FLOUR is one of the best extinguishers for a fire caused by the spilling of and ignition of kerosene. Flour in bags, if wet, will cake, spoil and constitute a heavy loss. In barrels, it is considered good insurance.

FLOUR BOLTING CLOTH is mainly imported from Switzerland. It is hand woven and of different mesh. Easily damaged by heat.

FLOUR MILLS-After the grain has been thoroughly cleaned it goes to the roller mills to be ground, the stock being separated by sifting machines. After each grinding, the coarse stock goes back to the "breaks," and the fine passes to the purifiers and between smooth rollers, and then to the flour bins. In short, flour making is a process of separation, the desirable parts being slowly subtracted until only the waste or by-product is left. The hazard consists of dusty bearings and dust-laden atmosphere. This class is not very attractive as a fire risk.

FLOWERS AND FEATHERS-Artificial flowers and feathers. Busiest season is September, October, January and February. Leaves: Mainly of muslin, ŝized with gum arabic, glycerine and paraffine, varnished and shellacked. Cut out of large sheets of cloth previously painted and dried. Veins are made in either cold or gas heated die presses. Painted with air brush, coated with paraffine (waxing), sprinkled with tinsel (ground glass and mica), for frosting and dew. Tubing: Hollow muslin is used for stems. The muslin is treated in a bath of warmed linseed oil, cut into strips and drawn through a "tubing machine." This machine resembles a metal box on an iron table, with two rows of holes in the sides through which the strips are drawn. It is heated by gas and the gas connection should be iron piping.

"Flock" tubing is ordinary tubing covered with hair or wool flock. "Ciroleum" tubing is made of a mixture of glycerine and gelatine to which are added small seeds. When made up it resembles rubber. Steel wires are covered with the mixture, allowed to cool and wires are then withdrawn, leaving a hollow tube. See Flock.

Flowers are made of silk, brocaded cloth, velvet, etc., cut by hand or power die presses and colored with anilines by

hand or air brush. "Goffering": Goffer irons are small gasheated tools, with ball-end and wooden handle. Used to round out petals. "Gripping," pinching and crimping are done on gas-heated appliances. The work consists merely of creasing or crimping the edges of the flower. Some flowers are of paper, worked cold, then dipped in wax. The heating of the wax kettles is important. Metal flowers are stamped out of sheet tin, and are painted and then soldered to wire frames. Painted in dip tank.

"Peps" are small berries, pollen stems or flower centers. Made of a heavy thread in an automatic machine, stiffened with sizing of gum arabic and starch, dipped in paste paint and dried in gas-heated machine. Cherries and fruits are made of cotton, moulded in treadle machines, dried, painted and varnished.

Preserving and Fireproofing of Natural and Artificial Foliage Mixture contains sulphate of ammonia, silicate of soda, rock salt, sugar, glucose and chlorine. It is mixed in wooden tanks and into which the foliage is immersed. Delicate plants are first dipped in a gelatine and paraffine bath. This process does not fireproof, but renders the foliage slow burning at ordinary temperature. Plants are bleached with diluted sulphuric, hydrofluoric and acetic acids.

Feathers used in millinery are mainly ostrich. Chicken feathers are used for quills and wings. Raw ostrich feathers are kept in bins according to quality. They are sorted, washed, whipped by hand to open up the flues, dyed and dried. "Branching" is the term applied in making up feathers in bunches or branches. Rubber cement is used from open cups. Tips are colored by hand or air brush with aniline colors, and dried in gas-heated ovens.

Ramie-Used in making artificial plumes. It is sewed on knitting frame, steamed, curled and tinted with aniline colors by air brush. All flower stocks are very susceptible to fire, smoke or water. In making leaves the handling of acetone, amyl acetate, turpentine, alcohol, benzine, liquid bronze, dry boxes, celluloid for leaves, gas-heated machines, waxing, and dyeing are the main hazards. Fire record of this class

is poor.-(W. O. Lincoln, "Live Articles on Special Hazards”—The Weekly Underwriter.)

FLOWERS OF SULPHUR-Obtained from sulphur in the shape of a fine crystalline powder.

FLOWING PRESSURE-See Static Pressure.

FLUE-The enclosure by means of which heated air or gases are conducted to the outer air, as a smoke flue from a smoke pipe.

FLUE DUST may be very inflammable if metallic zinc dust is present.

FLUE FIRES-Four or five pounds of common salt poured down the chimney will probably put out the blaze. The carbonic acid gas so generated is a fire extinguishing agent.

FLUE HOLES (Openings)-Many fires are caused by sparks entering rooms and igniting stock, or in the case of vacant rooms, igniting rubbish or the wooden floors. These flue holes are often left open by tenants moving who have had the smoke pipes of their coal stoves connected to them. All unused flue hole openings should be filled in with brick or mortar, or at least provided with a metal cap. Sometimes flue holes are merely covered with paper which forms an excellent chance for a fire to originate.

FLUFF The soft loose down broken away from fibres of cotton, wool, flax, etc., while in the state of manufacture. FLUORIDES-Compounds of fluorine with metals (calcium fluoride). No fire hazard.

FLUORINE-Unites with all elements except oxygen. When it unites with hydrogen it explodes.

FLUXES-Various substances used to prevent the instantaneous formation of rust when welding two pieces of hot metal together.

"FLY" The linty dust produced at textile (woolen, cotton, etc.) working machines. It is one of the main features to be watched by the inspector when inspecting a knitting mill. It is always present in the card room, more especially where all cotton or cotton waste is used. See Knitting Mills. See Dust.

FLY WHEEL-A heavy revolving wheel used for equalizing the motion of machinery.

FLY WHEEL PITS are the cause of many fires. In one instance a steam syphon was located in the pit and the engineer entered the pit with an open torch and an explosion and fire resulted. The real cause of the fire was the oil and grease which had been allowed to accumulate in the wheel pit. The oil and grease had become volatilized by the heat from the steam syphon so that when an open flame was introduced, a fire immediately occurred. These wheel pits should be kept clear of oil and litter.

FOAM EXTINGUISHERS-See Extinguishers.

FOAMING-An undue amount of boiling, caused by grease or dust in the boiler.

FOAMITE-See Extinguishers.

FOAMITE FIREFOAM-See Oil Tank Fires and Protection Against.

FOIL-See Tin Foil.

FOLDING BOX MANUFACTURING RISKS are better than solid box makers because less gluing is done, fewer machines used and goods are packed flat instead of in solid form. Flat packed stock offers more salvage and presents a less crowded condition. See Paper Box Factories. FOOT-POUND-This term can be easily understood as

follows: If you lift a weight of one pound to a height of one foot you have done a foot-pound of work. If you lift it two feet you have done two foot-pounds, and if you lift three pounds six feet you have done eighteen foot-pounds of work. In other words, the product of the weight and the height give the foot-pounds. Or force times distance will also give the foot-pound measurement. If you exert a pressure of 10 pounds through a distance of ten feet you will have exerted 100 foot-pounds. Watt discovered that a dray horse when not tired could do 33,000 foot-pounds in one minute and this unit is called a horse-power. Thus if an engine hoists a weight of 330 pounds through a distance of 100 feet in one minute, it is exerting one horse-power. See Horse-Power.

FOOTS—The name given to the remaining mass (con