ri:r. 



FRN 



mildi cows, three ; and fattening an- 

 imals three and a half to lour per 

 cent, of their weight in hay or its 

 equivalent. See Fodder. 



FEELERS. The antenna; of in- 

 sects, or, according to entomologists, 

 organs tixed to the mouth, used for 

 prehension. 



FELINE ANIMALS. Beasts of 

 the tiger, lion, and cat race. They 

 are carnivorous, furnished with sharp 

 incisor teeth, and retractile claws. 



FELL. The hide of an animal. 



FELLING TI.MBER. iMuch dis- 

 cussion has arisen as to the time of 

 felling timber, some contending for 

 winter, others for summer. Duha- 

 mel, who examined the matter thor- 

 oughly, came to the conclusion that 

 the time of cutting was of little or no 

 importance on the durability of the 

 timber. The rule now established is, 

 that soft woods, as the elm, poplar, 

 maple, willows, are best cut in win- 

 ter, the harder trees in summer, and 

 old trees may be cut at any time. 



FELLINIC ACID. One of the 

 acids found in bile by Berzelius. 



FELLMUNGER'S POAKE, or 

 CLIPPINGS. The clippings of skins 

 and the scrapings of leather. It con- 

 tains hair, skin, and lime, and is best 

 introduced into composts to increase 

 the amount of nitrogen. A direct ap- 

 plication is wasteful, for it decays 

 rapidlv. 



FELLOES. The curved pieces of 

 wood which form the circumference 

 of wheels ; ash is preferred for this 

 purpose. 



FELON, or FETLOW. In farri- 

 ery, a term for a sort of inflammation 

 in animals similar to that of whitlow 

 in the human subject. 



FELDSPAR. A common mineral 

 abounding in granite and transition 

 rocks ; it is crystalline, of a pearly lus- 

 tre, and of various colours, usually 

 of a yellowish or reddish aspect. It 

 is a silicate of potash and alumina, 

 containing from eleven to fourteen 

 per cent, of real potash, and furnish- 

 ing, by slow decay in the soil, that 

 important alkali to plants. Albite is 

 a variety containing soda. An abun- 

 dance of decaying vegetable matter 



A A 



m the soil, or the addition of heavy 

 i dressings of lime, assists the disen- 

 I gagemciit of the potash, and thus ad- 

 I vances fertility. No soil which con- 

 i tains much feldspathic sand can be 

 deficient in potash. 



FEMUR. The thigh bone ; hence 

 Femoral. 



FEN. A boggy or marshy place. 

 See Bog. 



FENCES. Erections to protect 

 land from the trespassof cattle. They 

 are called live fences, or hedges, when 

 made of shrubs. See Hedges. 



Wood, being so common, is usual- 

 ly employed in the United States ; 

 but walls of blasted rock or loose 

 stones are frequently seen. Stumps 

 form an admirable fencing material. 

 Banks of earth, dug from a ditch and 

 covered with sods, or a ditch only, 

 are also used ; in the prairies they 

 would, perhaps, be cheaper than rail 

 fencing. These structures are, how 

 ever, very expensive, and should be 

 diminished by the introduction of the 

 system of soiling. 



Wooden fences are commonly 

 erected in the zigzag direction ; the 

 cross fence, consisting of one piece 

 set slanting upon two others stuck 

 into the ground, and made to cross 

 near the top, is much less permanent. 

 The post and rail is very superior, 

 but more expensive, but, by using pre- 

 served timber, might be made imper- 

 ishable. See Preservation of Tim- 

 ber. Railings are readily rived from 

 straight pine, but look much neater 

 when sawn. In Virginia the law re- 

 quires a fence of ten rails, with ri- 

 ders, which is unnecessarily high ; 

 five rails, with riders, being used in 

 Jersey. The rails are cut twelve feet 

 long. A rod costs from 50 to 70 cents. 



Hurdles, or light moveable fences, 

 consisting of panels, about four feet 

 long and four feet and a half high, are 

 much used in Europe to confine 

 sheep, each panel being furnished 

 with two end pieces long enough to be 

 stuck fast into the earth. They arc 

 tied together, when set up, with 

 withes. Sometimes they are made 

 of osier, but usually of any small 

 wood. By means of them, turnips 



277 



