FERRIER 



Ferrier, PAUL (1843-1920). 

 French dramatist. Born at Mont- 

 pellier, he studied for the bar, but 

 turned to playwriting after the pro- 

 duction of his first piece, a verse 

 play, La Revanche d'Iris, in 1868. 

 He wrote and collaborated in a 

 large number of opera libretti, 

 comic operas, and comedies, well 

 known in France for their gaiety 

 and humour. Among the most suc- 

 cessful were Les Mousquetaires au 

 Couvent, 1880; Tabarin, 1884; 

 L' Article 231, 1891 ; La Belle Mere, 

 1898. He died at Nouan-le-Fuz- 

 elier on Sept. 11, 1920. 



Ferrier, SUSAN EDMONSTONE 

 (1782-1854). Scottish novelist. 

 Born at Edinburgh, Sept. 7, 1782, 

 she published 

 her first novel, 

 Marriage, in 

 1818, followed 

 by The Inherit- 

 ance, 1824, and 

 Destiny, 1831. 

 Published an- 

 onymously, 

 they gave 



fysathTcal 

 picture of contemporary Scottish 

 society, and won great popularity 

 and the praise of critics as eminent 

 as James Hogg and Scott. She 

 was known familiarly as Scott's 

 " sister-shadow," and died at Edin- 

 burgh, Nov. 5, 1854. Her Recollec- 

 tions of Visits to Ashestiel and 

 Abbotsford were published in 1881. 

 See Life, J. Ferrier, 1899. 



Ferrite. Term used in mineral- 

 ogy for the particles of iron hy- 

 droxide which constitute some of 

 the binding elements in many 

 rocks ; and also to a particular form 

 of chrysolite. In chemistry it re- 

 fers to compounds of iron oxide 

 with other oxides more distinctly 

 basic, as in barium ferrite, calcium 

 ferrite, and others ; and in metal- 

 lurgy to the pure iron constituent 

 of steel. See Steel. 



Ferro- Concrete. One of the 

 several names for reinforced con- 

 crete. Concrete is reinforced for 

 use as a building material by plac- 

 ing within its substance mild-steel 

 bars which resist the pulling forces 

 that would destroy plain concrete. 

 No other building material is 

 equally fire-resistant, and its ability 

 to withstand all kinds of stresses 

 has rendered possible new methods 

 of construction balconies or gal- 

 leries, for example, ean be pro- 

 jected without the propping-up 

 from below that would be needed 

 for any other system of construc- 

 tion ; and the enormous strength 

 of the material enables the con- 

 struction of much thinner walls 

 than would be allowable with brick 

 or stone. See Building ; Concrete. 



3 1 26 



Ferrocyanides. Salts of ferro- 

 cyanic acid, H 4 Fe(CN) 6 . Most 

 ferrocyanides are coloured, and 

 those of the soluble alkalis are 

 non-poisonous, although from 

 them hydrocyanic or prussic acid 

 can be readily prepared. The 

 most important of these salts is 

 potassium ferrocyanide or yellow 

 prussiate of potash. The old pro- 

 cess of manufacture consisted in 

 fusing together potassium car- 

 bonate with iron borings and 

 nitrogenous animal matter such 

 as leather cuttings or woollen 

 rags, and lixiviating the mass 

 with water. Potassium ferro- 

 cyanide is made largely as a by- 

 product in the manufacture of 

 coal-gas. It is used in producing 

 Prussian blue (ferric ferrocyanide) 

 and other cyanogen compounds in 

 calico-printing, and for case-har- 

 dening iron. 



Ferrol. Seaport of Spain, in the 

 prov. of Corunna. It stands on the 

 N. arm of the Bay of Betanzos, and 

 is the chief Spanish naval station 

 on the Atlantic. The harbour is 

 sheltered and commodious, with 

 shipbuilding yards, docks, and 

 quays, defended by both nature 

 and art. It has a first-class arsenal, 

 a naval academy, and many fine 

 public buildings. It manufactures 

 naval stores, leather, sailcloth, 

 cotton and linen, and exports pit- 

 props, vinegar, brandy, and sar- 

 dines. The British besieged it in 

 1799, and took it hi 1805, after 

 defeating the French fleet off the 

 bay. It was captured by the 

 French after six weeks' blockade 

 in 1823. Pop. 26,270. 



Ferro -manganese. One of the 

 most important of a series of iron, 

 manganese, carbon alloys now 

 largely used in the preparation 

 of steel. The constitution of 

 the alloy varies according to the 

 character of the metal which it 

 is desired to convert into steel, 

 manganese ranging from 50 p.c. 

 to 80 p.c. The alloy is prepared 

 in blast-furnaces and cast into pigs, 

 in all essentials precisely as ordin- 

 ary pig-iron is 

 made. See Bes- f 

 semer Process; I 

 Metallurgy ; Steel. I 



Ferrous Salts. 

 Group of iron 

 salts. Ferrous 

 sulphate, FeS0 4 , 

 7H 2 0, or green 

 vitrio 1 is obtained 

 in large quantities 

 by exposing the 

 pyrites occurring 

 in coal - measures 

 to the a t m o s 

 phere. The soluble 

 ferrous sulphate, 

 together with 



the excess of sulphuric acid, runs 

 into underground tanks where 

 the excess of acid is removed by 

 means of scrap iron. The liquid, 

 on evaporation, yields crystals of 

 ferrous sulphate. 



Ferrous sulphate is used in the 

 manufacture of ink, in dyeing and 

 tanning, and in the preparation of 

 Prussian blue. The pure salt is 

 used in medicine. Ferrous oxide, 

 FeO, has the property, when 

 freshly made, of oxidising with in- 

 candescence on exposure to the 

 air. Ferrous iodide, FeI 2 , is used 

 in medicine, as are also ferrous 

 phosphate, Fe 3 (PO 4 ),.,8H 2 O, and 

 ferrous carbonate, FeC0 3 . The 

 last-named is contained in chaly- 

 beate waters, from which the 

 ferrous carbonate is deposited, on 

 exposure to air, as the hydrated 

 oxide. 



Ferrule. Short metal tube 

 driven tightly into a hole in an 

 iron or steel pipe and soldered or 

 otherwise secured to another pipe 

 so as to connect the two. It is also 

 a short tapered tube driven into 

 the end of a boiler-tube where it 

 passes through the fire-box plate. 

 The wedging action of the ferrule 

 expands the boiler-tube end and 

 ensures a tight connexion between 

 the boiler-tube and the plate. 

 There are also other types of 

 boiler-tube ferrules. In common 

 speech the word is used of a metal 

 ring on the handle of a tool, and of 

 the thimble-shaped ring fastened 

 to the end of a walking-stick or 

 umbrella to protect it from being 

 worn down by use. 



Ferry. Public passage-way 

 across water, usually linking up 

 roadways or tracks on both banks. 

 The most usual means of trans- 

 port is a floating vessel of some 

 kind which, in the case of small 

 loads and short distances, is fre- 

 quently a flat-bottomed boat, 

 guided by a taut wire cable and 

 propelled by an endless rope. For 

 heavy loads the ferry-boat may be 

 moved to and fro by a windlass on 

 board, which picks up and pays 



Ferry. Type ol steam ferry-boats formerly in use on 

 the Mersey between Liver;oo.' and Birkenhea^ 



