F I S 



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F L I 



in others, forming a Stone sufficiently 

 hard for building. The transition from 

 the marl to the fire-stone is in many 

 localities so gradual, and the sandy par- 

 ticles are so sparingly distributed, that 

 the chalk-marl may be said to repose 

 immediately on the gait ; in others, how- 

 ever, the characters of the fire-stone are 

 very peculiar, and some geologists have 

 deemed them of sufficient importance to 

 rank this deposit as an independent for- 

 mation. The fire-stone contains the same 

 fossils as the grey marl, and a few species 

 not found in any other bed. Dr. Man- 

 tell. 



FI'SSILE. (fissilis,Lait.) Capable of being 

 split, or divided, in the direction of the 

 grain or cleavage. 



FISSI'LITY. The quality of admitting to 

 be split, or divided in the line of its 

 cleavage. 



FISSIRO'STRES. A family of aves, numeri- 

 cally small, but very distinct from all 

 others in the beak, which is short, broad, 

 horizontally flattened, slightly hooked, 

 unemarginate, and with an extended com- 

 missure, so that the opening of the mouth 

 is very large, which enables them to 

 swallow with ease the insects they cap- 

 ture while on the wing : the swallow be- 

 longs to this family, and is an example. 



FI'SSURE. (fissura,fromfindo, Lat. fissure, 

 Fr. fessura, It.) A cleft; a narrow 

 chasm. 



FI'SSURED. Cracked ; separated by narrow 

 chasms ; divided by clefts. 



FISSURE'LLA. A gasteropod ; a genus of 

 the order Scutibranchiata. A buckler- 

 formed univalve, without spire : the ver- 

 tex perforated by a small ovate or oblong 

 orifice, which affords a passage to the 

 water required for respiration ; this orifice 

 penetrates into the cavity of the branchiae, 

 which are situated on the fore part of the 

 back. The fissurella has been found in 

 the Essex cliffs. 



FISTULA'NA. A genus of the family Inclusa, 

 class Acephala, division Mollusca. Nearly 

 all of the family inclusa live buried in sand, 

 stones, ooze, or wood. The external tube 

 of fistulana is entirely closed at its larger 

 end, and is more or less like a bottle or 

 club. The fistulanae are sometimes found 

 buried in submerged fragments of wood, 

 or in fruits, and the animal, like the 

 teredo, has two small valves, and as many 

 palettes. Recent specimens are only ob- 

 tained from the Indian Ocean, but fis- 

 tulana are found fossil in the Shanklin 

 sand, where, in some instances, the wood 

 is studded with the remains of a small 

 species of fistulana, of a pyriform shape, 

 about one-third of an inch long, to which 

 the name of Fistulana pyriformis has been 

 given. Fistulanse personate are found in 



the chalk formation, and in the arenaceous 

 limestone, or sandstone of Bognor ; and 

 Fistulana pyriformis, at the junction of 

 the Gait and Shanklin Sand, imbedded in 

 wood. 



FI'STULAR. (fromfistularis, Lat.) Hollow 

 like a pipe. 



FI'STULIFORM. (from fistula and forma, 

 Lat.) In round hollow columns. 



FI'STULOUS. (fistuleux, Fr. infistolito, It.) 

 Hollow; tube-like. 



FIXA'TION. (fixation, Fr. fissazione, It.) 

 Want of volatility ; that condition which 

 resists evaporation, or volatilization by 

 heat. 



FI'XITY. (fixitt, Fr. propriety qu'ont quel- 

 ques corps de rfetre point dissipte par 

 Faction du feu.} Coherence of parts: 

 that property which some bodies possess 

 of resisting dissipation by heat. 



FLABE'LLIFORM. (from fiabellum and 

 forma, Lat.) Fan-shaped. 



FLAKE, (floccus, Lat. flake, Sw.) Astra- 

 turn or layer ; a sort of scale. 



FLA'KY. Composed of small strata or 

 layers ; having scales or laminae. 



FLAMMABI'LITY. The quality of being ig- 

 nited so as to burn with a flame. 



FLA'MMABLE. That may be set on fire so 

 as to blaze. 



FLAMMI'VOMOUS. (fromflamma and vomo, 

 Lat.) That vomits forth flames ; volca- 

 noes areflammivomous. 



FLA'VOUS. (flavus, Lat.) Yellow; of a 

 yellow colour. 



FLAW, (from 0\ao>, Gr., to break.) A 

 crack ; a break or split ; a defect. 



FLAWED. Cracked. 



FLEXIBILITY, (flexibility, Fr. fiessibilita, 

 Fr.flexibilitas, Lat.) Pliancy ; the qua- 

 lity of admitting to be bent. 



FLE'XIBLE. (ftexibilis, Lat. flexibile, Fr. 

 fiessibile, It.) That can be bent ; not 

 brittle: pliable; possessing elastic pro- 

 perties. 



FLE'XIBLENESS. Pliancy ; pliantness ; the 

 opposite to brittleness. 



FLE'XUOUS. Winding ; tortuous ; bending 

 in different directions ; zigzag ; with an- 

 gles gently winding. 



FLE'XURE. (flexura, Lat.) The direction 

 in which anything is bent. 



FLINT. (Sax.) Siliceous earth, nearly 

 pure. Flint is the commonest form in 

 which quartz exhibits itself; it is rather 

 harder than quartz, and contains a minute 

 portion of alumine and of oxide of iron ; 98 

 per cent, being pure silex. A remarkable 

 circumstance attending flint is, that it is 

 found in masses, dispersed in regular 

 parallel beds, in chalk-rocks. This is 

 elucidated, and partly explained, in a 

 beautiful manner in the manufacturing of 

 porcelain. Porcelain is made of flint and 

 clay, pounded extremely fine, and mingled 



