FLF
44.5
FLE
thov should be carried -oil the field, and on no account be sufferedto ’lie in the furrows, because they often strike root again, andthus injure the growth of the flax. This plant becomes ripe whenIt is in toll blossom.; but, if it be intended to stand for seed, it willnot attain to majority till the milky juice which it affords is driedup ; at which time it is to he pulled, in order to be prepared forthe manufacturer. The first process which fiax undergoes, is thatOf rating, or steeping it in water to loosen and separate the rindt.om the stalk. '1 he early llax is generally watered by laying itin bundles, in a pond or reservoir of soft water, where it is presseddown by stones, or otiier heavy bodies. In the course of a week,the rind’ will be snflidentlv loosened, when the llax ought to beremoved from the water, spread out in the air, and dried. Greatskill and precaution are necessary in this part of the operation ;for should the llax be lelt too long in the water, the filaments orthreads will become rotten and useless : it will therefore be prefer-able to take it out rather at an earlier period, than to leave it toolong in the pits. Another process is that of dew-ripening ; whichis performed by spreading the flax on the grass, so that the jointaction of the rain and dew produces an effect similar to that ofrating. In some parts of Germany , it is never steeped in water,but only exposeii for several w eeks to the air, rain, and sun ; by"•hh h it is said to become finer and softer than by any othermethod. To these operations may he added that of rippling,namely the separating of the seed from the stalk, by passing theflax through a kind ot comb before it is rated or watered. '1 iiesecombs are made of iron, die teeth of which are so closely set to-gether, that the heads cannot pass through, and consequently arepulled off. Some cultivators, however, beat the seed out in thefield where it grew, instead of rippling, by means of a heavy pieceot wood fastened to a bundle ; after w hich it is sifted clean into alarge sueet. Manv attempts have been made by ingenious per-sons, to improve llax, or to rentier it finer, softer, and equal tosilk in. spinning. In Ireland , this object has, in a great measure,been attained by boiling it for several hours in sea-water, with theaddition of a lye. made of unslacked lime, and two or three parts°f pot-ashes: thus we have seen the coarsest part of flax, or tow,considerably changed in its texture, so as to resemble the finestbut. In the 69th Report of the Economical Society of Leipzig,printed in 1797 (in German ), we meet with the following processol converting ilax into a silky substance, communicated by Countf’arrsch, director ot the mines in Russia : take pure combed flax,be it up mto rollers covered with white buckram, fasten them withpackthread,, and deposit them fora fortnight in a damp cellar.1 hen open the flax, and place it under the cylinders of a commonmangle, where it should be rolled Overlive or six times, in amanner similar to that pursued with linen. Next, the flax shouldbe passed through a fine brass comb. This process of maiiglnga ml combing must he repeated 'a second and third time, hut theConiu, ought to be progressively finer. By such treatment (theb-ount :u,.ir:i,s the Society) a very fine, tender, and glossy llax,may be obtained, scarcely inferior to China silk; and though it,°ses more th.m one-third of its .ubxtance, yet the refuse, or tow,ls uncommonly fine, ami still u. eful for the manufacture of ordi-bmy linen. Te .arther observes, that, after each combing, parti-ctnarly the nrst, the filaments appear flat and compressed, buthat they recover their roimdness by the subsequent operation.
. ax thus prepared cannot, by mere contact, or the sense of feel-Ug, be distinguished from silk, and is fit io lie manufactured intom finest cambric, and Biubant lace. 'Hie utility of tlax or lin-f e< > ia fattening cattle, is also considerable. Besides these va-'°-is purposes, (lax may also be considered as a manure: for the‘■d on which it is spread, in order to prepare it for housing, isj 111 a considerable degree ameliorated ; and, if rated ilax betot ,? tt a Cflarse , sour pasture, the nature of the herbage will beHu • i ' ^muged ; and the sweetest grasses will in future grow onlll t 1 'nditferent soil. The water, too, in which the flax is im-w .u, rM m> if properly sprinkled on land, by means of watering carts,fift. f )r<x l' ,ce a very fertilizing effect, and increase its value ten orUim*) 1 ' shillings per acre. But this water is of so poisonous a nn-anv IJ ’hai the practice of macerating or steeping flax, in
l)rohn? IU ' or ru| mmg stream, is, by the 33d Henry VIII . c. 17,itnted under very severe pen; ‘
r «-A,X, TV . - ‘ 1
Children and females
are remarkably liable to the attacks of this little enemy ; a cir-cumstance which must be attributed to their more tender skin,their purer blood, longer clothes, and, in some individuals, per ;haps to a peculiar Mate of perspiration. Cleanliness, and frequentsprinkling of the room with a simple decoction of wormwood, willsoon exterminate the whole breed of these troublesome vermin ;.anti the best remedy to expel them from bed-clothes, is a bagfilled with dry moss, the odour of which is to them extremely of-fensive. Others cover the tloors of the rooms where lleas abound,vvi h the h aves of the alder-tree, while the dew is on the foliage,to which these insects fondly adhere, and-thus may be easily de-stroyed. Mercurial ointment, sulphur, and fumivalion with theleaves of penny-royal, or the tresh-gathered foliage of that plant,sewed up in a ban, and laid in the bed, are also remedies pointedout for the expulsion of lieas. Dogs and cats may be effectuallysecured from the persecutions of these vermin, by occasionallyanointing their skin with sweet oil.
FLEAM, [corrupted from ps», the instrument used in;
phlebotomy,] an instrument used to bleed cattle, which is placed:on the vein, and then driven bv a blow.
Fleams, a Cask of, in farriery, comprehends six sorts of in-struments ; two hooked ones, called drawers, used for cleaningwounds; a pen-knife; a sharp-pointed lancet for making incisions;and two beams, one sharp and the other broad-pointed. Tlie^elast are somewhat like the point of a lancet, fixed in a fiat handle,and no longer than is just necessary to open the vein.
FI,ECUE, a town of France , in the department of Sarto,sealed on the Loir, 21 miles S. S. \Y r . of Mans.
KLECIlJEJi, Esprit , bishop of Nismes, one of the most ce-lebrated preachers of his age, was born at Perne in Avignon , in1632. He was nominated bishop of Lavaur in 1685, and trans-lated to Nismes in 1687 ; where he founded an academy. Uispalace was also a kind of academy, where he trained up youngorators and authors. He published 1. Ctirsus Regius, a Latin poem ; 2. An History of Theodosius the Great , and CardinalsXimenes and Commendon. 3. Several Sermons. 4. Miscel-laneous W orks. 5. Letters, funeral orations, &c. He died in 1710.
FLECKEREN, an island near the S. coast of Norway , Lon.8. 18. E. Lat. 58 4. N.
FI,EEC E, the covering of wool, shorn off the bodies of sheep..See Wool .
Fleece, Order of thf. Golden 1 , an order of knighthood:instituted by Philip 11. duke of Burgundy. These knights at firstwere twenty-four, besides the duke himself, who reserved the no- >initial ion of six more: but Charles V. increased them to fifty. Hegave the guardianship of this order to his son Philip king of Spain,,since which the Spani -ii monarchs are chiefs of the order. Thekn'ghts had three different mantles ordained them at the grand so-lemnitv, the collar and lleece.
FI. ft ECY-I1< >St ER Y, a very useful kind of manufacture, in.which tine fleeces of wool are interwoven into a cotton piece of thecommon stocking texture. 'Hie manufacture is thus described in.the specification of the patent granted to Mr. Holland, of Broad-street, Bloom-bury, in the county of Middlesex. “Having in thecommon stocking-frame, twisted silk, cotton-yarn, flaxen orhempen thread, worsted or woollen yarn, or any such like twist-ed or spun materials, begin the work in the common mannerof manufacturing hosiery, and having worked one or morecourse or courses in the common wav, begin to add a coating, thus:draw the frame over the arch, and then ^iang wool or jersey., rawor tuispun, upon the beards of the needles, and'slide the same otftheir beards upon their stems, till it comes exactly under the nibsof the sinkers; then sink the jacks and sinkers, and bring forwardthe frame, till the w ool or jersey is drawn under the beards of theneedles, and having done this, draw the frame over the arch, andplace a thread of spun materials upon the needles (under the nibsof the sinkers), and proceed in finishing the course in the usual wayof manufacturing hosiery with spun materials. Any thing manu-factured in this wav, lias, on the one side, the appearance ofcommon hosiery, and on.the other side the appearance of raw wool.
FLEET, commonly implies a company of ships of war, belong-ing to anv prince or state: but, sometimes it denotes any numberof trading ships, employed in a particular branch of commerce.In sailing, a tleet of men of war is usually divided into threesquadrons; the admiral’s, the vice-admiral’s, and the rear-admiral’i-5 X. saipadrcn,