PALMYRA PALM 



1466 



PAMIR 



nade ol" marble column.- that extended over 

 !v a mile. Wroiding to tradition. Palmyra 

 I the Tadmor of the Bible) wa> founded or en- 

 larged by Solomon. In the third century A. b., 

 \vln-n the famous Zenobia wa> it> queen, the 

 nty was stormed and destroyed by the army 

 of the Roman Emperor Auivlian. It was after- 

 It built, and as late as tin- fourteenth cen- 

 tury was a prosperous trading center, but after 

 the elo-M- of the Middle Ages it declined into a 

 group of hovels. See ZENOBIA. 



PALMYRA PALM, a specie* of palm occur- 

 ring throughout India and nearby islands and 

 in other tropical regions. It is one of the mosi 

 useful plants known. The wood i> employed 

 for building houses in the countries where it 

 urows. the leaves are utilized for thatch. ba>i. 

 mats. hat-. fan.- and umbrellas, tlie fiber for 

 twine and rope, and the fruit, seeds and stalks 

 (of the young plant) are eaten. In the north- 

 mi part of Ceylon the palmyra palm is almost 

 the sole source of livelihood for thousands of 

 the natives. The plant grows from twenty to 

 nty feet in height, bearing fan-shaped 

 leaves four feet long, and a large, triangular 

 shaped fruit. See PALM. 



PALO ALTO, pah' loh altl'tuit, BATTLE 01 . an 

 engagement of the Mexican War, fought on 

 the plain of Palo Alto, eight miles northeast 

 of Brownsville, Tex., May 8, 1846. It was the 

 first serious battle of the war, and was brought 

 about by the attempt of General Arista, with 

 over 6,000 Mexicans, to cut off General Taylor 

 and 2,000 men from Point Isabel, the base of 

 American supplies. After fighting all day 

 against three times their number, the Ameri- 

 won. Ari.-ta r< treated to Resaca de la 

 Pahua. where he was defeated a second time a 

 few days later. According to official estimates, 

 the American los.- at Palo Alto was seven killed 

 ;uid forty-seven wounded; the Mexicans ht 

 over 250. 



PALO ALTO, CAL.. a Mnall city two miles 

 from the southwestern end of San Franci.-co 

 Bay. which has become widely known as the 

 seat of Leland Stanford I "nivi r-itv. It is situ- 

 ated in Santa Clara County, on .San Francis- 

 quito Creek and on the Southern Pacilic Rail- 

 way; the Peninsula Interurban Electric Lino 

 connects with towns southeast. San .Io.-e, the 

 county seat, is eighteen miles southeast, and 

 San Francisco is thirty miles northwest. The 

 population in 1910 was 4,486. 



The city has Saint Patrick's Seminar}-, which 

 prepares young men for the priesthood and 

 i- the leading institution of its kind on tin 



Pacific coa>t. Sacivd Heart Academy, lor girl.-. 

 Man/anita Hall, for boys, Castilleja School 

 and Mi>- Harker'> School are other promi- 

 nent educational m>t it ut ions. The Carn. 

 Library contain.* 10.000 volumes. The first 

 house wa.- built here in 1S91. when the univer- 

 sity wa> founded by Senator Leland Stanford 

 and his wife. They named the place Palo 

 Alto (Spanish for tall tree) for the redwood 

 tree. 162 feet high and twenty-eight feet in cir- 

 cumference, which >t:md> on the estate, In 

 1894 the city was incorporated, and a freehold- 

 ers 1 charter was granted by the state legislature 

 in 1909. See LELANH STA.MOKD JIMOK r.\i- 



\KKSITY. K.S.L. 



PALPITA'TION OF THE HEART, a very 



rapid beating of the heart, producing, in vary- 

 ing degrees, the sensation of suffocation, short- 

 ness of breath or other distressing feelings. It 

 may be a symptom of organic heart di>ea>r m 

 of goiter, and is often brought on by anaemia 

 (which see). A very common cause is flatu- 

 lence, that is, over-distension of the stomach. 

 as a result of indigestion. In this case the up- 

 ward pressure on the diaphragm causes the ir- 

 regularity of the heart's action. Shock, excite- 

 ment and excessive use of stimulants may bring 

 on attacks. Persons who suffer from palpita- 

 tion through wrong habits of eating and indul- 

 gence in stimulants should correct their habits. 

 Frequent and persistent attacks, indicating the 

 presence of a more serious condition, call for 

 treatment by a reliable physician. For other 

 suggestions, see HEART, subheads Car^ <>( th< 

 Heart and Diaea^ea oj the Heart. 



PAMIR, pah nicer' , the highest plateau in 

 the world, situated in Central A.-ia, in ihe 

 region where the Himalaya, Hindu Kush. Kuen- 

 lun and Tian Shan mountain systems converge. 

 The name Pamir comes from two Persian w< id- 

 meaning foot oj the mountain fictile*. The Per- 

 sians also call it the roof of the world, because 

 of its elevation, and tradition says that it is 

 the original home of the Aryan, or white, race, 

 The greater part of the plateau is barren and 

 mountainous, but in the valleys, along the feu- 

 lakes and the River Oxus, which has its source 

 here, the native Kirghiz find pasture for their 

 cattle. During the summer, Pamir is very hot. 

 and from November to April it is impossibh 

 to traverse it because of cold and snow; never- 

 theless two important trade routes across it 

 have been used for ages. The plateau has an 

 estimated area' of 36,000 square miles and a 

 mean elevation of from 13.000 to 15.000 feet 

 above tea level. 



