FIL 
A patent was also granted to Mr. Joshua 
Collier of Southwark, for a most ingenious 
method of filtering and sweetening water, 
oil, and every other liquid. The following 
is the contrivance which combines the ap- 
plication of machinery with the antiseptic 
properties of charcoal. Fisli oil is one of 
the liquids which he had particularly in 
view, to free it from every tiling disagree- 
able, either in taste, smell, or colour, to ac- 
complish which he poured a quantity of oil 
into a convenient vessel, heated to the tem- 
perature of 120° of Frahenheit’s thermome- 
ter, adding caustic mineral alkali of the spe- 
cific gravity of 1.25. He then agitated the 
mixture, afterwards allowing it to stand till 
the sediment subsided, and then drew it 
off into another vessel, with a sufficient 
quantity of burnt charcoal finely powdered, 
and a small quantity of diluted sulphuric 
acid, to decompose the saponaceous matter 
still suspended in the oil, when the oil be- 
came clear at the surface ; he then agitated 
the contents of this vessel, and left the 
coally, saline, and aqueous particles to sub- 
side ; afterwards passing it through proper 
strainers, when it became quite transparent 
and fit for use. 
The principle of the improved filtering 
machines consists in combining hydrostatic 
pressure with the mode of filtering per ascen- 
sum, which procures the peculiar advantage 
of causing the fluid and its sediment to take 
opposite directions. The filtering surface 
remains the same, while the dimensions of 
the chamber in which the sediment is re- 
ceived may be varied. To adapt the ma- 
chines to eveiy purpose for which they are 
intended, chambers must be provided of 
various capacities, for the precipitated mat- 
ter. The space required is very great with 
respect to the oil trade, and as all dimen- 
sions will be required occasionally', no par- 
ticular limits can be fixed. For distilleries 
and breweries they may be smaller in pro- 
portion, and a very small chamber will be 
sufficient for domestic economy. If water 
is to be freed from noxious particles, it 
must be made to pass through an iron box 
in its way to the filtering chamber, and the 
box must contain charcoal finely powder- 
ed ; the water is received into this box, and 
delivered by two apertures, which are open- 
ed and closed by cocks. Another part of 
the invention consists in filtering machines 
in the form of stills, in which charcoal may 
he repeatedly burnt after any fluid sub- 
stances have passed through it, for the pur- 
' FIN 
pose of freeing them from noxious particles, 
or discharging their colouring matter. 
To the filtering apparatus of Mr. Collier, 
instruments are attached for discovering 
the comparative qualities of oils, which de- 
pend, in some measure, on their specific 
gravities ; spermaceti oil, when compared 
with fish oils, being as 875 to 920. To do 
this, a glass vessel of any shape most con- 
venient is employed, with a glass bubble, 
and a thermometer. If the oil is pure, the 
bubble sinks, when the mercury rises to a 
particular standard. When spermaceti oil 
is impure, the bubble floats, though of the 
temperature required. To determine the 
tendency of nils, used for burning, to con- 
geal in cold weather, a freezing mixture 
may be put into a phial of thin glass, into 
which let a thermometer be immersed, and 
a single drop of the oil permitted to fall on 
the outside of the vessel, where it will in- 
stantly congeal. As the cold produced by 
the mixture decreases, let the temperature 
be observed, by the thermometer, at which 
the oil becomes fluid, and runs down tire 
side of the glass. 
FIN, in natural history, a well known 
part of fishes, consisting of a membrane 
supported by rays, or little bony or cartila- 
ginous ossicles. 
The number, situation, and figure of fins, 
are different in different fishes. As to num- 
ber, they are found from one to ten, or 
more ; with respect to situation, they stand 
either on the back only, the belly only, or 
on both ; and as to figure, they are either 
of a triangular, roundish, or oblong square 
form. Add to this, that in some they are 
very small ; whereas, in others*, they almost 
equal to the whole body in length. 
FINAL letters , among Hebrew gram- 
marians, five letters so called, because they 
have a different figure at the end of words 
from what they have in any other situation. 
These are caph, mem, nun, phe, tzade, all 
comprehended in the word camnephatz ■ 
which, at the end of words, are written 
thus, V m 0 1 ; whereas, in any other situa- 
tion, their form is thus, yDIOD, on which 
account they are likewise called biform. 
FINANCES, in political economy, de- 
note the revenue of a king or state. 
In former times, when the whole revenue 
drawn from the people, by a few taxes, was 
considered as the personal property of the 
sovereign, the purposes to which it was ap- 
plied depended on his discretion, or that of 
his minister. As few princes were inclined 
