Part 41

A new era in bakers' ovens began about the middle of the 19th century with the introduction of the "Perkins" oven, a system which, with slight modifications, has persisted till to-day. In this oven the baking chamber is heated by steam pipes. The latter consist of tubes of iron or mild steel which are partly filled with water and are hermetically sealed by welded ends. The pipes are arranged in two parallel rows, the one at the crown and the other at the sole of the oven. The pipes project at one end into the furnace, which is set at the back of the oven and is usually outside the bakehouse. This is termed an externally heated oven. As the ends of the pipes get red hot the water is converted into superheated steam, which being under high pressure soon raises the chamber to baking heat, say 450 deg. to 500 deg. F. In an oven of this description the heat can be continuously maintained, and batch after batch can be baked without refiring. The only drawback is that a flash heat cannot be raised. In another type of externally fired oven the heat is conveyed by flues placed at the bottom and top of the oven, which discharge into a chimney. Excellent results have been attained with ovens of this kind. The distribution of the heat can be well regulated; for instance, it is quite possible to build ovens to be cooler at the back than front, an arrangement which is useful when the bread is withdrawn by means of a hand peel. As the baker has to withdraw each loaf one at a time, it is clear that the withdrawal of the batch through the oven door must take time, probably not less than half-an-hour. Hence the bread drawn from near the oven's mouth may be underbaked as compared with that at the back of the chamber. The latter, on the other hand, may be overbaked and deficient in weight.

By means of a draw-plate, however, an oven can be expeditiously charged. This appliance consists of a sliding plate or tray, mounted on wheels running on rails, which is drawn out of the oven loaded with bread, and then returned. The plate itself is often made of iron, but one well-known oven is fitted with a withdrawable iron frame, in which are laid, edge to edge, tiles of a special make, which are cemented in place, and form a continuous baking surface. This seems an excellent arrangement, as the baker has all the advantages of a brick oven, that is to say, his bread is baked both on top and bottom by heat evolved from tiled surfaces, and the undoubted drawbacks incidental to baking bread on an iron surface are avoided. A draw-plate fitted to an oven capable of baking a batch made from a sack (280 lb) of flour can be run out, charged and run in again, in about two minutes. The draw-plate has the incidental advantage, by expediting the loading and discharge of the oven, of ensuring a more uniform baking of the batch, and therefore of minimizing the loss of weight. Some bakers have gone so far as to estimate the saving in this respect from the use of a draw-plate at half an ounce per 2-lb. loaf. With decker ovens a double draw-plate may be used, the feet of the pedestal supporting the upper draw-plate running on a rail outside, but parallel to the rail on which the lower draw-plate runs. This arrangement, however, is more applicable to small than large ovens. Or the lower oven may be fitted with a draw-plate while the upper oven is served with a peel. The draw-plate being at a lower level than the sole of an ordinary oven, the upper deck may be worked with a peel without much difficulty.

The _decker_ oven is, as its name implies, an oven built over another oven: in fact, sometimes a tier of three ovens is employed, placed one above the other. The object is to secure a double or treble baking surface without a very much larger outlay on fuel than would be necessary for one oven. It is easy to understand that a double or three decker oven might be constructed under conditions where it would be impossible to place two or three ordinary ovens side by side. Practical bakers are somewhat divided as to the actual economy of the decker system; possibly it is a question of management. The upper oven is heated by the gases which have passed under the oven beneath. A double-decker oven on the flue principle could be heated by three flues, one beneath the lower oven, another passing between the crown of the lower and the sole of the top oven, and the third over the crown of the upper oven. If a third oven were built over the second, then a fourth flue would pass over the crown of the third and top oven. In such an arrangement of flues the distribution of heat to the ovens would be fairly equal, but no doubt the lower oven would be the hottest. In addition to the flues, which should be straight and accessible for cleaning, there ought also to be auxiliary flues by which heat may be allowed to pass dampers to the upper portions of the series of ovens. In this way the heat of the upper oven or ovens can be regulated independently to a great extent of the bottom oven. The power of regulating the heat of the ovens is very necessary, because a baker doing what is called a mixed trade, that is to say, producing cakes and pastry in addition to bread, must work his ovens at varying temperatures. Cakes cannot be baked at the heat (about 450 deg. F.) required by a batch of household bread. The richest fancy goods, such as wedding and Christmas cakes, require the coolest ovens. Flue ovens are best worked with coke, as coal is apt to choke the flues; retort coke is recommended in place of oven coke. An oven should be fitted with some kind of thermal register, and both high-temperature thermometers and pyrometers are used for this purpose. (G. F. Z.)

BREADALBANE, JOHN CAMPBELL, 1ST EARL OF (c. 1636-1717), son of Sir John Campbell of Glenorchy, Bart., and of the Lady Mary Graham, daughter of William, earl of Airth and Menteith, was born about 1636. He took part in the abortive royalist rising under Glencairn in 1654, and was one of those who urged Monk to declare a free parliament in England to facilitate the restoration. He sat in the Scottish parliament as member for Argyllshire from 1669 to 1674. As principal creditor he obtained in October 1672, from George, 6th earl of Caithness, a conveyance of his dignities, lands and heritable jurisdictions; and after the latter's death he was created on the 28th of June 1677 earl of Caithness and viscount of Breadalbane. In 1678 he married the widowed countess of Caithness, an economical step which saved him the alimentary provision of 12,000 merks a year he had covenanted to pay. In 1680 he invaded Caithness with a band of 700 men and defeated and dispossessed the earl's heir male. The latter, however, was subsequently confirmed in his lands and titles, and Campbell on the 13th of August 1681 obtained a new patent with the precedency of the former one, creating him earl of Breadalbane and Holland, viscount of Tay and Paintland, Lord Glenorchy, Benederaloch, Ormelie and Weick in the peerage of Scotland, with special power to nominate his successor from among the sons of his first wife. In 1685 he was a member of the Scottish privy council. Though nominally a Presbyterian he had assisted the intolerant and despotic government of Lauderdale in 1678 with 1700 men. He is described as having "neither honour nor religion but where they are mixed with interest," as of "fair complexion, of the gravity of the Spaniard, cunning as a Fox, wise as a Serpent and supple as an Eel."[1] He was reputed the best headpiece in Scotland.[2] His influence, owing to his position and abilities, was greater than that of any man in Scotland after Argyll, and it was of high moment to King William to gain him and obtain his services in conciliating the Highlanders. Breadalbane at first carried on communications with Dundee and was implicated in the royalist intrigue called the "Montgomery plot," but after the battle of Killiecrankie in July 1689 he made overtures to the government, subsequently took the oath of allegiance, and was entrusted with a large sum of money by the government to secure the submission of the clans. On the 30th of June 1691 he met the Jacobite chiefs and concluded with them secret articles by which they undertook to refrain from acts of hostility till October, gaining their consent by threats and promises rather than by the distribution of the money entrusted to him, the greater part of which, it was believed, he retained himself. When asked to give an account of the expenditure he replied: "The money is spent, the Highlands are quiet, and this is the only way of accounting between friends."[3]

On the 27th of August a proclamation was issued offering indemnity to all those who should submit and take the oath of allegiance before the 1st of January 1692, and threatening all those who should refuse with a military execution and the penalties of treason. All the chiefs took the oath except MacIan, the chief of the MacDonalds of Glencoe, who postponed his submission till the 31st of December, and was then prevented from taking the oath till the 6th of January 1692 through the absence of a magistrate at Fort William, whither he had repaired for the purpose. This irregularity gave Breadalbane an immediate opportunity of destroying the clan of thieves which had for generations lived by plundering his lands and those of his neighbours. Accordingly, together with Argyll and Sir John Dalrymple (afterwards Lord Stair), Breadalbane organized the atrocious crime known as the "Massacre of Glencoe," when the unfortunate MacDonalds, deceived by assurances of friendship, and at the moment when they were lavishing their hospitality upon their murderers, were butchered in cold blood on the 13th of February 1692. Breadalbane's astuteness, however, prevented the disclosure of any evidence against him in the inquiry afterwards instituted in 1695, beyond the deposition of a person who professed to have been sent on Breadalbane's behalf to obtain a declaration of his innocence from MacIan's sons, who had escaped. The discovery of his former negotiations with the Jacobite chiefs caused his imprisonment in Edinburgh Castle in September, but he was released when it was known that he had been acting with William's knowledge.

Breadalbane did not vote for the Union in 1707, but was chosen a representative peer in the parliament of Great Britain of 1713-1715. His co-operation with the English government in securing the temporary submission of the Highlands was inspired by no real loyalty or allegiance, and he encouraged the attempted French descent in 1708, refusing, however, to commit himself to paper. On the occasion of the Jacobite rising in 1715 he excused himself on the 19th of September from obeying the summons to appear at Edinburgh on the ground of his age and infirmities; but nevertheless the next day visited Mar's camp at Logierait and afterwards the camp at Perth, his real business being, according to the Master of Sinclair, "to trick others, not to be trickt," and to obtain a share of the French subsidies. He had taken money for the whole 1200 men he had promised and only sent 300. His 300 men were withdrawn after the battle of Sheriffmuir, and his death, which took place on the 19th of March 1717, rendered unnecessary any inquiry into his conduct. He married (1) Mary, daughter of Henry Rich, 1st earl of Holland, by whom he had two sons, Duncan, styled Lord Ormelie, who was passed over in the succession, and John, and earl of Breadalbane; (2) Mary, daughter of Archibald, marquis of Argyll, and widow of George, 6th earl of Caithness, by whom he had one son, Colin. By Mrs Mildred Littler, who has sometimes but probably in error been named as his third wife, he had a daughter, Mary.

JOHN CAMPBELL, 2nd earl of Breadalbane (1662-1752), an eccentric nobleman, who was known as "Old Rag," was succeeded by his only son, John (c. 1696-1782). This earl was a diplomatist, being British ambassador to Denmark and to Russia, and a politician, being for a long time a member of the House of Commons and a supporter of Sir Robert Walpole, in addition to holding several official positions. All his sons having predeceased their father, the title passed on his death, on the 26th of January 1782, to a cousin, John (1762-1834), who became 4th earl and was created a British peer as marquess of Breadalbane in 1831. His son John, the 2nd marquess (1796-1862), a prominent leader of the Free Church during the ecclesiastical disputes in Scotland, died without sons in November 1862. The marquessate now became extinct, but the Scottish earldom passed to a cousin John Alexander (1824-1871), whose son and successor, Gavin (b. 1851), was created marquess of Breadalbane in 1885.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] _Memoirs_ of John Macky (Roxburghe Club, 1895), 121.

[2] _Corr. of Col. N. Hooke_ (Roxburghe, Club, 1870), i. 49.

[3] Note by Sir W. Scott in Sinclair's _Mem. of Insurrection in Scotland_ (Abbotsford Club, 1858), 185.

BREADALBANE, a large district of Perthshire, Scotland, bordered N. by Atholl, E. by Strathtay, S. by Strathearn and W. by the districts of Argyll and Lorne, and occupying some 1020 sq. m. Most of the surface is mountainous, Ben Lawers (3984 ft.), Ben More (3843), and Ben Lui (3708), being the principal hills. Loch Tay is the chief lake, and among the rivers are the Orchy, Dochart, Lochay, Lyon, Almond and the Tay (during the early part of its course). Population mostly centres in Aberfeldy, Fortingal, Kenmore and Killin. The soil is not cultivable excepting in some of the glens and straths. Game is plentiful, the lakes and rivers afford good sport, and the deer forests and shootings are valuable. The district has given the titles of earl and marquess to the Campbells of Glenorchy.

BREAD-FRUIT. This most important food staple of the tropical islands in the Pacific Ocean is the fruit of _Artocarpus incisa_ (nat. ord. Moraceae). The tree attains a moderate height, has very large, acutely lobed, glossy leaves, the male flowers in spikes, and the female flowers in a dense head, which by consolidation of their fleshy carpels and receptacles form the fruit. The fruit is globular in shape, about the size of a melon, with a tuberculated or (in some varieties) nearly smooth surface. Many varieties of the tree are cultivated, the fruits of some ripening numerous seeds, which are eaten as chestnuts; but in the best kinds the seeds are aborted, and it is only these that are highly prized as vegetables. The tree is a native of the South Sea Islands, where its fruit occupies the important position that is held by cereals in temperate latitudes. The fruit, which on distinct varieties ripens at different periods, affording a nearly constant supply throughout the year, is gathered for use just before it ripens, when it is found to be gorged with starchy matter, to which its esculent value is due. It may be cooked and prepared for use in a great variety of ways, the common practice in the South Sea Islands being to bake it entire in hot embers, and scoop out the interior, which when properly cooked should have a soft smooth consistence, fibrous only towards the heart, with a taste which has been compared to that of boiled potatoes and sweet milk. Of this fruit A.R. Wallace, in his _Malay Archipelago_, says: "With meat and gravy it is a vegetable superior to anything I know either in temperate or tropical countries. With sugar, milk, butter or treacle it is a delicious pudding, having a very slight and delicate but characteristic flavour, which, like that of good bread and potatoes, one never gets tired of." In the Pacific Islands the fruit is preserved for use by storing in pits, where the fruits ferment and resolve themselves into a mass similar in consistency to new cheese, in which state they emit an offensive odour; but after baking under hot stones they yield a pleasant and nutritious food. Another and more common method of preserving the fruit for use consists in cutting it into thin slices, which are dried in the sun. From such dried slices a flour is prepared which is useful for the preparation of puddings, bread and biscuits, or the slices are baked and eaten without grinding. The tree yields other products of economic value, such as native cloth from the fibrous inner bark of young trees; the wood is used for canoes and articles of furniture; and a kind of glue and caulking material are obtained from the viscid milky juice which exudes from incisions made in the stem.

[Illustration: _Artocarpus incisa_, the Bread-fruit tree.

Fig. 1. Branch reduced about a 6th natural size, with cuneate-ovate pinnatifid leaves, male flowers in a club-shaped deciduous catkin, and female flowers in rounded clusters. Fig. 2. Transverse section of the male spike with numerous flowers. Fig. 3. Male flowers. Fig. 4. Single male flower separated, with a perianth in 2 segments and a single stamen. Fig. 5. Female flowers. Fig. 6. Single female flower separated, with ovary, style and bifid stigma. Fig. 7. Ovary. Fig. 8. Ovary laid open to show the ovule. Fig. 9. A variety of the ovary with 2 loculaments. Fig. 10. Transverse section of a bilocular ovary.]

The bread-fruit is found throughout the tropical regions of both hemispheres, and its first introduction into the West Indies is connected with the famous mutiny of the "Bounty," and the remarkable history of a small company of the mutineers at Pitcairn Island. Attention was directed to the fruit in 1688 by Captain Dampier, and later by Captain Cook, who recommended its transplantation to the West Indian colonies. In 1787 the "Bounty" was fitted out under command of Lieutenant William Bligh (q.v.) to proceed to Tahiti to carry plants thence to the West Indian Islands; and it was after the cargo had been secured and the vessel was on her way that the mutiny broke out, and Lieutenant Bligh and some of his crew were turned adrift in a small boat in the open sea. The mutineers returned with the vessel to Tahiti, whence a number of them, with a few native men and women, sailed to the desolate and lone islet of Pitcairn. Lieutenant Bligh ultimately reached England, and was again commissioned to undertake the work of transplanting the plants, which in the year 1792-1793 he successfully accomplished.

A somewhat similar but inferior fruit is produced by an allied species, the Jack or Jak, _Artocarpus integrifolia_, growing in India, Ceylon and the Eastern Archipelago. The large fruit is from 12 to 18 in. long by 6 to 8 in. in diameter, and is much eaten by the natives in India. This tree is chiefly valuable on account of its timber, which has a grain very similar to mahogany, and although at first light-coloured it gradually assumes much of the appearance of that wood.

BREAKING BULK, a nautical term for the taking out of a portion of the cargo of a ship, or the beginning to unload; and used in a legal sense for taking anything out of a package or parcel, or in any way destroying its entirety. It was thus important in connexion with the subject of bailment, involving as it did the curious distinction that where a bailee received possession of goods in a box or package, and then sold them as a whole, he was guilty only of a breach of trust, but if he "broke bulk" or caused a separation of the goods, and sold a part or all, he was guilty of felony. This distinction was abolished by the Larceny Act 1861, which enacted that whoever, being a bailee of any chattel, money or valuable security, should fraudulently take or convert the same to his own use, or the use of any person other than the owner, although he should not break bulk or otherwise determine the bailment, should be guilty of larceny (s. 3).

BREAKWATER. When a harbour (q.v.) is proposed to be established on an exposed coast, whether for naval or commercial purposes, to provide a protected approach to a port or river, or to serve as a refuge for vessels from storms, the necessary shelter, so far as it is not naturally furnished by a bay or projecting headlands, has to be secured by the construction of one or more "breakwaters." These breakwaters, having to prevent the waves that beat upon the coast from reaching the site which they are designed to protect, must be made sufficiently strong to withstand the shocks of the waves during the worst storms to which they are exposed. It is therefore essential, before constructing a breakwater, to investigate most carefully the force, periods and duration of the winds from the quarters to which the work will be exposed, the distance of any sheltering land from the site in the most stormy direction, the slope of the beach and the depth of the sea in the neighbourhood of the shore, and the protection, if any, afforded by outlying shoals or sandbanks. In a tidal sea, the height required for a breakwater is affected by the amount of tidal range; and the extent of breakwater exposed to breaking waves depends upon the difference in level between low and high water. The existence, also, of any drift of sand or shingle along the shore must be ascertained, and its extent; for the projection of a solid breakwater out from the shore is certain to affect this littoral drift, which, if large in amount, may necessitate important modifications in the design for the harbour.

Winds.

Observations of the force and prevalence of the winds from the different quarters at the various periods of the year, and the instruments by which they are recorded, belong to the science of meteorology; but such records are very valuable to the maritime engineer in indicating from which directions, open to the sea, the worst storms, and, consequently, the greatest waves, may be expected, and against which the most efficient shelter has to be provided. Moreover, it is necessary, for constructing or repairing a breakwater, to know the period of the year when the calmest weather may be safely anticipated, and also the stormy season during which no work should be attempted, and in preparation for which unfinished works have to be guarded by protective measures. In the parts of the world subject to periodical winds, such as the monsoons, the direction and force of the winds vary with remarkable regularity according to the seasons; and even such uncertain occurrences as hurricanes and cyclones generally visit the regions in their track at definite periods of the year, according to the locality. Even in western Europe, where the winds are extremely variable, violent gales are much more liable to beat upon the western and northern coasts in the winter months than at any other period of the year; whilst the calmest weather may be expected between May and August.

Waves.