PUU 



601 



PUT 



native of the south of Europe ; the P. 

 naiia of the AVost Indies. 



PUSI'CKAL, from puniceus. Of a fine 

 bright red colour, like the llowers of the 

 pomegranate (ininica). 



PL-NT. An oblong flat-bottomed boat, 

 with a square head and stern. 



PU'PA 1. In entomology, the chrysalis. 

 2. In conchnlogy, a genus of cylindri- 

 cal univalve land shells belonging to the 

 family Colimaeea. 



PUPIV'OROI s, from jnipa and voro, to feed. 

 Feeding on the larvse or pupae of insects. 



PURA'NA, Sanscrit, a poem. The sacred 

 books of India explanatory of the Shaster. 



PCB'BECK BEDS OR STRATA. The lowest 

 deposits of the "YYealaeu group, consist- 

 ing of various kinds of limestones and 

 marls. 



PCR'OATORT. A place appointed for the 

 satisfaction of temporal punishments, 

 which among Roman Catholics are dis- 

 tinguished from the eternal, the latter 

 alone being remitted by the death of 

 Christ. 



PoRG'rxo FLAX. Mill mountain. A 

 plant, the Linum catharticum, a decoc- 

 tion of which is an effectual and safe ca- 

 thartic. 



PORG'ING NOT. The seed of the Jatro- 

 pha curcas, which affords an oil which is 

 employed in some places as the castor oil 

 is in this country. 



PD'RIM. Among the Jews, the Feast of 

 Lots, instituted to commemorate their 

 deliverance from the machinations of 

 Human. 



PC'KITANS. The dissenters from the 

 Church of England were so called in 

 derision, because they professed to be 

 guided by the pure word of God, in oppo- 

 sition to all traditions and human insti- 

 tutions. 



PUR'LINS. Pieces of timber which are 

 laid across the inside of rafters, to keep 

 them from sinking in the middle. 



PURPLE or CASSIUS. Gold, purple. A 

 vitrifiable pigment, which stains glass 

 and porcelain of a beautiful purple hue. 

 It is obtained by adding to a neutral mu- 

 riate of gold a mixture of the protochlo- 

 ride and perchloride of tin, all in solu- 

 tion. A beautiful purple precipitate falls. 



PUR'PURA. 1. One of the four genera into 

 which Brugueir has divided the gastero- 

 pods, forming the genus Buccinutn, Lin. 

 The species are numerous, and the ani- 

 mal secretes a purple liquor, which was 

 formerly used in dyeing wool, &c., and is 

 supposed to be the substance of the Ty- 

 rian dye, so highly prized in ancient 

 Home for producing the imperial purple. 



2. A disease in whieh small distinct 



purple specks appear ou the skin. 



PCR'PURE. In heraldry, purple ; repre- 

 sented in engraving by diagonal lines from 

 rigLt to left. 



PURPD'RIC ACID. An acid obtained by 

 treating uric or lithic acid with dilute 

 nitric acid. It has a fine purple colour 

 when in solution, but in a dry state it is 

 a fine powder of a cream colour. 



PUR'PURINE. A colouring principle 

 which exists in madder, and hence called 

 madder-purple. 



PURS'ER. In the navy, an officer who 

 has charge of the provisions of a ship of 

 war, and attends to their preservation 

 and distribution among the officers and 

 crew. 



PUR'SCIVANTS. In heraldry, the lowest 

 order of officers at arms. They attend 

 the heralds when they marshal public 

 ceremonies. The term is French, pour- 

 suivant, a state messenger. 



PURVEY'ANCE. In English law, the 

 royal prerogative of pre-emption, abo 

 lished by 12 Charles II., c. 124. 



Pus, TVOS, matter. Applied to designate 

 the whitish, bland, cream -like fluid, 

 heavier than water, found in abscesses 

 and on the surface of sores. 



PUS'TULE, frompus, (q. v.). An eleva- 

 tion of the cuticle, sometimes globate, 

 sometimes conoidal in its form, and con- 

 taining pus or lymph, which is in general 

 discoloured. 



PCTA'MEN. A Latin name for the shell 

 of a nut: applied in botany as another 

 term for the endocarp, stone, or shell of 

 certain fruits. 



POTAMIN'E^:. The name of the 25th 

 natural order of plants according to Linn6, 

 comprising such as have an outer shell 

 (putamen), over a hard fruit. 



PUT'CHOCK. The root of a plant which 

 grows abundantly in Scinde, and is ex- 

 ported in considerable quantities from the 

 north-west coast of India into China, 

 where it is burned as incense in the tem- 

 ples of the gods. It yields a fine smoke, 

 and diffuses a grateful odour in burning. 



PCT'LOGS, ^ Pieces of timber, about 



PCT'LOCKS. t seven feet long, used in 

 building scaffolds. 



PDTO'BIUS. One of the four sub-genera 

 into which Cuvier has divided the genus 

 Muttela, Lin. This sub-genus comprises 

 the polecat, and mink or norek of the 

 north and east of Europe. 



PCTREFAC'TIOX , fromputrtfacio, to make 

 rotten. 1. The spontaneous decomposi- 

 tion of animal and vegetable matters, at- 

 tended with fostid exhalations: called 

 also putrid, or putrefactive fermentation. 

 In the process of putrefaction, the solid 

 and fluid matters are resolved into gaseous 

 compounds which escape, and earthy 

 matters which remain. The requisites of 

 the process are (1.) a certain degree of 

 humidity, (2.) a certain degree of heat, 

 and (3.) the presence of oxygen (a consti- 

 tuent of atmospheric ai) All organic 

 bodies, when life is extinct, decay with 



