Some authors confound firmness with density; Every private person was obliged to bring his firstas thinking the same state or property of body fruits to the temple; and these consisted of wheat, implied by both; or at least, that firmness follows barley, grapes, figs, apricots, olives, and dates. density: but this is a mistake. For mercury, the There was another sort of first-fruits which were densest body in nature excepting gold, is yet one paid to God. When bread was kneaded in a famiof the most fluid; and even gold itself, with all its ly, a portion of it was set apart, and given to the density, when fused, wants firmness, or cohesion. priest or Levite who dwelt in the place: if there Many of the Cartesians, and others, hold firin- was no priest or Levite there, it was cast into the ness to consist in the mere quiet of the particles oven, and consumed by the fire. These offerings of the body, and their mutualˇimmediate contact; made a considerable part of the revenues of the urging, that a separation of parts can only arise Hebrew priesthood. from some matter interposed between them, which is excluded by the motion of contiguity. But the insufficiency of this hypothesis is evident for mere simple rest has no force, either to act or resist; and consequently two particles only joined by rest and contiguity, would never cohere so as that a motion of the one should induce a motion of the other. This is obvious in the case of two grains of sand, which, however contiguous, and at rest, will never constitute a firm coherent body. The firmness of bodies, then, depends on the connexion or cohesion of their particles. Now, the cause of cohesion, Sir Isaac Newton, and his followers, hold to be an attractive force, inherent in bodies, which binds the small particles thereof ⚫ together; exerting itself only at, or extremely near, the points of contact, and vanishing at greater distances. The firmness of bodies, therefore, follows the laws of the cohesion of bodies. Hence, firmness in all must be as the surfaces and contacts of the component parts: thus a body, whose parts are by their peculiar shapes capable of the greatest contacts, is most firm; and that, whose parts are capable of the least contact, will be most soft. In the former, the greatest requisite is to be as near to cubes as possible, and in the latter to spheres. And in the same manner are to be accounted for, not only all the intermediate degrees between the most firm and the most soft bodies, but those different consistencies, which are distinguished by other names, as friable, tenacious, glutinous, and the like; for the greater are the solidities of the component parts of any body, in proportion to their surfaces, though that body, by the aptitude of the contacts, may be what we call very hard; yet it will be most friable or brittle. And where the surfaces of the component particles are much extended upon a small quantity of matter, the bodies they compose, though they may be light and soft, yet they will be tenacious or glutinous; for although the flexibility of their compounding parts admits of their easy changing of figure by any external force, yet by their touching one another in so many points, they are very difficultly separated. The former is the case in crystalized salts, resins, and the like; the latter in turpentines, gums, and all of that sort. FIRST-FRUITS. Primitia, among the Hebrews, were oblations of part of the fruits of the harvest, offered to God as an acknowledgment of his sovereign dominion. The first of these fruits were offered in the name of the whole nation, being either two loaves of bread, or a sheaf of barley, which was threshed in the court of the temple. FIR-TREE. A tree valuable for the timber, pitch, tar, &c. which it yields in abundance. The sorts most esteemed in England, are the Scotch fir, Norway fir, Spruce fir, and Canada fir. In the United States, the white and yellow pine, are the most valued. FISHES. Though the ocean is allowed to be the grand receptacle of fishes, still a great variety are to be found both in rivers and streams; and many, authors give it as a decided opinion, that the whole species were naturally produced from the sea. Though the wants of mankind, and the curiosity of individuals, have discovered great variety in this prolific race, yet their pursuits, migrations, antipathies, and pleasures, are concealed by that element in which they reside. Most fishes offer the same external appearance, enlarging in the middle, and tapering towards the ends; and this form we endeavor to imitate in the construction of those vessels which sail upon the sea. Yet the progress of a machine moved forward by human contrivance, is not equal to that which Nature produces in a fish; for they can easily outstrip the swiftest sailer that ever ploughed the turbulent main. The fins are the chief instruments in a fish's motion, which in some are more numerous than in the rest for one that is completely fitted for sailing is furnished with three single ones, and two complete pair, and thus equipped, it migrates with the utmost rapidity, and, in the course of a season, will traverse three thousand leagues. Yet it does not always happen that those fish have the most rapid motion, which are endowed with the greatest number of fins; for the shark is allowed to be one of the swiftest swimmers, but wants the ventral or belly fin. These fins not only serve the animal in progression, but in rising, sinking, turning, and even leaping out of the stream. The flying-fish frequently rises out of the water, and pursues its course for a hundred yards, until, apparently exhausted by the exertion, its regains its vigor by sinking into the stream. The pectoral fins push the animal forward, and are placed behind the opening of the gills; the ventral fins grow under the belly; and the dorsal fin is situated along the back; this also assists the animal in motion, and enables it to keep an equilibrium in the stream: the anal fin grows near the tail, and serves to keep the fish upright, or in a vertical state. The tail is a more powerful assistant than the fins, as they are all in a certain degree dependent upon its aid; for, whenever it wishes to turn, a blow from the tail sends it round; and, when it strikes backwards and forwards, it gives addition to its speed. As most animals that live upon land are furnish- The severity of the winter is fatal to many fresh ed with a covering to defend them from the injuri-water fishes, as may frequently be observed after ous change which weather might produce; so that the breaking up of a frost; this is often occasioned numerous part of creation, which reside within the by the air being excluded from them by the thick waters, are protected from their influence by a impenetrability of the sheets of ice. Though all glutinous kind of matter that defends their bodies fish reside in the water, air is necessary to the prelike a sheath; beneath this, many of the species servation of their lives; yet nothing is more diffihave a strong covering of scales, under which is cult to be accounted for, than the manner in which found an oily substance, which at once adds warmth they obtain the supply. The use that is generally and vigor to its life. assigned to the air-bladder, is the enabling the fish to rise or sink at its will; but the ancients were of opinion that it was to come in aid of the lungs, and to remain as a kind of store-house of air, to supply the animal if distressed; and to this opinion we are inclined to assent. The fish, thus protected and fitted for motion, seems to be furnished with the means of happiness as well as quadrupeds or birds; but upon a more minute examination of their faculties, we shall find the advantages of the latter greatly to be increased. The sense of touching, which beasts and birds are known to possess, (though not in a very great degree,) to the fish, covered with a coat of mail, must be unknown; and of the sense of smelling, which in beasts is allowed to be exquisite, the fish enjoys but a moderate share. It is true, that all have one or more nostrils: but, as air is the medium through which odors necessarily pass, an animal, residing constantly in water, must receive every exhalation imperfect and faint. Of tasting they can make but very little distinction, as the palate of most is bony and hard; and their hearing is allowed to be extremely doubtful; anatomists are of opinion that they cannot hear at all. Seeing appears the sense which they possess in the greatest measure; yet those who have made observations on their eyes, assert, that they all are extremely near-sighted, and cannot discover objects that are distantly removed. From the observations of the Naturalist, we easily discern that fishes are inferior both to birds and beasts; and even their brain, that mansion of sensation, is extremely small when compared to their size. To preserve their own existence, and continue it to their posterity, fills up the whole circle of their pursuits; a ceaseless desire of food seems to be the ruling impulse, and the only enjoyment they are capable of in life. Their digestive faculties are very extraordinary, for their stomachs will soften the shells of the most callous fish: and their whole lives are passed in a state of depredation; the larger of the species existing upon the small. Nor is the pursuit of fishes, like that of terrestrial animals, confined to a single region of the globe; for shoals of one species follow the other, froin the Equator to the Pole. The cod, from the banks of Newfoundland, pursue the whiting, which flies before it, to the most southern shores of Spain; and the cachalot is said to follow shoals of herrings, and to swallow thousands at a single gulp. This may be one cause of their annual migration, though others likewise may be produced; they may change their residence for one more suited to their constitution, or more adapted for depositing their spawn. It is remarkable, that no fish are fond of very cold waters, and in summer are seen in numbers, lying in shallows near the shore, where the sun has the power of warming the water to the bottom; and, in the winter, at the lowest depths of the ocean, where the coldness of the atmosphere has not the power to reach. Hitherto we have seen the inhabitants of the ocean every way inferior to those which dwell upon the land; but, if they are capable of fewer enjoyments, they are generally endowed with a greater length of life; for, residing in an element subject to but little variation, they avoid many of the evils produced by the atmosphere's change, and their size continues to increase with their years. There have been two methods devised for determining the age of fishes: the one is by the number of circles on the scales; and the other, by the transverse section of the back. When the scale of a fish is examined through a microscope, it will be found to consist of a number of circles one within another, resembling those which appear on the transverse section of a tree, and offering the same information to the mind; for as the circles on the tree correspond with the years of its growth, so those upon the scales of the fish are proportioned to its life; and by this method Mr. Buffon assures us he discovered a carp to be a hundred years of age. The age of those fish which are destitute of scales, may be discovered by separating the joints of the back, and then observing the number of rings which are exhibited upon the surface where they were joined. Though the discovery of these marks may be more ingenious than certain, there is no reason to doubt that the generality of the species are very long-lived. Those that have ponds are enabled to form an opinion of their ages, by making observations upon their different size. All sorts, a few of the larger ones excepted, multiply their kinds by hundreds and thousands at a time: some of their number bring forth their young alive; but the greater proportion are produced from eggs, which are either deposited at the bottom or the edges of the water, or float in millions on the surface of the stream. Of these eggs, scarcely one in a hundred produces an animal, as the aquatic birds devour those that are found on the edges of the water, and those at the bottom become a prey to the fish. Still there are sufficient to supply the deep with inhabitants, and to provide for the wants of a considerable part of mankind; for Lewenhoeck tells us, that in one season a gadus morhua will produce nine millions of eggs. The mackerel and flounder are likewise strikingly prolific; for the former spawns five hundred thousand, and the latter a million, in the year. Such an amazing increase, if permitted to come to maturity, would be much too abundant for the ocean to contain: yet two wise purposes are answered by this astonishing fecundity; for it is the means of preserving the species in the midst of numberless enemies, and serves the rest with that kind of sustenance that is most likely to contribute to the prolongation of their lives. most nutritive of the fish that are eaten; h is, however, heating, oily, and not very digestible; the best condiment for it is vinegar. Salmon is in the highest perfection for some time previous to its spawning: this takes place at certain seasons of the Fishes in general, the whale kind excepted, are year; and this is one reason, among others, why entirely divested of all tenderness for their young; the periods of catching salmon in this country are and, instead of nurturing them with that fondness fixed by law. Salmon, when taken at a time when conspicuous in the brute creation, frequently devour the fish is unfit for food, has been known to prothem with the same indifference as every other duce disease. Herring is worthy of great comkind of food. Such is the general picture of these mendation, though it is oily and apt to disagree heedless hungry creatures; yet there are some with many stomachs. In many instances, severe endowed with finer feelings than the rest, and cutaneous affections have been known to follow which seem to possess all those parental sensations the use of fish of different kinds: this probably which are so easily to be discovered both in quad- depends on peculiarity of constitution, and in genrupeds and birds. These nurse their offspring eral goes off when the process of digestion is finwith the fondest solicitude, and seem to experience ished; but in some cases there is reason to suspect all a mother's care. Under this class comes the a poisonous quality about the fish. cetaceous tribe of fishes, or, as they may otherwise be termed, those of the whale kind. There are others, which, though not capable of nursing their young, yet bring them alive into the world, and protect them both from danger and harm; these are termed cartilaginous, from having gristle instead of bones: but those which leave their spawn unprotected, and seem dead to those sensations which other parents feel, are distinguished by the name of spinous fishes, from the sharpness of their bones bearing a resemblance to a thorn. Thus it may be observed, that there are three grand divisions; the cetaceous, the cartilaginous, and the spinous; all differing from each other in their appearance and conformation, and in their manner of educating their young. FISHES, IN DOMESTIC ECONOMY. A great variety of the different species of fish is used as articles of diet; but without enumerating all these, we shall mention in general, in what respects fish differs from the food derived from land animals, and in what kinds of disorders it is most allowable. Fish has generally been considered as holding a middle rank between the flesh of warmblooded animals and vegetable food. Though not so nourishing as beef or mutton, it is sufficiently so for all the purposes of active life; but a larger quantity is required to satisfy the appetite, which returns sooner after fish than after meat. Fish gives less excitement during digestion than meat or other nourishing food, and is therefore an useful article of diet to persons recovering from acute diseases; but though reputed light and nourishing, it is not so proper for patients laboring under stomach complaints, with whom it very generally disagrees. Turbot, cod, whiting, haddocks, flounders, and sole, are the least heating of the more nourishing kinds; and the flakiness of the fish, and its opaque appearance after being cooked, are proofs of its being good; but when it is bluish, and has a degree of transparency after being sufficiently boiled, it shows it to be of an inferior quality, or not in season. The whiting is well adapted for weak stomachs, and the haddock resembles it, but is of a firmer texture. Cod is an excellent food, but not quite so digestible as whiting or haddock. Turbot, though excellent in itself, is often rendered indigestible by the quantity of lobster or oyster sauce caten along with it. Salmon is perhaps the Fish invariably require some condiment or other; and a very common one is butter, which is one of the worst, except for very strong stomachs. The seasonings that are eaten with fish are various; some of them oily and indigestible; others of a stimulating nature, may assist the stomach to digest them the better; but vinegar and salt are the most universally applicable. Boiling seems to be the best way of cooking fish; frying them with oil and other fat substances is not so proper. Potatoes are almost the only vegetable that should be eaten with fish. Fruit should not be eaten at the same meal with fish, and milk also should be avoided; severe bowel complaints have followed such mixture. FISHES, FECUNDITY OF. Has been taken notice of by various writers, who have furnished instances of it in some particular species that have been thought surprising. M. Petit is said to have found in the carp, three hundred and forty-two thousand, one hundred and forty-four eggs; and Lewenhoeck, in a cod of middling size, nine million three hundred and eighty-four thousand. But Mr. Harmer has lately pursued the investigation of this. curious subject with peculiar attention and accuracy, and extended his inquiries to a greater variety of species than any other person. The method which he adopted was that of weighing the whole spawn very exactly; he then took a piece weighing a certain number of grains, and carefully counted the eggs contained in it; and by dividing the number of eggs by the number of grains, he found, nearly, how many eggs there were in each grain. His computation of the number of eggs extended no farther than to those which he could distinguish with his naked eye; though by this limitation, he omitted many eggs, discoverable by a microscope, that might justly have been counted. The following is the result of his investigations. The carp, two hundred and three thousand, one hundred and nine; the cod-fish, three million, six hundred and eighty-six thousand, seven hundred and sixty; the flounder, one million, three hundred and fifty-seven thousand, four hundred; the herring, thirty-six thousand, nine hundred and sixty; and the lobster, twenty-one thousand, six hundred and ninety-nine. Part of the spawn of the tench was accidentally lost, and therefore this number is considerably too small, Buch an amazing increase, if allowed to The immovable appearance of the polar star is attain maturity, would overstock nature; and even occasioned by the axis of the earth pointing dithe ocean itself would not be able to contain, much rectly to it. Its elevation above the horizon of any less to provide for its inhabitants. But this sur-place is always equal to the latitude of that place, prising fecundity is wisely directed to two impor- or its nearest distance to the equator. tant purposes; it preserves the species among innumerable enemies, and it serves to furnish the rest with sustenance adapted to their nature. The number of fixed stars visible to the naked eye, in either hemisphere, is not more than a thousand. They seem indeed to be innumerable, when, in a clear winter's evening, we turn our eyes towards the heavens. But by looking attentively, we shall find that most of those bright spots, which FISHMONGER. A dealer in fish. There were formerly two companies of fishmongers in London, namely, the stock-fishmongers and salt-appeared to be stars, vanish from our view. This fishmongers, which were united in 1536. FISTULA LACHRYMALIS. A disorder at the canal leading from the eye to the nose, which obstructs the natural progress of the tears, and makes them trickle down the cheek; but this is only the first and mildest stage of the disease: in the next there is matter discharged with the tears from the puncta lachrymalia, and sometimes from an orifice broke through the skin between the nose and angle of the eye. The last and worst degree of it is, when the matter of one eye, by its long continuance, has not only corroded the neighboring soft parts, but also affected the subjacent bone. FIXATION. Or fixing, is a term applied in philosophy to any body or atom which parts with its motion to another body or atom, and remains fixed. An accumulation of fixed atoms, with fitting sides, constitutes a crystal, or solid. FIXED AIR. Oxygen combined with so much carbon, as to become heavier than atmospheric air as forty-six to thirty, or to oxygen as forty-six to thirty-three, by which it suffocates animals, and extinguishes flame, but sustains vegetables. FIXED STARS. The universe, so far as human observation has extended, consists of infinite or boundless space, in which are numberless fixed stars, of the nature, bulk, and properties of the sun; but because they are at such immense distances from the earth, they appear to our eyes only as so many beautiful shining points. They are called fixed stars, because they do not change, like the planets, their relative position; and they are distinguished from the planets by their twinkling light. It is supposed that the fixed stars have primary and secondary planets revolving round them, as the planets of our system revolve round the sun. Were the sun as far from us as these stars are, it would doubtless appear as they now do. It is certain that they do not reflect the sun's light as do the planets; for their distance is so great, that they would not, in that case, be visible. All the fixed stars, with the exception of the polar or north star, notwithstanding they do not change their relative position, appear to have a motion like the sun and moon, rising in the east, increasing in altitude until they approach the meridian, and declining to the western horizon, where they disappear. This apparent motion is caused by the revolution of the earth on its axis from west 10 east. illusion is owing to the twinkling light with which the fixed stars are seen; and, to our viewing them confusedly, and not reducing them to any order. By the aid of a telescope we are enabled to discover myriads of stars, which were before invisible to the unassisted eye; and, as we increase the power of the instrument, more and more stars are brought into view, so that the number may be considered infinite. Dr. Herschel was enabled, in one quarter of an hour, to count one hundred and sixteen thousand, which passed through the space embraced by his powerful glass. Many stars, which to an observer unaided by instruments appear single, are found, on being examined by a telescope, to consist of two, and sometimes of three or more stars. Dr. Herschel discovered four hundred of this description. Other astronomers have discovered a much greater number. Upon viewing the heavens during a clear night, we discover a pale irregular light, and a number of stars whose mingled rays form the luminous tract called the milky way. The stars themselves are at too great a distance to be perceived by the naked eye; and among those which are visible with a good telescope there are spaces apparently filled with others in immense numbers. Many whitish spots or tracts, called nebulæ, are visible in different parts of the heavens, which are supposed to be milky ways at an inconceivable distance. The magnitudes of the fixed stars appear to be different from one another, which difference may arise either from a diversity in their real magnitudes, or distances; or from both these causes acting together. The difference in the apparent magnitude of the stars is such as to admit of their being divided into six classes. The largest are called stars of the first magnitude, and the least which are visible to the naked eye, stars of the sixth magnitude. Stars that cannot be seen without the help of glasses are called telescopic stars. Some stars are subject to periodical variations in apparent magnitude; at one time being of the second, or third, and at another, of the fifth or sixth. Some have alternately been noticed to appear and disappear; being visible for several months, and again invisible. Several stars mentioned by ancient astronomers are not now to be found; and some are now observed, which are not mentioned in the ancient catalogues. It is conjectured that the fixed stars are at such an immense distance, that light, which moves at the rate of one hundred thousand miles per second, would be nearly one year and a quarter in passing from the nearest fixed star to the earth; and a cannon ball discharged from a twenty-four pounder with the velocity of nineteen miles a minute, would | pontiffs thought proper to put an end to this religbe seven hundred and sixty thousand years passing ious frenzy, by declaring all devout whipping confrom the nearest star. Sound, which moves at the trary to the divine law, and prejudicial to the soul's rate of thirteen miles a minute, would be about eternal interest! However, this sect revived in one million, one hundred and twenty-eight thou-Germany towards the middle of the fourteenth sand years in passing through the same space. Dr. Herschel has calculated that the distance of the remotest nebulæ, exceeds that of the nearest fixed star at least three hundred thousand times. Upon this fact, he thus remarks; that from facts well known, it might be proved, the rays of light, which enter the eye from the star Sirius, cannot have been less than six years and four months and a half in their passage to the observer. Hence, he says, it follows that when we see an object at a calculated distance, at which one of these very remote nebula may still be perceived, the rays of light which convey its image to the eye, must have been almost two millions of years on their way; and that consequently so many years ago, this object must already have had an existence in the sidereal heavens, in order to send out those rays by which we now perceive it. century, and rambling through many provinces occasioned great disturbances. They held, among other extravagances, that flagellation was of equal virtue with the sacraments; that the forgiveness of all sins was to be obtained by it from God without the merits of Jesus Christ; that the old law of Christ was soon to be abolished, and that a new law enjoining the baptism of blood to be administered by whipping was to be substituted in its place. FLAME. Newton and others have considered flame as an ignited vapor, or redhot smoke. This, in a certain sense, may be true; but, no doubt, it contains an inaccurate comparison. It appears to be well ascertained, that flame always consists of volatile inflammable matter, in the act of combustion, or combination with the oxygen of the atmosBut when we have reached the utmost distance phere. Many metallic substances are volatilized by to which the power of our instruments can pene-heat, and burn with a flame, by the contact of the trate, who will say, that we are approaching any air in this rare state. Sulphur, phosphorus, and limits of the creation? Who will say that if the some other bases of acids, exhibit the same phedisembodied spirit should travel forward through nomenon. But the flames of organized substances eternity, numberless systems would not be continu-are in general produced by the extrication and asally spreading before it? cension of hydrogen gas, with more or less of We cannot contemplate the fixed stars without charcoal. When the circumstances are not favorexclaiming, How inconceivably great and wise and able to the perfect combustion of these products, a good is the Being who made, governs, and sustains portion of the coal passes through the luminous them! We behold not one world only, but a current unburned, and forms smoke. Soot is the system of worlds, regulated and kept in motion by condensed matter of smoke. As the artificial light the sun; not one sun and one system only, but of lamps and candles is afforded by the flame they millions of suns and systems, multiplied without exhibit, it seems a matter of considerable imporend, perpetually submissive to the laws which tance to society, to ascertain how the most luminous govern them. Such a view of the material crea- flame may be produced with the least consumption tion may well induce us to adopt, as our own, the of combustible matter. There does not appear to language of the royal Psalmist of Israel, and say-be any danger of error in concluding, that the light "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained; what is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him?' FLAG. In Naval or Military affairs, the colors or ensign of a ship, or of a regiment of land forces. The first flag in Great Britain is the standard, only to be hoisted when the king or queen is on board. FLAGELLANTES. A sect of fanatics of the thirteenth century, who chastised and disciplined themselves with whips in public. This sect rose in Italy in 1260; its author was one Rainer, a hermit; and it was propagated through almost all the countries of Europe. A great number of persons of all ages and sexes made processions, walking two by two with their shoulders bare, which they whipped till the blood ran down, to obtain mercy from God, and appease his indignation against the wickedness of the age. They were then called the devout; and, having established a superior, he was called the general of the devotion. Though the primitive Flagellantes were exemplary in point of morals, yet they were soon joined by a turbulent rabble, who were infected with the most ridiculous and impious opinions, so that the emperors and emitted will be greatest when the matter is completely consumed in the shortest time. It is therefore necessary, that a stream of volatilized combustible matter, of a proper figure, at a very elevated temperature, should pass into the atmosphere with a certain determinate velocity. If the figure of this stream should not be duly proportionedthat is to say, if it be too thick-its internal 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 velocity, at which the quantity of atmospherical air which comes in contact with the vapor will be neither too great nor too small; for too much air will diminish the temperature of the stream of combustible matter so much as very considerably to impede the desired effect; and too little will render the combustion languid. We have an example of a flame too large, in the mouths of the chimneys of furnaces, where the luminous part is merely superficial, or of the thickness of about an inch or two, according to circumstances, and the internal part, though hot, will not set fire to paper passed into it through an iron tube; the same defect of air preventing the combustion of the paper as prevented the interior fluid itself from burning. And in the lamp of |