PHL 



PHO 



PHA'SIANE'LLINiE. Pheasant snails, 

 a sub-family of the Trochidce, or Top 

 Shells, named from the genus phasi- 

 anella, in which the shell is spiral and 

 obovate, the outside polished, and the 

 operculum shelly. 



PHASIANFDiE. The Pheasant and 

 Fowl tribe of the Rasores, or Scratching 

 Birds, distinguished by the shortness of 

 the hind toe, the presence of spurs on 

 the legs, and the beautiful development 

 of the tail. They pass gradually into the 

 PcrdicincB, there being no real distinction 

 between them. 



PHI'LLIPSITE. A zeolitic substance 

 belonging to that division of the har- 

 motome minerals, which contain potass, 

 as distinguished from the baryte-har- 

 motome species. 



PHILO'LOGY (0tXoXo<yia). This term, 

 in its strict etymological sense, denotes 

 a love of talking ; generally, it signifies 

 a love of literature ; in modern times it 

 has been restricted to the study of lan- 

 guage and history. 



PHILOSOPHICAL CANDLE. A bot- 

 tle fitted with a cork, through which a 

 slender glass or metallic tube passes. On 

 introducing the materials for generating 

 hydrogen, and fixing the cork and tube 

 air-tight, a jet of hydrogen is discharged, 

 which may be ignited by the application 

 of a burning body or an electric spark. 



PHILOSOPHY {<(>i\o(To<pia). This 

 term denotes, simply, a love of know- 

 ledge. But all subjects of systematic 

 inquiry, ranging from that of the opera- 

 tions of the mind to those of the arts 

 and manufactures, have their philoso- 

 phies ; and hence, although the term 

 carries with it no great precision, its ap- 

 plication in any particular case is suflB- 

 ciently obvious. 



PHLEGR^'AN FIELDS (^X^yo), to 

 burn). Campi Phlegrcei, or the "Burnt 

 Fields." The country round Naples, so 

 named by the Greeks, from the traces 

 of igneous action every where visible. 



PHLCEUM {(l>\oioi, bark). Peridermis. 

 The name given by Mohl to one of the 

 layers of bark, the epi-phloeum of Link. 

 See Bark, of Plants. 



PHLOGISTON (0X670), to burn). A 

 name given by Stahl to an imaginary 

 substance, which was the principle of in- 

 flammability. Combustible bodies were 

 supposed to consist of an incombustible 

 base, united to this phlogiston, which 

 escaped during combustion. This pro- 

 cess is now attributed to the combination 

 of combustible matter with oxygen, 

 257 



which is hence called a supporter of com- 

 bustion. 



PHLORIDZIN {(pXoio^, bark). A 

 substance discovered in the bark of the 

 root of the apple, pear, cherry, and plum- 

 tree. It has been considered as crystal- 

 lized salicin plus two atoms of oxygen. 



PHOCENIC ACID {phoccena, a por- 

 poise). Delphinic acid. A volatile acid 

 contained in train oil or seal oil, and in 

 the berries of Viburnum opulus. 



PHO'CIDiE {phoca, a seal). The 

 Seal tribe of carnivorous Vertebrata, the 

 Amphibia of Cuvier, distinguished by 

 the adaptation of their form and struc- 

 ture to a residence in the water, and of 

 their teeth for retaining a hold on the 

 slippery surface of fish, and crushing 

 them before they are swallowed. 



PHOSNICIN (0otvjf, purple). Indigo- 

 purple ; supposed to be a hydrate of in- 

 digo, with two equivalents of water. 



PHCENIX. A modern southern con- 

 stellation, consisting of thirteen stars. 



PHO'LARITE. Hydrated silicate of 

 alumina ; a substance occurring in small 

 pearly scales in the coal formation of 

 Fins. 



PHO'LID^. A family of macrotra- 

 chian bivalves, named from the genus 

 pholas ; in these the valves are often 

 prolonged in a shelly tube, resembling 

 that of the Tubulibranchiata. 



PHONE'TIC WRITING {4>tivfj, 

 sound). A kind of hieroglyphic writing 

 employed by the ancient Egyptians, in 

 which the characters represent, not 

 objects, but sounds. The figures repre- 

 senting letters were the likenesses of 

 certain animals or other objects, the 

 names of which began with those letters. 

 The phonetic was thus opposed to the 

 ideographic writing, in which the charac- 

 ters represented objects, or symbolically 

 denoted abstract ideas. See Hiero- 

 glyphics. 



PHO'NICS {(pu>vr], sound). A term 

 synonymous with acoustics, denoting the 

 doctrine of sound. The phenomena of 

 direct, reflected, and refracted sound 

 have given rise to the three respectively 

 corresponding terms of phonics, cata- 

 phonics, and diaphonics. 



PHONOLITE {(pcovij, sound, \i9o9, a 

 stone). Clinkstone. A felspathic rock of 

 the trap family, usually fissile, and 

 named from its sonorous property, when 

 struck with a hammer. 



PHORA'NTHIUM (0epa), to bear, 

 av9oi, a flower). The term applied by 

 Richard to the receptacle of composite 



