156 



FEATHERS FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. 



In a picture foiuul in the room of a wine shop at 

 Pompeii, we have the representation of a wine cart, 

 withapurchaserget- 

 tinn amphora: filled. 

 Tin- wine is contain- 

 ed in a large skin 

 which occupies the 

 whole waggon. The 

 neck of the skin is 

 closed by a ligature, 

 jn id the wine is 

 drawn oft" through 

 the leg,which forms 

 a convenient spout. 

 The amphorae are 

 pointed at the bot- 

 tom, so that they 

 might be stuck into 

 the ground, and 

 kept cool. In this 

 manner they were 

 generally ranged in 

 cellars. The clumsy 

 transverse yoke by 

 which the horses \ \ 

 are fastened to the! V 

 pole is worthy on 

 notice. The sup- 

 per apartment was 

 called Coenatio or 



Triclinium. The fol- 



lowing cut represents the Triclinium in the garden 

 of the house of Sallust, found at Pompeii. The couches 

 are of masonry, intended to be covered with mat- 

 tresses and rich tapestry ; the round table in the cen- 

 tre is of marble : 



The banquets varied of course, according to the 

 persons present ; for a symposium of young men, 

 and one of philosophers or statesmen, had different 

 kinds of entertainment. Besides the entertainment 

 of conversation, which, as we learn from the Sym- 

 posia of Plato and Plutarch, was often very serious 

 and philosophic, but more frequently consisted of 

 wit and repartee, together with enigmas, which were 

 much in vogue, they had music and singing ; and 

 the scolion (see Scolia) was sometimes in a joyful, 

 sometimes a solemn strain. After the meal was 

 ended, flute-players, female singers, dancers, and 

 buffoons of all kinds amused the guests, or the 

 guests themselves joined in sports and games of 

 various sorts, among which the kottabos is famous. 

 At the close of solemn and splendid feasts, the host 

 distributed presents called apophorcta. These were 

 sometimes, for the sake of amusement, thrown into a 

 lottery. See Festivals. 



FEATHERS, the peculiar covering of birds, con- 

 sist of the tube, the shaft, and the barbs. The tube 

 is a hollow, transparent, horny cylinder, constituting 

 the root of the feather ; the shaft is elastic, and con- 

 tains a white, dry, and very light pith. The tube 

 contains a vascular substance, composed of numer- 

 ous cells, joined together, and communicating witli 

 each other. This is enveloped by the tube, but 

 communicates with the skin by a small opening at 



the root of the tube, and is probably the organ 

 by which the feather is nourished. The sides of the 

 shaft are covered with the barbs, running in a uni- 

 form direction ; and each barb forms, of itself, a little 

 shaft, which is covered in a similar manner, with 

 little barbs on each edge. On the wing feathers, 

 the barbs are broader on one side than on the other; 

 but on the other feathers, they are equal on both 

 sides. The barbs are provided with barbules, by 

 which they are bound so firmly to each other, as to 

 appear to adhere together, although they are, in fact, 

 entirely separate. The feathers of birds are periodi- 

 cally changed. This is called moulting. When 

 feathers have reached their full growth, they become 

 dry, and only the tube, or the vascular substance 

 which it contains, continues to absorb moisture or 

 fat. When, therefore, part of a feather is cut off, it 

 does not grow out again ; and a bird, whose wings 

 have been clipped, remains in that situation till the 

 next moulting season, when the old stumps are shed, 

 and new feathers grow out. If, however, the stumps 

 are pulled out sooner (by which operation the bird 

 suffers nothing), the feathers will be renewed in a 

 few weeks. The inhabitants of the high northern 

 latitudes use the skins of several sorts of water- fowls, 

 with the feathers on, as clothing. The Greenlander 

 makes use of the eider duck, wearing the feathers 

 next to the body, and thus endures the extreme cold 

 of his climate. The ancient Mexicans formed various 

 kinds of pictures, in the manner of Mosaic, from 

 the splendid feathers of the humming bird ; but they 

 were necessarily very imperfect. Professor Blank, 

 at Wurtemburg, has invented a similar kind of orna- 

 ment. Feathers make a considerable article of com- 

 merce; particularly those of the ostrich, heron, 

 swan, peacock, goose, &c., for plumes, ornaments, 

 beds, pens, &c. Geese are plucked, in some parts 

 of Great Britain, five times in the year ; and, in cold 

 seasons, many of them die by this barbarous custom. 

 Those feathers that are brought from Somersetshire 

 are esteemed the best, and those from Ireland the 

 worst. The best method of curing feathers is to lay 

 them in a room exposed to the sun, and, when dried, 

 to put them in bags, arid beat them well with poles, 

 to get off the dirt. Feathers, when chemically ana- 

 lyzed, seem to possess nearly the same properties with 

 hair. The quill is composed chiefly of coagulated 

 albumen, without any traces of gelatine. 



FEBRUARY ; from the Roman goddess Febnu, 

 or Felrua, who presided over the purifications (e. g., 

 for lying in), and is sometimes confounded with Juno. 

 In this month, the Romans held a feast in behalf of 

 the manes of the deceased ; and Macrobius tells us, 

 that in this month, also, sacrifices were performed, 

 and the last offices were paid to the defunct. The 

 Mosaic religion also prescribed such purifications. 



FECULA. See Starch. 



FEDERAL GOVERNMENT. Federal is derived 

 from the Latin fcedus, a league, treaty, covenant, 

 and applied to the governments of confederations, 

 which consist of several united, sovereign states, as, 

 for instance, the Swiss republic, the United States of 

 North America, Mexico, &c. The degree to which 

 such states give up their individual rights as sove- 

 reign bodies may be very different. Thus the old 

 German empire was a confederation, under a head, 

 and yet one member of it might wage war with an- 

 other, whilst the different members of the United 

 States have given up, among other things, all politi- 

 cal power in so far as it relates to foreign affairs. In 

 the Swiss confederation, the different members are 

 allowed to conclude treaties with foreign powers, if 

 they are not expressly prohibited by the constitution. 

 It must be observed that every confederation has not 

 a federal government, because sometimes a confer!*- 



