BRANDE, William Thomas, chemist, was born at London in 1788. After leaving Westminster school he spent some time on the Continent, and acquired a knowledge of French and German. On his return he began the study of medicine, and in 1806 a communication of his to the Royal Society was printed in their Transactions. In 1809 he was made a fellow of the Royal Society, and became assistant to Sir Humphrey Davy at the Royal Institution. He succeeded Davy in the chair of chemistry in 1813, and in the same year received the Copley medal of the Royal Society. From 1816 to 1836 he was joint editor with Faraday of the Quarterly Journal of Science and Art. In 1825 he was made superintendent of the die department in the Mint, and in 1853 he received the honorary degree of D.C.L. of Oxford. He died on the 11th February 1866. Besides numerous papers, which marked him out as one of the most vigorous and able chemists of the day, Brande was the author of several important works. The Manual of Chemistry, 1819, and Elements of Chemistry, 1831, were the best works of the time, and soon became popular. He also published a Dictionary of Materia Medica in 1839, and a Dictionary of Science, Literature, and Art in 1842. The latter is an exceedingly able and valuable work of reference; a new edition of it has recently appeared under the editorship of Mr G. W. Cox, 1875. Brande was the author of the third of the Dissertations (that on the progress of Chemical philosophy) prefixed to the supplement of the fourth edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica.

BRANDENBURG, one of the largest provinces of Prussia, and the division from which that powerful monarchy originally sprung. It lies between 51° and 53° 34' N. lat. and ll o 25' and 16° 10' E. long., and is bounded on the N. by Mecklenburg and the province of Pomerania, E. by Posen and Silesia, S. by Silesia and the kingdom and province of Saxony, and W. by Anhalt and the provinces of Saxony and Hanover. It has an area of 15,403 square miles, and is divided into the two governments of Potsdam and Frankfort, the capital, Berlin, forming a separate jurisdiction. The province is a sandy plain interspersed with numerous fertile districts and considerable stretches of woodland. Its barrenness was formerly much exaggerated, and it was popularly described as the sandbox of the Holy Boman Empire. It is generally well-watered by tributaries of its two principal rivers, the Elbe and the Oder, and is besides remarkable for the number of its lakes, of which no fewer than 600 or 700 great or small are enumerated. The mineral products comprise coal, limestone, gypsum, alum, and potter’s earth; barley and rye are tho usual cereals; fruits and vegetables are abundant; and considerable quantities of hemp, flax, hops, and tobacco are raised. The breeding of sheep receives great attention, and the province furnishes a greater export of wool than any other in the kingdom. Bees are kept in considerable numbers, especially in the neighbourhood of Sorau. The climate is cold and raw in winter, excessively hot in summer, and there are frequently violent storms of wind. The manufacturing industry of the province is both varied and extensive, but is for the most part concentrated in the principal cities. The most important branches are the spinning and weaving of wool and cotton, the ...