PRUDHOE 



the court of Honorius. Having lost 

 the imperial favour, he retired to a 

 monastery, and wrote religious 

 poems, to at one for a misspent 

 youth. His chief works, hexameters 

 and lyrics, all the titles of which are 

 in Greek, are Cathemerinon, prayers 

 for daily use ; Peristephanon, acts 

 of martyrs ; and Hamartigenia, 

 the origin of evil. See Translations 

 from Prudentius, F. St. John 

 Thackeray, 1890. 



Prudhoe. Village of North- 

 umberland, England. It stands on 

 the Tyne, 11 m. from Newcastle, 

 with " a station on the N.E. 

 Rly. Near are the ruins of Prudhoe 

 Castle. Built by the Normans, it 

 was defended against William the 

 Lion in 1174, and later became the 

 property of the Percys. The chief 

 industry is coal-mining. Pop. 4,700. 



Prudhoe Land. Coastal tract 

 of N.W. Greenland. It is situated 

 N. of Hayes Peninsula, and is in- 

 dented by Inglefield Gulf, which 

 contains several small islands. It 

 contains the settlement of Etah. 



Prud'hommes, CONSEILS DE 

 (Fr., councils of discreet men). 

 Commercial and legal tribunals in 

 France of men of known sagacity. 

 Originally a medieval institution, 

 the Prud'hommes assembled in the 

 larger towns to adjudicate in com- 

 mercial disputes. The Conseils 

 were revived by Napoleon in 1806, 

 and have been carried on by the 

 Third Republic. 



Prud'hon, PIERRE PAUL (1758- 

 1823). French painter. Born at 

 Cluny, April 4, 1758, of poor 

 parents, he studied at the Dijon 

 Academy and in Italy. He re- 

 turned to Paris in 1789, and after 

 a hard struggle with poverty, won 

 reputation as an historical painter. 

 His principal work was the decora- 

 tion of the Louvre with ceiling and 

 other paintings. He died in Paris, 

 Feb. 16, 1823. See Marie Louise. 



Prune (Lat. prunum, a plum). 

 Dried fruit of various plum trees 

 grown in France, Portugal, other 

 European countries, and America, 

 especially in California. The plums 

 are dried slowly and with much 

 care, the best being sun-dried. 

 They are eaten dry, or soaked and 

 stewed, and are valuable for their 

 laxative quality. 



Prunella OR PRUNELLO. Stout 

 silk or worsted stuff formerly used 

 for clergymen's and barristers' 

 gowns. The word probably comes 

 from French prunelle (sloe), in 

 allusion to the colour of the cloth. 

 The term was later applied to a 

 doeskin twill 



Pruning (old Fr. proignier). In 

 gardening, the process of cutting 

 away superfluous stems, branches, 

 and other wood from a tree, in order 

 to induce healthy growth and in- 



Pruning. 1. High-headed tree which requires pruning. 2. Same tree after 



smaller branches have been pruned away ; white line shows where top should 



be cut. 3 and 4. Two-year-old nursery tree before and after pruning 



creased productivity of flowers or 

 fruit. Newly planted standard 

 roses, shrubs, and fruit trees should 

 be pruned somewhat severely, in 

 order to ensure the future shape 

 and welfare of the tree or bush. If 

 the scion has only two shoots, both 

 should be cut back to a point as 

 near to a bud as possible. This 

 will result usually in the appear- 

 ance of four healthy shoots the 

 second year, and these in turn 

 should be cut back to a bud, 

 with the expectancy of the estab- 

 lishment of eight good branches 

 in the third season. After that, 

 pruning is at discretion, the chief 

 object being to keep the branches 

 from crossing each other and be- 

 coming tangled, and also to main- 

 tain the centre of the tree in a free 

 and open condition, to ensure the 

 admittance of light and air. 



The actual cut should sever the 

 stem at an angle of approximately 

 45, and the operation is usually 

 carried out with a pruning knife. 

 Large limbs require to be pruned 

 with a handsaw. February and 

 March are the best months in 

 which to carry out all pruning, 

 just before the sap commences to 



rise in the stems. Natural climbing 

 plants, such as clematis, do not re- 

 quire much pruning. Summer 

 pruning is the simple operation of 

 pinching off the tops of side shoots 

 in early summer, in order to get 

 fresh breaks from the upper buds. 

 See Gardening ; Root. 



Prunus. Genus of trees of the 

 natural order Rosaceae. Natives 

 of the N. temperate zone, many 

 cultivated varieties yield valuable 

 fruit, e.g. plum (P. cortimunis), 

 peach (P. persica), and cherry 

 (P. ceraaus). See Cherry ; Cherry 

 Laurel; Fruit; Peach; Plum. 



Pruritus. Itching of the skin 

 without signs of local disease. It 

 is most common between the ages 

 of 30 and 40. The condition is most 

 frequently of a neurotic nature, 

 and may occur in persons who are 

 worried or overworked. It may be 

 made worse by cold or hot baths, 

 and attacks appear to be brought 

 on sometimes by certain articles of 

 diet, such as shell-fish, coffee, and 

 alcohol. Lotions containing pre- 

 parations of tar, carbolic acid, 

 salicylic acid, resorcin, menthol, 

 and other substances, may be ap- 

 plied, but are often without effect. 



