Fiat

[Lat., let it be done.] ( Law. ) A decree; a short order or warrant of some judge for making out and allowing certain proce es. Fiatt', in Illinois , a post-office of Fulton co. Fib, n . [Probably a contraction of fable , q. v.] A lie; a falsehood. (Colloq.) -v.n. To lie; to speak falsely. (Colloq.) -v.a. Among pugilists, to strike from below upwards; as, to fib one under the chin. Fib'ber, n. One who tells lies. Fib'bing, n. The telling of lies: as, fibbing is natural to him. ily. The Muskrat, F. zibet hic us , (Fig. 1005,) abundant throughout N. America, and called in Canada Musquash , is about the size of a small rabbit, and of a reddish brown color; its feet are partly webbed; and its tail somewhat flattened. It has four very strong cutting teeth, of which those in the lower jaw are nearly an inch long; the fur on the whole body is soft and glo y, Fig. 1005. - MUSKRAT. (Fiber zibet hic us.) and beneath is a fine fur or thick down, as in the beaver. It has also similar instincts and dispositions; living in a social state in the winter, in curiously constructed huts, built near the edge of some lake or river. These huts are about two feet and a half or three feet in diameter, plastered with great neatne in the inside, and covered externally with a kind of basket-work, of rushes, ., carefully interlaced together so as to form a compact and secure guard, impermeable by water. The entrance to them is under water, for the purpose of procuring food, which consists entirely of roots and vegetables. In summer these creatures wander about in pairs, feeding voraciously on herbs and roots; at this season they become extremely fat, and are much sought after, partly for their flesh, but chiefly for their skins, which are valuable. Their odor resembles that of musk; and the skin, when taken from the body, still retains the scent. This musky odor is owing to a whitish fluid deposited in certain glands near the origin of the tail. The fur is used in hat-making. In Fibre, ( fi'br ,) n. [Fr., from Lat. fibra .] A filament, or thread, the minute part of either animal or vegetable substances. The scientific use of fibre will be described with regard to the animal kingdom under MUSCLE and TISSUE; and with regard to the vegetable kingdom, under VEGETABLE TISSUE, WOOD, and WoOODY FIBRE. its more popular, but perfectly accurate use, the word F. includes the hair and wool of quadrupeds, the threads of the cocoons of silk-worms, .; the fibres of the leaves of plants and of their inner bark, the elongated cells or hairs connected with the seeds of plants, and the ordinary materials used in making cordage and textile fabrics. Mineral substances are called fibrous in structure, even when it is impo ible to detach the apparent fibres. The only fibrous mineral which has been used for textile fabrics is Amianthus , a variety of Asbestus (q. v.), but that only to a very limited extent. The animal substances used are divided into two cla es - the first including hair and wool, and the second the silk of cocoons. Nearly all textile fabrics are made from the first, and the wool of the sheep is the most important division of the cla . The hair of the goat, alpaca, camel, bison, and other animals, is also used. The hair of most animals is, however, in general, too short to allow of its being used for textile manufacture. The vegetable kingdom yields the largest number of useful fibres, which are obtained from natural orders very different from each other. The carogenous or cryptogamous plants do not, however, afford any. From exogenous plants, fibres are obtained from the inner bark, as in the case of flax, hemp, ., and from the hairs of the fruit, as in cotton. In endogenous plants the fibre is sometimes obtained from the fruit, as in the cocoa-nut fibre. The spathe of some palms is also used. Some of the slender palms called rattans, and the bulrush, ., are much used, on account of their fibrous nature, for wicker-work, chair-bottoms, and similar purposes. The most valuable fibres obtained from endogenous plants come from the leaf or leaf-stalk. The fibres of the bark of exogens are readily separated, usually by steeping or continually moistening with water. As this proce injures the color of endogenous substances, the fibres are generally separated by beating or pa ing between rollers. Fibres obtained from fruits, as cotton-fibre, like the wool and hair of animals, exist naturally in a separate state, and only require to be col. lected and cleaned. Among the useful vegetable fibres, those of flax, hemp, and cotton have long held the first place. The principal additions, of late years, have been New Zealand flax, jute, Sunn or Sunn hemp, coir, Pita flax, Abaca or Manilla hemp, Chinese gra , and some others. One of the most important uses of vegetable F. is in the manufacture of paper. Among exogenous plants whose fibres are used for economical purposes, are a species of go ypium which produces cotton; the Bom bax villosum , which produces silk-cotton, or vegetable silk; and the Asclepias syriaca , producing the silk-like down of Virgin i an silk. These three substances are obtained from the fibres of the fruit. Those obtained from the inner bark include the following: several species of Hibiscus, producing Deckanee hemp; the Cor chorus olitorius , from which jute is obtained; the Linum usita ti imum , producing flax; several species of the Crotolaria; together with other leguminous plants, producing Sunn, Jubblpore hemp, .; several species of Behmeria, one of which produces China-gra fibre; the Can nabis sativa , producing hemp; and the inner bark and roots of some species of pine and fir. Among the endogenous plants from which fibres are obtained, are the Phormium tenax , yielding New Zealand flax; Agave American a, yielding Pita flax; some species of Musa, from the leaves of which are obtained Abaca or Manilla hemp, and plantain fibre; several species of Bromelia, from which are obtained pine-apple fibre, .; the husk of the cocoa-nut and the fibre of the stem yield coir; and mats, chair-bottoms, and other important articles in general use, are obtained from the fibre yielded by the leaves of the cotton-gra and other species of the order Cyper acex, q. v. Fi'bred, a. Having fibres. Fibrele , a. Destitute of fibres.