short and stout, and forearm twice as long; hind limbs slender, with 5 moderate toes of the same length; 5 or 6 bones in the wrist, 5 metacarpals, 5 fingers, with respectively 1, 2, 3, 4, and 4 joints; the first 4 short and with hooked nails, the external very long, equal to the neck and body, and nailless; the gape of mouth very large. This singular animal was referred to the swimming birds by Blumenbach and to the bats by Sömmering, and was determined to be a reptile by Cuvier. The nearly equal and conical teeth, very small cranial cavity, different number of joints in the fingers, and reptilian shape of sternum and scapula show that it was not a bat-like mammal; the existence of teeth, the small number of the vertebræ in the neck, the thinness of the ribs and tail and the absence of recurrent processes in the latter, the form of the sternum and number of the fingers, prove that it was not a bird. These characters place it among reptiles, but it had also a modification of the anterior extremities in the form of wings, which are not possessed by any existing or any other fossil members of the class, the socalled wings of the dragon being merely membranous expansions from the sides of the body supported by the ribs. The form of the wings is also remarkable and unique; in birds the fingers are very little separated, and serve as a basis for the plumes; in bats the flying membrane is stretched upon the four elongated fingers, the thumb remaining rudimentary; but in the pterodactyl the external finger alone is greatly developed and supports the flying membrane, the other four having the usual short dimensions; the membrane extended probably from the long finger along the sides of the body to the hind limbs and beyond, including the tail. About 20 species are described, varying in alar extent from a few inches to four or five yards; they probably flew and crept about in the manner of bats; the form of the teeth and strength of the jaws indicate a carnivorous animal, but of feeble powers; the smaller species must have been insectivorous, and the largest may have seized fish or small reptiles of their own or other genera. The great size of the eyes indicates nocturnal habits; the posterior limbs were so far developed that they could doubtless assume an erect position like birds, and perch on trees; the claws of the fore and hind feet would also enable them to climb along the rocks; the body was probably scaly, as in lizards. From the weakness of the scapular arch some have doubted the power of active flight in the pterodactyl, believing that the wing membranes could only support it in the air when leaping, in a little more perfect manner than in the dragons; but it must be remembered that the atmosphere of the secondary geological age was much more dense than the present, requiring proportionally less muscular force for aërial locomotion. The most anciently known species is the P. longi

rostris (Oken), about the size of a woodcock, with a length of 10 in. and an alar extent of 21 in.; the teeth were on each side. The P. brevirostris (Cuv.) had a shorter muzzle, the head resembling more that of a goose just hatched than of a reptile; the teeth were very small, ; the total length was less than 3 in., and there were only four posterior toes. Other species were less than 2 in. long, while on the contrary the P. ornis (Giebel) of the wealden was 2 ft. in length; in the chalk of Maidstone, England, Mr. Bowerbank detected bones of a species which he named P. giganteus, 6 to 7 ft. in alar extent; the P. Cuvieri (Bowerb.) is believed to have spread 163 ft. In 1871 Prof. Marsh found in the upper cretaceous rocks of western Kansas a species with an expanse of wing of 20 ft., which he named P. Owenii. Since 1869 Prof. Marsh has discovered the remains of three different species in the same regions. The genus rhamphorhynchus (H. von Meyer) or ornithocephalus (Sömm.) was separated for a few species of the Jurassic age, having the anterior portion of the jaws without teeth, and probably with a horny beak; the scapula and coracoid were consolidated together, and the tail long and stiff, with about 30 vertebræ; there were four joints in the wing finger; the largest species was about 18 in. long. The genus ornithopterus (H. von Meyer) had only two joints in the wing finger. PTEROPODS. See MOLLUSCA. PTOLEMAIS. See ACRE.

PTOLEMY (Gr. ПIroheμaios), the name of 13 Greek kings of Egypt, of whom the first three were the most important, and are treated in separate articles. Ptolemy IV., Philopator (222-205 B. C.), son of Ptolemy III., was mainly distinguished for cruelty and debauchery. The reign of Ptolemy V., Epiphanes, his son (205-181), was marked by the rapid decline of the Egyptian monarchy. His son Ptolemy VI., Philometor (181-146), by Cleopatra, daughter of Antiochus the Great of Syria, was aided in his wars with Syria, where he was some time a captive, by the Romans. Ptolemy VII., Physcon (the Fat, his usual cognomen, but called by himself Euergetes II., 146-117), brother of the last, with whom he reigned jointly for a time, and whose son he murdered, was driven to Cyprus by a rebellion of the Alexandrians on account of his cruelty, and afterward restored. He married his sister Cleopatra II., and afterward his niece Cleopatra III., and was a patron of letters and himself an author. Ptolemy VIII., Lathyrus, ruled in conjunction with his mother Cleopatra III. at intervals from 117 to 81, and married his sister Cleopatra IV. During his reign Thebes, having revolted, was destroyed. Ptolemy IX. (Alexander I.), brother of the last, ruled for a while in conjunction with his mother. His wife was his sister Berenice III. Ptolemy X. (Alexander II.), step-son and husband of Berenice III., whom in 81 he put to death, was himself expelled and slain after a reign of 19 days. With him

amity with the rising republic of Rome. He founded a gymnasium at Athens, and planted numerous colonies in various parts of his foreign dominions, which comprised Phoenicia, Cole-Syria, Palestine, Cyprus, the Cyclades, and portions of southern Asia Minor, Ethiopia, Arabia, and Libya. The effeminacy of his court increasing with the wealth of the country, he came at length to lead the indolent life of a refined voluptuary. Repudiating his first wife, Arsinoë, daughter of Lysimachus, he married his own sister Arsinoë, widow of Lysimachus, which the Egyptian law allowed, but she brought him no children. Another stain on his memory is the execution of two of his brothers, for which his surname, which he himself had assumed to signalize his attachment to his sister, became a subject of derision. PTOLEMY III., surnamed EUERGETES, eldest son and successor of the preceding, by Arsinoë, daughter of Lysimachus, died in 222 B. C. On coming to the throne he found in the public treasury an immense amount of money, and at his command a vast army and navy. His warlike ardor was roused by the ill treatment and subsequent murder of his sister Berenice, wife of Antiochus Theos, king of Syria. With a large army he ravaged Syria and its eastern provinces, advancing as far as Susa, and, without establishing his authority in any new possessions, brought back immense booty in gold and silver, and the Egyptian idols which Cambyses had carried off to Persia. For this the Egyptians called him Euergetes (benefactor). In right of his wife Berenice, daughter of Magas, Cyrene was united to his dominions, and he made large acquisitions of territory in Arabia and Abyssinia. He inherited the religious liberality and love of learning of his progenitors, and was like them a proficient in letters.

PTOLEMY, Claudius, a Helleno-Egyptian mathematician, astronomer, and geographer, said to have been born in Pelusium, flourished at Alexandria in the 2d century A. D. Scarcely any particulars of his life are known. His Μεγάλη Σύνταξις της Αστρονομίας, or “Great Astronomical Construction," contains nearly all that is known of the astronomical observations and theories of the ancients, and is generally cited under the Latin titles Syntaxis Mathematica and Constructio Mathematica. The most important part of this work is a catalogue of stars, deduced from that constructed by Hipparchus. (See PRECESSION.) The Syntaxis treats of the relations of the earth and heavens; the effect of position upon the earth; the theory of the sun and moon, without which that of the stars cannot be undertaken; the sphere of the fixed stars; and the determination of the planetary orbits. He places the earth in the centre of the universe, and the Ptolemaic system, based on the theories of Hipparchus, was universally received till the time of Copernicus. During all that interval the history of astronomy presents scarcely anything more than comments on

Ptolemy's writings. But for the Arabians the Syntaxis would probably have perished. It was translated by them in the reign of the caliph Al-Mamoun, son of Haroun al-Rashid (about 827), and handed down under the title of Almagest. Translations from the Arabic were made into Latin, but the Greek text was subsequently also discovered in Byzantine manuscripts. Ptolemy left a copious account of the manner in which Hipparchus established his theories, and in most of the branches of the subject gave additional exactness to what that astronomer had done. He computed, notwithstanding the fundamental errors and the inaccuracies of his system, the eclipses of the next six centuries; determined the planetary orbits; and is commonly said to have discovered the moon's second inequality or evection, though it is probable that Hipparchus really detected this inequality. Three observations cited by Ptolemy in support of his theory were borrowed from Hipparchus, and the nature of one of them suggests that they were taken from a great mass of observations, though Ptolemy himself says nothing to that effect. The astronomer who took a predecessor's star catalogue, and adding a constant correction to each star published it as the result of his own observations, would have left unnoticed all lunar observations by Hipparchus not absolutely necessary to establish his own theory. As a geometer Ptolemy has been ranked as certainly the fourth among the ancients, after Euclid, Apollonius, and Archimedes. He caused light to pass through media of unequal density, and thus discovered refraction, and he is said to have first recognized the alteration of the apparent position of a heavenly body which is due to this cause; but here again it is probable that Hipparchus anticipated him. Ptolemy wrote a universal geography, which continued to be the standard text book till the 16th century. He was the first to use the terms latitude and longitude, by which he laid down the position of each country and town. He proved the earth to be a globe, and calculated its inhabited parts to extend from the meridian of Thinæ, lon. 119° 30' E. of Alexandria, to the meridian of the Islands of the Blessed, 60° 30′ W.; and from the parallel of Meroë, about lat. 16° 30' N., to that of Thule (Iceland or the Shetland islands), 63° N. The maps of this geography have been preserved with it. After him no one attempted for many centuries to reform geography except in the improvement of details. He was distinguished also as a musician, and wrote treatises on music, mechanics, chronology, and astrology; but probably most of these works were mere compilations. The best edition of the Almagest is by Halma (Greek text with French translation, 2 vols. 4to, Paris, 1813–'16).

PUBERTY, the period of youth characterized by the acquirement of functional power in the reproductive apparatus of the sexes; its ac

PUBLICOLA

tivity, however, cannot be called into exercise until the growth of the individual is completed, on penalty of premature and permanent exhaustion of the vital powers, and the development of any latent disposition to disease. That puberty is not the period of completed growth is shown by the increase in stature after its attainment, the subsequent complete ossification and consolidation of the extremities of the spinous and transverse processes of the vertebræ, and the consolidation of the pelvic, sacral, and coccygeal vertebræ, sternal pieces, and epiphyses of the ribs, scapula, clavicle, and bones of the extremities. In the human male puberty is established between the 14th and 16th years; besides the increased sexual and muscular development, the beard makes its appearance, the larynx enlarges, giving a lower, harsher, and stronger tone to the voice, and the thoughts, desires, and actions have a more manly character. In the female this period is arrived at between the 13th and 16th years in temperate climates, and somewhat earlier in the tropics and in the midst of the luxury and excitements of city life; there is a similar development in the reproductive system, usually coincident with the appearance of the catamenia and mammary enlargement, and a deposition of fat over the whole surface of the body. In the male there is at this time no special tendency to disease, nor in the healthy female; but, as a consequence of the defective physical training of most female youth, disorders of the menstrual function are very apt to occur, with numerous functional, nervous, and even organic complications; in persons of naturally weak constitutions, of both sexes, and in those enfeebled by premature exercise of the mental, physical, or generative powers, the tuberculous diathesis is frequently developed soon after puberty.

PUBLICOLA, Publius Valerius, a Roman lawgiver of the semi-historical period of the foundation of the republic. He is said to have been present when Lucretia stabbed herself, and to have borne a prominent part in the expulsion of the Tarquins. After the compulsory resignation of Collatinus he was elected consul in his place (about 509 B. C.). In the war between the Tarquins and Veientes and the Romans, he gained a victory over the former. Returning to Rome, he began building a house on the Velian hill overlooking the forum, which excited a popular fear that he was seeking to raise himself to royal power. Valerius therefore ordered the building to be demolished, and his lictors when they appeared before the people to lower their fasces; whence he received the surname of Publicola or Poplicola, "the people's friend." He now brought forward laws for the establishment of the republic, one of which declared that whoever attempted to make himself king might be killed by any one; another, that plebeians condemned by a magistrate might appeal to the people. He was afterward thrice elected

consul; and the expedition of Porsena is placed during his time of office. With T. Lucretius Tricipitinus, his colleague, he routed the Sabines and returned to Rome in triumph.

PUBLIUS SYRUS, a Latin comic poet, who flourished at Rome at the time of Cæsar's death (44 B. C.). He was a native of Syria, and was brought to Rome as a slave; but his master had him instructed and gave him his freedom. He improved the mimic art, and it is said by St. Jerome that a collection of moral sentences from the farces of Publius was a school book at Rome. A collection of this kind, comprising upward of 1,000 lines, each forming an apophthegm, extant under the title of Publii Syri Sententiæ, is in reality a compilation from various sources.

PUCCOON, an aboriginal name applied to several plants with a yellow or reddish juice, but quite unlike in other properties. In the south, the bloodroot (sanguinaria Canadensis) is called puccoon. (See BLOODROOT.) In some parts of the west the name is applied to two species of lithospermum, of the borage family, both yielding a red dye; L. hirtum being the hairy, and L. canescens the hoary puccoon. The name is perhaps more generally used to designate hydrastis Canadensis than either of the foregoing, which is called, besides yellow puccoon, goldenseal, yellow-root, orange-root, Indian paint, &c. The genus hydrastis (Gr. vdwp, water, and dpāv, to act) belongs to the crowfoot family, or ranunculacea. It has a thick, knotted, yellow rootstock, from which rise a single radical leaf and a low, simple, hairy stem, bearing two leaves near the summit, and terminated by a single apetalous greenish white flower; the three petal-like sepals fall away when the flower opens, leaving the numerous stamens, and the cluster of 12 or more pistils, which in fruit become berry-like, and, being bright crimson, the cluster has the appearance of a raspberry. There is but one species, which is found from New York westward and southward, and is nowhere very common. It was used by the aborigines as a stimulant application to ulcers, and also as a dye; it is among the many reputed cancer cures. It is a tonic, and is regarded by some as having especial action on the liver and kidneys. In the western states it is used as an antiperiodic, as a substitute for quinine; the dose in powder is 30 to 60 grains. The so-called hydrastin of the eclectics, precipitated from a concentrated infusion by muriatic acid, is used in doses of three to five grains; it consists mostly of berberine.

PÜCKLER-MUSKAU, Hermann Ludwig Heinrich von, prince, a German author, born at Muskau, Lusatia, Oct. 30, 1785, died at Branitz, near Kottbus, Feb. 4, 1871. He studied in Leipsic, served in various armies, and was made prince by the king of Prussia in 1822. He laid out magnificent parks at Muskau and Branitz, but in 1845 sold the former domain. His private life was marked by eccentric habits. Among his principal works, which chiefly de

scribe his extensive travels in Europe and the East, and are remarkable for racy delineations both of aristocratic and semi-civilized life, are: Briefe eines Verstorbenen (4 vols., 1830-31; English translation by Mrs. Sarah Austin, "The Travels of a German Prince in England," 3 vols., 1832); Andeutungen über Landschaftsgärtnerei (1834); Tutti Frutti (5 vols., 1834; English translation by Edmund Spencer, 1834); Semilasso's vorletzter Weltgang (3 vols., 1835); Semilasso in Afrika (5 vols., 1836); Südöstlicher Bildersaal (3 vols., 1840); Aus Mehemet Ali's Reich (3 vols., 1844); and Die Rückkehr | (3 vols., 1846-'8; English translation, "Mehemet Ali and Egypt," 3 vols., 1848). Ludmilla Assing has published Fürst Pückler Muskau, sein Leben und Nachlass (4 vols., 1873-'4). PUDDLING. See IRON MANUFACTURE, vol. ix., P. 399.

PUEBLA. I. A S. E. state of the republic of Mexico, bounded N. and E. by Vera Cruz, S. by Oajaca, S. W. by Guerrero, and W. by Mexico, Tlascala, and Hidalgo; area, 9,598 sq. m.; pop. in 1869, 697,788. It is intersected from N. W. to S. E. by the Cordillera of Anáhuac, from which flow many small streams, but there are no large rivers. The drainage belongs partly to the gulf of Mexico and partly to the Pacific. The general elevation of the surface is about 6,000 ft., and a large part of the soil is fertile. The most valuable mineral productions are silver, marble, and alabaster. Abundant crops of grain, fruit, sugar, and cotton are produced; and iron, steel, glass, soap, and earthenware are manufactured. Many remarkable remains of ancient Mexican civilization are found in this state. II. A city (La PUEBLA DE LOS ÁNGELES), capital of the state, 7,000 ft. above the sea, in lat. 19° 5' N., lon. 93° W., 76 m. E. S. E. of Mexico; pop. in 1869, 75,500. The streets are laid out generally at right angles to each other, and are broad and well paved. There are many fine squares; fronting the Plaza Mayor are the cathedral, the governor's palace, and the exchange. Puebla is the sacred city of Mexico, and contains more than 60 churches, 13 nunneries, 9 monasteries, 21 collegiate houses or higher theological schools, and many academies, charity schools, hospitals, and other benevolent institutions. Many of the churches and convents are rich in gold and silver ornaments, paintings, and statues, but some of them were injured by the French during the siege in 1863. The city is well supplied with water by a small stream on its E. side. The country around it is very fertile, it being easily irrigated by streams from the mountains. The climate is particularly mild and agreeable. Within sight of the city are the volcanic peaks of Popocatepetl, distant about 25 m. W. by S.; Iztaccihuatl, 30 m. W. N. W.; Malinche, 20 m. N. E.; and Orizaba, 60 m. E. Puebla is connected with the railway from Vera Cruz to Mexico by a branch road to Apizaco, 29 m. long, and a road is now building (1875) to connect it directly

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with Vera Cruz.-Puebla was founded after the reduction of Mexico by the Spaniards, who built it six miles from Cholula, the sacred city of the Mexicans. It is noted for its protracted defence against the French under Gen. Forey in 1863, when it withstood a siege of two months. It was surrendered by Gen. Ortega on May 17, after the destruction of many of its buildings by bombardment, and the French made a triumphal entry on the 19th.

The

PUEBLO, a S. E. county of Colorado, intersected by the Arkansas river; area, about 2,200 sq. m.; pop. in 1870, 2,265. The tributaries of the Arkansas form fertile valleys, with intervening mesas or table lands, which afford excellent pasturage. The greater portion of the county is easily irrigated. Denver and Rio Grande railroad traverses it. The chief productions in 1870 were 24,451 bushels of wheat, 99,390 of Indian corn, 39,822 of oats, 3,353 of peas and beans, 6,000 lbs. of wool, 14,963 of butter, and 1,366 tons of hay. There were 555 horses, 4,269 milch cows, 6,162 other cattle, 2,166 sheep, and 2,066 swine. Capital, Pueblo.

PUEBLO INDIANS, a general name applied by the Spaniards, and subsequently by Americans, to several tribes of semi-civilized Indians found by the former early in the 16th century in what is now New Mexico, who lived in permanent villages (pueblos). Alvar Nuñez (Cabeça de Vaca) passed through their country between 1529 and 1538; Friar Marco de Niza visited it in 1539, and Coronado in 1540. They were finally subdued by the Spaniards, who occupied the country in 1586. They were then as advanced as they now are, raising grain, vegetables, and cotton, which they spun and wove, and manufacturing pottery. Their houses are sometimes built of stone, laid in mortar made of mud, but more generally of sun-dried brick or adobe. These buildings are generally large, of several stories, and contain many families. In some of the pueblos the whole community, amounting to from 300 to 700 souls, are domiciled in one of these huge structures. The houses are sometimes in the form of a hollow square; at other times they are on the brow of a high bluff or mountain terrace, difficult of approach. The first or lower story is invariably without openings, entrance to the house being effected by ladders. Each upper story recedes a few feet from that below it, leaving a terrace or walk around or along the whole extent of the structure, from which ladders lead to those above. The upper stories have doors and windows, but no stairways. In most instances a single family occupies one apartment, and as its number increases another apartment is added when there is sufficient space, or it is built above and reached by a ladder. This mode was practised by these Indians three centuries ago. In every village there is at least one room large enough to contain several hundred persons, in which they hold their councils and have their dances.