FORMOSA 



3259 



FORRES 



Formosa. Map of the island sur- 

 rendered by China to Japan in 1895 



century, called by the Japanese 

 Taiwan or Terrace Bay. It is 244 m. 

 in length with a maximum width 

 of 76 m. Separated from the main- 

 land of China by the storm-swept 

 Strait of Formosa, it is crossed by 

 the tropic of Cancer. 



An island of wonderful fertility 

 and great natural beauty, it is 

 sharply divided into two nearly 

 equal portions. The western side, 

 facing China, consists of highly 

 cultivated plains ; the eastern, of 

 lofty forest-clad mountain ranges, 

 which extend to the E. coast, where 

 the island faces the open Pacific, 

 with steep, perpendicular cliffs, 

 rising to a height in some places 

 of 6,000 ft. The mountains are in- 

 habited by tribes of fierce savages 

 of Malay or Negrito origin, who, 

 since the island was surrendered by 

 China to the Japanese after the war 

 of 1894-95, are being gradually 

 brought into subjection. The 

 western half is inhabited by 

 Chinese agricultural and industrial 

 settlers, and their descendants, and 

 by Japanese, the total population 

 of the island being 3,698,918. 



The chief products are rice, tea, 

 sugar, salt, rattans, sweet potatoes, 

 hemp, jute, indigo, and camphor. 

 Its minerals are gold (alluvial), 

 silver, coal, copper, petroleum, and 

 sulphur. Economic timber, as yet 

 almost untouched, may be said to 

 be inexhaustible. It is the prin- 

 cipal source of the camphor supply 

 of the world. The climate is hot, 

 damp, and malarious. In the N. 

 there is a very heavy rainfall, and 

 violent typhoons are frequent. The 

 trunk rly. starts at Keelung, the 

 chief harbour, passes Taihoku, the 

 capital, Taichu, Tainan, the oldest 

 city, and Takow to reach Hozan. 



Formosa. Territory of Argen- 

 tina, in the N.E. of the republic. 

 It lies between the rivers Pilcomayo 

 and Bermejo, with Paraguay on 

 the E., the Gran Chaco on the S., 

 and the prov. of Salta on the W. 

 It includes part of the Gran Chaco. 

 The interior contains forests and 

 swamps, abounding in game. Area, 

 41,402 sq. m. The capital is For- 

 mosa, on the river Paraguay, a 

 centre for agricultural produce, as 

 well as for cattle, tobacco, and 

 sugar. It has a port and a wire- 

 less station. Indians inhabit the 

 interior. Pop. 20,458. 



Formosa. Strait or channel 

 separating the island of Formosa 

 from China. It is about 150 m. 

 broad and contains the 12 Pesca- 

 dores Islands, the largest of which is 

 Hokoto. 



Formula (Lat. forma, little 

 form). Prescribed form of any- 

 thing. In mathematics formulae 

 are the general expressions used 

 in solving problems ; thus a* 

 b 2 = (a b) (a+6) is a formula. 

 The word is most commonly used 

 perhaps in chemistry. A collection 

 of formulae in a book is called 

 a formulary. 



Chemical formulae are symbolical 

 representations of the arrangement 

 of the atoms within the molecule, 

 the modes of the formation and de- 

 composition of a compound, or the 

 relation which the allied com- 

 pounds bear to one another. 

 Dalton, in 1808, devised a system 

 of circles to represent atoms, 

 grouping them together to show 

 how compounds are made up. 

 Later Berzelius 

 employed a sys- 

 tem based on the 

 atomic theory 

 from which the 

 modern usage has 

 developed, owing 

 to the need of 

 devising means oi 

 expressing such 

 facts as the rela- 

 tion of the atoms 

 which enter into 

 the composition 

 of the molecules. 



The various 

 kinds of chemical 

 formulae are best 

 illustrated by 

 reference to acetic 

 acid. The mole- 

 cular formula is 

 C 2 H 4 O 2 , indicat- 

 ing the atoms 

 of which the 

 molecule is com- 

 posed. The em- 

 pirical or rational 

 formula is 

 HC 2 H S O 2 , which 

 emphasises the 



replaceable hydrogen of the acid. 

 The following examples are con- 

 stitutional or structural formulae : 



^ 

 (1) OC<. 



OH 



(2) CH.-CO-OH 

 H OH 



(3) 



H,C 



C O ] 



(4)H C C=O 



i 



These are intended mainly to 

 express the relations or linkage 

 between the bonds which deter- 

 mine the behaviour of the sub- 

 stance. No. 2 indicates that acetic 

 acid is composed of the two com- 

 pound radicals, methyl and car- 

 boxyl. Constitutional formulae 

 are determined by experiment and 

 indicate properties which a com- 

 pound may be expected to possess. 

 See Chemical Signs. 



Fornax. One of Lacai He's 

 southern circumpolar constella- 

 tions. Its name means the chemi- 

 cal furnace. See Constellation. 



Forres. Royal burgh and mar- 

 ket town of Moray or Elginshire, 

 Scotland. It stands on the river 

 r . . ...,..-.,, Findhorn, near 

 the Moray Firth, 

 12 m. S.W. of 

 Elgin. The prin- 

 cipal buildings 

 are the town 

 hall, Falconer 

 Museum, Ander- 

 son's Institution, 

 and Mechanics' 



Forres arms 



Institute. An ancient monolith, 

 named Sueno's stone, is said to 

 have been placed here early in the 

 10th century. On Castle Hill was 



Formosa. Natives of the Paiwan group. Above, man 

 and woman of the Tsuo group in elaborate head-dresses 



