PTOMAINES 



4S63 



PUEBLA 



heavens, and which, compared with the heav- 

 ens, is but as the point of a pin in size. Around 

 the earth revolve the moon and sun, but in 

 circles, of which the earth is not the center. 

 Seven planets, arranged according to distance 

 from the earth, are named the Moon, Mercury, 

 Venus, the Sun, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn. To 

 Ptolemy the world owes the invention of the 

 theory of planets and the discovery of the 

 inequality of the moon'a motion in its orbit. 

 He was also the only authority of his age on 

 the subject of ancient astronomy. 



As a geographer, Ptolemy improved and cor- 

 rected the works of a predecessor, Marinus 

 Tyrius. His Geography consists chiefly of a 

 catalogue of places with their latitude and lon- 

 gitude, together with certain meager descriptive 

 matter. This work was illustrated by a series 

 of twenty-six maps, and a map of the world. 

 The Geography was a standard textbook until 

 the great maritime discoveries of the fifteenth 

 century, which thoroughly revolutionized all 

 preconceived theories on the subject. B.M.W. 



PTOMAINES, toh'mainz, but commonly 

 called toh'maynz, a class of substances formed 

 by the action of bacteria upon organic matter. 

 They are animal alkaloids (see ALKALOIDS), and 

 chemically are compounds of carbon, hydrogen 

 and oxygen. About 200 kinds have been iden- 

 tified. The presence of ptomaines in tainted 

 food is responsible for what is known as pto- 

 maine poisoning. Common sources of this 

 malady are canned fish or meats and ice cream 

 which has stood in a tin can for some time. 

 The symptoms of ptomaine poisoning are chil- 

 liness, headache, dizziness, pains in the abdo- 

 men, and vomiting and purging. Convulsions 

 and coma often occur in cases that end fatally. 

 Treatment consists in cleaning out the stomach 

 and bowels and administering stimulants. All 

 cases should have the care of a physician. 



PUBLIC DEFENDER. It frequently hap- 

 pens that a man is accused of an offense against 

 the lav and does not have money to employ 

 a lawyer to defend him. In such event, in 

 nearly all courts, the judnf will call upon some 

 one to take his case, without expense to him. 

 the man selected is frequently inexpe- 

 rienced or an unsuccessful lawyer, or is too 

 busy to give the case proper attention; while 

 against the defendant would be the prosecut- 

 ing attorney, a man given his office for ability, 

 and eager to make a good record. The result 

 would scarcely be justice, or a fair working of 

 th' principle that a man is innocent till he is 

 proved guilty 



It was reasoning of this nature which 

 prompted Los Angeles County, Cal., to appoint 

 in January, 1914, a public defender, paid by 

 the state to insure fair treatment to penniless 

 prisoners. In addition, this new type of offi- 

 cial is given the tasks of helping working people 

 collect wages and of representing citizens in 

 small lawsuits for which they cannot afford 

 regular counsel; in this he merely takes the 

 place of legal aid societies and other charities. 



The Los Angeles experiment has not been 

 widely copied, though it is claimed that it is 

 successful, even to the point of saving money 

 for the state by saving time for the court. 

 Portland, Ore., has a public defender for the 

 police court. In 1917 a system of providing 

 legal defenders for persons accused of crime 

 and unable to pay lawyers' fees was adopted in 

 New York City, under the supervision of a 

 Voluntary Defenders' Committee. 



PUBLIC LANDS. See LANDS, PUBLIC. 



PUCCINI, pootche'ne^GiACOMO (1858- ), 

 one of the foremost composers of modern 

 Italian opera. . He was born at Lucca, of a 

 family which for over 150 years has produced 

 a number of notable musicians. While he was 

 a student at the Milan Conservatory, he heard 

 his first orchestral work played at the school. 

 His first ambitious composition, the opera Le 

 Villi, brought him immediate recognition, but 

 his next effort, Edgar, produced in 1889, was a 

 failure because of a poor libretto. In 1893 his 

 Manon Lescaut was produced and won imme- 

 diate success, and La Bohemc, which followed 

 in 1896, was considered a still greater triumph. 

 La Tosca, Madame Butterfly and The Girl of 

 the Golden West, produced between 1900 and 

 1910, show fresh aspects of Puccini's genius. 

 He is appreciated by all classes of music lo 

 and Madame Butterfly, his masterpiece, and 

 La Bohemc are favorites with opera goers the 

 world over. In 1915 he announced two new 

 operas ready for performance, but their presen- 

 tation was postponed on account of the great 

 war. 



PUCK, in English folklore, a mischievous 

 sprite or elf, sometimes known as Robin Good- 

 jtllow. While he sometimes tormented people 

 in a spirit of fun, he was seldom malicious, and 

 did favors for those who were good to him 

 or who gave him presents. Puck is a prominent 

 figure in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's 

 :m. A prominent humorous weekly publi- 

 cation in the United States was named for him. 



PUEBLA, pwa'blah, one of the most at- 

 tractive cities in the republic of Mexico, and 



