Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/163

 TERRIER FERRY 155 captivity, and sometimes crossed with the pole- cat, which is supposed to increase its ferocity. The ferret is easily irritated, and then emits a strong disagreeable odor. It is generally be- lieved that the ferrets kill by sucking the blood of their victims, aiming at the jugular vein or the great vessels of the neck ; but the rapidity of the death is entirely inconsistent with so long a process as this. Experiments have shown that the ferret often inflicts but a single wound, which is almost instantly fatal, and frequently immediately disengages itself from the body of its victim to attack and kill another in a similar manner ; the single wound is in the side of the neck, under or behind the ear, and may or may not pierce the large blood vessels ; the canines enter the spinal cord between the skull and the first vertebra of the neck, de- stroying its victim by the same process as the bull-fighter with his keen sword, or the Spanish executioner with the steel point of the garrote, making neither a lacerated nor a contused wound, but penetrating into the medulla ob- longata, the very centre of life, instantly ar- resting the action of the heart and respiratory muscles, and at once destroying consciousness, sensation, and motion. This is one of many instances in which the instinct of animals has anticipated the slow deductions of science. The truth seems to be that when the animal is of small size, it is killed by the ferret by wounding the upper part of the spinal cord ; but that when it is of superior size and strength, the ferret seizes it wherever it can, producing death by loss of blood, pain, and exhaustion of strength. After the animal is dead, the ferret, like other weasels, no doubt sucks its blood, though the statement generally made in works on natural history, from Buffon to F. Cuvier and Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, that death is uni- formly caused in this manner, is untrue. FERRIER, James Frederick, a Scottish meta- physician, born in Edinburgh in November, 1808, died at St. Andrews, June 11, 1864. He was a nephew of Miss Ferrier the authoress, graduated at Oxford in 1832, and was admitted the next year to the Scottish bar. He married a daughter of Prof. James Wilson, whose col- lected works he subsequently edited; and he early contributed to " Blackwood's Magazine " essays on philosophical and literary subjects. In 1842 he was elected professor of history in the university of Edinburgh, and in 1845 of moral philosophy at St. Andrews. His lec- tures and conversation displayed great learn- ing, independence of thought, and felicity of expression, and he was one of the ornaments of the intellectual circles o/ Edinburgh. His principal work, " Institutes of Metaphysics : the Theory of Knowing and Being," appeared in 1854 ; and his " Lectures on Greek Philoso- phy" and other philosophical remains were edited by Sir A. Grant and E. L. Lushington (2 vols., 1866). He attempted to construct a system of idealism, which however has found few if any disciples ; but he called attention to many vital principles of thought, and Ueber- weg accords to him in his "History of Philos- ophy "^ a rare preeminence among English phi- losophical writers. FERRIER, Snsan Edmonston, a Scottish novel- ist, born in Edinburgh about 1782, died there in November, 1854. Her works, all published anonymously, are: "Marriage" (1818), "The Inheritance" (1824), and "Destiny, or the Chief's Daughter" (1831). She possessed a rare ability for delineating national character- istics, genial wit, and a quick sense of the lu- dicrous. Sir Walter Scott pays a tribute to her talent at the conclusion of his " Legend of Montrose." She was his frequent guest at Abbotsford, and contributed by her society to relieve the sadness which clouded the last days of his life. She was never married. FERRIERES, a village of France, in the de- partment of Seine-et-Marne, 15 m. E. of Paris; pop. about 800. In the 17th century it was a marquisate, afterward belonged to Fouche, and was finally purchased by Baron Rothschild, for whom the English architect Paxton built here one of the most magnificent chateaux in France, in the style of the last period of Italian renais- sance. From Sept. 19 to Oct. 5, 1870, it was the headquarters of King William of Prussia. An interview between Jules Favre and Bis- marck took place there immediately after the arrival of the king. FERRO, or Hierro, the most, westerly and smallest of the Canary islands, in lat. 27 40' N., Ion. 18 W. ; length 18 m., greatest breadth 9 m. ; area, about 100 sq. m. ; pop. about 4,600. The ancient geographers supposed this to be the westernmost point of the world, and drew through it the first meridian ; they are imitated by the Germans (who place it at 17 40' from Greenwich), and others of eastern Europe who follow them. Chief town, Valverde. FERROL, a seaport city of Spain, on the N. arm of the bay of Betanzos, in the province and 12 m. N. E. of the city of Corunna; pop. about 23,000. Its harbor, which is defended by Forts Palma and San Felipe, is one of the best in Europe. The town is well built, and protected on the land side by formidable forti- fications. It has an immense marine arsenal, covering nearly 24 acres, with a basin and docks, which are among the finest in Europe. The marine barracks afford accommodation for 6,000 men. In connection with the arsenal there is a school for seamanship and engineer- ing ; there is also a naval observatory. Ferrol has a few manufactures, but being a military port, foreign merchant vessels are excluded from it. It was but a small fishing town prior to 1752, when its fortifications were begun by Ferdinand VI. The English failed in an attack upon it in 1799, but it was taken by the French in 1809 and 1823. FERRUM. See IKON. FERRY, a place where persons, animals, or goods are carried across a river or other water; in law, a liberty or franchise so to