Potato
Potato, A Perennial Herb (solarium Tu Berosum) Of The Family Solanaces. It Is A Na Tive Of The Chilean And Peruvian Andes. Its Tuberous Roots Send Up Weak Stems Which Bear Pinnate Leaves And White Or Lilac Flowers Which In Cultivation Are Rarely Followed By Fruits. When Fruits Are Produced ...
Potential
Potential. In The Third Volume Of The Celeste,) Laplace, In 1784, Deter Mined The Attraction Exerted By A Spheroid On A Particle Outside The Mass, In The Course Of Which He Discovered The So-called Potential Function As The Emit Of The Sum Obtained By Dividing Every Element Of The Mass ...
Potholes
Potholes. Cylindrical Holes In Rock Ledges Usually In Or Near Beds Of Streams. They Are Caused By The Wearing Action Of Sand And Pebbles Whirled By The Water. They Have Been Called Giant Kettles, Giant Caldrons, In Dian Kettles, Wells And The Spanish Name, Re Molionos. Their Size And Character ...
Potomac
Potomac, Po-ta'mak, A River In The East Ern Part Of The United States, Formed By The Junction Of Two Rivers On The Boundary Between Maryland And West Virginia. The River Called North Branch Rises In The Western Alleghanies And The South Branch In The Central Alleghanies, And Flowing Northeast They ...
Potsdam
Potsdam, Pots'dim, Germany, A District And A City Of The Province Of Brandenburg In Prussia. (1) The Administrative District Of Potsdam Lies Between Mecklenberg-schwerin And Anhalt In The Western Part Of The Province Of Brandenburg, And Is Well Watered By Lakes, And The Rivers Oder, Havel, Spree And Ucker, With ...
Potter
Potter, Henry Codman, American Protestant Episcopal Bishop: B. Schenectady, N. Y., 25 May 1835; D. 21 July 1908. He Was The Son Of Bishop Alonzo Potter (q.v.), And Was Educated At The Episcopal Academy, Phila Delphia, Union College And At The Theological Seminary Of Virginia. In 1857 He Was Or ...
Potters Wheel
Potter's Wheel. The Wheel As Used By The Potter Ranks Among The Earliest Me Chanical Contrivances. The Egyptians Classed It Among The Inventions Of The Gods And Claimed That Num, The Creator, Fashioned Man Upon It. As A Broad Principle The Wheel Consists Of A Flat Disc, On An Upright ...
Pottery
Pottery, Manufacture Of. Clay In It Self Is Not Sufficient To Make Good Pottery. The Materials Used For Mixing With It Are Flint, Cornish Stone And Feldspar. The First Process Is To Reduce All These Materials To A Common Fineness By Means Of Grinding And Levigation. These In Their Proper ...
Pottery
Pottery (from The Latin Potum, A Pot) ; Any Article Made With Clay And Fired. The Or Igin Of The Formation Of Vessels From Clay Is Lost In Antiquity. It Was The Product Of No One Nation Or People, But Resulted From The Neces Sity Which Arose For Articles Of ...
Pottsville
Pottsville, Pa., Borough, County-seat Of Schuylkill County, On The Schuylkill River, Near Its Source, And On The Pennsylvania, The Lehigh Valley, The Philadelphia And Reading And The Central Of New Jersey Railroads, 95 Miles Northwest Of Philadelphia. It Was First Settled In 1800, Incorporated In 1828 And Made The County-seat ...
Poughiceepsie
Poughiceepsie, Po-kip'si, N. Y., City And County-seat Of Dutchess County, On The Eastern Bank Of The Hudson River, 72 Miles North Of New York, Midway Between The High Lands And The Catskills, And On The New York Central And Hudson River And The Central New England Railroads. A Ferry Connects ...
Poultry
Poultry. A Term Designating Collec Tively All Birds Which Have Been Domesticated For Their Flesh, Eggs Or Feathers, For Fighting Or For Pets, Including Fowls, Ducks, Geese, Swans, Turkeys, Guineas, Peacocks And Pigeons. The Word "fowl" Once Included Wild Game Birds But Now Applies Only To The Domesticated Fowl Dontesticus) ...
Pound Net Fishing
Pound-net Fishing, Any Fishing Which Is Conducted By Means Of Fixed En Closures Of Considerable Size Into Which The Fish Are Led By Suitable Guides, And Within Which They Are Confined By Appropriate Devices. Under This Head Will Be Included The Pound-nets Proper And Trap-nets, As Well As The Simpler ...
Pourbus
Pourbus, Pieter (the Younger), Flem Ish Painter : B. Probably Gouda,1510 Or 1513; D. Bruges, 1584. He Was A Pupil Of His Father And Of Lancelot Blondeel Whose Daughter He Married. In 1540 He Entered The Serment Des Arbaletriers De S. George And In 1543 Became A Free Master Of ...
Poussin
Poussin, Poo-san, Gaspar, Italian Painter: B. Rome, 1613; D. There, 15 May 1675. He Was The Son Of A Frenchman Named Dughet, Who Had Settled At Rome But In Signing His Etchings He Italianized The Paternal Name Into Duche. When His Sister Married Nicolas Poussin He Took The Name Of ...
Poussin_2
Poussin, Nicolas, French Painter: B. Les Andelys, Normandy, 15 June 1593; D. Rome, 19 Nov. 1665. He Studied First In His Native Place, And Then At Paris. He Had Already Acquired Considerable Reputation When, In 1624, He Went To Italy, Where At Rome, Marini, The Poet, In Spired Him With ...
Powell
Powell, John Wesley, American Geol Ogist: B. Mount Morris, N. Y., 24 March 1834; D. Haven, Maine, 23 Sept. 1902. He Was Edu Cated At Illinois And Wheaton Colleges, Studied Also At Oberlin And Made Researches In Natural History And Geology. At The Outbreak Of The Civil War He Enlisted ...
Power
Power, In Arithmetic, And In The Algebra Of Real Numbers, The Product Obtained By Multi Plying A Given Number By Itself A Specified Number Of Times. If X Is The Given Number, And N Is The Number Of Times That X Is Taken As .a Factor In Forming The Product, ...
Power
Power, Utilization Of. The Economical Production Of Manufactures And The Convenient, Adaptations Of Time- And Labor-saving Devices In All The Various Lines Of Constructional Work Have Exerted A Wonderful Influence In The Upbuildtng Of American Industries. Among Other Signifi Cant Features The Present Tendency Is Marked By The Adaptation Of ...
Power Houses
Power Houses. With The Growth Of Electrical Distribution, The Generating Station Has Become A Highly Specialized Structure Which De Mands Consideration Both From The Electrical And Mechanical Viewpoints. In The First Instance It Presents Peculiar Requirements As To Location, Differing Widely According To Its Purpose. Broadly, One May Divide Power ...
Power Transmission
Power Transmission. It Is Rarely Convenient To Develop Power At Exactly The Point Where It Is To Be Utilized, And Hence The Necessity Of Devices And Systems For Conveying It From Place To Place Without Loss, Or With The Minimum Of Loss. These Systems Of Power Transmission Separate Naturally Into ...
Power Of Darkness
Power Of Darkness, The (vtast" T'my). Leo Tolstoy Had Made In His Youth Several Abortive Attempts At Writing Dramas, But He Scored A Remarkable Success When, In The Eighties, Under The Influence Of His Moral Re Generation, He Published His First Drama, The Power Of Darkness.' His Intention Was To ...
Power_2
Power, In Mechanics And Physics, The Rate At Which Work Is Performed; Or (what Is The Same Thing), Thequantity Of Work That Is Per Formed Per Unit Of Time. In Ordinary Engineer Ing Practice In The United States And England, The Unit Of Work Is The •foot-pound;" A Foot Pound ...
Powers
Powers, Hiram, American Sculptor: B. Woodstock, Vt., 29 July 1805; D. Florence, Italy, 27 June 1873. He Received His Education At The District School, And On The Removal Of The Family To Ohio In 1819 Was Employed As As Sistant To A Clock-maker. At The Same Time He Learned The ...
Powhatan
Powhatan, Pow-ha-tan', Indian Sachem: B. About 1550; D. 161& This Was The Name Of His Tribe; His Own Was Wahunsonacook. Origi Nally He Was At The Head Of Eight Tribes, But Being A Man Of Great Natural Abilities He Raised Himself From The Rank Of A Chieftain To The Command ...
Powhatan_2
Powhatan, Indian Apawatans `falls In A Current Of Water," A Confederacy Of Southern Algonquian Tribes Resident At One Time Within The Territory Now Occupied By The State Of Vir Ginia And A Part Of Maryland. They Were Sur Rounded By The Monacan, Manahoac, Chowanoc, Nottoway And Meherrin. When The Powhatan ...
Pownall
Pownall, Thomas, English Statesman, Colonial Governor And Author: B. Near Lin Coln, 1722; D. Bath, 25 Feb. 1805. He Was Graduated At Cambridge In 1743. In 1753 He Went To America As Private Secretary To Sir Danvers Osborn, Governor Of New York, And In 1757 Was Made Governor Of The ...
Poynter
Poynter, Poineter, Sir Edward John, English Painter: B. Paris, 20 March 1836; D. London, 26 July 1919. He Received His Early Education In Westminster School And In Ipswich, And Was The Pupil Of Gleyre In Paris From 1856 To 1859. In 1860 He Re Turned To London And Was Elected ...
Pozzo Di Borgo
Pozzo Di Borgo, Pot'so De Mega, Carlo Andrea, Count, Russian Diplomat: B. Alata, Corsica, 8 March 1764; D. Paris, 15 Feb. 1842. He Was Educated At Pisa And Became An Advocate. In 1791 He Was Elected To The National Assembly. In His Youth He Was Friendly With Napoleon Bonaparte And ...
Pozzuoli
Pozzuoli, Pot-soo-ole, Italy, A City On The Bay Of The Same Name, Six Miles West Of Naples, At The Western Foot Of The Solfatara And In A Volcanic Country Known To The Romans As The Phlegrman Fields. Near By Is The Avernian Lake Famed As The Entrance To Hell Both ...
Pradier
Pradier, Pra-de-1, James, French Sculp Tor: B. Geneva, 23 May 1792; D. Near Paris, 14 June 1852. In His Youth He Was Apprenticed To A Jeweler In His Native City Where He Engraved Rings And Watch Cases. At This Work He Showed So Much Ability That He Was Placed In ...
Pradilla
Pradilla, Francisco, Fran-thes'k6 Pri Del-yfi, Spanish Painter: B. Villanueva De Gal Lego, In The Province Of Saragossa. 24 July 1848. His Parents Were Very Poor, And The Young Pradilla, Who Early In His Youth Showed A Re Markable Gift For Drawing, Had To Undergo A Hard Struggle Before He Could ...
Pragmatic Sanction
Pragmatic Sanction (sandia Pragmatica), A Public Edict Relating To Import Ant State Business, Pronounced By The Head Of A State And Differing From The Simple Rescript, In That The Latter Was A Declaration Of Law In An Swer To A Question Propounded On Behalf Of An Individual. The Pragmatic Decree ...
Pragmatism
Pragmatism. The Term Pragmatism, As Employed In Philosophy At The Present Time, Denotes The General Tendency To Subordinate Log Ical Thinking To The Ends Of Practical Life And To Find The Test Of The Truth Of Ideas In Their Practical Consequences. There Are Thus Two Somewhat Distinct Sides To The ...
Prague
Prague, Prig (german Prag; Bohemian Praha), Austria-hungary, The Capital Of Bohe Mia And The Third Largest City Of The Empire, 217 Miles By Rail Northwest Of Vienna And 118 Miles Southeast Of Dresden. Its Site Is A Regular Ba Sin, Traversed By The River Moldau, From The Banks Of Which ...
Prairie
Prairie, A Treeless Region In The Missis Sippi Valley, Adjacent To The Forested Area, So Called Since The Time Of The Early French Explor Ers. The Eastern Border Of The Prairie Region Is An Irregular Line Crossing Minnesota And Wis Consin In A Southeasterly Direction And Extending Into Western Indiana, ...
Prairie Dog
Prairie Dog, A Name Given To Either Of The Two Species Of Marmot-like Rodents Of The Western Plains Of The Genus Cynomys, But Es Pecially To C. Ludovicianus. It Is About A Foot Long, Reddish-brown Above, Lighter Beneath. Its Habits Are Eminently Social. It Forms Large Com Munities On The ...
Praise Of Folly
Praise Of Folly, The En Wittiest Of All Erasmus's Writ Ings') (froude), Was Written At Sir Thomas More's House In Bucklersbury Immediately After Erasmus's Return From Italy In 1509, But Was Not Published Until Two Years Later When Eras Mus Went To Paris To See It Through The Press. At ...
Prakrit Languages And Lit
Prakrit Languages And Lit Erature. The Term Prakrit Is Applied To The Vernacular Languages Of India, In Distinction From The Literary Idiom, The Sanskrit (sams Krita, Purified, Refined; Prakrit, Natural, Com Mon), And It Is A Sign Of The Venerable Age Of Prakrit That We Find Traces Of It Even ...
Prati
Prati, Giovanni, J6-van'ne Prate, Italian Poet: B. Dasindo, Near Trent, 27 Jan. 1814; D. Rome, Italy, 9 May 1884. He Studied Law At The University Of Padua, From Which' He Was Graduated In 1834, But Soon Turned To Litera Ture. Strongly Anti-austrian And Deeply In Sympathy With The Movement For ...
Pratt
Pratt, Bela Lyon, American Sculptor: B. Norwich, Conn., 11 Dec. 1867; D. Boston, 19 May 1917. He Studied At The Yale School Of Fine Arts Under Niemeyer And Wier, And At The Art Students League In New York Under Augustus St. Gaudens, F. Edwin Elwell, William Chase And Kenyon Cox, ...
Pratt Institute
Pratt Institute, A Polytechnic School In Brooklyn, N. Y., Established In 1887 By Charles Pratt (q.v.). Its Aim Is To Promote Manual And Industrial Education As Well As Cultivation In Literature, Science And Art. Its Organization Includes The Following Depart Ments: (1) School Of Fine And Applied Arts; (2) School ...
Pratt_2
Pratt, Charles, American Philanthropist: B. Watertown, Mass., 2 Oct. 1830; D. New Yorlc, 4 May 1891. He Obtained A Portion Of His Education At Wesleyan Academy, Wilbraham, Mass., After Having Saved The Money Needed By Working As A Machinist, And In 1851 Re Moved To New York Where He Engaged ...
Pratt_3
Pratt, Orson, American Mormon Apos Tle: B. Hartford, N. Y., 19 Sept. 1811; D. Salt Lake City, Utah, 3 Oct. 1881. After A Com Mon-school Education, He Followed The Lead Of His Brother, Parley P. Pratt (q.v.), And Joined The Mormons In 1830, Accompanied Them In The Westward Migration And ...
Pratt_4
Pratt, Samuel Jackson (“courrney Mimmar0), English Author: B. Saint Ives, Huntingdonshire, 25 Dec. 1749; D. Birmingham, 4 Oct. 1814. He Was Ordained In The English Church, But Later Went On The Stage Where His Career Was Not Notable And Then Turned His Attention To Literature. He Was A Very Prolific ...
Praxiteles
Praxiteles, Praks-it'e-lez, Greek Sculp Tor: B. Probably, About 400 B.c. He Was An Athenian By Birth, The Contemporary Of Scopas (q.v.), And One Of The Greatest Sculptors Of Ancient Times. The Date Of His Death Is Un Known; But His Life Must Have Been Long, Since Nearly Three Score Works ...
Prayer
Prayer, A Religious Act Taking The Form Of An Entreaty For The Grant Of Favor Or The Forgiveness Of Trespasses, And Directed Toward An Object Of Worship In Whose Power The An Swer Of This Entreaty Is Supposed To Reside. Since Prayer Is An Act Almost Universal Among The Religions ...
Prayer Rugs
Prayer Rugs, The Mohammedan Rug Used For Prostration During Prayer. In Con Sidering Anything To Do With The Moslem We Have To Remember That Of The Many Oriental Tribes Most Of Them Are Nomadic Or Were So. Hence Their Customs. Their Tent Is Their Home, Their Furniture Consists Of Rugs. ...
Pre Emption Law
Pre-emption Law, United States. The First Pre-emption Act Was Passed 3 March 1801; It Was A Special Act Affecting The Symmes Colonization Scheme On The Miami River. Be Tween That Time And 1841 About 18 Pre-emption Acts Were Passed, All Of A More Or Less Special Nature. The First General ...
Preault
Preault, Pra-6, Antoine-augnste, French Sculptor: B. Paris, 8 Oct. 1809; D, There, 11 Jan. 1879. He Began His Art Studies With A Decided Tendency Toward Romanticism And En Tered The Studio Of David D'angers, But Soon Left It And Ever Afterward Aimed At A Naturalistic Treatment Of Art Themes. This ...
Preble
Preble, Prebl, Edward, American Naval Officer: B. Portland, Maine, 15 Aug. 1761; D. There, 25 Aug. 1807. When About 16 He Ran Away From Home And Joined A Merchantman, On Which He Went To Europe; On His Return In 1779 He Entered With His Father's Approval The Massachusetts State Marine ...
Preble_2
Preble, George Henry, American Naval Officer: Nephew Of Edward Preble (q.v.), B. Portland, Maine, 25 Feb. 1816; D. Brookline, Mass, 1 March 1885. He Entered The Navy As Midshipman In 1835, Served In The Mediterranean On The Frigate United States In 1836-38, On Various Boats Of The West Indian And ...
Precedence
Precedence, In Official Life, The Order In Which Men And Women Follow Each Other Ac Cording To Rank And Dignity In A State Proces Sion Or On Other Public Occasions. In England The Order Of Precedence Depends Partly On Stat Utes And Partly On Ancient Usage And Established Custom. Questions ...
Preceptors
Preceptors, College Of, London, Eng Land, A Training School For Teachers Founded In 1846 And Granted A Royal Charter In 1849 Efor The Purpose Of Promoting Sound Learning And Of Advancing The Interests Of Education, Espe Cially Among The Middle Classes, By Affording Facilities To The Teacher For Acquiring A ...
Precious Stones
Precious Stones. A Substance To Be Precious Must Possess Variety, Beauty, Durability And Portability. Precious Stones, Phenomenal Stones And Semi-precious Stones Are Such As May Be Used For Ornamental Jewelry. Strictly Speak Ing The Term Precious Stone Is Reserved To Desig Nate The Diamond, The Ruby, The Sapphire And The ...
Precipice
Precipice, The, By Ivan Aleksindro Vitch Gonchar6f, Had For Its Chief Purpose, Even More Distinctly Than (0b16mop (q.v.), To Pre Sent The Eternal Struggle Between The East And The West — The Contrast Between The Lethargy Or Indolence Of The Russian And The Enterpris Ing Spirit Of European Energy. The ...
Precocity
Precocity, Pre-laisl-ti, An Early Mental Development, Surpassing The Normal. Generally Speaking The Precocious Child Differs From The Prodigy In That His Attainments Constitute An Act Ual Acquirement Rather Than An Intuitive Posses Sion Of Knowledge; And The Precocious Child Presents A General Development Of The Mental Faculties Instead Of A ...
Predestination
Predestination Is The Doctrine Of God's Will And Counsel As Revealed In The De Creed Redemption Of Mankind. It Includes In Its Scope Two Significant Facts, Namely, His Be Neficent And Allwise Purpose And Plan In Refer Ence To Those Who Are Fore-known And Fore Chosen To The Enjoyment Of ...
Prell
Prell, Prel, Hermann, German Painter And Sculptor: B. Leipzig, 29 April 1854. He Studied At Dresden And Berlin Under Grosse And Gussow Respectively, Supplementing This By A Course Of Study In Fresco Painting In Italy. He Soon Became One Of The Foremost German Fresco Painters Of Historical Subjects. Return Ing ...
Preller
Preller, Friedrich Johann Christian Ernst, German Painter: B. Eisenach, 25 April 1804: D. Weimar, 23 April 1878. In The Same Year In Which He Was Born, His Parents Moved To Weimar Where He Became Acquainted With Goethe In His Youth, And Received Encourage-. Ment And Finally A Pension From The ...
Prelude
Prelude, The. (the Prelude Or Growth Or A Poet's Mind,' A Blank Verse Poem In 14 Books, Was Written By Wordsworth Between The Years 1799 And 1805, And Was Published Posthumously In 1850. The Work Was Intended To Be Introductory To A Long Philosophical Poem,
Presbyterian Church In The
Presbyterian Church In The United States Of America. The History Of Presbyterianism In The United States Is Closely Interwoven With That Of The Country At Large. The Early Colonists Were, For The Most Part, Those Who Bad Crossed The Ocean To Find A Home In The New World, In Order ...
Presbyterian System
Presbyterian System, Alliance Of The Reformed Churches Throughout The World Holding The. Previous To 1870 The Desire Had Been Frequently Expressed That The Various Branches Of The Presbyterian Churches Could Be United In Some General Alliance Which Would Express The Generic Unity Of Presby Terianism. Some Attempts Had Been Made ...
Presbyterianism
Presbyterianism, A Term Derived From The Greek Word Meaning Can Elder," Defines, Primarily, A System Of Church Government. As Such, It Stands Midway Between Episcopacy Or Prelacy And Independency Or Congregationalism. It Affirms That The Church, As To Its Government, Is A Theocracy Under Law To Christ, Its Supreme And ...
Prescott
Prescott, William Hickling, American Historian: B. Salem, Mass., 4 May 1796; D. Bos Ton, 28 Jan. 1859. In 1811 He Entered Harvard College And Was Graduated In 1814. He Long Had Trouble With His Eyesight. Which Eventually Became So Weak That During The Latter Half Of His Life He Could ...