Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/779

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flL

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FIN

There are two Kinds : Thofe which fupport Apices, are particularly called Stamina ; and thofe which have none, fimply Fillets. See Stamina.

Fillet, fieniola, in Heraldry, a kind of Orle, or Bor- dure, containing only a third or fourth Part of the Breadth of the common Bordure. See Bordure.

It is fuppofed to be withdrawn, inwards; and is of a diffe- rent Colour from the Field. It runs quite round, near the Edge, as a Lace over a Cloak.

Fillet is alfo ufed for an Ordinary drawn, like the Ear, from the finifler Point of the Chief a-crofs the Shield ; in manner of a Scarf: tho' it is fometimes alio feen in the Si- tuation of a Band, Fefs, Crofs, cjfc.

According to Guillim, the Fillet is a fourth Part of the Chief; and placed in the chief Point of the Efcutcheon. See Chief.

■ Fillet, or Filet, in Architecture, a little fquare Mem- ber, or Ornament, ufed in divers Places, and on divers Oc- cafions ; but generally as a fort of Corona, over a greater Moulding.

The Fillet is the fame with what the French call Reglet • the Italians, Lifta, or Ziftella ; and others, Sand, or San- delette. See Reglet, List, c5c

The Word is French, Fillet, of Fil, Thread.

Ftllet is alio ufed among Painters, Gilders, &c. for a little Rule, or Reglet of Leaf Gold, drawn over certain Mouldings; or on the Edges of Frames, Pannels, S£?c. efpe- cially when painted white; by way of Enrichment.

Fillets, in the Manage, are the Loins of an Horfe ; which begin at the Place, where the hinder part of the Saddle refts.

FILM, a thin Skin, or Pellicle, dividing feveral Parts of the Flefli.

In Plants, it is that thin woody Skin, which feparates the Seeds in the Pods, and keeps them apart.

FILTRATION, the A3 of pauing a thing thro' a Fil- tre ; called alfo 'Percolation, and tranfcolation. See Per-

colation.

Filtration is a kind of Diftillation; perform'd by firaining a Liquor thro' a Cloth, Bag, Linen, or brown Paper, in order to clarify or purify it. The mod commodious way of fil- trating is by brown Paper, faften'd over the Mouth or Aper- ture of a Funnel. See Filtre.

The Secretion of the divers Juices in the Body, from the Mafs of Blood, feem to be little elfe but Filtration. See Secretion.

fitcaim, and other late Authors, hold that the Diffe- fences of Filtratimzs don't depend on the different Configu- rations of Pores ; but on their different Sizes or Diameters. And Springs feem to be rais'd from the Ocean by the fame Principle. See Spring, Ascent of Water, Capil- lars tubes, &c.

There are Mo Filtrations thro' Sand, pulverized Glafs, tSc. Spirits of Vitriol, Salt, and Nitre, are filtrated thro' a Quantity of beaten Glafs, in the Bottom of a Funnel.

Filtration is chiefly concern'd in Tinctures ; as when fome Portion is drawn from the Ingredients, or fufpended in the Tincture, which is not neceffary thereunto ; but diflurbs and renders the reft unpleafant, both to the Palate, and Sight.

The Filtration mod in ufe, is the {training a Liquor thro' Paper, which by the Smallnefs of the Pores admits only the £ncr Parts through, and keeps the reft behind.

Befide this, there is a Filtration, which hath much tor- tur'd the Philofophy of fome Ages to account for, vizi, that perform'd by the Afccnt of the finer Parts of a Liquor, up a Cord, or Skain of Cotton, or fuch like Matter, which is contrived to drop over another Veffel, and leave the groffer behind.

Some fay, that the Caufe of this Alcent is, becaufe the Liquor fwells thofe Parts of the Filtre, that touch it by entering into the Pores of the Threads, which compofe it, whereby they rife up, touch, and wet thofe next above them ; and thefe again the next Threads ; and fo on, to the Brims of the Veffel ; when, the Liquor runs over, and defcends in the other Part of the Filtre, which hangs down, by its own natural Gravity.

But this Account is liable to many Objections; efpecially as Liquors rife, after the like manner in Glafs Tubes, much above the Surface of the Liquor they are immerfed in ; where the Glafs cannot be imagin'd thus to fwell.

Others account for it, by confidcring every Filtre, as compofed of a great Number of long, fmall, folid Bodies, which lie very clofe together ; fo that the Air getting in be- tween them, lofes much of its Preflure, and cannot gravitate jo ftrongly, as it doth on the Fluid without them : TheCon- lequcnceis, that the Parts of the Water between theThrcads of the Filtre mull be prefs'd upwards, and afcend till they tome fo high, as by theirWeight to counter-ballance the ge- neral Preflure on the other Parts of the Surface of the Water.

Laftly, the Retainers to Sir J.Newton's Philofophy deduce •he 1 hEnomenon from the Principle of Attraction, See ■Attraction.

The Principle of this Filtration is dou'otiefs the fains with that whereby Fluids afcend up Heaps or Lumps Of Afhes, Sand, £j?e. The fame with that, whereby Water is raifed in form of Vapour .- The Sap riles in Vegetables; and the Blood circulates through the capillary Arteries, and the extremely minute glandular Strainers. See Ascent of Liquors.

FILTRE, Filter, or Philter, in Chymiftry, SJc, A piece of Cloth, Linen, Paper, or other Matter, ufed to filtrate or ftrain L.iquors through. See Filtration.

The Filtre has the fame Ufc and Effect, with regard to Liquids, that the Sieve or Scarce has in dry Matters.

Filtres are of two forts : The firft, fimple pieces of Pa- per, or Cloth ; through which the Liquor is pafs'd without further Cen

'emony.

The fecond are twilled up like a Skain or Wick.and firfl; wet, then fqueez'd, and one End put in the Veffel that contains the Liquor to be filtrated. The otherEnd is to be out, and hang down below the Surface of the Liquor. By means hereof, the pureft Part of the Liquor diftills Drop by Drop out of the Veffel ; leaving the coarfer Part behind.-

This 'Philtre afts as a Syphon. See Syphon.

Filtre is alfo a Charm, fuppofed to have a Virtue of infpiring Love. See Charm.

_ The Word is derived from the Greek wAesi, which fig- nifies the fame Thing, of p/As«, amo, I love.

FIMASHING, in Heraldty. See Fvmets.

FIMBRIA, the Extremities or Border of the Tuba: Fat- lopiana: were formerly thus called; the Word fignifying a fringed Border, which that Pare refembles. See Fallo- pian tnbe.

FIMBRIATED, a Term in Heraldry, fignifying that an Ordinary is edged round with another of a different Colour.

Thus, He beareth Or, a Crofs, Patee Gules fimbriated Sable.

FIN, that Part of a Fifh, made in Ea- fliion of a Feather. See Fish.

The Office of the Fins has commonly been fuppofed to be analogous to that of Feathers in Fowls; and to aflift the Fifh in its progreffive Motion, or Swimming : But the later Nafuralifts find this a Miftake.

'Tis the Tail is the great Inftrument of Swimming : The Fins only ferve to keep the Fifh upright, and prevent Va- cillation, or Wavering. See Swimming, Tail, cifc.

Whale Fins are commonly taken for that Part of the Whale, which the Populace call Whale-bone ; but whence the Miflake fhould arife, is not eafy to determine.

'Tis certain, that fibrous, flexible Matter is not the Fins of that Fifh, but rather its Teeth ; that Species of WKalcs- wherein they are found having no other Teeth. They are taken out of the Throat, and are ufually about a Span broad, and 14 or 15 long. See Whale Sone.

The Whale Fins are the mod V aluable Part of the Ani- mal. See Whale Fishery.

FINAL, that which terminates, or comes laft in any Thing : Final Judgment ; Final Sentence, &c.

Divines call the Impenitence of the Reprobate Final, as fuppofing it to continue to the End of their Life.

Final Caufe, is the end for which any thing is done, The final Caufe is the firfl thing in the Intention of a Per- fon who does a thing; and the laft, in the Execution. See Final Cause.

Final Canfes are of good ufe in Ethicks; but mifchievous in Phyficks, and by no means to be allowed; yet Mr. Boyltt propofes fome Views and Regulations, under which they may be admitted, in an JSxprefs Inquiry into the Final Caufes of Natural 'things.

Final Letters are thofe which clofe the Words. The Figure call'd Apocope, confifls in retrenching;^/ Letters.

The Hebrews have five final Letters ; which, when at the End of a Word, have a different Figure from what they have at the Beginning, or in the Middle thereof. Thefe are the "J, Q, J, a, y, Caph, Mem, Nun, Pe, Tfade; which every where but at the Ends of Words are wrote 3, a, :, S, X.

FINANCE, a Term ufed by the French, for the Reve- nues of the King, or State. Thus, The Council of the Finances, correfponds to our Commiffioners of theTreafury: The Comptroller General of the Finances, to our Lord High Treafurer, £$c. See Revenue, Treasury, iSc.

The Word is derived from the German Finantz, Ufury. Tho' du Cange chufes rather to deduce it from the barba- rous Latin Financia, fr^jiatio fectmiaria.

Finances, in the French Cufloms, denote the publick Treafury of the King and Government : Much the fame with the Treafury, or Exchequer of the Englifh, and the Fifcus of the Romans. See Treasury, Exchequer, &c.

The Word is fometimes alfo ufed for the Stock or Cafh of a Banker, &c.

The French have a peculiar kind of Figures, or numeral Characters, which they call Chiffre de Finance. See Cha- racter. * I FINE,