Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VII.djvu/553

 FUKEEDPOOR ceives the skins he causes them to be subjected to different processes according to the kind of fur and the object for which it is intended. The fine qualities for ornamental dresses are usually placed in tubs together with a quantity of rancid butter or lard, and are then trampled upon by the feet of men. The pelt thus be- comes softened, as if partially tanned. They are next cleaned of the loose bits of integu- ment by rubbing them with a strip of iron. The grease is then removed by trampling them again with a mixture of sawdust (that of ma- hogany is preferred) and occasionally beating them, and combing the fur. Another process is to steep the skins in a liquid containing bran, alum, and salt, in order to cleanse them from greasiness, and then to apply a preparation of soap and soda, which removes a kind of oil formed in the fur itself. Finally the skin is washed in clear water and dried, when it is found to be dressed and converted into thin soft leather. This is all that is necessary to prepare them for the cutter, whose office it is to cut out the variously shaped pieces, and sew them together to make the different articles. The cutting requires much skill to avoid waste. From a great number of similar skins parts of the same shades of color are selected, and thus each muff, mantle, or other article is made to present a uniform color. The seams are con- cealed by the lining with which the furs are finished. For the treatment of fur skins used for felting, see HAT. Furs are subject to in- jury by moths, which deposit their eggs at the roots of the fine hairs, and as soon as the worm is hatched it begins its work of destruc- tion. They will also decay if exposed to moist- ure. To preserve furs, therefore, it is necessary to keep them dry and well aired, and to protect them from moths. The latter object is often accomplished by frequently beating the furs and keeping them in a camphor-wood or ce- dar-wood trunk or apartment, or by sprinkling them with camphor, tobacco, or powdered ce- dar or sandal wood. Some of the largest deal- ers find that the most effective method for pre- serving furs from moths is simply to beat them about once a month with a rattan. FUREEDPOOR, or Dacca Jelalpoor, a district of the commissionership of Dacca, Bengal, British India, bounded N". by Mymunsing, E. by Dacca, S. by Backergunge, and W. by Jes- s.nv and Pubna ; area, 2,052 sq. m. ; pop. about 850,000. It is wholly alluvial, and, being intersected frequently by the Ganges and its branches, is periodically inundated, particular- ly in the S. and N. E. parts, which are low and marshy; but in the N. and N. W. the land is more elevated. The soil is of extraor- dinary fertility, producing large crops of rice, sugar cane, cotton, hemp, indigo, pulse, and eds. Sugar, indigo, and rum are manu- factured, and much coarse cotton cloth is made for home use. The population is composed of Mohammedans and Brahmans, about equally divided, the latter being the more numerous FURNACE 541 in the 1ST. part. There are also several thou- sand native Christians, descendants of the off- spring of Portuguese men and native women. The district was granted to the East India com- pany in 1765 by Shah Alum. FUREEDPOOR, the capital of the district, is a strangling town on the right bank of the Ganges, 115 m. N". E. of Calcutta. The principal buildings are those of the civil departments of the government. It was once a noted resort of river pirates FURET1ERE, Antoine, a French author, born in Pans about 1620, died May 14, 1688. He was^successively an advocate, a fiscal agent, an abbe, and a prior, and was admitted into the French academy in 1662. While the academy was preparing its dictionary, Furetiere, re- garding the work as defective, determined to edit and publish a lexicon on his own account. Hence the academy excluded him, and a war of epigrams, satires, and libels, unsurpassed for violence, began between him and the lead- ing academicians. Furetiere was protected by the most important personages, by Racine, Boileau, Moliere, Bossuet, and even. Louis XIV., and his wit and vivacity distinguished him in society ; but his death occurred before the suit which he prosecuted against the acad- emy was decided. His dictionary, enlarged by Basnage, passed through several editions. He wrote also a few fables and poems. FURIES. See EUMENIDES. FURLONG (Sax. far or fur and long], an old English measure of 40 rods or poles, equiva- lent to of a mile. In Ireland it is 0*15 of a mile, and in Scotland 0'1409. In the United States the measure is not in use. As a super- ficial measure, a furlong in Great Britain is generally 10 acres, according to the acre of different counties; but it was formerly used for a piece of land of no particular dimensions. FURNACE (Lat. fornax), a structure contain- ing a fireplace, intended for maintaining in- tense heat. In many of the useful arts the first requisite is the means of obtaining a very high temperature. In all metallurgic operations, the object of which is the reduction of the ores and treatment of the metals, and in almost every art involving the use of fire, a furnace of some kind for producing this heat is in de- mand. The ancient Greeks employed furnaces for casting statues of bronze ; Homer makes mention of a blast furnace with 20 crucibles (II. xviii. 470). The Egyptians are known to have made use of melting pots, but we have no knowledge of their furnaces. An ancient smelting furnace was discovered near Aries, in southern France, which was shaped like an inverted bell, having under the surface of the ground a channel for the discharge of the melted metal. Strabo speaks of furnaces built in Spain, which were raised to a great height for conveying off the noxious fumes ; they were also furnished with long flues and chambers for collecting the oxides and other sublimed matters. The forms and dimensions of modern furnaces vary greatly according to the different