479

r o r

F O R

or previously formed by some other animals, as moles, &c. Theyfeed both on animal and vegetable substances, devouring thesmaller kind of insects, caterpillars, Ac. as well as fruits of dilfer-ent kinds. They are particularly attracteil by sweets ; and forthis reason they ascend such trees as are infested with aphides, inorder to obtain the saccharine substance discharged by those ani-mals; and hence seems to have arisen the idea of their enmityagainst the genus aphis. Some species of ants are furnished witha sting, while others are destitute of that part. The largest of theEuropean ants is the formica herculanea, or great wood-ant, of achesnut-eolour, with the abdomen measuring two lines or more inlength. This species is chiefly found in dry woods of pine orfir, where it inhabits a large conical nest or hillock, composed ofdry vegetable fragments, chiefly of fir-leaves: the nest is inter-nally distributed into several paths or tubes, converging towardsthe central part, and opening externally : in the middle or centrereside the young, or larv;e, which are nursed by the neutral ants,and are occasionally brought to the surface, in order to be morewithin the iniluence of the air and sunshine for a certain time, af-ter which they are again conveyed to the bottom or centre. Whenfull-grown, they envelop themselves in oval, while, silken cases,in which they undergo their change into chrysalis, and at lengthemerge in their complete form. The males and females are wing-ed, and the females are much larger than the males. The com-mon or black ant, formica nigra Lin. is a well-known inhabitant ofour fields and gardens, residing in great numbers beneath mole-hills and other elevated spots. It is of a brownish-black colour,and of a glossy or polished surface. Ants are very industrious incollecting and laying up hoards of wheat and othercorn ; and lestthe corn should sprout by the moisture of the subterraneous cells,they gnaw off the end which would produce the blade. The antsare often seen pushing along grains of wheat or barley muchlarger than themselves. The stores thus obtained are for theirevening repasts, and for their support during a rainy season, &c.Ab«ut the beginning of August the males and females may be ob-served in tlie nests: these differ from the neutrals in being fur-nished with wings, and the female is far larger than the male, thebody equalling in size that of the common window-fly, and thetipper wings being very long and large. At this time of the yearthe males and females emigrate in vast numbers; sometimes fly-lag at a considerable height, and sometimes creeping along thesurface. It is not uncommon to see them enter houses at this pe-ri °d, attracted by sweets in particular, either moist or dry. Afterthe breeding season the males live but a very short time, and thefemales return to their nests in order to deposit their eggs. Dur-ltl g the winter this species, like the rest of the European ants, re-gains in a state of torpor, without laying up provisions for thatReason, as erroneously supposed ; and during the spring emerges* r °m its concealment, and recommences its labours. Auts feednoth on animal and vegetable substances of various kinds. Theirfondness for animal substances is often turned to good account byanatomists, who, when they wish to obtain the skeleton of air.a ninial too small or delicate to admit of being prepared the usual"' a >'» dispose the animal in a proper position in a small box, withPerforations in the lid, and deposit it in a large ant-hill; in conse-quence of which, after a certain space, the whole of the softerparts are eaten away by these insects, and the skeleton remains ints proper position.* It is thus that very elegant skeletons of frogs,na kes, &c. may be obtained. The formica rufa is black ; thoraxumpresseil ; and with legs ferruginous. See Plate LXXVI.tof ftMlNG a Siege, is the making lines of circumvallationhi *be camp, and disposing things for the attack of a place

,4’orming a Squadron or Battalion is to range the sol-^ in form of a squadron, ike.

till 0rming the Line, is drawing up infantry, cavalry, and ar-£>>’. into line of battle.

E an island of the Pacific Ocean , about 100 miles

a si - ai| t° a hi Lliina, separated from the province ol l 1 okien byhow aboul 60 mites broad. It is subject to the Chinese ; who,fin ' e . ver knew not of its existence until 1430. It is about 85 lea-file °. n 8» and 25 broad. This island presents extensive and fer-*a»i P a " ls ’ watered bv great number of rivulets that fall from thep ro 5 rn mountains. The air is pure and wholesome, and the soil*Udi !' C f S ’. n abundance corn and rice, with most other grains, and‘ a fruits ; such as oranges, bananas, piue-apples, guavas, pa-

paws, cocoa-nuts ; as well as many of Europe . Tobacco, sugar,pepper, ci.mphire, and cinnamon, are also common. Horses,sheep, goats, and hogs, are very rare in this island. Domesticfowls, geese, and ducks, are in great plenty ; pheasants also arcsometimes seen ; but monkeys and stags have multiplied so much,that they wander through the country in large flocks. The inha-bitants rear a great number of oxen, which they use for riding,from a want of horses and mules. Formosa lies between 119° and122° Lon. E. and between 22° 5' and 25° 28' Lat. N.

Formosa, an island in the Atlantic, near the coast of Africa ,about 6 miles long, and 3 broad. The soil is fertile and coveredw'ith trees, but the island is deficient in good water. Lon. 14. 20-W. Lat. 11. 29. N.

FORMULA, or FORMULARY, a rule or model, ov cer-tain terms prescribed or decreed by authority, for the form andmaimer of an act, instrument, proceeding, or the like.

Formula, in church history and theology, signifies a profes-sion of faith.

Formula, in medicine, imports the constitution of medicines,either simple or compound, both with respect to their prescrip-tion and consistence.

Formula, a theorem or general rule or expression for resolv-

s d

ing certain particular cases of some problem, Ac. So —. —

2 2

is a general formula for the greater of two quantities whose sum iss d

s and difference d ; and-is the formula, or general value

2 2 _

for the less quantity. Again ac — x 2 is the formula or generalvalue of tlie ordinate to a circle, whose diameter is d, and ab-

SC1SS ,T

tORNACALIA, or FORNICALIA, in Roman antiquity,a festival instituted by Numa, in honour of the goddess Fornax iwherein certain cakes were made, and offered in sacrifice beforethe ovens.

FORNAX, the goddess of ovens.

FORNICATION , \_fomicatio, Lat. from the fornices inRome , where the lewd women prostituted themselves for money.}Formerly court-leets had power to inquire of and punish fornication-and adultery ; in which courts tlie king had a tine assessed on theoffenders, as appears by tlie book of Domesday. In 1650, notonly incest and wilful adultery were made capital crimes, but alsothe repeated act of keeping a brothel, or committing fornication,was (upon a second conviction) made felony without benefit ofclergy. But at the restoration, it was not thought proper to renewa law of such unfashionable rigour. And these offences have beenever since left to the feeble coercion of a spiritual court, accord-ing to tlie rules of the canon law'; a law which has treated the of-fence of incontinence, nay, even adultery itself, with a great de-gree of tenderness and lenity ; owing perhaps to tlie constrainedcelibacy of its first compilers. The temporal courts thereforetake no cognizance even of the crime of adultery, otherwise thanas a private injury. See Adultery. The evils of fornication,which too many wish to consider as no sin, may be judged offrom the following particulars: 1. The malignity and moral qua-lity of each crime is not to be estimated by the particular effectof one offence, or of one person’s offending, but by the generaltendency and consequence of crimes of the same nature. Letthe libertine consider, what would be the consequence, if the samelicentiousness in which he indulges were universal ? or what shouldhinder its becoming universal, if it be innocent or allowable inhim ? 2. Fornication supposes prostitution ; and by prostitutionthe victims of it are brought to almost certain misery. It is nosmall quantity of misery in the aggregate, which between want,disease, and insult, is suffered by those outcasts of human societywho infest populous cities ; the whole of which is a general conse-quence of fornication, and to the increase and continuance ofwhich every act and instance of fornication contributes. 3. For-nication produces habits of ungovernable lewdness, which intro-duce the more aggravated crimes of seduction, adultery, violation,&c. The criminal indulgences between the sexes prepare an easyadmission for every sin that seeks it: they are, in low life, usually

I the first stage in men’s progress to the most desperate villainies ■and in high life, to that lamented dissoluteness of principle, which

manifests