426 



PARRAKEET PARSNEP. 



was by no means inconsiderable. In 1791, his resi- 

 dence was in danger of destruction from the Bir- 

 mingham rioters, in consequence of his intimacy with 

 dot-tor Priestley. On this occasion, he published a 

 tract, entitled a Letter from Irenopolis to the Inha- 

 bitants of Eleutheropolis. On Easter-Tuesday, 1800, 

 he preached his celebrated Spital sermon, in which 

 he attacked the social doctrine of Godwin's Political 

 Justice. This discourse he soon after published, with 

 notes. On the death of Mr Fox appeared his 

 Characters of the late Right Honourable Charles 

 James Fox, selected, and, in part, written, by Philo- 

 patris Varvicensis. In 1819, he reprinted Speeches 

 by Roger Long and John Taylor, of Cambridge, 

 with a critical Essay, and Memoirs of the Authors, 

 and composed a pamphlet, which appeared after his 

 death, defending bishop Halifax from the charge of 

 having become a convert to the church of Rome in 

 his last sickness. His death took place at Flatton, 

 March 26, 1825, in his seventy-ninth year. In 

 curious and elegant classical knowledge, he seems 

 to have been at the head of the English scholars of 

 his day. His prodigious memory and extent of re- 

 search rendered him very powerful in conversation. 

 His Works, with a Memoir, by Johnson, appeared 

 in 8 vols., 8vo (London, 1828) ; and Memoirs of 

 Doctor Parr, &c., by Field (2 vols., 8vo, 1828). 



PARRAKEET, or PAROQUET. See Parrot. 



PARRHASIUS, a Greek painter, born at Ephesus, 

 flourished about 420 B. C. He was a contemporary 

 and rival of Zeuxis. According to Pliny, he was 

 the first who introduced proportion into painting, 

 lively expression and grace into the countenance 

 and attitude, and he excelled all other painters in 

 design. Several of his pictures are mentioned by 

 ancient authors, but none of them has been preserved. 

 His success rendered him arrogant ; according to 

 Athenasus, he clothed himself in purple, wore a gold 

 wreath on his head, and pretended to be descended 

 from Apollo, one of whose surnames was Par- 

 rhasius. See Painting. 



PARROT (psittacus). This splendid genus in- 

 cludes about 170 species. The luxuriant tracts of 

 the torrid zone seem to be the favourite residence of 

 these noisy, numerous, and richly-plumaged tribes. 

 They are not, however, as was supposed by Buffon, 

 confined to that zone, as later discoveries have shown 

 that they are found in America as far south as 

 the straits of Magellan, and on the shores of Van 

 Diemen's Land ; and one species in the United 

 States of America is resident as far north as 42. 

 Bill hooked ; upper mandible movable, and, for the 

 most part, covered with a case ; nostrils rounded, 

 basal ; tongue, in most of the species, fleshy, obtuse, 

 and entire ; feet formed for climbing. They assist 

 themselves in climbing with the bill, associate in pairs 

 or flocks, feed on the seeds and fruits of various plants, 

 often attain to a great age, and, by means of their 

 obtuse tongue, and the conformation of their larynx, 

 may be taught to imitate the human speech. They 

 are of a great variety of sizes, from that of the do- 

 mestic fowl to that of a sparrow. The macaw has 

 been described in a separate article. The pavouane 

 parrot (P. Guianensis) is found in the Antilles and 

 Guiana, where it assembles in large flocks, and does 

 great injury to the coffee plantations. The ring pa- 

 roquet (P. Alexandri), which is remarkable for its 

 docility and imitative powers, seems to have been the 

 only species known to the earlier Greeks and Romans, 

 having been brought from Ceylon after the expedi- 

 tion of Alexander. They afterwards obtained other 

 species from Africa. Common gray parrot (P. eritha- 

 cws), about the size of a small pigeon, is remarkable 

 for its loquacity, docility, and distinctness of articu- 

 lation. It is common in many parts of Africa. In- 



dividuals of tiiis species are known to have lived 

 about 100 years. The common green parrot (P. 

 Amazonius, Shaw), of which the varieties are very 

 numerous, is a native of Soutli America. The Gui- 

 nea parrot (P. pullarius) is a highly beautiful spe- 

 cies, about five inches in length, and is found in the 

 East Indies and Afiica. They easily imitate other 

 birds, but articulate with difficulty. The only spe- 

 cies found native in the United States is the Carolina 

 or Illinois parrot (P. Carolinensis) , which is resident 

 from the gulf of Mexico to the neighbourhood of 

 lake Michigan, and on the east of the Allegbenies 

 to Maryland, and occasionally strays into New York. 

 Their favourite food is the seeds of the cockle-bur, 

 which grows in great abundance along the shores of 

 the Mississippi and the Ohio. They are seen in 

 large flocks, screaming round the salt licks, being, 

 like the pigeons, fond of the salt water. They are 

 very sociable in their dispositions, extremely fond of 

 each other, and showing the greatest grief for the 

 loss of their companions. The plumage is very 

 beautiful, the general colour being a bright-yellow- 

 ish, silky green, with light-blue reflections. The tail 

 is long and cuneiform. These birds are abutit 13 in- 

 ches long, and 21 across the wings when extended. 



PARSEES. See Guebers. 



PARSLEY (apium pelroselinwri); a well-known 

 garden vegetable, used for communicating an aro- 

 matic and agreeable flavour to soups and other 

 dishes. The root is elongated and whitish ; the 

 stem upright, three or four feet high, striated and 

 branching ; the leaves doubly pinnate, with the leaf- 

 lets of the inferior part of the stem oval, wedge- 

 shaped and incised, and the superior ones linear . 

 the flowers are small, yellowish white. It belongs 

 to the natural family umbelliferee, and is supposed to 

 have been brought originally from Sardinia, though 

 now common throughout the south of Europe. All 

 domestic quadrupeds are fond of the leaves, but they 

 are a dangerous poison to poultry and other birds. 



Parsley is sown from March to August, and the 

 leaves may be cut several times during the summer, 

 provided that care is taken to water the plants in 

 times of drought. As the root is biennial, the flowers 

 and seeds do not appear until the second season; and, 

 if cut before flowering, the duration of the plant is 

 frequently prolonged another season. 



Celery is a second species of apium, and, in its 

 wild state, is a small, acrid, and noxious plant, but, 

 from cultivation, has become one of our most valu- 

 able salads. 



PARSNEP (pastinaca sativa); a well-known culi- 

 nary vegetable, a native of the south of Europe. 

 The root is biennial and fleshy; the stem herbaceous, 

 upright, striated, rigid, and branching; the leaves 

 pinnate, alternate, and sheathing at the base, com- 

 posed of oval, slightly lobed, and incised leaflets. 

 The flowers are small, yellow, and are disposed in 

 umbels, as is usual with the umbelltferte. In the wild 

 plant, the leaves and stem are hairy ; but, when cul- 

 tivated, they become smooth, and the root is larger 

 and more succulent. 



Parsneps are sweetish, and slightly aromatic to the 

 taste. Besides their use for the table, they are often 

 cultivated on an extensive scale as fodder for cattle. 

 The milk of cows is improved in quality, and the 

 quantity is increased, by their use, and, besides, 

 yields butter of a fine saffron yellow, and excellent 

 flavour. Indeed, all domestic quadrupeds are ex- 

 tremely fond of them. As an article of food for 

 man, they are agreeable to most palates, and are 

 considered wholesome, and highly nutritious. They 

 may remain in the ground all winter, as they are 

 not liable to injury from frosts, and may be taken up 

 as required. They are sown in the autumn, or more 



