Fayal (fī-a˙l´), an island belonging to Portugal, one of the Azores. It is of a circular form, about 10 miles in diameter. The climate is good, and the air always mild and pure. The soil is very fertile, producing in abundance wheat, maize, flax, and almost all the fruits of Europe. It exports a great quantity of oranges and lemons. The chief place is Villa Horta or Orta. Pop. 22,385.
Fayoum (fa˙-yöm´), a province of Middle Egypt, a little to the west of the Nile, surrounded by the Libyan Desert; area about 670 sq. miles. The soil is alluvial, and, in the north, particularly fertile. Fayoum is irrigated by canals coming from the Canal of Joseph, and that from the Nile, and is one of the most fertile provinces of Egypt. Here lay the ancient Labyrinth and the artificial Lake Moeris. On the west lies Lake Birket-el-Kurun. The chief town, Medinet-el-Fayoum, is connected with Cairo by a railway. Pop. of province, 441,583.
Feast of the Dedication of the Temple, a Jewish feast instituted by Judas Maccabæus in 164 B.C. It lasted eight days, and was a time of general rejoicing, when the people—old and young—carrying palm branches, met together in their synagogues to hold services of thanksgiving and commemoration. Every house was illuminated, and even the temple at Jerusalem was lighted up. In certain of its observances it resembles the Feast of the Tabernacles. Some authorities think that Christmas was celebrated in December by the ancient Church because that was the date of the Feast of Dedication. It is mentioned in John, x, 22.
Feather-grass, the popular name of Stipa pennata, a native of dry places in the south of Europe. The rigid leaves roll up in dry air like those of marram-grass; the awns are exceedingly long, feathered to the point, and hygroscopic, curling up spirally when dry, and uncurling when moistened; these movements of the awn serve to bury the fruit. S. tenacissima is the esparto-grass used in paper-making.
Feathers, the form which the dermal appendages assume in birds, agreeing in mode of development, but differing in form from hairs and scales. The feather consists of a stem, horny, round, strong, and hollow in the lower part, called the quill, and in the upper part, called the shaft, filled with pith. On each side of the shaft is a web composed of a series of regularly arranged fibres called barbs. The barbs and shaft constitute the vane. On the edges of the barbs are set the barbules, which interlock with those of adjacent barbs, and thus give strength to the vane. Feathers are of four chief kinds. (1) Quill feathers of the wing (remiges) and tail (rectrices); the former are attached to the hand and forearm. (2) Contour feathers, which determine the external form and are attached to certain areas of the skin; those overlapping the quills are known as wing-coverts and tail-coverts. (3) Small soft down feathers. (4) Hair-like feathers (filoplumes). The plumage of birds is of characteristic colours, due either to pigments or physical structure (metallic feathers), and commonly having a protective function by harmonizing with the surroundings (especially in females), or, when of bright kind, playing a part in courtship (especially in males). The
feathers of birds are periodically changed, generally once, but in some species twice a year. This is called moulting. When feathers have reached their full growth they become dry, and only the tube, or the vascular substance which it contains, continues to absorb moisture or fat. When, therefore, part of a feather is cut off, it does not grow out again; and a bird whose wings have been clipped remains in that condition till the next moulting season, when the old stumps are shed and new feathers grow out. If, however, the stumps are pulled out sooner (by which operation the bird suffers nothing), the feathers will be renewed in a few weeks or even days. The feather is a very strong formation, not readily damaged, the arch of the shaft resisting pressure, while the web and fine fibres yield without suffering. Being a bad conductor of heat, it preserves the high temperature of the bird, while it is so light as to be easily carried in flight. It is rendered almost impervious to wet by the oily fluid which most birds secrete at the base of the tail. Feathers form a considerable article of commerce, particularly those of the ostrich, heron, swan, peacock, and goose, for plumes, ornaments, filling of beds, pens, and other purposes.
Feather-star, one of the stalkless echinoderms belonging to the Crinoidea. A well-known type is the rosy feather-star (Antedon rosacea), not uncommon in British seas, and consisting of a central body or disc, from which proceed five radiating arms, each dividing into two secondary branches, so that ultimately there are ten slender rays. Each arm is furnished on both sides with lateral processes so as to assume a feather-like appearance. It is fixed when young by a short stalk, but exists in a free condition in its adult state.