FLA 



FLA 



FLAG, to hang out the -white, is to ask 

 quarter ; or it shows, when a vessel is 

 arrived on a coast, that it has no hostile 

 intention, but comes to trade, or the 

 like. The red flag is a sign of defiance 

 and battle. 



FLAG officers, those who command the 

 several squadrons of a fleet; such are the 

 admirals, vice-admirals, and rear admi- 

 ral. The flag-officers in our pay are the 

 admiral, vice-admiral, and rear-admiral, 

 of the white, red and blue. 



FLAG ship, a ship commanded by a 

 general or flag-officer, who has a right to 

 carry a flag, in contradistinction to the 

 secondary vessels under the command 

 thereof. 



FLAGELLARIA, in botany, a genus of 

 the Hexandria Trigynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Tripetaloideae. Aspa- 

 ragi, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 

 six-parted ; corolla none ; berry one-seed- 

 ed. There are two species. 



FLAGEOLET, or FLAJEOLET, a little 

 flute, used chiefly by shepherds and 

 country people. It is made of box, or 

 other hard wood, and sometimes of ivory, 

 and has six holes besides that at the bot- 

 tom, the mouth-piece, and that behind 

 the neck. See FLUTE. 



FLAIL, an instrument for thrashing 

 corn. A flail consists of the following 

 parts : 1. The hand-staff, or piece held in 

 the thrasher's hand. 2. The swiple, or 

 that part which strikes out the corn. 3. 

 The caplins,, or strong double leathers, 

 made fast to the tops of the hand-staff' 

 and swiple. 4. The middle-band, being 

 the leather thong, or fish skin, that ties 

 the caplins together. 



FLAIR, in the sea language. When a 

 ship is housed in near the water, so that 

 the work above hangs over too much, it 

 is said to flair over. This makes the ship 

 more roomy aloft, for the men to use 

 their arms. 



FLAMBEAU, a kind of large taper, 

 made of hempen wicks, by pouring melt- 

 ed wax on their top, and letting it run 

 down to the bottom. This done, they lay 

 them to dry, after which they roll them 

 on a table, and join four of them together 

 by means of a red-hot iron ; and then 

 pour on more wax, till the flambeau is 

 brought to the size required. Flambeaus 

 are of different lengths, and made either 

 of white or yellow wax. They serve to 

 give light in the streets at night, or on 

 occasion of illuminations. 



FLAME. Newton and others have 

 considered flame as an ignited vapour, or 

 red-hot smoke. This, in a certain sense, 

 may be true, but, no doubt, it contains 

 an inaccurate comparison. Simple igni- 

 tion never exceeds in intensity of light 

 the body by contact of which it was pro- 

 duced. But it appears to be well ascer- 

 tained, that flame always consists of vo- 

 latile inflammable matter, in the act of 

 combustion, and combination with the 

 oxygen of the atmosphere. Many me- 

 tallic substances are volatilized by heat, 

 and burn with a flame, by the contact of 

 the air in this rare state. Sulphur, phos- 

 phorus, and some other bases of acids, 

 exhibit the same phenomenon. But the 

 flames of organized substances are in 

 general produced by the extrication and 

 ascension of hydrogen gas with more or 

 less of charcoal. When the circum- 

 stances are not favourable to the perfect 

 combustion of these products, a portion 

 of the coal passes through the luminous 

 current unturned, and forms smoke. 

 Soot is the condensed matter oif smoke. 



As the artificial light of lamps and 

 candles is afforded by the flame they ex- 

 hibit, it seems a matter of considerable 

 importance to society, to ascertain how 

 the most luminous flame may be produc- 

 ed with the least consumption of com- 

 bustfble matter. There does not appear 

 to be any danger of error in concluding, 

 that the light emitted will be greatest 

 when the matter is completely consumed 

 in the shortest time. It is, therefore, ne- 

 cessary, that a stream of volatilized com- 

 bustible matter, of a proper figure, at a 

 very elevated temperature, should pass 

 into the atmosphere with a certain deter- 

 minate velocity. If the figure of this 

 stream should not be duly proportioned ; 

 that is to say, if it be too thick, its inter- 

 nal parts will not be completely burned, 

 for want of contact with the air. If its 

 temperature be below that of ignition, it 

 will not burn when it comes into the 

 open air. And there is a certain veloci- 

 ty, at which the quantity of atmospheri- 

 cal air which comes in contact with the 

 vapour will be neither too great nor 

 too small : for too much air will diminish 

 the temperature of the stream of com- 

 bustible matter so much, as very consi- 

 derably to impede the desired effect ; 

 and too little will render the combustion 

 languid. 



We have an example of a flame too 



