Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 04.djvu/278

LEFT ruKS 234 FUSION branching from the leader nearest to the eye. The skirt furrow departs from the leader nearer to the skirt. A gauge furrow is concave at bottom. FURS. Under the name of furs may be included the skins of almost all those animals which, for the sake of protec- tion against cold, have for a covering an under layer of a soft, woolly, or downy texture, through which grows in most instances an upper one of a more bristly or hairy nature; some by nature possess more of the under coat, and others more of the upper, the proportion varying con- siderably in different animals and coun- tries. In winter the fur becomes thicker in its growth, thereby improving the quality and value for commercial pur- poses; young animals too possess thicker coats than full-grown ones. In some in- stances the under-fur alone is used in manufacturing, while the upper hairs are removed — e. g., in the fur-seal. The chief supply of furs is obtained from Siberia and the N. parts of North America, and, as these tracts are for the greater part of the year frostbound, the fur-bearing animals enjoy a com- paratively unmolested life; the fur, therefore, grows thickly during the win- ter season, and is in its best condition when the animal is trapped in the spring; large quantities also of the smaller sorts are found in the United States; Europe produces immense num- bers of common furs, such as rabbits, hares, foxes, etc., besides the more valu- able stone and baum (tree) martens, though the larger animals have almost disappeared as the countries have be- come more and more cleared and inhab- ited; South America yields nutrias and chinchillas; while Australia exports rab- bits, opossums, and kangaroos, and Africa monkey and leopard skins. Near- ly all fur-skins are brought to the mar- ket in the raw or undressed state. FUSAROLE, or FUSAROL, in archi- tectiare, a molding or ornament placed immediately under the echinus in the Doric, Ionic, and Composite capitals; the shaft of a column, pilaster, or pillar, or that part comprehended between the shaft and the capital. FUSE (a shortened form of fusee), a tube or casing filled with combustible material, and used for igniting a charge in a mine or a hollow projectile. The in- vention was undoubtedly contemporane- ous with that of hollow projectiles. The following are the principal varieties of fuses in use : (1) Bickford fuse, used for mining and submarine purposes. It consists of a small linen tube filled with gunpowder. the whole being covered with pitch. It burns at the rate of one yard in 70 sec- onds. (2) Blasting fuse, used in mining and quarrying. It is filled with a slow-burn- ing composition, allowing time for the operatives to reach a place of safety be- fore it burns down to the charge. It is also used for submarine blasting. (3) Combination f^ise, for hollow pro- jectiles, comprises a time-fuse and a per- cussion or concussion fuse united in the same case. The former is designed to explode the charge in case the latter fails to act on striking. Another form is that in which the time-fuse explodes the percussion-fuse. The variety is used with such explosives as dynamite and gun cotton. (4) Concussion fuse, for hollow pro- jectiles; designed to explode the charge when the shell strikes an object. (5) Delayed action fuse, for use with common shell against earthworks. It causes the projectile to explode four sec- onds after impact. (6) Electric fuse is one adapted to be ignited by the passage of an electric spark through it. (7) Percussion fuse, embraces a cap- sule charged with fulminate, which is exploded by a plunger or its equivalent, when the projectile strikes. The plung- er is held by a pin sufficiently strong to keep it in place in case of a fall, yet weak enough to be severed by the shock of striking. (8) Safety fuse is a cord or ribbon- shaped fuse filled with a fulminating or quick-burning composition, and suffi- ciently long to be ignited at a safe dis- tance from the chamber where the charge is placed. (9) Tape fuse is a safety fuse, so called from its shape. (10) Time-fuse is one which is adapt- ed either by cutting off a portion of its length or by the character of its com- position to burn a certain definite time. FUSEL OIL, an oily product formed during the fermentation of potatoes, corn, and the juice of grapes. This is separated in the rectification of the spirit, occurring in the last part of the distillate as an acrid, oily liquid, haying a peculiar odor and burning taste; it is poisonous. FUSION, in ordinary language, the act of fusing, melting, or rendering liquid by means of heat; or the state of being melted or liquefied by means of heat. In politics, the term is used of the union of opposing parties for a com- mon end. If a ticket should contain the names of members of two political par- ties with a view of securing for that