Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 9.djvu/304

292 F L A F L A St Germain des Pro s at Paris (1842-44), in the choir of the same church (1846-48), in the church of St Paul at Nismes (1848-49), of St Vincent do Paul at Paris (1850-54), in the church of Ainay at Lyons (1855), in the nave of St Germain des Pro s (1855-61). In 1856 Flandrin was elected to the Academie des Beaux-Arts. In 1863 his failing health, rendered worse by incessant toil and exposure to the damp and draughts of churches, induced him again to visit Italy. He died of small-pox at Rome on the 21st March 1864. As might naturally be expected in one who looked upon painting as but the vehicle for the expression of spiritual sentiment, Flandrin had perhaps too little pride in the technical qualities of his art. There is shown in his works much of that austerity and coldness, expressed in form and colour, which springs from a faith which feels itself in opposition to the tendencies of surrounding life. He has been compared to Fra Angelico (see FIESOLE) ; but the faces of his long processions of saints and martyrs seem to express rather the austerity of souls convicted of sin than the joy and purity of never-corrupted life which shines from the work of the early master. See Delaborde, Lcttrcs ct Fcnsecs dc If. Flandrin, Paris, 1864. FLANNEL (French flanelle, German Flanel), an open woollen stuff of various degrees of fineness, from patent flannel, which does not shrink in washing, to baize, which is a coarse woollen stuff, or flannel with a long nap, first introduced into England, together with serge, by the Flemings. Domett is another variety of flannel, the warp of which is made of cotton, and the woof of wool. It is very thin, and is used for linings and for shrouds for coffins. The manufacture of flannel is almost the same as that of other woollen goods, though there are certain wools which are more used for flannel than for any other textiles. For instance, a short staple wool of fine quality from a South down variety of the Sussex breed is principally in favour with the flannel-makers at Rochdale, as also the wool from the Norfolk breed, a cross between the Southdown and Norfolk sheep. In Wales the short staple wool of the mountain sheep is used, and in Ireland that of the Wicklow variety of the Cottagh breed. Nearly 2000 persons are employed in this section of woollen manufactures, the chief seat of the industry being Rochdale in Lancashire, while blankets, a special branch of the flannel trade, are ex tensively woven at Dewsbury in Yorkshire. The wool for these is chiefly obtained from the coarse staples of the Mysore breed in India. Nearly the whole population at Llanidloes and Newton, in Montgomeryshire, finds occupa tion in flannel weaving, the Welsh flannels having attained a very high reputation. It is also manufactured at Rath- drum, Wicklow, Ireland. A very considerable trade is carried on by England in flannel, as is shown by the exports for the year 1877, viz: Yards. Value. Germany 121 490 9 167 South Africa 389 834 21 389 Bombay and Scinde... 325 510 14 436 Bengal and Burmali 522*080 23 372 Hong Kong 162 640 9 435 Japan 147 760 9 061 Australia 5 817 700 291 451 British North America 1 189 170 55 888 Other countries 597 245 32 193 Total 9 273 429 466 392 Flannel is highly recommended by medical men as a clothing, both in hot and cold countries, from its properties of promoting insensible perspiration, which, being absorbed by the material, is immediately distributed through the whole thickness of the substance, and thus exposed over a very large surface, to be carried off by the atmosphere. Dr P>lack assigns as a reason why flannel nml other substances of the same kind keep the body warm, that they compose a rare and spongy mass, the fibres of which touch each other so lightly that the heat moves slowly through the in terstices. These being filled up with air, and that too in a stagnant state, give little assistance in conducting the heat. FLATBUSH, a town of the United States, situated in King s County, Long Island, New York, about 5 miles from Brooklyn, with which it is connected by tramway lines. Besides the churches, the principal public buildings are an educational institution known as Erasmus Hall, the town-hall, and the county almshouse, hospital, and lunatic asylum. The older houses are noticeable for their palatial style, and the native population is largely of Dutch descent. The battle of Long Island was fought in the neighbourhood, August 1776. Population in 1860, 3471 ; in 1870, 6309. FLAT-FISH (Pleuronectidce) is the name common to all those fishes which swim on their side, as the holibut, turbot, brill, plaice, flounder, sole, &c. The side which is turned towards the bottom, and in some kinds is the right in others the left, is generally colourless, and called " blind," from the absence of an eye on this side. The opposite side, which is turned upwards and towards the light, is variously, and in some tropical species even vividly, coloured, both eyes being placed on this side of the head. All the bones and muscles of the upper side are more strongly developed than on the lower ; but it is noteworthy that these fishes when hatched, and for a short time afterwards, are symmetrical like other fishes, swimming with the body in a vertical position, and having the eyes placed normally, viz., one on the right and the other on the left side. With advancing growth one of the eyes is gradually pushed to the opposite side, and the fish assumes its horizontal position in the water. Flat-fishes are bottom-fish, rarely rising to the surface, and apparently not descending to very great depths. They are found in all seas, except perhaps the highest latitudes. More than 200 species are known ; they are most numerous towards the equator, whilst those of the largest size (holibut) occur in the temperate and cold regions. Some enter fresh water freely, like the flounder. The size and abundance of the flat-fish, and the flavour of their flesh, render this family one of the most useful and economically important. See ICHTHYOLOGY. FLAVEL, JOHN (c. 1627-1691), an English noncon formist divine, was born at Bromsgrove in Worcestershire, probably in 1627. He was the elder son of Mr Richard Flavel, described in contemporary records as " a painful and eminent minister." After receiving his early education, partly at home, and partly at the grammar-schools of Bromsgrove and Haslar, lie entered University College, Oxford. Soon after taking orders in 1650, he obtained a curacy at Deptford, and on the death of the vicar he was appointed to succeed him. From Deptford he removed in 1656 to Dartmouth. He was ejected from his living by the passing of the Act of Uniformity in 1662, but continued to preach and administer the sacraments privately till the Oxford Act of 1665, when he retired to Slopton, five miles from the scene of his official labours. After the expulsion of the Stuart dynasty, he became minister of a nonconformist church at Dartmouth, where he laboured till his death in 1691. Although the writings of Flavel now appear cumbrous in structure, yet their literary style lias some merits; and from their tender and devotional charac ter they were long popular with a certain class of readers. His principal works arc liis Treatise on the Soul of Man ; The Fountain of Life, in forty-two Sermons ; The Method of Grace ; A Token for Mourners ; Husbandry JSjnritualizfd ; arid Navigation Spiritualized. A new edition of his collected works was published iu 1820 in 6 vols., 8vo. His select works were published in 1823 in 2 vols., and nn edition of these, with Life, in 1833.