i> E U 



c^mes black by exposure to the air, and 

 In then called mineral tar. In places 

 where it occurs plentifully, it is used as 

 o'l for lamps, as in the Burman empire, 

 x here, in one locality, there are said to 

 }* between 500 and 600 wells, yielding 

 f.unually 400,000 hogsheads of petroleum. 

 J- is composed of several oils, a little 

 oieine and stearine, resin, with a brown 

 iiidifferent substance in solution. By dis- 

 tillation it yields naphtha, Sp. gr. '087. 

 fern ell bituminous. 



PET'ROLINE. A substance obtained from 

 the petroleum of Rangoon, by Professor 

 Christison. It is the same sxibstance as 

 that previously discovered by M. Reichen- 

 bach,and named Paraffine (q. v.). 



PETROM'YZON. The lamprey, a genus of 

 fishes. Order Chondropterygii branchiis 

 /iris, Cuv. Family Cyclostomi, Dumeril. 

 Name from JTIT^OS, a stone, and /Mj^eta, 

 to suck, as these fishes habitually fix 

 themselves by suction to stones and other 

 solid bodies ; they attack the largest 

 fishes in the same way, and are finally 

 enabled to pierce and devour them. 



PETROSI'LBX. chert or rock-flint: pelra, 

 rock, and silex, flint. A fusible variety 

 of hornstone ; according to some authors, 

 the same as clinkstone; others again 

 make it compact felspar. 



PET'TY. In law, formerly written petit, 

 French for small. A petty constable is one 

 subordinate to the high constable. A 

 petty jury, in distinction to grand jury, 

 consists of 12 freemen empannelled to try 

 causes at the bar of a court. Petty ser- 

 jeanty is a tenure of lands of the crown, 

 by rendering annual service of some im- 

 plement of war, as a bow, arrow, sword, 

 &C Petty treason is the crime of killing 

 a person to whom the offender owes duty 

 or subjection. 



PETUNTZE', ) The Chinese name (pe- 



PETUNTSE'. j tunt-ze) of the fusible 

 earthy matter of their porcelain, analo- 

 gous to our Cornish stone. It is a va- 

 riety of felspar. 



PET'WORTH MARBLE. Sussex marble. A 

 limestone of various -shades of colour 

 occurring in the weald clay, and composed 

 of the remains of fresh- water univalves, 

 shells of the paludina, and crusts of the 

 Cypris faba, united into a compact marble 

 by a gangue of calcareous matter. 



PECCE'DANUM. Sulphur -wort or hog's 

 fennel. A genus of perennial plants. 

 PcntandriaDigynia. Name from xivxvi, 

 the pine-tree, on account of the shape of 

 its leaves. The officinal hog's fennel (P. 

 officinale) and the meadow saxifrage (P. 

 silaus) are indigenous species ; the others 

 belong to the continent and the other 

 European isles. 



PEUTINOE'RIAN MAP (O-erm.) A map of 

 the roads of the ancient Roman world, 



3 P H A 



written on parchment, and supposed to 

 have been constructed about the year 226. 



PEW'TER. A factitious metal, used in 

 making plates, dishes, spoons, and se 

 veral other domestic utensils. The alloy, 

 generally speaking, consists of tin and 

 lead, with sometimes a little zinc, cop- 

 per, or antimony, according to the pur- 

 poses for which the metal is designed. Th j 

 sorts known in commerce are plate, triple, 

 and ley-pewter ; the first is the hardest, 

 and is used for plates and dishes ; the 

 second is used for beer-pots ; and the third 

 for the larger wine measures. The name 

 is obtained from Norman, peautre. 



PEZI'ZA, a genus of fungi. The name 

 was used among the Greeks to denote 

 such fungi as grow without any stalk or 

 apparent root. 



PH^NOG'AMOCS, from $auim>, to show, 

 and <yu.[M$, marriage. An epithet for 

 such plants as have the stamens and 

 ovarium distinctly visible. 



PHA'ETON. 1. In mythology, the son of 

 Phoebus and Clymene, who, having rashly 

 undertaken to drive the chariot of his 

 father for a day, set fire to the world, for 

 which Jupiter precipitated him into the 



Po by a thunderbolt. 2. A light open 



carriage on four wheels, and drawn by two 



horses. 3. The tropical bird: a genus 



known by two long and narrow feathers 

 which flow from their tail, and which 

 at a distance resemble so many straws. 



PHAGEDEN'IC, from ipaya;, to eat. An 

 epithet for any ulceration which spreads 

 rapidly ; also for escharotics. 



PHAL.E'NA. The Moths : a genus of noc- 

 turnal Lepidoptera. Name, ipaAaw*, 

 " quse noctu lucernis advolat." 



PHALAN'GERS. In zoology (see PHA.LA.N- 

 OISTA). 



PHALAN'OES, pi. of phalanx. The small 

 bones of the fingers, and the toes of ani 

 mals and birds are called phalanges. 



PHALANGIS'TA. The Phalangers : a genus 

 of Marsupialia of many species, natives 

 chiefly of the Moluccas and New Holland. 

 The genus is now subdivided into Pha- 

 langista, Cuv., or Salantia, Illiger, or the 

 true Phalangers and Petaurus, Shaw, or 

 Phalangista, Illiger, or the Flying Pha- 

 langers. 



PHA'LANX, <pXay$, a battalion. 1. In 

 the ancient warfare, a huge square com- 

 pact mass of troops, of 8000, drawn up in 

 close order, with their shields joined and 

 pikes ranged across. The term is now 



more loosely applied. 2. The plural of 



the term, phalanges, is used to denote the 

 small bones of the fingers and toes. 



PHAL'ARIS. Canary-grass : a genus. Tri 

 andria Digynia. The P. canariensi* the 

 seed of which is the food of canary- birds, 

 is the British type. Named from the 

 >.* s? of Dioscoridee. 



