Fullering denotes the preliminary roughing-down of the material between tools having convex edges; swaging, the completion or finishing process between swages, or dies of definite shape, nearly hemispherical in form. When a bar has to be reducedFullering and swaging.from larger to smaller dimensions, it is laid upon a fuller or round-faced stake, set in the anvil, or, in some cases, on a flat face (fig. 1), and blows are dealt upon that portion of the face which lies exactly opposite with a fullering tool A, grasped by a rather loosely-fitting handle and struck on its head by a sledge. The position of the piece of work is quickly changed at brief intervals in order to bring successive portions under the action of the swages until the reduction is completed; the upper face, and if a bottom fuller is used the under face also, is thus left corrugated slightly. These corrugations are then removed either by a flatter, if the surfaces are plane (fig. 2), or by hollow swages, if the cross section is circular (fig. 3). Spring swages (fig. 4) are frequently used instead of separate “top and bottom tools.” Frequently swaging is practised at once, without the preliminary detail of fullering. It is adopted when the amount of reduction is slight, and also when a steam hammer or other type of power hammer is available. This process of drawing down or fullering is, when practicable, adopted in preference to either upsetting or welding, because it is open to no objection, and involves no risk of damage to the material, while it improves the metal by consolidating its fibres. But its limitations in anvil work lie in the tediousness of the operation, when the part to be reduced is very much less in diameter, and very much longer, than the original piece of bar. Then there are other alternatives.Fig. 2.Fig. 3.Fig. 4.If a long bar is required to have an enlargement at any portion of its length, not very much larger in diameter than the bar, nor of great length, upsetting is the method adopted. The part to be enlarged is heated, the parts adjacent remainingUpsetting.cold, and an end is hammered, or else lifted and dropped heavily on the anvil or on an iron plate, with the result that the heated portion becomes both shortened and enlarged (figs. 5 and 6). This process is only suitable for relatively short lengths, and has the disadvantage that the fibres of wrought iron are liable to open, and so cause weakening of the upset portion. But steel, which has no direction of fibre, can be upset without injury; this method is therefore commonly adopted in steel work, in power presses to an equal extent with drawing down. The alternative to upsetting is generally to weld a larger to a smaller bar or section, or to encircle the bar with a ring and weld the two (fig. 7), and then to impart any shape desired to the ring in swages.Bending is effected either by the hammer or by the simple exercise of leverage, the heated bar being pulled round a fulcrum. It is always, when practicable, preferable to cutting out a curved or angular shape with a hot sett or to welding. The continuity ofBending.the fibre in iron is preserved by bending, and the risk of an imperfect weld is avoided. Hence it is a simple and safe process which is constantly being performed at the anvil. An objection to sharp bends, or those having a small radius, is that the fibres become extended on the outer radius, the cross section being at the same time reduced below that of the bar itself. This is met by imparting a preliminary amount of upsetting to the part to be bent, sufficient to counteract the amount of reduction due to extension of the fibres. A familiar example is seen in the corners of dip cranks.Fig. 5.Fig. 6.Fig. 7.The property possessed by pieces of iron or steel of uniting autogeneously while in a condition of semi-fusion is very valuable. When portions which differ greatly in dimensions have to be united, welding is the only method practicable at theWelding.anvil. It is also generally the best to adopt when union has to be made between pieces at right angles, or when a piece on which much work has to be done is required at the end of a long plain bar, as in the tension rods of cranes and other structures with eyes. The art of welding depends chiefly on having perfectly clean joint faces, free from scale, so that metal can unite to metal; union would be prevented by the presence of oxide or of dirt. Also it is essential to have a temperature sufficiently high, yet not such as to overheat the metal. A dazzling white, at which small particles of metal begin to drop off, is suitable for iron, but steel must not be made so hot. A very few hammer blows suffice to effect the actual union; if the joint be faulty, no amount of subsequent hammering will weld it. The forms of weld-joints include the scarf (figs. 8 and 9), the butt (fig. 10), the V (fig. 11) and the glut, one form of which is shown in fig. 12; the illustrations are of bars prepared for welding. These forms give the smith a suitable choice for different conditions. A convexity is imparted to the joint faces in order to favour the expulsion of slag and dirt during the closing of the joint; these undesirable matters become entangled between concave faces. The ends are upset or enlarged in order to leave enough metal to be dressed down flush, by swaging or by flattering. The proportional lengths of the joint faces shown are those which conform to good practice. The fluxes used for welding are numerous. Sand alone is generally dusted on wrought iron, but steel requires borax applied on the joint while in the fire, and also dusted on the joint at the anvil and on the face of the latter itself. Electric welding is largely taking the place of the hand process, but machines are required to maintain the parts in contact during the passage of the current. Butt joints are employed, and a large quantity of power is absorbed, but the output is immensely greater than that of hand-made welds.Fig. 8.Fig. 9.Fig. 10.Fig. 11.Fig. 12.When holes are not very large they are formed by punching, but large holes are preferably produced by bending a rod round and welding it, so forming an eye (fig. 13). Small holes are often punched simply as a preliminary stage in thePunching.formation of a larger hole by a process of drifting. A piece of work to be punched is supported either on the anvil or on a ring of metal termed a bolster, laid on the anvil, through which the burr, when severed, falls. But in making small holes through a thick mass, no burr is produced, the metal yielding sideways and forming an enlargement or boss. Examples occur in the wrought iron stanchionsthat carry light hand railing. In such cases the hole has to be punched from each face, meeting in the centre. Punching under power hammers is done similarly, but occupies less time.The cutting-off or severance of material is done either on hot or cold metal. In the first case the chisels used, “hot setts,” haveCutting-off.keener cutting angles than those employed for the second, termed “cold setts.” One sett is held in a hole in the anvil face, the “anvil chisel,” the other is handled and struck with a sledge.
Fullering denotes the preliminary roughing-down of the material between tools having convex edges; swaging, the completion or finishing process between swages, or dies of definite shape, nearly hemispherical in form. When a bar has to be reducedFullering and swaging.from larger to smaller dimensions, it is laid upon a fuller or round-faced stake, set in the anvil, or, in some cases, on a flat face (fig. 1), and blows are dealt upon that portion of the face which lies exactly opposite with a fullering tool A, grasped by a rather loosely-fitting handle and struck on its head by a sledge. The position of the piece of work is quickly changed at brief intervals in order to bring successive portions under the action of the swages until the reduction is completed; the upper face, and if a bottom fuller is used the under face also, is thus left corrugated slightly. These corrugations are then removed either by a flatter, if the surfaces are plane (fig. 2), or by hollow swages, if the cross section is circular (fig. 3). Spring swages (fig. 4) are frequently used instead of separate “top and bottom tools.” Frequently swaging is practised at once, without the preliminary detail of fullering. It is adopted when the amount of reduction is slight, and also when a steam hammer or other type of power hammer is available. This process of drawing down or fullering is, when practicable, adopted in preference to either upsetting or welding, because it is open to no objection, and involves no risk of damage to the material, while it improves the metal by consolidating its fibres. But its limitations in anvil work lie in the tediousness of the operation, when the part to be reduced is very much less in diameter, and very much longer, than the original piece of bar. Then there are other alternatives.
If a long bar is required to have an enlargement at any portion of its length, not very much larger in diameter than the bar, nor of great length, upsetting is the method adopted. The part to be enlarged is heated, the parts adjacent remainingUpsetting.cold, and an end is hammered, or else lifted and dropped heavily on the anvil or on an iron plate, with the result that the heated portion becomes both shortened and enlarged (figs. 5 and 6). This process is only suitable for relatively short lengths, and has the disadvantage that the fibres of wrought iron are liable to open, and so cause weakening of the upset portion. But steel, which has no direction of fibre, can be upset without injury; this method is therefore commonly adopted in steel work, in power presses to an equal extent with drawing down. The alternative to upsetting is generally to weld a larger to a smaller bar or section, or to encircle the bar with a ring and weld the two (fig. 7), and then to impart any shape desired to the ring in swages.
Bending is effected either by the hammer or by the simple exercise of leverage, the heated bar being pulled round a fulcrum. It is always, when practicable, preferable to cutting out a curved or angular shape with a hot sett or to welding. The continuity ofBending.the fibre in iron is preserved by bending, and the risk of an imperfect weld is avoided. Hence it is a simple and safe process which is constantly being performed at the anvil. An objection to sharp bends, or those having a small radius, is that the fibres become extended on the outer radius, the cross section being at the same time reduced below that of the bar itself. This is met by imparting a preliminary amount of upsetting to the part to be bent, sufficient to counteract the amount of reduction due to extension of the fibres. A familiar example is seen in the corners of dip cranks.
The property possessed by pieces of iron or steel of uniting autogeneously while in a condition of semi-fusion is very valuable. When portions which differ greatly in dimensions have to be united, welding is the only method practicable at theWelding.anvil. It is also generally the best to adopt when union has to be made between pieces at right angles, or when a piece on which much work has to be done is required at the end of a long plain bar, as in the tension rods of cranes and other structures with eyes. The art of welding depends chiefly on having perfectly clean joint faces, free from scale, so that metal can unite to metal; union would be prevented by the presence of oxide or of dirt. Also it is essential to have a temperature sufficiently high, yet not such as to overheat the metal. A dazzling white, at which small particles of metal begin to drop off, is suitable for iron, but steel must not be made so hot. A very few hammer blows suffice to effect the actual union; if the joint be faulty, no amount of subsequent hammering will weld it. The forms of weld-joints include the scarf (figs. 8 and 9), the butt (fig. 10), the V (fig. 11) and the glut, one form of which is shown in fig. 12; the illustrations are of bars prepared for welding. These forms give the smith a suitable choice for different conditions. A convexity is imparted to the joint faces in order to favour the expulsion of slag and dirt during the closing of the joint; these undesirable matters become entangled between concave faces. The ends are upset or enlarged in order to leave enough metal to be dressed down flush, by swaging or by flattering. The proportional lengths of the joint faces shown are those which conform to good practice. The fluxes used for welding are numerous. Sand alone is generally dusted on wrought iron, but steel requires borax applied on the joint while in the fire, and also dusted on the joint at the anvil and on the face of the latter itself. Electric welding is largely taking the place of the hand process, but machines are required to maintain the parts in contact during the passage of the current. Butt joints are employed, and a large quantity of power is absorbed, but the output is immensely greater than that of hand-made welds.
When holes are not very large they are formed by punching, but large holes are preferably produced by bending a rod round and welding it, so forming an eye (fig. 13). Small holes are often punched simply as a preliminary stage in thePunching.formation of a larger hole by a process of drifting. A piece of work to be punched is supported either on the anvil or on a ring of metal termed a bolster, laid on the anvil, through which the burr, when severed, falls. But in making small holes through a thick mass, no burr is produced, the metal yielding sideways and forming an enlargement or boss. Examples occur in the wrought iron stanchionsthat carry light hand railing. In such cases the hole has to be punched from each face, meeting in the centre. Punching under power hammers is done similarly, but occupies less time.
The cutting-off or severance of material is done either on hot or cold metal. In the first case the chisels used, “hot setts,” haveCutting-off.keener cutting angles than those employed for the second, termed “cold setts.” One sett is held in a hole in the anvil face, the “anvil chisel,” the other is handled and struck with a sledge.
The difference between iron and steel at the forge is that iron possesses a very marked fibre whereas steel does not. Many forgings therefore must be made differently according as they are in iron or in steel. In the first the fibre must never be allowed to run transversely to the axis of greatest tensile or bending stress, but must be in line therewith. For this reason many forgings, of which a common eye or loop (fig. 13) is a typical example, that would be stamped from a solid piece if made in steel, must be bent round from bar and welded if in wrought iron. Further, welding which is practically uniformly trustworthy in wrought iron, is distrusted in steel. The difference is due to the very fibrous character of iron, the welding of which gives much less anxiety to the smith than that of steel. Welds in iron are frequently made without any flux, those in steel never. Though mention has only been made of iron and steel, other alloys are forged, as those of aluminium, delta metal, &c. But the essential operations are alike, the differences being in temperature at which the forging is done and nature of the fluxes used for welding. For hardening and tempering, an important section of smith’s work, seeAnnealing.
Die Forging.—The smith operating by hand uses the above methods only. There is, however, a large and increasing volume of forgings produced in other ways, and comprehended under the general terms, “die forging” or “drop forging.”
Little proof is needed to show that the various operations done at the anvil might be performed in a more expeditious way by the aid of power-operated appliances; for the elementary processes of reducing, and enlarging, bending, punching, &c., are extremely simple, and the most elaborate forged work involves only a repetition of these. The fact that the material used is entirely plastic when raised to a white heat is most favourable to the method of forging in matrices or dies. A white hot mass of metal can be placed in a matrix, and stamped into shape in a few blows under a hammer with as much ease as a medal can be stamped in steel dies under a coining press. But much detail is involved in the translation of the principle into practice. The parallel between coining dies and forging dies does not go far. The blank for the coin is prepared to such exact dimensions that no surplus material is left over by the striking of the coin, which is struck while cold. But the blank used in die forging is generally a shapeless piece, taken without any preliminary preparation, a mere lump, a piece of bar or rod, which may be square or round irrespective of whether the ultimate forging is to be square, or round, or flat or a combination of forms. At the verge of the welding heat to which it is raised, and under the intensity of the impact of hammer blows rained rapidly on the upper die, the metal yields like lead, and flows and fills the dies.
Herein lies a difference between striking a coin and moulding a forging. A large amount of metal is squeezed out beyond the concavity of the forging dies, and this would, if allowed to flow over between the joints, prevent the dies from being closed on the forging. There are two methods adopted for removing this “fin,” or “flash” as it is termed, one being that of suppression, applicable to circular work, the other that of stripping, applied to almost all other cases.
The suppression of fin means that the circular bar is rotated in the dies (fig. 14) through a small arc, alternating between every few blows, with the result that the fin is obliterated immediately when formed, this being done at the same time that reduction of section is being effected over a portion or the whole of the bar.Stripping means that when a considerable amount of fin has been formed, it is removed by laying the forging on a die pierced right through with an opening of the same shape and area as the forging, and then dealing the forging a blow with the hammer. The forging is thus knocked through the die, leaving the severed or stripped fin behind. The forging is then returned to the dies and again treated, and the stripping may be repeated twice, or even oftener, before the forging can be completed.Figs. 15 and 16 illustrate the bottom dies of a set for forging in a particular form of eye, the top dies being of exactly the same shape. The first operation takes place in fig. 15, in which a bar of metal is reduced to a globular and cylindrical form, being constantly rotated meanwhile. The shank portion is then drawn down in the parallel recess to the left. The shape of the eye is completed in fig. 16, and the shank in the recess to the left of that. Fig. 17 shows how a lever is stamped between top and bottom dies. The hole in the larger boss is formed by punching, the punches nearly meeting in the centre, and the centre for the hole to be drilled subsequently in the smaller boss is located by a conical projection in the top die.Fig.15.Fig.16.It is evident that the methods of die forging, though only explained here in barest outline, constitute a principle of extensive application.An intricate or ornamental forging, which might occupy a smith a quarter of a day in making at the anvil, can often be produced in dies within five minutes (fig. 18). On the other hand, there is the cost of the preparation of the dies, which is often heavy, so that the question of method is resolved into the relative one of the cost of dies, distributed over the number of identical forgings required. From this point of view it is clear that given say a thousand forgings, ordered all alike, the cost of even expensive dies distributed over the whole becomes only an infinitesimal amount per forging.Fig.17.Fig.18.There is, further, the very important fact that forgings which are produced in dies are uniform and generally of more exact dimensions than anvil-made articles. This is seen to be an advantage when forgings have to be turned or otherwise tooled in the engineer’s machine shop, since it lessens the amount of work required there.Besides, for many purposes such forgings do not require tooling at all, or only superficial grinding, while anvil-made ones would, in consequence of their slight inaccuracies.Fig.19.Yet again, die forging is a very elastic system, and herein lies much of its value. Though it reaches its highest development when thousands of similar pieces are wanted, it is also adaptable to a hundred, or even to a dozen, similar forgings. In such cases economy is secured by using dies of a very cheap character; or, by employing such dies as supplementary to anvil work for effecting neat finish to more precise dimensions than can be ensured at the anvil. In the first case use is made of dies of cast iron moulded from patterns (fig. 19) instead of having their matrices laboriously cut in steel with drills, chisels and milling tools. In the second, preliminary drawing down is done under the steam hammer, and bending and welding at the anvil, or under the steam hammer, until the forgings are brought approximately to their final shape and dimensions. Then they are reheated and inserted in the dies, when a few blows under the steam or drop hammer suffice to impart a neat and accurate finish.The limitations of die forging are chiefly those due to large dimensions. The system is most successful for the smallest forgings and dies which can be handled by one man without the assistance of cranes; and massive forgings are not required in such large numbers as are those of small dimensions. But there are many large articles manufactured which do not strictly come under the term forgings, in which the aid of dies actuated by powerful hydraulic presses is utilized. These include work that is bent, drawn and shaped from steel plate, of which the fittings of railway wagons constitute by far the largest proportion. The dies used for some of these are massive, and a single squeeze from the ram of the hydraulic press employed bends the steel plate between the dies to shape at once. Fairly massive forgings are also produced in these presses.Die forging in its highest developments invades the craft of the skilled smith. In shops where it is adopted entirely, the only craftsmen required are the few who have general charge of the shops. The men who attend to the machines are not smiths, but unskilled helpers.
The suppression of fin means that the circular bar is rotated in the dies (fig. 14) through a small arc, alternating between every few blows, with the result that the fin is obliterated immediately when formed, this being done at the same time that reduction of section is being effected over a portion or the whole of the bar.
Stripping means that when a considerable amount of fin has been formed, it is removed by laying the forging on a die pierced right through with an opening of the same shape and area as the forging, and then dealing the forging a blow with the hammer. The forging is thus knocked through the die, leaving the severed or stripped fin behind. The forging is then returned to the dies and again treated, and the stripping may be repeated twice, or even oftener, before the forging can be completed.
Figs. 15 and 16 illustrate the bottom dies of a set for forging in a particular form of eye, the top dies being of exactly the same shape. The first operation takes place in fig. 15, in which a bar of metal is reduced to a globular and cylindrical form, being constantly rotated meanwhile. The shank portion is then drawn down in the parallel recess to the left. The shape of the eye is completed in fig. 16, and the shank in the recess to the left of that. Fig. 17 shows how a lever is stamped between top and bottom dies. The hole in the larger boss is formed by punching, the punches nearly meeting in the centre, and the centre for the hole to be drilled subsequently in the smaller boss is located by a conical projection in the top die.
It is evident that the methods of die forging, though only explained here in barest outline, constitute a principle of extensive application.
An intricate or ornamental forging, which might occupy a smith a quarter of a day in making at the anvil, can often be produced in dies within five minutes (fig. 18). On the other hand, there is the cost of the preparation of the dies, which is often heavy, so that the question of method is resolved into the relative one of the cost of dies, distributed over the number of identical forgings required. From this point of view it is clear that given say a thousand forgings, ordered all alike, the cost of even expensive dies distributed over the whole becomes only an infinitesimal amount per forging.
There is, further, the very important fact that forgings which are produced in dies are uniform and generally of more exact dimensions than anvil-made articles. This is seen to be an advantage when forgings have to be turned or otherwise tooled in the engineer’s machine shop, since it lessens the amount of work required there.Besides, for many purposes such forgings do not require tooling at all, or only superficial grinding, while anvil-made ones would, in consequence of their slight inaccuracies.
Yet again, die forging is a very elastic system, and herein lies much of its value. Though it reaches its highest development when thousands of similar pieces are wanted, it is also adaptable to a hundred, or even to a dozen, similar forgings. In such cases economy is secured by using dies of a very cheap character; or, by employing such dies as supplementary to anvil work for effecting neat finish to more precise dimensions than can be ensured at the anvil. In the first case use is made of dies of cast iron moulded from patterns (fig. 19) instead of having their matrices laboriously cut in steel with drills, chisels and milling tools. In the second, preliminary drawing down is done under the steam hammer, and bending and welding at the anvil, or under the steam hammer, until the forgings are brought approximately to their final shape and dimensions. Then they are reheated and inserted in the dies, when a few blows under the steam or drop hammer suffice to impart a neat and accurate finish.
The limitations of die forging are chiefly those due to large dimensions. The system is most successful for the smallest forgings and dies which can be handled by one man without the assistance of cranes; and massive forgings are not required in such large numbers as are those of small dimensions. But there are many large articles manufactured which do not strictly come under the term forgings, in which the aid of dies actuated by powerful hydraulic presses is utilized. These include work that is bent, drawn and shaped from steel plate, of which the fittings of railway wagons constitute by far the largest proportion. The dies used for some of these are massive, and a single squeeze from the ram of the hydraulic press employed bends the steel plate between the dies to shape at once. Fairly massive forgings are also produced in these presses.
Die forging in its highest developments invades the craft of the skilled smith. In shops where it is adopted entirely, the only craftsmen required are the few who have general charge of the shops. The men who attend to the machines are not smiths, but unskilled helpers.
(J. G. H.)
FORK(Lat.furca), an implement formed of two or more prongs at the end of a shaft or handle, the most familiar type of which is the table-fork for use in eating. In agriculture and horticulture the fork is used for pitching hay, and other green crops, manure, &c.; commonly this has two prongs, “tines”; for digging, breaking up surface soil, preparing for hand weeding and for planting the three-pronged fork is used. The word is also applied to many objects which are characterized by branching ends, as the tuning-fork, with two branching metal prongs, which on being struck vibrates and gives a musical note, used to give a standard of pitch; to the branching into two streams of a river, or the junction where a tributary runs into the main river; and in the human body, to that part where the legs branch off from the trunk.
Thefurca, two pieces of wood fastened together in the form of the letter Λ, was used by the Romans as an instrument of punishment. It was placed over the shoulders of the criminal, and his hands were fastened to it, condemned slaves were compelled to carry it about with them, and those sentenced to be flogged would be tied to it; crucifixions were sometimes carried out on a similar shaped instrument. From the great defeat of the Romans by the Samnites at the battle of the Caudine Forks (Furculae Caudinae), a narrow gorge, where the vanquished were compelled to pass under the yoke (jugum), as a sign of submission, the expression “to pass through or under the forks” has been loosely used of such a disgraceful surrender. The “forks” in any allusion to this defeat should refer to the topographical name and not to thejugum, which consisted of two upright spears with a third placed transversely as a cross-bar.
FORKEL, JOHANN NIKOLAUS(1749-1818), German musician, was born on the 22nd of February 1749 at Meeder in Coburg. He was the son of a cobbler, and as a practical musician, especially as a pianoforte player, achieved some eminence; but his claims to a more abiding name rest chiefly upon his literary skill and deep research as an historian of musical science and literature. He was an enthusiastic admirer of J.S. Bach, whose music he did much to popularize. His library, which was accumulated with care and discrimination at a time when rare books were cheap, forms a valuable portion of the royal library in Berlin and also of the library of the Königlicher Institut für Kirchenmusik. He was organist to the university church of Göttingen, obtained the degree of doctor of philosophy, and in 1778 became musical director of the university. He died at Göttingen on the 20th of March 1818. The following is a list of his principal works:Über die Theorie der Musik(Göttingen, 1777);Musikalisch kritische Bibliothek(Gotha, 1778);Allgemeine Geschichte der Musik(Leipzig, 1788). The last is his most important work. He also wrote aDictionary of Musical Literature, which is full of valuable material. To his musical compositions, which are numerous, little interest is to-day to be attached. But it is worth noting that he wrote variations on the English national anthem “God save the king” for the clavichord, and that Abt Vogler wrote a sharp criticism on them, which appeared at Frankfort in 1793 together with a set of variations as he conceived they ought to be written.
FORLÌ(anc.Forum Livii), a town and episcopal see of Emilia, Italy, the capital of the province of Forlì, 40 m. S.E. of Bologna by rail, 108 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 15,461 (town); 43,321 (commune). Forlì is situated on the railway between Bologna and Rimini. It is connected by steam tramways with Ravenna and Meldola, and by a road through the Apennines with Pontassieve. The church of S. Mercuriale stands in the principal square, and contains, besides paintings, some good carved and inlaid choir stalls by Alessandro dei Bigni. The façade has been considerably altered, but the campanile, erected in 1178-1180, still exists; it is 252 ft. in height, square and built of brickwork, and is one of the finest of Lombard campanili. The pictures in this church are the work of Marco Palmezzano (1456-1537) and others; S. Biagio and the municipal picture gallery also contain works by him. The latter has other interesting pictures, including a fresco representing an apprentice with pestle and mortar (Pestapepe), the only authentic work in Forlì of Melozzo da Forlì (1438-1494), an eminent master whose style was formed under the influence of Piero della Francesca, and who was the master of Palmezzano; the frescoes in the Sforza chapel in SS. Biagio e Girolamo are from the former’s designs, though executed by the latter. The church also contains the fine tomb (1466) of Barbara Manfredi. The cathedral (Santa Croce) has been almost entirely rebuilt since 1844. The Palazzo del Podestà, now a private house, is a brick building of the 15th century. The citadel (Rocca Ravaldina), constructed about 1360-1370, and later rebuilt, is now used as a prison. Flavio Biondo, the first Renaissance writer on the topography of ancient Rome (1388-1463), was a native of Forlì.
Of the ancient Forum Livii, which lay on the Via Aemilia, hardly anything is known. In the 12th century we find Forlì in league with Ravenna, and in the 13th the imperial count of the province of Romagna resided there. In 1275 Forlì defeated Bologna with great loss. Martin IV. sent an army to besiege it in 1282, which was driven out after severe fighting in the streets; but the town soon afterwards surrendered. In the 14th and 15th centuries it was under the government of the Ordelaffi; and in 1500 was taken by Caesar Borgia, despite a determined resistance by Caterina Sforza, widow of Girolamo Riario. Forlì finally became a part of the papal state in 1504.
(T. As.)
FORLIMPOPOLI(anc.Forum Popillii), a village of Emilia, Italy, in the province of Forlì, from which it is 5 m. S.E. by rail, 105 ft. above sea-level. Pop. (1901) 2299 (town); 5795 (commune). The ancient Forum Popillii, a station on the Via Aemilia, was destroyed by Grimuald in 672. Whether its site is occupied by the present town is not certain; the former should perhaps be sought a mile or so farther to the S.E., where were found most of the inscriptions of which the place of discovery is certain. Forlimpopoli was again destroyed by Cardinal Albornoz in 1360, and rebuilt by Sinibaldo Ordelaffi, who constructed the well-preserved medieval castle (1380), rectangular with four circular towers at the corners.
(T. As.)
FORLORN HOPE(through Dutchverloren hoop, from Ger.verlorene Haufe= “lost troop”;Haufe, “heap,” being equivalent in the 17th century to “body of troops”; the Frenchequivalent isenfants perdus), a military term (sometimes shortened to “forlorn”), used in the 16th and 17th centuries for a body of troops thrown out in front of the line of battle to engage the hostile line, somewhat after the fashion of skirmishers, though they were always solid closed bodies. These troops ran great risks, because they were often trapped between the two lines of battle as the latter closed upon one another, and fired upon or ridden down by their friends; further, their mission was to facilitate the attacks of their own main body by striking the first blow against or meeting the first shock of the fresh and unshaken enemy. In the following century (18th), when lines of masses were no longer employed, a thin line of skirmishers alone preceded the three-deep line of battle, but the term “forlorn hope” continued to be used for picked bodies of men entrusted with dangerous tasks, and in particular for the storming party at the assault of a fortress. In this last sense “forlorn hope” is often used at the present time. The misunderstanding of the word “hope” has led to various applications of “forlorn hope,” such as to an enterprise offering little chance of success, or, further still from the original meaning, to the faint or desperate hope of such success.
FORM(Lat.forma), in general, the external shape, appearance, configuration of an object, in contradistinction to the matter of which it is composed; thus a speech may contain excellent arguments,—themattermay be good, while the style, grammar, arrangement,—theform—is bad. The term, with its adjective “formal” and the derived nouns “formality” and “formalism,” is hence contemptuously used for that which is superficial, unessential, hypocritical: chap. xxiii. of Matthew’s gospel is a classical instance of the distinction between the formalism of the Pharisaic code and genuine religion. With this may be compared the popular phrases “good form” and “bad form” applied to behaviour in society: so “format” (from the French) is technically used of the shape and size,e.g.of a book (octavo, quarto, &c.) or of a cigarette. The word “form” is also applied to certain definite objects: in printing a body of type secured in a chase for printing at one impression (“form” or “forme”); a bench without a back, such as is used in schools (perhaps to be compared with O. Fr.s’asseoir en forme, to sit in a row); a mould or shape on or in which an object is manufactured; the lair or nest of a hare. From its use in the sense of regulated order comes the application of the term to a class in a school (“sixth form,” “fifth form,” &c.); this sense has been explained without sufficient ground as due to the idea of all children in the same class sitting on a single form (bench).
The word has been used technically in philosophy with various shades of meaning. Thus it is used to translate the Platonicἰδέα,εἶδος, the permanent reality which makes a thing what it is, in contrast with the particulars which are finite and subject to change. Whether Plato understood these forms as actually existent apart from all the particular examples, or as being of the nature of immutable physical laws, is matter of discussion. For practical purposes Aristotle was the first to distinguish between matter (ὕλη) and form (εἶδος). To Aristotle matter is the undifferentiated primal element: it is rather that from which things develop (ὑποκείμενον,δύναμις) than a thing in itself (ἐνεργεία). The development of particular things from this germinal matter consists in differentiation, the acquiring of particularformsof which the knowable universe consists (cf.Causationfor the Aristotelian “formal cause”). The perfection of the form of a thing is its entelechy (ἐντελέχεια) in virtue of which it attains its fullest realization of function (De anima, ii. 2,ἡ μὲν ὕλη δύναμις τὸ δὲ εἶδος ἐντελέχεια). Thus the entelechy of the body is the soul. The origin of the differentiation process is to be sought in a “prime mover” (πρῶτον κινοῦν),i.e.pure form entirely separate (χωριστόν) from all matter, eternal, unchangeable, operating not by its own activity but by the impulse which its own absolute existence excites in matter (ὡς ἐρώμενον,οὐ κινούμενον). The Aristotelian conception of form was nominally, though perhaps in most cases unintelligently, adopted by the Scholastics, to whom, however, its origin in the observation of the physical universe was an entirely foreign idea. The most remarkable adaptation is probably that of Aquinas, who distinguished the spiritual world with its “subsistent forms” (formae separatae) from the material with its “inherent forms” which exist only in combination with matter. Bacon, returning to the physical standpoint, maintained that all true research must be devoted to the discovery of the real nature or essence of things. His induction searches for the true “form” of light, heat and so forth, analysing the external “form” given in perception into simpler “forms” and their “differences.” Thus he would collect all possible instances of hot things, and discover that which is present in all, excluding all those qualities which belong accidentally to one or more of the examples investigated: the “form” of heat is the residuum common to all. Kant transferred the term from the objective to the subjective sphere. All perception is necessarily conditioned by pure “forms of sensibility,”i.e.space and time: whatever is perceived is perceived as havingspacialand temporal relations (seeSpace and Time;Kant). These forms are not obtained by abstraction from sensible data, nor are they strictly speaking innate: they are obtained “by the very action of the mind from the co-ordination of its sensation.”
FORMALIN, orFormaldehyde, CH2O or H·CHO, the first member of the series of saturated aliphatic aldehydes. It is most readily prepared by passing the vapour of methyl alcohol, mixed with air, over heated copper or platinum. In order to collect the formaldehyde, the vapour is condensed and absorbed, either in water or alcohol. It may also be obtained, although only in small quantities, by the distillation of calcium formate. At ordinary temperatures formaldehyde is a gas possessing a pungent smell; it is a strong antiseptic and disinfectant, a 40% solution of the aldehyde in water or methyl alcohol, sold asformalin, being employed as a deodorant, fungicide and preservative. It is not possible to obtain the aldehyde in a pure condition, since it readily polymerizes. It is a strong reducing agent; it combines with ammonia to formhexamethylene tetramine, (CH2)6N4, and easily “condenses” in the presence of many bases to produce compounds which apparently belong to the sugars (q.v.). It renders glue or gelatin insoluble in water, and is used in the coal-tar colour industry in the manufacture of para-rosaniline, pyronines and rosamines. Several polymers have been described.Para-formaldehyde, or trioxymethylene, obtained by concentrating solutions of formaldehydein vacuo, is a white crystalline solid, which sublimes at about 100° C. and melts at a somewhat higher temperature, changing back into the original form. It is insoluble in cold water, alcohol and ether. A diformaldehyde is supposed to separate as white flakes when the vapour is passed into chloroform (Körber,Pharm. Zeit., 1904, xlix. p. 609); F. Auerbach and H. Barschall (Chem. Zentr., 1907, ii. p. 1734) obtained three polymers by acting with concentrated sulphuric acid on solutions of formaldehyde, and a fourth by heating one of the forms so obtained. The strength of solutions of formaldehyde may be ascertained by the addition of excess of standard ammonia to the aldehyde solution (hexamethylene tetramine being formed), the excess of ammonia being then estimated by titration with standard acid. On the formation of formaldehyde by the oxidation of methane at high temperatures, see W.A. Bone (Journ. Chem. Soc., 1902, 81, p. 535; 1903, 83, p. 1074). Formaldehyde also appears to be a reduction product of carbon dioxide (seeAnnual Reports of the Chemical Society).
FORMAN, ANDREW(c.1465-1521), Scottish ecclesiastic, was educated at the university of St Andrews and entered the service of King James IV. about 1489. He soon earned the favour of this king, who treated him with great generosity and who on several occasions sent him on important embassies to the English, the French and the papal courts. In 1501 he became bishop of Moray and in July 1513 Louis XII. of France secured his appointment as archbishop of Bourges, while pope Julius II. promised to make him a cardinal. In 1514 during a long absence from his own land Forman was nominated by Pope Leo X. to the vacant archbishopric of St Andrews and was made papal legate in Scotland, but it was some time before he secured possession ofthe see owing to the attempts of Henry VIII. to subject Scotland to England and to the efforts of his rivals, Gavin Douglas, the poet, and John Hepburn, prior of St Andrews, and their supporters. Eventually, however, he resigned some of his many benefices, the holding of which had made him unpopular, and through the good offices of the regent, John Stewart, duke of Albany, obtained the coveted archbishopric and the primacy of Scotland. Afterwards he was one of the vice-regents of the kingdom and he died on the 11th of March 1521. As archbishop he issued a series of constitutions which are printed in J. Robertson’sConcilia Scotiae(1866). Mr Andrew Lang (History of Scotland, vol. i.) describes Forman as “the Wolsey of Scotland, and a fomenter of the war which ended at Flodden.”
See the biography of the archbishop which forms vol. ii. ofThe Archbishops of St Andrews, by J. Herkless and R.K. Hannay (1909).
See the biography of the archbishop which forms vol. ii. ofThe Archbishops of St Andrews, by J. Herkless and R.K. Hannay (1909).
FORMAN, SIMON(1552-1611), English physician and astrologer, was born in 1552 at Quidham, a small village near Wilton, Wiltshire. At the age of fourteen he became apprentice to a druggist at Salisbury, but at the end of four years he exchanged this profession for that of a schoolmaster. Shortly afterwards he entered Magdalen College, Oxford, where he studied chiefly medicine and astrology. After continuing the same studies in Holland he commenced practice as a physician in Philpot Lane, London, but as he possessed no diploma, he on this account underwent more than one term of imprisonment. Ultimately, however, he obtained a diploma from Cambridge university, and established himself as a physician and astrologer at Lambeth, where he was consulted, especially as a physician, by many persons of rank, among others by the notorious countess of Essex. He expired suddenly while crossing the Thames in a boat on the 12th of September 1611.
A list of Forman’s works on astrology is given in Bliss’s edition of theAthenae Oxonienses; many of his MS. works are contained in the Bodleian Library, the British Museum and the Plymouth Library.A Brief Description of the Forman MSS. in the Public Library, Plymouth, was published in 1853.
A list of Forman’s works on astrology is given in Bliss’s edition of theAthenae Oxonienses; many of his MS. works are contained in the Bodleian Library, the British Museum and the Plymouth Library.A Brief Description of the Forman MSS. in the Public Library, Plymouth, was published in 1853.
FORMERET, a French architectural term for the wall-rib carrying the web or filling-in of a vault (q.v.).
FORMEY, JOHANN HEINRICH SAMUEL(1711-1797), Franco-German author, was born of French parentage at Berlin on the 31st of May 1711. He was educated for the ministry, and at the age of twenty became pastor of the French church at Brandenburg. Having in 1736 accepted the invitation of a congregation in Berlin, he was in the following year chosen professor of rhetoric in the French college of that city and in 1739 professor of philosophy. On the organization of the academy of Berlin in 1744 he was named a member, and in 1748 became its perpetual secretary. He died at Berlin on the 7th of March 1797. His principal works areLa Belle Wolfienne(1741-1750, 6 vols.), a kind of novel written with the view of enforcing the precepts of the Wolfian philosophy;Bibliothèque critique, ou mémoires pour servir à l’histoire littéraire ancienne et moderne(1746);Le Philosophe chrétien(1750);L’Émile chrétien(1764), intended as an answer to theÉmileof Rousseau; andSouvenirs d’un citoyen(Berlin, 1789). He also published an immense number of contemporary memoirs in the transactions of the Berlin Academy.
FORMIA(anc.Formiae, called Mola di Gaeta until recent times), a town of Campania, Italy, in the province of Caserta, from which it is 48 m. W.N.W. by rail. Pop. (1901) 5514 (town); 8452 (commune). It is situated at the N.W. extremity of the Bay of Gaeta, and commands beautiful views. It lay on the ancient Via Appia, and was much frequented as a resort by wealthy Romans. There was considerable imperial property here and along the coast as far as Sperlonga, and there are numerous remains of ancient villas along the coast and on the slopes above it. The so-called villa of Cicero contains two well-preservednymphaeawith Doric architecture. Its site is now occupied by the villa Caposele, once a summer residence of the kings of Naples. There are many other modern villas, and the sheltered hillsides (for the mountains rise abruptly behind the town) are covered with lemon, orange and pomegranate gardens. The now deserted promontory of the Monte Scauri to the E. is also covered with remains of ancient villas; the hill is crowned by a large tomb, known as Torre Giano. To the E. at Scauri is a large villa with substructions in “Cyclopean” work. The ancient Formiae was, according to the legend, the home of the Laestrygones, and later a Spartan colony (Ὁρμίαιδιὰ τὸ εὔορμον, Strabo v. 3. 6, p. 233). It was a Volscian town, and, like Fundi, received thecivitas sine suffragiofrom Rome in 338 (or 332B.C.) because the passage through its territory had always been secure. This was strategically important for the Romans, as the military road definitely constructed by Appius Claudius in 312B.C., still easily traceable by its remains, and in part followed by the high-road, traversed a narrow pass, which could easily be blocked, between Fundi and Formiae. In 188B.C., with Fundi, it received the full citizenship, and, like it, was to a certain extent under the control of apraefectussent from Rome, though it retained its three aediles. Mamurra was a native of Formia. Cicero possessed a favourite villa here, and was murdered in its vicinity in 43B.C., but neither the villa nor the tomb can be identified with any certainty. It was devastated by Sextus Pompeius, and became a colony, withduovirias chief magistrates, under Hadrian. Portus Caietae (the modern Gaeta) was dependent upon it.
See T. Ashby, “Dessins inédits de Carlo Labruzzi,” inMélanges de l’école française de Rome(1903), 410 seq.
See T. Ashby, “Dessins inédits de Carlo Labruzzi,” inMélanges de l’école française de Rome(1903), 410 seq.
(T. As.)
FORMIC ACID,H2CO2or H·COOH, the first member of the series of aliphatic monobasic acids of the general formula CnH2nO2. It is distinguished from the other members of the series by certain characteristic properties; for example, it shows an aldehydic character in reducing silver salts to metallic silver, and it does not form an acid chloride or an acid anhydride. Its nitrile (prussic acid) has an acid character, a property not possessed by the nitriles of the other members of the series; and, by the abstraction of the elements of water from the acid, carbon monoxide is produced, a reaction which finds no parallel in the higher members of the series. Finally, formic acid is, as shown by the determination of its affinity constant, a much stronger acid than the other acids of the series. It occurs naturally in red ants (Lat.formica), in stinging nettles, in some mineral waters, in animal secretions and in muscle. It may be prepared artificially by the oxidation of methyl alcohol and of formaldehyde; by the rapid heating of oxalic acid (J. Gay-Lussac,Ann. chim. phys., 1831 [2] 46, p. 218), but best by heating oxalic acid with glycerin, at a temperature of 100-110° C. (M. Berthelot,Ann., 1856, 98, p. 139). In this reaction a glycerol ester is formed as an intermediate product, and undergoes decomposition by the water which is also produced at the same time.
C3H5(OH)3+ H2C2O4= C3H5(OH)2·OCHO+CO2+ H2OC3H5(OH)2O·CHO + H2O = C3H5(OH)3+ H2CO2.
Many other synthetical processes for the production of the acid or its salts are known. Hydrolysis of hydrocyanic acid by means of hydrochloric acid yields formic acid. Chloroform boiled with alcoholic potash forms potassium formate (J. Dumas,Berzelius Jahresberichte, vol. 15, p. 371), a somewhat similar decomposition being shown by chloral and aqueous potash (J. v. Liebig,Ann., 1832, 1, p. 198). Formates are also produced by the action of moist carbon monoxide on soda lime at 190-220° C. (V. Merz and J. Tibiçira,Ber., 1880, 13, p. 23; A. Geuther,Ann., 1880, 202, p. 317), or by the action of moist carbon dioxide on potassium (H. Kolbe and R. Schmitt,Ann., 1861, 119, p. 251). H. Moissan (Comptes rend., 1902, 134, p. 261) prepared potassium formate by passing a current of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide over heated potassium hydride,KH + CO2= KHCO2and KH + 2CO = KHCO2+ C.A concentrated acid may be obtained from the diluted acid either by neutralization with soda, the sodium salt thus obtained being then dried and heated with the equivalent quantity of anhydrous oxalic acid (Lorin,Bull. soc. chim., 37, p. 104), or the lead or copper salt may be decomposed by dry sulphuretted hydrogen at 130° C. L. Maquenne (Bull. soc. chim., 1888, 50, p. 662) distils the commercial acid,in vacuo, with concentrated sulphuric acid below 75° C.Formic acid is a colourless, sharp-smelling liquid, which crystallizes at 0° C., melts at 8.6° C. and boils at 100.8° C. Its specific gravity is 1.22 (20°/4°). It is miscible in all proportions with water, alcohol and ether. When heated with zinc dust, the acid decomposes into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The sodium and potassium salts, when heated to 400° C., give oxalates and carbonates of thealkali metals, but the magnesium, calcium and barium salts yield carbonates only. The free acid, when heated with concentrated sulphuric acid, is decomposed into water and pure carbon monoxide; when heated with nitric acid, it is oxidized first to oxalic acid and finally to carbon dioxide. The salts of the acid are known asformates, and are mostly soluble in water, those of silver and lead being the least soluble. They crystallize well and are readily decomposed. Concentrated sulphuric acid converts them into sulphates, with simultaneous liberation of carbon monoxide. The calcium salt, when heated with the calcium salts of higher homologues, gives aldehydes. The silver and mercury salts, when heated, yield the metal, with liberation of carbon dioxide and formation of free formic acid; and the ammonium salt, when distilled, gives some formamide, HCONH2. The esters of the acid may be obtained by distilling a mixture of the sodium or potassium salts and the corresponding alcohol with hydrochloric or sulphuric acids.Formamide, HCONH2, is obtained by heating ethyl formate with ammonia; by heating ammonium formate with urea to 140° C.,2HCO·ONH4+ CO(NH2)2= 2HCONH2+ (NH4)2CO3;by heating ammonium formate in a sealed tube for some hours at 230° C., or by the action of sodium amalgam on a solution of potassium cyanate (H. Basarow,Ber., 1871, 4, p. 409). It is a liquid which boilsin vacuoat 150°, but at 192-195° C. under ordinary atmospheric pressure, with partial decomposition into carbon monoxide and ammonia. It dissolves mercuric oxide, with the formation of mercuric formamide, (HCONH)2Hg.
Many other synthetical processes for the production of the acid or its salts are known. Hydrolysis of hydrocyanic acid by means of hydrochloric acid yields formic acid. Chloroform boiled with alcoholic potash forms potassium formate (J. Dumas,Berzelius Jahresberichte, vol. 15, p. 371), a somewhat similar decomposition being shown by chloral and aqueous potash (J. v. Liebig,Ann., 1832, 1, p. 198). Formates are also produced by the action of moist carbon monoxide on soda lime at 190-220° C. (V. Merz and J. Tibiçira,Ber., 1880, 13, p. 23; A. Geuther,Ann., 1880, 202, p. 317), or by the action of moist carbon dioxide on potassium (H. Kolbe and R. Schmitt,Ann., 1861, 119, p. 251). H. Moissan (Comptes rend., 1902, 134, p. 261) prepared potassium formate by passing a current of carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide over heated potassium hydride,
KH + CO2= KHCO2and KH + 2CO = KHCO2+ C.
A concentrated acid may be obtained from the diluted acid either by neutralization with soda, the sodium salt thus obtained being then dried and heated with the equivalent quantity of anhydrous oxalic acid (Lorin,Bull. soc. chim., 37, p. 104), or the lead or copper salt may be decomposed by dry sulphuretted hydrogen at 130° C. L. Maquenne (Bull. soc. chim., 1888, 50, p. 662) distils the commercial acid,in vacuo, with concentrated sulphuric acid below 75° C.
Formic acid is a colourless, sharp-smelling liquid, which crystallizes at 0° C., melts at 8.6° C. and boils at 100.8° C. Its specific gravity is 1.22 (20°/4°). It is miscible in all proportions with water, alcohol and ether. When heated with zinc dust, the acid decomposes into carbon monoxide and hydrogen. The sodium and potassium salts, when heated to 400° C., give oxalates and carbonates of thealkali metals, but the magnesium, calcium and barium salts yield carbonates only. The free acid, when heated with concentrated sulphuric acid, is decomposed into water and pure carbon monoxide; when heated with nitric acid, it is oxidized first to oxalic acid and finally to carbon dioxide. The salts of the acid are known asformates, and are mostly soluble in water, those of silver and lead being the least soluble. They crystallize well and are readily decomposed. Concentrated sulphuric acid converts them into sulphates, with simultaneous liberation of carbon monoxide. The calcium salt, when heated with the calcium salts of higher homologues, gives aldehydes. The silver and mercury salts, when heated, yield the metal, with liberation of carbon dioxide and formation of free formic acid; and the ammonium salt, when distilled, gives some formamide, HCONH2. The esters of the acid may be obtained by distilling a mixture of the sodium or potassium salts and the corresponding alcohol with hydrochloric or sulphuric acids.
Formamide, HCONH2, is obtained by heating ethyl formate with ammonia; by heating ammonium formate with urea to 140° C.,
2HCO·ONH4+ CO(NH2)2= 2HCONH2+ (NH4)2CO3;
by heating ammonium formate in a sealed tube for some hours at 230° C., or by the action of sodium amalgam on a solution of potassium cyanate (H. Basarow,Ber., 1871, 4, p. 409). It is a liquid which boilsin vacuoat 150°, but at 192-195° C. under ordinary atmospheric pressure, with partial decomposition into carbon monoxide and ammonia. It dissolves mercuric oxide, with the formation of mercuric formamide, (HCONH)2Hg.
FORMOSA,a northern territory of the Argentine republic, bounded N. by Bolivia, N.E. and E. by Paraguay, S. by the Chaco Territory, and W. by Salta, with the Pilcomayo and Bermejo forming its northern and southern boundaries. Estimated area, 41,402 sq. m. It is a vast plain, sloping gently to the S.E., covered with marshes and tropical forests. Very little is known of it except small areas along the Bermejo and Paraguay rivers, where attempts have been made to form settlements. The unexplored interior is still occupied by tribes of wild Indians. The climate is hot, the summer temperature rising to a maximum of 104° F. Timber-cutting is the principal occupation of the settlers, though stock-raising and agriculture engage some attention in the settlements on the Paraguay. The capital, Formosa (founded 1879), is a small settlement on the Paraguay with a population of about 1000 in 1900. The settled population of the territory was 4829 in 1895, which it was estimated had increased to 13,431 in 1905. The nomadic Indians are estimated at 8000.
FORMOSA(calledTaiwanby the Chinese, and following them by the Japanese, into whose possession it came after their war with China in 1895), an island in the western Pacific Ocean, between the Southern and the Eastern China Sea, separated from the Chinese mainland by the Formosa Strait, which has a width of about 90 m. in its narrowest part. The island is 225 m. long and from 60 to 80 m. broad, has a coast-line measuring 731 m., an area of 13,429 sq. m.—being thus nearly the same size as Kiushiu, the most southern of the four chief islands forming the Japanese empire proper—and extends from 20° 56′ to 25° 15′ N. and from 120° to 122° E. It forms part of the long line of islands which are interposed as a protective barrier between the Asiatic coast and the outer Pacific, and is the cause of the immunity from typhoons enjoyed by the ports of China from Amoy to the Yellow Sea. Along the western coast is a low plain, not exceeding 20 m. in extreme width; on the east coast there is a rich plain called Giran, and there are also some fertile valleys in the neighbourhood of Karenko and Pinan, extending up the longitudinal valleys of the rivers Karenko and Pinan, between which and the east coast the Taito range intervenes; but the rest of the island is mountainous and covered with virgin forest. In the plains the soil is generally of sand or alluvial clay, covered in the valleys with a rich vegetable mould. The scenery of Formosa is frequently of majestic beauty, and to this it is indebted for its European name, happily bestowed by the early Spanish navigators.
On the addition of Formosa to her dominions, Fuji ceased to be Japan’s highest mountain, and took the third place on the list. Mount Morrison (14,270 ft.), which the Japanese renamed Niitaka-yama (New High Mountain), stands first, and Mount Sylvia (12,480 ft.), to which they give the name of Setzu-zan (Snowy Mountain), comes second. Mount Morrison stands nearly under the Tropic of Cancer. It is not volcanic, but consists of argillaceous schist and quartzite. An ascent made by Dr Honda of the imperial university of Japan showed that, up to a height of 6000 ft., the mountain is clothed with primeval forests of palms, banyans, cork trees, camphor trees, tree ferns, interlacing creepers and dense thickets of rattan or stretches of grass higher than a man’s stature. The next interval of 1000 ft. has gigantic cryptomerias and chamoecyparis; then follow pines; then, at a height of 9500 ft., a broad plateau, and then alternate stretches of grass and forest up to the top, which consists of several small peaks. There is no snow. Mount Morrison, being surrounded by high ranges, is not a conspicuous object. Mount Sylvia lies in 24° 30´ N. lat. There are many other mountains of considerable elevation. In the north is Getsurôbi-zan (4101 ft.); and on either side of Setzu-zan, with which they form a range running due east and west across the island, are Jusampunzan (4698 ft.) and Kali-zan (7027 ft.). Twenty-two miles due south of Kali-zan stands Hakumosha-zan (5282 ft.), and just 20 m. due south of Hakumosha-zan begins a chain of three peaks, Suisha-zan (6200 ft.), Hoo-zan (4928), and Niitaka-yama. These five mountains, Hari-zan, Hakumosha-zan, Suisha-zan, Hoo-zan and Niitaka-yama, stand almost exactly under 121° E. long., in the very centre of the island. But the backbone of the island lies east of them, extending S. from Setzu-zan through Gokan-zan, and Noko-zan and other peaks and bending S.W. to Niitaka-yama. Yet farther south, and still lying in line down the centre of the island, are Sankyakunan-zan (3752 ft.), Shurogi-zan (5729 ft.), Poren-zan (4957 ft.), and Kado-zan (9055 ft.), and, finally, in the south-east Arugan-zan (4985 ft.). These, it will be observed, are all Japanese names, and the heights have been determined by Japanese observers. In addition to these remarkable inland mountains, Formosa’s eastern shores show magnificent cliff scenery, the bases of the hills on the seaside taking the form of almost perpendicular walls as high as from 1500 to 2500 ft. Volcanic outbreaks of steam and sulphur-springs are found. Owing to the precipitous character of the east coast few rivers of any size find their way to the sea in that direction. The west coast, on the contrary, has many streams, but the only two of any considerable length are the Kotansui, which rises on Shurogi-zan, and has its mouth at Toko after a course of some 60 m. and the Seirakei, which rises on Hakumosha-zan, and enters the sea at a point 57 m. farther north after a course of 90 m.
The climate is damp, hot and malarious. In the north, the driest and best months are October, November and December; in the south, December, January, February and March. The sea immediately south of Formosa is the birthplace of innumerable typhoons, but the high mountains of the island protect it partially against the extreme violence of the wind.
Flora and Fauna.—The vegetation of the island is characterized by tropical luxuriance,—themountainousregions being clad with dense forest, in which various species of palms, the camphor-tree (Laurus Camphora), and the aloe are conspicuous. Consul R. Swinhoe obtained no fewer than 65 different kinds of timber from a large yard in Taiwanfu; and his specimens are now to be seen in the museum at Kew. The tree which supplies the materials for the pith paper of the Chinese is not uncommon, and the cassia tree is found in the mountains. Travellers are especially struck with the beauty of some of the wild flowers, more especially with the lilies and convolvuluses; and European greenhouses have been enriched by several Formosan orchids and other ornamental plants. The pine-apple grows in abundance. In the lowlands of the western portion, the Chinese have introduced a large number of cultivated plants and fruit trees. Rice is grown in such quantities as to procure for Formosa, in former days, the title of the “granary of China”; and the sweet potato, taro, millet, barley, wheat and maize are also cultivated. Camphor, sugar, tea, indigo, ground peanuts, jute, hemp, oil and rattans are all articles of export.
The Formosan fauna has been but partially ascertained; but at least three kinds of deer, wild boars, bears, goats, monkeys (probablyMacacus speciosus), squirrels, and flying squirrelsare fairly common, and panthers and wild cats are not unfrequent. A poisonous but beautiful green snake is often mentioned by travellers. Pheasants, ducks, geese and snipe are abundant, and Dr C. Collingwood in hisNaturalist’s Rambles in the China SeasmentionsArdea prasinoscelesand other species of herons, several species of fly-catchers, kingfishers, shrikes and larks, the black drongo, theCotyle sinensisand thePrinia sonitans. Dogs are kept by the savages for hunting. The horse is hardly known, and his place is taken by the ox, which is regularly bridled and saddled and ridden with all dignity. The rivers and neighbouring seas seem to be well stocked with fish, and especial mention must be made of the turtles, flying-fish, and brilliant coral-fish which swarm in the waters warmed by theKurosiwocurrent, the gulf-stream of the Pacific. Shell-fish form an important article of diet to both the Chinese and the aborigines along the coast—a species ofCyrena, a species ofTapes,Cytheraea petechianaandModiola teresbeing most abundant.
Population.—The population of Formosa, according to a census in 1904, is estimated at 3,022,687, made up as follows: aborigines 104,334, Chinese 2,860,574 and Japanese 51,770. The inhabitants of Formosa may be divided into four classes: the Japanese, who are comparatively few, as there has not been much tendency to immigration; the Chinese, many of whom immigrated from the neighbourhood of Amoy and speak the dialect of that district, while others were Hakkas from the vicinity of Swatow; the subjugated aborigines, who largely intermingled with the Chinese; and the uncivilized aborigines of the eastern region who refuse to recognize authority and carry on raids as opportunity occurs. The semi-civilized aborigines, who adopted the Chinese language, dress and customs, were called Pe-pa-hwan (AnglicePepo-hoans), while their wilder brethren bear the name of Chin-hwan or “green savages,” otherwise Sheng-fan or “wild savages.” They appear to belong to the Malay stock, and their language bears out the supposition. They are broken up into almost countless tribes and clans, many of which number only a few hundred individuals, and their language consequently presents a variety of dialects, of which no classification has yet been effected: in the district of Posia alone a member of the Presbyterian mission distinguished eight different mutually unintelligible dialects. The people themselves are described as of “middle height, broad-chested and muscular, with remarkably large hands and feet, the eyes large, the forehead round, and not narrow or receding in many instances, the nose broad, the mouth large and disfigured with betel.” The custom of tattooing is universal. In the north of the island at least, the dead are buried in a sitting posture under the bed on which they have expired. Petty wars are extremely common, not only along the Chinese frontiers, but between the neighbouring clans; and the heads of the slain are carefully preserved as trophies. In some districts the young men and boys sleep in the skull-chambers, in order that they may be inspired with courage. Many of the tribes that had least intercourse with the Chinese show a considerable amount of skill in the arts of civilization. The use of Manchester prints and other European goods is fairly general; and the women, who make a fine native cloth from hemp, introduce coloured threads from the foreign stuffs, so as to produce ornamental devices. The office of chieftain is sometimes held by women.
The chief town is Taipe (called by the Japanese Taihoku), which is on the Tamsui-yei river, and has a population of about 118,000, including 5850 Japanese. Taipe may be said to have two ports; one, Tamsui, at the mouth of the river Tamsui-yei, 10 m. distant on the north-west coast, the other Kelung (called by the Japanese Kiirun), on the north-east shore, with which it is connected by rail, a run of some 18 m. The foreign settlement at Taipe lies outside the walls of the city, and is called Twatutia (Taitotei by the Japanese). Kelung (the ancient Pekiang) is an excellent harbour, and the scenery is very beautiful. There are coal-mines in the neighbourhood. Tamsui (called Tansui by the Japanese) is usually termed Hobe by foreigners. It is the site of the first foreign settlement, has a population of about 7000, but cannot be made a good harbour without considerable expenditure. On the west coast there is no place of any importance until reaching Anping (23° N. lat.), a port where a few foreign merchants reside for the sake of the sugar trade. It is an unlovely place, surrounded by mud flats, and a hotbed of malaria. It has a population of 4000 Chinese and 200 Japanese. At a distance of some 2½ m. inland is the former capital of Formosa, the walled city of Tainan, which has a population of 100,000 Chinese, 2300 Japanese, and a few British merchants and missionaries. Connected with Anping by rail (26 m.) and laying south of it is Takau, a treaty port. It has a population of 6800, and is prettily situated on two sides of a large lagoon. Six miles inland from Takau is a prosperous Chinese town called Feng-shan (Japanese, Hozan). The anchorages on the east coast are Soo, Karenko and Pinan, which do not call for special notice. Forty-seven m. east of the extreme south coast there is a little island called Botel-tobago (Japanese, Koto-sho), which rises to a height of 1914 ft. and is inhabited by a tribe whose customs differ essentially from those of the natives on the main island.
Administration and Commerce.—The island is treated as an outlying territory; it has not been brought within the full purview of the Japanese constitution. Its affairs are administered by a governor-general, who is also commander-in-chief of the forces, by a bureau of civil government, and by three prefectural governors, below whom are the heads of twenty territorial divisions calledcho; its finances are not included in the general budget of the Japanese empire; it is garrisoned by a mixed brigade taken from the home divisions; and its currency is on a silver basis. One of the first abuses with which the Japanese had to deal was the excessive use of opium by the Chinese settlers. To interdict the importation of the drug altogether, as is done in Japan, was the step advocated by Japanese public opinion. But, influenced by medical views and by the almost insuperable difficulty of enforcing any drastic import veto in the face of Formosa’s large communications by junk with China, the Japanese finally adopted the middle course of licensing the preparation and sale of the drug, and limiting its use to persons in receipt of medical sanction. Under the administration of the Japanese the island has been largely developed. Among other industries gold-mining is advancing rapidly. In 1902 48,400 oz. of gold representing a value of £168,626 were obtained from the mines and alluvial washings. Coal is also found in large quantities near Kelung and sulphur springs exist in the north of the island.
An extensive scheme of railway construction has been planned, the four main lines projected being (1) from Takau to Tainan; (2) from Tainan to Kagi; (3) from Kagi to Shoka; and (4) from Shoka to Kelung; these four forming, in effect, a main trunk road running from the south-west to the north-east, its course being along the foot of the mountains that border the western coast-plains. The Takau-Tainan section (26 m.) was opened to traffic on the 3rd of November 1900, and by 1905 the whole line of 259 m. was practically complete. Harbour improvements also are projected, but in Formosa, as in Japan proper, paucity of capital constitutes a fatal obstacle to rapid development.
There are thirteen ports of export and import, but 75% of the total business is done at Tamsui. Tea and camphor are the staple exports. The greater part of the former goes to Amoy for re-shipment to the west, but it is believed that if harbour improvements were effected at Tamsui so as to render it accessible for ocean-going steamers, shipments would be made thence direct to New York. The camphor trade being a government monopoly, the quantity exported is under strict control.
History.—The island of Formosa must have been known from a very early date to the Chinese who were established in the Pescadores. The inhabitants are mentioned in the official works of the Yuan dynasty asTung-fanor eastern barbarians; and under the Ming dynasty the island begins to appear as Kilung. In the beginning of the 16th century it began to be known to the Portuguese and Spanish navigators, and the latter at least made some attempts at establishing settlements or missions. The Dutch were the first, however, to take footing in the island;in 1624 they built a fort, Zelandia, on the east coast, where subsequently rose the town of Taiwan, and the settlement was maintained forthrity-seven years. On the expulsion of the Ming dynasty in China, a number of their defeated adherents came over to Formosa, and under a leader called in European accounts Coxinga, succeeded in expelling the Dutch and taking possession of a good part of the island. In 1682 the Chinese of Formosa recognized the emperor K’ang-hi, and the island then began to form part of the Chinese empire. From the close of the 17th century a long era of conflict ensued between the Chinese and the aborigines. A more debased population than the peoples thus struggling for supremacy could scarcely be conceived. The aborigines,Sheng-fan, or “wild savages,” deserved the appellation in some respects, for they lived by the chase and had little knowledge even of husbandry; while the Chinese themselves, uneducated labourers, acknowledged no right except that of might. The former were not implacably cruel or vindictive. They merely clung to their homesteads, and harboured a natural resentment against the raiders who had dispossessed them. Their disposition was to leave the Chinese in unmolested possession of the plain. But some of the most valuable products of the island, as camphor and rattan, are to be found in the upland forests, and the Chinese, whenever they ventured too far in search of these products, fell into ambushes of hill-men who neither gave nor sought quarter, and who regarded a Chinese skull as a specially attractive article of household furniture. A violent rebellion is mentioned in 1788, put down only after the loss, it is said, of 100,000 men by disease and sword, and the expenditure of 2,000,000 taels of silver. Reconciliation never took place on any large scale, though it is true that, in the course of time, some fitful displays of administrative ability on the part of the Chinese, and the opening of partial means of communication, led to the pacification of a section of theSheng-fan, who thenceforth became known as Pe-pa-hwan (Pepohoan).
In the early part of the 19th century the island was chiefly known to Europeans on account of the wrecks which took place on its coasts, and the dangers that the crews had to run from the cannibal propensities of the aborigines, and the almost equally cruel tendencies of the Chinese. Among the most notable was the loss in 1842 of the British brig “Ann,” with fifty-seven persons on board, of whom forty-three were executed at Taichu. By the treaty of Tientsin (1860) Taichu was opened to European commerce, but the place was found quite unsuitable for a port of trade, and the harbour of Tamsui was selected instead. From 1859 both Protestant and Presbyterian missions were established in the island. An attack made on those at Feng-shan (Hozan) in 1868 led to the occupation of Fort Zelandia and Anping by British forces; but this action was disapproved by the home government, and the indemnity demanded from the Chinese restored. In 1874 the island was invaded by the Japanese for the purpose of obtaining satisfaction for the murder of a shipwrecked crew who had been put to death by one of the semi-savage tribes on the southern coast, the Chinese government being either unable or unwilling to punish the culprits. A war was averted through the good offices of the British minister, Sir T.F. Wade, and the Japanese retired on payment of an indemnity of 500,000 taels. The political state of the island during these years was very bad; in a report of 1872 there is recorded a proverb among the official classes, “every three years an outbreak, every five a rebellion”; but subsequent to 1877 some improvement was manifested, and public works were pushed forward by the Chinese authorities. In 1884, in the course of belligerent proceedings arising out of the Tongking dispute, the forts at Kelung on the north were bombarded by the French fleet, and the place was captured and held for some months by French troops. An attack on the neighbouring town of Tamsui failed, but a semi-blockade of the island was maintained by the French fleet during the winter and spring of 1884-1885. The troops were withdrawn on the conclusion of peace in June 1885.
In 1895 the island was ceded to Japan by the treaty of Shimonoseki at the close of the Japanese war. The resident Chinese officials, however, refused to recognize the cession, declared a republic, and prepared to offer resistance. It is even said they offered to transfer the sovereignty to Great Britain if that power would accept it. A formal transfer to Japan was made in June of the same year in pursuance of the treaty, the ceremony taking place on board ship outside Kelung, as the Chinese commissioners did not venture to land. The Japanese were thus left to take possession as best they could, and some four months elapsed before they effected a landing on the south of the island. Takau was bombarded and captured on the 15th of October, and the resistance collapsed. Liu Yung-fu, the notorious Black Flag general, and the back-bone of the resistance, sought refuge in flight. The general state of the island when the Japanese assumed possession was that the plain of Giran on the eastern coast and the hill-districts were inhabited by semi-barbarous folk, the western plains by Chinese of a degraded type, and that between the two there existed a traditional and continuous feud, leading to mutual displays of merciless and murderous violence. By many of these Chinese settlers the Japanese conquerors, when they came to occupy the island, were regarded in precisely the same light as the Chinese themselves had been regarded from time immemorial by the aborigines. Insurrections occurred frequently, the insurgents receiving secret aid from sympathizers in China, and the difficulties of the Japanese being increased not only by their ignorance of the country, which abounds in fastnesses where bandits can find almost inaccessible refuge, but also by the unwillingness of experienced officials to abandon their home posts for the purpose of taking service in the new territory.