Part 27

FALCON (f[a:]'kn), a name of various birds of prey, members of the family Falconidae. The falcons proper (genus Falco), for strength, symmetry, and powers of flight are the most perfectly developed of the feathered race. They are distinguished by having the beak curved from the base, hooked at the point, the upper mandible with a notch or tooth on its cutting edge on either side, wings long and powerful, the second feather rather the longest, legs short and strong. The largest European falcons are the jerfalcon or gyrfalcon proper (_Falco gyrfalco_), a native of the Scandinavian Peninsula, and the Iceland falcon (_F. islandus_); to which may be also added the Greenland falcon (_F. candicans_). Between these three species much confusion at one time prevailed, but they are now distinctly defined and described. These three Arctic falcons are often referred to the special genus Hierofalco. In the Greenland falcon the prevailing colour at all ages is white, in the Iceland falcon dark. The latter more nearly resembles the true gyrfalcon of Norway, which, however, is generally darker, rather smaller, but with a longer tail. The average length of any of these falcons is about 2 feet. The Greenland species used to be the most highly prized by falconers. Its food consists chiefly of ptarmigans, hares, and water-fowl. It is found over a wide range of northern territory. The peregrine falcon (_F. peregr[=i]nus_) is not so large as the jerfalcon, but more graceful in shape. It chiefly inhabits wild districts, and nestles among rocks. It preys on grouse, partridges, ptarmigans, pigeons, rabbits, &c. Its flight is exceedingly swift, said to be as much as 150 miles an hour. The peregrine falcon was one of those most frequently used in falconry. Other British falcons are the hobby (_Hypotriorchis subbuteo_), formerly a great favourite for the chase of small game when falconry was in fashion; the merlin or stone-falcon (_Aesalon regulus_), small but swift and spirited; the kestrel or wind-hover (_Tinnunculus alaudarius_), one of the most common British falcons. The term falcon is by sportsmen restricted to the female, the male, which is smaller and less courageous, being called _tiercel_, _tersel_, _tercelet_, or _falconet_. See _Falconry_.

FALCO'NE, Aniello, Italian painter, born in 1600, studied along with Salvator Rosa under Spagnoletto. His paintings, consisting chiefly of battle-pieces, are masterpieces, but very rare. He died in 1665.

FALCONER (f[a:]k'n[.e]r), Hugh, Scottish naturalist, born in 1808, died, 1865. After having graduated in arts at Aberdeen and medicine at Edinburgh, he went to India as a surgeon in 1830. Here he made valuable geological researches, and turned his attention to the introduction of tea cultivation. In 1837 he accompanied Barnes's second mission to Cabul. He visited England in 1843 and published an illustrated descriptive work entitled _Fauna Antigua Sivalensis_ (Ancient Fauna of the Sivalik Hills). He returned to India in 1848, where he had been appointed superintendent of the botanic gardens at Calcutta. In 1855 he returned to England, where he died.

FALCONER, William, poet and writer on naval affairs, born at Edinburgh in 1732. He went to sea in the merchant service, was wrecked, and wrote a poem (_The Shipwreck_) descriptive of the incidents, published in 1762. He then entered the navy, and was rated as midshipman on board the _Royal George_. In 1769 he published a _Universal Marine Dictionary_. The same year he sailed for Bengal as purser of the _Aurora_ frigate, which is believed to have foundered at sea.

FALCON'IDAE, a family of diurnal birds of prey, in which the destructive powers are most perfectly developed. The family includes the different species of eagles as well as the hawks and falcons properly so called, and comprises the sub-families Gypaetinae (lammergeiers), Polyborinae (carrion hawks), Accipitrinae (hawks and harriers), Aquilinae (eagles), Buteoninae (kites and buzzards), and Falconinae (falcons).

[Illustration: Falcon with Hood]

FALCONRY (f[a:]'kn-ri), also called _hawking_, the pursuit of game by means of trained hawks or falcons. Falconry is a sport of great antiquity in Asia, having been followed in China as early as 2000 B.C. In Europe it was, during the Middle Ages, the favourite amusement of princes and nobles, and, as ladies could take part in it, became very general. Charlemagne passed laws in regard to falconry, while in Germany Henry the Fowler and the Emperor Frederick the Second were greatly addicted to it, and the latter wrote a work on the subject. In France it reached its greatest popularity under Francis I, whose grand falconer controlled an establishment of fifteen nobles and fifty falconers, at an annual cost of about 40,000 livres. In Britain the sport was practised before the Norman Conquest, but became still more popular after it, and till about 1650 enjoyed the prominence now held by fox-hunting. One of the most interesting of English works on the subject is that which forms the first part of the _Boke of St. Albans_, first printed in 1481. George Turberville's _Booke of Faulconrie or Hawking_ (1575), and Simon Latham's _The Faulcon's Lure and Cure_ (1633), may also be mentioned. Though the invention of fire-arms gradually superseded this amusement, it is not yet entirely extinct. The Duke of St. Albans is still hereditary grand falconer, and presents the king with a _cast_ (or pair) of falcons on the day of his coronation. In Persia and other Eastern countries hawking is still in favour. The game hunted includes hares and rabbits, and, in the East, gazelles; with herons, wild geese, and many smaller birds. The training of a hawk is a work requiring great patience and skill, the natural wildness and intractable nature of the birds being very difficult to overcome. When a hawk suffers itself to be hooded and unhooded quietly, and will come to the trainer's hand to receive food, its education is considered far advanced, and the work of accustoming it to the _lure_ may be proceeded with. The _lure_ may be a piece of leather or wood, covered with the wings and feathers of a bird, and with a cord attached. The falcon is fed from it, and is recalled from flight by the falconer swinging the lure round his head with a peculiar cry. When the bird has been taught to obey the lure, it is next practised in the art of seizing its game, being initiated with prey fastened to a peg, and flown later at free game. When fully trained and being used for sport, the falcon is kept hooded until actually required to fly. Among the many technical terms connected with falconry may be mentioned that of _mew_ (= moult), from which is derived the familiar name _mews_, originally places where hawks were kept while moulting.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: J. E. Harting, _Bibliotheca accipitraria_; Salvin and Broderick, _Falconry in the British Isles_; E. B. Michell, _The Art and Practice of Hawking_; H. Cox, C. Richardson, and G. Lascelles, _Coursing and Falconry_ (The Badminton Library).

FALD'STOOL (O.H.Ger. _falden_, to fold, and _stol_, chair), a folding stool provided with a cushion for a person to kneel on during the performance of certain acts of devotion, especially a kind of stool placed at the south side of the altar, on which the Kings of England kneel at their coronation. The term is also given to a small desk at which the litany is enjoined to be sung or said.

FALER'NIAN WINE, an ancient wine of great repute amongst the Romans. It was made from the grapes grown on Mount Falernus in Campania. It was strong and generous, probably much resembling modern sherry.

FALIE'RO, Marino, Doge of Venice, born in 1274, commanded the troops of the republic at the siege of Zara in Dalmatia, where he gained a brilliant victory over the King of Hungary. He succeeded Andrea Dandolo, 11th Oct., 1354, was accused of the design of overthrowing the republic and making himself sovereign of the state, and beheaded 17th April, 1355. The last scenes of his life are depicted in Byron's tragedy of _Marino Faliero_.

FAL'KIRK, a parliamentary burgh of Scotland, in Stirlingshire, 21-1/2 miles west by north of Edinburgh. The older portion of it is old-fashioned and irregularly built. There are several modern suburbs. In the town or its vicinity are the Carron Ironworks, the Falkirk Foundry, and others works, collieries, chemical-works, and distilleries. Falkirk is connected with the port of Grangemouth by a railway 3 miles long. The Trysts of Falkirk, held on Stenhousemuir, 3 miles to the N.N.W., are the largest cattle-fairs in Scotland. Falkirk is an old town, with many historical associations. In the neighbourhood was fought the battle of Falkirk in 1298 between Sir William Wallace and Edward I, the Scots, who were much inferior in numbers, being defeated. About 1 mile south-west from the town the Highlanders under Prince Charles defeated the Royal forces under General Hawley, 17th Jan., 1746. _Stirling and Falkirk Burghs_ return one member to the House of Commons. Pop. of Falkirk, 33,312.

FALKLAND (f[a:]k'land), Lucius Gary, Viscount, an English man of letters, born about 1610. His father being then Lord-Deputy of Ireland, he was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. After passing a short time abroad, he devoted himself to a life of retirement and literary studies, chiefly residing at his seat at Burford, near Oxford, which he made a kind of academy for the learned men of the neighbouring universities. In 1639 he joined the expedition against Scotland; and in 1640, his peerage being Scottish, he was chosen member of the House of Commons for Newport, in the Isle of Wight. In the first instance he warmly supported the Parliament, but doubts of the ultimate objects of the parliamentary leaders caused him to modify his attitude; and in 1642 he accepted from Charles I the office of Secretary of State. When hostilities began, he embraced decidedly the cause of the king, though he desired peace rather than victory. He was slain at the battle of Newbury, 20th Sept., 1643. He left behind him a work entitled _A Discourse on the Infallibility of the Church of Rome_, several pamphlets and published speeches, and a few poems, but nothing that explains the universal praises bestowed on him by contemporaries.

FALKLAND (f[a:]k'land), an ancient royal burgh of Scotland, county of Fife, 21 miles north of Edinburgh. It was once the residence of the Scottish kings, and possesses remains of an ancient palace and some curious old houses. There was formerly a castle here, in which David, eldest son of Robert III, was starved to death by order of his uncle the Duke of Albany, but no trace of it now remains. Falkland Palace was garrisoned by Rob Roy in 1715. Pop. 781.

FALKLAND ISLANDS, an island group belonging to Great Britain, in the South Atlantic Ocean, about 300 miles east of the Straits of Magellan. They consist of two larger islands, East Falkland and West Falkland, containing respectively about 3000 and 2300 sq. miles, with a great number of smaller ones surrounding them; total area, 6500 sq. miles. They are hilly and boggy, entirely destitute of trees, but covered with a variety of grasses very nutritive for the sheep and cattle the rearing of which is the principal industry. Fish and sea-fowl abound. Wool, frozen meat, hides, and tallow are the chief exports; value in some years L600,000. The climate is equable and very healthy. The Falkland Islands were discovered by Davis on the 14th Aug., 1592. In 1710 a French vessel from St. Malo touched at them, and named them Iles Malouines. Settlements were afterwards formed on them by the French, Spaniards, and British alternately, but the British have ultimately retained possession of them. They now form a Crown colony which has a Governor and other officers appointed by the Government. Port Stanley, in East Falkland, is a thriving settlement, and has now a wireless station. During the European War the Germans suffered a naval defeat off the Falkland Islands in Dec., 1914. Pop. of the group, 3275.

FAL'LACY (Lat. _fallax_, apt to mislead), in logic, is when an argument is used as decisive of a particular issue, which in reality it does not decide. Properly a fallacy is a fault in the form of reasoning (see _Logic_), but the term is applied also to faults in the substance of the argument such as the _petitio principii_, or proving one proposition by assuming another which is identical with it; _ignoratio elenchi_, or mistaking the point at issue; _post hoc ergo propter hoc_, or arguing as if sequence were the same thing as cause and effect.

FALLIERES, Clement Armand, eighth President of the French Republic, born at Mezin, department of Lot-et-Garonne. The son of peasants, he studied law, was mayor of Nerac for some years, and in 1876 was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. Under-Secretary of State in the Ministry of the Interior in 1880, he became Minister of the Interior in 1882, Minister of Public Instruction from 1883 to 1885, and subsequently Minister of Justice and Public Instruction. He entered the Senate in 1890. In 1899 he became President of the Senate, and on 16th Jan., 1906, was elected President of the Republic. During his tenure of office Fallieres displayed decided democratic principles and a tendency towards the Left. It was due to his initiative that a Ministry of Labour was formed in 1909. His term of office ended in Jan., 1913. Fallieres was one of France's most democratic Presidents.

FALL OF BODIES. All bodies on the earth, by virtue of the attraction of gravitation, tend to the centre of the earth. A ball held in the hand presses downward; if dropped, it descends vertically; if placed on an inclined plane, it rolls down, in doing which it presses the plane with a part of its weight. In the air bodies fall with unequal velocities, a piece of paper, for instance, more slowly than a ball of lead; and it was formerly thought that the velocity of the fall of bodies was in proportion to their weight. This error was attacked by Galileo, who, experimenting with balls of different substances which he dropped from the tower of Pisa, was led to the conclusion that the resistance of the air acting on different extents of surface was the cause of the unequal velocities, and that in a vacuum all bodies would fall with the same velocity. The truth of this last proposition was first demonstrated by Newton in his celebrated 'guinea-and-feather' experiment, where a guinea and feather are shown to fall side by side in the vacuum of the air-pump. This experiment proves that the force of gravitation in bodies is proportional to their inertia, that is, to their mass. The laws of falling bodies, that is of bodies falling freely in a straight line and through a distance short in comparison with that of the earth's centre, are the following:

1. When a body falls from rest it acquires velocity at the rate of about 32.2 feet per second every second. This number, which represents the acceleration due to the force of gravity, varies slightly with the locality, increasing from the equator to the poles, and diminishing as we recede from the surface of the earth. (See _Gravity_.) At the end of five seconds, therefore, the body would be found to be moving at the rate of 5 x 32.2, that is, 161 feet per second.

2. The space fallen through in the first second is half of 32.2, that is, 16.1 feet; and the space fallen through in any given time is found by multiplying the square of the number of seconds by 16.1. Thus in three seconds a body falls 9 x 16.1 feet, or 144.9 feet.

3. The square of the velocity acquired by falling through any number of feet is found by multiplying twice that number by 32.2. Thus if a body falls 9 feet, the square of the velocity acquired is 2 x 32 x 9, or 576 if we take 32 instead of 32.2; and taking the square root of 576, we find that a velocity of 24 feet is acquired in a fall of 9 feet.

4. When a body is projected vertically upward with a given velocity, it continues to rise during a number of seconds found by dividing the number that expresses the velocity of projection by 32.2; and it rises to a height found by dividing the square of that number by 2 x 32.2, or 64.4. For a machine used in verifying the laws of falling bodies, see _Attwood_.

FALL OF MAN, a commonly received doctrine of Christianity, founded upon the historical narrative contained in the third chapter of the book of _Genesis_, together with the allusions to the same matter in other parts of Scripture. Adam, having eaten of the forbidden fruit, is said to have fallen; and the relation of mankind in general to this fall is stated by St. Paul in the words: "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners" (_Rom._ v. 19). Thus, in the fall of Adam, all men are held to have fallen and to have contracted 'original sin', alienating them from God and rendering them morally inadequate. The doctrine of the fall does not stand alone in Scripture. It is argued by some interpreters that in the original sentence pronounced on the transgressors there is contained the promise of a redemption, and that the whole scope of Scripture is directed to the development of this promise, and of the divine scheme of providence associated with it.

FALLOPIAN TUBES, in anatomy, are two ducts each of which opens by one extremity into the womb, at either angle of the fundus, and terminates at the other end in an open trumpet-shaped mouth, which receives the ovum as it escapes from the ovary and transmits it to the womb. They are named after Fallopius or Fallopio, an Italian anatomist of the sixteenth century, who first recognized their functions.

[Illustration: Fallow Deer (_Cervus dama_)]

FALLOW DEER, a European and Western Asiatic deer, the _Cervus dama_. It is smaller than the stag, of a brownish-bay colour, whitish beneath, on the insides of the limbs, and beneath the tail. The horns, which are peculiar to the male, are very different from those of the stag; they are not properly branched, but are broader towards the upper part, and divided into processes down the outside. A simple snag rises from the base of each, and a similar one at some distance from the first. It was introduced at an early period into Britain, possibly by the Romans, and is kept in many English parks.

FALLOW LAND, ground that has been left uncultivated for a time, in order that it may recover itself from an exhausted state. Strictly speaking, fallow ground is left altogether without crops; but in agricultural usage strict fallow is not always adopted, and the term fallow is applied to various modes of treatment, of which at least three distinct varieties are recognized: _bare fallow_, _bastard fallow_, and _green-crop fallow_. Bare fallow is that in which the land remains completely bare for a whole year; in bastard fallow it is ploughed up and worked after the removal of a spring or summer crop, preparatory to the sowing of a root or forage crop, to occupy the ground during autumn or winter; in green-crop fallow the land is sown with a root-crop, such as turnips or potatoes, placed in rows far enough apart to admit of the intermediate spaces being stirred, pulverized, and cleaned, during its growth, by horse or hand implements.

FALL RIVER, a city and port, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, on an arm of Narraganset Bay, on Taunton River, 53 miles S.S.W. of Boston. It is at the head of deep-water navigation, and the terminus of a line of steamers from New York. It contains several handsome streets, and has extensive cotton, woollen, and calico-printing factories, as well as ironworks. Pop. 129,828.

FALMOUTH, a seaport and municipal borough of England, in Cornwall, 250 miles W.S.W. of London. There is a good harbour there, with a fine roadstead affording excellent refuge for shipping. Falmouth was at one time an important packet station, but is now chiefly a port of call, its principal trade being in supplies and stores for shipping. Falmouth and Penryn together give name to a parliamentary division of the county, returning one member to Parliament. Pop. 13,318.

FALSE IMPRISONMENT, the unlawful imprisonment or detention of any person. Every confinement of the person is imprisonment, whether in a common prison or a private house, or even by forcibly detaining one in the streets or highways. The law punishes false imprisonment as a crime, besides giving reparation to the party injured, through an action of trespass.

FALSE PERSONATION (English law). All forms of false personation, for the purpose of obtaining the property of others, are made penal by express statute. To personate the owner of any share, stock, or annuity, &c., is felony, and renders the offender liable to penal servitude for life, or to a modified term of penal servitude or imprisonment. The false personation of voters at an election is a misdemeanour punishable with imprisonment and hard labour, for a term not exceeding two years.

FALSET'TO (IT.) applies, in singing, to the notes above the natural compass of the voice. It is also called the _head_ or _throat_ voice, in contradistinction to the _chest_ voice, which is the natural one. The falsetto voice is produced by tightening the ligaments of the glottis.

FALSE WEIGHTS AND MEASURES. The using of false weights and measures is an offence at law punishable by fine. By various British statutes standards are provided for weights and for measures of capacity or dimension, and all contracts of sale, &c., are referred to such standards unless there is a special agreement to the contrary. See _Weights and Measures_.

FAL'STER, an island belonging to Denmark, situated at the entrance of the Baltic, east of Laaland, from which it is separated only by a narrow strait; flat, well watered, and wooded; productive in grain, pulse, potatoes, and, above all, fruit; area, 183 sq. miles. The principal town is Nykjoebing. Pop. 37,460.

FALUN, or FAHLUN (fae'l[u:]n), a town of Sweden, on Lake Runn, 130 miles north-west of Stockholm. It has an excellent mining-school, museums, and mineralogical collections. Within the town boundary is the famous Falun copper-mine, formerly the richest in Sweden, and worked for 500 years. Pop. 11,966.

FAMA CLAMO'SA ('a clamant report'), in the ecclesiastical law of Scotland, is a public report imputing immoral conduct to a clergyman, licentiate, or office-bearer of the Church. When the fama has become so notorious that it cannot be overlooked, the presbytery, after due inquiry, and if no

## particular party comes forward to institute a process, usually appear as

accusers themselves.

FAMAGOS'TA, or FAMAGUSTA, a seaport on the east coast of Cyprus. It is of remote antiquity, was an important place during the Middle Ages under the Lusignan kings of Cyprus and the Venetians, but, after being captured by the Turks in 1571, it declined. It has improved under the British, and has got a new harbour. Pop. 5327.

FAMATI'NA, a district and mountain range in the Argentine Republic, province of La Rioja, rich in copper; highest summit, the Nevada de Famatina, 19,758 feet high.

FAMILIAR SPIRITS, demons or evil spirits supposed to be continually within call and at the service of their masters, sometimes under an assumed shape, sometimes attached to a magical ring, or the like, sometimes compelled by magic skill, and sometimes doing voluntary service. We find traces of this belief in all ages and countries, under various forms.

FAMILY, in zoological classification, a group of species more comprehensive than a genus and less so than an order, a family usually containing a number of genera, while an order contains so many families. Family names usually terminate in -[)i]dae (after Latin patronymics, such as Aeac[)i]dae, sons or descendants of Aeacus). In botany it is sometimes used as a synonym of natural order.