Falcif'eri (Lat. falx a sickle), in fossilology, the name of a group of Ammonites.

Falcon'ide (Lat. falco a falcon), in ornithology, a family of Raptores, or rapacious birds, comprehending Eagles, Hawks, Kites, &c., of which the Falco is the type and genus.-In heraldry, falcons are generally represented with bells on their legs.Falconine are a sub-family of the Falconidæ.

Falling Sluice, in hydraulics, a sluice contrived to fall of itself, and augment the water-way, on the increase of a flood in a mill-dam or river. - Falling star, an igneous meteor which appears to fall rapidly to the earth.Falling-star tube, an electrical experiment made to imitate a falling star by means of a glass tube, four or five feet in length, with a small ball inside of it at each end.

Fallo'pian (from Fallopius, the discoverer), in anatomy, an epithet applied to two tubes or ducts arising from the uterus.

Falset'to (Ital.), in music, a note that does not belong to the natural compass of voice; an artificial manner of singing, produced by tightening the ligaments of the glottis, and thus extending the vocal compass about an octave higher.

Faltranck, in pharmacy, a mixture of

several aromatic plants, used as a vulnerary medicine. Faluns, in geology, a series of deposits belonging to the middle tertiary or miocene period. They contain a great number of animal remains of the mastodon, rhinoceros, palæotherium, the tapir, and various Mammalia, besides a great number of extinct and recent shells.

Falx (Lat. a sickle), in anatomy, a term applied to certain membranous processes which have a form resembling that of a scythe or sickle; as, falx cerebri, a process of the dura mater. Fam'ily, in natural history, a certain group of genera with similar characteristics. By some naturalists the term is synonymous with Order. In mathematics, it expresses a congeries of several kinds of curves, all of which are defined by the same equation.

Fan Palm, in botany, the Talipot tree of the East Indies, which grows to an enormous height, with a straight cylindrical trunk, and is one of the most magnificent of the Palm tribes. Fanta'sia (Ital.), in music, a fantastical air, or piece of instrumental music, in which the composer, instead of being confined to the rules of art, is allowed to yield himself to the vagaries of imagination. Fantocci'ni [-tchene] (Ital.), dramatic representations in which puppets are substituted for human performers. Farcy (Fr.), a disease of horses, of a leprous, loathsome character. Farding-bag, in physiology, the first stomach of a cow or other ruminating animal, where green food lies till it is chewed over again.

Fari'na (Lat.), the nutritive powder obtained from the seeds of corn, grasses, or other leguminous plants The term is sometimes used for the pollen which occurs in the anthers of plants. Farinaceous, pertaining to meal, or to mealy plants. Farinose, reducible to farina by trituration.-In botany, an epithet applied to such parts of plants as are covered with a fine mealy powder.

Fascia (Lat. a belt or bandage), in architecture, a broad fillet, band, or face, used sometimes by itself, and sometimes in combination with mouldings. Architraves are often divided into two or three fasciæ, each of which projects slightly beyond that which is immediately below it.-In astronomy, the belt across a planet, as the belts of Jupiter.-In anatomy, a term applied to any aponeurotic expansion of muscular fibre by which certain parts are bound together. The principal fasciæ are the Fascia cerebriformis, a small web of cellular substance which stretches over the inguinal glands; -F. iliaca, which covers the inner surface of the iliac and psoas muscles;-F. infundibuliformis, a portion of the cellular membrane, of a funnel shape, which passes down the spermatic cord; -F. lata, a thick and strong tendinous muscle, surrounding the muscles of the thigh; -F. propria, the cellular envelope of a hernial sac;-F.superficialis, a very thin layer of cellular membrane, which covers the abdominal muscles. Fas'ciated (Lat. fascia), in botany, a term applied to the branches, peduncles, and petioles of plants, when they exhibit, through malformation, a fillet-like shape, consequent several of them uniting together.-In zoology, the Latin adjectives fasciatus, fasciolaris, fasciolatus, designate such species as are marked on the back with a broad-coloured line or band.

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Fascicula'ted (Lat. fasciculus), in botany, an epithet applied to the leaves, flowers, filaments, spines, branches, and roots of plants, when united in fascicles.

Fascic'ulite (Lat. fasciculus), in geology, a variety of fibrous hornblende, the fibres being arranged in a fasciculated

manner.

Fasciculus (Lat. a little bundle or fascicle), in botany, a form of inflorescence, when many flowers or small stalks spring from one point. When the little stalks come only from about the apex of the peduncle, and not from its whole length, a fascicle is called a corymb; when they do not come from a common point, an umbel; and when its principal division is not umbellate, a суте.

Fascine (Lat. fascia a band), in military operations, a fagot, or bundle of fagots, for raising batteries, filling ditches, &c.

Fas'saite (from Fassa, in the Tyrol), in mineralogy, a variety of augite.

Fata Morga'na (Ital.), a meteoric phenomenon nearly allied to the mirage, an atmospheric refraction frequently observed between the coasts of Sicily and Calabria. It consists of an optical deception, in which the images of houses, castles, and other objects in the adjoining landscapes are fantastically represented, sometimes in the water, and sometimes in the air.

Fats, in commercial science, a general term for those solid oily substances found in the animal and vegetable kingdoms.

Fauces (Lat. the jaws), in aratomy, the posterior parts of the mouth; the space surrounding the velum palati, the uvula, and the tonsils.

Fault (Lat. fallo to deceive), in geology, an interruption in the continuity of strata.

Fauna (Lat.), in zoology, the various kinds of animals peculiar to a country.

Fausse-braye, in fortification, a low rampart.

Fausses Eaux (Fr. false waters), in physiology, a term for water discharged from the uterus during pregnancy.

Faux Jour (Fr. false light), in the fine arts, a term denoting that a picture is so placed that the light falls upon it from a different direction than that in which the painter has represented it as coming in the picture. Favus (Lat. a honey-comb), in pathology, a disease of the skin; the scald head.

Feather Edges, in architecture, made thin at one edge. Feb'rifuge (Lat. dispelling fever), in therapeutics, a medicine which has the power of subduing or mitigating fever.

Febris (Lat. from ferveo to be heated), in pathology, a class of diseases characterized by excessive heat or continued thirstiness. The medical faculty distinguish the principal kinds of fever by the terms Continued, Intermittent, and Remittent. Continued is applied to Common fever (Synochus) and Typhus;-Intermittent to Quotidian fever, in which the paroxysms recur daily; the Tertian Assodes, or Hungarica, in which they occur each second day; and the Quartan, in which they recur each third day; -the Remittent is a class distinguished by remissions and exacerbations, instead of distinct intervals and paroxysms. The other fevers are the Gastric, or Choleric, Hay, Hectic, Puerperal, Bilious, or Yellow, Sweating, Milk, Miliary, Scarlet, Hospital, Marsh, Plague, Measles, Small-pox, &c.

Fec'ula (Lat.), a pulverulent matter obtained from plants; farina; starch. Feed-pipe, in hydraulics, a pipe for supplying water to a steam-engine boiler, or to a pump.-Feed-pump, the force-pump for supplying the boilers of steam-engines with water. Fe'lidæ (Lat. felis a cat), in zoology, the Cat family, of which the genus Felis is the type. Besides the Cat, this family, according to Linnæus, includes the Lions, Tigers, Lynxes, and Leopards; but Dr. Leach arranged the Lions under the generic term Leo.

Felsite, a talcose mineral or jade rock. Felspar, a siliceous mineral, which forms a constituent part of sienite and granite, and which, next to quartz, is the most abundant in the mineral world. It occurs crystallized and massive, and is composed of silica, alumina, potash, lime, and oxide of iron sp. gr. 2.3. Асcording to Professor Jamieson, felspar is divided into five species; namely, rhombohedral felspar, or nepheline; prismatic felspar, or common felspar; tetarto-prismatic felspar, or scapolite; polychromic, or Labrador felspar; and pyramidal felspar, or meionite.-Felspathic, of the nature of felspar.

Felt (Sax.), in the arts, a cloth or stuff made of wool and hair, fulled or wrought into a compact substance by rolling and pressure with lees or size.

Female (Fr. femelle), in botany, a female plant, or flower, which has pistils, but no stamens, or male organs of reproduction. In zoology, the she-animal which conceives and brings forth young. In mechanics, a female screw is the spiral-threaded cavity in which the male screw works.

Femur (Lat. the thigh bone), in anatomy, the first bone of the leg from the pelvis. In architecture, the interstitial space between the channels of the triglyph of the Doric order.Brande.

Fenes'tra (Lat. a window), in anatomy, a term applied to two small openings in the bones of the ear. Fenestral, having openings like a window.

Feræ (Lat. wild beasts), in zoology, a class of Mammalia which are mostly beasts of prey, the Carnassiers of Cuvier. According to Swainson they constitute an order including the families Felidæ, Phocidæ, Sorecidæ, Delphidæ, and Mustele.-Feral, or Ferine, is an epithet applied to such animals as are wild and savage.

Fergusonite, a crystallized compound of columbic acid and yttria, consisting of oxide of tantalum, yttria, zirconia, oxide of cerium, oxide of tin, oxide of uranium, and oxide of iron: sp. gr. 5.8.

Fermenta'tion (Lat.), in physics, a gaseous change that takes place in certain substances, which is of three kinds: vinous, producing alcohol; the acetous, producing vinegar; and the putrefactive, giving rise to various fetid products. - Putrefactive

fermentation is that spontaneous decay and decomposition of animal and vegetable matter which is unaccompanied with the production of alcohol or acetic acid.

Ferns. (See Filices.) Fern-root is the root of the male fern, occasionally given in medicine as a vermifuge. Fero'nia, the name of one of the newly. discovered planets, first observed by Peters in 1861.

Ferretto (Lat. ferrum iron), a substance used in colouring glass; copper calcined with white vitriol.Francis.

Ferric (Lat. ferrum), extracted from iron.-Ferric acid, the acid of iron. Ferro, or Ferri (Lat. ferrum), a prefix of frequent occurrence in scientific terms, signifying iron, or properties appertaining thereto.Ferricalcite is a species of calcareous earth having much iron in it.Ferrilite, a variety of basalt.-Ferrocyanate, Ferrocyanide, Ferroprussiate, a compound of cyanogen and iron.-Ferrocyanic, noting an acid formed by a union of hydrocyanic acid and protoxide of iron.-Ferrotype, a term applied to certain chemical agents used in photography.Ferrugo, a disease of plants, commonly known as rust.

Fer'ulæ (Lat. a rod), in surgery, consisting of splinters or chips of different matter, as of wood, bark, leather, paper, &c., applied to bones that have been disjointed when they are set again.

Fesse (Fr. from Lat. fascia), in heraldry, one of the ordinaries, consisting of a band or girdle.-Fesse point is the centre of the escutcheon. -Parti per fesse, a parting across on the middle of the shield, from side to side, through the fesse point. Feta'tion, or Fœta'tion (Lat. fætus), in physiology, the forming or natural growth of a fœtus in the womb. Fetus. (See Fœtus.) Fibril'læ (Lat. fibra a fibre), in botany, the minute subdivisions of the root of a plant.

Fibrine, in chemistry, a white fibrous substance, obtained from coagulated blood. Fibrine, both vegetable and animal, is a most important element of animal nutrition. It differs from albumen in containing less sulphur; and caseine differs from both in containing no phosphorus.

Fib'rolite (Lat. fibra, and Gr. lithos a stone), a mineral of a dingy grey colour and fibrous texture, consisting of silica, alumina, and iron. Fib'ula (Lat.), in anatomy, a long outer bone of the leg, so named on account of its connecting and giving firmness to other parts.

Field

Field (Sax.), in heraldry, the entire surface of a shield. In military science, Field colours are small flags used to mark out the ground for the squadrons or battalions. pieces are cannons of small calibre, consisting of from three to twelvepounders, carried along with an army in the field.-Field officer, a military officer above the rank of captain-Field Marshal, an officer of the highest military rank.-Fieldworks, in fortification, are works thrown up by an army while engaged in besieging a town, or by the besieged in defence of the place, or sometimes by an army to strengthen a position.-Field-staff is a weapon carried by gunners, about the length of a halberd, with a spear at the end, having on each side ears screwed on, like the cock of a matchlock, where lighted matches are contained.

Fifth (Sax.), in music, an interval, and, with the exception of the octave, the most perfect of concords. Musicians specify three kinds of fifths; viz. the Perfect Fifth (C-G), composed of three tones and a semitone; the Flat or Diminished Fifth, termed also the Imperfect Fifth (B-F), composed of two whole tones and two semitones; and the Extreme Superfluous Fifth (C-G), composed of four whole tones. In anatomy, the fifth pair of nerves is the largest pair connected with the brain.

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Figure (Lat. figura), in the science of arithmetic and numbers, a certain character by which we denote any number which can be expressed by the use of the nine digits and the cipher.-In geometry, bounded on all sides, either by lines or planes; a diagram. In painting and design, the lines and colours which form the representation of any animal, but more particularly of the human form. In dancing, the several steps which the dancer makes, as marking certain figures on the floor. -Figure-stone, a mineral, the bildstein.-Figure-weaving, the process of weaving patterns or designs. Fil'aments, in anatomy, those fine threads of which the nerves, skin, and flesh are composed.

Fil'ices (Lat. filix a fern), in botany, an important order of plants, the Ferns, which form the Filical alliance of Lindley's "Vegetable Kingdom," according to the following arrangement:-1st, the Ophioglossaceæ, or Adders' Tongues, in which the spore

cases are ringless, distinct, and twovalved; 2nd, Polypodiaceæ, or True Ferns, in which the spore-cases are ringed, dorsal, or marginal; 3rd, the Danæaceæ, in which the spore-cases are ringless, dorsal, and connate. The species of the Filices are rather numerous, and are usually denoted by filix or fili, as a prefix, thus: -Filicaulis, having a thread-like stem; filicornis, having thread-like antennæ; filiferus, having filamentous processes or appendages; filifolius, having thread-like leaves, filiformis, occurring in the form of a thread; filigerous, bearing filaments. Fillet (Lat. filum a thread), in architecture, a small square moulding, much used in entablatures. - In joinery and carpentry, any small scantling less than battens. heraldry, a kind of orle or bordure, containing only a third or fourth part of the breadth of the common bordure.

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Fillings, in the art or science of brewing, a term for prepared wort, which is added in small quantities to casks of ale to cleanse it.

Filter (Fr.), in chemistry, a strainer, used for rendering fluids transparent by separating suspended impurities. -Filtering cup is a pneumatic apparatus for the purpose of showing that if the pressure of the atmosphere be removed from an under surface, the pressure which remains on the surface above has the effect of forcing a fluid readily through the pores of such substances as it could not otherwise penetrate.-Filtering machine, any contrivance by which liquids may be filtered.-Filtering stone, any porous stone, such as oolite or sandstone, through which water is filtered.-Filtering paper, any paper unsized and sufficiently porous to admit water to pass through

it.

Filtra'tion (Fr.), in chemical operations, the process by which liquids or fluids are separated from substances mechanically suspended in them, or colouring matters in a state of solution are separated. Fim'bria (Lat. a fringe), in botany, the fringe-like ring of the operculum of mosses, by the elastic power of which the operculum is displaced.In anatomy, a term applied to the fringe-like extremity of the Fallopian tubes.

Fina'le (Ital. from Lat. finis the end), in music, the concluding passage in a concerted picce, by which the acts of an opera conclude; the last movement of a concerto or symphony.

Fin'gering, in music, the art of applying the fingers to a musical instrument so as skilfully to produce the notes intended. Finger-board is the board at the neck of a violin, guitar, or the like, where the fingers act on the strings; also the whole range of keys, white and black, of a piano-forte or

organ.

Fir (Sax. furh), in botany, the name of several species of forest trees belonging to the genera Abies and Pinus. The genus Abies is divided into four sections: the Silvers, which have the leaves growing singly round the branches; the Spruces, the leaves of which also grow singly round the branches; the Larches, which have the leaves growing in clusters; the Cedars, the leaves of which are evergreen, and arranged in clusters.

Fire (Sax. fyr), in physics, the igneous element; the light and heat extricated from a body during its combustion; popularly, one of the four elements; a word forming various compounds connected with science andart; as, Fire-arms, arms charged with powder and balls, as guns, pistols, .;-Fire-ball, a ball filled with

combustibles;-Fire-blast, a species of blast affecting plants or fruit trees; -Fire-brake, a will-o'-the-wisp;Fire-brand, a piece of wood kindled or partly burnt; - Fire-brick, a very hard kind of brick used for lining furnaces, &c.;-Fire-clay, in geology, a variety of clay, common in the strata of the coal formation, from which fire-brick and other articles are manufactured; -Fire-cock, a cock or plug to let out water from the main pipes to extinguish fire; -Fire-damp, carburetted hydrogen gas in coal mines;-Fire-drake, a fiery meteor; a kind of firework ;Fire-engine, a machine for throwing water to extinguish fires;-Fireescape, a machine to escape from fire;-Fire-fly, an insect which emits, at night, a vivid light; -Fire-plug, a stopple in a pipe which supplies water in case of fire;-Fire-pot, an earthen pot to enclose a grenade ;Fire-pump, a force-pump erected in a populous place for the extinguishing of fires;-Fire-ship, a ship filled with combustibles to send against an enemy;-Fire-tower, a sort of lighthouse; - Firework or Fireworks, preparations of sulphur, nitre, and charcoal, to be fired for amusement. (See Pyrotechny.)

Fire-stone, in geology, a metallic fossil; a kind of pyrites, which stands great heat when exposed to the action of fire. It is an arenaceo-argillaceous

deposit of a greyish-green colour, oomposed of marl and grains of silicate of iron. The transition from the marl to the fire-stone is in many localities so gradual, that the chalk marl may be said to repose immediately on the galt.

Firing, in farriery, the process of cautery.

Firmament (Lat.), in ouranology, the great sphere of the fixed stars; the most remote of all the celestial spheres; the ethereal vault of heaven. -In Scripture, firmament denotes the great arch or expanse over our heads, in which are placed the atmosphere and the clouds, and in which the stars appear to be placed. According to ancient astronomers, it was supposed to have two motionsa diurnal one, given to it by the primum mobile, from east to west about the poles of the ecliptic; and another opposite motion from west to east, which last it finishes, according to Tycho, in 25,412 years; in which time the fixed stars, as shown by the precession of the equinoxes, return to the same points in which they were at the beginning. Cicero calls this the magnus annus.

Fish (Sax. fisc), in ichthyology, a vertebrated, oviparous animal that inhabits the water, and breathes by the means of branchiæ, or gills; having one auricle and one ventricle to the heart, cold red blood, and extremities made for swimming (Agassiz).In popular language, the term fish is erroneously applied to the Cetacea, which are Mammalia, and breathe by lungs. Craw-fish, crab-fish, and shell-fish are terms also used in common phraseology for the Crustaceans and testaceous Mollusca.-In navigation, fish is a machine employed to hoist and draw up the flukes of the ship's anchor towards the top of the bow, in order to stow it after it has been catted.-Fish-gig is an instrument used to strike fish at sea, particularly dolphins. Fissip'ara, or Fissipa'rism (Lat. fissus divided, and pario to bring forth), in zoology a term applied to those animals which propagate by spontaneous fission, having an inherent power of self-support and growth, as in the Polypi, Infusoria, and certain worms. -Fissiparous, an epithet applied to a generation or production by a spontaneous division of the body of the parent into two or more parts.

Fissipen'ne (Lat. fissus, and penna a wing), in entomology, a section of nocturnal lepidopterous insects, in