Brake (plant)

“ It sometimes happens that the farmer clears a portion of the brake. This is done by cutting the stems, which are fistular and knotted, like those of other grasses, with a large knife or cutlass. They are afterwards placed in heaps, and when partially dried set fire to. The moisture contained between the joints is converted into steam, which causes the cane to burst with a smart report, and when a whole mass is crackling, the sounds resemble discharges of musquetry. ”

“ These small brakes are moved from shock to shock, so that the hurds are scattered all over the field in small piles of less than 50 pounds each, and it is the common practice to set fire to them as soon as the brake is moved. ”

“ The defects of this method are that the tops are liable to split in the brake and the butts to remain foul. A third, known as the “pie” system enables the grower to bridge over the interval, and to keep his hands employed, between the end of the “head” and the beginning of the “pit” strippings. The willows are cut at the first indication of the sap rising and “couched” in rotten peelings and soil at a slight angle, the butts being on the ground, which should be strewn with damp straw from a manure heap. ”

“ But of whatever form, its uses are the same; to smooth the field after ploughing, to break and pulverize the clods, and to cover the seed.—These uses sufficiently indicate the propriety of employing two in succession; one of heavy frame, with few and long teeth, like the Scotch brake; the other, of lighter constitution, with more and shorter teeth. Our own experience leads us to believe, that the common harrow covers the seed too much, because small seeds will not vegetate at a depth greater than three inches. ”

“ The cluster of nuts and the bract hang down, dangling about with the least breath of wind, and rattling on the trees because the enlarged base of the stem has all broken loose excepting two slender, woody threads, which still hold fast. These threads are of different degrees of strength; some break loose after a few hard gales, while others are strong enough to endure many gales, and thus they break off a few at a time. The distance to which the fruit can be carried depends on the form of the bract, the velocity of the wind, and the smoothness of the surface on which the fruit falls. ”

“ The sector raises the greyhound tail at the moment that the slay is at the fore centre, and there being no weft to raise the fork, it is caught by the hammer, and the lever to which the fork is attached pulled forward, when, as previously referred to, the spring handle is released and the loom stops. Manifestly the motion must be set so as to act when the shuttle is at the fork side of the loom.
The Brake.
A good brake contributes greatly to the manufacture of even cloth; should the stopping arrangements be ineffective, thin places and cracks will be inconveniently numerous. ”

“ The brakes being under the car are more or less difficult to get at, they form no part of the ornamental finish, and as a consequence usually are neglected until they become so very bad that they scarcely brake the car at all. They receive the mud and water from the roadway. The joints and pivots become rusted so that even with good bands they are only a quarter to a half efficient. It will pay better than life insurance to keep the brakes in first class condition. ”

“ It is sometimes necessary to use water to keep the brake wheel cool. Engines specially designed for testing are usually provided with a brake wheel having a trough-shaped rim. Water trickles continuously into the trough, and the centrifugal action holds it as an inside lining against the rim, where it slowly evaporates. ”

“ An automobile is always equipped with two sets of brakes, as they are required by law. The functional action of the brakes is to check the motion of the car when the driver wishes to stop or reduce the rolling speed. The service brake usually operates on the external surface, or on the outside of the drum flange, and is connected to the right foot pedal through a set of linkage. The emergency brake operates on the internal surface of the drum, and connects through linkage to a hand lever operating on a notched quadrant. ”

“ The rubber requires—and deserves—a good rich soil, and in the spring, summer and fall, all the water that the soil will keep absorbed. Give less in winter, as an excess at this time causes the leaves to turn yellow and droop.
As the rubber is more difficult to propagate than most house plants, and specimens will not get too large for several years, it will be best to get plants from the florist. It frequently happens, however, that an old plant which has been grown up to a single stem, becomes unwieldy, and bare at the bottom. ”

“ Usually the brake is a simple lever acting on a brake pulley at one end, whilst at the other it is regulated by an inclined bracket connected with the starting handle. When the handle is pushed forward, the brake lever is lifted; when the knocking-off takes place the end of the brake lever drops and the leathers come in contact with the pulley, stopping the loom. Additional brake power may be made by altering the leathers or weighting the brake lever. ”

“ Mechanical brakes, worked by springs, friction wheels on the axle, chains wound on drums, or other mechanical devices, or by the force produced when, by reason of a sudden checking of the speed of the locomotive, the momentum of the cars causes pressure on the draw-bars or buffing Railway power brakes. devices. (2) Hydraulic brakes, worked by means of water forced through pipes into proper mechanism for transmitting its force to the brake-shoes. ”

“ The brake is of course of a totally different kind from that in ordinary use, which would be of no service whatever on such inclines, as the wheels, even if the brake were so powerful as to stop their revolution, would slide down the hill by the mere force of gravity. Here, however, the brake consists in an ingenious adaptation of the means which are employed in driving the engine. ”

“ Then the brakes were tested for the first time by driving for a short distance uphill to the south and glissading down the slope back to the Hut. With a man in charge of each brake, the machine, when in full career down the slope, was soon brought to a standstill. ”

“ The breeching is, or ought to be, considered indispensable in a hilly country, even with light vehicles, and is a proper precaution in all cases where women or children act as coachman.
Brakes are a French invention, and might be supposed to come under much the same strictures as the breeching. But while a breeching is useful and never out of place, except perhaps on the leaders where horses are driven in front of each other, the brake is so often misused, with consequent damage to the horse, the harness, the vehicle, and the skill of the driver, that it almost deserves a chapter by itself. ”

“ In process of time, the elongation of the trunk exposes it to accidents; the branches are subject to the force of storms; in proportion as the distance from the roots increases, and the longer the passages through which the upper sap, or downward elaborated sap travels, the more liabilities are there to stoppage and injury. The reason of decline in a tree is not to be looked for in any exhaustion of vital force in the organization itself, but it is to be found in the immense surface and substance exposed to the wear and tear of the elements. ”

“ Where machine brakes are used, the hemp stalks are brought to the machine as grain is brought to a thrashing machine, and the hurds -4- accumulate in large piles, being blown from the machine by wind stackers.
Machine brakes are used in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and California, but to only a limited extent in Kentucky. Five different kinds of machine brakes are now in actual use in this country, and still others are used in Europe. All of the best hemp in Italy, commanding the highest market price paid for any hemp, is broken by machines. ”

“ You can peel the outer bark off without doing the tree much harm. Indeed, if you will notice some of the fruit or shade trees in the yard, at home, you will see that the outer bark of the tree peels itself off, a little at a time, and that new bark grows in its place. If you tear off the inner bark, however, it will injure the tree. It will make it bleed, or cause the sap to run. [Pg 82] The sap is the blood of the tree. The bark is the skin of the tree. When the bare place heals over, an ugly scar will be left. ”

“ It turns out in practice that ringing is usually harmful to the plant, as one might expect from so unnatural an operation. Injury to the plant arises from the fact that parts of the vine are starved at the expense of other parts; and because, when the bark is removed, the outer layers of the woody cylinder dry out very quickly and thus check to some extent the upward flow of sap through evaporation from the exposed wood. ”

“ Band brakes are usually lined with leather, to increase the friction between the band and the drum, and this often gives rise to troubles in the burning of the leather when the brake is applied for a considerable period, as in the descent of a long hill. The emergency brake has advantages in that it operates through the friction of metal against metal, but excessive heat from continued application may be enough to melt the metal and fuse together the shoe and drum. ”

“ When a load is lifted, work has to be done in overcoming the action of gravity and the friction of the mechanism; when it is lowered, energy is given out. To control the speed and absorb this energy, brakes have to be provided. The Brakes. hydraulic crane has a great advantage in possessing an almost ideal brake, for by simply throttling the exhaust from the lifting cylinder the speed of descent can be regulated within very wide limits and with perfect safety. ”

“ The simplest way of applying a brake is by muscular force, exerted through a hand or foot lever or through a screw, by which the brake block is pressed against the rim of the wheel or the band brake tightened on its drum. This method is sufficient in the case of most road vehicles, and is largely used on railway vehicles. But the power thus available is limited, and becomes inadequate for heavy vehicles moving at high speeds. ”

“ As the years roll by, these trunks gradually bleach out to almost a grayish white, the charred, blackened bark is all weathered off, and gradually such trees fall, as they decay at the stump, in every conceivable direction upon the ground, across one another, like so many jack-straws, making a perfectly impassable barricade to human travel without tedious labor. A brisk growth of small poplars, birch, and willow springs up in place of the original spruce forest, but none of these trees and shrubs ever grow to any great size. ”

“ The lever brake was the original form, as still seen on drags, &c., but in many parts it is superseded by the foot or treadle brake, more especially in Scotland. This kind of brake is also the one used by the London Omnibus Company. The blocks which press upon the wheels have been made of various substances—cast iron, wrought iron, brass, wood, india-rubber, and leather. The wood is the best for the hold on the iron tyre and absence of noise and smell, but it wears out fast. ”

“ In ordinary trees, in which there is provision made for the formation of numerous lateral buds, any injury done to a few branches is easily repaired; but in palms, which only form terminal buds, and have no provision for a lateral formation of them, an injury inflicted on the terminal bud is more likely to have a prejudicial effect on the future plant. In the trees of temperate and cold climates the buds which are developed during one season lie dormant during the winter, ready to burst out under the genial warmth of spring. ”

“ When the pod is ripe the walls are in a state of tension. The seeds are loosely attached to the central piece by short stalks. Now, when the proper moment has arrived, the outer walls are kept in place by a delicate membrane, only just strong enough to resist the tension. The least touch, for instance a puff of wind blowing the plant against a neighbor, detaches the outer wall, which suddenly rolls itself up, generally with such force as to fly from the plant, thus jerking the seeds to a distance of several feet. ”

“ Connected with the fly-wheel was a powerful wooden brake, acting by pressure against its rim, something like the brake of a railway-carriage against its wheels. On catching sight of the chain attached to the ascending corve-cage, the brakesman, by pressing his foot upon a foot-step near him, was enabled, with great precision, to stop the revolutions of the wheel, and arrest the ascent of the corves at the pit mouth, when they were forthwith landed on the “settle board.” ”

“ Though it is notorious that trees so circumstanced do not thrive unless, through open sashes, they are frequently subject to breezes sufficient to make their parts oscillate, yet there is evidently a circulation that goes on without mechanical aid. The causes of circulation are those actions only which disturb the liquid equilibrium in a plant, by permanently abstracting water or sap from some part of it; and of these the first is the absorption of materials for the formation of new tissue in growing parts; the second is the loss by evaporation, mainly through adult leaves ”

“ When from any cause it is desirable to have the brake inoperative on any particular car, the four-way cock is turned to an intermediate position, which shuts off the brake-cylinder and reservoir, leaving the main brake-pipe unobstructed to supply air to the remaining vehicles. ”