Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 03.djvu/609

* BKOKER. 533 BROMELIA. _An agent employed to make bargains and con- tracts between other persons in matters of trade, connnerce, and navigation for a com- pensation, commonly called brokerage. . When a broker is employed to buy or sell goods, he is not intrusted with the custody or pos- session of thom, and is not authorized to buy or sell in his own name. In this re- spect he differs from a factor: and he dif- fers from an auctioneer in two particulars: (a) A broker may buy as well as sell, but an .auctioneer can only sell : ( ?> ) a bioker cannot sell personally at public auction, for that is the Appropriate function of an auctioneer; but he may sell at private sales, while an auctioneer -does not. A broker is strictly a middleman, or intermediate negotiator between the parties; and for some purposes he is treated as the agent of both parties, but primarily he is deemed merely the agent of the party by whom he is •originalh" employed. As soon as the negotiation is concluded he makes a memorandum thereof, a -copy of which he gives to each party. If the transaction is a sale, these copies are called bought and sold notes. Brokers are of va- rious sorts, such as bill and note brokers, ex- change brokers, insurance brokers, merchandise brokers, pawnbrokers, real-estate brokers, ship brokers, and the like. As a rule, the name of each class fairly indicates its peculiarities. Per- haps a few words should be added concerning two classes, in addition to the pawnbrokers, whose functions and liabilities will be consid- ered in a separate article. .See Pawxbrokixg. IxsuR.NCE. The insurance broker is to be dis- tinguished from the ordinary insurance agent, who represents and acts for the insurer; the broker is either the agent of the insured or a middleman between the insured and the insurer. His business is that of procuring insurance for those who choose to avail themselves of his ser- vices, and from any company which he or the insured may select. See Ixsuraxce. Ship. A ship broker is one whose business it is to sell or buy ships, or to charter vessels, cr to procure contracts of freightage for them. BROMBERG, brom'berK (for Braheiiberg, the fort or hill on the Brahe). The capital of the administrative district of the same name, in the Prussian Province of Posen, situated on the Brahe, about 6 miles from its junction with the Vistula and G9 miles northeast of Posen (Map: Prussia, H 2). Its position on the Brom- berg Canal, which connects the Oder and the Elbe with the Vistula, and on the Berlin-Danzig Railway, makes it an important centre of trade, mostly in lumber, flour, leather, coal, and wool. The principal aitides of manufacture are vehi- cles, furniture, soap, candles, alcohol, and snuflf. There are also breweries, distilleries, iron-found- ries, locomotive-works, and dyeing establishments. It is governed by a municipal council of thirty- si. members, who elect an execiitive board of fourteen. (See Prus.si.v, (lovrrnment.) Brom- berg was founded by the Teutonic Knights. It be- came part of Prussia in 1772, at the time of the first partition of Poland. Population, in 1890, 41.000; in 1900. 52,154. BROME, Richard ( ? -e.l652). A minor r.nglish dramatist. In early life he was a ser- vant to Ben .lonson. but soon attracted atten- tion as a writer, and became one of a group com- l)rising such men as Fletcher, Dekker, Ford, and Shirley. He was the author, in whole or in part, of twenty- four popular plays, the best of which are The Xortherti Lnss and 'J'Ue Jovial Creic. Fifteen of these plays were comedies, original in plot, and introducing some very striking and realistic characters. His dramatic works were published, in three volumes, in 1873. BROME GRASS (Neo-Lat. hromiis, Gk. Pp6- fws. hrvntos, kind of oats, from /Si/Spiiffxcti/, 6i6>-d- skeiit, to eat), Bromiis. A genus of annual or perennial grasses nearly allied to the fescue grasses. There are about forty species, mostly found in the north temperate zone, although some are found in South America. Some of the species are of considerable economic importance, while others are troublesome weeds. The brome grasses grow upon light soils, and are quite re- sistant to drouth. On this last account several species are highly valued in the semi-arid re- gions of the Great Plains, where they furnish considerable hay and forage. One of the best for this purpose is the smooth brome grass (Brom us hiennis). This species is a native of Eu- rope, grows to a height of 2 to 5 feet, and being perennial, soon completely occupies the land, to the exclusion of all other plants. A somewhat similar species is the annual Schrader's brome grass, or fescue grass (Bromus unioloides). of South America. In some of the Southern States it is considered one of the best winter grasses for pasturage. The soft brome grass (Bromus mol- lis) is a native of England and introduced into the United States. It has soft, downy leaves, which are readily eaten by cattle, but neither the quality nor the quantity of the herb- age is very high. The seeds of this and other species have been reputed to be poisonous, but the evidence is not conclusive. The giant brome grass (Bromus giganteus) produces a large amount of fodder in England, but cattle do not seem to relish it. Bromus secalinus, called rye brome chess, and cheat, is a trouble- some weed in fields of heat and rye. The .seeds retain their vitality for a long time, and fre- quently appear in grain-fields where from some cause the cereal has been destroyed. To tliis fact the somewhat common belief that 'wheat turns to cheat' is to be attributed. Tliat there is no foundation for such an idea is easily demonstrat- ed. A number of species are very ornamental, and Bromus brizceformis is sometimes grown for winter liouquets. BROMEIilA (after the Swedish bot.tnist Bromel). A genus of nionocotyledonous plants, the type of the family Bromel iaee.T. which em- braces about 40 genera and 400 species, all of which are American. They are stemless. or with short stems, rigid, channeled, often spiny or scaly leaves. Prominent among the jjlants of this order are the bronielias, pineap])Ie. Bill- bergia, and Tillandsia. Many species are epiphy- tic, growing attached to other plants, but not deriving subsistence from them. A common ex- ample is the Spanish or long moss (Tillandsia usneoides), of the Southern States, West Indies, etc. From this plant is obtained much of the so-called hair for stufling mattresses, furniture, etc. The bromelias are West Indian and Brazil- ian in origin, but some have been introduced into other countries for the fibre they yield. Bromelia pinguin, called the wild pineapple,