=Fire, Yellow.= _Prep._ 1. From sulphur, 16 parts; dried carbonate of
soda, 23 parts; chlorate of potassa, 61 parts.
2. (Marchand.) Gunpowder, 14 parts; sulphur, 16 parts; dried soda, 20
parts; nitre, 50 parts.
3. (Marchand.) Charcoal, 1-1/2 parts; sulphur, 17-1/2 parts; dried soda,
20 parts; nitre, 61 parts.
_Green-coloured Fires._[310]
------+----------------------+-----------------+--------------------
No. | Potassium Chlorate, | Barium Nitrate, | Sulphur, per cent.
| per cent. | per cent. |
------+----------------------+-----------------+--------------------
1 | 36 | 40 | 24
2 | 29 | 48 | 23
3 | 24 | 53 | 23
4 | 21 | 57 | 22
5 | 18 | 60 | 22
6 | 16 | 62 | 22
7 | 14 | 64 | 22
8 | 13 | 66 | 21
9 | 12 | 67 | 21
10 | 11 | 68 | 21
11 | 10 | 69 | 21
12 | 9·5 | 69·5 | 21
13 | 9 | 70 | 21
14 | 8·5 | 70·5 | 21
15 | 8 | 71 | 21
------+----------------------+-----------------+--------------------
[Footnote 310: Kern ('Chemical News,' September 29th, 1876).]
_Red-coloured Fires._
----+-------------------+------------------+---------+--------------
No.|Potassium Chlorate,|Strontium Nitrate,|Sulphur, |Carbon Powder,
| per cent. | per cent. |per cent.| per cent.
----+-------------------+------------------+---------+--------------
1 | 40 | 39 | 18 | 3
2 | 32 | 46 | 19 | 2
3 | 27 | 51 | 20 | 2
4 | 23 | 55 | 20 | 2
5 | 20 | 58 | 20·5 | 1·5
6 | 18 | 60 | 21 | 1
7 | 16 | 61·6 | 21·2 | 1·2
8 | 15 | 63 | 21 | 1
9 | 13 | 64 | 22 | 1
10 | 12 | 65 | 22 | 1
11 | 11 | 66 | 22 | 1
12 | 10 | 67 | 22 | 1
13 | 10 | 67·25 | 22 | 0·75
14 | 9·25 | 68 | 22 | 0·75
15 | 9 | 68·35 | 22 | 0·65
----+-------------------+------------------+---------+--------------
_Violet-coloured Fires._
----+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+---------
No.|Potassium Chlorate,|Calcium Carbonate,|Malachite powdered,|Sulphur,
| per cent. | per cent. | per cent. |per cent.
----+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+---------
1 | 52 | 29 | 4 | 15
2 | 52 | 28 | 5 | 15
3 | 52 | 26 | 7 | 15
4 | 52 | 24 | 9 | 15
5 | 52 | 23 | 10 | 15
6 | 52 | 21 | 13 | 15
7 | 51 | 20 | 14 | 15
8 | 51 | 18 | 16 | 15
9 | 51 | 16 | 18 | 15
10 | 51 | 15 | 19 | 15
11 | 51 | 13 | 21 | 15
12 | 51 | 11 | 23 | 15
13 | 51 | 10 | 24 | 15
14 | 51 | 8 | 26 | 15
15 | 51 | 6 | 28 | 15
----+-------------------+------------------+-------------------+---------
4. (Marsh.) Charcoal, 6 parts; sulphur, 19-1/2 parts. For pans. Very
beautiful.
In preparing coloured fires for fireworks according to the usual formulæ
given in manuals of pyrotechny, it is often important to know the speed at
which they burn; as in some cases, such as decorations and lances, they
should burn slowly; whereas in others, such as wheels, stars for rockets,
and Roman candles, they ought to burn quicker. The foregoing tables are so
arranged that every formula with a higher number yields a slower burning
mixture than one with a lower number. Thus No. 5 burns quicker than No. 6,
and slower than No. 4.
_Obs._ The ingredients in the above compounds are to be separately reduced
to powder and sifted through lawn, after which they should be kept in
well-corked wide-mouthed bottles until the time of mixing them for use.
The chlorate of potassa, more especially, must be separately treated and
cautiously handled, in order to prevent the possibility of explosion from
friction whilst it is in contact with combustible matter. The requisite
quantity of each of the ingredients being weighed out and placed on a
clean sheet of white paper, the whole is to be thoroughly but carefully
mixed together with a light hand, by means of a bone or wooden knife. The
compound is next lightly packed into small cups or pans for illuminations,
or into small pill-boxes for stars and trains, a little priming and
quick-match being lastly attached to each. To ensure success the several
ingredients must be dry and commercially pure; and though reduced to the
state of a uniform powder, care must be taken that they are not absolutely
'dusty,' or too finely pulverised. The nitrate of strontia, alum,
saltpetre, carbonate of soda, &c., before being weighed, require to be
gently heated in an iron pot or pan until they fall to powder, and lose
their hygrometric moisture, or water of crystallisation. To ensure the
perfect admixture of the ingredients, the whole, after they have been
stirred together on paper, as before directed, may be passed through a
hair or perforated zinc or brass sieve. Further, as coloured fires rapidly
deteriorate by keeping, and even sometimes inflame spontaneously, to
prevent disappointment and accidents they should not be prepared long
before they will be required for use, and should be stored in some
situation in which their spontaneous combustion would be productive of no
disastrous consequences.
Of the above formulæ, those bearing the name of the late Mr Marsh, of
Woolwich, more especially deserve the attention of the pyrotechnist. To
guard against the danger sometimes arising from the spontaneous combustion
of coloured fires containing sulphur and chlorate of potash, Mr Saunders
recommends intimately mixing 120 grains of bicarbonate of potash with each
pound of sulphur before using it in the manufacture of any composition
into which chlorates enter. See FLAME, PYROTECHNY, &c.
=FISH.= _Syn._ PISCES, L. Fishes form the _fourth class_ of vertebrate
animals (VERTEBRATA) in the Cuvierian arrangement of the animal kingdom,
and in the variety of their genera and species are second only to the
INSECTA, whilst in prolificness and number they probably exceed all other
animated beings that reach a size equal to that of even the smallest
member of their prodigious race. Besides their value to man as food, they
furnish him with oil, isinglass, and various other articles of utility and
luxury, and provide, either directly or indirectly, an inexhaustible
supply of manure for the fertilisation of his fields. As food fish are
undoubtedly wholesome and nutritious, although less so than the flesh of
animals or the grains of the cereals. Of all the various substances used
as aliments by man, fish are, however, the most liable to run into a state
of putrefaction, and should therefore be only eaten when perfectly fresh
or, if not recently taken, then only when their perfect preservation has
been ensured by any of the ordinary methods employed for the purpose.
Those that are the whitest and most flaky when cooked, as cod, flounders,
haddock, hake, soles, turbot, whiting, &c., are the most easily digested;
and those abounding in oily matter, as eels, herrings, mackerel, salmon,
&c., are most nutritious, though the most likely to offend the stomach.
Salt-water fish have been said to be more wholesome than river fish, but
without sufficient reason. Salted fish are hard of digestion, unless when
carefully cooked and well masticated. Skin diseases are said to be more
common among those who live continually on fish than among those who
abstain from it; but this probably arises from their use being
unaccompanied by a proper quantity of fresh vegetables or fruit, both of
which are scarcer on the sea-coast than further inland. As one of the
components of a mixed diet, the value of fish is indisputable. Acid sauces
and pickles are the proper additions to fish, from their power of
retarding the progress of putrefaction, and of correcting the relaxing
tendency of large quantities of oil and butter.
_Artificial Propagation._ The fecundity of fish is positively marvellous.
According to the recent observations of Mr Frank T. Buckland, salmon yield
about 1000 ova or eggs to every lb. of their weight; a trout weighing 1
lb. produced upwards of 1000; a mackerel (1 lb.), 86,120; a herring (1/2
lb.), 19,840; a sole (1 lb.), 134,466; a turbot (8 lbs.), 385,200; and a
cod (20 lbs.), 4,872,000. The ova here spoken of form what is commonly
called the 'hard roe' of the female fish; the 'soft roe' is 'the milt' of
the male fish. To protect the spawn, and the fry, when hatched, is the
object of the art of fish culture, which has made great progress during
late years. When the spawn is not artificially protected, the greater
portion is always wasted, being swept away by the stream, and devoured by
fish, birds, and insects. The natural enemies of the newly hatched fish
are, again, so numerous, that it is really surprising that any should
escape destruction. According to given data and accurate calculations of
the returns of fisheries made by Messrs Ashworth and Buist, only one
salmon egg out of every thousand deposited ever becomes a fish fit for
human food. Other fish, both fresh and salt water, suffer in proportion.
The hatching of fish by artificial means has been carried out on a large
scale in France, and has been commenced in Scotland and Ireland, and on a
small scale in England. The spawning fish, having been caught by a net, is
made to deposit her eggs by gently pressing on the abdomen; these are
impregnated by 'milt' expressed from the male fish in a similar manner,
and mixed with them in a shallow tub or other vessel prepared for the
purpose. The impregnated eggs are placed in long shallow boxes, bottomed
with gravel and pebbles, and so arranged that a small stream of water from
a reservoir may flow from one to another. The time of hatching depends
entirely upon the temperature of the water; from 40° to 45° Fahr. seems to
be the healthiest temperature. After about 50 days (in the case of
salmon), when all goes well, the young fish makes its appearance as a
misshapen creature about an inch long, with a bag containing the yolk of
the egg attached to its abdomen. At 3 days old the fry is about 2 gr. in
weight; at 16 months it has increased to 2 oz. To preserve the young fish
in health, the boxes must be covered with shades of slate or zinc. The
French fish-breeders generally feed the young fry with boiled frogs
powdered fine. The Scotch give boiled liver. Mr Buckland prescribes a diet
of roe of sole, or plaice, or whiting. As to the age at which it is
advisable to turn the young fish out of the nursery, there is much
difference of opinion. Some breeders recommend turning them out as soon as
the 'umbilical bag' is absorbed; others think they should be taken care of
till they are older and stronger, and better able to defend themselves or
escape from attack. For full details respecting the artificial propagation
of fish, the reader is referred to Mr Buckland's recent work, entitled
'Fish-Hatching.'
_Nutritive Value of Fish._--The white varieties of fish, such as
_whiting_, _cod_, _haddock_, _sole_, _plaice_, _flounder_, and _turbot_,
according to Letheby, contain only about twenty-two per cent. of solid
matter, of which eighteen is nitrogenous. To increase their nutritive
value, therefore, these fish should be eaten with butter.
According to the same authority _mackerel_, _eels_, and _salmon_ are
richer in fat than the above kinds; mackerel containing about seven per
cent., and salmon about six, whilst the oily matter of eels amount to
nearly fourteen per cent. The same is the case with the _sprat_, the
_herring_, and the _pilchard_, as well as with most of our fresh-water
fish.
As regards _shell-fish_, all the different varieties of them afford about
the same amount of nutrition. They contain about thirteen per cent. of
solid matter, which in composition is similar to that of white fish.
Shell-fish vary in digestibility; _mussels_, _limpets_, and _whelks_ being
rather difficult of digestion, whilst _scallops_, _cockles_,
_periwinkles_, _lobsters_, and _crabs_ are a trifle more easy of
digestion, and _oysters_ still more so. All shell-fish are unsuited for
delicate stomachs; although they are largely eaten by the poorer dwellers
on the coast.
On the Continent, _vineyard snails_, and in China, _slugs_, are eaten, and
are said to possess a delicate flavour and nutritive properties.[311]
[Footnote 311: Letheby.]
_Choice, &c._ "The flesh of any fish is always in the highest perfection,
or in season, as it is called, during the period of the ripening of the
milt and roe. After the fish has deposited the spawn, the flesh becomes
soft, and loses a great deal of its peculiar flavour. This is owing to the
disappearance of the oil or fat from the flesh, it having been expended in
the function of reproduction." (Fleming's 'Phil. Zoology.') Fish should be
dressed as soon after being caught as possible, as much of their peculiar
delicacy and flavour is lost by keeping, even for a few hours. Turbot and
salmon are said by the fishmongers to be improved in flavour when 2 or 3
days old, but this is surely a mistake, as the former, when dressed
immediately after being caught, possesses a fine creamy taste, which it
afterwards loses; whilst the latter, by the loss of a single tide, loses a
portion of the fine white curd which is previously found between the
flakes, and by longer keeping, this curd, with the larger flakes,
disappear altogether. In the eyes of some epicures the richness, is
however, increased by this change. Mackerel, and some other fish suffer so
much from keeping only a few hours, that they become quite unwholesome.
Herrings offer a remarkable example of the advantage of dressing fish as
fresh as possible. When cooked soon after being caught, they possess
considerable delicacy and flavour, but after being kept for only a few
hours, the oil separates from the flesh, and they become soft, greasy, and
strong-flavoured.
In the choice of every kind of fish, stiffness, brightness of the eyes,
and redness of the gills, may be regarded as invariable signs of
freshness. A peculiar elasticity will also be perceived in fish recently
caught, little or no permanent impression being made by the ordinary
pressure of the fingers, from the flesh immediately rising when the
pressure is withdrawn. Fresh fish also lie in a partly curled position,
and never quite straight, as in the case when they have been kept for some
time. Thickness and fleshiness are deemed marks of the good condition of
all fish.
_Cleaning, dressing, &c._ On the proper cleaning of fish preparatory to
dressing it, depends much of its delicacy and flavour. Ordinary cooks
seldom do this well, from not slitting the fish sufficiently open to
permit the inside to be thoroughly washed, and seldom using sufficient
water. The superior flavour of fish cleaned by the fishmongers arises from
their performing the operation more completely, and from the large
quantity of water they employ about them. The flavour of all fish is
improved by adding a little salt or vinegar to the last water in which
they are washed. The sound, milt, and roe, should be carefully cleaned and
preserved.
Fish is preferably 'dressed' by simple boiling, broiling, or frying; in
fact, the finer kinds of fish are often injured by the excessive
interference of the cook. When boiled, "all large fish, with the skin
whole, must be placed on the fire in cold water; if crimped, or cut into
slices or pieces, in boiling water; if whole, it must not be covered with
more than two or three inches of water, or the skin will crack, and not
only spoil the appearance of the fish, but will diminish the gelatine and
gluten it contains, and instead of eating firm and full of flavour, it
will be soft and woolly, especially if over-boiled." (Soyer.) As soon as a
scum rises from boiling, it should be removed by the skimmer. The addition
of a little salt or vinegar to the water improves the flavour of most
fish, and renders the flesh firmer. The proportions should be "two
teaspoonfuls of salt to every quart of water." "If the fish be whole, as
soon as it begins to boil remove the cover on one side, and let it simmer
gently until done. (Soyer.) A fish is known to be sufficiently dressed by
the flesh in the thicker parts separating easily from the bone. "If a
large fish I generally try it by gently pushing a wooden skewer through
the thickest part; if it goes in easily it is done." (Soyer.) When this is
the case it should be removed from the kettle, as by soaking in the water
fish loses its firmness, and becomes soddened. Sole, skate, and mackerel,
are usually put into boiling water, whether whole or sliced. Fish for
broiling should be well washed in strong vinegar, wiped dry with a towel,
and floured before placing them on the gridiron; and the bars of the
latter should be hot, and well buttered. (Rundell.) Fish for frying should
be prepared as for broiling, and the butter, oil, or lard should be
allowed to boil for a minute or two before putting them into the
frying-pan. The latter should be perfectly smooth and bright, and the
butter or oil in abundance, to prevent the fish sticking to it and
burning. As the fish are cooked solely by the heat of the melted fat, to
fry them in the highest perfection there should be enough of it to cover
them. Butter or oil is the best for the purpose. To avoid loss, the
contents of the frying-pan, after the fish is removed, should be poured
into a clean jelly-jar or basin, and reserved for another occasion. The
fish being removed from the pan, the superfluous fat should be drained
from them preparatory to 'serving' them. When fish is divided into fillets
or cutlets before being cooked, it is usual to take out the bones, and to
dress it with force-meat, &c.
In serving fish of the finer kinds, no other additions are required than
melted butter and the ordinary fish sauces and pickles. The dishes are
commonly garnished with raw parsley, for the sake of appearance, but
boiled parsley, chopped small, should accompany it. All kinds of fish
should be served on a napkin.
_Caution._ It sometimes happens that a fishbone accidentally swallowed
remains in the [oe]sophagus, and occasions serious inconvenience; in fact,
instances have been known where so much irritation has arisen that death
has followed. In such cases it is advisable, as soon as possible, to take
of tartar emetic, 4 gr., dissolved in warm water, 1/2 pint; and
immediately afterwards the whites of six eggs. The coagulated mass will
not remain in the stomach more than two or three minutes, and the remedy
has been known to "remove no less than 24 pins at once."
=FISH GLUE.= See GLUE and ISINGLASS.
=FISH POISONING.= See ACCIDENTS.
=FISH SKIN.= _Syn._ SHARK SKIN. The skin of the spotted dog-fish or rough
hound (_chien de mer_, Fr.), stretched and dried. Used for polishing wood
and ivory. Several other varieties of fish skin are employed in the arts.
The dressed skin of the 'rousette' (_peau de rousette_, F.), is
transparent, and very beautiful. Cemented on green paper, and rubbed down
and polished, it is used as veneer for fancy boxes. The skins of several
varieties of Squalus are also used for both the above purposes. See
SHAGREEN.
=FIVE HERBS.= See SPECIES.
=FIX'ATURE= _Syn._ BANDOLINE, CLYSPHITIQUE, EAU COLLANTE, FIXATEUR, Fr.
This consists of any of the simple vegetable mucilages, combined with a
little spirit, to preserve it, and with a little perfume, to render it
more agreeable.
_Prep._ 1. From carrageen, Irish, or pearl moss, soaked in cold water for
an hour or two, and after being drained, and pressed dry in a clean
napkin, dissolved by boiling in soft water, q. s. The decoction is
strained through cambric, and when nearly cold is mixed with about 1/3rd
or 1/4th of its volume of eau de Cologne or other scented spirit, with the
further addition of a few drops (5 or 6) of oil of cloves. Sometimes a
little brandy is added to the mucilage, and when it is intended for
present use, as is common with home manufactures, the spirit is frequently
omitted altogether. 1/4 oz. of the prepared moss is fully enough for 3/4
pint of strained decoction, if rightly managed.
2. From quince seed boiled in water, as the last. 1/4 oz. yields nearly
3/4 pint of strained decoction.
3. Pale gum arabic (picked), 1-1/2 oz.; rose water, 2 fl. oz.; pure water,
3 fl. oz.; dissolve.
4. Gum arabic, 3-1/4 oz.; water, 1/2 pint; dissolve, and drop in eau de
Cologne, gradually, until the cloudiness at first occasioned ceases to be
removed by agitation; the next day decant the clear portion. All of the
above are very superior, and keep well.
5. (Redwood.) Gum tragacanth, 1-1/2 dr.; water, 7 oz.; proof spirit, 3
oz.; otto of roses, 10 drops; macerate 24 hours, and strain.
6. Malt, 7 oz.; hot water (that will barely permit the finger to be held
in it without pain), 1/2 pint; infuse in a covered jug or basin, gently
press out the liquid, and as soon as cold add of proof spirit (or brandy
or Cologne water), 2-1/2 fl. oz. and strain.
_Obs._ Bandoline is used by ladies and by hairdressers for stiffening the
hair, and to make it curl firmly and remain in place. It is applied either
by moistening the fingers and passing the hair through them, or by means
of a small sponge. See POMMADE.
=FIXED AIR.= See CARBONIC ACID.
=FIXED OILS.= See FAT and OILS.
=FLAKE WHITE.= See WHITE PIGMENTS.
=FLAME.= Gas or vapour in an incandescent state. The light emitted from
pure flame is exceedingly feeble; illuminating power being almost entirely
dependent upon the presence of solid matter. See ILLUMINATION, and
_below_.
=Flame Colours.= The vapours of metallic compounds communicate colours to
flames. The characteristic colours of some metals are very beautiful, and
their exhibition forms a favorite experiment of chemical lecturers. The
coloured flames are generally produced by the combustion of alcohol or
rectified spirit upon certain salts in fine powder. In this way a GREEN
colour is communicated by boracic acid or chloride of copper; a RED one by
the nitrates of iron, lime, or strontia; a VIOLET, by potassa and its
salts; and a YELLOW, by nitrate of soda. Messrs Church and Crookes have
recently described a mode of exhibiting the characteristic flames of the
metals which is admirably adapted for the lecture-table.[312] 'Gun-paper,'
made in the same way as 'gun-cotton,' is to be soaked in solutions of the
chlorates of the different metals, dried with care, and kept dry. A good
'gun-paper' for the purpose is prepared by soaking strips of Swedish
filtering-paper for ten minutes in a mixture of 4 parts oil of vitriol
with 5 parts strong nitric acid, both by measure. The strips, when taken
out of the acid, should be washed first with cold, and then with hot rain
or distilled water, till the washings are no longer sour to the taste. The
solutions of the metallic salts need not be very strong; but if they are
warm, the strips of 'gun-paper' will be more easily and completely
saturated with them. Since some of the chlorates attract moisture from the
air, it is better to dry the papers prepared with them before the fire
previous to lighting them. They are shown to best advantage when a strip
is loosely crumpled up into a pellet, lighted quickly at one corner, and
thrown up into the air against a dark back ground. They leave after
burning, if properly prepared, no ash whatever. Paper prepared with the
salt of potassa gives a flash of VIOLET flame, that prepared with the soda
salt the characteristic YELLOW flame, and that with chlorate of baryta a
very beautiful GREEN light. The chlorates of strontium, lithium, and
calcium, when thus ignited, give intense colours. The VIOLET-BLUE flame of
copper is well seen, even with the chloride of that metal, while paper
soaked in nitrate of potassa shows the potassium flame better than if the
chlorate be used. 'Gun-paper' prepared with a very weak solution of
chloride or chlorate of thallium shows the characteristic SPRIG-GREEN
flame of that metal with great distinctness. Chlorate of barium, being an
article of commerce, may be employed for the preparation of the other
chlorates, it being merely necessary to add to this salt in solution an
exactly equivalent quantity of the sulphate or carbonate of the metal
whose chlorate is desired. For instance, in order to make 'chlorate of
copper,' 15·1 gr. of chlorate of barium being dissolved in hot distilled
water, a boiling solution containing 12·5 gr. of pure crystallised
sulphate of copper is to be added to it. Insoluble white 'sulphate of
baryta' falls, while the solution, filtered and evaporated, yields the new
chlorate in crystals. See FIRES, PYROTECHNY, &c.
[Footnote 312: See 'Intellectual Observer,' April, 1863.]
=FLAN'NEL.= It has been shown by the experiments of Count Rumford that the
conducting power of the different materials employed for clothing varies
considerably. A thermometer surrounded with cotton wool, and heated by
immersion in boiling water, took 1046 seconds to lose 135° Fahr., when
plunged into a bath of melting ice; but, under the same circumstances,
when sheep's wool was employed, 1118 seconds elapsed before a like sinking
of the thermometer took place ('Phil. Trans.,' 1792); thus showing the
greater conducting power of the former, and consequently the superiority
of the latter substance for the manufacture of warm clothing. But the
chief advantage of wool, as an article of underclothing, depends less upon
its actual power of conducting heat than its peculiar texture. Flannel
acts as a gentle stimulus on the skin, and exercises the most beneficial
action, by keeping the pores clean, and in a state most favorable to
perspiration. This action is a species of friction similar in character,
although inferior in degree, to that of the common flesh-brush or
horse-hair glove, so long employed as a skin stimulant. Flannel has also
the advantage of absorbing the perspiration as soon as emitted, and
allowing its watery portion to pass off into the atmosphere almost as soon
as formed, but this is not the case with cotton and linen fabrics. The
different effects of flannel and linen are particularly susceptible during
brisk exercise. When the body is covered with the former, though
perspiration be necessarily increased, the perspired matter freely passes
off through the flannel, and the skin remains dry and warm. If the same
exercise be taken in linen shirts, perspiration, as in the former case, is
indeed also increased, but the perspired matter, instead of being
dispersed into the atmosphere, remains upon the linen, and not only clogs
the pores of the skin, but gives a disagreeable sensation. From this
property of flannel, persons who wear it next the skin seldom catch cold
from changes of temperature, even though perspiring profusely; but in
similar cases, when linen or calico shirts are worn, chilliness
immediately comes on, followed by sniffling, sneezing, and cough, and all
the other symptoms of severe catarrh.
The common objections raised against the use of flannel are founded on
vulgar prejudices, ignorance, obstinacy, or bravado, and are undeserving
of the notice of sensible people. In a fickle and moist climate like that
of England, every person should wear a robe of flannel next the skin, or
at all events a waistcoat of flannel reaching below the loins; and this
should not be discarded as soon as the cold weather has passed, but its
use should be continued all the year round; for in reality flannel is, if
possible, even more required in summer than in winter, because persons
perspire more freely in hot than in cold weather, and are consequently
more susceptible of cold, while at that period of the year their clothing
is less capable of protecting them from the effects of sudden changes of
temperature and draughts of cold air, moisture, &c. Females, children,
persons of delicate constitutions, and all others who from their habits of
body or life perspire freely, or are much exposed, should wear flannel.
In washing flannels it is recommended that they should only be put into
warm water, by which method their colour will be preserved, and they will
be prevented from shrinking.
=FLASH.= _Prep._ From burnt-sugar colouring, 1 gall.; fluid extract of
capsicum or essence of Cayenne, 3/4 pint, or enough to give a strong fiery
taste. Used to colour spirits, and to give them a false strength. It is
made by the brewers' druggists, and labelled 'ISINGLASS AND BURNT SUGAR,'
=FLASKS.= The late lamented and ingenious Mr Fownes suggested the
employment of Florence oil-flasks as cheap substitutes for retorts,
receivers, digesters, and some other vessels used for chemical purposes.
His plan was to cut the neck smoothly round with a hot iron, and softening
it in the flame of a good argand gas-lamp, to turn over the edge so as to
form a lip, or border. The neck will then bear a tight-fitting cork
without splitting.
=FLATULENCE.= _Syn._ FLATULENCY, WIND. In _pathology_, a morbid collection
of gas in the stomach and bowels. Its most common cause is indigestion.
When the natural fluids of the stomach are secreted in a healthy state,
they exercise an antiseptic and digestive action on the food, by which it
is speedily reduced to a magma that is little liable to spontaneous change
whilst in the body; but when the reverse is the case, fermentation soon
commences, and the stomach and associated viscera become distended with
gas, and all the well-known symptoms of flatulency are developed in rapid
succession. The quantity of gas thus accumulated in the 'primæ viæ' is
often enormous. An ordinary apple during fermentation yields about 600
times its bulk of gas, and many vegetables yield much more. (Dr Hales.) It
is, therefore, not at all surprising that so much inconvenience should be
felt when the food, instead of being digested and assimilated, runs into
the state of active fermentation.
The treatment of flatulency consists mainly in the selection of proper
articles of food. Oleraceous vegetables, peas, beans, under-dressed
potatoes, and indigestible fruits should be especially avoided, as well as
the use of large quantities of weak or warm liquids. The diet should
consist principally of animal food, carefully but not over-cooked, with a
sufficient quantity of good mealy potatoes (mashed, not whole), and good
wheaten meal-bread, moderately seasoned with common salt and spices. The
most suitable beverages are toast-and-water, and a little good brandy
largely diluted with water. The healthy tone of the stomach may be
re-established by the proper use of tonics, bitters, and mild aperients.
To relieve the fit of flatulency, carminatives and aromatics, as black
pepper, mustard, peppermint, ginger, cinnamon, lavender, and most spices,
may be had recourse to. A glass of peppermint cordial, or of brandy
strongly flavoured with peppermint or ginger, is a popular and efficient
remedy. A few drops (15 to 30) of ether, with a little tincture of
capsicum or spirit of sal volatile, seldom fail to give relief. See
DYSPEPSIA.
=FLAVOURING SUBSTANCES.= See ESSENCE, OIL (Volatile), SPICE, WINE, &c.
=FLAX.= See LINEN, LINSEED, and OIL.
=FLEA.= This troublesome little animal is the _Pulex irritans_ of Linnæus,
and belongs to the _Suctoria_, or fourth order of the _Insecta_. Its
favorite haunts are our warm underclothing, and its most productive
breeding-places are in the 'flue' which careless servants allow to
accumulate underneath our beds. Cold, light, perfumes, and ventilation,
are inimical to its propagation.
=FLECHTENKAPSELN (Tetter Capsules, or Dr Berkeley's Antiherpetic Capsules
for Skin Diseases, Tetter, &c.)= Capsules filled with tar. (Hager.)
=FLECHTENMITTEL--Tetter Cure.= (Paris). 1. A Washing Fluid.--Common water,
containing 1-1/2 per cent. sulphuric acid. 2. A Salve. A mixture of lard
and spermaceti, with 1/24 of their weight of calomel. (X. Schmidt.)
=FLECHTENPULVER--Tetter Powder= (St Lube's, France). Nitre, 100; antimony
chloride, 10; antimony oxide, 200, 1·5 grammes for a dose. (Wittstein.)
=FLECHTENSALBE--Tetter Salve= (Fontaine, Paris). For all skin diseases.
Olive oil and white wax, with 1/16 of white precipitate. (Wittstein.)
=Flechtensalbe= (Bruno Reichel, Apolda). A mixture of wax and lard
coloured green. (Schädler.)
=Flechtensalbe= (F. Schwarzlose, Berlin, and S. G. Schwartz, Breslau). For
salt-flux, tetters, and similar skin diseases. Peru balsam, 1; carbolic
acid, 2; yellow wax, 10; lard, 30. (Schädler.)
=Flechtensalbe= (Surbi, Paris). For all kinds of skin diseases. A mixture
of beef tallow, 30; olive oil, 10; zinc oxide, 2; steatite, 2.
(Wittstein.)
=FLECHTENSEIFE, Tetter Soap= (Dr Berkeley). Ordinary tar soap. (Hager.)
=FLECHTENWASSER.= The wonderful wholesome mineral vegetable tetter-water
(Dr A. von S.). Corrosive sublimate, ·25 grammes; water, 180 grammes;
benzoin tincture, 6 grammes. (Weber.)
=FLECKENWASSER= (Bronner). Cleansing fluid (literally spot or stain water)
for the removal of grease and dirt spots. Benzine only.
=Fleckenwasser, Englisches= (English cleansing fluid for removing acid,
resin, wax, tar, and grease spots.) A mixture of 95 per cent. alcohol, 100
grammes; liq. ammon., sp. gr. ·875, 30 grammes; benzine, 4 grammes.
(Artus.)
=FLEISCH-EXTRACT-LIQUEUR (Eau de Vie Alimenteuse--Extract of Meat
Liqueur--Aqua Vitæ Incarnativa)= (A. Hensel, Berlin). A beautiful red
spicy liquor, leaving, when distilled, 32 per cent. of solid matter. This
residue contains in 100 parts (besides anilin-red), resin and extractive
(partly from ginger and partly from cinnamon), 3-1/4; sugar, 27-1/2;
extract of meat, 1-1/4. (Hager.)
=Fleisch-Extract-Syrup (Syrup of Extract of Meat)= (Meyer, Berk).
Blood-serum made into a syrup with sugar. (Hager.)
=FLEISCHFASER-ZWIEBACK FÜR HUNDE--Fibrin Dog Biscuits= (New York). Said to
be made of pure meal, fibrin, dates, and other ingredients, and
recommended as an excellent food for dogs. According to the prospectus its
use makes all other foods unnecessary, as it gives the animals peculiar
endurance, strong muscles, and sound bones. The directions for use say
that it is most advantageously given in its unprepared form, as dry,
heavy, hard cakes, and only in case it is refused should it be softened
for a short time in cold water. According to the analysis performed in the
laboratory of the Poppelsdorf Agricultural Academy the proportion of
nitrogenous to non-nitrogenous ingredients is 1 to 3·70. Microscopic
analysis detects the presence of dried fibrin, and also a considerable
admixture of structureless hyaline cartilaginous matter. From this it
follows that the nitrogen revealed by analysis does not all represent
protein or fibrin, and that the proportion which arises from indigestible
gelatinous matter will be of smaller value. (Dr E. Kern.)
=FLESH.= _Syn._ CARO, L. The muscular substances of animals; the softer,
solid portions of the body, as distinguished from the bones and fluids.
See FIBRIN, FOOD, &c.
=Flesh-brush.= This simple instrument is used for exciting the cutaneous
circulation. Those which have the bristles set on a leather back are
esteemed the best. The flesh-glove or hair flesh-rubber is a useful
modification of the common flesh-brush. Those manufactured by Messrs
Savory and Moore, in imitation of the Indian kheesah or mitten, are
superior to all others. In the absence of both flesh-brush and glove, a
rough towel wound round the hand is no bad substitute. See FRICTION.
=FLIEGENPAPIER, GIFTFREIES--Non-Poisonous Fly Papers= (Bergmann & Co.,
Rochlitz). Contains abundance of arsenious acid. (Hager.)
=FLIEGENPULVER--Fly Powder= (Baumann, now Markel, Austria). 93 to 94 per
cent. of dry sandy ferruginous clay (ordinary loam) saturated with a
decoction of some bitter substance, as quassia or gentian. (Hager.)
=FLIES.= See FLY.
=FLIP.= See EGG FLIP.
=FLÖHEMITTEL--Flea Powder= (Leipsic). Powdered soap. (Fischer.)
=FLÖHEWASSER--Flea Water= (Koch, veterinary surgeon, Vienna). 7 brandy, 1
benzine, 1 black soap. (Hager.)
=FLORILINE--Vegetable Tooth Paste= made by John Yates (Albin Müller,
Brünn). It is contained in a quadrangular china pot, and is a red, dry,
rather hard mass made from prepared chalk, 20 grammes; starch powder, 10
grammes; glycerin, 8 grammes; pellitory tincture, 3 grammes; peppermint
oil, 10 drops; and water q. s., coloured with Florentine lac. (Hager.)
=FLOUN'DER.= A flat fish, very like the plaice, but smaller, and of more
obscure colour. It is very common about the British coast, and is found in
the Northern, Baltic, and Mediterranean seas. Its flesh is very wholesome.
=FLOUR.= _Syn._ FARINA, L. The finely ground and 'dressed' meal of bread
corn, and of the seeds of some of the leguminosæ. That known specifically
as 'flour' in this country is obtained from spring varieties of _Triticum
vulgare_ (the common wheat).
_Var., &c._ Of varieties of flour there are several, depending chiefly on
the amount of bran which they contain, and the relative fineness of the
sieves through which they are passed:--
FINE WHEAT FLOUR, PASTRY FLOUR; FARINA, F. TRITICI, F. SEMINIS TRITICI.
The finest flour, obtained from the meal produced in the first grinding of
wheat between sharp stones, by means of a sieve of 64 wires to the inch.
Used for pastry.
MIDDLINGS. The remainder of the flour of the first grinding, obtained by
means of a slightly coarser sieve. Used for making household bread, but is
mostly reground for the next variety.
SECONDS. The finest part of the flour, obtained by regrinding 'middlings'
between blunt stones. Used by the bakers for their finest wheaten bread.
POLLARD. The coarse flour, from which the seconds has been sifted. Used
for making sea biscuits and gingerbread, and to fatten poultry and hogs.
COUNTRY HOUSEHOLD FLOUR. This is usually ground only once, and sifted to
4/5ths of the weight of the wheat.
AMMUNITION FLOUR is ground and sifted to nearly 5/6ths the weight of the
wheat.
According to Mr Accum, thirty-two pecks of wheat in the London mills
yield, of flour 38-1/2 parts; pollard, 8 parts; and bran (_furfur
tritici_), 12 parts; the bulk of the wheat being doubled by grinding.
According to Mr Hard, miller, of Dartford, quoted by Dr Pereira, the wheat
having been ground in the usual way, is allowed to remain in the state of
meal for some time before 'dressing,' which removes the heat caused by the
process, and enables the miller to obtain more flour, and the baker a
better quality, than if 'dressed' immediately it is ground.
"The process of dressing is by a wire cylinder containing a certain number
of sheets of different texture or fineness, which cylinder contains eight
hair brushes attached to a spindle passing through the centre of the
cylinder, and laid out so as to gently touch the wire. This cylinder is
fed by a 'shoe' with the meal; then the 'flour' and 'offal,' after passing
through the wire in this way, are divided by wooden partitions fixed close
to the outside of the cylinder." "The produce of the wheat-meal dressed
through the wire machine consists of--1, Flour;--2, White Stuff, or
Boxings, or Sharps;--3, Fine Pollard;--4, Coarse Pollard, or Horse
Pollard;--5, Bran. The 2nd product (_i. e._ the white stuff) is then
submitted to another 'dressing' through a fine cloth machine, and
produces--1, Fine Middlings, for biscuits;--2, Toppings, or Specks;--3,
Dustings;--4, Best Pollard, Turkey Middlings, or Coarse Middlings.
TABLE _of the Produce of One Quarter of Wheat_ (= 504
lbs.) By MR HARD.
Flour 392 lbs.
Biscuit or fine middlings 10 "
Toppings or specks 8 "
Best pollard, Turkey p., or
twenty-penny 15 "
Fine pollard 18 "
Bran and coarse pollard 50 "
Loss by evaporation and waste 11 "
----
504 "
----
_Analysis of Flour._
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
| | PELIGOT. | | | WANKLYN. |
| |Mean of 14| LETHEBY. | PAYEN. |Fine Wheaten|
| | Analyses.| | | Flour. |
|--------------------------------+----------+----------+---------+------------|
| |Per cent. | Per cent.|Per cent.| Per cent. |
|Water | 14·0 | 15·0 | 14·22 | 16·5 |
|Fat | 1·2 | 2·0 | 1·25 | 1·2 |
|Nitrogenous matters, gluten, &c.| 12·8 | 10·8 | 14·45 | 12·0 |
|Ditto, soluble in water | 1·8 | -- | -- | -- |
|Non-nitrogenised substances, | | | | |
| dextrin, sugar, &c. | 7·2 |} | | |
|Starch | 59·7 |} 70·5 | 68·48 | 69·6 |
|Cellulose | 1·7 |} | | |
|Salts (ash) | 1·6 | 1·7 | 1·6 | 0·74 |
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
According to Vauquelin, French wheat flour contains about 10% of water,
11% of gluten, 71% of starch, 5% of sugar, and 3% of gum; and the water of
the dough amounts to about 50%. The quantity of the bran in wheat ranges
under 2%.
_Pur._ This article of food is very frequently adulterated both by the
miller and the baker, as has been before alluded to in the article on
bread. The principal physical characteristics of wheat flour of good
quality are the following--it has a dull white colour, somewhat inclining
to yellow;--it exhibits no trace of bran, even when pressed smooth with
the hand, or with a polished surface;--its cohesiveness is so great that,
on being squeezed in the hand, the lump is some time before it loses its
shape;--it has a homogeneous appearance, and does not lose more than from
6% to 12% by being carefully dried in a stove. The smaller the loss in
this way the finer is the quality, other matters being equal, and the more
economical in use.[313] (See _below_.)
[Footnote 313: See also BREAD, _Adult_, and _Exam_.]
_Tests._ 1. Solution of ammonia turns pure wheat flour yellow; but if any
other corn has been ground with it, pale brown; or if peas or beans have
been ground with it, a still darker brown.
2. Solution of potassa, containing about 12% of caustic alkali, dissolves
pure wheat-flour almost completely; but when it is adulterated with the
flour of the leguminous seeds (beans, peas, &c.), the cellulosæ of these
substances remains undissolved, and its hexagonal tissue is readily
identified under the microscope. Mineral substances (chalk, plaster of
Paris, bone dust, &c.) are also insoluble in this test, and appear as a
heavy white sediment.
3. Boiling water poured on the sample causes the evolution of the peculiar
odour of pea or bean flour when these substances are present. Bread made
with such flour evolves a like odour on being toasted.
4. Pure hydrochloric acid poured on potato flour, or on wheat flour
adulterated with it, develops a smell of rushes; it also dissolves starch,
but changes the colour of pure wheat-flour to a deep violet.
5. Nitric acid turns wheat flour of an orange-yellow colour, but forms a
stiff and tenacious jelly with potato fecula, the colour of which it does
not alter.
6. A portion of the suspected sample submitted to dry distillation in a
stoneware retort, and the distillate collected in a receiver containing a
little water, the latter is found to remain perfectly neutral if the wheat
flour is pure, but acquires a distinctly alkaline reaction when beans,
pulse, or pea meal is present. (Rodrigues.)
7. Triturate 300 gr. of the sample with an equal weight of clean siliceous
sand, and after five minutes form a homogeneous paste with water;
afterwards further adding more water, until about 2 fl. oz. have been
used. The filtered liquid, treated with an equal quantity of a strong and
pure aqueous solution of iodine, develops a pink colour, which gradually
disappears when the specimen examined consists of pure wheat flour; but
assumes a deep-purple colour, which disappears much more slowly, if the
flour is adulterated with even 10% of fecula or potato flour. This test
succeeds, not only with flour and meal, but also with macaroni,
vermicelli, &c. (M. Chevallier.)
8. The milky liquid holding the starch in suspension (see Anal., page 749)
is poured into a small conical glass, and left at rest for some time; the
clear liquid is then decanted, and any remaining water carefully sucked up
with a pipette, and the whole left for some time, in order that the
deposit may harden. The upper gray layer is next removed with a teaspoon,
and the harder and stiffer second layer left undisturbed until it becomes
quite solid by drying. When in this state, it may be upset in the form of
a cone, upon a lump of dry plaster. The fecula or potato starch (if any is
present), being heavier than that of wheat, forms the apex of the cone,
and its quantity may be estimated in the following manner:--The operator
cuts from the apex of the little cone above mentioned a slice, which he
triturates only for a short time in an agate mortar (one of glass, or
porcelain, or wedgwood-ware, will not do), and he tests that with aqueous
solution of iodine. If it turns blue, it is fecula. Another slice is
treated in the same manner, until the operator comes to the wheat starch,
which, in the present instance, is not affected by the aqueous solution of
iodine. This difference of behaviour of the two species of starch with
iodine is due to the friction of the pestle and mortar, which is
sufficient to divide or tear the envelopes of the particles of the potato
starch, which then become blue when treated by solution of iodine. The
particles of wheat starch, on the contrary, are not disaggregated by that
treatment, and being therefore protected by their envelope, are not acted
upon by the solution of iodine, or, at most, assume only a brown tinge.
(M. Robine.)
9. Wheat flour adulterated with plaster of Paris, ground bones, chalk, and
potato flour, has a higher specific gravity than a sample of the pure
flour. This may be readily ascertained by any person by filling a small
vessel with some pure flour, and then with the given sample. "A vessel
which will contain 1 lb. of wheat flour will contain 1-1/2 lb. of fecula"
(potato flour), and hence "the proportion of this adulteration may be
easily estimated." (Ure.)
10. If to a sample of wheat flour is added a solution of potassa,
containing about 1-3/4% of the pure alkali, the granules of potato farina,
or of bean meal, or pea meal, present (if any), will acquire 4 or 5 times
their original volume, while those of the pure wheat starch will be
scarcely affected by it. This change is very perceptible under a
microscope of small power. 2 parts of liquor of potassa (Ph. L.) and 5
parts of distilled water form a mixture that answers for the above
purpose.
11. By means of the microscope the admixture of the cheaper feculas and
meals with wheat flour is readily detected by the characteristic
appearance of the starch grains; and when the adulteration exceeds 9% or
10%, its extent may be readily estimated with considerable accuracy. As
the range of adulteration is generally from 12% to 27%, this method is
applicable in the greater number of cases.
_Analysis._ The value of wheat flour as an aliment depends upon the
quantity of gluten, sugar, starch, and phosphate of lime, which it
contains; and its superiority over the flour of the grains of the other
cereals is referred to its containing a larger proportion of the first and
last of these substances than they do. The quantitative analysis of flour
is very simple, and may be easily made by persons unacquainted with
chemistry, by attending to the instructions below:--
_a._ Make 1000 gr. of the sample into a dough with a little water, let it
rest an hour and then gently knead it in successive water, until the
starchy particles are perfectly removed. Collect the portion (GLUTEN) left
in the hand, drain off the water, place it on a piece of filtering or
blotting paper, several times doubled, and set it aside.
_b._ Mix the several waters employed in the preceding process, and set
them aside in a tall vessel, to deposit the suspended portion (STARCH).
After a sufficient time pour off the clear liquid, and throw the whole of
the sediment on a weighed paper filter, placed in a funnel, observing to
remove the portion adhering to the bottom of the vessel by means of a
little clean water, that none may be lost.
_c._ Evaporate the decanted liquid, as well as what runs from the filter,
until it becomes curdy, then filter it through a piece of weighed blotting
paper, and preserve the sediment (ALBUMEN); next evaporate the residuum to
the consistence of a syrup, agitate it with 10 times its weight of
alcohol, and filter, observing to wash the paper filter clean with a
little alcohol after the solution has passed through it. The substance on
the paper is PHOSPHATE OF LIME and GUM, and must be set aside. By
subsequent digestion in water, filtration, and evaporation, the two may be
obtained separately.
_d._ Evaporate or distil off the spirit from the solution and washings, as
above; the residuum is SUGAR.
_e._ Dry the substances educed as above, by a gentle heat, and weigh them.
The weight of the albumen may be taken with that of the gluten, as it
possesses about the same nutritive value, and also because it has been
asserted by some persons that the former substance is in reality gluten,
and not albumen. By dividing the given weights by 10, the per-centage
value of the sample is obtained. The pieces of filtering paper employed
should be carefully dried and weighed before using them, and the same
degree of heat should be employed for this purpose as that to which they
will be afterwards exposed in the drying of the substances resulting from
the operations.
_Obs._ The above method of ascertaining the actual value of any sample of
flour as an article of food, though not strictly accurate, approximates
sufficiently to the truth for all practical purposes, and is well adapted
to the wants of the baker and large purchaser. In many cases it will only
be necessary to perform the first part of the process (_a_), which will
give the per-centage of the most important constituent of the flour; the
rest being of minor consequence.
In addition to what has been already stated in the article on BREAD, it
may be useful to mention that a pound of the best flour, from thoroughly
dried wheat, will take 10 fl. oz. of water to form it into ordinary dough,
or 9 fl. oz. to form it into bread dough. Under the old parliamentary
acts, a sack of flour (280 lbs.) was presumed to produce 80 loaves
(quartern or quarter-peck), the weight of which, within 48 hours after
being baked, was to be 4 lbs. 5-1/2 oz. each. At the present time fully 92
loaves, weighing 4 lbs. each, are produced by the London bakers from one
sack of flour, when honest weight is given; but as the latter is rarely
the case, and the bread is frequently 'slack' or 'under-baked,' and thus
contains more water than good bread ought to do, a much larger product is
commonly obtained. The dough loses about 1/7th of its weight in baking, if
in batches; but fully 1/6th, if baked in small loaves, and placed in the
oven separately. The best bread contains about 1/4-1/6th of its weight of
added water; and common bread, often much more than 1/4th. The proportion
of water in the London bread has greatly increased during the last few
years, owing to the introduction of the fraudulent plan of making the
dough with rice jelly or moss jelly. This is the reason why the bread of
some bakers suffers such a loss of weight in a few hours after being taken
from the oven. A 4 lbs. loaf of bread purchased from a baker at Lambeth,
after remaining on the sideboard of a sitting-room for 24 hours, was found
to have lost no less than 6-1/2 oz. by evaporation, and in two days longer
its interior cells were covered with green mould, and the whole was unfit
for food. The bakers, aware of these facts, are particularly careful not
to bake more bread than they can dispose of whilst 'new,' and are in the
habit of refusing to weigh their bread before selling it, when it is more
than 10 or 12 hours old, although they are liable to be 'fined' for such a
refusal. See BREAD, CAKES, FARINA, &c., also _below_.
=Flour, Baked.= _Syn._ FARINA TOSTA, F. TRITICI TOSTA, L. _Prep._ From
wheat flour, carefully baked in a 'slack' oven, until it acquires a
pale-buff hue. Astringent; used to make food for infants troubled with
diarrh[oe]a. See FARINA.
=Flour, Barley (Prepared).= _Syn._ FARINA HORDEI PREPARATA, L. _Prep._
(Ph. Bor.) From barley flour, compressed into a tin cylinder until the
vessel is 2-3rds full, which is then suspended at the upper part of a
still 2-3rds filled with water, and after the 'head' is fitted on, the
water is kept boiling for 30 hours (2 days of 15 hours each). Lastly, the
upper layer being removed, the rest is reduced to powder, and kept in a
dry place.
=Flour, Boiled.= _Syn._ TRITICINA, FARINA PREPARATA, L. _Prep._ From fine
flour, tied up in a linen cloth as tight as possible, and after it has
been frequently dipped into cold water, the outside of the cloth is
dredged over with flour, until a crust is formed round it, to prevent the
water soaking into it whilst boiling; it is then boiled for a long time,
and when cold, it is divided into small oblong pieces. For use, it is
reduced to powder, either by grinding or grating it, and is then prepared
like arrow-root. It forms a good diet for children, in diarrh[oe]a, &c.;
and as it may be easily prepared at home, it has the advantage of being
free from adulteration.
=Flour, Jones's Patent.= _Prep._ From kiln-dried flour, 1 cwt.; tartaric
acid, 10-1/2 oz.; mix thoroughly; after 2 or 3 days, add, of bicarbonate
of soda, 12 oz.; lump sugar, 1/2 lb.; common salt, 1-1/2 lb.; mix, and
pass the compound through the 'dressing-machine.' It is necessary that the
whole of the ingredients should be perfectly dry, and separately reduced
to fine powder before adding them to the flour. By simply mixing it with
cold water, and at once baking it, it produces light, porous bread.
_Obs._ We have already had occasion to pay a passing tribute to the
excellence and usefulness of Jones's Patent Flour.[314] It is, indeed,
invaluable to every household, as furnishing the means of producing, with
great economy, and extemporaneously, not merely cakes, puddings, pastry,
and fancy bread, but the 'staff of life' itself, household bread, of a
purity, flavour, and lightness, seldom, if ever, met with in that
purchased of the bakers.
=Flour, Sewell's Patent.= _a._ (No. 1.) Flour, 1 sack (280 lbs.);
hydrochloric acid (sp. gr. 1·14), 45 oz.; mix, by adding the acid in a
'spray,'--_b._ (No. 2.) To the last, add (expertly) bicarbonate of soda,
39 oz.; mix thoroughly, and pass the whole through a sieve or 'dressing
machine.'
_Obs._ This flour is used as the last, to which, however, it is inferior
in quality. No. 1 will keep 5 weeks. No. 2 will keep a month. Jones's
flour will keep good in a dry place for years. If No. 1 is alone employed
for the dough, to each pound of the flour, 65 gr. of bicarbonate of soda,
with salt q. s., must be added. The patentee claims for his invention the
merit of the soda and acid being converted into culinary salt in the
process of making up the flour and baking the dough.[314]
[Footnote 314: See UNFERMENTED BREAD.]
=FLOWER DEW= (F. J. Weber, successor of Rau, Bamberg). A flat bottle with
the name of Rau moulded on it; its gross weight is more than 80 grammes,
but it contains scarcely 22 grammes of a nearly colourless but slightly
yellow fluid, consisting of a pleasant aromatic solution of oils of
bergamot, lemon, orange flowers, and rose in strong spirit.
=FLOWERS.= _Syn._ FLORES, L. These beautiful and fragrant ornaments of our
gardens and our dwellings are too highly esteemed by all classes of the
community to require anything in favour of their cultivation to be said
here. Our remarks will, therefore, chiefly refer to their collection,
improvement, and preservation.
'Full' or 'double flowers,' or those in which the internal organs become
petals, are so much more beautiful than the 'single flowers' of the
corresponding species and varieties, that their production, with tolerable
ease and certainty, has long been a desideratum with both the professional
and amateur florist. Various plans have been proposed having this object
in view, among which are the following:--1. The use of the best seed only,
but not before it is at least 3 or 4 years old. 2. The selection of the
outer row of seed only, and its careful preservation intact for at least 2
seasons before sowing it. We are assured that this method is particularly
successful with dahlias. 3. The removal of the plants to a shady situation
as soon as the flower-buds begin to develop themselves, and stinting them
with water and nourishment for a few weeks. In this method a few only of
the buds are permitted to mature; the rest being snipped off with a pair
of scissors as early as possible. 4. The use of small pots and a scanty
supply of water until the flowers are partly developed, when water is
supplied in abundance, with or without the addition of a little liquid
manure.
To hasten the blooming of flowers, it is a common practice with some
gardeners to grow them in as small pots as is consistent with their
healthy existence, and carefully to avoid transplanting them to larger
pots, for several weeks before their usual time of blossoming. A plant on
the point of flowering, if transferred to a larger pot and a richer soil,
immediately commences making roots and leaves, whilst the embryo flowers
either wholly decay, or their development is checked until the usual
season of their production has passed over.
The following liquid has been used with great advantage to promote the
vigorous growth and the early flowering of plants:--Sulphate or nitrate of
ammonia, 4 oz.; nitrate of potassa, 2 oz.; sugar, 1 oz.; hot water, 1
pint; dissolve and keep it in a well-corked bottle. For use, put 8 or 10
drops of this liquid into the water of a hyacinth glass or jar, for
bulbous-rooted plants, changing the water every 10 or 12 days. For
flowering plants in pots, a few drops must be added to the water employed
for them. The preference should be given to rain water for this purpose.
The fluid sold under the name of liquid guano may be used in the same
manner.
Flowers may be preserved in a fresh state for a considerable time, by
keeping them in a moist atmosphere. When growing on the parent stem, the
large amount of evaporation from the surface of their leaves is
compensated for by an equivalent proportion of moisture supplied by the
roots; but when they are plucked, the evaporation from the surface
continues, while the supply of moisture is cut off. To supply, in part,
this loss of moisture by evaporation, has arisen the almost universal
practice of placing flowers in water; but their mutilated stems possess a
far inferior power of sucking up fluids to that of the roots, and thus
their decay is only deferred for a time. To preserve them more
effectually, or at least to render their existence less ephemeral, we may
surround them with a moist atmosphere, by which the loss of water from the
surface of their leaves will be reduced to the smallest possible amount.
"It is now eighteen years ago since we first saw, in the drawing-room of a
gentleman, in the hot dry weather of the dog-days, flowers preserved day
after day in all their freshness by the following simple contrivance--A
flat dish of porcelain had water poured into it. In the water a vase of
flowers was set; over the whole a bell-glass was placed, with its rim in
the water. This was a 'Ward's case' in principle, although different in
its construction. The air that surrounded the flowers being confined
beneath the bell-glass, was kept constantly moist with the water that rose
into it in the form of vapour. As fast as the water was condensed it ran
down the sides of the bell glass back into the dish; and if means had been
taken to inclose the water on the outside of the bell-glass, so as to
prevent its evaporating into the air of the sitting-room, the atmosphere
around the flowers would have remained continually damp. We recommend
those who love to see plenty of fresh flowers in their sitting-rooms in
dry weather to adopt this method. The experiment can be tried by inverting
a tumbler over a rose-bud in a saucer of water." ('Gardener's Chron.')
Another method by which some flowers may be preserved for many months is
to carefully dip them, as soon as gathered, in perfectly limpid gum water,
and after allowing them to drain for 2 or 3 minutes, to set them upright,
or arrange them in the usual manner in an empty vase. The gum gradually
forms a transparent coating on the surface of the petals and stems, and
preserves their figure and colour long after they have become dry and
crisp.
Yet another method (given in the 'Pharmaceutical Journal') is as
follows:--"A vessel with a movable cover is provided, and having removed
the cover from it, a piece of metallic gauze of moderate fineness is fixed
over it, and the cover replaced. A quantity of sand is then taken
sufficient to fill the vessel, and passed through a sieve into an iron
pot, where it is heated with the addition of a small quantity of stearin,
carefully stirred so as to thoroughly mix the ingredients.
"The quantity of stearin to be added is at the rate of half a part to 100
parts of sand. Care must be taken not to add too much, as it would sink to
the bottom and injure the flowers. The vessel with its cover on and the
gauze beneath it is then turned upside down, and the bottom being removed,
the flowers to be operated upon are carefully placed on the gauze and the
sand gently poured in, so as to cover the flowers entirely, the leaves
being thus prevented from touching each other. The vessel is then put in a
hot place, such, for instance, as the top of a baker's oven, where it is
left for 48 hours. The flowers thus become dried, and they retain their
natural colours. The vessel still remaining bottom upwards, the lid is
taken off, and the sand runs away through the gauze, leaving the flowers
uninjured.
Faded flowers may be generally more or less restored by immersing them
half-way up their stems in very hot water, and allowing them to remain in
it until it cools, or they have recovered. The coddled portion of the
stems must then be cut off, and the flowers placed in clean cold water. In
this way a great number of faded flowers may be restored, but there are
some of the more fugacious kinds on which it proves useless.
Flowers may be produced in winter by taking up the plants, trees, or
shrubs in the spring, at the time when they are about to bud, with some of
their own soil carefully preserved around the roots, and placing them
upright in a cellar till Michaelmas; when, with the addition of fresh
earth, they are to be put into proper tubs or vessels, and placed in a
stove or hot-house, when they must be treated in the usual manner. By this
method, in the month of February, fruits or roses will appear. Flowers
sown in pots about Michaelmas may thus be made to bloom at Christmas.
The apparently instantaneous flowering of plants, exhibited a few years
ago by M. Herbert to an astonished audience, was, we believe, effected by
the heat generated by fragments of quicklime concealed in the mould close
to, but not in immediate contact with, the roots. The plants selected by
M. Herbert--a group of geraniums and a rose tree--were planted in two
rather deep boxes of garden mould, and were covered with glass shades. The
operator commenced by pouring over the roots, from a small watering-pot, a
liquid which, uniting to the ingredients already in the earth, caused a
great heat, as was shown by an intense steam or vapour, which was evolved
within the shades, and allowed, to some extent, to escape through a small
hole in the top, which at first was kept closed. The effect upon the
geraniums was certainly almost instantaneous; the buds beginning to burst
in about five or six minutes, and the plants being in full bloom within
ten minutes, when the blossoms were gathered by M. Herbert, and
distributed amongst the ladies present. With the rose tree the exhibitor
was less fortunate. The invention may prove useful where ladies require to
decorate their drawing-rooms or boudoirs with the beauties of the floral
world somewhat earlier in the season than they can otherwise be obtained.
It must not, however, be forgotten that the plants are, as it were,
parboiled during the process, and die after a few days.
As regards the sanitary value of flowers, Mantegazza, of Pavia, states
that ozone is generated in larger quantities by certain plants possessing
spicy aromatic odours, than by the action of electricity upon the air. He
says that in some plants this ozone is developed by the direct rays of the
sun, whilst in others the action, once begun in solar light, is continued
in darkness; and that cherry-laurel, clove, lavender, mint, lemon, fennel,
narcissus, heliotrope, hyacinth, mignonette, &c., all produce ozone
largely on exposure to the rays of the sun.[315] He also finds that whilst
the ozonigenic properties of flowers reside mainly in their perfumes, the
most odoriferous yielding the largest amount of ozone, certain others
possessing no particular perfume, have extraordinary ozonigenic power; as,
for instance, the sunflower, broad belts of which were planted by the late
Commodore Maury around the grounds of the national observatory at
Washington, to the effect of which he attributed the after immunity of his
family from intermittent fevers.[316]
[Footnote 315: The experiments of Mr Kingzetti on the limited oxidation of
essential oils, lead to the inference that instead of ozone, peroxide of
hydrogen is the body evolved.--ED.]
[Footnote 316: Recent researches seem to have shown that the hygienic
properties of the sun-flower, like those of the Eucalyptus, are chiefly,
if not wholly due to the power the plant possesses of abstracting enormous
quantities of moisture from the soil, and thus removing from certain
localities an active element in the production of malaria.--ED.]
The collection and preservation of flowers for medicinal purposes and
distillation, will be found noticed under VEGETABLES.
=Flowers, Artificial.= The beauty and value of these pleasing articles of
personal decoration mainly depend upon the taste and ingenuity of the
maker. The delicate fingers of woman, and her ready powers of imitation
and invention, combined with her natural affection for the chaste and
beautiful, have enabled her the more especially to excel in this
manufacture. The productions of the female artificial florists of the
French capital are justly admired everywhere.
The French employ velvet, kid, and fine cambric for the petals, and
taffeta for the leaves. Very recently thin plates of bleached whalebone
have been used with great success for some portions of artificial flowers.