BREVOORTIA COCCINEA. See [Brodiæa coccinea].
FIG. 277. FLOWERING BRANCH OF BREXIA MADAGASCARIENSIS.
BREXIA (from brexis, rain; the large leaves afford protection against rain). ORD. Saxifrageæ. Excellent stove trees. Flowers green, in axillary umbels, surrounded by bracts on the outside. Leaves alternate, simple, dotless, and furnished with minute stipules. Stems nearly simple. They require a compost of two parts loam and one of peat, with the addition of a little sand, to keep the whole open. A liberal supply of water must be given at all seasons. Cuttings, with their leaves not shortened, strike readily in sand under a hand glass, in heat; or a leaf taken off with a bud attached will grow. Leaves as in accompanying illustration (Fig. 277), and long, narrow, spiny-toothed ones, are often produced on the same plant. Probably the two species enumerated below are simply forms of one. Well hardened off, strong growing plants of B. madagascariensis are very suitable for sub-tropical gardening.
B. madagascariensis (Madagascar).* l. obovate or oblong, entire, while young minutely gland-toothed. h. 20ft. Madagascar, 1812. See Fig. 277.
B. spinosa (spiny). l. lanceolate, 20in. long, 2in. broad, spiny-toothed. h. 20ft. Madagascar, 1820.
BREXIACEÆ. A section of Saxifrageæ.
BRIAR. See Rosa.
BRICKS. In England, the standard thickness of brick walls is a Brick and a-half, that is, the length of one brick and the breadth of another. Thirty-two paving bricks, laid flat, will form one square yard of flooring; if set on edge, eighty-four will be required for the same space. The best Bricks for walls are those termed Stocks, which are well burnt. Grizzells and Place Bricks, being only partially burnt, are soft and not durable. In various parts of the kingdom, different clays and methods of manufacture cause a disparity in the weight and appearance of the finished article. Several forms are made to suit various purposes, but the standard size is 9in. long by 4½in. wide, by 2½in. thick, although, since the remission of the duty, some slight variations occur, owing to shrinkage and other causes. Fire Bricks are made of a particular kind of clay, which will stand intense heat when once burnt, and are used in furnaces and other places where durability under great heat is a desideratum. Fire-clay should always be used in place of mortar in building with these.
BRILLANTAISIA (named after M. Brillant). ORD. Acanthaceæ. A very small genus of erect, branching, stove evergreen shrubs. Flowers large, in terminal panicles; corolla ringent; upper lip falcate and overarching, with a trifid apex, the lower one large, spreading, shortly trifid. Leaves ovate-cordate, on long petioles. For culture, see [Barleria].
B. owariensis (Owarian).* fl. violet-blue; cymes sub-sessile, loose; panicles terminal. March. l. large, opposite, petiolate. h. 3ft. Western Africa, 1853. This plant, in its habit of growth, resembles some of the largest species of Salvia. (B. M. 4717.)