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The milky juice of thefe plants is very cauftic, and 
reckoned poifonous. In cutting off any of the branches 
of the plants, if the knife be not immediately cleaned, 
the juice will corrode it, and turn the blade almoft black 
in a very little time, fo as not to be cleaned off again ; 
and, if dropped on linen, will caufe it to wafh in holes, as 
if burnt with aquafortis. 
PLUMIE'R (Charles), a diftinguilhed naturalift, was 
born of obfcure parentage, at Marfeilles, in 164.6. He 
received a clafiical education, and at the age of lixteen 
entered into the religious order of Minims. Father 
Maignan, of the kune order, at Touloufe, gave him in- 
ftrudtions in mathematics, and taught him feveral mecha¬ 
nical arts connefted with philofophy, among which wis 
that of turning. In this he became fo great a proficient, 
that he wrote a curious book on (the fubjedt. Being fent 
by hisfuperiors to Rome, to purfuethe Ihidies belonging 
to his vocation, he applied to them with fo much ardour 
as to injure his health ; and, for the purpofe of relaxation, 
lie indulged a natural propenlity to botanical refearcbes, 
and made himfelf mailer of the fcience under fome able 
teachers in Italy. On his return to Provence, hisfupe¬ 
riors favoured this inclination, by placing him in a rural 
and maritime retreat near Hieres. Soon after, he became 
acquainted with the celebrated Tourneforr, whom he 
accompanied in fome of his berborifations. The example 
of the Englifli Sloane having flimulated the French 
court to inveftigate the natural hiftory of their Weft- 
Indian poffeffions, Plunder was chofen as the aflociate of 
Surian for that purpofe, and failed to the Antilles. Pie 
acquitted himfelf with fo much credit, that he-made two 
more voyages at the king’s expenfe, refiding a confiderable 
time in thofe iflands, and in that of St. Domingo, and 
applying himfelf with great affiduity to the defeription 
and delineation of fubje£ts as well of the animal as of the 
vegetable kingdom. His labours were rewarded with the 
title of King’s Botanift, and a penfion augmented each 
voyage. On his return from the fecond voyage, he pro¬ 
cured, by the interell of M. Pontchartrain, the printing 
at the Louvre of his fir ft botanical work, “ Defeription 
des Plantes de l’Amerique,” 1695, fol. with 108 plates, 
of which fifty belong to the fern tribe. The figures are 
little more than outlines; but, being as large as life, and 
drawn with accuracy and freedom, they have a fine efteff. 
After his third voyage, he publiflied, in 1703, “ Nova 
Plantarum Genera,” 4to. in which he gives the dsferip- 
tions and figures of 106 new genera. In more than fifty 
of thefe he pays the compliment, finee fo frequent, to his 
brother botanifts, of framing appellations from their 
names : feveral Englilhmen are thus honoured by him. 
The king’s phyfician, Monf. Fagon, engaged him in 
1704 to undertake a fourth voyage for the elpecial purpofe 
of difeovering and delineating the tree which yields the 
Peruvian bark; but, whilft he was waiting to embark at 
Port St. Mary, near Cadiz, he was feized with a pleurily, 
which terminated his life at the age of 58. Before his 
departure from Paris he had prepared for the 'prefs his 
“ Traite des Fougeres de l’Amerique,” which was printed 
at the royal expenfe in 1705, fol. with 172 plates: the 
ferns in his firft publication are repeated in this. Plunder 
left behind him a great number of drawings of fubjedls in 
natural hiftory, faid to amount (to 1400, part of which 
were depofited in his convent at Paris, and part in the 
king’s library. From the latter, Boerhaave procured 
copies of 508 fpecies of plants, which came into the hands 
of profeffor Burmann at Amfterdam, who publiflied them 
at his own expenfe in 1755-60, in ten falciculi, compri¬ 
zing 262 plates. Dr. Bloch of Berlin alfo obtained from 
this colledfion many of the figures of fillies for his fplen- 
did work on Ichthyology. Plunder likewife publiflied 
two Differtations, one in the Journal des Sgavans, the 
other in thejournal de Trevoux, to prove (what was then 
difputed) that cochineal is an infeiTc, feeding on the 
Nopal, the culture of which plant he deferibes. His “Art 
(is Tourner,” above mentioned, was publiflied firft at 
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Lyons in 1701, and was republifhed at Paris in 1749, fob 
with eighty plates. Itisreckoned the completed account 
extant of the turner’s art. Prcf. to Bloch’s Ichthyologie, 
Part. VI. 
PLUMIG'EROUS, adj. Having feathers ; feathered. 
PLU'MIPEDE, f [pluma , and pes, Lat. foot.] A fowl 
that has feathers on the foot. 
PLUM'MET, f. [ plumbata , Latin.] A weight of lead 
hung at a firing, by which depths are founded, and per¬ 
pendicularity is difeerned: 
Deeper than did ever plummet found, 
I’ll drown my book. Shakefpeare's Tempejl. 
Any weight.—God fees the body of flefh which you bear 
about you, and the plummets which it hangs upon your 
foul; and therefore, when you cannot rife high enough 
to him, he comes down to you. Duppa's Hides for Devo¬ 
tion. —The heavinefs of thefe bodies, being always in the 
afeending fide of the wheel, muft be counterpofed by a 
plummet faftened about the pu’dy on the axis : thisp/uwa- 
met will defeend according as the land doth make the 
feveral parts of the wheel lighter or heavier. Wilkins. 
PLUMO'SE, or Plu'mous, adj. [ plumofus , Lat.jForm- 
ed in the manner of a feather, with a ftem and fibres 
iffuing from it on each fide ; fuch are the antennae of 
certain moths, butterflies, See. —This has a like plumous 
body in the middle, but finer. Woodward on Foffils. 
PLUMO'SENESS, or Plumos'ity, f. Plumage; the 
ftate of being full-feathered. 
PLU'MOUS. See Plumose. 
PLUMP, adj. [Of this word the etymology is not 
known. Skinner derives it from pomele, Fr. full, like a 
ripe apple; it might more eafily be deduced from plum, 
which yet feems far-fetched. It may be from the Gr. 
tAeo;, Lat. plenus, full; or from the Germ, plump, heavy, 
coarfe.] Somewhat fat; not lean; fleek; full, and 
fmooth. Dr. Johnfon has applied it only to the animal 
world : but it is not confined to that application ; as the 
fecond example fhows.—The heifer, that valued itfelf upon 
a fmooth coat and a plump habit of body, was taken up 
for a facrifice ; but the ox, that was defpifed for his raw 
bones, went on with his work Hill. L'Ejlrawje. 
The ploughman now 
Securely goes after the lazy plough; 
Sows his plump feed, and from earth’s pregnant womb 
Expedls the vvilh’d fruits, when the feafon’s com e.Fari/Itaw. 
PLUMP, f. A knot; a tuft; a duller; a number 
joined in one mafs. “I believe it is now corrupted to 
clump." Dr. Johnfon. —Perhaps itfelf is merely a corrup¬ 
tion of clump. Todd. —England, Scotland, Ireland, lie all 
in a plump together, not acceflible but by fea. Bacon. — 
Warwick, having efpied certain plumps of Scottifh horfe- 
men ranging the field, returned towards the arriere to 
prevent danger. Hayward. —We relied under a plump of 
trees. Sandys. 
Spread upon a lake, with upward eye 
A plump of fowl behold their foe on high ; 
They clofe their trembling troop, and all attend 
On whom the fowling eagle will defeend. Dryden. 
To PLUMP, v. a. To fatten ; to fuel); to make large. 
—The particles of air, expanding themfelves, plump out 
the fides of the bladder, and keep them turgid. Boyle. — 
I’m as lean as carrion ; but a wedding at our houle wiil 
plump me up with good cheat. L'Ejlrangc. 
To PLUMP, v. n. To fall like a ltone into the water. 
A word formed from the found, or rather corrupted from 
plumb. Dr. Johnfon.— [From the adjedlive.] To be fwol- 
len. Ainfworth. 
PLUMP, adv. [corrupted from plumb, or perhaps 
formed from the lound of a ftone falling on the water.] 
With a fudden fall: 
The art of fwimming he that will attain to, 
Muft fall down plump, and duck himfelf at firft. 
Beaum. and FI. 
PLUM'PER, 
