Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/294

 286 FLOTSAM FLOUNDER of the revolution of 1830 he returned to Ger- many, but soon after went again to Paris with the operas Pierre et Colombine, Rob-Roy, and La duchesse de Guise, composed in the mean while. He tried in vain to have these pro- duced at one of the theatres of Paris, and it was only after their performance in private had excited the attention of amateurs that he received a commission in 1838 to furnish the music for Le naufrage de la Meduse. The opera was performed 54 nights at the Theatre de la Renaissance, and it was afterward pro- duced with equal success in London and other cities. He much increased his reputation by the Forestier (1840), UEsclave de Camoens (1843), Alessandro Stradella (1844), and UAme en peine (1846). After remaining some years in Paris, in 1855 he took up his permanent residence at Schwerin, and became director of the court theatre. There he composed Albin (1856), Martha (1858), and Zilda (1866). Of all his operas Martha is the most popular, be- ing sung in several languages. FLOTSAM, an old word, used in connection with others equally barbarous, as jetsam and legan (or ligan), to designate different kinds of wreck- ed goods. Whether lawyers made them, or adopted them from seamen, is not certainly known ; but the latter is supposed to be the case. Goods flotsam were goods which floated away when a ship was wrecked. Goods jet- sam were those cast over from a ship in peril. Goods legan were goods which were cast out, but, because they would sink and be lost, were tied to wood or a cask or some other substance which would float. These words are now sel- dom if ever used ; but the word jettison, form- ed probably from jetsam, is often used in in- surance law and practice. It means properly the act of casting goods overboard ; thus goods are said to be jettisoned, and a loss is said to be by jettison; and more rarely and inaccurately, the goods cast over are called the jettison; as, " the jettison consisted of such and such goods." FLOUNDER, a flat fish of the family pleuro- nectidcB or planidw, which also includes the halibut, sole, and turbot. This family, con- taining about 150 species, is found generally in comparatively shallow water, where the bot- tom is sandy ; but the halibut and turbot are caught in deep water. The body is flat, com- pressed vertically, so that the dorsal and ven- tral surfaces are mere fin-bearing edges, the sides forming ovate disks variously colored, the darker being popularly called the back and the white side the belly, while in reality these sur- faces are the sides. The most remarkable char- acter of the 'family is the want of symmetry in the mouth and head, both eyes being turned to that side which is uppermost when the ani- mal swims, and which is always the darker; the bones of the head, especially the presphe- noid and the middle frontal, are distorted to allow this arrangement of the parts; behind the scapular arch there is no want of symmetry in the vertebral column. The dorsal fin fringes the whole back, from near the tail to as far forward as the nostrils, the anal fringing the lower edge in a similar manner ; the jaws and the ventrals are generally unsym metrical, the latter being smaller on the pale side. The branchiostegal rays are six ; the air bladder is absent, and the vent is very far forward. The flounder belongs to the genus platessa (Cuv.); in this the eyes are generally on the right side, one above the other ; the teeth are broad and cutting, and in a single series in the jaws, but generally pavement-like on the pharyngeals ; the dorsal commences over the upper eye, and neither it nor the anal extends to the caudal ; there are three pancreatic caeca. The common flounder of Massachusetts (P.plana, Mitch.) va- ries in length from 10 to 22 in., and in color (on the right side) from dull slate to rusty and black- ish brown ; the scales are small, and the surface smooth. This species is considered excellent for the table in summer and autumn, and is caught in considerable numbers from wharves American Flounder (Platessa plana). and bridges. Another species is the rusty dab (P. ferruginea, Storer), from 12 to 20 in. long, of a reddish slate color, with rusty spots, and the lower surface tinged with yellow. The New York flounder is the P. dentata (Mitch.), reddish brown, of about the same size, but con- sidered inferior for the table. Among the spe- cies with eyes on the left side are the P. ob- longa (Mitch.), growing to a length of 30 in., and the P. stellata (Pallas), an arctic flounder, of a liver-brown color, about a foot long. These species are said to be " reversed " when the eyes are on the left side in the first series, and on the right in the second ; they are said to be "doubled" when both sides are colored; according to De Kay, the P. melanogaster (Mitch.) is a doubled variety of the P. dentata. Flounders extend, though in diminished num- bers and of smaller size, into high northern latitudes ; they are very abundant on the coasts of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia in sum- mer. Like all the family, flounders are very tenacious of life, may be transported consid- erable distances, and may be naturalized in brackish and even in fresh water. The distor- tion of the flounder family admirably adapts