FIGHTING TOP 



3142 



FIGWORT 



Fighting Top. In ancient 

 naval warfare, a platform or large 

 barrel high up on the mast from 

 which heavy weights could be 

 thrown into any vessel lying along- 

 side, either to disable men or to 

 drive a hole through the bottom of 

 the ship. Later on, fighting tops 

 were occupied by archers and 

 riflemen ; in sailing ships they 

 were represented by the " tops," 

 or platforms built at the head of the 

 lower masts, where picked marks- 

 men were stationed during close- 

 fought actions. It was from the 

 mizen-top,theplatfonn ontheafter- 

 mast, of the Redoutable that the 

 shot was fired which killed Nelson. 



In the later years of the pre- 

 Dreadnought era fighting tops 

 were equipped with machine and 

 light quick-firing guns for driving 

 off hostile torpedo-craft, but as 

 the size of the latter and the range 

 of torpedoes increased, it be- 

 came impossible to mount in these 

 positions guns sufficiently heavy 

 and far-reaching for the purpose. 

 Modern ships still have large 

 structures built high up on the 

 masts, but these are occupied in 

 action by the spotting officers and 

 apparatus connected with fire- 

 control. See Battleship. 



Figig. Walled oasis of Morocco, 

 on the borders of Algeria. It lies 

 three miles N.W. of Beni Unif, 

 and 165 m. E.S.E. of Fez, and is a 

 station on the rly. from Oran to 

 Colomb Bechar. There are 250,000 

 date palms and a considerable trade 

 is carried on with Morocco. The 

 inhabitants, numbering about 

 15,000, belong to the Amour tribe. 

 After a revolt in 1903, order was 

 established by a French military 

 mission. Alt. 2,700 ft. 



Figline. Town of Italy, in the 

 prov. of Florence. It stands on the 

 river Arno, 15 m. by rly. S.E. of 

 Florence. It manufactures wine 

 and cutlery, and straw-plaiting is 

 carried on. In the vicinity is Monte 

 Ferrato (alt. 1,385 ft.), noted for its 

 quarries of serpentine. Pop. 12,035. 

 Pron. Fil-yeeny. 



Fig Marigolds (Mesembryan- 

 themum). Large genus of fleshy herbs 

 and sub -shrubs. Of thenatural order 

 Ficoideae, they are natives of hot, 

 dry climates, especially S. Africa. 

 The leaves vary greatly in the 

 different species ; the flowers are 

 large and conspicuous, white, yellow 

 or red, with many long, slender 

 petals. See Ice-plant. 



Figueira, GUILLEN (c. 1190- 

 1250). One of the later Proven9al 

 troubadours. He was born at 

 Toulouse, and is reported to have 

 been a tailor. When the persecu- 

 tion of the Albigenses took place, 

 he wrote vigorously in their de- 

 fence, and on the persecutors' 



Fighting Top or Fire Control plat- 

 form of the battle cruiser Renown 



Cribb, Southtea 



capture of Toulouse took refuge in 

 Italy. In the struggle between the 

 Empire and Rome he sided with 

 the former, and one of his sirventes 

 is a denunciation of the latter. He 

 also composed some notable love 

 songs. Pron, Feegayeera. 



Figueras. Town of Spain, in the 

 prov. of Gerona. It stands in a fer- 

 tile plain near the French frontier, 

 27 m. N.E. of Gerona on the Barce- 

 lona -Perpignan Rly. The town is 

 strongly fortified, with a citadel 

 built by Ferdinand VI, which has 

 been called the key of the frontier. 

 There is some trade in soap, wine, 

 leather, and textiles ; gold and cop- 

 per mines are in the district. The 

 town fell three times to the French 

 in 1794, 1808, and 1823. Pop. 

 11,778. Pron. Feegayrahss. 



Figueras y Moracas, ESTANIS- 

 LAO (1819-82 ). Spanish statesman. 

 Born at Barcelona, Nov. 13, 1819, 

 he studied law. As a republican he 

 was elected to the Cortes in 1851. 

 Prominent in the revolution of 

 1868, he strongly opposed all 

 attempts to restore the monarchy, 

 and upon the establishment of the 

 republic of 1873 became president 

 of the provincial council of minis- 

 ters. He occupied a prominent 

 position in politics until 1874, 

 when the restoration drove him 

 into retirement. He died at Madrid, 

 Nov. 11, 1882. 



Figurate Number. Term used 

 in mathematics. In an arithmetical 

 progression, if the first number is a 

 unit and the successive numbers 

 differ from it by whole numbers, as 

 hi such a series as 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, then 

 a new series may be formed by 

 adding together the first two 

 terms, then the first three terms, 

 then the first four terms, etc. The 

 new series would thus be 1, 3, 6. 



10, 15. These numbers are called 

 figurate numbers. Similarly another 

 series, 1, 4, 10, 20, 35, etc., might 

 be formed from the second series. 



Figured Bass. In music, a bass 

 part provided with figures to indi- 

 cate the chords which should be 

 added to it. See Basso Continuo. 



Figure-Head. Image painted 

 or carved on the prow of a war 

 vessel. It doubtless originated hi 

 the sentiment that a ship was a 

 living thing and should be given 

 in at least one respect the external 

 appearance of one. Possibly, too, 

 the ferocious aspect of a grotesque- 

 ly shaped animal in the bows had 

 some sort of moral effect upon 

 ancient or uncivilized warriors. 



In the days of the oared galley 

 the figure-head was made to fill 

 the purpose of an above-water 

 ram. Projecting further in ad- 

 vance of the bow than the ram 

 below water, it was driven with 

 such force against an enemy's side 

 as to cause the vessel to heel over, 

 thus giving the submerged pro- 

 jection the opportunity of striking 

 in a more vulnerable and vital 

 part of the hull. When the sail 

 superseded the oar as a means of 

 propulsion, the figure-head ceased 

 to have any practical value, but it 

 was retained for ornament, and 

 as an expression of sentiment. 

 No British warship has had a figure- 

 head, or even a bow scroll, for 

 many years, excepting only the 

 Triumph and Swiftsure, which were 

 completed as they were designed 

 for the Chilean navy. Many figure- 

 heads of old British warships are 

 to be seen in naval museums in the 

 royal dockyards and elsewhere. Q 



Figwort (Scrophularia). Large 

 genus of herbs, of the natural order 

 Scrophulariaceae. They are na- 

 tives of Europe, Asia, N. Africa, and 

 America. They have tuberous or 

 creeping rootstocks, opposite leaves, 

 and somewhat globular flowers 

 of a greenish-purple or yellow 

 hue, succeeded by a two-valved 

 capsule. As a rule they have 

 an unpleasant odour. S. nodosa, 



Figwort. Leaves and flowers of the 

 knotted figwort 



