FRASER, the chief river of British Columbia, Canada, rising in two branches among the Rocky Mountains near 52° 45′ N., 118° 30′ W. Length 740 m. It first flows N.W. for about 160 m., then rounds the head of the Cariboo Mountains, and flows directly S. for over 400 m. to Hope, where it again turns abruptly and flows W. for 80 m., falling into the Gulf of Georgia at New Westminster. After the junction of the two forks near its northern extremity, the first important tributary on its southern course is the Stuart, draining Lakes Stuart, Fraser and François. One hundred miles lower down the Quesnel, draining a large lake of the same name, flows in from the east at a town also so named. Farther on the Fraser receives from the west the Chilcotin, and at Lytton, about 180 m. from the sea, the Thompson, its largest tributary, flows in from the east, draining a series of mountain lakes, and receiving at Kamloops the North Thompson, which flows through deep and impassable canyons. Below Hope the Lillooet flows in from the north. The Fraser is a typical mountain stream, rapid and impetuous through all its length, and like most of its tributaries is in many parts not navigable even by canoes. On its southern course between Lytton and Yale, while bursting its way through the Coast Range, it flows through majestic canyons, which, like those of the Thompson, were the scene of many tragedies during the days of the gold-rush to the Cariboo district. At Yale, about 80 m. from its mouth, it becomes navigable, though its course is still very rapid. In the Cariboo district, comprised within the great bend of the river, near Tête Jaune Cache, are many valuable gold deposits. With its tributaries the Fraser drains the whole province from 54° to 49° N., except the extreme south-eastern corner, which is within the basin of the Columbia and its tributary the Kootenay.
FRASERBURGH, a police burgh and seaport, on the N. coast of Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Pop. (1891), 7466; (1901), 9105. It is situated 47¼ m. by rail N. of Aberdeen, from which there is a branch line, of which it is the terminus, of the Great North of Scotland railway. It takes its name from Sir Alexander Fraser, the ancestor of Lord Saltoun, whose seat, Philorth House, lies 2 m. to the south. Sir Alexander obtained for it in 1613 a charter as a burgh of royalty, and also in 1592 a charter for the founding of a university. This latter project, however, was not carried out, and all that remains of the building intended for the college is a three-storeyed tower. The old castle of the Frasers on Kinnaird Head now contains a lighthouse, and close by is the Wine Tower, with a cave below. The town cross is a fine structure standing upon a huge hexagon, surmounted by a stone pillar 12 ft. high, ornamented by the royal and Fraser arms. The port is one of the leading stations of the herring fishery in the north of Scotland and the head of a fishery district. During the herring season (June to September) the population is increased by upwards of 10,000 persons. The fleet numbers more than 700 boats, and the annual value of the catch exceeds £200,000. The harbour, originally constructed as a refuge for British ships of war, is one of the best on the east coast, and has been improved by the widening of the piers and the extension of the breakwaters. It has an area of upwards of eight acres, is easy of access, and affords anchorage for vessels of every size.
FRASERVILLE (formerly Rivière du Loup en Bas), a town and watering-place in Temiscouata county, Quebec, Canada, 107 m. (by water) north-east of Quebec, on the south shore of the St Lawrence river, and at the mouth of the Rivière du Loup, at the junction of the Intercolonial and Temiscouata railways. It contains a convent, boys’ college, hospital, several mills, and is a favourite summer resort on account of the angling and shooting, and the magnificent scenery. Pop. (1901) 4569.
FRATER, Frater House or Fratery, a term in architecture for the hall where the members of a monastery or friary met for meals or refreshment. The word is by origin the same as “refectory.” The older forms, such as freitur, fraytor and the like, show the word to be an adaptation of the O. Fr. fraitour, a shortened form of refraitour, from the Med. Lat. rejectorium. The word has been confused with frater, a brother or friar, and hence sometimes confined in meaning to the dining-hall of a friary, while “refectory” is used of a monastery.
FRATERNITIES, COLLEGE, a class of student societies peculiar to the colleges and universities of the United States and Canada, with certain common characteristics, and mostly named from two or three letters of the Greek alphabet; hence they are frequently called “Greek Letter Societies.” They are organized on the lodge system, and each fraternity comprises a number of affiliated lodges of which only one of any one fraternity is connected with the same institution. The lodges, called “chapters,” in memory of the convocations of monks of medieval times, are usually designated by Greek letters also. They are nominally secret, with one exception (Delta Upsilon). Each chapter admits members from the lowest or freshman class, and of course loses its members as the students depart from college, consequently each chapter has in it at the same time members of all the four college classes and frequently those pursuing postgraduate studies. Where the attendance at a college is large the material from which fraternity members may be drawn is correspondingly abundant, and in some of the large colleges (e.g. at Cornell University and the University of Michigan) there are chapters of over twenty fraternities. All the fraternities aim to be select and to pick their members from the mass of incoming students. Where, however, the material to select from is not abundant and the rival fraternities are numerous, care in selection is impossible, and the chapters at any one college are apt to secure much the same general type of men. Many of the fraternities have, however, on account of a persistent selection of men of about the same tastes at different colleges, acquired a distinct character and individuality; for instance, Alpha Delta Phi is literary.
The first of these fraternities was the Phi Beta Kappa, founded at the College of William and Mary at Williamsburg, Virginia, in 1776. It was a little social club of five students: John Heath, Richard Booker, Thomas Smith, Armistead Smith and John Jones. Its badge was a square silver medal displaying the Greek letters of its name and a few symbols. In 1779 it authorized Elisha Parmelee, one of its members, to establish “meetings” or chapters at Yale and Harvard, these chapters being authorized to establish subordinate branches in their respective states. In 1781 the College of William and Mary was closed, its buildings being occupied in turn by the British, French and American troops, and the society ceased to exist. The two branches, however, were established—that at Yale in 1780 and that at Harvard in 1781. Chapters were established at Dartmouth in 1787, at Union in 1817, at Bowdoin in 1824 and at Brown in 1830. This society changed its character in 1826 and became non-secret and purely honorary in character, admitting to membership a certain proportion of the scholars of highest standing in each class (only in classical courses, usually and with few exceptions only in graduating classes). More recent honorary societies of similar character among schools of science and engineering are Sigma Xi and Tau Beta Pi.