Face, the front part of the head, the seat of most of the sense-organs. The bony basis of the face, exclusive of the thirty-two teeth (these not being in the strict sense bones), is composed of fourteen bones, called, in anatomy, the bones of the face. The anterior part of the brain-case (frontal bone) also forms an important feature of the face. Of all these bones the lower jaw only is movable, being articulated with the base of the skull. The other bones are firmly joined together and incapable of motion. In most mammals the jaws project much more than in men, and form the prominent feature of the
face, while the forehead recedes. See Facial Angle.
Face´tiæ, humorous sayings, witticisms, jests. There have been many collections of such. Amongst the most notable are the Asteia (Jests) of Hierocles, an old Greek collection, the Liber Facetiarum of Poggio Bracciolini, and Joe Miller's Jest-Book.
Facial Angle, an angle of importance in the method of skull measurement introduced by Camper, the Dutch anatomist, who sought to establish a connection between the magnitude of this angle and the intelligence of different animals and men, maintaining that it is always greater as the intellectual powers are greater. Suppose a straight line drawn at the base of the skull, posteriorly across the external orifice of the ear to the bottom of the nose, and another straight line from the bottom of the nose, or from the roots of the upper incisors, to the most prominent part of the forehead, then both lines will form an angle which will be more or less acute. In apes this angle is only from 45° to 60°; in the skull of a negro, about 70°; in a European, from 75° to 85°. In another mode of drawing the lines the angle included between them varies in man from 90° to 120°, and is more capable of comparison among vertebrate animals than the angle of Camper. Though of some importance in the comparison of races, this angle is fallacious as a test of individual capacity.
1, European. 2, Negro.
Facial Nerve, a motor nerve which supplies the muscles of expression on either side of the face. Injury to this nerve produces facial paralysis, the result of which is that the affected side is smooth, unwrinkled, and motionless, the eyelids are wide open and cannot be closed, and the muscles of the sound side having it all their own way drag the mouth to that side.
Factor, in arithmetic, is any number which divides a given number without a remainder, thus 3, 5, 7 are all factors of 105. In algebra, any expressions multiplied together to form a product are said to be factors of the product; for example, x + 1, x + 2, x + 3 are factors of x3 + 6x2 + 11x + 6.
Factor, in commerce, an agent employed to do business for another in buying or selling, or in the charge of property. A factor differs from a broker in holding a wider and more discretionary commission from his employer, in being able to buy and sell in his own name, and in having a lien on goods for his outlay. The difference, however, depends so much upon the usage of the particular trade, or upon the special instructions constituting the agency, that no exact line of demarcation can really be drawn between them. The term factor has in common usage generally given place to the terms agent and broker, the former applied in the more general, the latter in the more restricted sense. It is still retained in some special cases, as in that of house-factors and factors on landed property in Scotland, who have charge of the letting and general management of house property, farms, &c.; called in England estate agents.
Fac´tory (from factor), a name which appears originally to have been given to establishments of merchants and factors resident in foreign countries; it now more commonly signifies a place in which the various processes of a particular manufacture are carried on simultaneously. The rapid growth of factories in this sense is a comparatively recent development of industry, resulting from the free use of machinery and the consequent subdivision of labour. Amongst the advantages of the factory system are generally counted: first, increased productiveness arising from the minute division of labour; second, the mechanical accuracy and the cheapness of the product turned out by machinery; third, the facilities for union and co-operation for common improvement afforded by bringing large masses of workmen together. But this last consideration is probably more than counter-balanced by the smaller amount of independent intelligence called forth in the individual worker, through the monotony of the minutely subdivided operations. Decided disadvantages of the factory system are the unhealthiness of the crowded rooms, where the air is full of deleterious elements; and the increasing demand on the labour of women and children, interfering as it does with the economy of domestic life.—Bibliography: R. W. Cooke-Taylor, Factory System and Factory Acts; B. L. Hutchins, A History of Factory Legislation.