which the wings are split longitudinally.

Fissiros'tris (Lat. fissus, and rostrum a beak), in ornithology, a tribe of Perching birds, in which the gape of the mouth is very wide. They feed on insects taken during flight: order Insessores.

Fissu'ra (Lat.), in anatomy, fissura silvii is the fissure which separates the anterior and middle lobes of the cerebrum.-F. umbilicalis, the groove of the umbilical vein.

Fis'tuca (Lat.), in mechanics, a piledriving implement raised by pulleys, and guided in its descent to fall on the head of a pile so as to drive it into the ground, being what is called by the workmen a monkey. Fistula (Lat. a pipe), in pathology, a long, sinuous, pipe-like ulcer.-Fistula in ano is a fistula which penetrates into the cellular substance about the anus, or into the rectum itself;-F. in perinæo, fistula in the course of the perinæum, from which it sometimes extends to the urethra, bladder, vagina, or rectum;-F. lacrymalis, fistula penetrating into the lachrymal sac;-F. salivary, fistula penetrating into the parotid duct from a wound or ulcer.

Fistular'idæ (Lat. fistula), in ichthyology, a family of malacopterygious fishes, of which the Fistularia, or Tobacco-pipe fish, is the type and

genus.

Fistu'lidans (Lat. fistula), in ichthyology, a tribe of the Echinodermata, whose bodies are in the shape of a long cylindrical tube.

Fit (Fr. vite quick), in pathology, a sudden attack, paroxysm, or exacerbation of a distemper; a sudden and violent attack of any disease, particularly if attended with convulsions, as an epileptic fit; any sudden or temporary affection.

Fitchy (Fr. fiché fixed), in heraldry, a term applied to a cross when the lower branch ends in a sharp point, as if intended to be fixed in the ground.

Fixed, an epithet of frequent application in chemistry, astronomy, &c.In chemistry, fixed bodies are substances which bear great heat without evaporation or volatilization.Fixed air is applied to carbonic acid gas, and fixed alkalies to soda and potash.-Fixed oils are the common greasy oils which do not evaporate except at a very high temperature: they are generally obtained by expression, and are termed fixed in contradistinction to the volatile oils. -In astronomy, fixed stars are such

stars as invariably retain the same apparent position and distance from each other; they are supposed to be suns similar to our own, some of them of much greater magnitude, and to form centres around which other spheres revolve.-Fixed signs is a term sometimes applied to the signs Taurus (8), Leo (88), Scorpio (m), and Aquarius (); the seasons being considered as less variable when the sun is in these constellations. Flabella'ria (Lat. flabellum a fan), in fossil botany, a genus of plants allied or belonging to the Palm tribe, having the leaves petiolated, flabelliform, and plaited at the base. A genus of Polyfers (the Fan-coral), the coralline structures of which occur in large foliaceous expansions, formed of corneous threads enveloped in a calcareous crust. From the Latin term flabellum a fan, a variety of species in natural history are formed; as, flabelliformis, fan-shaped; flabellipes, having fanshaped feet; flabellifolius, having fan-shaped leaves. Flacourtia cee (from Flacourt, a French naturalist), in botany, a nat. order of hypogynous Exogens, belonging to the Violal alliance of Lindley, of which the Flacourtia, a shrub with pretty white flowers, is the type and

genus.

Flagil'læ (Lat. a whip or twig), in botany, a name applied to runners without leaves.

Flame (Lat. flamma), in physics, inflammable gas in a state of combustion, as it ascends in a stream from a burning body; a thin flame of white-hot vapour.-Flame and blaze are both ignited vapour, produced by the application of fire.

Flange, in railway economy, a ledge or rim raised on a rail, or on the tire of a wheel, for the purpose of confining the wheel within certain limits. Flank (Fr. flanc), in fortification, any part of a work which defends another along the outside of its parapet; such as the flank of the bastion, that part which joins the face to the curtain; oblique flank, that part of the curtain from which the face of the opposite bastion may be discovered; retired or covered flank, the platform of the casement which lies hid in the bastion. - Flank razant is the point from which the line of defence commences. In military science, flank is the side of an army or battalion from the point to the rear, of which there are different kinds; as, the inward flank, in ma

nœuvring, the first file or the left of a division, subdivision, or section; outward flank, the extreme file on right or left of a division; leading flank, the first battalion, division, &c., which conducts the attack; flank files, the first two men on the right, and the last two on the left flank company, a certain number of men drawn up on the right or left of a battalion; flank en potence, any part of the right or left wing formed at a right angle with the line. In architecture, the side of a building or of a wall which adjoins the front. Flashe, a sluice made on navigable rivers for the purpose of raising the water over shoals, &c., while vessels are passing.

Flashings, in architecture, pieces of lead or other metal let into the joints of a wall.

Flasques (Fr.), in gunnery, the two checks of the carriage of a great gun. Flat (Dutch), in music, a tone depressed half a note below a natural one, expressed by a character in the form of b.-Flat fifth is the interval of a fifth depressed by a flat.

Flat'idæ (Fr. plat), in entomology, a family of hemipterous insects, belonging to the Cicadæ, or Singing insects. (See Fulgora.)

Flavi (Lat. flavus yellow), in natural history, a prefix often used in the definition of species, and more especially in ornithology; as, flavicaudatus, yellow-tailed; lavicollis, yellow-necked; flavicornis, having yellow antennæ; flavigastris, yellowbellied; flavipalpis, having yellow palpi; flavipes, yellow-footed; lavipennis, yellow-plumed; Aavirostris, yellow-beaked; flavisquamis, yellow-scaled; flavitarsis, having the tarsi of a yellow colour; flaviventris, having a yellow belly; flavipterus, yellow-winged.

Flax (Sax. flax), in botany, an annual plant, the Linum usitatissimum of' botanists, of which the finest thread is made, and woven into linen cloth.Flax-weed is the Linaria vulgaris of botanists; order Scrophulariaceæ. (See Phormium.) - Flax-comb, an implement with which the fibres of flax are cleansed.-Flax-dresser, one who prepares flax for the use of the spinner.

Fleam, in surgery and farriery, an instrument used for letting blood or bleeding cattle.

Flesh (Sax. Aasc), in zoology, the muscular part or softer solids of an animal body, as distinguished from bones and fluids, as the muscles, glands, fat, &c. In chemistry, flesh

is defined as the muscular tissue or fibre of the animal economy, chiefly composed of fibrine, mixed with blood, membrane, nervous matter, and fat. Dried flesh, when analyzed, gives the same formula as dried blood, viz.-C48H39N6O15. -In botany, flesh is a term applied to the soft pulpy substance of fruit, or to that part of a root which is fit to be eaten, as the turnip, &c.

Fleur-de-lis (Fr.), in blazonry, a flower which resembles an iris, three of which constituted the ancient bearing

in the arms of France.

Fleury, Fleurette, in heraldry, a term

for a cross.

Flex'ible (Lat.), an epithet applied to various terms in natural history; as, flexible sulphuret of silver, a rare mineral, occurring in tubular crystals, and consisting of silver, sulphur, and iron.--As Latinized adjective (flexilis), it denotes various species in natural history; as, Aexicaulis, having a flexible stem; Aexifolius, having flexible leaves; lexipes, having flexible peduncles.

a

Flexion (Lat.), in anatomy, the action of the flexor muscles, or the condition of an organ bent by those muscles. Flexor is a term applied to certain muscles which serve to bend the parts to which they are attached, in opposition to the extensors, which serve to stretch them.In comparative anatomy, Flexura is the joint between the anti-brachium and carpus, usually called the foreknee of the horse, analogous to the wrist in man.

Flint (Sax.), in mineralogy, a hard siliceous stone; a sub-species of quartz found in considerable abundance in nodules and layers in chalk rocks. It breaks into wedge-shaped fragments, and when struck with steel elicits sparks of fire. It consists of silica, alumina, oxide of iron, and water: sp. gr. 27.-Flint glass, a superior kind of glass or crystal, consisting of silicic acid, oxide of lead, and potassa.-Flinty slate differs from common slate in containing a larger proportion of siliceous earth. When flinty slate ceases to have the slaty structure it becomes hornstone. If it contains crystals of felspar, it becomes hornstone porphyry.

Floats, in steam navigation, the boards fixed on the paddle-wheels of steamers, and to undershot waterwheels, by which they act. Flocci (Lat. locks of wool), in botany, the woolly filaments often found mixed with sporules of

tribe Gasteromycetes, and also to the external filaments of the Byssaceæ. Floccilla'tion (Lat.), in pathology, the act of picking the bed-clothes; an alarming symptom in acute diseases. Floccus (Lat.), in zoology, the long tuft of flaccid hair which terminates the tail of the Mammalia.

Flookan, in mineralogy, the name of a slimy kind of clay or earth.-In mining, the deviation or shifting of a lode or vein by a cleft, &c.

Flora (Lat. a flower), the botany of a particular country; a catalogue of flowering plants. Floral envelopes, a term applied to the corolla, calyx, and bracts which envelop the inner parts of a flower. Florascope, an optical instrument for examining flowers. Floret, a small monopetalous flower, many of which, as in the Compositæ, enclosed in one calyx or perianth, form a compound flower. -Floriculture, in horticulture, the culture of flowers.

Flora (Lat. from the goddess Flora), in astronomy, the name of one of the newly-discovered planets, first observed by Hind in 1847. Its mean distance from the sun is 209,930,000 miles, and the time of its periodical revolution three years and fifty-one days.

Florin (Ital.), in numismatology, a term applied to different silver coins current in various parts of Europe, and first coined at Florence, whence the name. The imperial florin, an integer of account in the Austrian empire, is worth about 25. od. sterling; the Dutch florin, or guilder, is equal to 1s. 8d. sterling; the florin is also a German gold coin, worth about 6s. IId. It is likewise the name of a British silver coin, the tenth of a pound sterling, and worth two shillings, first minted in 1849, and now in general circulation.

Flos (Lat.), in chemistry, the more subtile parts of bodies separated from what is grosser. Flos ferri (flower of iron), in mineralogy, is a variety of arragonite. It occurs in little cylinders, and takes its name from its being found in veins of sparry iron. Floss (Lat. flos), in botany, a downy substance observed on the husks of certain fruits.

Flower (Lat. flos, floris), in botany, that part of a plant which contains the organs of fructification. A flower, when complete, is furnished with a calyx, corolla, stamens, and pistils; the stamens carrying the anthers, or male organs of reproduction, and the pistils the stigmas, or female organs, by which the pollen, or impregnating

dust, is conveyed into the ovary, or seed-vessel. - Flower-stalk is the peduncle of a plant, or the stem which supports the fructification.Flower-head is that mode of inflorescence in which all the flowers are sessile, as in the daisy. In pyrotechnics, a particular kind of firework, which, when ignited, throws out a fountain of vivid florescent-looking sparks.

Flowers (Lat. flores), in chemistry, a term applied to certain light flocculent substances obtained by distillation;-Flowers of antimony, a white vapour which rises during the combustion of antimony, and condenses on cool surfaces, generally in the form of shining needles; - Flowers of sulphur are the crystalline grains which collect in the receiver during the process of the sublimation of common sulphur.-In the arts, Artificial Aowers are imitations of nature for personal decoration, &c., which are skilfully manufactured from wax, linen, paper, feathers, shells, &c.; and the artists are called Flowermakers or Florists. In physiology, a term applied to the catamenial discharge.

Fluate, in chemistry and mineralogy, a salt compounded of fluoric acid and a base.-Fluates are compounds of metallic oxides, earths, and alkalies with fluoric acids. Flu'cerine (Lat. fluor a stream, and cerium), the neutral fluate of cerium, a Swedish mineral, occurring in sixsided prisms, in plates, and in amorphous masses, consisting of oxide of cerium, yttria, and fluoric acid: sp.gr.

47.

Flu'ellite, a mineral compounded of fluoric acid and alumina; the fluate of alumina.

Flugelman (Germ.), in military science, a well-drilled soldier, who gives the time in the manual and platoon exercises.

Fluke, in navigation, the broad part or arm of an anchor which takes hold of the ground.-Fluke-worm is a worm that infests the liver of sheep; a species of Entozoa.

Fluobo'rate (Auor and borax), a compound of fluoboric acid with a base. Fluobor'ic Acid Gas, in chemistry, a colourless gas obtained by heating to redness a mixture of dry boracic acid and powdered fluor-spar.-Fluosilicic acid gas is a gas obtained by applying a gentle heat to 1 part of powdered fluor-spar, I of silica, and 2 of sulphuric acid in a retort. Fluophosphate, a compound of fluoric and phosphoric acids.

Fluor, or Fluor Spar (Lat. fluor a stream), in chemistry, fluate of lime, a mineral, of which there are three varieties, the compact, the crystallized, and the foliated. It consists of lime and fluoric acid. - Fluor albus, a disorder to which females are subjected at all ages, but more particularly in the prime of life, consisting of an irregular discharge of impure mucid humour. (See Leucorrhœa.)

Fluoride, in chemistry, a compound of fluorine with another elementary body.

Fluorine (Lat. fluor), a substance obtained from fluor-spar and other minerals. Its odour resembles chlorine and burnt sugar. Its equivalent is 18.68: sp. gr. 129. The compounds of fluorine are:-Fluoric acid 3 atoms of fluorine + 1 of boron, equiv. 66.98; Hydrofluoric acid atom of fluorine + I of hydrogen, equiv. 1968; Fluosilicic acid 3 atoms of fluorine + 1 of silicon, equiv. 78.58.

Fluvicoline (Lat. river frequenters), in ornithology, a sub-fam. of birds (the Water-caps); fam. Musicapidæ. Flu'vio-marine (Lat. fluvius a river, and mare the sea), in geology, an epithet applied to such formations as have been deposited by the agency of rivers at the bottom of the sea, at a greater or less distance from their embouchures.

Flux (Lat. fluxus, from fluo to flow), in mineralogy or metallurgy, any substance used to promote the fluxion of minerals or metals. In pathology, a disease attended by violent secretion from the bowels; a kind of dysentery. -Black flux, in chemistry, a mixture of carbonate of potash and charcoal, which remains when tartar is deflagrated with half its weight of nitre ;White flux is the name given when an equal weight of nitre is used, and the whole of the charcoal is burned off, and carbonate of potash remains. -In physics, flux and reflux of the tide are the regular and periodical motions of the sea, which happen twice in 24 hours 48 minutes.

Fluxion (Lat. fluxus a flowing), the analysis of fluxions and fluents.-In chemistry, the running of metals into a fluid state. In mathematics, a method of calculation based on the idea of motion. The method of fluxions differs from that of the differential calculus in no respect but that of notation.

Flying Buttress, in architecture, a buttress in the form of an arch, springing from a solid mass of

masonry, and abutting against the springing of another arch, which rises from the upper points of abutment of the first.-Flying bridge, in military science, is a bridge of pontoons.-Flying pinion, in horology, is that part of a clock which is furnished with a fly or fan, by which it beats the air, and checks the rapidity of the descent of the weight attached to the striking portion of the machinery.

Fly Powder, a mixture of white oxide and metallic arsenic, obtained from the spontaneous sublimation of the cakes of the arsenic of commerce, used to kill flies.

Focus (Lat.), in optics, the point of convergence to which the rays of light are collected by a lens. The focal length is its distance from the lens.In geometry, the focus of a parabola is a point in the axis which has this property, that a radius drawn from any point in the curve makes the same angle with the tangent at that point that the tangent makes with the axis. In the ellipse, the two foci are situated at equal distances from the centre.

Fœ'tus (Lat.), a perfectly-formed child in the womb. In the early stage of uterine gestation the young is called the embryo.

Fog (Icel. fag), in meteorology, dense watery vapour exhaled from the earth, and often collected in thick dark masses when there is no wind to disperse it.

Foil (Norm. afolee), in architecture, a term applied to those leaf-like forms seen in Gothic windows, niches, crests, battlements, &c. They are distinguished by the number of them combined, so as to form a figure, by the names trefoil, quatrefoil, cinquefoil, &c. In jewellery, a thin leaf of metal, artistically placed under a precious stone, in order to increase its brilliancy, or give it an agreeable and different colour.

Folia'ceæ (Lat. foliatus leaved), in botany, the first class of the order Cellulares, including those cryptogamous plants which are furnished with leaves, embracing the Ferns, Horse-tails, Club-mosses, and Marsileas. Foliation is the vernation or leaving of plants.

Folia'ta, Fo'liated (Lat. foliatus), in geometry, an epithet for a curve of the second order, expressed by the equation x3 + y = axy, which is one of the defective hyperbolas.-In conchology, occurring in thin laminæ or leaves, when the edges of the shelly layers are not compact.-In mineralogy, foliated is applied to minerals consisting of plates or thin layers. Foliated coal is a species of lamellar black coal distinguished for its jetty lustre and easy frangibility. -In architecture, adorned with trefoils and leaf-like ornaments.

Follicle (Lat. folliculus a little bag), in botany, a capsule which splits on one side only. In anatomy, a small secreting gland.-Folliculated, having or producing follicular seed-vessels. Fo'mahaut (Arab.), in astronomy, a star of the first magnitude in the constellation Aquarius.

Fon'tanel (Fr.), in physiology, the opening of the skull of infants, which exists at birth between the frontal and parietal bones, and is subsequently closed by osseous deposit.

Footings, in architecture, the lower part of a brick or stone wall, in which the bricks or stones project beyond the general surface.

For'alites (Lat. foro to bore, and Gr. lithos a stone), in geology, tube-like markings in sandstones and other geological strata, which appear like burrows of vermicular animals.

Fora'men (Lat. foro to pierce), in anatomy, a perforation or opening by which the blood-vessels or nerves penetrate through the bones. The principal foramina, or foramens, are thus enumerated by Hoblyn and others:-Foramen cacum, the blind hole, which is situated at the root of the spine of the frontal bone;-F. incisivum, the opening immediately behind the front teeth;-F. magnum occipitis, the great opening at the under and fore part of the occipital bone;-F. ovale, an opening situated in the partition which separates the right and left auricles in the fœtus;-F. rotundum, the round aperture of the internal ear;-F.supra-orbitarium, the upper orbitary hole, situated on the ridge over which the eyebrow is placed.The term foramen is also applied to numerous little holes of the cribriform plate; to several openings-the round, the oval, the spinal-of the sphenoid bone; to certain holes-the mastoid, the stylo-mastoid, the videan, the glenoid of the temporal bones; to the opening (malar) through which the malar nerve passes; to the opening (infra orbitar) for the passage of nerves to the face; to the groove (palato-maxillary) through which the palatine nerve and vessels proceed to the palate; to another opening (the palatine) which transmits branches of the same to the soft palate; and to two openings at the

base of the cranium, called 'respectively the anterior and posterior lacerated foramen.

Foraminifera (Lat. foramen), in conchology, an order of foraminated, polythalamous, internal shells, which have no siphuncle or chamber beyond their last partition. They are divided by D'Aubigny into five families, with numerous genera; they are chiefly microscopic. - Foraminiferous, in physiology, having holes or perforations; an epithet applied to the Foraminifera.

Force (Fr.), in physics, the impelling power produced by the action of material bodies. In mechanics, the power which produces motion, or a change in motion. -Equilibrium of forces is the composition or resolution of forces, or the conspiring or opposing of forces, so as to balance one another, and keep the body in a state of equilibrium or at rest.-Forcepump or Forcing-pump is a pump capable of driving a stream of water above the pump-barrel by compressed air.

Forceps (Lat.), in mechanical science, a general name for tools constructed on the principles of pliers or fine pincers. In surgery, an instrument for extracting the fœtus. The artery or dissecting forceps is used in dissection, for taking up the mouths of arteries, &c.

Forcer, in mechanical science, a solid piston applied to pumps for the purpose of producing a constant stream, or for raising water to a greater height than can be obtained by atmospheric pressure.

Forcing-pit, in horticulture, a pit of wood or masonry sunk in the earth for containing the fermenting materials used to produce bottom heat in forcing plants.

Forest Marble, in geology, the name of that series of the lower oolitic formation which consists of a coarse and shelly oolite.

Forfic'ula (Lat.), a genus of orthopterous insects, of which the common Earwig is the type.

Form, or Forme, in typography, an assemblage of pages or lines of type, arranged in order, and ready for printing; the whole being enclosed in an iron chase, within which it is firmly locked by a number of small wedges of wood, called quoins.-In phrenology, a power of the mind, according to Dr. Gall, indicated on the sides of the crista galli; its functions, in a healthy state, being a facility for the recollection of persons and objects.