POUCHED MOUSE 



POULTRY 



of elector* forming tin- constituency of various 

 English boroughs (e.g. Tan n ton, Preston ) before 

 the Keforru Act of 1832, and defined in Kir James 

 Stephen's Cummtntiirir* as 'such as cook their ow n 

 diet in a fireplace of their own.' At Tauntun in 

 the iMth century 'several inmates or lodgers would, 

 Mime little time lie fore the election, liring out their 

 ppto, and make fires in the street, and Ixiil their 

 virtual* in the sight of their neighbours, that their 

 votes be not railed in question ' (Defoe's Tour 

 through Great Britain, 4th ed. 1748). 



Pouched Mouse ( Dipodomys), a genus of 

 small, lean, long tailed, agile rodenU, with cheek- 

 pouchea. The best-known species is It. fifn7i/>/ni, 

 from the waste regions of California, where it seems 

 to find a span* diet of Heeds and roots, and in the 

 dry season no drink hut dew. 



Pouched Kal ( Pteiidontoma or Geomys), a 

 genus of plump, nhort- tailed, hamster-like rodent*, 

 with cheek-pouches whieh o|>eii externally and are 

 used as receptacle* for food. One of the best-known 

 species is /'. or G. bnrsiirint, sometimes called 

 i lopher.' Like the other species it is a native of 

 North America, and inhabits the territory east of 

 the Uocky Mountains and west of the Mississippi. 

 It is a burrower like the mole, active in the warm 

 weather, hybernating in the cold, sluggish altove 

 ground, but very active in its subterranean pro- 

 gress. The cheek-pouches are very* large, and are 

 crammed with roots, seeds, &c., but not with earth 

 as the Indians used to maintain. Ik-ing voracious 

 gnawers, the pouched rate do much damage to the 

 root* of trees and crops. 



Poiljjllkeepsie. capital of Dutchess county, 

 New York, on the east bank of the Hudson River, 

 T.'t miles by rail N. of New York City, is finely situ- 

 ated on a tableland, about 200 feet above the river. 

 The Hudson is here crossed by a steam-ferry, 

 and spanned by an important railroad bridge of 

 masonry, steel, and iron (finished in 1888); the 

 structure rests on six piers four in the channel 

 and is 3094 feet in length from anchorage 

 to anchorage, or, including the approaching 

 viaducts, nearly 7100 feet. Over three spans 

 are cantilevers, with arms of 160 feet. The 

 city is well built, with line public and private 

 edifices ; Main Street runs back 2 miles from the 

 river. Ponghkeepsie is the largest town Itetween 

 New York and Albany ; it- manufactures include 

 machinery, iron-ware, silk, boots and shoes, cloth- 

 ing, &c., and it has a rolling-mill, a blast-furnace, 

 and several breweries. Two miles to the north is 

 the Hudson River State Hospital for the Insane, 

 which cost 1790,000, and the city contains a 

 number of charitable institutions. Hut I'ough- 

 kecpsie has most reason to be proud of ite educa- 

 tional facilities. Vassar College (q.v.) is just 

 lieyond the eastern city limit, anu the town 

 jKMUtcMses also a coljegiate institute, a business 

 college, and several high-class seminaries and acad- 

 emies, besides the public schools. Poughkeepsie 

 was settled by the Dated about 1680; in 1778 it 

 was the state capital, and in 1788 the New York 

 Convention met here to ratify the constitution of the 

 t n ited States. Pop. (1870)20,080; ( 11)00) 24,029, 



Ponlpe. See OCTOPITS. 



Poultice, an application to diseased or painful 

 parts, for the pur|xme of promoting suppuration, 

 relieving pain, ami stimulating or soothing the 

 kin, according to circumstances. A poultice may 

 be composed of any nn>i-t pulpy substance <if 

 sufficient consistence to retain the water without, 

 dripping or soaking through the flannel or linen 

 covering in which it is generally applied. The 

 making of a iioulijce well is a matter of some 

 nicety, and unless the proper consistence is given 

 to the mass the application is apt to do more harm 



than good. The linseed-meal poultice is the moat 

 easily made, and most satisfactory of all soothing 

 applications. The meal is stirred gradually into a 

 sufficient <|iiaiititv of Ixiiling water, placed in the 

 liottom of a small basin or teacup, until a perfectly 

 smooth pulp is formed of the proper consistence. 

 and in quantity sufficient to cover completely, i 

 the thickness of three-quarters of an inch, the 

 whole pained part. The pulp is then spread mi 

 flannel, or poured into a flannel bag, and applied as- 

 soon as the heat will permit it toM borne. If it 

 is to be applied to a wound, threatening almcess, 

 iVc. . where a softening effect on the superficial 

 tissues is desired, gome nil should be smeared over 

 the surface, and the poultice put directly in 

 contact with the skin. If applied for pain, or 

 some deeper inflammation where heat ia chiefly 

 needed, the oil is unnecessary, and the poultice 

 should be enveloped in cotton-wool or in several 

 layers of flannel. It can then be Ixirne hotter, 

 and will retain its heat longer. The bread and 

 milk, or even bread and water or bran poultice, i 

 also very good ; as is also the oatmeal-porridge 

 poultice, to which a little butter may be added 

 with advantage. A spoonful or two of yeast may 

 lie added, if there are foul discharges, or charcoal 

 may be used alone, or sprinkled on the surface of 

 the poultice before it is applied, or it may be made 

 with a non-irritating antiseptic lotion instead of 

 plain water (e.g. corrosive sublimate, 1 to 2000). 

 Carrot poultices are in great favour with the people 

 in some parts of the country. Hemlock poultices, 

 made of the fresh leaves, or of the dried leaves, with 

 the aid of some powder of the leaves, form a valu- 

 able sedative application in painful diseases ; and 

 [nippy- lii-ads, or even opium, are sometimes infused 

 in the water of which a poultice is made, for the 

 same purpose. A stimulating poultice may be 

 made by sprinkling oil of turpentine, or chloroform. 

 or in list aid in moderate quantity on the surface of 

 any ordinary poultice. When considerable irrita- 

 tion of the skin in a short time is desirable, a 

 mustard poultice is used. For the danger of 

 poulticing the eye, see EVE, Vol. IV. p. 513. 



Poultry ( Fr. poult, ' a hen ; ' Lat. pvlliis, ' a 

 chicken ; ' Eng. pullet ) is the term by which are 

 known the birds brought by man into domestication, 

 and usually embraces the ordinary fowl, ducks, geese, 

 turkeys, and guinea-fowl. From the time when 

 man began to abandon his nomadic manner of life 

 and settle down into settled habitations, poultry in 

 one form or another have been brought into subjec- 

 tion, taking the place of the wild birds which, 

 when he wandered, he was able to snare or kill, 

 lint which tied from him when he chose one abode. 

 Only in Asia is the ordinary fowl found in a wild 

 state, chiefly in India. Here is yet to lie found the 

 Gallus ferruginetu, or G. Imnkiru, which, from its 

 resemblance in every way to the modern fowl and 

 the freedom with which the two breed together, is 

 accepted as the progenitor of nearly all our domes- 

 ticated varieties. Atone time it was thought to be 

 the parent of all, and this was the view of Darwin ; 

 Inn later researches have led to a modification of 

 this opinion; there is no wild breed of fowl to 

 which the Brahma ami Cochin ty|>e of fowl can 

 IM- t raced. The Jungle-fowl of India, or G. bankiva, 

 has plumage and colour not very dissimilar to the 

 game fowl, and this type prevails largely in the- 

 great dependency. From the time of the an- 

 cients |Hiultrv have liecn bred and kept. Many 

 i.-< .,nls found in the writings of early days i. 

 to the lighting qualities of the cock, and in 

 home countries he was bred largely, if not chiefly, 

 for this pro|M>nsity. Theognis, Aristophanes. Aris 

 tutle, DiodoniH, .Ksohylus, Plutarch. I'lttto, and 

 I'liny all make reference in their writings to the 

 fowl, which seems to have gradually spread over 



