POM 



POP 



a large 



the extremities of a magnet. There 

 arc two poles, north and south, or 

 positive and negative. They are also 

 called anode and cathode by Mr. Far- 

 ady. 



POLLARD. Bran. Also, a tree 

 often cut or lopped for hoops, fire- 

 wood, &.C. 



POLLED. Hornless. 



POLLEN. The yellow dust or fa- 

 rina of the stamens or male organs. 

 It fertilizes the pistils. The pollen 

 is thrown out by the bursting of the 

 anthers, and aligliting on the moist 

 and acid surface of the stigma, begins 

 to throw out a liltle tube, or pollen 

 tube (boi/au), which pierces tlie tissue 

 of the stigma, and reaches the ovule, 

 where it lays the foundation of the 

 embryo. Without pollen, seeds would 

 not be formed capable of germina- 

 tion ; and in wet seasons 

 amount is often destroyed. 



POLY (from rro/.i'f, imnij). A pre- 

 fix of many words, as polygon, poly- 

 pelalous. 



POLYCHROITE. The colouring 

 matter of saffron. 



POLYGAMIA, POLYANDRIA. 

 See Botany. 



POLYGASTRIC INFUSORL\LS. 

 The class of animalcules with many 

 stomachs inhabiting infusions. 



POLYGONACE-E. Herbaceous, 

 apetalous exogens, with triangular, 

 scaly fruit, and an ochrea. The rhu- 

 barbs, sorrels, docks, and backvvheat 

 belong to this family. 



POLYPES, POLYPI (from Tro/.i'f, 

 and Trovf, a foot). The name of an 

 extensive group of radiated animals 

 in the system of Cuvier, associated 

 together by the common character 

 of a fleshy body, of a conical or cy- 

 lindrical form, commonly fixed by one 

 extremity, and with the mouth situ- 

 ated at the opposite end, and sur- 

 rounded by more or less numerous 

 arms or tentacles. 



POLYPODY, POLYPODIUM. 

 Several species of handsome ferns. 



POLYPUS. A fleshy tumour of 

 the nostrils or womb. It is to be re- 

 moved by the knife with care. 



PO.MACE, PO.MAGE. Refuse ap- 

 ples, after pressing for cider. It is 



excellent food for cows and hogs, es- 

 pecially if fresh. 



PO.MACE.E. Rosaceous plants, 

 with an inferior ovary, as the apple, 

 pear. 



POMEGRANATE. I'unica gra- 

 natum. A beautiful, hardy, decidu- 

 ous shrub, growing from 12 to 15 

 feet high. Its varieties produce their 

 splendid flowers and fruit very plen- 

 tifully from July to September, when 

 planted against a south wall. They 

 all grow well in a light, rich loam, 

 and strike root freely from cuttings 

 or layers ; the rarer varieties are 

 sometimes increased by grafting on 

 the common kinds. The pomegran- 

 ate requires shelter from frost. The 

 pulp of the fruit is of an agreeable 

 acid, and the rind is very astringent. 



POMMEL. The front prominence 

 of the saddle. 



POND. " An artificial excavation 

 in the soil, or a natural hollow, dam- 

 med up for the purpose of detaining 

 water, generally made in fields, in or- 

 der to supply drink to pasturing ani- 

 mals. The essential difference be- 

 tween a pond and a lake is, that the 

 former is formed by art, the water 

 being often ponded, or impounded, 

 by a bank of earth thrown across a 

 natural hollow or bourne containing 

 a stream. The soil should be pud- 

 dled, to render it impervious, befi)re 

 water is let in. In places where the 

 soil does not abound in springs, the 

 formation of ponds in the fields is as 

 essential to the business of farming 

 as the building of farm offices. A 

 pond in a garden, when of a round 

 form, is termed a basin ; and when 

 of some length, with parallel sides, a 

 canal." 



PONE, PONES OF BREAD. 

 Small loaves. 



PONS VAROLII. An eminence 

 of the medulla oblongata, at the top 

 of the spinal marrow. 



PONTI A. The genus of insects to 

 which the cabbage butterfly belongs. 



POPLAR. The genus Populus of 

 amentaceous exogens. They prefer 

 a moist, deep, and good soil, and are 

 readily mcreased by cuttings. The 

 wood of the P. momlifera is very good 



609 



