PRI 
P R I 
405 PRI 
down. Under this press are laid five, six, [ 
&c. pieces at the same, time, all furnished | 
with their pasteboards and iron-plates. When 
the plates are well ..cold, the studs are taken 
out and stitched a little together to keep 
them in the plaits. This manner of pressing 
was only invented to cover the defects of the 
stuffs; and accordingly it has been frequently 
prohibited. 
PREVARICATION, in the civil law, is 
where the informer colludes with the defend- 
ants, and so makes only a sham prosecution. 
PRICKING, in the sea-language, is to 
make a point on the plan or chart, near about 
where the ship then is, or is to be at such a 
time, in order to find the course they are to 
steer. 
PRIM JE VUE, among physicians, denote 
the whole alimentary duct; including the 
oesophagus, stomach, and intestines, with 
their appendages. 
PRIMATES, the first order of mammalia 
in theLimiean system; they are distinguished 
by fore-teeth cutting, upper four parallel 
(except in some species of bats, which have 
two or none) ; tusks solitary, that is, one on 
each side, in each jaw; teats two, pectoral; 
feet two, are hands ; nails, usually flattened, 
oval : food fruits, except a few that use ani- 
mal food. There are four genera, viz. homo, 
lemur, simia, and vespertilio. 
PRIMING, or prime of a gun, is the gun- 
powder put into the pan or touch-hole of a 
piece, to give it fife thereby ; and this is the 
last tiling done in charging. 
For pieces of ordnance they have a pointed 
iron-rod, to pierce the cartridge through the 
touch-hole, called primer or priming-iron. 
PRIMOGENITURE, the right of first- 
born. This right seems to be an unjust pre- 
rogative, and contrary to the natural right ; 
for siiice it is birth alone gives children a title 
to the paternal succession, the chance of pri- 
mogeniture should not throw any inequality 
among them. 
It was not till the race of Hugh Capet, 
that the prerogative of succession to the 
crown was appropriated to the first-born. By 
the antient custom of gavel-kind, still pre- 
served in some parts of our island, and we be- 
lieve throughout the United States of Ame- 
rica, primogeniture is ot no account, the pa- 
ternal estate being equally shared among the 
sons. See Gavel-kind. 
PRIMULA, the primrose, a genus of the 
luonogynia order, in the pentandria class of 
plants, and in the natural method ranking 
under the 2 1st order, precise. The involu- 
crum lies under a simple umbel ; the tube ©f 
the corolla cylindrical, with the mouth or 
limb patulous. This genus, including also 
the polyanthus and auricula, furnishes an ex- 
cellent collection of low, fibrous-rooted, her- 
baceous, flowery perennials, extending to 20 
species, at which the most remarkable are : 
1. The primula vulgaris, or spring primrose, 
has thick and very fibrous roots, crowned by 
a cluster of large oblong indented rough leaves, 
and numerous tlower-stalks, from about three 
or four, to five or six inches high, each ter- 
minated commonly by one flower. The va- 
rieties are, common "yellow-flowered prim- 
rose of the woods, white primrose, paper 
white, red, double red, double yellow, and 
double white. All these flower abundantly 
iu, March and April, and continue for a month 
or six weeks. 2. Primula officinalis. The 
paigie or cowslip has very thick fibrous roots, 
crowned by a cluster of oblong, indent- 
ed, round leaves, and upright, firm flower 
stalks five or six inches high, terminated each 
by a cluster of small flowers. The varieties 
are, common single yellow cowslip of the 
meadows, double yellow cowslip, scarlet 
cowslip, hose and hose-cowslip ; one flower 
growing out of the bosom of another, the 
lowermost serving as a calyx, all ot which 
varieties have the flower-stalks crowned by 
many flowers in branches. They flower in 
April and May, continuing in succession a 
month or six weeks. 3. Primula elatis, the 
great cowslip, oxcip. The polyanthus, so 
long and so much cultivated in English gar- 
dens, is a variety of these. The polyanthus 
is one of the noted prize flowers among the 
florists, many of whom are remarkably in- 
dustrious in raising a considerable variety of 
different sorts, as well as in using every art to 
blow them with all requisite perfection ; for 
among the virtuosi, a polyanthus must pos- 
sess several peculiar properties in order to 
be admitted in their collections. The chief 
properties required in a florist’s polyanthus, 
are: 1. The stem or flower-stalk shall be 
upright, moderately tall, with strength in 
proportion, and crowned by a good regular 
bunch of flowers on short pedicles, strong 
enough to support them nearly iu an upright 
position. 2. The florets of each branch 
should be equally large, spreading open fiat, 
with the colours exquisite, and the stripes 
and variegations lively and regular. 3. The 
eye in the centre of each floret should be 
large, regular, and bright ; and the antherag 
by the florists called the thrum, should rise 
high enough to cover the mouth of the tube 
or hollow part in the middle of the florets, 
and render them what they call thrum-eyed ; 
but when the style elevates the stigma above 
the anther*, the eye of the tube generally 
appears hollow, showing the stigma in the 
middle, like the head of a pin, and is rejected 
as an incomplete flower, though its other 
properties should be' ever so perfect. This 
pin-eyed polyanthus, however, though re- 
jected by the florists, is the flower in its most 
perfect state, and great numbers of them are 
of as beautiful forms and colours as the thrum- 
eyed varieties. 
* 4. Primula auricula has a thick fibrous root, 
crowned by a cluster of oblong, fleshy, broad, 
serrated, smooth leaves, resembling the shape 
of a bear’s ear; and amidst them upright 
flower-stalks from about three or four to six 
or eight inches high, terminated by an um- 
bellate cluster of beautiful flowers, of many 
different colours in the varieties. All of these 
have a circular eye in the middle of each 
flower, and of which there are different co- 
lours; whence the auriculas are distinguished 
into yellow-eyed, white-eyed, &c. The pe- 
tals of most of the kinds are powdered with 
an exceeding fine farina or mealy powder, 
which contributes greatly to the beauty of 
the flower. They all flower in April or May, 
continuing a month or six weeks in beauty, 
and ripening plenty of seeds in June. 
All the varieties of the common spring 
primrose multiply so fast by the roots, that it 
is scarcely worth while to raise them from 
seeds. However, though many single kinds 
may be raised from seed, yet parting the 
roots is tire only method by which the double 
kind can be preserved ; and the same thing is 
to be observed of all the rest. 
PRINCE’s METAL, a mixture of copper 
and zinc, in imitation of gold. See Zinc. 
PRINCIPAL POINT’. See Perspec- 
tive. 
PRINCIPLE EXTRACTIVE. See 
Plan ts, physiology of. 
PRI NOS, a genus of the monogynia or- 
der., in the hexandria c lass of plants, and in 
the natural method ranking under the 43d 
order, dmnosae. The calyx is sexlid ; the 
corolla monopetaious, and rotaceous ; the 
belly hexasperino.us. There are seven species, 
natives of the West Indies. 
PRINT, the impression taken from a cop- 
per-plate. See Printing. 
A print may be taken off, so as that the 
outlines and, principal strokes may be ex- 
actly copied for engraving, in the following 
manner. If the print is not above a year or 
two old, the paper need only be well" moist- 
ened with water, as for printing, but if it is 
more antient, it should be laid to soak all 
night in water, and afterwards hung in the air 
till it becomes dry enough for the press. The 
paper thus prepared is to be laid with its 
printed side next to the plate, thinly cased 
over with white wax ; and is thus to be com- 
municated to the rolling-press, whereby an 
impression of the cut will be gained. 
PRINTING, the art of taking impressions 
from characters or figures moveable, or im- 
moveable, on paper, linnen, silk, &c. There 
are three kinds of printing, ti e one from 
moveable letters for books ; the other from 
copper-plates for pictures ; and the last from 
blocks, in which the representation of birds, 
flowers, &c. are cut tor printing calicoes, 
linnens, &c. the first, called common press- 
printing, the second rolling press-printing, 
and the last calico, &c. printing. T he prin- 
cipal difference between the three consists in 
this, that the first is cast in relievb in distinct 
pieces, the second engraven in creux, and the 
third cut in relievo, and generally stamped, 
by placing the block upon the materials to be 
printed and striking upon the back of it. See 
Calico Printing. 
Printing, progress of. Who the first 
inventors of the European method of printing 
books were, in what city, and what year it 
was set on foot, are questions long disputed 
among the learned. In effect, as the Gre- 
cian cities contended for the birth of Homer, 
so do theGerman for that of printing. Mentz, 
Haerlem, and Strasburg, are the warmest on 
this point of honour, and these are left in 
possession of the question, which is not yet 
decided : though it must be owned that Mentz 
has always had the majority of voices. John 
Guttemburg, and John Fust of Mentz, John 
Mentel of Strasburg, and L. John Rosier of 
Haerlem, are the persons to whom this ho- 
nour is severally ascribed, by their respec- 
tive countrymen ; and they have all their ad- 
vocates among the learned. However, their 
first essays were made on wooden blocks, 
after the Chinese manner. The book at 
Haerlem, the vocabulary called Catholicon, 
and the pieces in the Bodleian library, and 
that of Bennet college, are all performed in 
this way; and the impression appears to have 
been only given on one side of the leaves ; 
after which the two blank sides were pasted 
together. But they soon found the inconvt- 
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