete or brickwork. The flooring
in the chimney opening is called the “hearth”; the back hearth covers the
space between the jambs of the chimney breast, and the front hearth rests
upon the brick “trimmer arch” designed to support it. The hearth is now
often formed in solid concrete, supported on the brick wall and fillets
fixed to the floor joists, without any trimmer arch and finished in neat
cement or glazed tiles instead of stone slabs.

Tall furnace chimneys should stand as separate constructions,
unconnected with other buildings. If it is necessary to bring other work
close up, a straight joint should be used. The shaft of the chimney will
be built “overhand,” the men working from the inside. Lime mortar is
used, cement being too rigid to allow the chimney to rock in the wind.
Not more than 3 ft. in height should be erected in one day, the work of
necessity being done in small portions to allow the mortar to set before
it is required to sustain much weight. The bond usually adopted is one
course of headers to four of stretchers. Scaffolding is sometimes erected
outside for a height of 25 or 30 ft., to facilitate better pointing,
especially where the chimney is in a prominent position. The brickwork at
the top must, according to the London Building Act, be 9 in. thick (it is
better 14 in. in shafts over 100 ft. high), increasing half a brick in
thickness for every additional 20 ft. measured downwards. “The shaft
shall taper gradually from the base to the top at the rate of at least 2½
in. in 10 ft. of height. The width of the base of the shaft if square
shall be at least one-tenth of the proposed height of the shaft, or if
round or any other shape, then one-twelfth of the height. Firebricks
built inside the lower portion of the shaft shall be provided, as
additional to and independent of the prescribed thickness of brickwork,
and shall not be bonded therewith.” The firebrick lining should be
carried up from about 25 ft. for ordinary temperatures to double that
height for very great ones, a space of 1½ to 3 in. being kept between the
lining and the main wall. The lining itself is usually 4½ in. thick. The
cap is usually of cast iron or terra-cotta strengthened with iron bolts
and straps, and sometimes of stone, but the difficulty of properly fixing
this latter material causes it to be neglected in favour of one of the
former. (See a paper by F.J. Bancroft on “Chimney Construction,” which
contains a tabulated description of nearly sixty shafts, Proc. Civ.
and Mech. Eng. Soc., December 1883.)

The work of laying bricks or tiles as paving falls to the lot of the
bricklayer. Paving formed of ordinary bricks laid flat or on their Brick paving. edges was once in general use, but
is now almost abandoned in favour of floors of special tiles or cement
paving, the latter being practically non-porous and therefore more
sanitary and cleaner. Special bricks of extremely hard texture are made
for stable and similar paving, having grooves worked on the face to
assist drainage and afford good foothold. A bed of concrete 6 in. thick
is usually provided under paving, or when the bricks are placed on edge
the concrete for external paving may be omitted and the bricks bedded in
sand, the ground being previously well rammed. The side joints of the
bricks are grouted in with lime or cement. Dutch clinkers are small, hard
paving bricks burned at a high temperature and of a light yellow colour;
they are 6 in. long, 3 in. wide, 1½ in. thick. A variety of paving tile
called “oven tiles” is of similar material to the ordinary red brick, and
in size is 10 or 12 in. square and 1 to 2 in. thick. An immense variety
of ornamental paving and walling tiles is now manufactured of different
colours, sizes and shapes, and the use of these for lining sculleries,
lavatories, bathrooms, provision shops, &c., makes for cleanliness
and improved sanitary conditions. Besides, however, being put to these
uses, tiles are often used in the ornamentation of buildings, externally
as well as internally.

Mosaic work is composed of small pieces of marble, stone, glass or
pottery, laid as paving or wall lining, usually in some ornamental
pattern or design. A firm bed of concrete is required, the pieces of [v.04
p.0528]material being fixed in a float of cement about half or
three-quarters of an inch thick. Roman mosaic is formed with cubes of
marble of various colours pressed into the float. A less costly paving
may be obtained by strewing irregularly-shaped marble chips over the
floated surface: these are pressed into the cement with a plasterer’s
hand float, and the whole is then rolled with an iron roller. This is
called “terazzo mosaic.” In either the Roman or terazzo method any
patterns or designs that are introduced are first worked in position, the
ground-work being filled in afterwards. For the use of cement for paving
see Plaster.

The principal publications on brickwork are as
follows:—Rivington, Notes on Building Construction, vols. i.
ii. iii.; Col. H.E. Seddon, Aide Memoir, vol. ii.;
Specification; J.P. Allen, Building Construction; F.E.
Kidder, Building Construction and Superintendence, part i. (1903);
Longmans & Green, Building Construction; E. Dobson, Bricks
and Tiles; Henry Adams, Building Construction; C.F. Mitchell,
Building Construction, vols. i. ii.; E. Street, Brick and
Marble Architecture in Italy.

(J. Bt.)

BRICOLE (a French word of unknown origin), a military engine
for casting heavy stones; also a term in tennis for a sidestroke
rebounding off the wall of the court, corrupted into “brickwall” from a
supposed reference to the wall, and in billiards for a stroke off the
cushion to make a cannon or hazard.

BRIDAINE (or Brydayne), JACQUES
(1701-1767), French Roman Catholic preacher, was born at Chuslan in the
department of Gard on the 21st of March 1701. He was educated at Avignon,
first in the Jesuit college and afterwards at the Sulpician seminary of
St Charles. Soon after his ordination to the priesthood in 1725, he
joined the Missions Royales, organized to bring back to the
Catholíc faith the Protestants of France. He gained their good-will and
made many converts; and for over forty years he visited as a missionary
preacher almost every town of central and southern France. In Paris, in
1744, his sermons created a deep impression by their eloquence and
sincerity. He died at Roquemaure, near Avignon, on the 22nd of December
1767. He was the author of Cantiques spirituels (Montpelier, 1748,
frequently reprinted, in use in most French churches); his sermons were
published in 5 vols. at Avignon in 1823 (ed. Paris, 1861).

See Abbé G. Carron, Le Modèle des prêtres (1803).

BRIDE (a common Teutonic word, e.g. Goth. bruths, O.Eng.
bryd, O.H.Ger. prût, Mod. Ger. Braut, Dut.
bruid, possibly derived from the root bru-, cook, brew;
from the med. latinized form bruta, in the sense of
daughter-in-law, is derived the Fr. bru), the term used of a woman
on her wedding-day, and applicable during the first year of wifehood. It
appears in combination with many words, some of them obsolete. Thus
“bridegroom” is the newly married man, and “bride-bell,” “bride-banquet”
are old equivalents of wedding-bells, wedding-breakfast. “Bridal” (from
Bride-ale), originally the wedding-feast itself, has grown into a
general descriptive adjective, e.g. the bridal party, the
bridal ceremony. The bride-cake had its origin in the Roman
confarreatio, a form of marriage, the essential features of which
were the eating by the couple of a cake made of salt, water and flour,
and the holding by the bride of three wheat-ears, symbolical of plenty.
Under Tiberius the cake-eating fell into disuse, but the wheat ears
survived. In the middle ages they were either worn or carried by the
bride. Eventually it became the custom for the young girls to assemble
outside the church porch and throw grains of wheat over the bride, and
afterwards a scramble for the grains took place. In time the wheat-grains
came to be cooked into thin dry biscuits, which were broken over the
bride’s head, as is the custom in Scotland to-day, an oatmeal cake being
used. In Elizabeth’s reign these biscuits began to take the form of small
rectangular cakes made of eggs, milk, sugar, currants and spices. Every
wedding guest had one at least, and the whole collection were thrown at
the bride the instant she crossed the threshold. Those which lighted on
her head or shoulders were most prized by the scramblers. At last these
cakes became amalgamated into a large one which took on its full glories
of almond paste and ornaments during Charles II.’s time. But even to-day
in rural parishes, e.g. north Notts, wheat is thrown over the bridal
couple with the cry “Bread for life and pudding for ever,” expressive of
a wish that the newly wed may be always affluent. The throwing of rice, a
very ancient custom but one later than the wheat, is symbolical of the
wish that the bridal may be fruitful. The bride-cup was the bowl
or loving-cup in which the bridegroom pledged the bride, and she him. The
custom of breaking this wine-cup, after the bridal couple had drained its
contents, is common to both the Jews and the members of the Greek Church.
The former dash it against the wall or on the ground, the latter tread it
under foot. The phrase “bride-cup” was also sometimes used of the bowl of
spiced wine prepared at night for the bridal couple.
Bride-favours, anciently called bride-lace, were at first pieces
of gold, silk or other lace, used to bind up the sprigs of rosemary
formerly worn at weddings. These took later the form of bunches of
ribbons, which were at last metamorphosed into rosettes.
Bridegroom-men and bridesmaids had formerly important
duties. The men were called bride-knights, and represented a survival of
the primitive days of marriage by capture, when a man called his friends
in to assist to “lift” the bride. Bridesmaids were usual in Saxon
England. The senior of them had personally to attend the bride for some
days before the wedding. The making of the bridal wreath, the decoration
of the tables for the wedding feast, the dressing of the bride, were
among her special tasks. In the same way the senior groomsman (the
best man) was the personal attendant of the husband. The
bride-wain, the wagon in which the bride was driven to her new
home, gave its name to the weddings of any poor deserving couple, who
drove a “wain” round the village, collecting small sums of money or
articles of furniture towards their housekeeping. These were called
bidding-weddings, or bid-ales, which were in the nature of “benefit”
feasts. So general is still the custom of “bidding-weddings” in Wales,
that printers usually keep the form of invitation in type. Sometimes as
many as six hundred couples will walk in the bridal procession. The
bride’s wreath is a Christian substitute for the gilt coronet all
Jewish brides wore. The crowning of the bride is still observed by the
Russians, and the Calvinists of Holland and Switzerland. The wearing of
orange blossoms is said to have started with the Saracens, who regarded
them as emblems of fecundity. It was introduced into Europe by the
Crusaders. The bride’s veil is the modern form of the
flammeum or large yellow veil which completely enveloped the Greek
and Roman brides during the ceremony. Such a covering is still in use
among the Jews and the Persians.

See Brand, Antiquities of Great Britain (Hazlitt’s ed., 1905);
Rev J. Edward Vaux, Church Folklore (1894).

BRIDEWELL, a district of London between Fleet Street and the
Thames, so called from the well of St Bride or St Bridget close by. From
William the Conqueror’s time, a castle or Norman tower, long the
occasional residence of the kings of England, stood there by the Fleet
ditch. Henry VIII., Stow says, built there “a stately and beautiful
house,” specially for the housing of the emperor Charles V. and his suite
in 1525. During the hearing of the divorce suit by the Cardinals at
Blackfriars, Henry and Catharine of Aragon lived there. In 1553 Edward
VI. made it over to the city as a penitentiary, a house of correction for
vagabonds and loose women; and it was formally taken possession of by the
lord mayor and corporation in 1555. The greater part of the building was
destroyed in the Great Fire of 1666. New Bridewell, built in 1829, was
pulled down in 1864. The term has become a synonym for any
reformatory.

BRIDGE, a game of cards, developed out of the game of whist.
The country of its origin is unknown. A similar game is said to have been
played in Denmark in the middle of the 19th century. A game in all
respects the same as bridge, except that in “no trumps” each trick
counted ten instead of twelve, was played in England about 1884 under the
name of Dutch whist. Some connect it with Turkey and Egypt under the name
of “Khedive,” or with a Russian game called “Yeralash.” It was in Turkey
that it first won a share of popular favour. Under the synonyms of
“Biritch,” “Bridge,” or “Russian whist,” it found its way to the London
clubs about 1894, from which date its popularity rapidly increased.

Ordinary Bridge.—Bridge, in its ordinary form, differs
from [v.04
p.0529]whist in the following respects:—Although there are
four players, yet in each hand the partner of the dealer takes no part in
the play of that particular hand. After the first lead his cards are
placed on the table exposed, and are played by the dealer as at dummy
whist; nevertheless the dealer’s partner is interested in the result of
the hand equally with the dealer. The trump suit is not determined by the
last card dealt, but is selected by the dealer or his partner without
consultation, the former having the first option. It is further open to
them to play without a trump suit. The value of tricks and honours varies
with the suit declared as trumps. Honours are reckoned differently from
whist, and on a scale which is somewhat involved. The score for honours
does not count towards winning or losing the rubber, but is added
afterwards to the trick score in order to determine the value of the
rubber. There are also scores for holding no trumps (“chicane”), and for
winning all the tricks or all but one (“slam”).

The score has to be kept on paper. It is usual for the scoring block
to have two vertical columns divided halfway by a horizontal line. The
left column is for the scorers’ side, and the right for the opponents’.
Honours are scored above the horizontal line, and tricks below. The
drawback to this arrangement is that, since the scores for each hand are
not kept separately, it is generally impossible to trace an error in the
score without going through the whole series of hands. A better plan, it
seems, is to have four columns ruled, the inner two being assigned to
tricks, the outer ones to honours. By this method a line can be reserved
for each hand, and any discrepancy in the scores at once rectified.

The Portland Club, London, drew up a code of laws in 1895, and this
code, with a few amendments, was in July 1895 adopted by a joint
committee of the Turf and Portland Clubs. A revised code came into force
in January 1905, the provisions of which are here summarized.

Each trick above 6 counts 2 points in a spade declaration, 4 in a
club, 6 in a diamond, 8 in a heart, 12 in a no-trump declaration. The
game consists of 30 points made by tricks alone. When one side has won
two games the rubber is ended. The winners are entitled to add 100 points
to their score. Honours consist of ace, king, queen, knave, ten, in a
suit declaration. If a player and his partner conjointly hold 3 (or
“simple”) honours they score twice the value of a trick; if 4 honours, 4
times; if 5 honours, 5 times. If a player in his own hand hold 4 honours
he is entitled to score 4 honours in addition to the score for conjoint
honours; thus, if one player hold 4 honours and his partner the other
their total score is 9 by honours. Similarly if a player hold 5 honours
in his own hand he is entitled to score 10 by honours. If in a no-trump
hand the partners conjointly hold 3 aces, they score 30 for honours; if 4
aces, 40 for honours. 4 aces in 1 hand count 100. On the same footing as
the score for honours are the following: chicane, if a player hold
no trump, in amount equal to simple honours; grand slam, if one
side win all the tricks, 40 points; little slam, if they win 12
tricks, 20 points. At the end of the rubber the total scores, whether
made by tricks, honours, chicane, slam, or rubber points, are added
together, and the difference between the two totals is the number of
points won.

At the opening of play, partners are arranged and the cards are
shuffled, cut and dealt (the last card not being turned) as at whist; but
the dealer cannot lose the deal by misdealing. After the deal is
completed, the dealer makes the trump or no-trump (sans atout)
declaration, or passes the choice to his partner without remark. If the
dealer’s partner make the declaration out of his turn, the adversary on
the dealer’s left may, without consultation, claim a fresh deal. If an
adversary make a declaration, the dealer may claim a fresh deal or
disregard the declaration. Then after the declaration, either adversary
may double, the leader having first option. The effect of doubling is
that each trick is worth twice as many points as before; but the scores
for honours, chicane and slam are unaltered. If a declaration is doubled,
the dealer and his partner have the right of redoubling, thus making each
trick worth four times as much as at first. The declarer has the first
option. The other side can again redouble, and so on; but the value of a
trick is limited to 100 points. In the play of the hand the laws are
nearly the same as the laws of whist, except that the dealer may expose
his cards and lead out of turn without penalty; after the second hand has
played, however, he can only correct this lead out of turn with the
permission of the adversaries. Dummy cannot revoke. The dealer’s partner
may take no part in the play of the hand beyond guarding the dealer
against revoking.

Advice to Players.—In the choice of a suit two objects
are to be aimed at: first, to select the suit in which the combined
forces have the best chance of making tricks; secondly, to select the
trump so that the value of the suit agrees with the character of the
hand, i.e. a suit of high value when the hands are strong and of
low value when very weak. As the deal is a great advantage it generally
happens that a high value is to be aimed at, but occasionally a low value
is desirable. The task of selection should fall to the hand which has the
most distinctive features, that is, either the longest suit or unusual
strength or weakness. No consultation being allowed, the dealer must
assume only an average amount of variation from the normal in his
partner’s hand. If his own hand has distinctive features beyond the
average, he should name the trump suit himself, otherwise pass it to his
partner. It may here be stated what is the average in these respects.

As regards the length of a suit, a player’s long suit is rather more
likely to be fewer than five than over five. If the dealer has in his
hand a suit of five cards including two honours, it is probable that he
has a better suit to make trumps than dummy; if the suit is in hearts,
and the dealer has a fair hand, he ought to name the trump. As regards
strength, the average hand would contain ace, king, queen, knave and ten,
or equivalent strength. Hands stronger or weaker than this by the value
of a king or less may be described as featureless. If the dealer’s hand
is a king over the average, it is more likely than not that his partner
will either hold a stronger hand, or will hold such a weak hand as will
counteract the player’s strength. The dealer would not generally with
such a hand declare no trump, especially as by making a no-trump
declaration the dealer forfeits the advantage of holding the long
trumps.

Declarations by Dealer.—In calculating the strength of a
hand a knave is worth two tens, a queen is worth two knaves, a king is
worth a queen and knave together, and an ace is worth a king and queen
together. A king unguarded is worth less than a queen guarded; a queen is
not fully guarded unless accompanied by three more cards; if guarded by
one small card it is worth a knave guarded. An ace also loses in value by
being sole.

A hand to be strong enough for a no-trump declaration should be a king
and ten above the average with all the honours guarded and all the suits
protected. It must be a king and knave or two queens above the average if
there is protection in three suits. It must be an ace or a king and queen
above the average if only two suits are protected. An established black
suit of six or more cards with a guarded king as card of entry is good
enough for no trumps. With three aces no trumps can be declared. Without
an ace, four kings, two queens and a knave are required in order to
justify the declaration. When the dealer has a choice of declarations, a
sound heart make is to be preferred to a doubtful no-trump. Four honours
in hearts are to be preferred to any but a very strong no-trump
declaration; but four aces counting 100 points constitute a no-trump
declaration without exception.

Six hearts should be made trumps and five with two honours unless the
hand is very weak; five hearts with one honour or four hearts with three
honours should be declared if the hand is nearly strong enough for no
trumps, also if the hand is very irregular with one suit missing or five
of a black suit. Six diamonds with one honour, five with three honours or
four all honours should be declared; weaker diamonds should be declared
if the suits are irregular, especially if blank in hearts. Six clubs with
three honours or five with four honours should be declared. Spades are
practically only declared with a weak hand; with only a king in the hand
a suit of five spades should be declared as a defensive measure. With
nothing above a ten a suit of two or three spades can be declared, though
even with the weakest hands a suit of five clubs or of six red cards will
probably prove less expensive.

Declarations by Dummy.—From the fact that the call has
been passed, the dealer’s partner must credit the dealer with less than
average strength as regards the rank of his cards, and probably a
slightly increased number of black cards; he must therefore be more
backward in making a high declaration whenever he can make a sound
declaration of less value. On the other hand, he has not the option of
passing the declaration, and may be driven to declare on less strength
because the only alternative is a short suit of spades. For example, with
the hand: Hearts, ace, kv. 2; diamonds, qn. 9, 7, 6, 3; clubs, kg. 10, 4;
spades, 9, 2, the chances are in the dealer’s favour with five trumps,
but decidedly against with only two, and the diamond declaration is to be
preferred to the spade. Still, a hand may be so weak that spades should
be declared with two or less, but five clubs or six diamonds would be
preferable with the weakest of hands.

[v.04 p.0530]

Declarations to the Score.—When one’s score is over
twenty, club declarations should be made more frequently by the dealer.
Spades should be declared with six at the score of twenty-six and with
five at twenty-eight. When much behind in the score a risky no-trumper
such as one with an established suit of seven or eight cards without a
card of entry, may be declared.

Declaring to the score is often overdone; an ordinary weak no-trump
declaration carries with it small chances of three by tricks unless dummy
holds a no-trump hand.

Doubling.—Practically the leader only doubles a no-trump
declaration when he holds what is probably an established suit of seven
cards or a suit which can be established with the loss of one trick and
he has good cards of re-entry. Seven cards of a suit including the ace,
king and queen make sound double without any other card of value in the
hand, or six cards including king, queen and knave with two aces in other
suits.

Doubling by the third hand is universally understood to mean that the
player has a very strong suit which he can establish. In response to the
double his partner, according to different conventions, leads either a
heart or his own shortest suit as the one most likely to be the third
player’s strongest. Under the short suit convention, if the doubler holds
six of a suit headed by the ace, king and queen, it is about an even
chance that his suit will be selected; he should not double with less
strength. Under the heart convention it is not necessary to have such
great strength; with a strong suit of six hearts and good cards of
re-entry, enough tricks will be saved to compensate for the doubled
value. A player should ascertain the convention followed before beginning
to play.

Before doubling a suit declaration a player should feel almost certain
that he is as strong as the declarer. The minimum strength to justify the
declaration is generally five trumps, but it may have been made on six.
If, then, a player holds six trumps with an average hand as regards the
rank of his cards, or five trumps with a hand of no-trump strength, it is
highly probable that he is as strong as the declarer. It must be further
taken into account that the act of doubling gives much valuable
information to the dealer, who would otherwise play with the expectation
of finding the trumps evenly distributed; this is counterbalanced when
the doubler is on the left of the declaring hand by the intimation given
to his partner to lead trumps through the strong hand. In this position,
then, the player should double with the strength stated above. When on
the declarer’s right, the player should hold much greater strength unless
his hand is free from tenaces. When a spade declaration has been made by
dummy, one trump less is necessary and the doubler need not be on the
declarer’s left. A spade declaration by the dealer can be doubled with
even less strength. A declaration can be rather more freely doubled when
a single trick undoubled will take the dealer out, but even in this
position the player must be cautious of informing the dealer that there
is a strong hand against him.

Redoubling.—When a declaration has been doubled, the
declarer knows the minimum that he will find against him; he must be
prepared to find occasionally strength against him considerably exceeding
this minimum. Except in the case of a spade declaration, cases in which
redoubling is justifiable are very rare.

The Play of the Hand.—In a no-trump declaration the main
object is to bring in a long suit. In selecting the suit to establish,
the following are favourable conditions:—One hand should hold at
least five cards of the suit. The two hands, unless with a sequence of
high cards, should hold between them eight cards of the suit, so as to
render it probable that the suit will be established in three rounds. The
hand which contains the strong suit should be sufficiently strong in
cards of re-entry. The suit should not be so full of possible tenaces as
to make it disadvantageous to open it. As regards the play of the cards
in a suit, it is not the object to make tricks early, but to make all
possible tricks. Deep finesses should be made when there is no other way
of stealing a trick. Tricks may be given away, if by so doing a
favourable opening can be made for a finesse. When, however, it is
doubtful with which hand the finesse should be made, it is better to
leave it as late as possible, since the card to be finessed against may
fall, or an adversary may fail, thus disclosing the suit. It is in
general unsound to finesse against a card that must be unguarded. From a
hand short in cards of re-entry, winning cards should not be led out so
as to exhaust the suit from the partner’s hand. Even a trick should
sometimes be given away. For instance, if one hand holds seven cards
headed by ace, king, and the other hand hold’s only two of the suit,
although there is a fair chance of making seven tricks in the suit, it
would often be right to give the first trick to the adversaries. When one
of the adversaries has shown a long suit, it is frequently possible to
prevent its being brought in by a device, such as holding up a winning
card, until the suit is exhausted from his partner’s hand, or playing in
other suits so as to give the player the lead whilst his partner his a
card of his suit to return, and to give the latter the lead when he has
no card to return. The dealer should give as little information as
possible as to what he holds in his own hand, playing frequent false
cards. Usually he should play the higher or highest of a sequence; still,
there are positions in which playing the higher gives more information
than the lower; a strict adherence to a rule in itself assists the
adversaries.

With a suit declaration, if there is no chance of letting the weak
hand make a trump by ruffing, it will generally be the dealer’s aim to
discard the losing cards in the declaring hand either to high cards or to
the cards of an established suit in the other hand, sometimes after the
adverse trumps have been taken out, but often before, there being no time
for drawing trumps. With no card of any value in a suit in one hand, the
lead should come from that hand, but it is better, if possible, to let
the adversaries open the suit. It is generally useless to lead a
moderately high card from the weaker hand in order to finesse it, when
holding no cards in sequence with it in either hand. Sometimes
(especially in no-trumps) it is the better play to make the weak hand
third player. For instance, with king, 8, 7, 5, 2 in one hand, knave, 4
in the other, the best way of opening is from the hand that holds five
cards.

In a no-trump declaration the opponents of the dealer should endeavour
to find the longest suit in the two hands, or the one most easily
established. With this object the leader should open his best suit. If
his partner next obtains the lead he ought to return the suit, unless he
himself has a suit which he considers better, having due regard to the
fact that the first suit is already partially established. The opponents
should employ the same tactics as the dealer to prevent the latter from
bringing in a long suit; they can use them with special effect when the
long suit is in the exposed hand.

Against no-trumps the leader should not play his winning cards unless
he has a good chance of clearing the suit without help from his partner;
in most cases it is advisable to give away the first trick, especially if
he has no card of re-entry, in order that his partner on gaining the lead
may have a card of the suit to return; but holding ace, king and queen,
or ace, king with seven in the suit, or ace, king, knave, ten with six,
the player may lead out his best. With three honours any two of which are
in sequence (not to the ace) the player should lead the higher of the
sequence. He should lead his highest card from queen, knave, ten; from
queen, knave, nine; from knave, ten, nine; knave, ten, eight, and ten,
nine, eight. In other cases the player should lead a small card;
according to the usual convention, the fourth best. His partner, and also
the dealer, can credit him with three cards higher than the card led, and
can often place the cards of the suit: for instance, the seven is led,
dummy holds queen and eight, playing the queen, the third player holds
the nine and smaller cards; the unseen cards higher than the seven are
ace, king, knave and ten of which the leader must hold three; he cannot
hold both knave and ten or he would have led the knave; he must therefore
hold the ace, king and either knave or ten. The “eleven” rule is as
follows: the number of pips in the card led subtracted from eleven
(11-7=4 in the case stated) gives the number of cards higher than the one
led not in the leader’s hand; the three cards seen (queen, nine and
eight) leave one for the dealer to hold. The mental process is no shorter
than assigning three out of the unseen cards to the leader, and by not
noting the unseen cards much valuable information may be missed, as in
the illustrative case given.

With a suit declared the best opening lead is a singleton, failing
which a lead from a strong sequence. A lead from a tenace or a guarded
king or queen is to be avoided. Two small cards may be led from, though
the lead is objected to by some. A suit of three small cards of no great
strength should not be opened. In cases of doubt preference should be
given to hearts and to a less extent to diamonds.

To lead up to dummy’s weak suits is a valuable rule. The converse, to
lead through strength, must be used with caution, and does not apply to
no-trump declarations. It is not advisable to adopt any of the recent
whist methods of giving information. It is clear that, if the adversaries
signal, the dealer’s hand alone is a secret, and he, in addition to his
natural advantage, has the further advantage of better information than
either of the adversaries. The following signals are however, used, and
are of great trick-making value: playing an unnecessarily high card,
whether to one’s partner’s suit or in discarding in a no-trump
declaration, indicates strength in the suit; in a suit declaration a
similar method of play indicates two only of the suit and a desire to
ruff,—it is best used in the case of a king led by one’s
partner.

The highest of a sequence led through dummy will frequently tell the
third player that he has a good finesse. The lowest of a sequence led
through the dealer will sometimes explain the position to the third
player, at the same time keeping the dealer in the dark.

When on dummy’s left it is futile to finesse against a card not in
dummy’s hand. But with ace and knave, if dummy has either king or queen,
the knave should usually be played, partly because the other high card
may be in the leader’s hand, partly because, if the finesse fails, the
player may still hold a tenace over dummy. When a player is with any
chance of success trying to establish his long suit, he should keep every
card of it if possible, whether it is a suit already opened or a suit
which he wishes his partner to lead; when, however, the main object of
the hand is to establish one’s partner’s suit, it is not necessary for a
player to keep his own long suit, and he should pay attention to guarding
the other suits. In some circles a discard from a suit is always
understood to indicate strength in the suit; this convention, while it
makes the game easier for inferior players, frequently causes the player
to throw away one of his most valuable cards.

Playing to the Score.—At the beginning of the hand the
chances are so great against any particular result, that at the score of
love-all the advantage of getting to any particular score has no
appreciable [v.04 p.0531]effect in determining the choice
of suit. In the play of the hand, the advantage of getting to certain
points should be borne in mind. The principal points to be aimed at are
6, 18, and, in a less degree, 22. The reason is that the scores 24, 12
and 8, which will just take the dealer out from the respective points,
can each be made in a variety of ways, and are the most common for the
dealer to make. The 2 points that take the score from 4 to 6 are worth 4,
or perhaps 5, average points; and the 2 points that take the score from 6
to 8 are worth 1 point. When approaching game it is an advantage to make
a declaration that may just take the player out, and, in a smaller
degree, one that will not exactly take the adversaries out. When the
score is 24 to 22 against the dealer, hearts and clubs are half a trick
better relatively to diamonds than at the score of love-all. In the first
and second games of the rubber the value of each point scored for honours
is probably about a half of a point scored for tricks—in a close
game rather less, in a one-sided game rather more. In the deciding game
of the rubber, on account of the importance of winning the game, the
value of each point scored for honours sinks to one-third of a point
scored for tricks.

Other Forms of Bridge.—The following varieties of the
game are also played:—

Three-handed Bridge.—The three players cut; the one that
cuts the lowest card deals, and takes dummy for one deal: each takes
dummy in turn. Dummy’s cards are dealt face downwards, and the dealer
declares without seeing them. If the dealer declares trumps, both
adversaries may look at their hands; doubling and redoubling proceeds as
at ordinary bridge, but dummy’s hand is not exposed till the first card
has been led. If the dealer passes the declaration to dummy, his
right-hand adversary, who must not have looked at his own hand, examines
dummy’s, and declares trumps, not, however, exposing the hand. The
declaration is forced: with three or four aces sans atout (no
trumps) must be declared: in other cases the longest suit: if suits are
equal in length, the strongest, i.e. the suit containing most
pips, ace counting eleven, king, queen and knave counting ten each. If
suits are equal in both length and strength, the one in which the trick
has the higher value must be trumps. On the dummy’s declaration the third
player can only double before seeing his own cards. When the first card
has been led, dummy’s hand is exposed, never before the lead. The game is
30: the player wins the rubber who is the first to win two games. Fifty
points are scored for each game won, and fifty more for the rubber.
Sometimes three games are played without reference to a rubber, fifty
points being scored for a game won. No tricks score towards game except
those which a player wins in his own deal; the value of tricks won in
other deals is scored above the line with honours, slam and chicane. At
the end of the rubber the totals are added up, and the points won or lost
are adjusted thus. Suppose A is credited with 212, B with 290, and C with
312, then A owes 78 to B and 100 to C; B owes 22 to C.

Dummy Bridge.—The player who cuts the lowest card takes
dummy. Dummy deals the first hand of all. The player who takes dummy
always looks at his own hand first, when he deals for himself or for
dummy; he can either declare trumps or “leave it” to dummy. Dummy’s
declaration is compulsory, as in three-handed bridge. When the dealer
deals for dummy, the player on the dealer’s left must not look at
his cards till either the dealer has declared trumps or, the declaration
having been left to dummy, his own partner has led a card. The latter can
double, but his partner can only double without seeing his hand. The
dealer can only redouble on his own hand. When the player of dummy deals
for himself, the player on his right hand looks at dummy’s hand if
the declaration is passed, the positions and restrictions of his partner
and himself being reversed. If the player of dummy declares from his own
hand, the game proceeds as in ordinary bridge, except that dummy’s hand
is not looked at till permission to play has been given. When the player
on dummy’s right deals, dummy’s partner may look at dummy’s hand to
decide if he will double, but he may not look at his own till a card has
been led by dummy. In another form of dummy bridge two hands are exposed
whenever dummy’s adversaries deal, but the game is unsuited for many
players, as in every other hand the game is one of double-dummy.

Misery Bridge.—This is a form of bridge adapted for two
players. The non-dealer has the dummy, whilst the dealer is allowed to
strengthen his hand by discarding four or fewer cards and taking an equal
number from the fourth packet dealt; the rest of the cards in that packet
are unused and remain unseen. A novel and interesting addition to the
game is that the three of clubs (called “Cato”) does not rank as a club
but can be played to any trick and win it. The dealer, in addition to his
other calls, may declare “misery” when he has to make less than two
tricks.

Draw- or Two-handed Bridge.—This is the best form of
bridge for two players. Each player has a dummy, which is placed opposite
to him; but the cards are so arranged that they cannot be seen by his
opponent, a special stand being required for the purpose. The dealer
makes the declaration or passes it to his dummy to make by the same rules
as in three-handed or dummy bridge. The objection to this is that, since
the opponent does not see the dealer’s dummy, he has no chance of
checking an erroneous declaration. This could be avoided by not allowing
the dealer the option of passing.

Auction Bridge.—This variety of the game for four
players, which adds an element characteristic of poker, appears to have
been suggested about 1904, but was really introduced at the Bath Club,
London, in 1907, and then was gradually taken up by a wider circle. The
laws were settled in August 1908 by a joint committee of the Bath and
Portland clubs. The scoring (except as below), value of suits, and play
are as at ordinary bridge, but the variety consists in the method of
declaration, the declaration not being confined in auction bridge to the
dealer or his partner, and the deal being a disadvantage rather than
otherwise. The dealer, having examined his hand, must declare to
win at least one “odd” trick, and then each player in turn, beginning
with the one on the dealer’s left, has the right to pass the previous
declaration, or double, or redouble, or overcall by making a declaration
of higher value any number of times till all are satisfied, the actual
play of the combined hands (or what in ordinary bridge would be dealer
and dummy) resting eventually with the partners making the final
declaration; the partner who made the first call (however small) in the
suit finally constituting the trump (or no-trump) plays the hands, the
other being dummy. A declaration of a greater number of tricks in a suit
of lower value, which equals a previous call in value of points
(e.g. two in spades as against one in clubs) is “of higher value”;
but doubling and redoubling only affect the score and not the
declaration, so that a call of two diamonds overcalls one no-trump even
though this has been doubled. The scoring in auction bridge has the
additional element that when the eventual player of the two hands wins
what was ultimately declared or more, his side score the full value below
the line (as tricks), but if he fails the opponents score 50 points above
the line (as honours) for each under-trick (i.e. trick short of
the declaration), or 100 or 200 if doubled or redoubled, nothing being
scored by either side below the line; the loss on a declaration of one
spade is limited, however, to a maximum of 100 points. A player whose
declaration has been doubled and who fulfils his contract, scores a bonus
of 50 points above the line and a further 50 points for each additional
trick beyond his declaration; if there was a redouble and he wins, he
scores double the bonus. The penalty for a revoke (unaffected by a
double) is (1) in the case of the declarer, that his adversaries add 150
above the line; (2) in the case of one of his adversaries, that the
declarer may either add 150 points above the line or may take three
tricks from his opponents and add them to his own; in the latter case
such tricks may assist him to fulfil his contract, but shall not entitle
him to any bonus for a double or redouble. A revoking side may score
nothing either above or below the line except for honours or chicane. As
regards the essential feature of auction bridge, the competitive
declaration, it is impossible here to discuss the intricacies involved.
It entails, clearly, much reliance on a good partner, since the various
rounds of bidding enable good players to draw inferences as to where the
cards lie. The game opens the door to much larger scores than ordinary
bridge, and since the end only comes from scores made below the line,
there are obvious ways of prolonging it at the cost of scores above the
line which involve much more of the gambling element. It by no means
follows that the winner of the rubber is the winner by points, and many
players prefer to go for points (i.e. above the line) extorted
from their opponents rather than for fulfilling a declaration made by
themselves.

Authorities.—”Hellespont,” Laws and
Principles of Bridge; W. Dalton, Saturday Bridge, containing
full bibliography (London, 1906); J. B. Elwell, Advanced Bridge;
R. F. Foster, Bridge Tactics; “Badsworth,” Laws and Principles
of Bridge; E. Bergholt, Double-Dummy Bridge: Biritch, or Russian
Whist, pamphlet in Brit. Mus.; W. Dalton, Auction Bridge
(1908).

(W. H. W.*)

BRIDGEBUILDING BROTHERHOOD, a confraternity (Fratres
Pontifices) that arose in the south of France during the latter part
of the 12th century, and maintained hospices at the chief fords of the
principal rivers, besides building bridges and looking after ferries. The
brotherhood was recognized by Pope Clement III. in 1189.

BRIDGE-HEAD (Fr. tête-du-pont), in fortification, a work
designed to cover the passage of a river by means of fortifications [v.04
p.0532]on one or both banks. As the process of moving an army over
bridges is slow and complicated, it is usually necessary to secure it
from hostile interruption, and the works constituting the bridge-head
must therefore be sufficiently far advanced to keep the enemy’s artillery
out of range of the bridges. In addition, room is required for the troops
to form up on the farther bank. In former days, with short-range weapons,
a bridge-head was often little more than a screen for the bridge itself,
but modern conditions have rendered necessary far greater extension of
bridge defences.

BRIDGEND, a market town in the southern parliamentary division
of Glamorganshire, Wales, on both sides of the river Ogwr (whence its
Welsh name Penybont-ar-Ogwr). Pop. of urban district (1901) 6062. It has
a station 165 m. from London on the South Wales trunk line of the Great
Western railway, and is the junction of the Barry Company’s railway to
Barry via Llantwit Major. Bridgend has a good market for agricultural
produce, and is an important centre owing to its being the natural outlet
for the mining valleys of the Llynvi, Garw and the two Ogwr rivers, which
converge about 3 m. north of the town and are connected with it by branch
lines of the Great Western railway. Though without large manufacturing
industries, the town has joinery works, a brass and iron foundry, a
tannery and brewery. There are brick-works and stone quarries, and much
lime is burnt in the neighbourhood. Just outside the town at Angelton and
Parc Gwyllt are the Glamorgan county lunatic asylums.

There was no civil parish of Bridgend previous to 1905, when one was
formed out of portions of the parishes of Newcastle and Coity. Of the
castle of Newcastle, built on the edge of a cliff above the church of
that parish, there remain a courtyard with flanking towers and a fine
Norman gateway. At Coity, about 2 m. distant, there are more extensive
ruins of its castle, originally the seat of the Turbervilles, lords of
Coity, but now belonging to the earls of Dunraven. Coity church, dating
from the 14th century, is a fine cruciform building with central
embattled tower in Early Decorated style.

BRIDGE OF ALLAN, a police burgh of Stirlingshire, Scotland.
Pop. (1901) 3240. It lies on the Allan, a left-hand tributary of the
Forth, 3 m. N. of Stirling by the Caledonian railway and by tramway.
Built largely on the well-wooded slopes of Westerton and Airthrey Hill,
sheltered by the Ochils from the north and east winds, and environed by
charming scenery, it has a great reputation as a health resort and
watering-place, especially in winter and spring. There is a pump-room.
The chief buildings are the hydropathic and the Macfarlane museum of fine
art and natural history. The industries include bleaching, dyeing and
paper-making. The Strathallan Gathering, usually held in the
neighbourhood, is the most popular athletic meeting in mid-Scotland.
Airthrey Castle, standing in a fine park with a lake, adjoins the town on
the south-east, and just beyond it are the old church and burying-ground
of Logie, beautifully situated at the foot of a granite spur of the Ochil
range.

BRIDGEPORT, a city, a port of entry, and one of the
county-seats of Fairfield county, Connecticut, U.S.A., co-extensive with
the town of Bridgeport, in the S.W. part of the state, on Long Island
Sound, at the mouth of the Pequonnock river; about 18 m. S.W. of New
Haven. Pop. (1880) 27,643; (1890) 48,866; (1900) 70,996, of whom 22,281
were foreign-born, including 5974 from Ireland, 3172 from Hungary, 2854
from Germany, 2755 from England, and 1436 from Italy; (1910) 102,054.
Bridgeport is served by the New York, New Haven & Hartford railway,
by lines of coast steamers, and by steamers to New York City and to Port
Jefferson, directly across Long Island Sound. The harbour, formed by the
estuary of the river and Yellow Mill Pond, an inlet, is excellent.
Between the estuary and the pond is a peninsula, East Bridgeport, in
which are some of the largest manufacturing establishments, and west of
the harbour and the river is the main portion of the city, the wholesale
section extending along the bank, the retail section farther back, and
numerous factories along the line of the railway far to the westward.
There are two large parks, Beardsley, in the extreme north part of the
city, and Seaside, west of the harbour entrance and along the Sound; in
the latter are statues of Elias Howe, who built a large sewing-machine
factory here in 1863, and of P.T. Barnum, the showman, who lived in
Bridgeport after 1846 and did much for the city, especially for East
Bridgeport. In Seaside Park there is also a soldiers’ and sailors’
monument, and in the vicinity are many fine residences. The principal
buildings are the St Vincent’s and Bridgeport hospitals, the Protestant
orphan asylum, the Barnum Institute, occupied by the Bridgeport
Scientific and Historical Society and the Bridgeport Medical Society; and
the United States government building, which contains the post-office and
the customs house.

In 1905 Bridgeport was the principal manufacturing centre in
Connecticut, the capital invested in manufacturing being $49,381,348, and
the products being valued at $44,586,519. The largest industries were the
manufacture of corsets—the product of Bridgeport was 19.9% of the
total for the United States in 1905, Bridgeport being the leading city in
this industry—sewing machines (one of the factories of the Singer
Manufacturing Co. is here), steam-fitting and heating apparatus,
cartridges (the factory of the Union Metallic Cartridge Co. is here),
automobiles, brass goods, phonographs and gramophones, and typewriters.
There are also large foundry and machine shops. Here, too, are the winter
headquarters of “Barnum and Bailey’s circus” and of “Buffalo Bill’s Wild
West Show.” Bridgeport is a port of entry; its imports in 1908 were
valued at $656,271. Bridgeport was originally a part of the township of
Stratford. The first settlement here was made in 1659. It was called
Pequonnock until 1695, when its name was changed to Stratfield. During
the War of Independence it was a centre of privateering. In 1800 the
borough of Bridgeport was chartered, and in 1821 the township was
incorporated. The city was not chartered until 1836.

See S. Orcutt’s History of the Township of Stratford and the City
of Bridgeport (New Haven, 1886).

BRIDGES, ROBERT (1844- ), English poet, born on the 23rd of
October 1844, was educated at Eton and at Corpus Christi College, Oxford,
and studied medicine in London at St Bartholomew’s hospital. He was
afterwards assistant physician at the Children’s hospital, Great Ormond
Street, and physician at the Great Northern hospital, retiring in 1882.
Two years later he married Mary, daughter of Alfred Waterhouse, R.A. As a
poet Robert Bridges stands rather apart from the current of modern
English verse, but his work has had great influence in a select circle,
by its restraint, purity, precision, and delicacy yet strength of
expression; and it embodies a distinct theory of prosody. His chief
critical works are Milton’s Prosody (1893), a volume made up of
two earlier essays (1887 and 1889), and John Keats, a Critical
Essay (1895). He maintained that English prosody depended on the
number of “stresses” in a line, not on the number of syllables, and that
poetry should follow the rules of natural speech. His poetry was
privately printed in the first instance, and was slow in making its way
beyond a comparatively small circle of his admirers. His best work is to
be found in his Shorter Poems (1890), and a complete edition of
his Poetical Works (6 vols.) was published in 1898-1905. His chief
volumes are Prometheus (Oxford, 1883, privately printed), a “mask
in the Greek Manner”; Eros and Psyche (1885), a version of
Apuleius; The Growth of Love, a series of sixty-nine sonnets
printed for private circulation in 1876 and 1889; Shorter Poems
(1890); Nero (1885), a historical tragedy, the second part of
which appeared in 1894; Achilles in Scyros (1890), a drama;
Palicio (1890), a romantic drama in the Elizabethan manner; The
Return of Ulysses (1890), a drama in five acts; The Christian
Captives (1890), a tragedy on the same subject as Calderon’s El
Principe Constante; The Humours of the Court (1893), a comedy
founded on the same dramatist’s El secreto á voces and on Lope de
Vega’s El Perro del hortelano; The Feast of Bacchus (1889),
partly translated from the Heauton-Timoroumenos of Terence;
Hymns from the Yattendon Hymnal (Oxford, 1899); and Demeter, a
Mask (Oxford, 1905).

[v.04 p.0533]

BRIDGES. 1. Definitions and General
Considerations.—Bridges (old forms, brig, brygge,
brudge; Dutch, brug; German, Brücke; a common
Teutonic word) are structures carrying roadways, waterways or railways
across streams, valleys or other roads or railways, leaving a passage way
below. Long bridges of several spans are often termed “viaducts,” and
bridges carrying canals are termed “aqueducts,” though this term is
sometimes used for waterways which have no bridge structure. A “culvert”
is a bridge of small span giving passage to drainage. In railway work an
“overbridge” is a bridge over the railway, and an “underbridge” is a
bridge carrying the railway. In all countries there are legal regulations
fixing the minimum span and height of such bridges and the width of
roadway to be provided. Ordinarily bridges are fixed bridges, but there
are also movable bridges with machinery for opening a clear and
unobstructed passage way for navigation. Most commonly these are “swing”
or “turning” bridges. “Floating” bridges are roadways carried on pontoons
moored in a stream.

In classical and medieval times bridges were constructed of timber or
masonry, and later of brick or concrete. Then late in the 18th century
wrought iron began to be used, at first in combination with timber or
cast iron. Cast iron was about the same time used for arches, and some of
the early railway bridges were built with cast iron girders. Cast iron is
now only used for arched bridges of moderate span. Wrought iron was used
on a large scale in the suspension road bridges of the early part of the
19th century. The great girder bridges over the Menai Strait and at
Saltash near Plymouth, erected in the middle of the 19th century, were
entirely of wrought iron, and subsequently wrought iron girder bridges
were extensively used on railways. Since the introduction of mild steel
of greater tenacity and toughness than wrought iron (i.e. from
1880 onwards) it has wholly superseded the latter except for girders of
less than 100 ft. span. The latest change in the material of bridges has
been the introduction of ferro-concrete, armoured concrete, or concrete
strengthened with steel bars for arched bridges. The present article
relates chiefly to metallic bridges. It is only since metal has been used
that the great spans of 500 to 1800 ft. now accomplished have been made
possible.

2. In a bridge there may be distinguished the superstructure
and the substructure. In the former the main supporting member or
members may be an arch ring or arched ribs, suspension chains or ropes,
or a pair of girders, beams or trusses. The bridge flooring rests on the
supporting members, and is of very various types according to the purpose
of the bridge. There is also in large bridges wind-bracing to stiffen the
structure against horizontal forces. The substructure consists of
(a) the piers and end piers or abutments, the former sustaining a
vertical load, and the latter having to resist, in addition, the oblique
thrust of an arch, the pull of a suspension chain, or the thrust of an
embankment; and (b) the foundations below the ground level, which
are often difficult and costly parts of the structure, because the
position of a bridge may be fixed by considerations which preclude the
selection of a site naturally adapted for carrying a heavy structure.

3. Types of Bridges.—Bridges may be classed as arched
bridges, in which the principal members are in compression;
suspension bridges, in which the principal members are in tension;
and girder bridges, in which half the components of the principal
members are in compression and half in tension. But there are cases of
bridges of mixed type. The choice of the type to be adopted depends on
many and complex considerations:—(1) The cost, having regard to the
materials available. For moderate spans brick, masonry or concrete can be
used without excessive cost, but for longer spans steel is more
economical, and for very long spans its use is imperative. (2) The
importance of securing permanence and small cost of maintenance and
repairs has to be considered. Masonry and concrete are more durable than
metal, and metal than timber. (3) Aesthetic considerations sometimes have
great weight, especially in towns. Masonry bridges are preferable in
appearance to any others, and metal arch bridges are less objectionable
than most forms of girder.

Most commonly the engineer has to attach great importance to the
question of cost, and to design his structure to secure the greatest
economy consistent with the provision of adequate strength. So long as
bridge building was an empirical art, great waste of material was
unavoidable. The development of the theory of structures has been largely
directed to determining the arrangements of material which are most
economical, especially in the superstructure. In the case of bridges of
large span the cost and difficulty of erection are serious, and in such
cases facility of erection becomes a governing consideration in the
choice of the type to be adopted. In many cases the span is fixed by
local conditions, such as the convenient sites for piers, or the
requirements of waterway or navigation. But here also the question of
economy must be taken into the reckoning. The cost of the superstructure
increases very much as the span increases, but the greater the cost of
the substructure, the larger the span which is economical. Broadly, the
least costly arrangement is that in which the cost of the superstructure
of a span is equal to that of a pier and foundation.

For masonry, brick or concrete the arch subjected throughout to
compression is the most natural form. The arch ring can be treated as a
blockwork structure composed of rigid voussoirs. The stability of such
structures depends on the position of the line of pressure in relation to
the extrados and intrados of the arch ring. Generally the line of
pressure lies within the middle half of the depth of the arch ring. In
finding the line of pressure some principle such as the principle of
least action must be used in determining the reactions at the crown and
springings, and some assumptions must be made of not certain validity.
Hence to give a margin of safety to cover contingencies not calculable,
an excess of material must be provided. By the introduction of hinges the
position of the line of resistance can be fixed and the stress in the
arch ring determined with less uncertainty. In some recent masonry arched
bridges of spans up to 150 ft. built with hinges considerable economy has
been obtained.

For an elastic arch of metal there is a more complete theory, but it
is difficult of application, and there remains some uncertainty unless
(as is now commonly done) hinges are introduced at the crown and
springings.

In suspension bridges the principal members are in tension, and the
introduction of iron link chains about the end of the 18th century, and
later of wire ropes of still greater tenacity, permitted the construction
of road bridges of this type with spans at that time impossible with any
other system of construction. The suspension bridge dispenses with the
compression member required in girders and with a good deal of the
stiffening required in metal arches. On the other hand, suspension
bridges require lofty towers and massive anchorages. The defect of the
suspension bridge is its flexibility. It can be stiffened by girders and
bracing and is then of mixed type, when it loses much of its advantage in
economy. Nevertheless, the stiffened suspension bridge will probably be
the type adopted in future for very great spans. A bridge on this system
has been projected at New York of 3200 ft. span.

The immense extension of railways since 1830 has involved the
construction of an enormous number of bridges, and most of these are
girder bridges, in which about half the superstructure is in tension and
half in compression. The use of wrought iron and later of mild steel has
made the construction of such bridges very convenient and economical. So
far as superstructure is concerned, more material must be used than for
an arch or chain, for the girder is in a sense a combination of arch and
chain. On the other hand, a girder imposes only a vertical load on its
piers and abutments, and not a horizontal thrust, as in the case of an
arch or suspension chain. It is also easier to erect.

A fundamental difference in girder bridges arises from the mode of
support. In the simplest case the main girders are supported at the ends
only, and if there are several spans they are discontinuous or
independent. But a main girder may be supported at two or more
points so as to be continuous over two [v.04 p.0534]or more spans.
The continuity permits economy of weight. In a three-span bridge the
theoretical advantage of continuity is about 49% for a dead load and 16%
for a live load. The objection to continuity is that very small
alterations of level of the supports due to settlement of the piers may
very greatly alter the distribution of stress, and render the bridge
unsafe. Hence many multiple-span bridges such as the Hawkesbury, Benares
and Chittravatti bridges have been built with independent spans.

Lastly, some bridges are composed of cantilevers and suspended
girders. The main girder is then virtually a continuous girder hinged at
the points of contrary flexure, so that no ambiguity can arise as to the
stresses.

Fig. 1.—Trajan’s Bridge.

Whatever type of bridge is adopted, the engineer has to ascertain the
loads to be carried, and to proportion the parts so that the stresses due
to the loads do not exceed limits found by experience to be safe. In many
countries the limits of working stress in public and railway bridges are
prescribed by law. The development of theory has advanced pari
passu with the demand for bridges of greater strength and span and of
more complex design, and there is now little uncertainty in calculating
the stresses in any of the types of structure now adopted. In the modern
metal bridge every member has a definite function and is subjected to a
calculated straining action. Theory has been the guide in the development
of bridge design, and its trustworthiness is completely recognized. The
margin of uncertainty which must be met by empirical allowances on the
side of safety has been steadily diminished.

The larger the bridge, the more important is economy of material, not
only because the total expenditure is more serious, but because as the
span increases the dead weight of the structure becomes a greater
fraction of the whole load to be supported. In fact, as the span
increases a point is reached at which the dead weight of the
superstructure becomes so large that a limit is imposed to any further
increase of span.

Fig. 2.—Bridge of Alcantara.

History of Bridge Building

Fig. 3.—Ponte Salario.

4. Roman Bridges.—The first bridge known to have been
constructed at Rome over the Tiber was the timber Pons Sublicius, the
bridge defended by Horatius. The Pons Milvius, now Ponte Molle, was
reconstructed in stone by M. Aemilius Scaurus in 109 B.C., and some portions of the old bridge are
believed to exist in the present structure. The arches vary from 51 to 79
ft. span. The Pons Fabricius (mod. Ponte dei Quattro Capi), of about 62
B.C., is practically intact; and the Pons
Cestius, built probably in 46 B.C., retains
much of the original masonry. The Pons Aelius, built by Hadrian A.D. 134 and repaired by Pope Nicholas II. and
Clement IX., is now the bridge of St Angelo. It had eight arches, the
greatest span being 62 ft.^[1] Dio Cassius mentions a bridge,
possibly 3000 to 4000 ft. in length, built by Trajan over the Danube in
A.D. 104. Some piers are said still to exist. A
bas-relief on the Trajan column shows this bridge with masonry piers and
timber arches, but the representation is probably conventional (fig. 1).
Trajan also constructed the bridge of Alcantara in Spain (fig. 2), of a
total length of 670 ft., at 210 ft. above the stream. This had six arches
and was built of stone blocks without cement. The bridge of Narses, built
in the 6th century (fig. 3), carried the Via Salaria over the Anio. It
was destroyed in 1867, during the approach of Garibaldi to Rome. It had a
fortification such as became usual in later bridges for defence or for
the enforcement of tolls. The great lines of aqueducts built by Roman
engineers, and dating from 300 B.C. onwards,
where they are carried above ground, are arched bridge structures of
remarkable magnitude (see Aqueducts, §
Roman). They are generally of brick and concrete.

Fig. 4.—First Span of Schaffhausen
Bridge.

5. Medieval and other Early Bridges.—Bridges with stone
piers and timber superstructures were no doubt constructed from Roman
times onward, but they have perished. Fig. 4 shows a timber bridge
erected by the brothers Grubenmann at Schaffhausen about the middle of
the 18th century. It had spans of 172 and 193 ft., and may be taken as a
representative type of bridges of this kind. The Wittingen bridge by the
same engineers had a span of 390 ft., probably the longest timber [v.04
p.0535]span ever constructed. Of stone bridges in Great Britain,
the earliest were the cyclopean bridges still existing on Dartmoor,
consisting of stone piers bridged by stone slabs. The bridge over the
East Dart near Tavistock had three piers, with slabs 15 ft. by 6 ft.
(Smiles, Lives of the Engineers, ii. 43). It is reputed to have
lasted for 2000 years.

Fig. 5.—Crowland Bridge.

The curious bridge at Crowland near Peterborough (fig. 5) which now
spans roadways, the streams which formerly flowed under it having been
diverted, is one of the earliest known stone bridges in England. It is
referred to in a charter of the year 943. It was probably built by the
abbots. The first bridges over the Thames at London were no doubt of
timber. William of Malmesbury mentions the existence of a bridge in 994.
J. Stow (Survey of the Cities of London and Westminster) describes
the building of the first stone bridge commonly called Old London Bridge:
“About the year 1176, the stone bridge was begun to be founded by Peter
of Colechurch, near unto the bridge of timber, but more towards the
west.” It carried timber houses (fig. 6) which were frequently burned
down, yet the main structure existed till the beginning of the 19th
century. The span of the arches ranged from 10 to 33 ft., and the total
waterway was only 337 ft. The waterway of the present London Bridge is
690 ft., and the removal of the obstruction caused by the old bridge
caused a lowering of the low-water level by 5 ft., and a considerable
deepening of the river-bed. (See Smiles, Lives of the Engineers,
“Rennie.”)

Fig. 6.—Old London Bridge, A.D. 1600. From a Drawing in the Pepysian Library
Magdalene College, Cambridge.

From J. R Green’s A Short History of the English
People, by permission of Macmillan & Co., Ltd.

The architects of the Renaissance showed great boldness in their
designs. A granite arch built in 1377 over the Adda at Trezzo had a span
at low water of 251 ft. This noble bridge was destroyed for military
reasons by Carmagnola in 1416. The Rialto bridge at Venice, with a span
of 91 ft., was built in 1588 by Antonio da Ponte. Fig. 7 shows the
beautiful Ponte dellà Trinità erected at Florence in 1566 from the design
of B. Ammanati.

6. Modern Bridges.—(a) Timber.—In
England timber bridges of considerable span, either braced trusses or
laminated arches (i.e. arches of planks bolted together), were
built for some of the earlier railways, particularly the Great Western
and the Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire. They have mostly been
replaced, decay having taken place at the joints. Timber bridges of large
span were constructed in America between the end of the 18th and the
middle of the 19th century. The Amoskeag bridge over the Merrimac at
Manchester, N.H., U.S.A., built in 1792, had 6 spans of 92 ft. The
Bellows Falls bridge over the Connecticut (built 1785-1792) had 2 spans
of 184 ft. The singular Colossus bridge, built in 1812 over the
Schuylkill, a kind of flat arched truss, had a span of 340 ft. Some of
these timber bridges are said to have lasted ninety years with ordinary
repairs, but they were road bridges not heavily loaded. From 1840,
trusses, chiefly of timber but with wrought-iron tension-rods and
cast-iron shoes, were adopted in America. The Howe truss of 1830 and the
Pratt truss of 1844 are examples. The Howe truss had timber chords and a
lattice of timber struts, with vertical iron ties. In the Pratt truss the
struts were vertical and the ties inclined. Down to 1850 such bridges
were generally limited to 150 ft. span. The timber was white pine. As
railway loads increased and greater spans were demanded, the Howe truss
was stiffened by timber arches on each side of each girder. Such a
composite structure is, however, fundamentally defective, the
distribution of loading to the two independent systems being
indeterminate. Remarkably high timber piers were built. The Genesee
viaduct, 800 ft. in length, built in 1851-1852 in 10 spans, had timber
trestle piers 190 ft. in height. (See Mosse, “American Timber Bridges,”
Proc. Inst. C.E. xxii. p. 305, and for more modern examples,
cxlii. p. 409; and clv. p. 382; Cooper, “American Railroad Bridges,”
Trans. Am. Soc. C.E. vol. xxi pp. 1-28.) These timber framed
structures served as models for the earlier metal trusses which began to
be used soon after 1850, and which, except in a few localities where iron
is costly, have quite superseded them.

Fig. 7.—Ponte della Trinità, Florence.

7. (b) Masonry.—The present London Bridge, begun
in 1824 and completed in 1831, is as fine an example of a masonry arch
structure as can be found (figs. 8 and 9). The design was made by John
Rennie the elder, and the acting engineer was his son, Sir John Rennie.
The semi-elliptical shape of the arches the variation of span, the slight
curvature of the roadway, and the simple yet bold architectural details,
combine to make it a singularly beautiful bridge. The centre arch has a
span of 152 ft., and rises 29 ft. 6 in above Trinity high-water mark; the
arches on each side of the centre have a span of 140 ft. and the abutment
arches 130 ft. The total length of the bridge is 1005 ft., its width from
outside to outside 56 ft., and height above low [v.04 p.0536]water 60 ft.
The two centre piers are 24 ft. thick, the exterior stones are granite,
the interior, half Bramley Fall and half from Painshaw, Derbyshire. The
voussoirs of the centre arch (all of granite) are 4 ft. 9 in. deep at the
crown, and increase to not less than 9 ft. at the springing. The general
depth at which the foundations are laid is about 29 ft. 6 in. below low
water. The total cost was £1,458,311, but the contractor’s tender for the
bridge alone was £425,081.

Fig. 8.—London New Bridge.

Since 1867 it had been recognized that London Bridge was inadequate to
carry the traffic passing over it, and a scheme for widening it was
adopted in 1900. This was carried out in 1902-1904, the footways being
carried on granite corbels, on which are mounted cornices and open
parapets. The width between parapets is now 65 ft., giving a roadway of
35 ft. and two footways of 15 ft. each. The architect was Andrew Murray
and the engineer, G. E. W. Cruttwell. (Cole, Proc. Inst. C.E.
clxi. p. 290.)

The largest masonry arch is the Adolphe bridge in Luxemburg, erected
in 1900-1903. This has a span of 278 ft., 138 ft. rise above the river,
and 102 ft. from foundation to crown. The thickness of the arch is 4 ft.
8 in. at the crown and 7 ft. 2 in. where it joins the spandrel masonry.
The roadway is 52 ft. 6 in. wide. The bridge is not continuous in width,
there are arch rings on each face, each 16.4 ft. wide with a space
between of 19.7 ft. This space is filled with a flooring of reinforced
concrete, resting on the two arches, and carrying the central roadway. By
the method adopted the total masonry has been reduced one-third. One
centering was used for the two arch rings, supported on dwarf walls which
formed a slipway, along which it was moved after the first was built.

Fig. 9.—Half Elevation and Half Section
of Arch of London Bridge.

Till near the end of the 19th century bridges of masonry or brickwork
were so constructed that they had to be treated as rigid blockwork
structures. The stability of such structures depends on the position of
the line of pressure relatively to the intrados and extrados of the arch
ring. Generally, so far as could be ascertained, the line of pressure
lies within the middle half of the depth of the voussoirs. In finding the
abutment reactions some principle such as the principle of least action
must be used, and some assumptions of doubtful validity made. But if
hinges are introduced at crown and springings, the calculation of the
stresses in the arch ring becomes simple, as the line of pressures must
pass through the hinges. Such hinges have been used not only for metal
arches, but in a modified form for masonry and concrete arches. Three
cases therefore arise: (a) The arch is rigid at crown and
springings; (b) the arch is two-hinged (hinges at springings);
(c) the arch is three-hinged (hinges at crown and springings). For
an elementary account of the theory of arches, hinged or not, reference
may be made to a paper by H. M. Martin (Proc. Inst. C. E. vol.
xciii. p. 462); and for that of the elastic arch, to a paper by A.E.Young
(Proc. Inst. C.E. vol. cxxxi. p. 323).

In Germany and America two- and three-hinged arches of masonry and
concrete have been built, up to 150 ft. span, with much economy, and the
calculations being simple, an engineer can venture to work closely to the
dimensions required by theory. For hinges, Leibbrand, of Stuttgart, uses
sheets of lead about 1 in. thick extending over the middle third of the
depth of the voussoir joints, the rest of the joints being left open. As
the lead is plastic this construction is virtually an articulation. If
the pressure on the lead is uniformly varying, the centre of pressure
must be within the middle third of the width of the lead; that is, it
cannot deviate from the centre of the voussoir joint by more than
one-eighteenth of its depth. In any case the position of the line of
pressures is confined at the lead articulations within very narrow
limits, and ambiguity as to the stresses is greatly diminished. The
restricted area on which the pressure acts at the lead joints involves
greater intensity of stress than has been usual in arched bridges. In the
Württemberg hinged arches a limit of stress of 110 tons per sq. ft. was
allowed, while in the unhinged arches at Cologne and Coblentz the limit
was 50 to 60 tons per sq. ft. (Annales des Fonts et Chaussées,
1891). At Rechtenstein a bridge of two concrete arches has been
constructed, span 75½ ft., with lead articulations: width of arch 11 ft.;
depth of arch at crown and springing 2.1 and 2.96 ft. respectively. The
stresses were calculated to be 15, 17 and 12 tons per sq. ft. at crown,
joint of rupture, and springing respectively. At Cincinnati a concrete
arch of 70 ft. span has been built, with a rise of 10 ft. The concrete is
reinforced by eleven 9-in. steel-rolled joists, spaced 3 ft. apart and
supported by a cross-channel joist at each springing. The arch is 15 in.
thick at the crown and 4 ft. at the abutments. The concrete consisted of
1 cement, 2 sand and 3 to 4 broken stone. An important series of
experiments on the strength of masonry, brick and concrete structures
will be found in the Zeitschr. des österreichen Ing. und Arch.
Vereines (1895).

The thermal coefficient of expansion of steel and concrete is nearly
the same, otherwise changes of temperature would cause shearing stress at
the junction of the two materials. If the two materials are disposed
symmetrically, the amount of load carried by each would be in direct
proportion to the coefficient of elasticity and inversely as the moment
of inertia of the cross section. But it is usual in many cases to provide
a sufficient section of steel to carry all the tension. For concrete the
coefficient of elasticity E varies with the amount of stress and
diminishes as the ratio of sand and stone to cement increases. Its value
is generally taken at 1,500,000 to 3,000,000 lb per sq. in. For steel E =
28,000,000 to 30,000,000, or on the average about twelve times its value
for concrete. The maximum compressive working stress on the concrete may
be 500 lb per sq. in., the tensile working stress 50 lb per sq. in., and
the working shearing stress 75 lb per sq. in. The tensile stress on the
steel may be 16,000 lb per sq. in. The amount of steel in the structure
may vary from 0.75 to 1.5%. The concrete not only affords much of the
strength to resist compression, but effectively protects the steel from
corrosion.

8. (c) Suspension Bridges.—A suspension bridge
consists of two or more chains, constructed of links connected by pins,
or of twisted wire strands, or of wires laid parallel. The chains pass
over lofty piers on which they usually rest on saddles carried by
rollers, and are led down on either side to anchorages in rock chambers.
A level platform is hung from the chains by suspension rods. In the
suspension bridge iron or steel can be used in its strongest form, namely
hard-drawn wire. Iron suspension bridges began to be used at the end of
the 18th century for road bridges with spans unattainable at that time in
any other system. In 1819 T. Telford began the construction of the Menai
bridge (fig. 10), the span being 570 ft. and the dip 43 ft. This bridge
suffered some injury in a storm, but it is still in good condition and
one of the most graceful of bridges. Other bridges built soon after were
the Fribourg bridge of 870 ft. span, the Hammersmith bridge of 422 ft.
span, and the Pest bridge of 666 ft. span. The merit of the simple
suspension bridge is its cheapness, and its defect is its flexibility.
This last becomes less [v.04 p.0537]serious as the dead weight of the
structure becomes large in proportion to the live or temporary load. It
is, therefore, a type specially suited for great spans. Some suspension
bridges have broken down in consequence of the oscillations produced by
bodies of men marching in step. In 1850 a suspension bridge at Angers
gave way when 487 soldiers were marching over it, and 226 were
killed.

Fig. 10.—Menai Suspension Bridge.

To obtain greater stiffness various plans have been adopted. In the
Ordish system a certain number of intermediate points in the span are
supported by oblique chains, on which girders rest. The Ordish bridge
built at Prague in 1868 had oblique chains supporting the stiffening
girders at intermediate points of the span. A curved chain supported the
oblique chains and kept them straight. In 1860 a bridge was erected over
the Danube canal at Vienna, of 264 ft. span which had two parallel chains
one above the other and 4 ft. apart on each side of the bridge. The
chains of each pair were connected by bracing so that they formed a stiff
inverted arch resisting deformation under unequal loading. The bridge
carried a railway, but it proved weak owing to errors of calculation, and
it was taken down in 1884. The principle was sound and has been proposed
at various times. About 1850 it was perceived that a bridge stiff enough
to carry railway trains could be constructed by combining supporting
chains with stiffening girders suspended from them. W. J. M. Rankine
proved (Applied Mechanics, p. 370) that the necessary strength of
a stiffening girder would be only one-seventh part of that of an
independent girder of the same span as the bridge, suited to carry the
same moving load (not including the dead weight of the girder which is
supported by the chain). (See “Suspension Bridge with Stiffened Roadway,”
by Sir G. Airy, and the discussion, Proc. Inst, C.E., 1867, xxvi.
p. 258; also “Suspension Bridges with Stiffening Girders,” by Max am
Ende, Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxxvii. p. 306.)

Fig. 11.—Niagara Suspension Bridge.

The most remarkable bridge constructed on this system was the Niagara
bridge built by J. A. Roebling in 1852-1855 (fig. 11). The span was 821
ft., much the largest of any railway bridge at that time, and the height
above the river 245 ft. There were four suspension cables, each 10 in. in
diameter; each was composed of seven strands, containing 520 parallel
wires, or 3640 wires in each cable. Each cable was carried on a separate
saddle on rollers on each pier. The stiffening girder, constructed
chiefly of timber, was a box-shaped braced girder 18 ft. deep and 25 ft.
wide, carrying the railway on top and a roadway within. After various
repairs and strengthenings, including the replacement of the timber
girder by an iron one in 1880, this bridge in 1896-1897 was taken down
and a steel arch built in its place. It was not strong enough to deal
with the increasing weight of railway traffic. In 1836 I. K. Brunei
constructed the towers and abutments for a suspension bridge of 702 ft.
span at Clifton over the Avon, but the project was not then carried
further; in 1860, however, the link chains of the Hungerford suspension
bridge which was being taken down were available at small cost, and these
were used to complete the bridge. There are three chains on each side, of
one and two links alternately, and these support wrought iron stiffening
girders. There are wrought iron saddles and steel rollers on the piers.
At 196 ft. on either side from the towers the chains are carried over
similar saddles without rollers, and thence at 45° with the horizontal
down to the anchorages. Each chain has an anchor plate 5 ft. by 6 ft. The
links are 24 ft. long at the centre of the bridge, and longer as they are
more inclined, so that their horizontal projection is 24 ft. The chains
are so arranged that there is a suspending rod at each 8 ft., attached at
the joint of one of the three chains. For erection a suspended platform
was constructed on eight wire ropes, on which the chains were laid out
and connected. Another wire rope with a travelling carriage took out the
links. The sectional area of the chains is 481 sq. in. at the piers and
440 sq. in. at the centre. The two stiffening girders are plate girders 3
ft. deep with flanges of 11 sq. in. area. In addition, the hand railing
on each side forms a girder 4 ft. 9 in. deep, with flanges 4½ sq. in.
area.

Fig. 12.—Williamsburg Suspension Bridge.

Of later bridges of great span, perhaps the bridges over the East
river at New York are the most remarkable. The Brooklyn bridge, begun in
1872, has a centre span of 1595½ and side spans of 930 ft. The Brooklyn
approach being 971 ft., and the New York approach 1562½ ft., the total
length of the bridge is 5989 ft. There are four cables which carry a
promenade, a roadway and an electric railway. The stiffening girders of
the main span are 40 ft. deep and 67 ft. apart. The saddles for the
chains are 329 ft. above high water. The cables are 15¾ in. in diameter.
Each cable has 19 strands of 278 parallel steel wires, 7 B.W.G. Each wire
is taken separately across the river and its length adjusted. Roebling
preferred parallel wires as 10 % stronger than twisted wires. Each strand
when made up and clamped was lowered to its position. The Williamsburg
bridge (fig. 12), begun in 1897 and opened for traffic in 1903, has a
span of 1600 ft., a versed sine of 176 ft., and a width of 118 ft. It has
two decks, and carries two elevated railway tracks, four electric tramcar
lines, two carriageways, two footways and two [v.04 p.0538]bicycle paths.
There are four cables, one on each side of the two main trusses or
stiffening girders. These girders are supported by the cables over the
centre span but not in the side spans. Intermediate piers support the
trusses in the side spans. The cables are 18¾ in. in diameter; each
weighs about 1116 tons, and has a nominal breaking strength of 22,320
tons, the actual breaking strength being probably greater. The saddles
are 332 ft. above the water. The four cables support a dead load of 7140
tons and a live load of 4017 tons. Each cable is composed of 37 strands
of 208 wires, or 7696 parallel steel wires, No. 8 B.W.G., or about 3/16
in. in diameter. The wire was required to have a tensile strength of 89
tons per sq. in., and 2½% elongation in 5 ft. and 5% in 8 in. Cast steel
clamps hold the cable together, and to these the suspending rods are
attached. The cables are wrapped in cotton duck soaked in oxidized oil
and varnish, and are sheathed in sheet iron. A later bridge, the
Manhattan, is designed to carry four railway tracks and four tramway
lines, with a wide roadway and footpaths, supported by cables 21¼ in. in
diameter, each composed of 9472 galvanized steel wires 3/16 in. in
diameter.

Fig. 13.—Tower Bridge, London.

The Tower Bridge, London (fig. 13), is a suspension bridge with a
secondary bascule bridge in the centre span to permit the passage of
ships. Two main towers in the river and two towers on the shore abutments
carry the suspension chains. The opening bridge between the river towers
consists of two leaves or bascules, pivoted near the faces of the piers
and rotating in a vertical plane. When raised, the width of 200 ft.
between the main river piers is unobstructed up to the high-level
foot-bridge, which is 141 ft. above Trinity H.W. The clear width of the
two shore spans is 270 ft. The total length of the bridge is 940 ft., and
that of the approaches 1260 ft. on the north and 780 ft. on the south.
The width of the bridge between parapets is 60 ft., except across the
centre span, where it is 49 ft. The main towers consist of a skeleton of
steel, enclosed in a facing of granite and Portland stone, backed with
brickwork. There are two high-level footways for use when the bascules
are raised, the main girders of which are of the cantilever and suspended
girder type. The cantilevers are fixed to the shore side of the towers.
The middle girders are 120 ft. in length and attached to the cantilevers
by links. The main suspension chains are carried across the centre span
in the form of horizontal ties resting on the high-level footway girders.
These ties are jointed to the hanging chains by pins 20 in. in diameter
with a ring in halves surrounding it 5 in. thick. One half ring is
rigidly attached to the tie and one to the hanging chain, so that the
wear due to any movement is distributed over the length of the pin. A
rocker bearing under these pins transmits the load at the joint to the
steel columns of the towers. The abutment towers are similar to the river
towers. On the abutment towers the chains are connected by horizontal
links, carried on rockers, to anchor ties. The suspension chains are
constructed in the form of braced girders, so that they are stiff against
unsymmetrical loading. Each chain over a shore span consists of two
segments, the longer attached to the tie at the top of the river tower,
the shorter to the link at the top of the abutment tower, and the two
jointed together at the lowest point. Transverse girders are hung from
the chains at distances of 18 ft. There are fifteen main transverse
girders to each shore span, with nine longitudinal girders between each
pair. The trough flooring, ⅜ in. thick and 6 in. deep, is riveted
to the longitudinals. The anchor ties are connected to girders embedded
in large concrete blocks in the foundations of the approach viaducts.

The two bascules are each constructed with four main girders. Over the
river these are lattice girders, with transverse girders 12 ft. apart,
and longitudinal and subsidiary transverse girders dividing the floor
into rectangles 3 ft. by 3½ ft. covered with buckled plates. The roadway
is of pine blocks dowelled. The bascules rotate through an angle of 82°,
and their rear ends in the bascule chambers of the piers carry 365 tons
of counterweight, the total weight of each being 1070 tons. They rotate
on steel shafts 21 in. in diameter and 48 ft. long, and the bascules can
be lifted or lowered in one minute, but usually the time taken is one and
a half minutes. They are worked by hydraulic machinery.

9. (d) Iron and Steel Girder Bridges.—The main
supporting members are two or more horizontal beams, girders or trusses.
The girders carry a floor or platform either on top (deck bridges)
or near the bottom (through bridges). The platform is variously
constructed. For railway bridges it commonly consists of cross girders,
attached to or resting on the main girders, and longitudinal rail girders
or stringers carried by the cross girders and directly supporting the
sleepers and rails. For spans over 75 ft., expansion due to change of
temperature is provided for by carrying one end of each chain girder on
rollers placed between the bearing-plate on the girder and the bed-plate
on the pier or abutment.

Fig. 14 shows the roller bed of a girder of the Kuilenburg bridge of
490 ft. span. It will be seen that the girder directly rests on a
cylindrical pin or rocker so placed as to distribute the load uniformly
to all the rollers. The pressure on the rollers is limited to about
p = 600 d in lb per in. length of roller, where d is
the diameter of the roller in inches.

Fig. 14.—Roller Bed of a Girder.

In the girders of bridges the horizontal girder is almost exclusively
subjected to vertical loading forces. Investigation of the internal
stresses, which balance the external forces, shows that most of the
material should be arranged in a top flange, boom or chord, subjected to
compression, and a bottom flange or chord, subjected to tension. (See
Strength of Materials.) Connecting the flanges is
a vertical web which may be a solid plate or a system of bracing bars. In
any case, though the exact form of cross section of girders varies very
much, it is virtually an I section (fig. 15). The function of the flanges
is to resist a horizontal tension and compression distributed practically
uniformly on their cross sections. The web resists forces equivalent [v.04
p.0539]to a shear on vertical and horizontal planes. The inclined
tensions and compressions in the bars of a braced web are equivalent to
this shear. The horizontal stresses in the flanges are greatest at the
centre of a span. The stresses in the web are greatest at the ends of the
span. In the most numerous cases the flanges or chords are parallel. But
girders may have curved chords and then the stresses in the web are
diminished.

Fig. 15.—Flanged Girder.

At first girders had solid or plate webs, but for spans over 100 ft.
the web always now consists of bracing bars. In some girder bridges the
members are connected entirely by riveting, in others the principal
members are connected by pin joints. The pin system of connexion used in
the Chepstow, Saltash, Newark Dyke and other early English bridges is now
rarely used in Europe. But it is so commonly used in America as to be
regarded as a distinctive American feature. With pin connexions some
weight is saved in the girders, and erection is a little easier. In early
pin bridges insufficient bearing area was allowed between the pins and
parts connected, and they worked loose. In some cases riveted covers had
to be substituted for the pins. The proportions are now better
understood. Nevertheless the tendency is to use riveted connexions in
preference to pins, and in any case to use pins for tension members
only.

On the first English railways cast iron girder bridges for spans of 20
to 66 ft. were used, and in some cases these were trussed with wrought
iron. When in 1845 the plans for carrying the Chester and Holyhead
railway over the Menai Straits were considered, the conditions imposed by
the admiralty in the interests of navigation involved the adoption of a
new type of bridge. There was an idea of using suspension chains combined
with a girder, and in fact the tower piers were built so as to
accommodate chains. But the theory of such a combined structure could not
be formulated at that time, and it was proved, partly by experiment, that
a simple tubular girder of wrought iron was strong enough to carry the
railway. The Britannia bridge (fig. 16) has two spans of 460 and two of
230 ft. at 104 ft. above high water. It consists of a pair of tubular
girders with solid or plate sides stiffened by angle irons, one line of
rails passing through each tube. Each girder is 1511 ft. long and weighs
4680 tons. In cross section (fig. 17), it is 15 ft. wide and varies in
depth from 23 ft. at the ends to 30 ft. at the centre. Partly to
counteract any tendency to buckling under compression and partly for
convenience in assembling a great mass of plates, the top and bottom were
made cellular, the cells being just large enough to permit passage for
painting. The total area of the cellular top flange of the large-span
girders is 648 sq. in., and of the bottom 585 sq. in. As no scaffolding
could be used for the centre spans, the girders were built on shore,
floated out and raised by hydraulic presses. The credit for the success
of the Conway and Britannia bridges must be divided between the
engineers. Robert Stephenson and William Fairbairn, and Eaton Hodgkinson,
who assisted in the experimental tests and in formulating the imperfect
theory then available. The Conway bridge was first completed, and the
first train passed through the Britannia bridge in 1850. Though each
girder has been made continuous over the four spans it has not quite the
proportions over the piers which a continuous girder should have, and
must be regarded as an imperfectly continuous girder. The spans were in
fact designed as independent girders, the advantage of continuity being
at that time imperfectly known. The vertical sides of the girders are
stiffened so that they amount to 40% of the whole weight. This was partly
necessary to meet the uncertain conditions in floating when the
distribution of supporting forces was unknown and there were chances of
distortion.

Fig. 16.—Britannia Bridge.

Fig. 17.—Britannia Bridge (Cross Section
of Tubular Girder).

Wrought iron and, later, steel plate web girders were largely used for
railway bridges in England after the construction of the Conway and Menai
bridges, and it was in the discussions arising during their design that
the proper function of the vertical web between the top and bottom
flanges of a girder first came to be understood. The proportion of depth
to span in the Britannia bridge was 1/16. But so far as the flanges are
concerned the stress [v.04 p.0540]to be resisted varies inversely as
the depth of the girder. It would be economical, therefore, to make the
girder very deep. This, however, involves a much heavier web, and
therefore for any type of girder there must be a ratio of depth to span
which is most economical. In the case of the plate web there must be a
considerable excess of material, partly to stiffen it against buckling
and partly because an excess of thickness must be provided to reduce the
effect of corrosion. It was soon found that with plate webs the ratio of
depth to span could not be economically increased beyond 1/15 to 1/12. On
the other hand a framed or braced web afforded opportunity for much
better arrangement of material, and it very soon became apparent that
open web or lattice or braced girders were more economical of material
than solid web girders, except for small spans. In America such girders
were used from the first and naturally followed the general design of the
earlier timber bridges. Now plate web girders are only used for spans of
less than 100 ft.

Three types of bracing for the web very early developed—the
Warren type in which the bracing bars form equilateral triangles, the
Whipple Murphy in which the struts are vertical and the ties inclined,
and the lattice in which both struts and ties are inclined at equal
angles, usually 45° with the horizontal. The earliest published
theoretical investigations of the stresses in bracing bars were perhaps
those in the paper by W.T. Doyne and W.B. Blood (Proc. Inst. C.E.,
1851, xi. p. 1), and the paper by J. Barton, “On the economic
distribution of material in the sides of wrought iron beams” (Proc.
Inst. C.E., 1855, xiv. p. 443).

Fig. 18.—Span of Saltash Bridge.

The Boyne bridge, constructed by Barton in Ireland, in 1854-1855, was
a remarkable example of the confidence with which engineers began to
apply theory in design. It was a bridge for two lines of railway with
lattice girders continuous over three spans. The centre span was 264 ft.,
and the side spans 138 ft. 8 in.; depth 22 ft. 6 in. Not only were the
bracing bars designed to calculated stresses, and the continuity of the
girders taken into account, but the validity of the calculations was
tested by a verification on the actual bridge of the position of the
points of contrary flexure of the centre span. At the calculated position
of one of the points of contrary flexure all the rivets of the top boom
were cut out, and by lowering the end of the girder over the side span
one inch, the joint was opened 1/32 in. Then the rivets were cut out
similarly at the other point of contrary flexure and the joint opened.
The girder held its position with both joints severed, proving that, as
should be the case, there was no stress in the boom where the bending
moment changes sign.

Fig. 19.—Newark Dyke Bridge and Section
of Newark Dyke Bridge.

By curving the top boom of a girder to form an arch and the bottom
boom to form a suspension chain, the need of web except for non-uniform
loading is obviated. I.K. Brunel adopted this principle for the Saltash
bridge near Plymouth, built soon after the Britannia bridge. It has two
spans of 455 ft. and seventeen smaller spans, the roadway being 100 ft.
above high water. The top boom of each girder is an elliptical wrought
iron tube 17 ft. wide by 12 ft. deep. The lower boom is a pair of chains,
of wrought-iron links, 14 in each chain, of 7 in. by 1 in. section, the
links being connected by pins. The suspending rods and cross bracing are
very light. The depth of the girder at the centre is about one-eighth of
the span.

Fig. 20.—Fink Truss.

In both England and America in early braced bridges cast iron,
generally in the form of tubes circular or octagonal in section, was used
for compression members, and wrought iron for the tension members. Fig.
19 shows the Newark Dyke bridge on the Great Northern railway over the
Trent. It was a pin-jointed Warren girder bridge erected from designs by
C.M. Wild in 1851-1853. The span between supports was 259 ft., the clear
span 240½ ft.; depth between joint pins 16 ft. There were four girders,
two to each line of way. The top flange consisted of cast iron hollow
castings butted end to end, and the struts were of cast iron. The lower
flange and ties were flat wrought iron links. This bridge has now been
replaced by a stronger bridge to carry the greater loads imposed by
modern traffic. Fig. 20 shows a Fink truss, a characteristic early
American type, with cast iron compression and wrought iron tension
members. The bridge is a deck bridge, the railway being carried on top.
The transfer of the loads to the ends of the bridge by [v.04 p.0541]long
ties is uneconomical, and this type has disappeared. The Warren type,
either with two sets of bracing bars or with intermediate verticals,
affords convenient means of supporting the floor girders. In 1869 a
bridge of 390 ft. span was built on this system at Louisville.

Amongst remarkable American girder bridges may be mentioned the Ohio
bridge on the Cincinnati & Covington railway, which is probably the
largest girder span constructed. The centre span is 550 ft. and the side
spans 490 ft.—centre to centre of piers. The girders are
independent polygonal girders. The centre girder has a length of 545 ft.
and a depth of 84 ft. between pin centres. It is 67 ft. between parapets,
and carries two lines of railway, two carriageways, and two footways. The
cross girders, stringers and wind-bracing are wrought iron, the rest of
mild steel. The bridge was constructed in 1888 by the Phoenix Bridge
Company, and was erected on staging. The total weight of iron and steel
in three spans was about 5000 tons.

Fig. 21.—Typical Cantilever Bridge.

Fig. 22.

10. (e) Cantilever Bridges.—It has been stated
that if in a girder bridge of three or more spans, the girders were made
continuous there would be an important economy of material, but that the
danger of settlement of the supports, which would seriously alter the
points of contrary flexure or points where the bending moment changes
sign, and therefore the magnitude and distribution of the stresses,
generally prevents the adoption of continuity. If, however, hinges or
joints are introduced at the points of contrary flexure, they become
necessarily points where the bending moment is zero and ambiguity as to
the stresses vanishes. The exceptional local conditions at the site of
the Forth bridge led to the adoption there of the cantilever system, till
then little considered. Now it is well understood that in many positions
this system is the simplest and most economical method of bridging. It is
available for spans greater than those practicable with independent
girders; in fact, on this system the spans are virtually reduced to
smaller spans so far as the stresses are concerned. There is another
advantage which in many cases is of the highest importance. The
cantilevers can be built out from the piers, member by member, without
any temporary scaffolding below, so that navigation is not interrupted,
the cost of scaffolding is saved, and the difficulty of building in deep
water is obviated. The centre girder may be built on the cantilevers and
rolled into place or lifted from the water-level. Fig. 21 shows a typical
cantilever bridge of American design. In this case the shore ends of the
cantilevers are anchored to the abutments. J.A.L. Waddell has shown that,
in some cases, it is convenient to erect simple independent spans, by
building them out as cantilevers and converting them into independent
girders after erection. Fig. 22 shows girders erected in this way, the
dotted lines being temporary members during erection, which are removed
afterwards. The side spans are erected first on staging and anchored to
the piers. From these, by the aid of the temporary members, the centre
span is built out from both sides. The most important cantilever bridges
so far erected or projected are as follows:—

Fig. 23.—Forth Bridge.

(1) The Forth bridge (fig. 23). The original design was for a
stiffened suspension bridge, but after the fall of the Tay bridge in 1879
this was abandoned. The bridge, which was begun in 1882 and completed in
1889, is at the only narrowing of the Forth in a distance of 50 m., at a
point where the channel, about a mile in width, is divided by the island
of Inchgarvie. The length of the cantilever bridge is 5330 ft., made up
thus: central tower on Inchgarvie 260 ft.; Fife and Queensferry piers
each 145 ft.; two central girders between cantilevers each 350 ft.; and
six cantilevers each 680 ft. The two main spans are each 1710 ft. The
clear headway is 157 ft., and the extreme height of the towers above high
water 361 ft. The outer ends of the shore cantilevers are loaded to
balance half the weight of the central girder, the rolling load, and 200
tons in addition. An internal viaduct of lattice girders carries a double
line of rails. Provision is made for longitudinal expansion due to change
of temperature, for distortion due to the sun acting on one side of the
structure, and for the wind acting on one side of the bridge. The amount
of steel used was 38,000 tons exclusive of approach viaducts. (See The
Forth Bridge, by W. Westhofen; Reports of the British
Association (1884 and 1885); Die Forth Brücke, von G.
Barkhausen (Berlin, 1889); The Forth Bridge, by Philip Phillips
(1890); Vernon Harcourt, Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxi. p. 309.)

(2) The Niagara bridge of a total length of 910 ft., for two lines of
railway. Clear span between towers 495 ft. Completed in 1883, and more
recently strengthened (Proc. Inst. C.E. cvii. p. 18, and cxliv. p.
331).

Fig. 24.—Lansdowne Bridge.

(3) The Lansdowne bridge (completed 1889) at Sukkur, over the Indus.
The clear span is 790 ft., and the suspended girder 200 ft. in length.
The span to the centres of the end uprights is 820 ft.; width between
centres of main uprights at bed-plate 100 ft., and between centres of
main members at end of cantilevers 20 ft. The bridge is for a single line of railway of
5 ft. 6 in. gauge. The back guys are the most heavily strained part of
the structure, the stress provided for being 1200 tons. This is due to
the half weight of centre girder, the weight of the cantilever itself,
the rolling load on half the bridge, and the wind pressure. The anchors
are built up of steel plates and angle, bars, and are buried in a large
mass of concrete. The area of each anchor plate, normal to the line of
stress, is 32 ft. by 12 ft. The bridge was designed by Sir A. Rendel, the
consulting engineer to the Indian government (Proc. Inst. C.E.
ciii. p. 123).

(4) The Red Rock cantilever bridge over the Colorado river, with a
centre span of 660 ft.

(5) The Poughkeepsie bridge over the Hudson, built 1886-1887. There
are five river and two shore spans. The girders over the second and
fourth spans are extended as cantilevers over the adjoining spans. The
shore piers carry cantilevers projecting one way over the river openings
and the other way over a shore span where it is secured to an anchorage.
The girder spans are 525 ft., the cantilever spans 547 ft., and the shore
spans 201 ft.

Fig. 25.—Quebec Bridge (original design)

(6) The Quebec bridge (fig. 25) over the St Lawrence, which collapsed
while in course of construction in 1907. This bridge, connecting very
important railway systems, was designed to carry two lines of rails, a
highway and electric railway on each side, all between the main trusses.
Length between abutments 3240 ft.; [v.04 p.0542]channel span
1800 ft.; suspended span 675 ft.; shore spans 562½ ft. Total weight of
metal about 32,000 tons.

Fig. 26.—Jubilee Bridge over the Hugli.

(7) The Jubilee bridge over the Hugli, designed by Sir Bradford
Leslie, is a cantilever bridge of another type (fig. 26). The girders are
of the Whipple Murphy type, but with curved top booms. The bridge carries
a double line of railway, between the main girders. The central double
cantilever is 360 ft. long. The two side span girders are 420 ft long.
The cantilever rests on two river piers 120 ft. apart, centre to centre.
The side girders rest on the cantilevers on 15 in. pins, in pendulum
links suspended from similar pins in saddles 9 ft. high.

Fig. 27.—Coalbrookdale Bridge.

11. (f) Metal Arch Bridges.—The first iron bridge
erected was constructed by John Wilkinson (1728-1808) and Abraham Darby
(1750-1791) in 1773-1779 at Coalbrookdale over the Severn (fig. 27). It
had five cast iron arched ribs with a centre span of 100 ft. This curious
bridge is still in use. Sir B. Baker stated that it had required patching
for ninety years, because the arch and the high side arches would not
work together. Expansion and contraction broke the high arch and the
connexions between the arches. When it broke they fished it. Then the
bolts sheared or the ironwork broke in a new place. He advised that there
was nothing unsafe; it was perfectly strong and the stress in vital parts
moderate. All that needed to be done was to fish the fractured ribs of
the high arches, put oval holes in the fishes, and not screw up the bolts
too tight.

Cast iron arches of considerable span were constructed late in the
18th and early in the 19th century. The difficulty of casting heavy arch
ribs led to the construction of cast iron arches of cast voussoirs,
somewhat like the voussoirs of masonry bridges. Such a bridge was the
Wearmouth bridge, designed by Rowland Burdon and erected in 1793-1796,
with a span of 235 ft. Southwark bridge over the Thames, designed by John
Rennie with cast iron ribs and erected in 1814-1819, has a centre span of
240 ft. and a rise of 24 ft. In Paris the Austerlitz (1800-1806) and
Carrousel (1834-1836) bridges had cast iron arches. In 1858 an aqueduct
bridge was erected at Washington by M.C. Meigs (1816-1892). This had two
arched ribs formed by the cast iron pipes through which the water passed.
The pipes were 4 ft. in diameter inside, 1½ in. thick, and were lined
with staves of pine 3 in. thick to prevent freezing. The span was 200
ft.

Fig. 28.—Arch of Bridge at Coblenz

Fig. 28 shows one of the wrought iron arches of a bridge over the
Rhine at Coblenz. The bridge consists of three spans of about 315 ft.
each.

Fig. 29.—St Louis Bridge.

Of large-span bridges with steel arches, one of the most important is
the St Louis bridge over the Mississippi, completed in 1874 (fig. 29).
The river at St Louis is confined to a single channel, 1600 ft. wide, and
in a freshet in 1870 the scour reached a depth of 51 ft. Captain J.B.
Eads, the engineer, determined to establish the piers and abutments on
rock at a depth for the east pier and east abutment of 136 ft. below high
water. This was effected by caissons with air chambers and air locks, a
feat unprecedented in the annals of engineering. The bridge has three
spans, each formed of arches of cast steel. The centre span is 520 ft.
and the side spans 502 ft. in the clear. The rise of the centre arch is
47½ ft., and that of the side arches 46 ft. Each span has four steel
double ribs of steel tubes butted and clasped by wrought iron couplings.
The vertical bracing between the upper and lower members of each rib,
which are 12 ft. apart, centre to centre, consolidates them into a single
arch. The arches carry a double railway track and above this a roadway 54
ft. wide.

The St Louis bridge is not hinged, but later bridges have been
constructed with hinges at the springings and sometimes with hinges at
the crown also.

The Alexander III. bridge over the Seine has fifteen steel ribs hinged
at crown and springings with a span of 353 ft. between centres of hinges
and 358 ft. between abutments. The rise from side to centre hinges is 20
ft. 7 in. The roadway is 65½ ft. wide and footways 33 ft. (Proc. Inst.
C.E. cxxx. p. 335).

Fig. 30.—Viaur Viaduct.

The largest three-hinged-arch bridge constructed is the Viaur viaduct
in the south of France (fig. 30). The central span is 721 ft. 9 in. and
the height of the rails above the valley 380 ft. It has a very fine
appearance, especially when seen in perspective and not merely in
elevation.

Fig. 31.—Douro Viaduct.

Fig. 31 shows the Douro viaduct of a total length of 1158 ft. carrying
a railway 200 ft. above the water. The span of the central opening is 525
ft. The principal rib is crescent-shaped 32.8 ft. deep [v.04 p.0543]at the
crown. Rolling load taken at 1.2 ton per ft. Weight of centre span 727
tons. The Luiz I. bridge is another arched bridge over the Douro, also
designed by T. Seyrig. This has a span of 566 ft. There are an upper and
lower roadway, 164 ft. apart vertically. The arch rests on rollers and is
narrowest at the crown. The reason given for this change of form was that
it more conveniently allowed the lower road to pass between the
springings and ensured the transmission of the wind stresses to the
abutments without interrupting the cross-bracing. Wire cables were used
in the erection, by which the members were lifted from barges and
assembled, the operations being conducted from the side piers.

Fig. 32.—Niagara Falls and Clifton
Bridge.

The Niagara Falls and Clifton steel arch (fig. 32) replaces the older
Roebling suspension bridge. The centre span is a two-hinged parabolic
braced rib arch, and there are side spans of 190 and 210 ft. The bridge
carries two electric-car tracks, two roadways and two footways. The main
span weighed 1629 tons, the side spans 154 and 166 tons (Buck, Proc.
Inst. C.E. cxliv. p. 70). Prof. Claxton Fidler, speaking of the
arrangement adopted for putting initial stress on the top chord, stated
that this bridge marked the furthest advance yet made in this type of
construction. When such a rib is erected on centering without initial
stress, the subsequent compression of the arch under its weight inflicts
a bending stress and excess of compression in the upper member at the
crown. But the bold expedients adopted by the engineer annulled the
bending action.

The Garabit viaduct carries the railway near St Flour, in the Cantal
department, France, at 420 ft. above low water. The deepest part of the
valley is crossed by an arch of 541 ft. span, and 213 ft. rise. The
bridge is similar to that at Oporto, also designed by Seyrig. It is
formed by a crescent-shaped arch, continued on one side by four, on the
other side by two lattice girder spans, on iron piers. The arch is formed
by two lattice ribs hinged at the abutments. Its depth at the crown is 33
ft., and its centre line follows nearly the parabolic line of pressures.
The two arch ribs are 65½ ft. apart at the springings and 20½ ft. at the
crown. The roadway girders are lattice, 17 ft. deep, supported from the
arch ribs at four points. The total length of the viaduct is 1715 ft. The
lattice girders of the side spans were first rolled into place, so as to
project some distance beyond the piers, and then the arch ribs were built
out, being partly supported by wire-rope cables from the lattice girders
above. The total weight of ironwork was 3200 tons and the cost £124,000
(Annales des travaux publiques, 1884).

The Victoria Falls bridge over the Zambezi, designed by Sir Douglas
Fox, and completed in 1905, is a combination of girder and arch having a
total length of 650 ft. The centre arch is 500 ft. span, the rise of the
crown 90 ft., and depth at crown 15 ft. The width between centres of ribs
of main arch is 27½ ft. at crown and 53 ft. 9 in at springings. The curve
of the main arch is a parabola. The bridge has a roadway of 30 ft. for
two lines of rails. Each half arch was supported by cables till joined at
the centre. An electric cableway of 900 ft. span capable of carrying 10
tons was used in erection.

12. (g) Movable Bridges can be closed to carry a road or
railway or in some cases an aqueduct, but can be opened to give free
passage to navigation. They are of several types:—

Fig. 33.

(1) Lifting Bridges.—The bridge with its platform is
suspended from girders above by chains and counterweights at the four
corners (fig. 33 a). It is lifted vertically to the required height when
opened. Bridges of this type are not very numerous or important.

(2) Rolling Bridges.—The girders are longer than the span
and the part overhanging the abutment is counter-weighted so that the
centre of gravity is over the abutment when the bridge is rolled forward
(fig. 33 b). To fill the gap in the approaches when the bridge is rolled
forward a frame carrying that part of the road is moved into place
sideways. At Sunderland, the bridge is first lifted by a hydraulic press
so as to clear the roadway behind, and is then rolled back.

(3) Draw or Bascule Bridges.—The fortress draw-bridge is
the original type, in which a single leaf, or bascule, turns round a
horizontal hinge at one abutment. The bridge when closed is supported on
abutments at each end. It is raised by chains and counterweights. A more
common type is a bridge with two leaves or bascules, one hinged at each
abutment. When closed [v.04 p.0544]the bascules are locked at the
centre (see fig. 13). In these bridges each bascule is prolonged
backwards beyond the hinge so as to balance at the hinge, the
prolongation sinking into the piers when the bridge is opened.

(4) Swing or Turning Bridges.—The largest movable bridges
revolve about a vertical axis. The bridge is carried on a circular base
plate with a central pivot and a circular track for a live ring and
conical rollers. A circular revolving platform rests on the pivot and
rollers. A toothed arc fixed to the revolving platform or to the live
ring serves to give motion to the bridge. The main girders rest on the
revolving platform, and the ends of the bridge are circular arcs fitting
the fixed roadway. Three arrangements are found: (a) the axis of rotation
is on a pier at the centre of the river and the bridge is equal armed
(fig. 33 c), so that two navigation passages are opened simultaneously.
(b) The axis of rotation is on one abutment, and the bridge is then
usually unequal armed (fig. 33 d), the shorter arm being over the land.
(c) In some small bridges the shorter arm is vertical and the bridge
turns on a kind of vertical crane post at the abutment (fig. 33 e).

(5) Floating Bridges, the roadway being carried on pontoons
moored in the stream.

The movable bridge in its closed position must be proportioned like a
fixed bridge, but it has also other conditions to fulfil. If it revolves
about a vertical axis its centre of gravity must always lie in that axis;
if it rolls the centre of gravity must always lie over the abutment. It
must have strength to support safely its own overhanging weight when
moving.

At Konigsberg there is a road bridge of two fixed spans of 39 ft., and
a central span of 60 ft. between bearings, or 41 ft. clear, with balanced
bascules over the centre span. Each bascule consists of two main girders
with cross girders and stringers. The main girders are hung at each side
on a horizontal shaft 8⅝ in. in diameter, and are 6 ft. deep at
the hinge, diminishing to 1 ft. 7 in. at the centre of the span. The
counterweight is a depressed cantilever arm 12 ft. long, overlapped by
the fixed platform which sinks into a recess in the masonry when the
bridge opens. In closed position the main girders rest on a bed plate on
the face of the pier 4 ft. 3 in. beyond the shaft bearings. The bridge is
worked by hydraulic power, an accumulator with a load of 34 tons
supplying pressure water at 630 lb per sq. in. The bridge opens in 15
seconds and closes in 25 seconds.

At the opening span of the Tower bridge (fig. 13) there are four main
girders in each bascule. They project 100 ft. beyond and 62 ft. 6 in.
within the face of the piers. Transverse girders and bracings are
inserted between the main girders at 12 ft. intervals. The floor is of
buckled plates paved with wood blocks. The arc of rotation is 82°, and
the axis of rotation is 13 ft. 3 in. inside the face of the piers, and 5
ft. 7 in. below the roadway. The weight of ballast in the short arms of
the bascules is 365 tons. The weight of each leaf including ballast is
about 1070 tons. The axis is of forged steel 21 in. in diameter and 48
ft. long. The axis has eight bearings, consisting of rings of live
rollers 4-7/16 in. in diameter and 22 in. long. The bascules are rotated
by pinions driven by hydraulic engines working in steel sectors 42 ft.
radius (Proc. Inst. C.E. cxxvii. p. 35).

As an example of a swing bridge, that between Duluth and Superior at
the head of Lake Superior over the St Louis river may be described. The
centre opening is 500 ft., spanned by a turning bridge, 58 ft. wide. The
girders weighing 2000 tons carry a double track for trains between the
girders and on each side on cantilevers a trolley track, roadway and
footway. The bridge can be opened in 2 minutes, and is operated by two
large electric motors. These have a speed reduction from armature shaft
to bridge column of 1500 to 1, through four intermediate spur gears and a
worm gear. The end lifts which transfer the weight of the bridge to the
piers when the span is closed consist of massive eccentrics having a
throw of 4 in. The clearance is 2 in., so that the ends are lifted 2 in.
This gives a load of 50 tons per eccentric. One motor is placed at each
end of the span to operate the eccentrics and also to release the latches
and raise the rails of the steam track.

At Riga there is a floating pontoon bridge over the Duna. It consists
of fourteen rafts, 105 ft. in length, each supported by two pontoons
placed 64 ft. apart. The pairs of rafts are joined by three baulks 15 ft.
long laid in parallel grooves in the framing. Two spans are arranged for
opening easily. The total length is 1720 ft. and the width 46 ft. The
pontoons are of iron, 85½ ft. in length, and their section is elliptical,
10½ ft. horizontal and 12 ft. vertical. The displacement of each pontoon
is 180 tons and its weight 22 tons. The mooring chains, weighing 22 lb
per ft., are taken from the upstream end of each pontoon to a downstream
screw pile mooring and from the downstream end to an upstream screw
pile.

13. Transporter Bridges.—This new type of bridge consists
of a high level bridge from which is suspended a car at a low level. The
car receives the traffic and conveys it across the river, being caused to
travel by electric machinery on the high level bridge. Bridges of this
type have been erected at Portugalete, Bizerta, Rouen, Rochefort and more
recently across the Mersey between the towns of Widnes and Runcorn.

Fig. 34.—Widnes and Runcorn Transporter
Bridge.

The Runcorn bridge crosses the Manchester Ship Canal and the Mersey in
one span of 1000 ft., and four approach spans of 55½ ft. on one side and
one span on the other. The low-level approach roadways are 35 ft. wide
with footpaths 6 ft. wide on each side. The supporting structure is a
cable suspension bridge with stiffening girders. A car is suspended from
the bridge, carried by a trolley running on the underside of the
stiffening girders, the car being [v.04 p.0545]propelled
electrically from one side to the other. The underside of the stiffening
girder is 82 ft. above the river. The car is 55 ft. long by 24½ ft. wide.
The electric motors are under the control of the driver in a cabin on the
car. The trolley is an articulated frame 77 ft. long in five sections
coupled together with pins. To this are fixed the bearings of the running
wheels, fourteen on each side. There are two steel-clad series-wound
motors of 36 B.H.P. For a test load of 120 tons the tractive force is 70
lb per ton, which is sufficient for acceleration, and maintaining speed
against wind pressure. The brakes are magnetic, with auxiliary
handbrakes. Electricity is obtained by two gas engines (one spare) each
of 75 B.H.P.

On the opening day passengers were taken across at the rate of more
than 2000 per hour in addition to a number of vehicles. The time of
crossing is 3 or 4 minutes. The total cost of the structure was
£133,000.

14. In the United States few railway companies design or build their
own bridges. General specifications as to span, loading, &c., are
furnished to bridge-building companies, which make the design under the
direction of engineers who are experts in this kind of work. The design,
with strain sheets and detail drawings, is submitted to the railway
engineer with estimates. The result is that American bridges are
generally of well-settled types and their members of uniform design,
carefully considered with reference to convenient and accurate
manufacture. Standard patterns of details are largely adopted, and more
system is introduced in the workshop than is possible where the designs
are more varied. Riveted plate girders are used up to 50 ft. span,
riveted braced girders for spans of 50 ft. to 75 ft., and pin-connected
girders for longer spans. Since the erection of the Forth bridge,
cantilever bridges have been extensively used, and some remarkable steel
arch and suspension bridges have also been constructed. Overhead railways
are virtually continuous bridge constructions, and much attention has
been given to a study of the special conditions appertaining to that
case.

Substructure.

15. The substructure of a bridge comprises the piers, abutments and
foundations. These portions usually consist of masonry in some form,
including under that general head stone masonry, brickwork and concrete.
Occasionally metal work or woodwork is used for intermediate piers.

When girders form the superstructure, the resultant pressure on the
piers or abutments is vertical, and the dimensions of these are simply
regulated by the sufficiency to bear this vertical load.

When arches form the superstructure, the abutment must be so designed
as to transmit the resultant thrust to the foundation in a safe
direction, and so distributed that no part may be unduly compressed. The
intermediate piers should also have considerable stability, so as to
counterbalance the thrust arising when one arch is loaded while the other
is free from load.

For suspension bridges the abutment forming the anchorage must be so
designed as to be thoroughly stable under the greatest pull which the
chains can exert. The piers require to be carried above the platform, and
their design must be modified according to the type of suspension bridge
adopted. When the resultant pressure is not vertical on the piers these
must be constructed to meet the inclined pressure. In any stiffened
suspension bridge the action of the pier will be analogous to that of a
pier between two arches.

Concrete in a shell is a name which might be applied to all the
methods of founding a pier which depend on the very valuable property
which strong hydraulic concrete possesses of setting into a solid mass
under water. The required space is enclosed by a wooden or iron shell;
the soil inside the shell is removed by dredging, or some form of
mechanical excavator, until the formation is reached which is to support
the pier; the concrete is then shot into the enclosed space from a height
of about 10 ft., and rammed down in layers about 1 ft. thick; it soon
consolidates into a permanent artificial stone.

Piles are used as foundations in compressible or loose soil.
The heads of the piles are sawn off, and a platform of timber or concrete
rests on them. Cast iron and concrete reinforced piles are now used.
Screw piles are cast iron piles which are screwed into the soil
instead of being driven in. At their end is fixed a blade of cast iron
from two to eight times the diameter of the shaft of the pile; the pitch
of the screw varies from one-half to one-fourth of the external diameter
of the blade.

Disk piles have been used in sand. These piles have a flat
flange at the bottom, and water is pumped in at the top of the pile,
which is weighted to prevent it from rising. Sand is thus blown or pumped
from below the piles, which are thus easily lowered in ground which
baffles all attempts to drive in piles by blows. In ground which is of
the nature of quicksand, piles will often slowly rise to their original
position after each blow.

Wells.—In some soils foundations may be obtained by the
device of building a masonry casing like that of a well and excavating
the soil inside; the casing gradually sinks and the masonry is continued
at the surface. This method is applicable in running sands. The interior
of the well is generally filled up with concrete or brick when the
required depth has been reached.

Piers and Abutments.—Piers and abutments are of masonry,
brickwork, or cast or wrought iron. In the last case they consist of any
number of hollow cylindrical pillars, vertical or raking, turned and
planed at the ends and united by a projection or socket and by flanges
and bolts. The pillars are strengthened against lateral yielding by
horizontal and diagonal bracing. In some cases the piers are cast iron
cylinders 10 ft. or more in diameter filled with concrete.

Fig. 35.—Cylinder, Charing Cross Bridge.

Cylinder Foundations.—Formerly when bridge piers had to
be placed where a firm bearing stratum could only be reached at a
considerable depth, a timber cofferdam was used in which piles were
driven down to the firm stratum. On the piles the masonry piers were
built. Many bridges so constructed have stood for centuries. A great
change of method arose when iron cylinders and in some cases brick
cylinders or wells were adopted for foundations. These can be sunk to
almost any depth or brought up to any height, and are filled with
Portland cement concrete. They are sometimes excavated by grabs.
Sometimes they are closed in and kept free of water by compressed air so
that excavation work can be carried on inside them (fig. 35). Sometimes
in silty river beds they are sunk 100 ft. or more, for [v.04
p.0546]security against deep scouring of the river-bed in floods.
In the case of the Empress bridge over the Sutlej each pier consisted of
three brick wells, 19 ft. in diameter, sunk 110 ft. The piers of the
Benares bridge were single iron caissons, 65 ft. by 28 ft., sunk about
100 ft., lined with brick and filled with concrete. At the Forth bridge
iron caissons 70 ft. in diameter were sunk about 40 ft. into the bed of
the Forth. In this case the compressed air process was used.

16. Erection.—Consideration of the local conditions
affecting the erection of bridges is always important, and sometimes
becomes a controlling factor in the determination of the design. The
methods of erection may be classed as—(1) erection on staging or
falsework; (2) floating to the site and raising; (3) rolling out from one
abutment; (4) building out member by member, the completed part forming
the stage from which additions are handled.

(1) In erection on staging, the materials available determine the
character of the staging; stacks of timber, earth banks, or built-up
staging of piles and trestles have all been employed, also iron staging,
which can be rapidly erected and moved from site to site. The most
ordinary type of staging consists of timber piles at nearly equal
distances of 20 ft. to 30 ft., carrying a timber platform, on which the
bridge is erected. Sometimes a wide space is left for navigation, and the
platform at this part is carried by a timber and iron truss. When the
headway is great or the river deep, timber-braced piers or clusters of
piles at distances of 50 ft. to 100 ft. may be used. These carry
temporary trusses of timber or steel. The Kuilenburg bridge in Holland,
which has a span of 492 ft., was erected on a timber staging of this
kind, containing 81,000 cub. ft. of timber and 5 tons of bolts. The
bridge superstructure weighed 2150 tons, so that 38 cub. ft. of timber
were used per ton of superstructure.

(2) The Britannia and Conway bridges were built on staging on shore,
lifted by pontoons, floated out to their position between the piers, and
lastly lifted into place by hydraulic presses. The Moerdyk bridge in
Holland, with 14 spans of 328 ft., was erected in a similar way. The
convenience of erecting girders on shore is very great, but there is some
risk in the floating operations and a good deal of hauling plant is
required.

(3) If a bridge consists of girders continuous over two or more spans,
it may be put together on the embankment at one end and rolled over the
piers. In some cases hauling tackle is used, in others power is applied
by levers and ratchets to the rollers on which the girders travel. In
such rolling operations the girder is subjected to straining actions
different from those which it is intended to resist, and parts intended
for tension may be in compression; hence it may need to be stiffened by
timber during rolling. The bending action on the bottom boom in passing
over the rollers is also severe. Modifications of the system have been
adopted for bridges with discontinuous spans. In narrow ravines a bridge
of one span may be rolled out, if the projecting end is supported on a
temporary suspension cable anchored on each side. The free end is slung
to a block running on the cable. If the bridge is erected when the river
is nearly dry a travelling stage may be constructed to carry the
projecting end of the girder while it is hauled across, the other end
resting on one abutment. Sometimes a girder is rolled out about one-third
of its length, and then supported on a floating pontoon.

(4) Some types of bridge can be built out from the abutments, the
completed part forming an erecting stage on which lifting appliances are
fixed. Generally, in addition, wire cables are stretched across the span,
from which lifting tackle is suspended. In bridges so erected the
straining action during erection must be studied, and material must be
added to resist erecting stresses. In the case of the St Louis bridge,
half arches were built out on either side of each pier, so that the load
balanced. Skeleton towers on the piers supported chains attached to the
arched ribs at suitable points. In spite of careful provision, much
difficulty was experienced in making the connexion at the crown, from the
expansion due to temperature changes. The Douro bridge was similarly
erected. The girders of the side spans were rolled out so as to overhang
the great span by 105 ft., and formed a platform from which parts of the
arch could be suspended. Dwarf towers, built on the arch ring at the
fifth panel from either side, helped to support the girder above, in
erecting the centre part of the arch (Seyrig, Proc. Inst. C.E.
lxiii. p. 177). The great cantilever bridges have been erected in the
same way, and they are specially adapted for erection by building
out.

Straining Actions and Working Stresses.

17. In metal bridges wrought iron has been replaced by mild
steel—a stronger, tougher and better material. Ingot metal or mild
steel was sometimes treacherous when first introduced, and accidents
occurred, the causes of which were obscure. In fact, small differences of
composition or variations in thermal treatment during manufacture involve
relatively large differences of quality. Now it is understood that care
must be taken in specifying the exact quality and in testing the material
supplied. Structural wrought iron has a tenacity of 20 to 22½ tons per
sq. in. in the direction of rolling, and an ultimate elongation of 8 or
10% in 8 in. Across the direction of rolling the tenacity is about 18
tons per sq. in., and the elongation 3% in 8 in. Steel has only a small
difference of quality in different directions. There is still controversy
as to what degree of hardness, or (which is nearly the same thing) what
percentage of carbon, can be permitted with safety in steel for
structures.

The qualities of steel used may be classified as
follows:—(a) Soft steel, having a tenacity of 22½ to 26 tons
per sq. in., and an elongation of 32 to 24% in 8 in. (b) Medium
steel, having a tenacity of 26 to 34 tons per sq. in., and 28 to 25%
elongation. (c) Moderately hard steel, having a tenacity of 34 to
37 tons per sq. in., and 17% elongation, (d) Hard steel, having a
tenacity of 37 to 40 tons per sq. in., and 10% elongation. Soft steel is
used for rivets always, and sometimes for the whole superstructure of a
bridge, but medium steel more generally for the plates, angle bars,
&c., the weight of the bridge being then reduced by about 7% for a
given factor of safety. Moderately hard steel has been used for the
larger members of long-span bridges. Hard steel, if used at all, is used
only for compression members, in which there is less risk of flaws
extending than in tension members. With medium or moderately hard steel
all rivet holes should be drilled, or punched ⅛ in. less in
diameter than the rivet and reamed out, so as to remove the ring of
material strained by the punch.

In the specification for bridge material, drawn up by the British
Engineering Standards Committee, it is provided that the steel shall be
acid or basic open-hearth steel, containing not more than 0.06% of
sulphur or phosphorus. Plates, angles and bars, other than rivet bars,
must have a tensile strength of 28 to 32 tons per sq. in., with an
elevation of 20% in 8 in. Rivet bars tested on a gauge length eight times
the diameter must have a tensile strength of 26 to 30 tons per sq. in.
and an elongation of 25%.

18. Straining Actions.—The external forces acting on a
bridge may be classified as follows:—

(1) The live or temporary load, for road bridges the
weight of a dense crowd uniformly distributed, or the weight of a heavy
wagon or traction engine; for railway bridges the weight of the heaviest
train likely to come on the bridge. (2) An allowance is sometimes made
for impact, that is the dynamical action of the live load due to
want of vertical balance in the moving parts of locomotives, to
irregularities of the permanent way, or to yielding of the structure. (3)
The dead load comprises the weight of the main girders, flooring
and wind bracing, or the total weight of the superstructure exclusive of
any part directly carried by the piers. This is usually treated as
uniformly distributed over the span. (4) The horizontal pressure
due to a wind blowing transversely to the span, which becomes of
importance in long and high bridges. (5) The longitudinal drag due
to the friction of a train when braked, about one-seventh of the weight
of the train. (6) On a curved bridge the centrifugal load due to
the radical acceleration of the train. If w is the weight of a
locomotive in tons, r the radius of curvature of the track,
v the velocity in feet per sec.; then the horizontal force exerted
on the bridge is wv²/gr tons. (7) In some cases,
especially in arch and suspension bridges, changes of temperature set up
stresses equivalent to those produced by an external load. In Europe a
variation of temperature of 70° C. or 126° F. is commonly assumed. For
this the expansion is about 1 in. in 100 ft. Generally a structure should
be anchored at one point and free to move if possible in other
directions. Roughly, if expansion is prevented, a stress of one ton per
sq. in. is set up in steel structures for each 12° change of
temperature.

i. Live Load on Road Bridges.—A dense crowd of people may
be taken as a uniform load of 80 to 120 lb per sq. ft. But in recent
times the weight of traction engines and wagons which pass over bridges
has increased, and this kind of load generally produces greater straining
action than a crowd of people. In manufacturing districts and near large
towns loads of 30 tons may come on road bridges, and county and borough
authorities insist on provision being made for such loads. In Switzerland
roads are divided into three classes according to their importance, and
the following loads are prescribed, the designer having to provide
sufficient strength either for a uniformly distributed crowd, or for a
heavy wagon anywhere on the roadway:— [v.04 p.0547]

In England still larger loads are now provided for. J.C. Inglis
(Proc. Inst. C.E. cxli. p. 35) has considered two
cases—(a) a traction engine and boiler trolley, and
(b) a traction engine and trucks loaded with granite. He has
calculated the equivalent load per foot of span which would produce the
same maximum bending moments. The following are some of the
results:—

Large as these loads are on short spans, they are not more than must
often be provided for.

Live Load on Railway Bridges.—The live load is the weight
of the heaviest train which can come on the bridge. In the earlier girder
bridges the live load was taken to be equivalent to a uniform load of 1
ton per foot run for each line of way. At that time locomotives on
railways of 4 ft. 8½ in. gauge weighed at most 35 to 45 tons, and their
length between buffers was such that the average load did not exceed 1
ton per foot run. Trains of wagons did not weigh more than three-quarters
of a ton per foot run when most heavily loaded. The weights of engines
and wagons are now greater, and in addition it is recognized that the
concentration of the loading at the axles gives rise to greater straining
action, especially in short bridges, than the same load uniformly
distributed along the span. Hence many of the earlier bridges have had to
be strengthened to carry modern traffic. The following examples of some
of the heaviest locomotives on English railways is given by W.B. Farr
(Proc. Inst. C.E. cxli. p. 12):—

Passenger Engines.

Goods Engines.

Tank Engines.

Farr has drawn diagrams of bending moment for forty different very
heavy locomotives on different spans, and has determined for each case a
uniform load which at every point would produce as great a bending moment
as the actual wheel loads. The following short abstract gives the
equivalent uniform load which produces bending moments as great as those
of any of the engines calculated:—