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is totally consumed. But it cannot be made to burn so as to produce a gentle heat. If not in considerable quantity, and violently heated, it is soon extinguished.

In using this kind of fuel, it is proper to be on our guard against the dangerous nature of the burnt air which arises from charcoal of all kinds. Charcoal burns without visible smoke. The air arising from it appears to the eye as pure and as clear as common air. Hence it is much used abroad by those who are studious of neatness and cleanliness in their apart ments. But this very circumstance should make us more watchful against its effects, which may prove dangerous, in the highest degree, before we are aware of it. The air arising from common crude fuel is no doubt as bad, but the smoke renders it disagreeable before it becomes dangerous. The first sensation is a slight sense of weakness: the limbs seem to require a little attention, to prevent falling. A slight giddiness, accompanied by a distinct feeling of a flush, or glow in the face and neck. Soon after, the person becomes drowsy, would sit down, but commonly falls on the floor, insensible of all about him, and breathes strong, snoring as in an apoplexy. If the person is alarmed in time, and escapes into the open air, he is commonly seized with a violent headach, which gradually abates.

But when the effect is completed, as above described, death very soon ensues, unless relief be obtained. There is usually a foaming at the mouth, a great Alush or suffusion over the face and neck, and every indication of an oppression of the brain, by this accumulation of blood. The most successful treatment is, to take off a quantity of blood immediately, and throw cold water on the head repeatedly. A strong stimulus, such as hartshorn, applied to the soles of the feet, has also a very good effect.

The fifth and last kind of fuel is wood, or fossil coals, in their crude state, which it is proper to distinguish from the charcoals of the same substances. The difference consists in their giving a copious and bright flame, when plenty of air is admitted to them, in consequence of which they must be considered as fuels very different from charcoal, and adapted to different purposes. See FLAME.

Flaming fuel cannot be managed like the charcoals. If little air be admitted, it gives no flame, but sooty vapour, and a diminution of heat. And if much air

be admitted, to make those vapours break out into flame, the heat is too violent. These flaming fuels, however, have their particular uses, for which the others are far less proper. For it is a fact, that flame, when produced in great quantity, and made to burn violently, by mixing it with a proper quantity of fresh air, by driving it on the subject, and throwing it into whirls and eddies, which mix the air with every part of the hot vapour, gives a most intense heat. This proceeds from the vaporous nature of flame, and the perfect miscibility of it with the air

As the immediate contact and action of air is necessary to the burning of every combustible body; so the air, when properly applied, acts with far greater advantage on flame, than on the solid and fixed inflammable bodies: for when air is applied to these last, it can only act on their surface, or the particles of them that are outermost: whereas, flame being a vapour or elastic fluid, the air, by proper contrivances, can be intimately mixed with it, and made to act on every part of it, exter. nal and internal, at the same time. This great power of flame, which is the consequence of this, does not appear when we try small quantities of it, and allow it to burn quietly, because the air is not intimately mixed with it, but acts only on the outside, and the quantity of burning matter in the surface of a small flame is too small to produce much effect.

But when flame is produced in large quantity, and is properly mixed and agitated with air, its power to heat bodies is immensely increased. It is therefore peculiarly proper for heating large quantities of matter to a violent degree, especially if the contact of solid fuel with such matter is inconvenient. Flaming fuel is used for this reason in many ope rations performed on large quantities of metal, or metallic minerals, in the making of glass, and in the baking or burning of all kinds of earthen ware. The potter's kiln is a cylindrical cavity, filled from the bottom to the top with columns of wares, the only interstices are those that are left between the columns; and the flame, when produced in sufficient quantity, proves a torrent of liquid fire, constantly flowing up through the whole of the interstices, and heats the whole pile in an equal manner.

Flaming fuel is also proper in many works or manufactories, in which much fuel is consumed, as in breweries, distil leries, and the like. In such works, it is evidently worth while to contrive the

furnaces so, that heat may be obtained from the volatile parts of the fuel, as well as from the fixed; for when this is done, less fuel serves the purpose than would otherwise be necessary. But this is little attended to, or ill understood, in many of those manufactories. It is not uncommon to see vast clouds of black smoke and vapour coming out of their vents. This happens in consequence of their throwing too large a quantity of crude fuel into the furnace at once. The heat is not sufficient to inflame it quickly, and the consequence is a great loss of heat. See LABORATOY.

FUGUE, in music, signifies a composition, in which one part leads off some determined succession of notes called the subject, which, after being answered in the fifth and eighth by the other parts, is interspersed through the movement, and distributed amid all the parts in a desultory manner, at the pleasure of the composer. There are three distinct descriptions of fugues: the simple, which contains but one subject; the double, that which consists of two subjects; and the counter fugue, is that in which the subjects move in a direction contrary to each other.

FUIRENA, in botany, so named in memory of George Fuiren, a genus of the Triandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Calamariæ. Cyperoi. dex, Jussieu. Essential character: ament imbricate, with awned scales; calyx none; corolla with three-petal shaped obcordate glumes, ending in a tendril. There is but one species, viz. F. paniculata, a lofty grass. Native of Surinam and Jamaica.

FULCRUM, in mechanics, the prop or support, by which a lever is sustained. See MECHANICS.

FULGORA, in natural history, lanternfly, a genus of insects of the order Hemiptera. Head hollow, inflated, extended forward; antennæ short, seated beneath the eyes, consisting of two joints, the outer one larger and globular; snout elongated, inflected, four-jointed; legs formed for walking. There are about 25 species, most of which inhabit hot climates. Mr. Donovan has described the F. Europaa; the body of which is green; wings hyaline, reticulate; front conic. This is a small insect, and destitute of the shining quality, by which foreign species are distinguished. But the F. lanternaria, or Peruvian lantern-fly, is one of the most curious of insects; it is three inches long, and the breadth between the tips of the VOL. V.

expanded wings is about five or six in ches. This beautiful insect is a native of Surinam and other parts of South America, and during the night it diffuses so strong a phosphoric splendour from its head, which is nearly as large as the rest of the body, that it may be employed for the purpose of a candle or torch.

Some have asserted that these insects were a source of much alarm to the Spaniards when newly arrived in South America. Observing one night a number of lights passing to and fro with much rapidity in the forest, they betook themselves precipitately to their ships, fearing an immediate attack from the natives, and were much chagrined, when they discovered the source of their alarm to be the light of this insect.

FULICA, the gallinule and the coot, in natural history, a genus of birds of the order Gralla. Generic character: bill strong, thick, and sloping to the point, upper mandible arched over the lower at the edge, and reaching far up the forehead: nostrils nearly oval; front bald; toes four, long, and furnished with broad scalloped membranes. There are twenty-five species.

F. atra-coot, is distinguished from the gallinule by pinnated feet. It inhabits Europe, Asia, and America, and is about the size of a small fowl. It feeds on small fish and water insects, is common in some parts of this country at all seasons, but in the breeding season is seen almost always in pairs, about the borders of ponds and lakes well fringed with rushes, of which it mats itself a large nest, said to be often observed floating on the water. These birds are devoured when young by the buzzards, which infest their haunts, and prevent them from that great multiplication which might be otherwise expected. Rallus crex, or the crake gallinule, is found in various parts of Europe, and is particularly abundant in Ireland, where it is supposed by Latham to winter. Wherever quails are, the crake is to be met with. It runs fast, but flies with great awkwardness, with its legs hanging down. Its food is grain and insects. On its arrival in England, where it is migratory, it is poor and emaciated, but fattens afterwards with great rapidity, and is esteemed excellent for the table. Its full weight is about eight ounces.

F. porphyrio, or the purple water-hen, occurs in almost all the warmer latitudes of the globe. It is of the size of a fowl; in Sicily it is kept merely for its beauty, Hh

and in Persia exhibits its greatest elegance of plumage. It is tamed with great ease, and will feed very quitely in the farm-yard on grain or roots, but is particularly fond of fishes, which it plunges in the water before it takes them to its mouth. Standing on one leg, it employs the other as a hand in many cases, particularly in lifting its food to its mouth, in the same manner as a parrot.

F. chloropus, or the common waterhen, is found in various parts of England, haunting the borders of ponds and rivers, which abound in weeds, and breeding twice in a season. It flies awkwardly, but runs and swims well. Its flesh is thought excellent, and its general weight is about fifteen ounces. Rallus Carolinus, or the American water-hen, is nearly as large as a quail. In the beginning of autumn these birds are found in the middle states in extreme abundance. From a state of perfect leanness, they speedily become so fat as to be incapable of flying to any great distance, and are knocked off the reeds of the marshes by the paddles of the Indians, who make pleasurable excursions in their canoes for this purpose, and in the course of one night a party will take ten or twelve hundred of them. They are extremely admired for food, and supply part of the daily repast of every planter during their short season. Rallus porzana, or the spotted gallinule, is found in Europe, and supposed to be migratory. It is fond of solitude, and, unless in breeding time, almost always alone. Its haunts are similar to those of the common water-hen. Its nest is built in the form of a boat, and tied or fixed to reeds to prevent its being carried off by the water. Its young run as soon as they are hatched. For the great coot, see Aves, Plate VII. fig. 4.

FULIGO, in botany, a genus of the Cryptogamia Fungi class and order. Fungus with a cellular fibrous bark; the fibres penetrating in a reticulate manner through the seminal mass.

FULLER, a workman employed in the woollen manufactories, to mill, or scour, cloths, serges, and other stuffs, in order to render them more thick, compact, and durable.

FULLER's earth, in natural history, a soft, greyish, brown, dense, and heavy marle when dry, it is of a greyish, ashcoloured brown, in all degrees from very pale to almost black, and it has generally something of a greenish cast: it is very hard and firm, of a compact texture, of a rough and somewhat dusty surface, that adheres slightly to the tongue : it is very soft to the touch, not staining the hands,

nor breaking easily between the fingers: it has a little harshness between the teeth, and melts freely in the mouth: thrown into water it makes no ebullition, or hissing, but swells gradually in bulk, and falls into a fine soft powder.

It is of great use in scouring cloths, stuffs, &c. imbibing all the grease and oil used in preparing, dressing, &c. of the wool. It does not effervesce with the acids: before the blow-pipe it melts with a brown spongy scoria: it consists of

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Fuller's earth is not now in so much request in the country as it was formerly, owing to the almost general use of soap: In England it is found in beds, covered by, and resting upon, that peculiar sandstone formation, which accompanies and serves as the foundation to chalk; its colour is yellowish grey, with a faint tinge of green. It is found in Hampshire, Bedfordshire, and in Surrey.

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FULLING, the art or act of cleansing, scouring, and pressing cloths, stuffs, and stockings, to render them stronger, closer, and firmer; called also milling. The fulling of clothis and other stuffs is performed by a kind of water-mill, thence called a fulling or scouring-mill. These mills, except in what relates to the mill-stones and hopper, are much the same with cornmills and there are even some which serve indifferently for either use; corn being ground, and cloths fulled, by the motion of the same wheel. Whence, in some places, particularly in France, the fullers are called millers; as grinding corn and milling stuffs at the same time, The method of fulling cloths and woollen stuffs with soap is this: a coloured cloth is to be laid in the usual manner in the trough ofa fulling-mill, without first soaking it in water, as is commonly practised in many places. To full this trough of cloth, 15 pounds of soap are required, one half of which is to be melted in two pails of river or spring water, made as hot as the hand can well bear it. This solution is to be poured by little and little upon the clotb, in proportion as it is laid in the trough; and thus it is to be fulled for at least two hours; after which it is to be taken out

and stretched. This done, the cloth is immediately returned into the same trough, without any new soap, and then fulled two hours more. Then taking it out, they wring it well, to express all the grease and filth. After the second fulling, the remainder of the soap is dissolved as in the former, and cast four different times on the cloth, remembering to take out the cloth every two hours to stretch it, and undo the plates and wrinkles it has acquired in the trough. When they perceive it sufficiently fulled, and brought to the quality and thickness required, they scour it in water, keeping it in the trough till it is quite clean. As to white cloths, as these full more easily and in less time than coloured ones, a third part of the soap may be spared.

FULMIANTION, in chemistry, differs from detonation only in degree; they are both the effects of rapid decomposition, accompanied by a loud noise, either with or without flame. See GOLD, MERCURY,, POWDER, SILVER.

FUMARIA, in botany, English fumitory, a genus of the Diadelphia Hexandria class and order. Natural order of Corydales. Papaveracea, Jussieu. Essential character; calyx two-leaved; corolla ringent; filaments two, membranaceous, with three anthers on each. There are fifteen species.

FUMIGATION, in medicine, a process by means of which the nitrous and other mineral acids, in a state of vapour, is dispersed through the apartments of those who lie sick of infectious fevers. This method of destroying contagion,in crowd. ed places, was first brought into practice by Dr. Carmichael Smyth,who,having given some striking proofs of its efficacy, received a reward from parliament. When this fumigation is undertaken on board ships, the ports and scuttles are closed, a number of pipkins, containing hot sand, are procured, and into each is plunged a small tea-cup, containing half an ounce of sulphuric acid. As soon as the acid is properly heated, an equal quantity of pulverised nitre is added, and the mixture stirred with a glass rod. The vapour resulting from the decomposition of nitre ascends, and is by the nurses conducted to every part of the apartment, which not only abates the malignity of the fever, but effectually stops the progress of infection. In a late volume of the "Annales de Chymie," we have some striking facts of the efficacy of fumigation, according to the method of M. Guyton de Morveau, who makes use of sulphuric acid, sea-salt, and manganese. It has been tried, and com

pletely succeeded in stopping the progress of the rot among sheep it has destroyed the putrid odours arising from meat in the worst possible state, as well as having been eminently successful in the cure of the most alarming fevers, and preventing the effects of contagion.

FUNARIA, in botany a genus of the Cryptogamia Musci class and order. Capsule obovate; fringe double; outer, of 16 oblique wedge-form teeth, cohering at the tips; inner, a membrane divided into 16 flat teeth; veil square. There are three species.

FUNCTION, in algebra, denotes any compound quantity; and when one of the component quantities is variable, it is said to be a variable function.

Functions are formed either by addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, involution, or evolution; as also by the resolution of equations. But besides these, which are called algebraical functions, there are others called transcendental, arising from the management of exponents, logarithms, &c.

FUNDS, public, the taxes or other public revenues appropriated to the payment of the interest or principal of the national debt. When the expedient of borrowing large sums for the public service was first adopted, it was found necessary to set apart and assign to the lender the produce of some branch of the revenue, supposed to be adequate to the payment of the interest or principal, or both, according to the terms of the contract; each loan had thus a separate fund provided for it, which was usually distinguished by the date of the transaction, the rate per cent. payable, or some circumstance relating to the mode of raising the money,or the purpose to which it was to be applied. These separate funds sometimes produced more than the yearly payments with which they were charged, but more frequently fell short of them; and as making good the deficiencies of some, from the surpluses of others, or from the current supplies, created much trouble and useless intricacy in the management of the public finances, it was found more convenient to combine several of the funds, and to charge the payments for which they had been set apart on the aggregate produce of the several duties. It then became necessary to give a more general denomination to the fund: and thus have been established, at different periods, the Aggregate Fund, the South Sea Fund, the General Fund, the Sinking Fund, and the Consolidated Fund.

The Aggregate Fund was established

in the year 1715, and had this name given to it, because it consisted of a great variety of taxes and surpluses of taxes, which were in that year consolidated, and given as the security for discharging the interest and principal of all the exchequer bills then outstanding, and of some other public debts and likewise for the payment of 120,000l. per annum to the civil list.

The South Sea Fund was established in 1716,and was so called, because appropriated to pay the interest and allowance for management on the capital of the South Sea Company.

The General Fund was also established in 1716, by making perpetual various duties, which had been granted for the term of thirty-two years, and consolidating them with some other duties into one fund. It was appropriated chiefly to the payment of the interest on various sums raised by lotteries during the reign of Queen Anne.

The Sinking Fund consisted of the surpluses of the three funds just mentioned, whenever the produce of the taxes composing them should be greater than the charges upon them. The establishment of these funds formed part of a plan for a general reduction of the interest payable on the public debts, and this being effected, the charge on each of the three funds was of course lessenedconsiderably, and the future overplus was directed to be carried into a fourth fund, to which was given the name of the Sinking Fund, because appropriated to the purpose of redeeming or sinking the public debts. The act of parliament by which this fund was established expressly or dained, that it should be applied to the discharge of the public debts, and "to or for none other use, intent, or purpose whatsoever;" yet in the course of a few years many encroachments were made upon it, and ultimately it became a mere nominal distinction, the whole produce of it being usually taken towards the supplies of the current year.

The Consolidated Fund was established in consequence of a new arrangement of the public accounts in the year 1786, when the funds above mentioned were abolished, and the whole of the public revenue, (except the annual grants) included under this general head. Out of this fund are paid the interest and expenses of management of all the public debts, the interest on Exchequer bills, the civil list, pensions to the royal family and others, salaries and allowances to va

rious public officers, and some miscella. neous annual expenses. The surplus of the produce of the fund, after satisfying all these charges, is annually granted by parliament as part of the ways and means for raising the supplies voted.

Hence it appears that the public funds are properly the provision which has been made for payment of the interest or principal of the public debts, but as the possession of the acknowledgment, given by government for the money borrowed, established a right to receive the payments from the fund on which the loan was originally charged, the sale of these securities was considered as the sale of a portion of that particular fund, and as the acknowledgments given were of different kinds, the general appellation of the provision on which they rested was found more convenient for purposes of business. Thus the sale and purchase of government securities was commonly called the sale and purchase of the public funds, till, in the course of time, the expression has so far varied from its original signification, that instead of meaning the revenue out of which the interest of the public debts is payable, it denominates the capital of the debts, in which sense it is now commonly used. Thus, the possession of 1000l. in the public funds is understood to mean 1000l. capital, bearing a certain rate of interest, at 3, 4, or 5 per cent. per annum, according to the original terms of the loan.

The debts bearing a certain rate of interest, payable till the principal shall be redeemed, are denominated, in the language of finance, perpetual annuities, or redeemable annuities, but in the common course of business, they are called funds or stocks: a small part of the public debts consist of annuities for a certain term of years, commonly called long or short annuities: there are also some life and tontine annuities still existing; but the whole of the terminable annuities bears a very small proportion to the permanent debts. The perpetual annuities are distinguished according to the rate of interest they pay, or the time or purpose of their creation; and when by a new loan government contracts an additional debt, bearing a certain fixed interest, the capital thus created is added to the amount of that part of the public debt which bears the same rate of interest, and the produce of the taxes imposed for payment of the interest of such new debt being car ried to the fund established for paying the interest of the former capital, the old

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