Fiji Islands
a group of over 250 islands belonging to Great Britain, in the South Pacific Ocean. Their total area is 7,083 square miles. The two largest are the Viti Levu, with an area of 4,053 square miles, and the Vanua Levu, with an area of 2,130 square miles. The islands are mostly mountainous, and have a fertile soil, and luxuriant vegetation. The forests contain valuable timber. There is a tropical tropical climate, but it is healthy for Europeans, of whom there are about 3,500. In 1874 the group was voluntarily ceded to England by the king and chiefs. The government is administered by a governor and an executive council. The legislative council consists of 7 elected and 12 nominated members, The prinappointed by the governor. cipal exports are sugar, copra, and fruit. two government grammar Besides schools, there are many mission schools. The pop. on Dec. 31, 1919, was 163,847.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Filament
a slender, thread-like process; a fiber or fine thread of which flesh, nerves, skin, roots, etc., are composed. In botany, that part of the stamen which supports the anther. The filament is usually, as its name imports, filiform or thread-like, cylindrical, or slightly tapering toward its summit. It is often, however, thickened, compressed, and flattened in various ways. It sometimes assumes the appearance of a petal, or becomes petaloid. The filament is usually of sufficient solidity to support the anther in an erect position; but sometimes, as in grasses, Littorella, and Plantago, it is very delicate and capillary or hair-like, so that the anther is pendulous. The filament is usually continuous from one end to the other, but in some cases it is bent or jointed. In electricity, the carbon thread or conductor in an exhausted glass lamp bulb, which becomes incandescent by its resistance to the electric current.
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Filander
in zoölogy, Halmaturus asiaticus, a species of kangaroo found in the N. of Australia, in the region of King George's Sound. It is about the size of a common rabbit, and has a scaly tail. It is also called the short-tailed kangaroo.
Only in Collier's New Encyclopedia
Filaria
in zoölogy, a genus of Entozoa, of the order Cælelmintha, and family Nematoidea. The body is filiform, very long, and nearly uniform; head not round or distinct from the body; mouth triangular, naked or with papilæ; it is They are most white, yellowish, or red. commonly found in the abdominal cavity and between the peritoneal folds of mammalia and birds, in the air-cells of the also met with in latter. Species are Filaria reptiles, fishes, and insects. medinensis or guinea worm is common in hot climates.
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Filature
fil'a-tur, a reel for drawing the silk from cocoons propelled by hand or steam power. The name is also given to the establishment where the reeling is done. Silkworm raisers usually ship the cocoons to a filature, little reeling being done where the cocoons are produced. See Silk
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Filbert
. See Hazel
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File-cleaner
A piece of wire card, 6 by 4 inches, nailed to a piece of wood is a good file-cleaner. Such a contrivance is also a much better rasp for soft cores than files. This card may be procured from an old carding-engine in the cotton-factories.
Only in The Encyclopedia of Founding
Filigree
ornamental work made of fine gold or silver wire. Copper also is used for the purpose. It is a sort of metallic lace work of a very light and elegant character, suitable for brooches, bracelets, crosses, embroidery, and other ornaments. Small grains or bits of metal soldered to a solid background are often interspersed with the wire work to give a variety of effect. Filigree is capable of being worked into many different forms, as arabesques, leaves, flowers, and the like. It is one of the most ancient kinds of jewelers' work. Fine specimens have been found in the tombs of the Greeks and the ancient Etruscans. The ancient artificers of India, China, Japan, and even of the Malay Archipelago were cunning makers of filigree. In the Middle Ages Genoa and Venice were famous for their manufactures of this sort of work. During the eleventh century the Irish were especially noted for the beauty of their filigree, a sort of skill which they subsequently transferred to the making of the celebrated Irish lace. The jewelers of Malta have a high reputation for this sort of work. In modern art the term is applied to any sort of metal or glass work, even to basketry, having a thread-like or lace effect.
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Filing Block
A contrivance made to take the place of the filing rest, which was made of boxwood or bone. It consists of a cylinder of hardened steel rivetted upon a staff which in turn enters a split socket. The surface of the steel cylinder is grooved with various sizes of grooves for the different sizes of wire, or to suit any work, as shown in Fig. 133. The cylinder is revolved until the desired size groove is brought uppermost, when the split socket is placed between the jaws of a vise, and the vice closed, thus holding the cylinder in the desired position. Fig. 133 illustrates Mr. Ide's patent block which is well made and of superior material.
Only in American Watchmaker and Jeweler
Filing Fixture or Rest
These rests will be found very convenient in squaring winding arbors, center squares, etc. There are several makes of these tools, but they are all built upon the same principle, that of two hardened steel rollers on which the file rests, and Fig. 134 is a fair example. One pattern is made to fit in the hand rest after the T is removed, while the other is attached to the bed of the lathe in the same manner as the slide rest. The piece to be squared is held in the split or spring chuck in the lathe, and the index on the pulley is used to divide the square correctly. Any article can be filed to a perfect square, hexagon or octagon as may be desired. The arm carrying the rollers can be raised or lowered as required for adjustment to work of various sizes.
Only in American Watchmaker and Jeweler
Filling
in weaving, the threads which extend crosswise, or from side to side of the web. So called because the longitudinal or warp threads are put in position first, and are filled by the weaving process with the cross threads. The filling is also called the weft, and sometimes the woof. The word weft means literally "a thing woven," the weft threads being woven over and under the warp threads. Woof is from the Anglo-Saxon, and means literally the "on-web," that is, the web that is thrown on or across the warp threads. See Weaving ; Web
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