Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/342

 330 F L F L elastic semi-resinous body, having many properties in common with india-rubber, with the advantage of a clear semi-translucent yellow colour. In his patent of December 1863, dealing chiefly with the production of coloured patterns on linoleum, Mr Walton specifies, as a suitable composition for the body of the material, 4 cwt. of oxidized oil li cwt. of resin, 1, cwt. of kaurie-gum and colouring matter, mixed together in a steam-heated pan and cast into cakes. It was afterwards to be mixed with an equal weight of cork dust, or a somewhat larger quantity of sawdust, and spread on and pressed into a woven fabric between steam-heated rollers. The breadth of the finished linoleum is determined by the breadth of the spreading rollers through which it passes ; at present that does not exceed six feet. The manufacture of linoleum is rapidly extending, and since the expiry of Mr Walton s patent rights, it has been begun by the leading Kirkcaldy floor- clothmakers. Boulinikon. Under this name a kind of floor-cloth with a linoleum-like surface is manufactured of waste materials, by a process patented in January 1865 by John B. Wood. It is composed of about equal portions of raw buffalo or other hide macerated and reduced to a pulp, pulped cotton or linen rags, and coarse hair ground up short and fine. These are mixed into a common pulp in a form of rag engine, and subsequently spread, drained, dried, and pressed on a machine similar to that used in the paper manufacture. The ornamentation is effected in the manner employed for kamptulicon and linoleum ; but the sub stance may be entirely covered with pigment and finished like oil floor-cloth, (j. TA.) FLOR, ROGER m, a military adventurer who, in the early years of the 14th century, distinguished himself as leader of the Catalan Grand Company. He was the second son of a falconer in the service of the emperor Frederick II., and when eight years old was sent to sea in a galley belonging to the Knights Templars. He entered the order, and became commander of a galley. At the siege of Acre by the Saracens in 1291 he absented himself, took no part in the defence of the town, and was accused of appropriat ing to his own use the treasures of his order. He was denounced to the pope by the grand master as a thief and an apostate, was degraded from his rank, and threatened with arrest. To escape imprisonment he fled to Genoa, where he began to play the pirate. The struggle between the kings of Aragon and the French kings of Naples for the possession of Sicily was at this time going on : and Roger entered the service of Frederick, king of Sicily, who gave him the rank of vice-admiral. At the close of the war, in 1302, Frederick being anxious to free the island from the auxiliaries whom he had no longer the means of paying, Roger induced his followers to seek new adventures in the East, in fighting against the Turks, who were ravaging the empire. The emperor Andronicus II. accepted his offer of service ; and in September 1303 Roger with his fleet and army arrived at Constantinople. He was adopted into the imperial family, was married to a granddaughter of the emperor, and was made grand duke and Commander-in-chief of the army and the fleet. After some weeks lost in dis sipation, intrigues, and bloody quarrels, Roger and his men were sent into Asia, and after some successful encounters with the Turks they went into winter quarters at Cyzicus. In May 1304 they again took the field, and rendered the important service of relieving Philadelphia, then invested and reduced to extremities by the Turks. But Roger, bent on advancing his own interests rather than those of the emperor, determined to found in the East a principality for himself. He sent his treasures to Magnesia, but the people slew his Catalans and seized the treasures. He then formed the siege of the town but his attacks were repulsed, and he was compelled to raise the siege. Passing over into Europe, he settled his troops in Gallipoli and other towns, and visited Constantinople to demand pay for the Grand Company. Dissatisfied with the small sum granted by the emperor, he plundered the country and carried on intrigues both with and against the emperor. In the spring of 1306 Roger was created Caesar, this being the first time that the title was given to a mere adventurer. Before set ting out on a second expedition to Philadelphia, he visited the young emperor Michael at Adrianople ; and there he was assassinated and his Catalan cavalry were massacred, April 4, 1306. His death was avenged by a war which was fiercely waged by the Grand Company against the Greeks. FLORA, in Roman mythology, a goddess of spring-time and flowers, to whom for her fostering influence a festival (Floralicf) of great gaiety and perhaps excessive licence was held in Rome, at first irregularly, but after 173 B.C. annually, with increasing popularity. This festival was extended to five days, April 28 to May 3, the date of April 28 answering to the foundation day of the temple of Flora near the Circus Maximus. To her worship was attached a Flamen Floralis. FLORENCE (Italian Fircnzc, ancient Florentia), the capital of Tuscany, now a province of the kingdom of Italy, is an archiepiscopal see. It is situated 125 miles north of Rome, 43 50 N. lat., 11 14 E. long., on both sides of the river Arno, which here flows through a wide valley, bounded by spurs of the Apennine range to the north, and by lower hills to the south of the city. The bed of the river at Florence is 138 feet above the Mediterranean. The geological formation of the surrounding country is Upper Cretaceous and Older Tertiary, partially covered by the fossiliferous upper Arno beds of Newer Tertiary, containing elephant bones. Pietra forte, belonging to the Cretaceous, a durable sandstone with calcareous ingredients, is largely quarried south of Florence, and has been used for centuries as paving-stones for the city, as well as in the construction of the city walls, the palazzi, churches, &c. North of Florence, pietra serena or macigno, a pure sandstone belonging to the Tertiary beds, is likewise worked for building purposes, its texture being finer than that of the pietra forte ; it has been adopted for the interior of churches and houses. The soil is remarkably fertile : corn, vines, and olives cover hill and valley, while the mountains, which rise above 3000 feet, have the cypress, ilex, chestnut, and pine. The country is celebrated for the abundance of its flowers, and presents a rich field for the botanist. Climate and Sanitary Condition. The climate of Florence is extremely variable, especially in the early spring, when the inhabitants are liable to diseases of the trachea, to bronchitis, and affections of the lungs. The summers are hot ; but both the summers and autumns are peculiarly healthy, when the city is entirely free from inter mittent fever, while typhoid fever is of rare occurrence. Eruptive diseases and all children s complaints are exceed- inglymild. Diphtheria appeared first in 1 868, and continued as a severe epidemic until 1872, since which time it has only occurred at intervals and in isolated cases. Cholera has more than once visited Florence with severity, but the last time it was in Italy this city escaped the calamity. The migliaria, so much dreaded by the Florentines, is not confined to Italy, but here, as elsewhere, is found to be an accompaniment of typhoid fever, pneumonia, and some other diseases. The average temperature throughout the year is about 15 centigrade (59 Fahr.). The greatest summer heat averages 36 centigrade (96 8 Fahr.), but it has risen exceptionally to 39 centigrade (102 2 Fahr.). The greatest cold is about 6 centigrade below zero (21 2 Fahr.). The