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FILBERT FILLMORE 185 reign of Francis II. (1859-'60) he was premier and minister of foreign affairs. FILBERT. See HAZEL. FILIBUSTER. The river Vly in Holland is said to have furnished the name fly boat in Eng- lish, in Spanish flibote, or by a softening of the first syllable filibote, to a sort of small fast-sail- ing vessel of about 100 tons burden, which in the 17th century held in point of sailing quali- ties the place since occupied by the Baltimore clippers. The buccaneers of the West Indies, who began their depredations against Spanish commerce in mere row boats, as they acquired the means for a more formidable outfit, select- ed these vessels as the sort of craft best suited to their purpose. (See BUCCANEER.) Hence they became known in French as flibustiers, and in Spanish as filibusteros, an appellation Gradually extended in those languages to any ind of pirates. The term filibuster has re- cently been introduced into the English lan- guage its use commencing in New Orleans, but thence rapidly spreading wherever English is spoken as a designation for certain adven- turers who, after the termination of the war between Mexico and the United States, busied themselves with setting on foot within the United States military expeditions designed to operate in the Spanish American countries to the south of us. Of these the expeditions un- der William Walker to Nicaragua were the most noted. Filibustering is a cant term much used of late years in the legislative assem- blies of the United States to designate the employment of parliamentary tactics to defeat a measure by raising frivolous questions of order, calls of the house, motions to adjourn, &c., in order to weary out the opposite party, or to gain time. FILICAJA, Yiuceuzo da, an Italian lyric poet, born in Florence in 1642, died there, Sept. 24, 1707. His grandfather and father were sena- tors, and he was educated with a view to that position. He studied Greek and Roman an- tiquity, philosophy, theology, and jurispru- dence, indulging in poetry only as a relaxation from severer pursuits. He began with amatory verses, but the object of his affections dying in her youth, he determined thenceforth to write only on sacred or heroic themes. After his marriage, having only a small fortune, he re- tired to the country and gave his attention to the education of his children and to study. At this time he wrote many Latin and Italian poems, but without any intention of publishing them. After the raising of the siege of Vienna by the Turks in 1683, he celebrated the tri- umph of the Christian arms by elegant odes addressed to John Sobieski, to the emperor Leopold, to the duke of Lorraine, to the God of armies, &c. The ex-queen Christina of Sweden, whom he also celebrated, undertook to defray the expenses of his sons' education. He was appointed by the grand duke of Tus- cany senator, and governor of Yolterra, and afterward of Pisa. He then beffan the task of preparing his works for publication, but died before its completion. His son published them under the title of Poesie toscane di Vincenzo da Filicaja (4to, Florence, 1707 ; 2 vols. 8vo, Venice, 1762). His sonnet Dltalia is es- teemed among the finest in the Italian language. FILIGREE (It. filigrana, from Lat. Mum, thread, and granum, a grain), ornamental work in fine gold or silver wire, often made with little metallic beads or grains interspersed among the wires. The work may be complete in itself, or it maybe used, as is the common method, by applying the wire in flattened and twisted shapes upon the surfaces of the trinkets or whatever else it is designed to adorn, and soldering it there in the patterns of stems and leaves of plants. It is much practised by the Italians, who derived the art from the eastern nations. In the production of silver filigree, artistically wrought into bracelets, flowers, and other ornaments, the Genoese workmen stand unrivalled, and their productions are sent to all parts of the world. In Sumatra the manu- facture of filigree has been carried to great perfection, although the tools employed are coarse and clumsy. The wire-drawing tool is made of a piece of wire hoop ; an old hammer stuck in a block serves for an anvil. The gold is melted in a crucible over a fire, a joint of bamboo blown through by the workman being often the only bellows. When the filigree is finished they cleanse it by boiling in water with common salt, alum, and lime juice, and to give it the fine purple color they call saps they boil it in sulphur water. The Chinese also make filigree, principally of silver, but of inferior elegance to the Malay work. FILLMORE. I. A S. E. county of Minnesota, bounded S. by Iowa ; area about 900 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 24,887. It is intersected by Root river and its branches, and has a rolling surface and an excellent soil. The Southern Minne- sota railroad passes through it. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 1,688,034 bushels of wheat, 389,956 of Indian corn, 976,281 of oats, 108,335 of barley, 92,402 of potatoes, 28,903 tons of hay, 595,114 Ibs. of butter, and 27,137 of wool. There were 6,558 horses, 8,092 milch cows, 10,731 other cattle, 10,342 sheep, and 10,809 swine ; 2 manufactories of carriages and wagons, 5 of barrels and casks, 1 of machinery, 6 of saddlery and harness, 1 of sashes, doors, and blinds, 3 of woollen goods, 4 flour mills, and 6 saw mills. Capital, Preston. II. A S. E. county of Nebraska, drained by the N. fork of Turkey creek and the W. fork of Big Blue river; area, 576 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 238. It is traversed by the Burlington and Missouri River railroad. FILLMORE, Millard, thirteenth president of the United States, born in the township of Locke (now Summerhill), Cayuga co., N. Y., Jan. 7, 1800, died in Buffalo, March 8, 1874. Cayuga co. was then a wilderness, with few settle- ments. The nearest house to that of the Fill- mores was 4 m. distant. Young Fillmore's