     /**
      *  @private
      */
-    private var _heightInLines:int = 10;
+    private var _heightInLines:Number = 10;
 
     /**
      *  @private

    /**
     *  @private
     */
    public function set heightInLines(value:int):void
    {
        if (value == _heightInLines)
            return;

     *  to determine its measuredWidth and measuredHeight. These are 
     *  similar to the cols and rows of an HTML TextArea.</p>
     */
    public function get heightInLines():Number
    {
        return _heightInLines;
    }
