FERULE 



3128 



FESTINIOG 



be safely used according to direc- 

 tions, but for vegetables, in par- 

 ticular, three chief food ingredients 

 have to be applied directly to 

 crops in the form of manure. 

 These are nitrogen, phosphates, 

 and potash. The presence of lime, 

 also, is necessary, not so much as 

 a plant food as on account of its 

 action on the soil. The best and 

 most economical application of 

 chemical fertilisers to vegetable 

 crops is summarised below. 



For potatoes use sulphate of 

 ammonia, % oz per sq. yd., just 

 before the first earthing up. Super- 

 phosphate of lime, or superphos- 

 phate and steamed bone flour 

 mixed hi equal proportions, may 

 be applied when planting, at the 

 rate of 1J oz. per sq. yd. For the 

 cabbage for family use sulphate of 

 ammonia, oz. to | oz. per sq. yd. 

 before the first earthing up or as 

 soon as growth starts, and super- 

 phosphates at the rate of 1 oz. per 

 sq. yd. On very light soils, salt at the 

 rate of 1 oz. per sq. yd. will help. 

 The pea and bean family require 

 a mixture of superphosphate and 

 steamed bone flour in equal pro- 

 portions applied to the ground 

 before or after sowing the seed, at 

 the rate of 1 oz. to 4 yds. of drill. 

 The mixture must aot come into 

 direct contact with the seed. 



Onions, leeks, and celery require 

 sulphate of ammonia, oz. per 

 sq. yd., superphosphate and 

 steamed bone flour, 1 oz. per sq. 

 yd., and, on light soils, 1 oz.of salt 

 per sq. yd., all in the early stages 

 of growth. For carrots, parsnips, 

 and beet, use sulphate of ammonia, 

 oz. per sq. yd., after thinning 

 out or singling, and superphos- 

 phate, salt, etc., as for onions. 

 For lettuces, spinach, and radishes, 

 use sulphate of ammonia and 

 superphosphate as above Where 

 the soil is known to be overstocked 

 with organic matter, containing 

 nitrogen, producing a very rank 

 growth of leaf, the sulphate of 

 ammonia should be withheld. 



Where potash salts are unob- 

 tainable, wood ashes which con- 

 tain potash should be collected and 

 applied at the rate of 1 oz. per sq. 

 yd. Ashes must be collected as 

 soon as possible after burning, as 

 rain quickly washes out ,the potash. 

 On heavy soils, those rich hi 

 organic matter, basic slag may re- 

 place superphosphate, particularly 

 in districts with a good rainfall. 

 The quantity used should be from 

 one and a half times to twice as 

 much as is recommended in the 

 case of superphosphate. 



During the Great War the prob- 

 lem of fertilisers became acute in 

 all countries. In Great Britain the 

 utilisation of by-products from 



munitions making and other manu- 

 facturing industries partially re- 

 lieved the situation. A commission 

 recommended the utilisation of 

 the excess production of sulphuric 

 acid in the manufacture of super- 

 phosphates. Both France and 

 Italy suffered seriously, the latter 

 country only securing 16 p.c. of 

 the normal supply of phosphate. 

 Germany took steps to increase her 

 production of fertiliser nitrogen, 

 phosphoric acid and potash, her 

 total production rising from 220,000 

 tons in 1917-18, to 520,000 tons in 

 1918-19. She also developed the 

 production of synthetic nitrogen 

 compounds. See Crops ; Manure. 



Ferule (Lat. ferula, fennel, cane, 

 ferire, to strike). Instrument of 

 punishment. The stalk of the 

 giant fennel, Ferula communis, was 

 used as a rod or cane, to which it 

 gave its name. The word is applied 

 also to a sole-shaped strap, com- 

 parable to the Scotch tawse, with 

 which boys are beaten on the palms 

 of the hands in some schools. 



Fescennine Verses. Improvi- 

 sations in dialogue form made at 

 rustic gatherings in ancient Italy, 

 the origin probably of the native 

 Roman satura, or satire, in which 

 the speakers made capital out of 

 the faults and follies of their 

 neighbours. As a feature of wed- 

 ding celebrations they were com- 

 monly characterised by broad 

 licentiousness. Hence the deriva- 

 tion of the name from the Lat. 

 fascinum, a phallic emblem, by 

 some etymologists who deprecate 

 its other derivation from Fescennia 

 on the ground that the custom was 

 widespread throughout Italy, and 

 not peculiar to that small Etrus- 

 can town. From the Fescennine 

 verses the epithalamium, or nuptial 

 song, was ultimately developed, a 

 literary form of which Catullus, for 

 one, made exquisite use, and which 

 has been successfully reproduced in 

 the literature of many countries, 

 notably by Herrick in England. 



Fesch, JOSEPH (1763-1839). 

 French cardinal. Born at Ajaccio, 

 Jan. 3, 1763, the step- brother of 

 Letizia Bonaparte, he was arch- 

 deacon of Ajaccio until the French 

 revolution, when he retired. He 

 had always befriended the Bona- 

 parte family, and in 1802 Napoleon 

 made him archbishop of Lyons, 

 and procured for him a cardinal's 

 hat. Ambassador at Rome in 1804, 

 he persuaded Pius VII to crown 

 Napoleon in Paris, and was made 

 grand almoner and senator of the 

 Empire. His position as interme- 

 diary between Napoleon and Pius 

 was extremely difficult during the 

 years 1806-7, and Fesch's rela- 

 tions with both became strained, 

 especially after the Gallican council 





of 1811, from 

 the presidency 

 of which the 

 emperor dis- 

 missed his 

 uncle. Retir- 

 ing to Rome 

 on the fall of 

 the Empire in 

 1814, he re- 

 turned to 

 Lyons during 

 the Hundred 

 Days, but after 

 Napoleon'sab- 

 dication he 

 once more 

 went to Rome, 

 where he died, 

 May 13, 1839. 

 Fescue 

 Grass (Fes- 

 tuca). Exten- 

 sive genus of 

 grasses. Of the 

 natural order 

 Gramineae, 

 they are na- 

 tives of cold 

 and temperate 



regions. The Fescue Grass, 

 flattened Festuca pratensis 

 flower spikelets are grouped in pani- 

 cles or racemes ; there being three 

 or more flowers in each spikelet. 

 Many of the species are among the 

 most valuable of meadow and pas- 

 ture grasses, being rich in sac- 

 charine matter. Sheep's fescue 

 (F. ovina), with bristle-like leaves, 

 meadow fescue (F. pratensis), and 

 hard fescue (F. duriuscula) are 

 most useful for this purpose. 



Fess (Lat. fascia, band). In 

 heraldry, a horizontal band car- 

 ried across the middle of the shield 

 and occupying 

 one-third of the 

 field. It is one 

 of the ordi- 

 naries (q.v.). 

 The middle of 

 the field is 

 known as the 

 Fess Point. A 

 Fess. m heraldry shield or 

 charge divided by a horizontal 

 line in the middle is said to be 

 " per fess " ; but if it is divided 

 into any number of horizontal 

 bands above four, it is called 

 " barry." If there are three divi- 

 sions it is " tierced " or " tiercy 

 per fess "; if four, " quartered per 

 fess." Charges placed in horizontal 

 rows are termed " in fess." 



Festiniog OR FFESTINIOQ. Urban 

 dist. and town of Merionethshire, 

 Wales. It is 16 in. N. of Dolgelly, 

 and stands amid the hills, sur- 

 rounded by beautiful scenery, one 

 feature of which is the Cynfael 

 Falls. A narrow gauge rly. runs 

 to Portmadoc. The place is also 



