PETROGRAD 



4611 



PETROGRAD 



petrel and the stormy petrel, or Mother Carey's 

 chicken, of which Kingsley's Water Babies has 

 such interesting stories to tell. 



>n's petrel, a bird seven inches in length, 

 nests in the Antarctic regions, but wings its 

 way into the northern hemisphere on the ap- 

 proach of winter. Its plumage is a mixture of 

 sooty-black, gray and white; the feet and bill 

 are black, and there are webs of yellow be- 

 tween the toes. The long wings of this petrel, 

 which are sixteen inches in extent, and its long 

 legs, make it seem larger than it is. Leach's 

 petrel is very similar in size and coloring, but 

 it has a forked tail, while that of Wilson's 

 petrel is square. Leach's petrels breed chiefly 

 on the islands in the Bay of Fundy, and are 

 not found farther south than Virginia or Cali- 

 fornia. The stormy petrel is a tiny bird not 

 much more than five inches long, with a sooty- 

 black coat relieved only by touches of white 

 near the tail and on the wings. It bears the 

 distinction of being the smallest web-footed 

 bird known. It is a habitant of the Atlantic 

 Ocean, and is rarely seen near shore. 



The petrels are very interesting birds. They 

 are fond of oily and fat foods, and flocks of 

 them will follow a ship for many miles for 

 particles of refuse. At night, wearied with 



the long journey, they nestle down upon the 

 water and rest with the head under a wing. 

 A single white egg is laid ; the nests are usually 

 made in holes or crevices of rocks, but some- 

 times a hole is burrowed in the ground near 

 shore, and the egg placed at the end of the 

 tunnel. The petrels, like the albatross, are 

 regarded by sailors as birds of ill omen and 

 as harbingers of stormy weather. 



Consult Balrd's Water Birds of North America; 

 Godman's A Monograph of the Petrels. 



PETRIE, pe'tri, WILLIAM MATTHEW FLIN- 

 DERS (1853- ), an English archaeologist who 

 has made several remarkable discoveries in 

 connection with Egyptian antiquities. His ex- 

 cavations in the Nile delta (1884-1886) brought 

 to light the lost Greek city of Naucratis and 

 the site of ancient Daphnae; in later inv 

 gations he recovered from the ruins of Kahim 

 and Gurob a valuable collection of papyrus 

 rolls. At Nagada he discovered the traces of 

 a prehistoric people. Egyptologists value highly 

 the published accounts of his investigations. 

 Among his books are The Pyramids and Tem- 

 ples of Gizeh, The History oj Egypt, Royal 

 Tombs of the First Dynasty, Tarkhan I (1913) 

 and Tarkhan II (1914). See EXCAVATIONS IN 

 ANCIENT LANDS. 



JsarsKoye-Selo. 

 Palace of the 

 ormer Czar 



THE STORY OF PETROGRAD 



JLETROGRAD, pet'rograhd, the "City of 

 ." until 1914 known as SAINT PETERSBURG, 

 MO capital of Russia. It was founded by 

 Great in 1703. In 1914 its population, 

 inch id i UK suburbs, was 2,949,000; of the city 

 proper, 2,019,000. It was the fifth city in Europe 

 and i m th- world. Few oth r < 



had so rapid a growth In 1700 the site was a 

 dreary, marshy waste, inhabited by a few Fin- 

 ish fishermen. It became the splendid capital 

 of the czars and the center of Russian educ > 

 'iilture. 



inpire was destroyed in 1917 ; a moderate 



isional government was overturned, and th- 



"red," destructive rule of the bolshevists suc- 



ceeded it (see RUSSIA). The proud city was 

 humbled; its population decreased over one- 

 lialf, for the people fled from murdrr and star- 

 vation; the bolshevist rulers, fearful of capture. 

 abandoned Petrogrnd and moved the go. 

 nil-lit temporarily to Moscow, the ancient capital 

 of the country. Whether a future orderly i 



nt will reinstate Petrograd as the capital 

 city cannot be predi 

 Location and Plan. .d. which occu- 



the delta of the Neva ifl located 



he eastern end of the Gulf of Finland, 400 

 miles northwest of Moscow. The principal part 

 of the city lies on the left bank of 



i , the remainder occupying the several 



