owner of the land on the banks of the subfamily of Anatidæ or waters. As to property in salmon fish- ducks, inhabiting the Arctic regions. ings, that is held to be originally vested They migrate southwards in winter to in the crown, not only for the rivers of the coasts of Europe and North AmerScotland but also for the coasts, and no ica; and they even occur in Asia and in person, accordingly, is allowed to fish for the southern hemisphere. They are masalmon unless he possesses a grant or rine in habits, and feed upon crustaceans, charter from the crown enabling him to worms, molluscs, and aquatic plants. do so. The fact is, however, that nearly There are numerous species, and the flesh all the chief landed proprietors do possess of several is much prized as food. A such rights. The punishment for poach- typical form and one of the best known ing salmon in Scotland is a fine not is the F. ferina, the common pochard, less than 108. nor more than £5, together variously called dunbird, red-headed

Poco

Podiebrad

poker, red-headed widgeon or duck. The of which, Cuvier's podargus (P. Cuvieri), head and neck are bright chestnut; eyes is known among the Australian settlers red; bill long; a broad, transverse, and by the name of more pork' from its dark-blue band on the upper mandible; strange cry. length 16 to 17 inches; weight 1 to lbs. Other familiar varieties are the F. glaciālis, or long-tailed duck; the scaup pochard (F. marila); the tufted pochard (F. cristata); and the canvas-backed duck of North America (F. Valisneria), so highly esteemed by epicures. Poco (po'ko; Italian for a little'), a term used in music in such phrases as poco forte (p. f.), rather loud;

so forth.

poco animato, with some animation; and Pocock (po'kok), EDWARD, an Eng

Podestà (po-des'ta), an Italian word derived from the Latin potestas, power, equivalent in its original meaning to a holder of power or authority. In the middle ages the podestà In the modern kingwielded almost dictatorial power in many of the Italian cities.

dom of Italy he is the chief official of a commune, corresponding to the French maire.

It

a Turkish stronghold Podgoritza (pod'go-re-tza), formerly against Montenegro, but incorporated lish oriental scholar, born at with that principality since 1880. Oxford in 1604; died in 1691. He was lies about 35 miles north of Scutari, at graduated from Oxford, and was ordained the foot of a range of mountains. Pop. priest in 1628. While at the university 7000. he acquired a taste for oriental literature, Podiceps. which he was able to gratify as chaplain

See Grebe.

to the English factory at Aleppo, 1629- Podiebrad (pod'ye-bråd), GEORGE, King of Bohemia, born 36. Laud engaged him to collect manuscripts and coins for the University of in 1420 of a noble family; died in 1471. In the war against Oxford, and in 1636 chose him to fill the When a mere youth he entered into the newly-founded Arabic professorship at Hussite movement. that university. The years between 1637 Albert V of Austria he rendered emiand 40 he spent at Constantinople study- nent services, and secured the highest ing and collecting Arabic manuscripts. esteem of the Calixtines or Utraquists. Although a man of moderate views in In 1444 he was chosen head of the party, church and state matters, he suffered became one of the two governors of Bofrom the troubles of his times. He was hemia during the minority of Ladislas, appointed to the Hebrew chair at Ox- Albert's posthumous son, then king of the ford in 1648, together with the rich country, and, after overcoming the Cathcanonry of Christ Church; but from olic opposition, sole regent in 1451. 1650-60 he was deprived of his church Ladislas died in 1457, and Podiebrad was preferment. His works are of great value elected to the throne in the following year, and crowned by the Catholic bishops to oriental and biblical students. in 1459. He inaugurated his reign by Pod, miedo tayarious forms of seed- the atroduction gaurious beneficent

in botany, a general term ap

vessels of plants, such as the legume, the loment, the siliqua, the silicle, the follicle, the capsule, etc.

Podagra (po-dag'ra), that species of forms in peace. gout which recurs at reg

ular intervals, generally in spring or autumn, attacking the joints of the foot, particularly of the great toe, attended with a sharp, burning pain, and rendering the whole foot so sensitive that the slightest pressure, or even the agitation occasioned by a strong draught of air, causes torture. The pain can be assuaged by reducing the inflammation, promoting the secretion of the gouty matter, and by suitable diet and mode of living. See Gout.

laws, wise administration, and a policy of conciliation towards the Catholics; but he was not allowed to carry out his reThe pope, Paul II, publicly denounced him as a heretic in 1463, excommunicated him, and his legate soon produced a rising among the Catholics. A German crusade was formed against Bohemia in 1466, but the invaders were defeated

in several places. Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary and son-inlaw of Podiebrad, at the instigation of the pope and the Emperor Frederick invaded Moravia; but Podiebrad's generalship was again successful, and in 1469 he the Hungarian army at hemmed in Willemow. In order to secure the aid (po-dar'gus), genus of of the Poles he assembled a diet at Podargus Paralasian nocturnal Prague, and declared the successor to the

birds of the goatsucker family. Like the goatsuckers, their mouths have a very wide gape. By day they are excessively drowsy. There are several species, one

throne of Poland to be his own successor, while his sons should only inherit the family estates (1469). The Poles were thus immediately drawn to his side; the

Podium

Poe

Poc

(po), EDGAR ALLAN, poet and ro

Emperor Frederick also declared in his they are enabled to effect considerable favor; and his Catholic subjects became leaps; hence their popular name of springreconciled to him. Shortly after he de- tails. Their scales are favorite test obstroyed the infantry of the Hungarians, jects for microscopes. which had again taken the field, and Matthias Corvinus hastily fled with his cavalry. He thus saw himself at last completely secured in his kingdom; but no sooner was this accomplished than he died; being succeeded by Ladislas, eldest son of Casimir IV, king of Poland, who thus united the two crowns.

mantic writer. born at Boston. Massachusetts, in 1809; died at Baltimore in 1849. His father and mother were actors, and being left an orphan when a mere child he was adopted by Mr. Allan, a wealthy Richmond merchant. His early education he received at StokePodium (po'di-um), in architecture, Newington, London, 1816-21, and on his a long pedestal supporting a return to America attended a school at series of columns. It is called a stylo- Richmond, Virginia, and finally entered bate when the columns stand on project- the University of Charlottesville. Here ing parts of it. he displayed extraordinary talents, but Podolia (po-do'li-a), a government of also contracted a taste for fast living Southwestern Russia; area, which occasioned quarrels with his bene16,224 sq. miles. The country is mostly factor, and caused him to quit America flat, but a low branch of the Carpathians for Europe. He took part in the strugextends through it in an easterly direc- gles of the Greeks for independence, and tion. The principal rivers are the Dniester and the Bug. The climate is temperate and salubrious, the soil generally very fertile; in fact, Podolia forms one of the most valuable agricultural possessions of the Russian Empire. Manufactures are spreading rapidly, and beet-sugar, spirits, flour and tobacco are produced in great quantities. The trade with Germany, Austria and Odessa is extensive. Capital, Kamenetz. Pop. 3,543,700. Podophthalmata (po-dof-thal'ma- a poem.

for a few years led an erratic life on the continent. In 1829 he returned to America, a reconciliation with Mr. Allan took place, and he was sent as cadet to the military academy at West Point. Further irregularities brought about a complete rupture with Mr. Allan, and Poe enlisted as a private soldier, however only to desert later on. His literary career may be said to have begun in 1835, when he gained the prize offered by the Baltimore Saturday Visitor for a tale and He then became successively ta; 'stalk-eyed'), editor of the newly-founded Southern Literary Messenger at Richmond, contributor to the New York Review at New York, and editor of Burton's Gentleman's Magazine and Graham's Magazine at Philadelphia. For these periodicals he wrote a number of tales, exhibiting_a weird yet fascinating imagination. He also added to his reputation by poems of striking originality and rhythmic power. While at Richmond, in 1836, he married his cousin, Virginia_Clemm, a beautiful

a division of the Crustacean class, primarily distinguished by compound eyes supported upon movable stalks termed peduncles. This division includes the orders Stomapoda and Decapoda, the former of which is represented by the 'locust,' 'glass' and 'opossum' shrimps, while the latter includes the familiar crabs, lobsters, common shrimps, hermit crabs, and their allies. See also Crustacea, Crab, Lobster, Shrimp, etc.

Podophyllin (pod-o-fil'in), a resin obtained from the rootstock of the May apple (Podophyllum peltatum. See May apple). It is of a brownish-yellow color, dissolves readily in alcohol, and has been admitted to the pharmacopoeias of many countries as a purgative; it is particularly beneficial in cases of sluggish liver, having much the same effect as mercury, but in some constitutions produces severe griping. Poduridæ (po-dü'ri-dē), a family of apterous (wingless) insects belonging to the order Thysanura, distinguished by the possession of an elastic forked caudal appendage, which is folded under the body when at rest, and by the sudden extension of which

and amiable girl. The great event in

re

Poe's life was the publication at New York in 1845 of his poem, The Raven, which spread his fame to the whole English-speaking world. For this markable production Poe is said to have received $10. He was subsequently connected with The Home Journal and The Broadway Journal. In 1848 his wife died. Passing through Baltimore in 1849, on his way to New York to make preparation for a second marriage, he was led to excessive drinking, and died from its effects at the hospital. Poe's career is sad enough, and his faults were sufficiently numerous, but until John H. Ingram in 1874 published a biography of him, based on documents and ascer

Poe-bird

tained facts, the public were generally poetry.

Point

(See Epic.) To the dramatic

led to believe by Rufus Griswold, his class belong tragedy and comedy; to the first biographer, that his character was lyric belong the song, hymn, ode, anthem, very much blacker than it really seems elegy, sonnet and ballad, though the lastto have been. He has won an enduring named frequently has a kind of epic Poetics is the theory of reputation alike for his weird and strik- character. rare and musical poetry-that branch of criticism which ing tales and his poems, while as a critic he also showed treats of the nature and laws of poetry.

fine taste and judgment. Many regard Poggio Bracciolini (pod

him as the most original genius America has produced.

Poe-bird. See Honey-eater.

bråt

chō-le'ni), an Italian scholar and prolific writer, Dorn He came early in 1380; died in 1459. under the influence of the revival of lit

HENRI,

Poerio (po-a're-ō), CARLO, an Ital- erature in Italy. About 1402 he became ian statesman, born at Naples writer of the apostolic letters under BoniHe face IX, and for fifty years remained in 1803; died at Florence in 1867. opposed the actions of the Bourbon kings connected with the papal curia. of Naples, and frequently devoted his Poincaré (pwan-ka-ra'), French mathematician and talents as an advocate to the cause of He thus became a physicist, born at Nancy in 1854; died political offenders. He was professor at the Unisuspect, and from 1837-48 suffered vari- in 1912. ous terms of imprisonment. The revolu- versity of Paris and made original contion of the latter year released him from tributions in pure mathematics, in celesprison and placed him at the head of the tial mechanics, and in the mathematics Archimedes. Neapolitan police, and of the ministry of of physics. He has been called the greatmathematician since public instruction, but, finding it impos- est sible to get the Bourbons to fulfill their His works include Cours de physique promises, he resigned. He sat in the new mathématique (1890), Electricité et opti(1890-91), Thermodynamique parliament and acted with the opposition. que Théorie (1892-99), In July, 1849, he was arrested and con- (1892), Les methodes nouvelles de la demned without defense to twenty-four mécanique célèste The barbarous des turbillons (1893), Les oscillations years' imprisonment. (1896), La treatment he received in prison gave oc- électriques (1894), Capillarité (1895), casion to Gladstone's famous Two Letters Calcul des probabilités a celebrated to Lord Aberdeen, written in 1851 from science et hypothèse (1902), etc. French author and statesNaples. In 1859 his sentence was com- Poincaré RAYMOND, muted to transportation to South America; but he and his companions in mis- man, a member of the French Academy, fortune effected a landing at Cork in Ire- born August 20, 1860, at Bar-le-Duc. He land, and thence proceeded to London. practiced as a lawyer in Paris and began In 1861 he was elected vice-president of his public career by entering the Chamber minister of the Italian chamber of deputies, and re- of Deputies in 1887. After that time he various offices, mained till his death one of the chiefs filled finance, minister of public instruction, of the constitutional liberal party. from poet, the etc. In 1912 he assumed the post of premon January 17, 1913, was His publicainclude Idées contemporaines, creator), that one of the fine arts which elected to the presidency. exhibits its special character and powers tions by means of language; or, according to Etudes et figures politiques, Causes litAytoun, the art which has for its object téraires et artisques.

(pō'et-ri;

Poetry Greek poietes, a maker or ier, and

as

former

the creation of intellectual pleasures by Poinsettia (poin-set'i-ä), a genus of American apeta

means of imaginative and passionate lan

guage, and of language generally, though lous plants of the order Euphorbiaceæ. not necessarily, formed to regular num- The Euphorbia pulcherrima, a plant nabers. It has also been defined as the tive to South America and Mexico and concrete and artistic expression of the much cultivated in conservatories, is conhuman mind in emotional and rhythmical spicuous for the large scarlet floral leaves language. It is the earliest form of lit- surrounding its small green flower-heads. geometry, is a quantity which erature, and also the final and ideal form Point, ingen parts, or which is inof all pure literature; its true place lying between music, on the one hand, divisible, or which has position without the magnitude. Points may be regarded as and prose or loosened speech on other. The two great classes of poetry the ends or extremities of lines. If a are dramatic and lyric. Partaking of the point is supposed to be moved in any character of both is epic or narrative way, it will by its motion describe a line.

Pointe-à-pitre

(which see).

as

Poison Ivy

Pointe-à-pitre (pwant-a-pe-tr), the both kinds, as the common foxglove, and principal port of the the monkshood or aconite. An alkaloid French W. Indian island Guadeloupe, on is extracted from the latter, th of a the southwest coast of Grande Terre, grain of which has proved fatal. Anand one of the most important commer- other class of poisons suddenly and encial towns of the Antilles. The town, tirely cause a cessation of some function mostly built of wood, was destroyed by necessary to life. To this class belong fire n 1780, by an earthquake in 1843, all the kinds of gas and air which are and again by fire in 1871. Pop. 16,506. irrespirable, suffocating vapors, as carPointed Architecture, a name bonic acid gas, fumes of sulphur and for Gothic charcoal, etc. Many preparations of lead, as acetate or sugar of lead, carPointer Dog (poin'ter), a breed of bonate or white lead, etc., are to be sporting dogs, nearly counted in this class. The effects of allied to the true hounds. The original poisons materially depend on the extent breed is Spanish, but a cross with the of the dose, some of the most deadly foxhound is now generally used. It is poisons being useful remedies in cersmooth, short-haired, generally marked tain quantities and circumstances. Anblack and white like the foxhound, but tidotes naturally vary with the different occasionally a uniform black. It derives kinds of poisons. They sometimes proits name from its habit of stopping and tect the body against the operation of the pointing with the head in the direction of poison, sometimes change this last in game, discovered by a very acute sense of such a manner that it loses its injurious smell. The dog once having pointed re- properties, and sometimes remove or mains perfectly quiet. This faculty in remedy its violent results. Thus in cases the pointer is hereditary, but is better de- of poisoning by acrid and corrosive subveloped by training. stances we use the fatty, mucilaginous Poison (poi'zn), any agent capable of substances, oil, milk, etc., which producing a morbid, noxious, sheathe and protect the coats of the dangerous, or deadly effect upon the ani- stomach and bowels against the operation mal economy, when introduced either by of the poison. Against the metallic cutaneous absorption, respiration, or the poisons substances are employed which digestive canal. Poisons are divided, form with the poison insoluble comwith respect to the kingdom to which pounds, such as freshly prepared hydrated they belong, into animal, vegetable, and oxide of iron, or dialyzed iron for mineral; but those which proceed from arsenic, albumin (white of egg) for animals are often called venoms, while mercury; Epsom or Glauber's salts for those that are produced by disease have lead. Lime, chalk, baking soda, and magthe name virus. With respect to their nesia are the best remedies for the powereffects they have been divided into four ful acids. For cantharides, mucilage, classes, namely, irritant, narcotic, nar- gruel, and barley-water are employed. cotico-acrid, and septic or putrescent. We oppose to the alkaline poisons the Many poisons operate chemically, cor- weaker vegetable acids, as vinegar. Prusroding the organized fiber, and causing sic acid is neutralized by alkalies and inflammation and mortification. To this freshly precipitated oxide of iron. To class belong many metallic oxides and arouse those poisoned by opium, we use salts, as arsenic, one of the most deadly coffee and ammonia, and belladonna as poisons; many preparations of copper, an antagonistic drug, the person being mercury; antimony, and other metals; kept walking. Chloral-hydrate poisoning the mineral and vegetable acids; the sub- is similarly treated by the drug menstance derived from some plants, as the tioned; and for strychnia or nux vomica, spurges and mezereon; and cantharides, animal charcoal in water and chloralfrom the animal kingdom. Other poisons hydrate are used. Poisoning was a comexercise a powerful action upon the mon crime in ancient Rome, and in nerves and a rapid destruction of their France and Italy during the seventeenth energy. These are the sedative or century. See Aqua Tofana, Brinvilliers. stupefying poisons, and belong for the Poison Ivy, toxicodendron), a or PoisoN OAK (Rhus most part to the vegetable kingdom. Opium, hemlock, henbane, belladonna, cies of sumach which bears three leaflets are the best-known forms of this poison. and usually has the climbing habit. Prussic acid, a poison obtained from is very irritating to sensitive skins, prothe kernels of several fruits, the cherry- ducing an itching eruption which is highly laurel, etc., is one of the most rapid annoying. Another species, Rhus venedestroyers of life. Among plants there nata, the Poison-ash, Poison-elder, or are many which unite the properties of Poison-sumach, is still more poisonous.

spe

It