suggested. The French form flanelle was used late in the 17th century, and the Ger. Flanell early in the 18th century. Baize, a kind of coarse flannel with a long nap, is said to have been first introduced to England about the middle of the 16th century by refugees from France and the Netherlands. The manufacture of flannel has naturally undergone changes, and, in some cases, deteriorations. Flannels are frequently made with an admixture of silk or cotton, and in low varieties cotton has tended to become the predominant factor. Formerly a short staple wool of fine quality from a Southdown variety of the Sussex breed was principally in favour with the flannel manufacturers of Rochdale, who also used largely the wool from the Norfolk breed, a cross between the Southdown and Norfolk sheep. In Wales the short staple wool of the mountain sheep was used, and in Ireland that of the Wicklow variety of the Cottagh breed, but now the New Zealand, Cape and South American wools are extensively employed, and English wools are not commonly used alone. Over 2000 persons are employed in flannel manufacture in Rochdale alone, which is the historic seat of the industry, and a good deal of flannel is now made in the Spen Valley district, Yorkshire. Blankets, which constitute a special branch of the flannel trade, are largely made at Bury in Lancashire and Dewsbury in Yorkshire. Welsh flannels have a high reputation, and make an important industry in Montgomeryshire. There are also flannel manufactories in Ireland.
A moderate export trade in flannel is done by Great Britain. The following table gives the quantities exported during three years:—
| 1904. | 1905. | 1906. | |
| Yards | 9,758,300 | 9,220,500 | 8,762,200 |
In 1877 the export was 9,273,429 yds., so it appears that this trade has varied comparatively little. The imports of flannel are not very large.
Many so-called flannels have been made with a large admixture of cotton, but the Merchandise Marks Act has done something to limit the indiscriminate use of names. Unquestionably the development of the flannel trade has been checked by the great increase in the production of flannelettes, the better qualities of which have become formidable competitors with flannel. There must, however, be a regular and large demand for flannel while theory and experience confirm its value as a clothing particularly suitable for immediate contact with the body.
FLANNELETTE, a cotton cloth made to imitate flannel.
The word seems to have been first used in the early ’eighties,
and there is a reference in the Daily News of 1887 to “a poverty-stricken
article called flannelette.” Now it is used very extensively
for underclothing, night gear, dresses, dressing-gowns,
shirts, &c. It is usually made with a much coarser weft than
warp, and its flannel-like appearance is obtained by the raising
or scratching up of this weft, and by various finishing processes.
Some kinds are raised equally on both sides, and the nap may
be long or short according to the purpose for which the cloth is
required. A considerable trade is done in plain cloths dyed,
and also in woven coloured stripes and checks, but almost any
heavy or coarse cotton cloth can be made into flannelette. It is
now largely used by the poorer classes of the community, and
the flimsier kinds have been a frequent source of accident by
fire. It is, however, when used discreetly and in a fair quality,
a cheap and useful article. A flannelette, patented under the
title of “Non-flam,” has been made with fire-resisting properties,
but its sale has been more in the better qualities than in the lower
and more dangerous ones. Flannelette is made largely on the
continent of Europe, and in the United States as well as in Great
Britain.
FLASK, in its earliest meaning in Old English a vessel for
carrying liquor, made of wood or leather. The principal applications
in current usage are (1) to a vessel of metal or wood,
formerly of horn, used for carrying gunpowder; (2) to a long-necked,
round-bodied glass vessel, usually covered with plaited
straw or maize leaves, containing olive or other oil or Italian
wines—it is often known as a “Florence flask”: similarly
shaped vessels are used for experiments, &c., in a laboratory;
(3) to a small metal or glass receptacle for spirits, wine or other
liquor, of a size and shape to fit into a pocket or holster, usually
covered with leather, basket-work or other protecting substance,
and with a detachable portion of the case shaped to form a cup.
“Flask” is also used in metal-founding of a wooden frame or
case to contain part of the mould. The word “flagon,” which
is by derivation a doublet of “flask,” is usually applied to a
larger type of vessel for holding liquor, more particularly to a
type of wine-bottle with a short neck and circular body with
flattened sides. The word is also used of a jug-shaped vessel
with a handle, spout and lid, into which wine may be decanted
from the bottle for use at table, and of a similarly shaped vessel
to contain the Eucharistic wine till it is poured into the chalice.
“Flask” (in O. Eng. flasce or flaxe) is represented both in Teutonic
and Romanic languages. The earliest examples are found in
Med. Lat. flasco, flasconis, whence come Ital. fiascone, O. Fr.
flascon (mod. flacon), adapted in the Eng. “flagon.” Another
Lat. form is flasca, this gave a Fr. flasque, which in the sense of
“powder flask” remained in use till later than the 16th century.
In Teutonic languages the word, in its various forms, is the
common one for “bottle,” so in Ger. Flasche, Dutch flesch, &c.
If the word is of Romanic origin it is probably a metathesized
form of the Lat. vasculum, diminutive of vas, vessel. There is
no very satisfactory etymology if the word is of Teutonic origin;
the New English Dictionary considers a connexion with “flat”
probable phonetically, but finds no evidence that the word was
used originally for a flat-shaped vessel.
FLAT (a modification of O. Eng. flet, an obsolete word of
Teutonic origin, meaning the ground beneath the feet), a term
commonly used as an adjective, signifying level in surface, level
with the ground, and so, figuratively, fallen, dead, inanimate,
tasteless, dull; or, by another transference, downright; or, in
music, below the true pitch. In a substantival form, the term is
used in physical geography for a level tract.
The word is also generally applied by modern usage to a self-contained residence or separate dwelling (in Scots law, the term flatted house is still used), consisting of a suite of rooms which form a portion, usually on a single floor, of a larger building, called the tenement house, the remainder being similarly divided. The approach to it is over a hall, passage and stairway, which are common to all residents in the building, but from which each private flat is divided off by its own outer door (Clode, Tenement Houses and Flats, pp. 1, 2).
There is in England a considerable body of special law applicable to flats. The following points deserve notice:—(i.) The occupants of distinct suites of rooms in a building divided into flats are generally, and subject, of course, to any special terms in their agreements, not lodgers but tenants with exclusive possession of separate dwelling-houses placed one above the other. They are, therefore, liable to distress by the immediate landlord, and each flat is separately rateable, though as a general rule by the contract of tenancy the rates are payable by the landlord. Flats used solely for business purposes are exempt from house tax, by the Customs and Inland Revenue Act 1878 (see Grant, v. Langston, 1900, A.C. 383); and, by the Revenue Act 1903 (s. 11), provision is made for excluding from assessment or for assessing at a low rate buildings used for providing separate dwellings at rents not exceeding £60 a year. It appears that tenants of a flat would not come within the meaning of “lodger” for the purposes of the Lodgers’ Goods Protection Act 1871. (ii.) The owner of an upper storey, without any express grant or enjoyment for any given time, has a right to the support of the lower storey (Dalton v. Angus, 1881, 6 A.C. 740, 793). The owner of the lower storey, however, so long as he does nothing actively in the way of withdrawing its support, is not bound to repair, in the absence of a special covenant imposing that obligation upon him. The right of support being an easement in favour of the owner of the upper storey, it is for him to repair. He is in law entitled to enter on the lower storey for the purpose of doing the necessary repairs. It appears, however, that there is an implied obligation by the landlord to the tenants to keep the common stair and the lift or elevator in repair, and, for breach
