For heat of heedlefs luft me did fo fting, That I of doubted danger had no fear. Spenfer. This caufe detain'd me all my flowering youth Within a loathfome dungeon there to pine. Shak. 3. To froth; to ferment; to mantle, as new bottled beer. Those above water were the beft, and that beer did flower a little; whereas that under water did not, though it were fresh. Bacon.-An extreme clarification doth fpread the fpirits fo fmooth that they become dull, and the drink dead, which ought to have a little flowering. Bacon. A To come as cream from the furface.-If you can accept of thefe few obfervations, which have flow ered off, and are, as it were, the burnishing of many ftudious and contemplative years, 1 here give you them to difpofe of. Milton on Education.

* FLOWERAGE. n. f.from flower. Store of flowers. Dia.

FLOWERET. n. f. [fleuret, French.] A flower; a small flower.→→→

Sometimes her head the fondly would aguile With gaudy garlands, or fresh flow'rets dight About her neck, or rings of ruthes plight. F. Q. Then laughs the childish year with flow'rets crown'd,

And lavishly perfumes the fields around;

Dryd.

But no fubftantial nourishment receives, Infirm the stalks, unfolid are the leaves. (1.) FLOWER-FENCE. See POINCIANA. (2.) FLOWER-PENCE, BASTARD. See ADENANTHERA. AIX

FLOWER GARDEN. n. f. [flower and garden.] A garden in which flowers are principally cultiva ted.-Obferving that this manure produced flowers in the field, I made my gardener try those fhells in my flower-garden, and I never faw better carnations or flowers. Mortimer's Husbandry. 4

*FLOWERINESS. n. [from floruery.) 1. The state of abounding in flowers. 2. Floridnefs of speech.

* FLOWERINGBUSH. n. f. A plant. FLOWERING OF BULBOUS PLANTS IN WATER. That these plants will grow and flower in water alone, without any earth, is evident from daily obfervation; but it has been generally confined to fingle roots. The elegant appearance that these make, however, may be greatly increased by caufing several roots grow in the fame vessel; and that even in a common garden pot. Stop the hole at the bottom of the pot with a cork, and lute it with putty so as no water can get through; fit a board to the top of the pot, with a number of holes, proportioned to its fize, bored in it for the bulbs, and as many fmaller ones to receive fticks for fupporting the flowers. Fill up the pot with water to the board, and place tulips, jonquils, narciffufes, and the like plants, in the root upon the holes, fo that the bottom of the roots may touch the water thus they will all flower early in the season, and be much more beautiful than any pot of gathered flowers; and will laft many weeks in their full perfection. When the feason of flowering is over, the roots will gradually fink through the holes of the board, and get loofe into the water; where, inftead of spoiling, they will foon increase in fize, fo that they cannot return through the holes, but will produce feveral offsets. From this it has been tried to keep the roots under water all

the time of their blowing, which has fucceeded ve ry well, the flower being ftronger and more beau tiful than thofe growing from the ground. In a room properly regulated as to heat flowers may thus be kept in blow from before Christmas till March or April. But in this laft method as it is difficult to keep the board under water a piece of fheet lead (4 lb. to the foot,) may be fubftituted for the board, and befides the piece for the top, it will be neceffary to have another plate of lead fitted to the bottom of the pot, with holes for the flicks correfponding with thofe in the upper plate, fo that the fticks being put through both holes will be kept perfectly fteady. Each of the leads fhould have a natch in the edge, for the free afcent and descent of the water. The roots thus kept under water will flower in the moft vigorous and beautiful manner. To add to the virtues of the water fome have tried the putting in frall quantities of nitre, and others have tried earth and fand at the bottom; but the flowers always fucceed better without any addition. Inftead of earthern pots, fome ufe glafs jars with the leads; in which the flowers not only fucceed as well, but the progrefs of the roots is visible, and the fupply of water is better managed. Dried bulbs have been found, by repeated experiments, to fucceed in this way better than thofe taken fresh out of the ground; the latter being full of moisture, are long.of imbibing nourishment from their new element, the fibres they ftruck in the ground rot, and new ones fhoot out, before they produce flowers. The most fuccefsful mes thod for the whole procefs is this. When the leaden falfe bottom (defigned to hold the fticks with the leaves and ftalks steady) is fixed down tight within 2 or 3 inches of the bottom of the veffel, lay on the lead upon which the bulbs are to reft with the natch in its edge aboye, that in the under plate, and fill up with water to the upper lead. The bottom of the bulbs will then touch the water; which should be kept at the fame height, fupplying it as it diminishes, for a month or fix weeks; in which time the bulbs will have fhot ftrong fibres. The water may then be increafed to half an inch above the lead; and fo gradually increasing the water as the fibres ftrengthen, and the plume fhoots from the head, till the whole bulb is covered: at which standard it must be kept till the season for drying the bulbs return. Though the roots are fuffered to remain in water all the year, they will not decay; but will flower again at their proper feafon, and that as vigorously as if they had been taken out and dried: their fibres never rot till they are ready to push forth new ones. While the roots ftand above water they will fometimes become mouldy, and though cleaned, it frequently spreads the farther, eating through two or three of their coats: the best way is to cover them immediately with water: when the roots will become found, and flower as well as thofe which had no fuch diftemper. At any time when the outer fkins of the bulbs dry, they should be peeled off, that they may not occafion a fculnefs in the water; and when any duft or foul matter gathers on the furface of the water, the pot fhould be filled up till it run over, and carry off the foulnefs; after which the water muft be pourd off to its propes ftandard. When the water

ftand there till they have shot out their fibres and their head; after which the earth fhould be added over them by degrees, till they are covered as high above the head as in the ufual manner of planting them. Thus they would be preferved from the danger of rotting; their fibres would be much ftronger, and confequently they would draw more nourishment, and flower better than in the common way. The ordinary method of planting these roots redered them liable to be destroyed by either extreme of a wet or dry season: in the former cafe, they immediately rot by the fuperabundant moifture; and, in the latter, they become dry as a flick and mouldy, so that the first rain that falls afterwards infallibly rots them.

* FLOWERY. adj. [from flower.]}Full of flow. ers; adorned with flowers real or fictitious.My mother Circe, with the fyrens three, Amidst the flow'ry kirtled Naiades. Milton. Day's harbinger Comes dancing from the East and leads with her The flow'ry May, who from her greenlap throws The yellow cowflip and the pale primrose. Milt. *FLOWINGLY. adv. [from flow.] With volubility; with abundance.

(1.)* FLOWK. n.s. {from fluke, Scott.] A flounder; the name of a fish. Among these the flowk, fole, and plaice, follow the tide up into the fresh waters. Carew.

(1) FLOWR. See PLEURONECTES, No 1.

* FLOWKWORT. n.j. The name of a plant. *FLOWN. Participle, of fly, or flee, the being confounded; properly of fly. 1. Gone away AL. bow For those,

becomes muddy with a feinent in it, it fhould be changed, fhaking it a little, that the fediment may be all carried through the natches in the fide of the leads; and if neceffary the fides of the veffel may be cleaned with a painter's bruth, and the bulbs themselves wafhed by pouring water upon them from a little diftance. This, however, will feldom need to be done more than once or twice in a winter." Mr Millar has hinted, in the Phil. Tranf. that bulbs fet in glaffes grow weaker, and should be renewed every other year; but it is found, that, when managed in this manner, and kept under water, at the time of taking them up they are as large, and fome even larger than when planted; and if thefe be dried at a proper feafon, they will flower, year after year, as well as fresh ones! Bills of equal bignefs fhould be planted together in the fame pot, that they may all have the fame benefit of the water. Narciffus and hyacinths do well together; as alfo tulips and jonquils, and crocuffes and fnow drops. One species of hyacinth, called Keyfer's jewel, feldom or ever produces feed veffets in the common way flowering in the ground; but it will often produce fome pods when blown in water. Ranunculus and anemone roots have been found to fhoot up their talks very well in this way; but the flowers are nfually blafled, pro bably for want of free air. Pinks will flower very well in this manner; and auriculas may, with care, be brought to flower, but not strongly. Rofes, jeffamines, and honey-fuckles, may alfo be made to flower in this way, and will thrive and send out fuckers: the beft pieces to plant are fuckers cut off about 3 inches under ground, without any fibres. Some fucculent plants may also be raised in this way; for inftance, the opuntia or Indean fig: If a fragment of a leaf of this plant be cut and laid by to dry for a month, till it is an abfolute skin, as foon as it is put in this manner into water, it begins to plump up, and foon fends out fibrous roots, and produces new leaves as quickly as it would do in the ground. This is the more re markable in these forts of plants, because in their natural state in the ground, they cannot bear much water. The growing of plants in water is, how ever, not peculiar to those with bulbous roots, for others may be thus raised, even from feed. A bean or a pea fet in this manner, will grow up to its proper standart, produce pods and ripen feed. Smaller feeds may also be raised, if fown upon a piece of woollen cloth spread on the furface of the water. Though no vegetable tranfplanted out of the earth into water will thrive kindly, any plant, whether raised from the root or feed in water, may be tranfplanted to the earth, and will fucceed very well. This method of raifing plants in the water, would therefore fuggeft an improvement upon the ufual practice in railing fome roots in the earth which are subject to rot there; such as anemonies, ranunculufes, and hyacinths. A bulb accidentally dropped upon the ground, will ftrike ont both - ftronger and more numerous fibres than thofe planted in the ufual way; and from this it would feem to be proper to take out the earth of the bed where the bulbs are defigned to stand, to such a depth as they are to be placed under it when fet for flowering. The bulbs fhould then be fet in their places, on the furface of this low ground; to

* FLUCTUANT. adj. fluctuans, Lat.] Wavering; uncertain.-To be longing for this thing to day, and for that thing to-morrow; to change likings for loathings, and to ftand wishing and hankering at a venture, how is it poffible for any man to be at reft in this fluctuant wandering humour and opinion? L'Estrange.

* To FLUCTUATE. v. n. [fluctuo, Lat.] 1. To roll to and again, as water in agitation.— The fluctuating fields of liquid air, With all the curious meteors hov'ring there, And the wide regions of the land, proclaim The Pow'r Divine, that rais'd the mighty frame. Blackmore.

2. To float backward and forward, as with the motion of water. 3. To move with uncertain and hafty motion.

The tempter

Milton.

New part puts on; and, as to paffion mov'd, Flu&uates difturb'd. 4.To be in an uncertain ftate; to feel certain viciffitudes

pofitions, which have better grace in youth than in age, fuch as is a fluent and luxurious fpeech. Bacon.

ciffitudes. As the greate part of my eftate has Hitherto been of an unfteady and volatile nature, either toft upon feas, or fluctuating in funds, it is now fixed and fettled in fubftantial acres and tenements. Spectator. 2. To be irrefolute; to be undetermined.

* FLUCTUATION. n. /. [fluctuation, Latin; fluctuation, French; from flu&uate.] 1. The al ternate motion of the water.-Fluctuations are but motions fubfervient, which winds, ftorms, hores, fhelves, and every interjacency irregulates. Brown. --They were caused by the impulfes and fluctuation of water in the bowels of the earth. Woodward. 2. Uncertainty; indetermination.-It will not hinder it from making a profelyte of a perfon, that loves Auctuation of judgment little enough to be willing to be eafed of it by any thing but errour. Boyle.

FLUDD, Robert, a famous Englifli philofopher, the fon of Sir Thomas Fludd, was born at Milgate in Kent, in 1574. He was educated at St John's college, Oxford, where he took his degrees in arts after which he travelled abroad. He returned to England in 1605, took the degree of M. D. and became fellow of the college of phyficians in London. He was a most voluminous writer: doated greatly on the wonders of alchemy; was a zealous brother of the Roficrucian order; and his books, which are mostly in Latin, are as dark and myfte. rious in their language as in their matter. He died in 1637.

FLUE. n.f. (A word of which I know not the etymology, unless it be derived frem Aero of Ay.] 1. A finall pipe or chimney to convey air, heat, or fmoke. 2. Soft down or fur, fuch as may fly in the wind.

(1.) FLUELLIN. n. f. The herb SPEEDWELL. (2.) FLUELLIN. See ANLIRTHINUM, 3, 10. * FLUENCY n. f. [from fluent.] 1. The quality of flowing; finoothness; freedom from haihnefs or afperity.--Fluency of numbers, and moft expreffive figures for the poet, morals for the ferious, and pleasantries for admirers of points of wit. Garth. 2. Readinfs; copioufnefs; volubi. lity. Our publick liturgy must be cafhiered, the better to please thofe men who gloried in their extemporary vein and fluency. King Charles

We reason with fuch Auency and fire, The beaux we baffle, and the learned tire. Tic. -The common fluency of fpeech in many men and moft women, is owing to a fcarcity of matter and a scarcity of words; for whoever is mafter of language, and hath a mind full of ideas, will be apt, in fpeaking, to hesitate upon the choice of both. Swift. 3. Affluence; abundance. This fenfe is obfolete.

God riches and renown to men imparts, Even all they with; and yet their narrow hearts Cannot fo great a fluency receive,

But their fruition to a firanger leave. Sandys. (1.) * FLUENT. adj. fluens, Lat.] 1. Liquid. -It is not malleable; but yet is not fluid, but upened. Bacon. 2. Flowing in motion; in flux. -Motion being a fluent thing, and one part of its duration being independent upon another, it doth not follow that because any thing moves this moment, it must do fo the next. Ray. 3. Ready; copious; voluble.-Thofe have fome natural difVOL. IX. PART II.

I fhall lay before you all that's within me, And with moft fluent utterance, Denham. (2.) FLUENT. n. f. Stream; running water.

Confiding in their hands, that fed'lous trive To cut th' outrageous fluent; in this diftrefs, Ev'n in the fight of death. Philips. * FLUENTLY. adj. [from fluent.] With ready flow; volubly; readily; without obftruction or difficulty.

(1.) * FLUID. adj. [Auidus, Latin; uide, Fr.] Having parts eafily feparable; not folid.

Or ferve they as a flow'ry verge to bind The fluid fkirts of that fame wat'ry cloud, Left it again diffolve, and fhow'r the earth?

*

Milton.

If particles flip eafily, and are of a fit fize to be agitated by heat, and the heat is big enough to keep them in agitation, the body is fluid; and if it he apt to ftick to things, it is humid. Newt. Opt. (2.) FLUID. n. f. 1. Any thing not folid. [In phyfick.] Any animal juice: as the blood.Confider how luxury hath introduced new difeafes, and with them, not improbably, altered the whole courfe of the Auids. Mart. Scrib.

2.

(3.) FLUID, in phyfics, is a term applied to all bodies whofe particles eafily yield to the leaft partial preffure, or force imprefied.

(4.) FLUID, NERVOUS. See ANATOMY, § 513 517.

(5.) FLUIDS, ELASTIC. See AEROLOGY, AIR, FIXED AIR, GAS, VAPOUR, &c.

(6.) FLUIDS, LAWS AND PROPERTIES OF. Sce FLUIDITY and HYDROSTATICS. There are immenfe numbers of animalcules to be difcerned in different fluids by the microfcope. See ANIMALCULE, MICROGRAPHY, and MICROSCOPE.

(7.) FLUIDS, RESISTANCE OF. See RESIST

ANCE.

(1.) * FLUIDITY. n.f.[ fluidité, Fr. from fluid.] The quality of bodies opposite to stability; want of coherence between the parts-Heat promotes fluidity very much, by diminishing the tenacity of bodies: it makes many bodies fluid, which are not fluid in cold, and increase the fluidity of tenacious liquids; as of oil, balfam, and honey; and thereby decreases their resistance. Neauton.A difeafe oppofite to this fpiffitude is too great fluidity. Arbuthnot.

(2.) FLUIDITY is by Sir Ifaac Newton defined to be, that property of bodies by which they yield to any force impreffed, and which have their parts very eafily moved among one another. To this definition fome have added, that the parts of a fluid are in a continual motion. This opinion is fupported by the folution of falts, and the formation of tinctures. If a fmall bit of faffron is thrown into a phial full of water, a yellow tincture will foon be communicated to the water to a confiderable height, though the phial is allowed to remain at reft; which indicates a motion in thofe parts of the fluid which touch the fafiron, by which its colouring matter is carried up. With regard to water, this can scarce be denied; the conftant exhalations from its furface fhow, that there must be a perpetual motion in its parts from the afcent Hhhh

of the steam through it. In mercury, where infenfible evaporation does not take place, it might be doubted; and accordingly the Newtonian philofophers in general have been of opinion, that there are fome fubftances eilentially fluid, from the spherical figure of their conflituent particles. The congelation of mercury, however, by an extreme degree of cold, (fee FREEZING,) demonftrates that fluidity is not effentially inherent in mercury more than in other bodies. That fluids have vacuities in their fubftance is evident, becaufe they may be made to diffolve certain bodies without fenfibly increafing their bulk. For example, water will diffolve a certain quantity of falt; after which it will receive a little fugar, and after that a little alum, without increafing its first dimenfions. Here we can fcarce fuppofe any thing elfe than that the faline particles were interpofed between thofe of the fluid; and as, by the mixture of falt and water, a confiderable degree of cold is produced, we may thence eafily fee why the fluid receives thefe fubftances without any in. creafe of bulk. All fubftances are expanded by heat, and reduced into lefs dimenfions by cold; therefore, if any fubitance is added to a fluid, which tends to make it cold, the expanfion, by the bulk of the substance added, will not be fo much perceived as if this effect had not happened; and if the quantity added be small, the fluid will contract as much, perhaps more, from the cold produced by the mixture, than it will be expanded from the bulk of the falt. This alfo may let us know with what thefe interftices between the particles of the fluid were filled up; namely, the element of fire or heat. The faline particles, upon their folution in the fluid, have occupied thefe fpaces; and now the liquor, being deprived of a quantity of this element equal in bulk to the falt added, feels fenfibly colder. As, therefore, there is fcarce any body to be found, but what may become folid by a fufficient degree of cold, and none but what a certain degree of heat will render fluid; the opinion naturally arifes, that fire is the caufe of fluidity in all bodies, and that this element is the only effentially fluid fubftance in nature. Hence we may conclude, that thofe fubftances which we call FLUIDS are not effentially fo, but only affume that appearance in confequence of an intimate union mith fire; juft as gums aflume a fluid appearance on being diffolved in spirit of wine, or falts in water. Upon thefe principles Dr Black mentions fluidity as an effect of heat. The different degrees of heat, which are required to bring different bodies into a ftate of fluidity, he fuppofes to depend on fome particulars in the mixture and compofition of the bodies themfelves: which becomes extremely probable, from confidering that we change the natural state of bodies in this respect, by certain mixtures; thus, if two metals are compounded, the mixture is ufually more fusible than either of them feparately. See CHEMISTRY, Part I. Sea. VI. &c. It is certain, however, that water becomes warmer by being converted into ice; (fee CONGELATION, 2, and FREEZING;) which may feem contradictory to this opinion. To this, however, the Doctor replies, that fluidity does not confift in the degree of fenfible heat contained in bodies, which will

affect the hand or a thermometer; but in a certain quantity which remains in a latent flate. See EVAPORATION, $5.

* FLUIDNESS. n. f. [from fluid.] That quality in bodies opposite to flability.-What if we fhould say that fluidness and stability depend fo much upon the texture of the parts; that, by change of that texture, the fame parts may be made to conftitute either a fluid or a dry body, and that permanently too? Boyle.

(1.) FLUKE. See PLEURONECTES, N° 1. (2.) FLUKE, in entomology. See PASCIOLA. (3.) FLUKE OF AN ANCHOR, that part of it whico faftens in the ground. See ANCHOR, § 4-6. FLUKE-WORM. See FASCIOLA.

FLUMET, a town of France, in the department of Mont Blanc, ci-devant duchy of Savoy, and lordship of Fauffigny; feated on the Arly, a mong the mountains, 30 miles NE. of Chambery, and 31 SE. of Geneva.

(1.)* FLUMMERY. n. J. A kind of food made by coagulation of wheatflower or oatmeal.—Milk and flummers are very fit for children. Locke. (2.) FLUMMERY is thus prepared: steep 3 large handfuls of finely ground oat meal, for 24 hours, in two quarts of fair water: then pour off the clear water, and put two quarts of fresh water to it: ftrain it through a fine hair fieve, putting in two fpoonfuls of orange flower water and a fpoonful of fugar: boil it till it is as thick as a hafty pudding, stirring it continually while it is boiling, that it may be very smooth.

FLUMS, a town of Switzerland, in the late county of Sargans, on the Mat, 5 miles W. of Sargans.

FLUNG. participle and preterite of fling. Thrown; caft.-Several ftatues the Romans themfelves flung into the river, when they would revenge themfelves. Addifon.

(I.)* FLUOR. n. f. [Latin.] 1. A fluid ftate.The particles of fluids, which do not cohere too ftrongly, and are of fuch a fmallnefs as renders them moft fufceptible of those agitations which keep liquors in a fluor, are most easily separated and rarefied into vapours. Newton. 2. Catamenia.

(II.) FLUOR, in phyfics, ( I, def. 1.) fignifies properly the ftate of a body that was before hard or folid, but is reduced by fufion or fire into a state of fluidity.

(III.) FLUOR or FLUORIC ACID. See ACID, and CHEMISTRY, § 798, &c.

(IV.) FLUOR ALBUS, § 1. def. 2. See MEDICINE, Index.

1482,

(V. i.) FLUOR SPAR, or Blue John, called alfo FLUXING SPARS, vitrefcent or glass fpars, are a genus of foffils compofed of calcareous earth united with fluoric acid. See CHEMISTRY, &c. They are found in Derbyshire, in England; in Sweden, and other northern countries of Europe. They are little harder than common calcareous fpars, and do not ftrike fire with fteel; nor do they effervefce with acids either before or after calcination. When exposed to a strong fire, they crack and split in pieces, but do not melt without a violent heat. Engenftroom informs us, that all of them which he tried melted pretty eafily before the blow-pipe; but it required great care and attention to prevent them from flying a

way