FOR
throw down a little of the fand, which naturally running down to the bottom of the pit, gives the enemy notice of his prey; he then tofles up the fand which covers his head, to bu- ry the ant 7 and bring him down with its returning force to the bottom ; and as one fuch attempt cannot be fufficient to pre- vent them's efcape, he throws more and more fand upon him, till he by degrees brings him down to the bottom. All the en- deavours of the ant to efcape when once it is within the verge of the pit are in vain, for as it attempts to climb, the fand runs away from under its feet, and it finks the lower for every attempt. This motion of the fand alfo informs the ene- my where it is, and directs him to throw up more fand in the right place, which it does till the poor ant falls to the bottom between its horns. It then plunges their points deep into the ant's body ; and having fucked out all the juices of the prey, it throws out the empty skin, as far from the hole as it can. This done it mounts up the edges of its pit, and if they have fuffered any injury, repairs them with great care, and immediately buries itfelf again in the center to wait for an other meal.
The horns of this creature are its only organs for receiving nourifhment ; it never brings any animal that it has feized near to its head, but always holds it at the tip of the horns, they therefore plainly ferve as fyringes to draw into its ftomach the juices of the bodies of the infects it feeds on, neither is there any mouth or trunk, or any other organ to be difcovered a- bout its head, which could ferve to thepurpofeof eating; the head feeming only intended to throw away the fand in form- ing the pit. The horns of this animal being fo neceflary to its life, nature has provided for the reftoring them in cafe of acci- dents, and if cut off they are found to grow again. The food this creatures procures by its pit, can be but little; and as it has no power of catching its prey any other way, its motion being only backwards, and that flowly, and by fmall jfpaces at a time, lbme people have believed this catching now and then an ant, by this means was rather for diverfion than hunger ; but tho' the formica ho will live a long time without food, and even pafs thro' all its changes when fbut up in a box, yet it is always ready to eat if food is offered it; it always appears ftarved and fmall when kept thus, and if a fly be giv- en it in this hungry ftate, it will fo fuck out all its juices that the fhell remaining may be rubbed to powder between the fingers, while the body of the creature that has fucked it, appears remarkably fwelled and diftended, fo that it is plain that the juices of the prey are conveyed into the body of the creature, tho* it is not eafy to fee by what means, the horns rot appearing to have any perforation.
When the formica lea has lived a proper time in this ftate, it leaves its pit, and is only feen drawing lines and traces-pn the furface of the fand ; after this it buries itfelf under the furface, and there indoles itfelf in a fine web to pafs its transformation into the wing'd ftate in. This cafe is made of a fort of filk which the creature fpins in the manner of the fpider, and of a quantity of the grains of fand cemented together by a glutinous humour ■which flows from its pores. This cafe however would be too harfh and coarle for the body of the creature, and therefore it ferves only for the outer covering to defend it from injuries; the creature fpinning one of pure and incomparably fine filk, of a beautiful pearl colour within it, which covers its whole body.
"VV hen the creature has Iain fome time in this cafe, it throws off its outer skin, with the eyes, the horns, and every other part neceflary to its life before, and becomes an oblong nymph, in which a careful eye may trace the form of the fly it is to become. There may be feen thro' its tranfparent covering, new eyes, new horns, wings, and all the other parts of the animal in its perfect ftate. This nymph makes its way about half out of the fhell and remains in this condition, but with- out farther life or motion, till the perfect fly makes its way out at a flit in the back; in this ftate it much refembles the iibellae or dragon-flies, common about our waters. The male couples with the female in this ftate only, and Mr. Poupart, to whom the world is indebted for this curious defcription, is of opinion that the females lay only one egg ; but this is very different from the courfe of nature, in the other animals of the fame clafs. Mem. Acad. Par. 1704. When this infecT forms its pit in a bed of pure fand, it is made and repaired with great eafe, but where it meets with other fubftances among the fand, the labour becomes greatly the more embarafling. If for inftance, when the creature has half formed its pit, and then comes to a ftone of fome mo- derate fize, it does not defert the work for this, but goes on, intending to remove that impediment at laft. When the pit is finifhed, the creature crawls backward up the fide of the place where the ftone is, and getting its backfide under it takes great pains and time to get it on a true poife, and then begins to crawl backward with it up the edge, to the top of thf pit, to get it out of the way.
It is a very common thing to fee a formica ho in this manner labouring at a ftone four times as big as its own body ; and as it can only move backward, and the poife is hard to keep, Sv pp t. Vol. I.
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efpecially up a Hope of fuch crumbly matter as fand which moulders away from under its feet, and neceffarily alters the pofition of its body, the ftone very frequently falls down when near the verge, and then it is fure to roll to the bot- tom ; in this cafe, the creature attacks it again in the fame way, and often is not difcouraged by five or fix mifcamages of this kind, but after all, attempts again, and at length gets it over the verge of the place. When it has done this, it does not leave it there left it mould roll in again, but is always at the pains of pufhing it farther on till it has removed it to a neceflary diftance from the edge of the pit. The common formica leo moves only backward, but Mr. Rouet, has obferved a fpecies which moves forward in the com- mon way of other animals, and makes no pit of this kind to mtrap its prey, but feizes other infefls by force. Philof Tranf. N». 469. p. 466.
FORNA, in ichthyology, a name given by Hildegard, and o- thers, to the trout.
FORNAG E, Fornagium, in our old writers, fignifies the fee taken by a lord from his tenants, bound to bake in the lord's oven, or for a permiffion to ufe their own ; this was ufual in the Northern parts of England. Plac. Pari. iSEd.i. The word comes from the French fiumage, which fignifies the fame.
FORRAGE (Cyr/.) — FoRRAGE-^Mrr/, in military affairs, a detachment lent out to fecure the firragers. The forrage guard is ported at all places, where the enemies parties may come to difturb the firragers. This guard is likewife called the covering party, and marches generally the night before the firraging, that they may be polled in the morning before the firragers come. The guard confilts both of horle and foot, and muft ftay at their poft till the firragers be all come off the ground.
FORSES, catadupce, a term ufed in Weftmoreland, for water- falls. Camb. Britan.
FORTAMENTE, in the Italian mufic, the fame with forte. See Forte. ,
FORTE, in the Italian mufic, dircfis to play ftrong and loud.
Forte Forte, or F. F. fignifies a degree louder or ilronger than forte. Broff. Dift. Muf. in voc.
Piu Forte, the fame as forte forte. Id. Ibid.
hORTIS aqua. See the article Aqua firtis.
FORTISSIMO, in the Italian mufic, is ufed to fignify vcryflrsmtr. It is lometimes denoted by F F F, or fff, and intimates that the performers are to play or fing very loud or ftrong to exprefs fome paffion, &c. Broff. Diet. Muf. voc. See Forte.
FORTVNE-tellers — Pretenders to Cell 'fortunes, and to any crafty fcience for the difcovery of ftolen goods, are punifh- able by imprifonment, pillory, and binding to the good be- haviour s and (hall be deemed vagabonds t>. [a g tat> ^ Q e0i 2> c. 5. Se<3. 4. h Stat. 17 Geo. 2. c. 5. Sect. 2.]
FORTY Shilling - land, is ufed in Scotland, for a certain portion of arable land. The forty Jhilling-land of old extent contains eight oxgang, or 104 acres. TV. Praft. Geom. p. 89. See Oxgang.
FOSSIL (Cycl.) —Fossils are defined to be native fubftances, found either buried in the earth, or lying on its furface, of a plain fimple ftruclure, and (hewing no figns of containing veffels, or circulating juices. Hill's Hiftory of Foflils, p. 1. Foffils are the feveral natural fubftances, of what is ufually called the mineral kingdom, as plants arc of the vegetable, and living creatures of the animal.
Fossil plant. See the article Plant.
Marine Fossils. See Marine.
Fossile Ivory. See Ivory.
FOSSORES, in natural hiftory, a name given to a fpecies of fmall worms hatched from the eggs of a fly, which feeds on the parenchymatous fubftance of the leaves of plants, burying themfelves between the two membranes. Thefe animals in general are called by Reaumur, afcarides , but as they greatly differ in their fize, and in their manner of eating and de- ftroying leaves, the fmall ones which eat but flowly, and gnaw their way in crooked furrows, are called by him fijjores parvi ; and on the contrary, thofe which eat away all that lies before them, and are of a fomewhat larger fize, are call- ed foffores magni. See Ascarides.
FOSTER-/W, in our old writers, is land given or allotted for the finding of food or victuals ; as for monks in monafte- ries, &c.
FOTHER or Fodder, is a weight of lead, containing eight pigs, and every pig one and twenty-ftone and a half ; fo that it is about a tun or common cart-load. Among the plumbers in London, it is ninteen hundred and an half; and at the mines it is two and twenty hundred and an hall. Skene. The word is of Teutonic origin from fuder.
FOUL, (Cycl.) a fea term, importing the runnnig of one fhip againft another. This happens fometimes by the ungovern- able violence of the wind, and fometimes by the carelellhefs of the people on board ; and fometimes happens to fhips of the fame convoy ; fometimes to fuch as meet accidentally ; and fometimes to fuch as are in port by means of others coming in. II R Tht
