Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/291

 FLAG 279 tion that &quot; all subjects of this isle and the kingdom of Great Britain should bear in the main-top the red cross commonly called St George s cross and the white cross commonly called St Andrew s cross, joined together according to the form made by our own heralds.&quot; This was the first Union Jack (fig. G, D). After the union with Ireland in 1801 a new ensign was ordered to bo prepared which should com bine the cross of St Patrick, a saltire gules on a field argent (fig. G, C), with the other two. The result was the &quot;meteor flag of England,&quot; the present Union Jack (fig. G, E). It seems to have been produced in considerable contempt of heraldic rules, but excites no less enthusiasm, respect, and obedience on that account. The flag of the lord lieutenant of Ireland is the Union Jack, having in .the centre a blue shield charged with a golden harp. The flags of the United States of America were very various before and after the Declaration of Independence; and even after the introduction of the stars and stripes, these underwent many changes in the manner of their ar rangement before taking theposition at present established. Historical events have also caused great changes in the standards and national ensigns of France. The ancient kings bore the blue hood of St Martin upon their standards, and this was succeeded by the oriflamme, which, originally, was simply the banner of the abbey of St Denis At what precise period it became the sacred banner of all France is not known, and even its appearance is very differently described in different writers. Guiilaume Guiart in his chronicle says &quot; Oriflainbe est une banniere De cemlal roujoiant et simple Sanz portraiture d autre affaire.&quot; The oriflamme was succeeded in the 15th century by the white standard powdered with fleurs-de-lis, which itself gave place to the standard of the empire, and is the &quot;cornette blanche &quot; for which Chambord contends. The im perial standard was blue, bearing a golden eagle, and pow dered with golden bees. The tricolor was introduced at the time of the Revolution, and is divided vertically into three parts, coloured blue, white, and red the red to the fly, and the white in the middle. The origin of this flag and its colours is a disputed question. It is said by some to have been intended to combine the colours of the St Martin s banner, of the oriflamme, and of the white flag of the Bourbons; by others the colours are said to be those of the city of Paris ; and other authorities assert that the flag is copied from the shield of the Orleans family as it appeared after Philip Egalite had knocked off the fleurs- de-lis. The present standards and ensigns of existing states are shown iu Plate 1. In the British army the standards of the cavalry are the same in colour as the regimental facings ; they bear the insignia, cipher, number, and honours of the regiment, and are richly ornamented. Those of the household cavalry bear on a crimson field the royal insignia. The colours of each infantry regiment are two in number the queen s colour and the regimental colour. The former is the Union Jack variously charged, the latter is in colour like the regi mental facings, and is charged with the honours, &c., of the corps. The qusen s colour of the foot guards, however, is crimson, and its regimental colour the Union Jack. The royal artillery and the rifles have no colours. Until 1864 the ships of the British navy bore three different ensigns. In that year, however, her Majesty pre scribed the discontinuance of the division of flag officers into those of the red, blue, and white squadrons, and ordered that the white ensign, with its broad and narrow pendants, should be thenceforward established as the colours of the royal naval service,, reserving the use of the red and blue colours fur special occasions. The white flag with St George s cross is borne by admirals, vice- admirals, and rear-admirals on their respective masts* The blue ensign is borne by ships in the service of public offices, and also under certain restrictions by such ships as are commanded by officers of the naval reserve. The red ensign is borne by all other British ships. Yacht clubs are allowed, however, certain privileges; they mostly carry the blue ensign with characteristic burgees. An admiral s flag is displayed at the main, a vice-admiral s at the fore, and a rear-admiral s at the mizen truck. Flag officer is another name for admiral, and the flag ship in a fleet is the one carrying the admiral s flag. At sea the striking of the flag denotes surrender, and the flag of one country being placed over that of another denotes the victory of the former. A yellow flag denotes quarantine. The universally understood flag of truce is pure white. Flags would obviously suggest themselves for use as signals, and have no doubt always more or less served for the purpose. The numerical systems of Sir Hume Pop- ham and Captain Marryatt were very serviceable but limited in application, the sentences to which the num bers referred being arranged as in a dictionary. By the new commercial code the signals represent consonants, and by means of about a score of flags all the requisite communications can be made, A universal international code of signals would no doubt be a benefit. (w. HE.) FLAG, or FLOWER DE LUCE, botanically Iris, the popu lar name of a genus of perennial plants of the natural order Iridacece, occurring in north temperate regions, and having the following characters : Rootstock creeping, horizontal, thick, with dichotomous joints, or tuberous; leaves usually ensiform and equitant ; flowers large and showy ; the perianth (see BOTANY, voL iv. p. 144, fig. 2G8) superior, with the three outer segments large, spreading, or revolute, and frequently bearded at the base, and the three innei: smaller, sub-erect, and converging ; stamens three, inserted at base of outer segments of perianth, and concealed by the stigmas ; anthers extrorse ; stigmas three, petaloid, and arching over the stamens ; capsule three-celled, dehiscing loculicidally ; and seeds numerous, with a fleshy albumen. Many kinds of flag are cultivated in England, but only two species are indigenous. One of these, Iris Fseudacorus, the Yellow Flag or Iris, is common in Britain on river banks, and in marshes and ditches. It is called the &quot;Water-flag&quot; or &quot;bastard Fbure de-luce &quot; by Gerard, who remarks that &quot; although it be a water plant of nature, yet being planted in gardens it prospereth well.&quot; Its flowers appear in June and July, and are of a golden-yellow colour. The leaves are from two to four feet long, and half an inch to an inch broad. Towards the latter part of the year they are eaten by cattle. The seeds are numerous and pale-brown ; they have been recommended when roasted as a substitute for coffee, of which, however, they have not the properties. The astringent rhizome has diuretic, purgative, and emetic properties, and may, it is said, be used for dyeing black, and in the place of galls for ink-making. The other British species, /. fatidissima, the Fetid Iris, Gladdon, or Roast-beef Plant, the Xyris or Stink ing Gladdon of Gerard, is a native of England south of Durham, and also of Ire land, southern Europe, and north Africa. Its flowers are usually of a dull, leaden-blue colour ; the capsules, which remain attached to the plant throughout the winter, are 2 to 3 inches long ; and the seeds scarlet. When bruised this species emits a peculiar and disagreeable odour. ! Among other flags common in Europe are /. Gennanica, probably the Illyrian iris of the ancients, the purple blossoms of which are a common ornament of English gardens ; /. I pnllida, a native of Lstria, with pale-blue flowers ; and /. Florentina, indigenous to the Macedonian coast and