Pacific Ocean. Map showing the principal depths ol the ocean and the ridges on the ocean floor from which most ol the 



South Sea Islands rise 



Atlantic, but there is a marked 

 contrast in form between the E. 

 and W. halves. Towards the 

 American side the floor is more or 

 less uniform, the depth usually 

 exceeding 2,000 fathoms; islands 

 are few and are volcanic in origin, 

 and deeps are few and small. 



Of the last , one of the most interest- 

 ing is the Atacama deep off the coast 

 of Chile, which confronts the lofty 

 chain of the Andes. On the Asiatic 

 side there are large areas less than 

 2,000 fathoms in depth, with many 

 small volcanic and coral islands, 

 in addition to the larger islands of 

 continental type, such as Japan and 

 New Zealand. At the same time, 

 there are many large deeps where 

 the sounding line drops to 3,000, 

 4,000, or even 5,000 fathoms. 

 Another feature of the Asiatic 

 margin is the frequency of border- 

 ing seas, which vary very greatly 

 in depth. 



After the Great War the question 

 of the control of the Pacific Ocean 

 became an acute international prob- 

 lem, and in 1921 President Harding 

 called a conference at Washington 

 to discuss, among other questions, 

 this matter. The chief of the so- 

 called Pacific powers are Britain, 

 U.S.A., and Japan. See Ocean; 

 Washington Conference. 



M. X. Newbigin 



Pacific Steam Navigation 



Company. British steamship 

 company. Founded in 1840 with 

 a service of paddle-steamers to the 

 Pacific ports of S. America, the 

 line was extended and developed, 

 and in 1910 was merged in the 

 Royal Mail Steam Packet Co. (q.v. ). 



Pacifism. Term applied, usu- 

 ally in a derogatory sense, to the 

 state of mind and consequent ac- 

 tion of those who think even an 

 unjust peace preferable to war, 

 even if war is waged against op- 

 pression and injustice. 



Pacing OB PACE-MAKING. Act 

 of setting the pace or speed-rate in 

 certain athletic events. The pacer 

 is employed in middle and long- 

 distance running and cycling on 

 tracks, and runs or cycles to in- 

 structions to enable the principal 

 for whom he acts to achieve his 

 object, whether it be to win a race 

 or to beat a time-record. 



Faster times are usually made 

 when a pacer is employed, espe- 

 cially in cycling, where the pacer, 

 often a motor-cyclist, not only rides 

 at a speed calculated to beat the 

 time-record being attacked, but 

 also acts as an all-important wind- 

 screen for the principal. In com- 

 petitive races the chief object of 

 the pace-maker is to traverse 

 various parts of the distance in set 



times, colloquially termed " run- 

 ning or riding to the clock," so 

 that the principal shall be suitably 

 placed for the sprint home. 



The word pacer is also applied 

 to a horse whose method of pro- 

 gression is the pace, i.e. both off 

 legs strike the ground in unison 

 alternately with both near legs. 

 Although the pace resembles the 

 trot, there is actually a distinct 

 difference, the trotter covering 

 ground by striking with off fore and 

 near hind legs at the same time. 



Packfong OB PAKTONG (Chinese, 

 white copper). Alloy of copper. 

 It contains about 40 p.c. copper, 

 44 ? p.c. zinc, and 15 - 3 p.c. nickel, 

 and has for many centuries been 

 largely made in China. The pro- 

 portions of zinc and nickel vary 

 considerably, and there are occa- 

 sionally 2 p.c. of iron. It is a white 

 metal, hard and malleable. 



Pack-horse. Horse employed 

 in the carriage of goods. This 

 method of transport is common 

 where the roads are not available 

 for wheeled traffic, especially in 

 mountain districts. The British 

 army field service regulations fix 

 200 Ib. as the load of a pack-horse, 

 160 Ib. for pack -mules and don- 

 keys. In Great Britain strings of 

 pack-horses remained in use until 

 the 18th century. 



