P O R 



tainous woods in Peru. A tall and very handfome tree, 

 forty ells in height, with greyifh, rugged, minutely dotted 

 branches. Leaves alternate, on fliort ftalks, oblong-lanceo- 

 late, rounded at the bafe, entire, veiny on both fides, fhining 

 above. Stalks axillary, feveral together, drooping, thick- 

 ened upwards, each bearing one or more yellowifh-white 

 piivers, about an inch in diameter. Berries cylindrical, 

 tumid, rather coriaceous, but juicy and eatable, each marked 

 externally with a longitudinal feam. Seeds oblong-kidney- 

 fliaped, compreffed, in two rows. The leaves afford a 



yellow dye. 



2. V . parvijlora. Small-flowered Porcelia. Purfli n. 2. 

 (Afimina parviflora ; De Cand. Syft. v. i. 478. " Dunal 

 Anonac. 82. t. 9." Orchidocarpum parviflorum ; Mich. 

 Boreal.-Amer. v. i. 329.)— Leaves obovate-wedgefliaped, 

 pointed, clothed with rufty down beneath, as well as 

 the young branches. Flowers feffilc. Outer petals 

 longeft, fcarcely twice the length of the calyx. — In Ihady 

 woods, near rivers and lakes, from Virginia to Georgia, 

 flowering in April and May. A low firuh, fometimes not 

 above two feet high when in full fruit. Floivers fmall, 

 dark purple. Purfh. Branches fmooth, flightly rugged ; 

 when young leafy, and covered with rcddifh pubefcence. 

 Leaves on very (hort ftalks ; acute at the bafe ; ribbed and 

 downy beneatli ; fmooth and green above. Floivers nearly 

 or quite feffile, coming before the leaves, from the axillary 

 fears of laft year's fohage. Their Jlalks, if any, as well 

 a? the outfides of the calyx and corolla, ai-e clothed with 

 reddifh down. Berries two or three from each flower, 

 aggregate, ovate, fmooth, rather flefliy, " the fize of a 

 plum." De Candolle. 



3. P. triloba. Three-lobed Porcelia. Purfli n. i. 

 (Afimina triloba; De Cand. Syft. v. 1.479. "Dunal 

 Anon. 83." Annona triloba ; Linn. Sp. PI. 758. Willd. 

 Sp. PI. v. 2. 1267. Ait. Hort. Kew. v. 3. 335. A. 

 foliis lanceolatis, fruftibus trifidis ; Mill. Ic. v. i. 23. 

 t. 35. A. fruftu lutefcente Isvi, fcrotum arietis referente ; 

 Cateft). Carol, v. 2. t. 85. Trew Ehret I. t. 5. Duham. 

 Arb. v. I. 56. 1. 19, 20. Orchidocarpum arietinum ; Mich. 

 Boreal.-Amer. v. i. 329.) — Leaves elliptic-oblong, pointed 

 at each end, nearly fmooth, as well as the young branches. 

 Flowers ftalked. Outer petals roundifh-ovate, four times 



the length of the calyx On the overflowed banks of 



rivers, from Pennfylvania to Florida, flowering in March 

 and April. A fmall tree. Floivers dark brown. Fruit 

 large, eatable. Puijh. This fpecies, introduced by the 

 celebrated Peter CoUinfon, is ftill met with in feveral 

 curious gardens, like thofe of Kew, Sion-houfe, &c. where 

 it produces in the fpring large inodorous fioivers, an inch 

 and a half broad, with wrinkled dark-brown petals, as rc- 

 prefented by Miller. Cateftjy and Ehret make them of a 

 pale yellowilh-green. The leaves, which come forth as the 

 flowers begin to fall, are five or fix inches long, and an 

 inch and a half or two inches broad, on fliort ftalks. The 

 Jlower-Jlalks are folitary and fingle-flowered, from one to 

 two inches long, downy with purplifti hairs. Berries ovate, 

 yellow, two or three inches long, not perfedled in England, 

 eatable, though reported by fome perfons to have an un- 

 pleafant fmell. Seeds eight or ten, large, brown, rugged, 

 in a double row, as reprcfented by Ehret. Miller's fitrure 

 exhibits a fingle row only. One or two berries only appear 

 to be perfefted from each flower. 



^.V. pygnitea. Dwarf Porcelia. Purfli n. 3. (Afimina 

 pygmaca; De Cand. Syft. v. I. 479. " Dunal Anonac. 

 84. t. 10." Orchidocarpum pygma;um ; Mich. Boreal.- 

 Amer. v. I. 330. Annona pygmjea ; Bartr. Trav. t. I. 

 Willd. Sp. PI. V. 2. 1 268.) -Leaves oblong-lanceolate. 



P o u 



obtufe ; wedge-fliaped at the bafe ; fmooth, as well as the 

 young branches. Outer petals largeft, obovate-oblong, 

 greatly exceeding the calyx. — In the fandy fields of 

 Georgia and Florida. The whole ftirub not above a foot 

 high. Floivers the fize of Anona fquamofa. Purjlj. This 

 is fmooth in every part, with very long leaves, and fliort, 

 fingle-flowered, folitary, hrzAentedJloiver-flalks. Flowers 

 white ; their inner petals fmalleft, elliptical and obtufe. 

 De Candolle. Purfli, by a faulty punftuation, makes the 

 innev petals longeft. 



5. P. nrandijlora. Large-flowered Porcelia. Purfh 

 n. 4. (Afimina grandiflora ; De Cand. SylL v. i. 480- 

 " Dunal Anonac. 84. t. II." Orchidocarpum grandiflo- 

 rum ; Mich. Boreal.-Amer. v. i. 330. " Annona gran- 

 diflora ; Bart. Trav. t. 2." A. obovata ; Willd. Sp. PI. 

 v. 2. 1269.) — Leaves obovate-wedgeihaped, obtufe; 

 clothed beneath with rufty down, as well as the young 

 branches. Flowers feflile. Outer petals obovate, many- 

 times larger than the calyx. — In fandy fhady woods, of 

 Georgia and Florida, flowering in May. A fmall fhrub. 

 Floivers very large in proportion, white. Piirjli. Older 

 branches fmooth, as well as the upper furface of the leaves. 

 Inner petals linear-oblong. Berries fmooth, oblong-obovate. 

 De Cand'dle. 



POUTER, in Geography, a fmall townftiip of the diftrift 

 of Maine, in the county of Oxford, having 292 perfons. 



PORTLAND, New, a townftiip of Maine, in the 

 county of Somerfet, having 42 1 inhabitants. 



PORTSBOROUGH. In 181 1, the parifli of St. 

 Cuthbert's contained 1958 houfes, and 38,673 perfons ; vi%. 

 16,873 males, and 21,800 females: 210 families being 

 employed in agriculture, and 3342 in trade, manufaftunes, 

 or handicraft. 



PORTSMOUTH, col. 5, 1. 20, for tons r. cwt. 



POTASSIUM, Potash, in Chemi/lry. The moft re- 

 cent determinations make the weight of the atom of potaflium 

 to be 50, and that of potafti of courfe to be 60. Potaflium, 

 when heated in oxygen gas, combines with a larger quantity 

 of oxygen than exifts in potafli, and thus forms a compound 

 which is, in faft, ^ peroxyd of potaflium. This peroxyd is 

 of a yellow colour ; when put into water it effervefces, giving 

 off oxygen gas. Phofphorus, fulphur, and carbon, are acidi- 

 fied when brought in contadl with it. Hydrogen, when 

 heated with it, is flowly and without combuilion converted 

 into water. It decompofes ammonia, converting it into 

 water and azotic gas. 



POTT, Percival, col. 2, 1. 27, for 1726 r. 1736. 



POTZDAM. Add — Potzdam contains (the military 

 not included) 1 15,426 fouls. 



POULTICE, in Farriery, is compounded of various 

 ingredients, according to the purpofes of its application. 

 Some of the moft approved, founded in modern veterinai-y 

 fcience, are the following : — The common poultice con- 

 fifts of ^ peck of bran and water, q. /. boiled for ten 

 minutes, and then thickened with linfeed-meal, having the 

 addition of 3 oz. of hog's-lard : or, ^ peck of fine pollard, 

 2-ilbs. of linfeed-meal, and boiling water, q. f. adding 2 oz. 

 of hog's-lard. Fermenting poultice is obtained by boiling a 

 quantity of brewer's wort, and throwing into it as much 

 oatmeal as will thicken it ; adding, laftly, a tea-cupful of 

 yeaft : this is adapted to putrid ulcers, or mortified parts. 

 Saturnine poultice is had by adding to the common poultice 

 3 drs. or 5 oz. of extraft of lead, and mixing them well 

 together: or, i oz. of acetated cerufe, (fugar of lead,) 

 3 quarts of boiling water, with the addition of bran and 

 hnieed-meal, q. f. A fuppurative poultice may be made 

 by ftirring a fufficient quantity of common turpentine into 



fome 



