Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/240

 234 BRAZOS BREAKWATER BRAZOS, a S. E. central county of Texas, bounded E. by the Navasoto river and W. by the Brazos, which unite at its 8. extremity ; area, 578 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 9,205, of whom 3,759 were colored. It has an undulating sur- face, about one half of which is covered with oak and other trees. Much of the soil is rich loam. There are mineral springs of sulphur and magnesia. The Houston and Texas rail- road traverses the county. The chief produc- tions in 1870 were 205,864 bushels of corn, 38,597 of sweet potatoes, 6,927 bales of cotton, 18,001 Ibs. of wool, and 36,639 of butter. There were 2,172 horses, 2,852 milch cows, 14,145 other cattle, 8,565 sheep, and 14,420 swine. Capital, Bryan. BRAZOS DE SANTIAGO, a village and port of entry of Cameron county, Texas, on the gulf of Mexico, near Point Isabel, 35 m. E. N. E. of Brownsville. For the year ending June 30, 1871, the imports from foreign countries amounted to $1,517,409; domestic exports, $695,889; foreign exports, $1,740,607. The foreign entrances were 33 vessels, of 8,525 tons, and the clearances 42 vessels, of 11,739 tons ; in the coasting trade, the entrances were 76 vessels, of 33,458 tons, and the clearances were 71 vessels, of 31,915 tons. BRAZZA, the largest and most productive island in the Dalmatian archipelago, belonging to Austria ; area, 153 sq. m. ; pop. about 16,000. It is mountainous, San Vito, the highest sum- mit, being about 2,500 ft. It has good harbors, and trades in wine. Capital, San Pietro. BREAD. See ALIMENT. BREADFRUIT, the product of the breadfruit tree {artoearpus incisa), which belongs, like the yack (A. integrifolia), to the order urti- cacece, distinguished in the sub-order to which grows to the height of 40 feet or more, and from the size of its deeply incised leaves, more than a foot long and 10 inches wide, forms a very ornamental tree. The wood is much used, Breadfruit Tree. artoearpus belongs by flowers combined in fleshy heads, stems with milky juice, which is often acrid, sometimes nutritious. The bread- fruit is a native of the Pacific islands, where it Breadfruit Leaves, Flower, and Fruit. and the juice furnishes a sticky birdlime, but the fruit 'is the most valuable part. The flowers are unisexual, and the cluster of female flowers becomes a green globular fruit, half a foot or more in diameter. The seeds are roasted and much resemble chestnuts; but the varieties most prized do not bear seed; the ovaries be- come thickened, and when nearly ripe the re- ceptacle is gathered and baked, by preference in ovens in the ground. The crust is removed to the depth of half an inch, and the farinaceous pulp eaten fresh, when it much resembles bread made with eggs, and of close texture; or it is mashed and packed in bundles which are buried in the earth for future consumption. A slight fermentation takes place and then ceases, and the pasty mass will keep several months. If suffered to remain on the tree until fully ripe, the fruit becomes sweet and resembles clammy cake rather than bread, with an unpleasant odor. Where seeds are not produced the tree is propagated by suckers or cuttings. Mixed with cocoanut milk, the pulp makes an excellent pudding. The fibre of the bark is used for tapa, or bark cloth, being strong as in most of the nettle family. The yack differs from the breadfruit in having a smaller, entire, glabrous leaf, and attains a greater height, while the branches are not so spreading. The fruit is longer than the breadfruit and two or three times as large, and springs from the trunk of the tree, as the branches would be unable to bear so great weight. The seeds are enclosed in a sac of juicy yellow pulp, which has a strong stench of decomposing animal matter. When the repugnance to the smell is overcome, the pulp becomes a favorite edible. The yack is much cultivated in India. BREAKWATER, an obstruction of any kind raised to oppose the action of the waves, and