PHYLOGENY 



6131 



PHYSIC NUT 



causing enormous damage, especi- 

 ally in France. Drastic legislation 

 has checked the evil, and in 1878 

 an international convention was 

 concluded for concerted measures 

 to be taken. 



Phylogeny (Gr. phylon, race ; 

 genesis, origin). Biological term 

 for the study of that part of em- 

 bryology which may be expected 

 to throw some light upon the 

 origin of a race or species. See 

 Embryology. 



Physic (Gr. physis, nature). 

 Term meaning the science of medi- 

 cine. It survives in the official 

 titles of certain professors and 

 others, also in the term physician ; 

 but in general use it has been sup- 

 planted by the word medicine. 

 Physic garden is a term which was 

 used formerly for a botanic garden. 

 A notable physic garden is that at 

 Chelsea, London, established by the 

 Apothecaries' Society about 1676. 

 See Medicine ; Sloane, Sir Hans. 



Physical Training. Syste- 

 matic exercise for the promotion of 

 health and the development of the 

 body. The earliest form of physical 

 training or physical education was 

 that practised by the ancient 

 Greeks in the palaestra (q.v.), and 

 consisted chiefly of running, jump- 

 ing, wrestling, and discus throwing. 

 The Greek example was followed 

 by the Romans, and later various 

 kinds of physical training, mostly 

 of an athletic description, were 

 adopted by other European coun- 

 tries ; but it was not until the 

 second half of the 18th century 

 that the value of systematic me- 

 thods was fully appreciated. 



Schools of physical culture were 

 established in Germany, Denmark, 

 and elsewhere, one of the most 

 celebrated of these being the Royal 

 Central Institution of Gymnastics, 

 founded in Stockholm in 1814 by 

 Per Henrik Ling, to whom the 

 present high standard of Swedish 

 physical instruction is largely due. 

 His example was followed by Adolf 

 Spiess in Germany, which country 

 much developed its system in the 

 second quarter of the 19th century. 



The development of the muscles 

 is not the only consideration in 

 systematic physical training, and 

 careful attention has to be given 

 to the brain, the bones, the liga- 

 ments, and the organs. Methods 

 vary according to the country in 

 which they are practised, and the 

 exercises may be performed with 

 or without apparatus. 



The Swedish system, often re- 

 ferred to as " free movements," is 

 practised without apparatus, and 

 is now adopted in Great Britain. 

 It was an important part of the 

 training of the British soldier dur- 

 ing the Great War, and forms the 



basis of the syllabus of physical 

 exercises for public elementary 

 schools issued by the board of 

 education. It is divided into 

 groups, each group concentrating 

 on the development of a certain 

 part of the body the neck, trunk, 

 arm, leg, foot, ankle, etc. and has 

 the advantage over other systems 

 that it can be practised where 

 space is limited. 



In Germany, where, as in France, 

 physical training is under state 

 control, " free movements " form 

 only the preliminary exercises of 

 the system, which passes on to 

 strenuous movements requiring a 

 variety of complicated appliances. 

 In England, France, and America 

 the systems are similar in charac- 

 ter, the " free movements " being 

 combined with exercises for which 

 appliances are necessary, one dis- 

 tinct difference being the use in 

 America of the pulley apparatus, 

 which is not utilised in the other 

 countries. The usual apparatus 

 includes the vaulting-horse, the 

 flying rings, the parallel and hori- 

 zontal bars, and the trapeze. 



Physical training now forms part 

 of the curriculum in the schools 

 of most countries, the scholars of 

 British schools usually practising 

 recreative gymnastics, i.e. exer- 

 cises given in the form of recrea- 

 tion, such as musical drill. Correct 

 breathing is a vitally important 

 factor in all branches of physical 

 training, and certain exercises con- 

 sist entirely of inhaling and exhal- 

 ing. Much benefit may be derived 

 by taking 10 to 15 minutes' Swedish 

 drill night and morning, but where 

 the exercises are performed indoors 

 a window should always be opened 

 to permit of good air being 

 breathed. See Drill; Eurhyth- 

 mies ; Gymnastics ; Swedish Drill. 

 Physician. One who practises 

 medicine. At one time qualifica- 

 tions to practise medicine or sur- 

 gery in the United Kingdom could 

 be given separately, but under an 

 Act of 1858 no person can be regis- 

 tered as a medical practitioner un- 

 less qualified in medicine, surgery, 

 and midwifery. See Medicine. 



Physicians, ROYAL COLLEGE OF. 

 Medical corporation founded by 

 Henry VIII in 1518. Linacre was 



its first president. 



The college was 

 for many years in 

 Warwick Lane, 

 but now occupies 

 a handsome 

 building in Pall 

 Mall East, Lon- 

 don. It possesses 

 Royal College of a fi ne library con- 

 PhyncianB, arma taining ma /y rare 



books, and has an interesting col- 

 lection of objects associated with 



great physicians of the past, in- 

 cluding portraits. The college 

 consists of licentiates, members, 

 and fellows. The first two are 

 admitted by examination, licen- 

 tiates being usually physicians who 

 devote themselves to general prac- 

 tice, while members are generally 

 consultants. Fellows of the college 

 are elected from the members in 

 recognition of professional distinc- 

 tion. The college of physicians 

 issues an official volume, The 

 Nomenclature of Diseases. > 



The Royal College of Physicians 

 of Edinburgh is a Scottish medical 

 corporation founded in 1681. Its 

 present constitu- 

 tion is laid down 

 in a charter of 

 1861. It unites 

 with the Royal 

 College of Sur- 

 geons, Edin- 

 burgh, and the 

 Faculty of Phy- 

 sicians and Sur- 

 geons, Glasgow, 



Royal College of 



Physicians of 

 Edinburgh, arms 



to conduct examinations and grant 

 degrees hi medicine and surgery as 

 far as Scotland is concerned. Its 

 headquarters are in Queen Street, 

 Edinburgh. 



The college of physicians in Dub- 

 lin was founded in 1654 by Dr. 

 John Stearne, fellow and professor 

 of physic, Trinity College, Dublin, 

 and incorporated by royal charter, 

 1667. In was re-incorporated in 

 1692 under the title of The King's 

 and Queen's College of Physicians 

 in Ireland, and in 1890 the title of 

 Royal College of Physicians in Ire- 

 land was conferred by Supple- 

 mental Charter. The college grants 

 fellowships, memberships, licences, 

 licences in midwifery, and, con- 

 jointly with the Royal College of 

 Surgeons in Ireland, diplomas in 

 public health. Registrar's address, 

 6, Kildare Street, Dublin. 



Physic Nut (Jatropha purgans). 

 Shrub or small tree of the natural 

 order Euphorbiaceae, native of 

 tropical America. Its alternate 

 leaves are heart-shaped or three to 



Physic Nut. Leaves and flowers of 

 the tropical American shrub \ 



