FIrl 



FLO 



to put themselves, and, as near as may 

 be, to keep themselves in their customa- 

 ry places, 7-i'r. The admiral, with his 

 squadron, to sail in the van, that so he 

 ma> lead the way to all the rest in the 

 day-time, by the sight of the flag in the 

 main-top-mast-head ; and in the night- 

 time, by his lights or lanterns. The vice- 

 admiral, and his squadron, is to sail in the 

 centre, or middle, of the fleet; the rear- 

 admiral, and the ships of his squadron, to 

 bring up the rear. But sometimes other 

 divisions are made, and those composed 

 of the lighter ships, and best sailers, are 

 placed as wings to the van, centre, and 

 rear. 



Merchant-fleets generally take their de- 

 nomination from the place they are bound 

 to, as the Turkey-fleet, East India fleet, 

 &c. These, in time of peace, go in fleets, 

 for their mutual aid and assistance : in 

 time of war, besides this security, they 

 likewise procure convoys of men of war, 

 either to escort them to the places whi- 

 ther they are bound, or only a part of the 

 way, to a certain place or latitude, beyond 

 which they are judged out of danger of 

 privateers, &c. See CONVOY. 



FLESH See ANATOMY. 



FLEXION, in anatomy, i s applied to the 

 motion by which the arm or any other 

 member of the body is bent. It is also 

 applied to the muscles, nerves, 8tc. 



FLEXION, or flexure of curves. See 

 FLEXURE. 



FLEXOR, in anatomy, a name applied 

 to several muscles, which are so called 

 from their office, which is to bend the 

 part to which they belong, in opposition 

 to the extensors, which open or stretch 

 them. See ANATOMY. 



FLEXURE of curves, in the higher ge- 

 ometry, is used to signify that a curve is 

 both concave and convex, with respect to 

 a given right line or a fixed point. 



FLIGHT, in law. On an indictment of 

 treason, felony, or even petit larceny, if 

 the jury find that the party fled for it, he 

 shall forfeit his goods and chattels, though 

 he is acquitted of the ofPence ; but the 

 jury seldom find the flight, it being 

 thought too severe a punishment for that 

 to which a man is prompted by his natural 

 love of liberty. 



FLINT. A semi-transparent hard stone, 

 of the siliceous order, of a greyish, black, 

 or yellowish colour, well known for its ge- 

 neral utility in giving fire with the steel. 

 It is commonly found in nodules, in beds 

 of chalk or sand, and frequently exhibits 

 indications of its having been in a soft state. 



Some specimens are hollow, and internally 

 lined with siliceous crystals. By long ex- 

 posure on the surface of the ground, they 

 gradually become white on their upper 

 surface first, and afterwards all oven. This 

 whiteness, in process of time, penetrates 

 into the substance of the flint, forming a 

 crust sometimes one-twentieth of an inch 

 thick, which may be scraped with a knife. 

 It has been said, that this is a conversion 

 of flint into calcareous earth ; but we know 

 of no proof of the fact j and as this white 

 matter does not appear to be affected by 

 nitric acid, we are inclined to think that 

 the flint is merely shattered by the wea- 

 ther, in a manner somewhat analogous to 

 the effect of ignition and quenching in 

 water, which renders it white and friable. 



Weigleb found the common flint to 

 contain 80 parts in the"100 silex, 18 alu- 

 mina, and 2 lime. It is used in making 

 glass and pottery. 



A solution of siliceous earth, made by 

 fusing flints with a large proportion of 

 fixed alkali, and dissolving the mass in 

 water, is called liquor of flints. 



FLOAT of a JisMng line, the cork or 

 quill that flouts or swims above water. 

 See ANGLING. 



FLOAT also signifies a certain quantity 

 of timber bound together with rafters > 

 athwart, and put into a river to be con- 

 veyed down the stream ; and even, some- 

 times, to carry burdens down a river with 

 the stream. 



FLOAT boards, those boards fixed to wa- 

 ter wheels of undershot mills, serving 

 to receive the impulse of the stream, 

 whereby the wheel is carried round. See 

 MILL. 



FLOATING Indies, are those which 

 swim on the surface of a fluid, the most 

 interesting of which are ships and vessels 

 employed in war and commerce. It is 

 known to every seaman, of what vast mo- 

 ment it is to ascertain the stability of such 

 vessels, and the positions they assume 

 when they float freely on the surface of 

 the water. To be able to accomplish this, 

 it is necessary to understand the princi- 

 ples on which that stability and these po- 

 sitions depend. A floating body is press- 

 ed downwards by its own weight in a ver- 

 tical line passing through its centre of 

 gravity ; and it is supported by the upward 

 pressure of a fluid, which acts in a vertical 

 line that passes through the centre of gra- 

 vity of the part which is under the water; 

 and without a coincidence between these 

 two lines, in such a manner as that both 

 centres of gravity may be in the same 



