PALMI 



Palmi. Town of Italy, in 



III 'alalm i. Ill- -itn.ited 



on the slope of Monte Elia amid 

 orange groves and olive plantation, 

 has a port on the Gulf of Gioia, and 

 ia 26 m. by rly. from Reggio. It U in 

 the earthquake zone and Buffered 

 WVttd; in 17s:t and in l!His. J'op 

 10.000. 



Palmira. Town of Col. .ml.it 

 1 1 h ni t he (Vntral Valley W. of tln- 

 Cential Cordillera, on tin- main 

 road through the Cauca Valley, 

 160 m. S.\V. of Itogota and 10 m. 

 from the rly. terminus of Cali. It 

 is tin- centre of a fertile dist. nota- 

 ble for its tobacco. Pop. 25,000. 



Palmistry. Science of hand 

 reading, also called cheiromancy. 



i The art or practice is of great 

 antiquity and in the Middle Ages 



I was considered one of the black 

 arts. Palmistry is divided into 

 two heads, cheirognomy, which 



i deals with character reading from 

 shape and texture of hand, fingers, 

 and nails, and cheirogonomy, 

 which deals with marks and lines 

 on the palm, by which are read 

 past, present, and future events. 

 The fingers are named Jupiter, 

 Saturn, Apollo, and Mercury, and 

 the fleshy pads at the base of the 



Diagram of lett hand, illustrating 

 principal lines and significant parts. 

 Fingers A, Jupiter ; B, Saturn ; 

 C, Apollo ; and D, Mercury have 

 each 3 phalanges, numbered 1, 2. 

 and 3. On the hand : 1. 2, 3, and 

 4 are mounts of Jupiter, Saturn. 

 Apollo, and Mercury respectively ; 

 5, mount of Luna ; 6, mount of 

 Venus ; 7, mount of Mars. Princi- 

 pal lines are: E E, Life; F F, Head ; 

 G Q. Heart; HH, Fate; X X. Apollo 



fingers are called mounts, and take 

 their names from the fingers under 

 which they occur. Fingers are 

 divided into three divisions called 

 phalanges, the thumb into two. 



The principal lines on the palm 

 are named life line, head line, 

 heart line, fate line, and line of 

 Apollo. From the life line is judged 

 length of life, etc. From the head 

 line are judged intellectual qualities 



5943 



characteristics concerning 

 i pi..feHsion. The heart 

 line deals with the affection*. The 

 fate line tells of successes, failure*), 

 changes, and events of the future. 

 The line of Apollo deals with the 

 gain or loss of riches, etc. The 

 iL'ht hand tolls why success or 

 failure has come, the use or abuse 



of IIIII-'N talents, the development 



of character, how hereditai 

 dencies have been checked or 

 encouraged, and what may bo 



expert. <| III I he fill lire. The left 



hand shows inherited gifts and 

 tendencies, the illnesses, accidents, 

 and events that are passed. 



The mounts deal with the 

 character and denote courage, 

 imagination, pride, benevolence, 

 love of art, etc., which are present 

 or absent according to the size and 

 placing of the various mounts. 

 The nails, according to shape and 

 size, tell of the temper, and also 

 the state of health. The hands 

 are divided roughly into three 

 types, pointed, square, and spatu- 

 la te. A hand with few lines 

 clearly marked and of good colour 

 is considered a fortunate hand ; 

 a hand with numerous lines and 

 marks is considered unfortunate. 



Palmite Rush (1'r ionium palm- 

 ita). Perennial plant of the natural 

 order Juncaceae. It is a native of 

 S. Africa, growing in swamps and 

 rivers, frequently choking the 

 latter. Unlike other rushes, it 

 forms a trunk-like stem five to ten 

 ft. long, which is partly submerged. 

 From the top of this springs a 

 cluster of sword-shaped leaves, 

 which are an inch broad at the base. 

 The greenish - yellow, rush - like 

 flowers rise from the centre of the 

 leaf-tuft in a cluster several ft. long. 

 The leaves are used for thatching, 

 and contain strong fibres, those 

 from the lower part being used for 

 making brushes, and as a substitute 

 for horsehair stuffing. 



Palmitic Acid. One of the fatty 

 acids, to which the chemical 

 formula C li H 3l C0 2 H is assigned. 

 It was called palmitic acid by its 

 discoverer Heintz in 1852, because 

 it is obtained in large quantities 

 from palm oil, in which it occurs 

 as palmitin. Palmitic acid occurs 

 in other vegetable and animal fats, 

 but palm oil is the best source. It 

 is prepared by boiling palm oil with 

 caustic potash, decomposing the 

 soap.thus formed by sulphuric acid, 

 and purifying the palmitic acid by 

 recrystallisation from alcohoL 



Palm-nut Cake. Artificial 

 feeding stuff. It is made from the 

 kernels of the palm nut (Elaeis 

 guineemsis) after the oil has been 

 extracted. It is also on sale in 

 the form of meal. It is a product 

 of tropical W. Africa. 



PALMYRA 



Palm Oil. Oil extracted from 

 the fnut of Neveral species of palm. 

 The kernel* are removed. tin- 

 fruit boiled, and the oil skimmed 

 d .m the liquid, which has a dark 

 orange colour, the consistency of 

 butter, and an odour like violets 

 when fresh. It is composed of tri- 

 palmitin and olein and melts at 

 27, l Mo in ether and 



turpentine. It is largely used in 

 the manufacture of candles and 

 and in the preparation of 

 toilet requisites. 



Palm Sunday. Sunday before 

 Easter. ' >n tin- day the Christian 

 churches celebrate Christ's entry 

 into Jerusalem, when the multi- 

 tude strewed palm leaves and 

 branches, emblems of victory and 

 rejoicing, on the way (John 12). 

 Also known as Klowr-r Sunday 

 (Lat. Pnscha Floridum), the day 

 is mentioned as early as the 4th 

 century. In the R.C. Church it is 

 celebrated by the blessing and 

 distribution of palm or olive 

 branches, and a procession. There 

 is a procession in the Greek Church 

 on this day. The Church of 

 England abandoned the ceremony 

 in 1549, but the custom of decking 

 churches with willow sprigs sur- 

 vives, and in 1871 Luke xix, 28-48, 

 was appointed as second lesson for 



Palmite Rush. Leaf cluster, with 



rush-like Uower shown, on right, 



enlarged 



evensong. Florida, U.S.A., owes 

 its name to its discovery on Palm 

 Sunday, 151:?. 



Palmyra. Ancient city of Syria. 

 It stood about 150 m. N.E. of 

 Damascus. According to 2 Chron. 

 viii, 4, Tadmor, as it was at first 

 called, was founded by Solomon. 

 Under the Roman empire it 

 became a great commercial centre, 

 Owing to its position on the trade 

 routes between cast and west. Its 

 ruler Odenathus, c. A.D. 260, mode 

 it virtually independent of Rome. 

 His widow, Zenobia, c. A.D. 273, 

 had more ambitious designs and 

 sought to create an independent 

 empire embracing all Syria, Asia, 

 ana Egypt. She was defeated, 

 however, oy the emperor Aurelian, 



