: - 



FLAXXEL MAXUFACTURE. 



FI.AX. 



who WM oooMonted to the worship of Jupiter, and was the first in 

 nok, the Flameu Kartialis, who attended to the worship of Mara, 

 Flameo Qmriuali*, Ac. They enjoyed great consideration, and their 

 wive*, called FUininicB, attended the sacrifices and other sacred 

 oeretuonie*. Uut with thtir j.rml. ,.- they were subjected to great 

 restriction* ; they could not be sbeent frm tin- > ity more than a single 

 night ; nur from their own beds more than two mghte consecutively ; 

 nor mount on horseback ; nor touch a borne, a dog, or a corpse ; nor 

 swear an oath ; nor wear a ring with stones, 4c- ; and if hi wife dittl 

 the Klauien was compelled to resign his office. The Flamines wan 

 rlirtinriiiih'H by a peculiar pileus, or hat, of a conical shape, which 

 was fastened under tile chin. Their number, which was originally 

 only three, was increased afterwards aa new gods were introduced, and 

 at last even the emperors, being deified after death, had a Klauien 

 ap]H>intcd for them. The Flamines were chosen, the three named 

 above from among the patricians, the others from the plebeians. 



KI.AN K "I a bastion, Ac., in the term applied in fortification to that 

 portion of a work, the fire from which being in the direction of, ami in 

 front of, any work, would take in flank the attacking party, t : 

 most materially aiding in the defence, for it is evident that without 

 such works to sweep by their fire along the foot of a high revetment- 

 wall, or parapet, the attacking party would, when they reached such a 

 position , be sa f e from the besieged, except in so far an hand-grenades and 

 shells rolled over the parapet could reach them and might place their 

 scaling ladders, or carry on mining operations to break the ramparts, 

 in perfect security, in fact, such has been done in Indian forU, where 

 from the curvature or irregularity of the wall, the fire from the 

 adjacent Hanking towers was ineffective. The line of defence, or 

 length of line (Linked by a work, will depend on the range, ic., of the 

 weapons used ; with the old musket it was considered that ISO yards 

 was the greatest length admissible. [BASTION, j 



FLANNEL MANUFACTURE. Flannel is made of worsted jam, 

 spun much more loosely than that for moat kinds of garment cloths, 

 an' I tinixhed with a less amount of dressing; but the manufacturing 

 operations are nearly the same in principle : and therefore it will suffice 

 to refer to WOOLLKN AND WORSTED MANCFACTCKK for an account of 

 the machinery and processes employed. It may be well, however, in this 

 place, to mention a few specialities in relation to this branch of industry. 

 Wales is the country in which llannel was originally made ; and the 

 flannel produced there is still held in high repute for inner vests and 

 other purposes. This superior flannel is mode chiefly about the neigh- 

 bourhood of Welchpool and Newtown ; it is better than most of the 

 English, but not so cheap. The finest is made from the fleece of the 

 ; mountain sheep. Lancashire, and especially Rochdale and its 

 neighbourhood, is the district where flannels are made more extensively 

 than in any other part of the British dominions, perhaps than in any in 

 the world. They are woven in that county in a great variety of width 

 and substance ; such as the thin gauze, the medium, the thick, the 

 double-raised, and the swanskin flannels ; BOOM for home consumption, 

 some chiefly for foreign. Machinery is more generally used here than 

 elsewhere in the manufacture ; that is, the mule for spinning, and the 

 power-loom for weaving. Saddleworth, and the adjacent district of 

 West Yorkshire, are remarkable for the manufacture of very line 

 flannels, which find a ready sale at good prices in London. A few 

 cheap and common flannels are mode in tho Leeds district, retaining 

 the natural colour of the wool. In the West of England, white and 

 dyed flannels ore made in small quantity, partaking somewhat of the 

 quality of light cloth. Ireland produces coarse flannels, called Galwayt, 

 made of Irish-grown wool, and adapted for the native population. Of 

 continental nations, France and Belgium produce the best flannels ; the 

 fine light flannels of the first-named country are well adapted for 

 dyeing or printing. 



The extent of the exportation of flannels cannot be ascertained from 

 the Board of Trade returns, seeing that they are combined as one 

 among several items belonging to the class of wonted "ioods. 



FLASK. In chemistry, a glass vessel of a more or less globular 

 form, with a neck, used for heating liquids. 



FLAT, in music, a character originally represented by a small 6, 

 though time has somewhat altered its outline, anil the following ia 

 now it form f. The Flat is used to lower, or depress, by the degree 

 of a semitone, any note in the natural scale. lu ancient music, before 

 the character of the Natural was introduced, tho Flat was employed 

 to reduce any note which had been made sharp, to its natural state. 

 Where Flats are placed at the clef, they are always taken in the 



following order : 



M. M. M. k. Mk. filk. 7ik. 



I 



- 



When a Flat, not appearing at the clef, occurs in any other part of 

 the composition, it only affects the bar in which it is placed, and is 

 called an Accidental Flat. 



The DOCSI.E FLAT l~~tt | H frequently omployed in very chro- 

 matic muric. It lowers a note two semitones below its natural state. 

 -\ 

 - I is, in fact, A no/ura Ifa. This character 



is used chiefly in Enharmonic modulation [ENHARXOXIC], in which it 

 is practically convenient, if not absolutely neoexary, occasionally to haw 

 an additional name for each note in the diatonic and i limmatic scales. 



V\.\\ IN. [1 m v/ 



KI.AS1X1UN. |lMH.;o.J 



FLAX (LtH*in luitaliuiiiium) is an annual plant, cultivated 

 time immemorial for its textile libres, which are spun into thread and 

 nt<> lim'ii i-ioih. It has a green stem from a foot and a half to 

 two feet high, and a blue flower, which is succeeded by a capsule con- 

 taining ten flat oblong seeds of a brown colour, from which an 

 expressed, which is extensively used in manufactures and in r*' 1 ^*^)!' 

 There are several varieties of flax cultivated ; the best eed comes from 

 Riga and from Holland. As the different varieties arrive at maturity 

 at different times, and the stem rises to different I 

 essential that the seed be not mixed, as this would occasion great 

 inconvenience and loss in the pulling of the flax. There is very fine 

 long variety which is cultivated in the neighbourhood of 

 Flanders ; it requires a very good soil to grow in, and the stein is so 

 long and slender that if it were not supported the least 

 break it and lay it Hat, in which case the quality of the ll.ix would Ko 

 much impaired and the quantity reduced. To prevent this, short 

 stakes are driven into the ground in a line at eight or ten feet 

 each other, and long slender rods are tied to them with <>, 

 foot or eighteen inches from the ground, forming a slight railing to 

 support the flax : a number of these are placed in the same man 

 a short distance from each other in parallel lines all over the fid 

 the flax is thus prevented from being beat down, 

 w hieh is not commonly adopted, is to have stakes in regular rov. 

 thin ropes tied to them instead of rods : by having these len^t 

 and others across them at right angles, a kind of large net is 

 o\t>r thf whole field, and none of the flax can possibly be laid flat. liy 

 using cheap rope or strong tar twine from old cables, the expense is 

 not very great, and much less room is taken up than by tlie rods. When 

 the flax is pulled, the stakes are taken up, and removed to a di \ 

 till they are wonted again. 



The most common variety of flax is of a moderate length with a 

 stronger stem: if it is not sown very thick it will tla<>v. <mt ! 

 at top and produce much seed : it is therefore a in 

 whether it will be most profitable to have finer flax with lees i 

 an inferior quality with an abundance of seed. 



There is a small variety which does not rise above a foot, grow 

 and ripens its seed sooner. When linseed is the ]iriiici|til ol.j. . 

 variety is preferred ; but the flax is shorter and also coarser. 



Another variety of flax has a perennial root, and shoots out stems 

 to a considerable height. It came originally from SiU-ria. an 

 much recommended at one time, but its cultivation <li'l not -proud. If 

 it wore sown in wide rows and kept free from weeds by ho> 

 might perhaps be profitably cultivated for the 

 inferior in quality, it might still be of some value for coarse 

 lacturos ; it requires however to be renewed every i : 

 and sown in fresh ground. 



The soil best adapted to the growth of flax is a <].< rich 1 

 which there is much vegetable mould. It sho- 

 to a considerable depth, with a sound bottom, neiiln 

 moist; either extreme infalli' the flax; it is t! 



suited either to hot gravelly soils or cold wet cla\ 

 soil may be so tilled and prepared as to produce good flax. It 

 well iu the rich alluvial lam) of Zealand and the polders, but it U also 

 raised with great success in the light sands of Flanders. but imu i 

 careful tillage and manuring are required. The land on which flax is 

 sown must be very free from weeds, the weeding of thi 

 a very important part of the expense of cultivation. These on 

 stances suggest the best mode of preparing the land. A lon^ 

 such aa is sometimes given to the land in Essex, including 

 and a summer, may be a good preparation on the heavier loams, whii h 

 should be trench-ploughed ami worked deep; the m.-mniv should U- 

 dung fully rotten, or a compost of earth and dung ; it should be put c .n 

 "1 fn autumn, and will i seed in sown. It' 



the land is Hurticicntly clean, a crop of i*>tatoes well manured n 

 substituted with advantage for tile fallow; but at leant douo 

 usual quantity of dung should be given to this crop that enough may 

 remain in the ground for the flax. Lime may l>e used if the soil 

 contains a great portion of clay ; but in the lighter loams there i - 

 doubt of its advantage for flax. At all events it should not be used 

 immediately before the flax is sown, but for some pro . 

 ashes ore excellent ; they improve tho soil and keep oil' insect*, which 

 are apt to injure the roots of the flax. For want of peat-ashci- 

 made by the burning of weeds and earth in a smothered fire are a good 

 substitute. But the most effective manure is the swee| 

 streets in towns mixed with the emptying of privies and t 

 out of the butchers' stalls and shambles. On light soils much manure H 

 required; and where night noil cannot be obtained in sufficient quan- 

 titles, rape cakes, from which the oil ha 



cows' urine, form the best manure. In many parts of Fland. 

 rape cakes are used for every acre of flax, besides the usual quan 

 Dutch ashes and of liquid manure, which is the drawings of dunghillx 

 and the urine of cattle collected in a cistern and allowed to become 

 putrid. 



