FLOTSON, or FLOTSON. Goods which by shipwreck are
lost, and floating upon the sea, are, with jettison and ligan,
generally given to the lord admiral. But this is the case
only where the owners of such goods are not known. It
is also to be observed that jettison signifies any thing which
is cast out of a ship when in danger, and afterwards beat
on the shore by the water, notwithstanding which the ship
perishes. Ligan is where heavy goods are thrown over-
board, before the wreck of the ship, and sink to the bottom
of the sea.