POMEGRANATE 



4747 



POMONA 



miration or awe. The primitive man's concep- 

 tion of nature held that all things, animate and 

 inanimate, possessed sensibilities and passions 

 like his own, with the power to help or hurt 

 him; consequently he would fear, flatter or 

 venerate them. 



At first polytheism consisted in the worship 

 of the elements, of the stars and of fire. Later 

 it took special form from the traditions and 

 relative civilization of each nationality. Among 

 the savages it sank to fetishism (see FETISH). 

 The sea, the sun, the moon, rivers, plants and 

 stones were worshiped, and it is but a step 

 from the lowest fetishism of the savage to the 

 polytheism of the more cultured people of an- 

 tiquity, in which the same objects become their 

 gods, for example, Jupiter, Neptune and Apollo. 

 In the early days of polytheism the gods were 

 frequently interchanged, and when the believer 

 vainly sought aid from one, he might turn to 

 another for protection. Accordingly, in some 

 countries the gods were classified in groups to 

 satisfy the various necessities and castes. 



POMEGRANATE, pom gran' ate, the fruit of 

 a tree widely cultivated in the tropics and sub- 

 tropical regions, and found wild in Western 

 Asia and Northwestern India. As the pome- 

 granate is sensitive to low temperatures, it is 

 grown in the United States only in the southern 

 part of the country. Under cultivation it grows 

 from fifteen to twenty-five feet high and bears 

 numerous slender branches, at the ends of 

 which appear the large, scarlet flowers. The 

 fruit, which has a hard rind and looks some- 

 thing like an orange, is of a deep golden color, 



POMEGRANATE 



Showing croHB section. 



shaded with red. It is filled with numerous 

 purple and red seeds, each enclosed in a layer 

 i UK a pleasant, refreshing taste. 

 Ip is used to make cooling drinks; in 

 t spirit is distilled from it, and 

 in Persia it is made into wine. The rind con- 

 tains a large amount of tannin, which is em- 



ployed as an astringent medicine and is valued 

 in the tanning of leather. The pomegranate 

 was familiar to the Hebrews in Bible times; a 

 picture of the fruit appeared on the pillars of 

 Solomon's Temple. In classic mythology Pro- 

 serpina (which see) was forced to spend six 



Nevada California Georgia Arizona 

 Figures RepresentThou sands of Pounds 



THE AMERICAN CROP 



The figures represent the average number of 

 pounds yearly for a period of five years. 



months of each year in Hades because she had 

 eaten six seeds of the pomegranate while living 

 with Pluto. 



POMERANIA, pomera'nia, a Prussian 

 province in the northern part of Germany, ly- 

 ing along the Baltic Sea. It has an area of 

 11,629 square miles and a population (1910) of 

 1,716,921. The chief river is the Oder, on the 



LOCATION OF POMERANIA 



banks of which is situated the city of Stettin, 

 the capital and commercial center of the prov- 

 ince (see STETTIN). There are numerous har- 

 bors along the Baltic, and many lakes are found 

 in this region. Pomerania is for the most part 

 a flat farming country, which produces good 

 crops of rye, oats, wheat, barley, potatoes, beets 

 and tobacco. The smoked fish of the pro\ 

 is famous. Shipbuilding, glass-making, sugar 

 refining, brrwinp. distilling and the manufacture 

 of tobacco products, woolen goods and ma- 

 chinery are the chief industries of the towns. 

 Politically the province is divided into three 

 districts St(t tin. Koslin and Stralsund. 



POMONA, pomo'na, the Roman goddess of 

 fruits and flowers. Of several legends asso- 

 ciated with her name, the most interesting is 

 -tory of the courtship of Vertummw. When 

 she had long refused to listen to his pleadings, 



