Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume III.djvu/371

 BRUSA BRUSH 365 BRUSA, or Bronssa (anc. Prnsa or Pntsias ad Olympum, from being situated at the foot of the Bithynian Olympus), a city of Asia Minor, capital of the Turkish vilayet of Khodavendi- hiar, 57 m. S. of Constantinople, and 15 m. . E. of the sea of Marmora; pop. in 1855, 102,907, of whom 64,087 were Mohammedans, 27,173 Greeks, 9,243 Armenians, and 2,404 Jews. It is the residence of a Greek and an Armenian archbishop, and lias an extensive trade with Aleppo and Smyrna, chiefly in car- pets, cloths, silks, and satins, which are largely manufactured in the town. In the vicinity are noted thermal springs. An earthquake, Feb. 28, 1855, destroyed the greater part of the town, ruined 80 of the finest mosques, and killed 100 of the inhabitants. In anti- quity Prusa was the capital of Bithynia, de- riving its name from Prusias, one of the early Bithynian kings. Under the Romans it was the residence of Pliny the Younger and of other Roman governors. Wrested from the hands of the Greek emperors by Orkhan, the son of the founder of the Ottoman dynasty, it became the seat of the new empire, till Amu- rath I. removed the seat of government to Brusa. Adrianople. The tombs of the ancient sultans, the mosques, of which there were about 200, and other remarkable buildings, handsome bath houses, a vast number of private and public fountains, fine gardens, extensive bazaars, and the superb view from Mount Olympus, all con- tributed to enhance the beauty of the town. But since the earthquake most of the public buildings have been in ruins. BKISASORCI (DoMEUioo Riooio), an Italian painter, born at Verona in 1494, died in 1567. He studied at Venice, and imitated Titian so successfully as to gain the name of "the Titian of Verona." He painted principally in fresco, and chose mythological subjects. At Verona he painted his celebrated " Coronation of Charles V." and the " Procession," in which appear the portraits of the emperor, Pope Clement VII., and other distinguished person- ages of the time. He also painted " Phae- thon " in the ducal palace at Verona, and the " Martyrdom of St. Barbara." BRUSH, a common name for a variety of implements, employed for removing dirt, for smoothing and polishing surfaces of objects by rubbing, and for laying on colors. They are usually made by inserting the bristles or hairs of animals in a firm support, which holds them in their proper arrangement, and at the same time serves as a handle. Most brushes are manufactured of the bristles of the hog. The first process of the brush manufacturer is to sort the bristles according to their colors, un- less he obtains them thus assorted. The divi- sions are into black, gray, yellow, white, and lilies. The last are the purest white, and are preferred for tooth and shaving brushes. Each kind is then assorted according to size, which is done by passing a bunch of them, held in the hand, between a row of steel points, like the teeth of a comb, which catch the coarser bris- tles. By using a succession of these combs of increasing fineness, the bristles are separated into as many heaps as desirable. Care is taken to keep them always arranged uniformly. The cylindrical brush used by house painters is made by taking a bundle of bristles, and tying them firmly around their root ends. This bundle is then strongly bound between the prongs of a forked stick, and covered with a coating of glue and red lead. Another and more common method is to arrange the bristles around the small end of a conical stick, the small ends of the bristles pointing to the larger end of the stick. The bristles being secured by twine, wrapping, and placed in a cup or socket with a hole in the bottom to let the handle pass through, this is driven home till the large end is buried in the centre of the bundle, tighten- ing the fastenings, when the bristles are further