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terenl from that in mills ; namely, either with the teet or hands ;or a kind of rack or wooden machine, armed with teeth of thesame material;; or, which is still better, horses’ or bollocks’ teethmay be substituted. In this operation, urine, green soap, whitesoap, and iulier’s earth, are employed ; but the first of these ingre-dients, for Hie reasi 11 s before stated, is here also detrimental to thetexture. Stockings manufactured in a loom, should he fulled w ilhsoap alone ; but, for dressing such as have been knit, earth maylikewise be added. Lastly, knit-worsted is by this process ren-dered less subject to run, it a stitch should happen to drop in thestockings.

I ULMINATION, in the Romish c3non law, a sentence of abishop, official, or other ecclesiastic, appointed bv the pope, bywhich it is decreed that some bull sent from the pone shall be exe-cuted.

Fulmination, in chemistry, differs from detonation only indegree, they are both the effects of rapid decomposition accom-panied by a loud noise, either with or w ithout flame, bee Gold,Mercury, Powder, and Silver .

FUMARIA , in botany, English Fumitory, a genus of the dTa-delphia he.xandria class and order. Natural order, Corydales.Calyx two-leaved ; corolla ringent; filaments two, membranace-ous, with three anthers on each. There are fifteen species.

F- Officinalis, or Common Fumitory, grows naturally inshady cultivated grounds, and produces spikes of purplish flowersin May and June. It is very juicy, of a bitter taste, without anyremarkable smell. Its medical effects arc, to strengthen the loneof the bowels, gently loosen the belly, and promote the naturalsecretions.

FUMIGATION, hi medicine , denotes the artificial impregna-tion of the atmosphere, with the fumes or smoke of any vegetableor aromatic substance. By the subtile fumes produced by burn-ing certain substances, much benefit or prejudice may be produc-ed, according to the nature of the case, and the constitution onwhich the effects are to be exerted ; as is evident from the palsiesproduced among metal-gilders, workers in lead-mines, Ac. andaiso from the benefits received in many cases when the air is im-pregnated with salutary materials. Catarrhs and colds, for in-stance, are relieved by fumes received w ith the breath ; by thesame means, expectoration is assisted in the asthma; and even ul-cers in the lungs have been relieved by this method.

FUN AM BULL'S, among (he Romans, was what we call arope-dancer, and the Greeks schocnobatcs.

FUNAUIA, in botany, a genus of the crvptogamia musciclass and order. Capsule obovate ; fringe double ; outer, of six-teen oblique wedge-form teeth, cohering at the tips; inner, amembrane divided into sixteen flat teeth ; veil square. There arethree species.

FUNCHAL , or PUNCTUAL, the capital of Madeira, alarge, strong, handsome, and populous town, with two castles, amiseveral line churches. Lon. Hi. 49. VV. Lai. 32. 32. N.

FUNCTION, in algebra, denotes any compound quantity;and when one of the c->niponent quantities is variable, it is said (obe a variable function. Function; are formed cither by addition,subtraction, multiplication, division, involution, or evolution ; asalso by the resolution o! equations. But besides these, which un-called algebraical functions, there are others called 1 ransceiulental,arising from the management of exponents, logarithms, Ac. Fora farther account of functions, the reader may consult Bernoulli,Oper. T. 3, also Euler ’s Anaivs. Inlinitor.

Function, in the animal a-conomy, is by physicians dividedinto vital, animal, and natural.

1. Functions, Animal, include the senses, memory, judge-ment, and voluntary motions ; without any or all of which an ani-mal mav live, but not very comfortably. The animal functionsperforin the motion of the body bv the action of the muscles; andthis action consists chiefly in the shortening the fleshy fibres, whichis called contraction, the principal agents of which are the arteriesand nerves distributed in the fleshy fibres. All parts of the bodyhave their own functions, or actions, peculiar to themselves. Lift-consists in the exercise of these functions, and health in the freeand ready exercise of them.

2. Functions, Natural, are such as it cannot subsist anvconsiderably time without; as the digestion of the aliment, and it’sconversion into blood.

3. Functions, Vital, are those necessary to life, and v ilhuutwhich the individual cannot subsist; as the motion of the heart,lungs, &c.

FUN DS, Public, the taxes or other public revenues appropri-ated to the payment of the interest or principal of the nationaldebt. When the practice was first adopted of borrowing moneyof individuals for defraying the extraordinary expcnces ol thestate, the produce of some particular lax was generally appropri-ated as the fund out of which the principal and interest of thedebt was to be discharged. The possession of the acknowledge-ment given by government for the money advanced, establishinga right to receive the payments from the fund originally agreedupon, the sale of these securities was considered as a sale of theclaim upon the fund ; ami as the acknowledgements given were ofdifferent kinds, the general appellation of tiie provision on whichthey rested was fomici more convenient for purposes of business:thus the sale and purchase of the government securities was com-monly called the sale or purchase of the public funds, till at lengththe expression has so far varied from its original signification, thatinstead of meaning the revenue out of which public debts or theinterest of them is payable, it denominates the capital of suchdebts, in which sense it is generally used. Hence the term is now-used to signify those large sums which have been lent to govern-ment, and constitute the national debt; and for which the lenders,or their assignees, receive interest from revenues allotted for thatpurpose. The term stock is used in the same sense, and is alsoapplied to the sums which form the capital of the bank of Eng-land, tfie East India ami South Sea companies; the proprietorsof which are entitled to a share of die profits of the respectivecompanies. The practice of funding was introduced by the Ve-netians ami Genoese in the sixteenth century, and Iras been adopt-ed since by most of the nations in Europe . Princes had oftenborrowed money, in former times, to supply their exigencies, andsometimes mortgaged their territories insecurity: but these loanswere generally extorted, and their payment was always precarious;for it depended on the good faith and success of the borrower, andnever became a regular burden on posterity. The origin of fundsis derived from the peculiar manners and circumstances of modernEurope . Since the invention of gunpowder, and the progress ofcommerce, the military occupation has become a distinct employ-ment in the hands of mercenaries; the apparatus of war is attendedwith more expence; and the decision of national quarrels has of-ten been determined by command of liioney rather than by na-tional bravery. Ambitious princes have therefore borrowed mo-ney, to carry on their projects with more vigour. Weaker stateshave been compelled, in self-defence, to apply to the same re-source; the wealth introduced by commerce bus afforded themeans; the regularity of administration, established in conse-quence of the progress of civilization, has increased the confidenceof individuals in l(u: public security; the complicated system ofmodern policy has extended the scenes of wav, and prolonged theirduration; and the colonies established by the mereanlilc nationshave rendered them vulnerable in more points, ami increased theexpeiice of defending them. When a greater sum has been re-quired for the annual expellee, than could easily he supplied byannual taxes, the government have proposed terms, to their ownsubjects, or foreignets, for obtaining an advance ut money, by'mortgaging the revenue of future years for their indemnification-This mortgage mav cither be for a limited period, or perpetual-If Die sum allotted annually for the benefit ol those who advancethe money, he considerably greater than the interests ol the sumsadvanced, they may agree to accept of such allowance,-for a limit-ed time, as-a*full equivalent. 'J ims, they may either agree torthe casual produce of the revenue assigned ; or a fixed annuityfor a greater or less number of years; ora lib-annuity to them-selves or nominees; or an annuity for two or more fives; or aj*annuity, with the hem-lit of survivorship, called a tontine, in whichscheme, the w hole sum to which the original annuitants were infi-lled continues to be distributed among the survivor'. The e-ta-hlishment of the funds was introduced in Britain at the Revolu-tion; and has since been gradually enlarged, ami carried to a 11amazing extent. The various methods above-mentioned havebeen used in tlu-ir turns, but perpetual annuities have been grantedfor the greatest part: and, even when the money was originallyadvanced on other conditions, the lenders have been sometime 56 induced,