Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/223

 FIRE-PROOFING FISO 215 under water. It is said that there is no heat accompanying this light, though it he a true combustion and a combination of carbon with oxygen ; this may be owing to the rudeness or imperfection of our instruments, or to the slow- ness or peculiarity of the combustion. FIRE-PROOFING, a term applied to processes by which fabrics or buildings are rendered proof against taking fire. Cloths saturated with mineral paint are rendered less liable to inflame from falling cinders or sparks, but cannot be made to withstand continued heat. Several methods have been devised for rendering wood fire-proof. In the United States wooden roofs are partially secured from fire by covering them with a coating of gravel, secured by mixture with coal tar or asphaltum ; but of course this affords protection only against sparks or cin- ders. The English war department several years ago made experiments to test the utility of an application of one of the cheap soluble alkaline silicates, as the silicate of soda. Paint- ing the wood with a strong solution of the salt was very useful. But the best results were obtained by going over the coating of the sili- cate of soda with another of lime whitewash, and after this had stood a few hours coating it with another stronger solution of the soda. The first solution, it is directed, should be pre- pared by mixing with one measure of the thick sirup of silicate of soda three measures of water ; the wood should be brushed over with this, as much being laid on as the wood can be made to absorb. When nearly dry, the lime wash of creamy consistence is applied, and after this has become moderately dry, the solution prepared with two parts of sirup to three of water is laid on with the brush. The covering thus pre- pared adhered very well, even when exposed to a stream of water and to rains; the former when striking the wood in the shape of a jet only slightly abraded it, and it was not easily removed by applying heavy blows to the wood. It was found that when the silicate was pre- pared so as to mix readily with water, one pound was sufficient to cover 10 square feet, and at the rate of 20 per ton of the sirup, the cost of the silicate for this amount of surface is only about twopence. By this application to the timbers and other woodwork of houses, they may be rendered comparatively safe from fire; but for important structures, the most thorough protection is in the use of wrought- iron beams, built into the walls of brick or stone, and of iron or other incombustible ma- terial for the partition walls, floors, roof, and stairs. The most efficient methods in use in the United States are described in the article BEAM. Even buildings thus constructed in the most perfect manner may be completely ruined if filled with combustible goods that become once thoroughly ignited ; for the beams when heated must expand, and with a force against the walls that cannot be resisted. Cast-iron beams and columns have been shown to be more objectionable even than wood ; for on be- coming heated they rapidly lose their strength, and are liable to give way suddenly, and much sooner than timbers even when consuming. FIREWORKS. See PYROTECHNY. FIRKIN (Dan. fire, four), the fourth part of a barrel, an old English measure of capacity, variously given as containing from 7|- imperial gallons to 10-987 standard gallons. For ale its capacity was one gallon less than for beer ; as usually reckoned, it was 8 gallons for the for- mer and 9 for the latter. In the United States, firkin designates a tub, usually of butter, the weight of which should be 56 Ibs. In some parts of Pennsylvania it is 110 Ibs. FIRMAMENT (Lat. firmamentum, support), in ancient astronomy, the eighth sphere or heaven which surrounded the seven spheres of the planets and supported the fixed stars. Two motions were attributed to it : the diurnal mo- tion from east to west, and a motion from west to east, which was completed, according to Ptolemy, in 36,000 years, when the fixed stars were again in precisely the same position as at the beginning. This period was called the Platonic or great year. In common language, firmament signifies the sky or heaven. FIRMAN, or Ferman, a Persian word signify- ing an order, employed especially in Turkey to designate any decree issued by the Porte, and authenticated by the sultan's own cipher or monogram, called the tuva. Each of the min- isters and members of the divan has the right of signing firmans relative to the business of his own department, but only the grand vizier is authorized to place at their head the turn, which alone gives them force. A decree signed by the sultan's own hand is called hatti-sherif. The name firman is also applied to a Turkish passport, whether issued by the Porte or by a pasha, enjoining the subordinate authorities to grant the traveller bearing it protection and assistance. In India, a written permission to trade is called -a firman. FISC (Lat. fiscus), originally, a wicker basket in which money was carried about and kept. Under the Roman republic the state treasury was called cerarium. When the empire was established the name fiscus was given to the treasure which belonged to the emperor as such. The public treasure, properly speaking, the title to which was vested in the senate as the representative of the old republic, con- tinued to be called serarium, and the private property of the emperor as an individual was termed res privata prindpis. Under the later emperors no such separate fund as the a3ra- rium was any longer in existence, and the dis- tinction between asrarium and fiscus was lost. The imperial treasury, having become the only treasury of the state, was designated by both terms. Some of the rights of a natural person were accorded to the fiscus, and hence by a fic- tion of law it was deemed a person, in the same manner as a corporation 'or the community of a city or village. In the civil law of modern Europe the fisc is the property of the state.