Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Volume 1.djvu/768

 FER

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FER

JaV being the firft, Monday the feeond, £5fc And fhs Week beinp then accounted the firft of the Ecclef.aftical Year; thcv'aftcrwards accuftom'd themfelvcs, to call the Days of the other Weeks after the fame manner, firft, lecond,

th Th'cfotherI will have it, that the Days of the Week were not called FerU, from relting the : People that is, on account of being oblig'd to abftain from fervile Works, but to adver tife the Faithful, that they ought to abftain from Sin. See Eur and. de Off- Siv. 1- VIII c.i.

FERIAL Say, Sies jeria/es, or Fcrue, among the An- tients, fignify Holidays, or Days vacant from Labour and Pleading. See Feriie.

But m the Stat. n Um. 6. c. 5. and in Fcrtejcu, Sc lath dibits It, Amite, Ferial Says are taken for working Days. S Silvefter ordained— Sabiati & Sominia dies nomine rc- tehto r'cligttos hebdomad* dies feriarum nomine diftmSos, lit jam ante inEcclefia vocari operant, afpcllari.

So that Ferial Says are properly all the Days or the Week, except Saturday and Sunday.

FEB.M, in Law, fee Farm.

FERMENT, in Phyficks, A Body of any Kind which being applied to another, produces a Fermentation therein : Or any thing capable of exciting an inteftine Motion, in the Part of another; and of fwelling, or dilating the fame, by means of its more penetrating and moveable Parts, which by their Agitation divide and agitate the Particles thereof. See Fermentation.

Thus, the Acid in Leven, is a Ferment, which makes Bread rife, or fweil. The Moifture in Hay is the Ferment, which heats and makes it fmoak. Thus alio, Rennet is the FcrmeiU, that curdles and breaks Milk: Balm, or Yeaft is the Ferment, that fets Wort a-working, (Sc. See Leven, t$c., ...

The Force or Effect of a Ferment, arifes hence, that bydil- iolving, and breaking the Texture or Combination of the component Parts or Principles of the Body, and giving them a new Motion ; it difpofes them to take a new Arrangement, or to combine again in a new manner ; and fo to conftitute a new Species of Body. Its Effect is fomewhat like that of a Perfon, who opening the Gates of a City, lets in the Ene- my, who feon raifes terrible Diforders : Thus, the Eite of a mad Dog excites a flow Fermentation in the Blood, whereby the divers Liquors, or Matters it confifts of, lofe that Nexus, or Union, neceffary to a State of Health ; and occafion an Irregularity in rhe Spirits, from which arife the Horrors, and other Symptoms of the Difeafe. See Hy- drophobia.

One way of accounting for Digeflion, is by fuppofing a certain Ferment or Menftruum in the Stomach, which dif- folves the Food contain'd therein. But what this Ferment is, or whence it mould be derived, is greatly difputed. Some will have it an Acid ; others, alcalious ; others, ful- phureous ; others, alcalino-fulphureous ; others, muriatick, £?c. as their own Fancies fuggeft to them. See Digestion, and Menstruum.

FERMENTARII, or Fermentacei, a Denomination thofe of the latin Church have given to the Greeks, on ac- count of their confecrating and ufing leven'd, or fermented Bread in the Euchariir.

As the Greeks call the latins Azymites, the latins, in return, call them Fermentarii. See Azymus.

FERMENTATION, an inteftine Motion, or Commo- tion of the fmall, infenflble Particles of a mix'd Body, arifing without any apparent mechanical Caufe, and producing a confiderable Alteration therein.

Or, it is an eafy, flow, gentle Motion of the inteftine Par- ticles of a Body, arifing ufually from the Operation of fome active, acid Matter ; which rariflcs and fubtilizes the fofter, yielding Particles thereof. See Ferment.

Fermentation differs from Eiflolution, as the latter is the Rcfult or Effect of the former. Fermentation is frequently without Diffolution, i. e. the fermentative Motion frequent- ly does not go fo far as to diffolve the Body : But Diffolution always fuppofes an antecedent Fermentation. See Disso- lution.

Fermentation differs from Ebullition, and Effcrvcfcence in this, that the Motion, which in the former is flow; in the two latter, is violent ; and that in the former, the Motion is reflrain'd to the minute Particles of the Body ; but in the latter it extends to large Maffes thereof. See E- EULT.ITION, and Effervescence.

Indeed it muft bcobferv'd, that Authors ufually allow of divers kinds of Fermentations ; vim. an infenjible one, which is only known from its Effects; and a fenfible one: A violent and a moderate one : A hot, and a cold one : A natural, and an artificial one.

Plants bruis'd, and left a certain Time in a clofe Veffel, fe rment of themfelves ; and if let alone, the Fermentation will proceed to Putrefaction. See Putrefaction.

In order to Fermentation, 'tis neceffary, the Ferment or liquor have fomething acid and lpirituous in it; that its Mo- tion be tumultuous; that it be in an open, fpatious Place, and affiled by the Air ; and that it tend to exalt and purify the Liquor, and produce vinous, or inflammable Spirits. Thefe are the particular Properties and Conditions of Fermenta- tion ; tho' in the general, all required to effect a Fermenta- tion, is a Body, or Liquor, which is not homogeneous, that is, confifts of different Principles; that there be a ftrongAt- traction between the Particles of the Ferment, and the Bo- ' dy ; that the Parts of this latter be moved and agitated ir- regularly ; and that this Motion produce fome Alteration in the mixt.

Fermentation is one of the nioft obfeure Proceffcs in all Nature. The Generality of our later Philofophers allow it in great Meafurc a Myflery, to which their Principles will not fully reach.

Dr. Morgan, in his late 'Pbilofopb. 'Prin. of Medicine, at- tempts to account fot it, on the Newtonean Syfiem. His Principle is, that the cxpanfive Force of AJr, rarificd by the Action of Fire; or the mutual Action of Fire and Air, is theunivcrfal natural Caufe of Fermentation and Diffolution. To fliew this, he confiders, two great Powers, or Princi- ples in Bodies ; viz. an attractive, cohefive Power, in the fmall Particles of Matter, as the Principle of all Reft, Con- cretion, S$c. And the expanfive Force of heated Air ; as that of Fermentation. On the different Proportion and Adjuft- ment of thefe two oppofite Forces, with refpect to each o- ther, the Conftitution,Texture and Cohcfion of Bodies depend. By the attractive Force, acting alone, the conftituent Patts of compound Bodies, muif be brought to their neareft and greateft Contacts, and remain there in a Degree ofFirmnefs, and Cohcfion, proportional to the Quantities of Contact. See Firmness.

On the other hand, by the repulfive, cxpanfive Force, acting alone, all Bodies, even the moll compact and folid, muft be diffolved and diffufed into one perfectly fluid, inco- herent Mafs. See Fluidity.

If both are found in the.fame Body, and equal in Degree, fuch Body muft continue in its prefent State of Fluidity, or Cohefion ; if the attractive Power prevail, the Quantity of Contact, or Degree of Cohefion will be continually increafed to a certain Pitch, where it will reft : On the Contrary, if the expanfive Force of the Fire and Air, included in any Body, or Mafs of Matter, prevails againft the attractive Power of the contiguous Parts, the Parts muft neceffarily recede from their Points of Contact.

And this happening thro' all the Subdivifions of which the Body or Mafs is capable, every fmall Part muft be divided and feparatcd into other fmaller Parts; and thefe again into others, and fo on, till we come to the firtl conftituent Par- ticles or Atoms, which are fuppofed to be perfectly folid, and indivifible. See Atom.

This Recefs of the Parts of Bodies from their Points of Contact, and the Separation, and Divifion confequent there- on, is what we call Rarefaliion ; as, on the Contrary, the Approach of the Parts nearer to the Points of Contact, is called Condcnfation. Now from the contrary Effects of thefe two Forces, there neceffarily arifes an inteftine Commotion, Collifion, and natural Struggle of the Parts among them- felvcs, i. e. the Parts acted on by two fuch oppofite Forces, will fly oft", and recoil, recede, and accede, in Proportion to the Strength and Energy of the oppofite Powers, till one or the other prevail, either to fix and condenfe, or diffi Ave and diffufeit; which alternate Motion is what we call Fermen- tation. See Rarefaction, !$e.

If the attractive Force prevail, the moft fluid Body will be confolidated, as Water into Ice. See Freezing.

On thecontrary, if the expanfive Force prevail, the firmeft Body will be broke, and diffolved. See Dissolution.

Fermentation is a Point of the utmoft Ccnfequence in Me- dicine : It is one of the principal Means, or Instruments we have for altering, exalting, or calling forth the Properties and Powers of Bodies. To get an Idea of thefe Changes, we cannot confider it better, than in the procuring of a lpiri- tuous Liquor from Malt, by means thereof.

It is to be obferv'd then, that the Malt being made, as fhewn under the Article Malt ; and then laid to infufe or mafh in hot Water, the reft of the Procefs of Brewing is no- thing but a railing and directing of a Fermentation, or in- teftine Motion. See Brewing.

How fuch Motion is mechanically effected, and how it brings forth fuch a Spirit, may be conceived from what fol- lows ; fuppofing the Reader acquainted with thefe com- mon Propofitions in Hydroftaticks ; viz. i". That a Body immerled in any Fluid, fpecifically lighter than itfelf, will fink ; otherwife, emerge and get to the Top.

2 . That if two equal Bodies of different fpecifick Gravi- ties be immerfed in a Fluid, lighter than either of them, the Celerities of their Defcents will be as their Gravities.

5°, That