POWERS rent direct to the user at a pressure of a few hundred volts, or to a local distributing system at, say, 2,000 volts, from which individual users are supplied through additional stepdown transformers. The alternating currents furnished by these step-down transformers are at once available for glow lamps for the manufacture of calcium carbide and carborundum; in short, for every purpose in which the heating action only of the current is important; and for driving induction motors, synchronous motors, and rotary converters. For arc lamps, street-car service, storage-battery charging, and for chemical manufactures in general the direct current from the rotary converter is used. See ELECTRICITY. Powers, Hiram, 1805-73; American sculptor; b. Woodstock, Vt.; became a waxwork modeler in Cincinnati; 1835 went to Washington, where he modeled busts; 1837 settled in Florence, Italy, where he remained till his death. In 1838 he produced an ideal statue of Eve, and a year 66 later finished the model of his "Greek Slave." Among other works are the "Fisher Boy," "Il Penseroso," "Proserpine" (a bust), California," America," and portrait statues of Washington, Calhoun, and Webster. Of his busts, which comprise the greater part of his works, those of Adams, Jackson, Webster, Calhoun, Chief Justice Marshall, Everett, and Van Buren are striking specimens. His latest ideal productions were "The Last of His Tribe," a statue of an Indian maiden, and a "Head of Jesus Christ." Powers, Mechan'ical. See MECHANICAL POW ERS. Powhatan', 1550-1618; American Indian sachem; raised himself from the rank of a chieftain to the command of thirty tribes, which numbered about 8,000. His dominions included the country between the James and Patuxent rivers, and in the interior as far as the falls of the chief rivers. When John Smith, according to his own story, was taken prisoner, and was about to be dispatched, Powhatan, through the intervention of his daughter POCAHONTAS, spared his life. The quarrels between Powhatan and the English did not cease until the marriage of his daughter with Rolfe, after which he was their firm friend. Pow'nall, Thomas, 1722-1805; English statesman; b. Lincoln, England; became secretary to the Commissioners for Trade and Plantations, 1745; went to New Jersey as secretary of that province, 1753; lieutenant governor, 1755; member of colonial congress which met at Albany, 1754, to devise measures of defense against the French; Governor of Massachusetts, 1757-60; S. Carolina, 1760-61; sat in Parliament, where he opposed the policy of the crown toward the American colonies; published "The Administration of the Colonies," "A Topographical Description of the Middle British Colonies," and other works. Pozzo di Borgo (pot'sō de bōr'gō), Carlo Andrea (Count), 1764-1842; Russian diplomatist; b. Corsica; advocate of Ajaccio; member of the French Legislative Assembly, 1791-92; associated with Paoli in governing Corsica under the protection of the English, and on their PRÆTOR expulsion, 1796, went to England. In 1798 he went to Vienna to negotiate a coalition against France; 1803 became a councilor of state in Russia; left the Russian service, 1808, on account of the friendly relations between Alexander and Napoleon, but returned to it after the campaign of 1812. His whole influence was exerted to keep Alexander steadfast in the war against France, and to gain Sweden for the allies, in which he succeeded, as well as in securing the active coöperation of England. He attended the Congress of Vienna; became ambassador in Paris; signed the Treaty of Paris, 1815; made count, 1825; and represented Russia in France when the revolution of 1830 broke out; later was ambassador in London till 1839. Pozzuolana (pot-sô-ō-lä'nă), reddish, porous volcanic mineral found near Pozzuoli, S. Italy, in the S. of France, and in Rhenish Prussia near Andernach, where it is called trass; is mainly a dehydrized silicate of alumina with other earths and alkalies, formed by the pouring of basaltic lava floods over argillaceous beds, or by similar natural processes. Puzzuolana and trass are used for the preparation of hydraulic cements. Pozzuoli pot-so-o'le), ancient Puteoli, town of Italy; on bay of Pozzuoli; 6 m. W. of Naples; celebrated for its antiquities, which include an amphitheater, one of the largest of its kind; several temples, and ruins believed to be those of Cicero's villa. The ancient Puteoli was a Campanian city of Greek origin, which, despite the distance from Rome, virtually constituted its most useful port. It was a great center of trade and a favorite resort, like Baiæ, on the opposite side of the bay. Wars and repeated volcanic eruptions in the twelfth and sixteenth centuries destroyed its importance. Pop. (1901) 16,000. Prac'tice, in law, form and manner of conducting suits or prosecutions according to the principles and rules governing courts. The term is generally used as excluding the principles and rules of pleading and evidence, and referring to the method and course of bringing matters pleaded to trial and proof and of enforcing judgment. The rules of practice are to a large extent fixed by custom or statute, but the judges of the different courts are very generally intrusted with a large discretionary power of changing them. Praed, Winthrop Mackworth, 1802-39; English poet; b. London; obtained an unprecedented number of prizes for Greek and English poems; called to the bar, 1829; repeatedly His sister, Lady elected to Parliament. Young, prepared a complete edition of his poetical works, with a memoir by the Rev. Derwent Coleridge. Prænes'te. See PALESTRINA. Præ'tor, in ancient Rome, a magistrate created by the Licinian law of 367 B.C. as "lesser colleagues " of the two consuls. In practice, however, the functions of the prætor were quite exclusively judicial. He was obliged to remain in the city, and from this fact was Nepomuk, the patron saint of the country, with his monument of solid silver weighing 30 cwt., and a mausoleum of Carrara marble erected by Rudolph II over the Bohemian kings. Prominent buildings of the Kleinseite, the so-called Sachsenhaus, built in the thirteenth century; the gorgeous Church of St. Nicolai, erected 1628 by the Jesuits; the palFürstenberg, with large library and picture aces of Waldstein, with beautiful gardens; of Præto'rians, Roman bodyguard, named in imitation of the cohort said to have been formed by Scipio Africanus out of his bravest troops. Their number increased during the civil wars, and by Augustus they were estab-gallery; of Nostitz, with collection of coins, In the Allished as a separate force, of nine cohorts, each library, and an art gallery, etc. stadt is the Church Am Teyn, the old Hussite containing 1,000 men. Tiberius assembled them all at Rome in a permanent fortified church, founded 1407, containing the monucamp, and Vitellius increased the number of Methodius, and of the Danish astronomer Tyments of the Bohemian martyrs, Cyrillus and cohorts to sixteen. They received double pay; cho Brahe. The university has a library, boThey became very influential in the imperial tanical garden, laboratory, observatory, and succession, and 193 A.D., having assassinated the faculties of theology, law, medicine, philosPertinax, who attempted reforms, they even put the imperial dignity up for sale to the phy (which comprises also languages and hishighest bidder. They were increased by Max- tory), and the exact sciences; was founded entius, but were defeated with him, 312, by beer, spirits, chemicals, woolens, linens, metal 1348 by Charles IV. Leather, glass, liqueurs, Constantine, who suppressed them. ware, and machinery are manufactured. Prague was founded in the eighth century; has ever since formed the leading center of the Czech community; has several times suffered from sieges and bombardments. In 1866 it was occupied by the Prussians without bloodshed, and a treaty was concluded here. Pop. (1907) 228,645. Pragmat'ic Sanc'tion, state ordnance decreed by the monarch or the legislature. The phrase seems to have originated with the Byzantine monarchs, but was early introduced into France, and is now applied to several state decrees which have become historical. I. The ordinance of Louis IX (St. Louis), 1269, by which the liberties of the Gallican Church were established. II. That of Charles VII of France, proclaimed at Bourges 1438, confirming the decrees of the Council of Basel, and thereby authorizing the election of bishops by cathedral chapters, etc. III. The ordinance confirming the decrees of the same council, adopted in Germany, 1439, by the Diet of Mentz. IV. The instrument by which Emperor Charles VI, of the house of Hapsburg, in default of male heirs, endeavored to secure the succession in his Austrian dominions to his heirs of the female line. V. The instrument by which Charles III of Spain, 1759, settled the right of succession to the throne of the Two Sicilies on his third son and his descendants. Prague (prāg), capital of Bohemia, Austria; on both sides of the Moldau; 217 m. NNW. of Vienna; consists of five parts-the Alstadt, Neustadt, and Josephstadt on the right of the Moldau, and the Hradschin and Kleinseite on the left-connected by bridges, of which the most remarkable is the Karlsbrücke, built 1358-1503 of stone, 31 ft. broad, 1,572 ft. long, resting on sixteen arches and adorned with statues. The Alstadt, consisting of narrow, crooked streets lined with tall, quaint old houses; the Neustadt, of a more modern and elegant appearance; and the Josephstadt, the Jewish city, form the business part of Prague; the Hradschin and Kleinseite consist almost exclusively of palaces and public buildings. Here is the imperial castle, one of the largest royal residences in Europe. The Hradschin Palace, formed by the immense palaces of the primate, the ex-Emperor Ferdinand, and Prince Schwarzenberg, extends in front of the castle. On the terrace in the rear of the castle stands the Cathedral of St. Vitus, a Gothic structure, built 1343-85, and containing the tomb of St. Prahu. See PROA. Prai'rie, name applied by the early French explorers to the great fertile, treeless plains of N. America, E. of the arid plains of the W. The region over which they mainly extend is W. Ohio, nearly the whole of Indiana, Illinois, and Iowa, S. Michigan, N. Missouri, and portions of Wisconsin, Kansas, and Nebraska. The elevation within the prairie region varies from 400 to 1,500 ft. On the headwaters of the Illinois and Wabash and S. and W. of Lake Michigan the prairies are very level and smooth, and are termed flat. Those of other regions, where the surface is undulating and broken by the depressions of the streams, are known as rolling prairies. The characteristic herbs of the prairies would seem to be compositæ. Trees are met with, under peculiar circumstances of moisture and soil, in scattered groups, called groves, or along the larger streams, or occasionally on low, rocky ridges. The soil is generally free from stones. In the swales and in some of the bottom lands the rich black vegetable mold is very deep, but on the upper prairies its depth is usually from 1 to 2 ft. The subsoil is almost invariably a clayey loam, more or less mixed in its lower portions with sands and occasional pebbles. Prairie Dog, any rodent of the genus Cynomys, a part of the squirrel family, whose members are closely related to the ground or prairie squirrels (Spermophilus). Why they were called dogs it is difficult to see, for they neither look, act, nor bark like those animals. They are much larger than the squirrels, being generally about a foot in length, exclusive of the tail, which is short and from about 2 to nearly 5 in. in length, according to the species. They inhabit the prairies of W. N. America, rows hillocks on which they are wont to mount and from thence survey the doings of the community. Prairie Hen, or Pin'nated Grouse, peculiar form of the grouse family, the Tympanuchus americanus, restricted to the U. S. and found chiefly on comparatively open plains and prairies. The species is at once recognizable by the extension of feathers to the lower end of the tarsus, the air bladders, and the long and lanceolate feathers of the sides of the neck, and the short, subtruncate tail. This species ranges from Illinois W. to the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and formerly abounded, but has been decimated by market gunners. It is replaced in the SW. by T. pallidicincta. A very closely related species, T. cupido, formerly inhabited portions of the E. parts of the U. S., and in comparatively recent times was common on Long Island, but has now been almost exterminated. PRAXITELES various parts of the U. S.; they are simply squirrels frequenting the ground rather than trees, and having a shorter tail than the tree squirrels, and also provided with cheek pouches. They live on the prairie lands of the W. states and territories, make burrows, and generally associate in considerable communities. Eleven species are now recognized as inhabitants of various parts of the U. S.; the best known are the S. thirteen-lineatus (striped gopher and prairie squirrel of Illinois, Iowa, and adjacent states) and the S. franklini (great gopher of Illinois and corresponding latitudes upward to the Saskatchewan region). Prase. See QUARTZ. Prat'inas, of Phlius in the Peloponnesus; Greek poet; flourished toward the end of the sixth century B.C., and is said to have introduced the satyr drama into Athens. Pratt, Charles. See CAMDEN, CHARLES PRATT, EARL OF. Pratz, Le Page du, abt. 1690-1775; Dutch colonizer and explorer; b. Holland; entered the French army in youth; engaged in campaigns in Germany; became a member of a French W. land company, which obtained the grant of a tract of land near New Orleans, La.; conductefforts at colonization; ascended the Missised an expedition thither, 1718; made fruitless sippi, 1720, and settled among the Natchez; turned to France, 1734; published "History of explored Missouri and Arkansas rivers; re Louisiana." SERRATED PRAWN. but in the U. S., except in the S. states, they are little used. Some of the species which inhabit the seas of warm climates reach a large size. Praxiteles (prăks-it'ě-lēz), Greek sculptor of the fourth century B.C.; ranks at the head of the later Attic school; nothing is known of his personal history, except that he was a resident of Athens; was unsurpassed in the exhibition of the softer beauties of the human form; most celebrated work, the Cnidian Venus, so called because it was owned in Cnidus, PREACHING FRIARS Preach'ing Fri'ars. See DOMINICANS. PRECIOUS STONES armed British brig off Castine, Me., and capcommand of the Essex, and, 1803, of the squadturing her under fire. In 1799 he was given he concluded peaceful negotiations with the ron sent against Tripoli. Arriving at Tangier, Sultan of Morocco, after which he proceeded to blockade Tripoli, which he subjected to repeated vigorous bombardments, interrupted by several sharp engagements with the Tripolitan gunboats. He received the thanks of Congress and a gold medal. Pread'amites, men living before the time of Adam; term adopted by various writers to designate the tribes or nations which they believe existed on the earth before the date assigned by the usual scriptural chronology to the appearance of Adam and Eve. Before the investigations of geologists and archæologists in the nineteenth century there was no positive reason for imputing a greater antiquity to the human race than that given in the Book of Genesis, and this was not definitely fixed. The Preble, George Henry, 1816-85; American usual date for the creation of Adam given in naval officer; b. Portland, Me.; entered the English works is that derived by Archbishop navy, 1835; served in Florida against the SemUsher (abt. 1660) from the Hebrew text, and inoles, and in Mexican War participated in the places it 4,004 years B.C. The calculations of capture of Alvarado and Tampico; in several William Hales (abt. 1810) assigned the creaactions with Chinese pirates, 1854-55; comtion of Adam to 5411 B.C. Still wider varia-manded the Katahdin at the taking of New Ortions have been advanced by other competent leans, 1862, and the fleet brigade in the battles orthodox scholars, so that it is stated in a pubof Honey Hill and De Vaux's Neck, 1864; rear lication by the Univ. of Oxford that "not less admiral, 1876; retired, 1878; author of "Histhan 300 different dates have been assigned as tory of the American Flag," History of the era of the creation, varying in the extremes Steam Navigation," and other historical no less than 3,000 years." works. 66 therefore may be followed safely; (2) decisions of the courts which declare a rule of law susceptible of application to other cases. It is entirely consistent with faith in the scriptural narrative to recognize an antiquity Prec'edents, in law, (1) forms of procedure, of the human race indefinitely greater than of conveyancing, and the like, which have been that attributed to it in the chronology of Arch-approved by usage or judicial authority, and bishop Usher. The necessity of so doing became apparent when geologists and archæologists discovered in undisturbed deposits of vast antiquity the fragments of human bones and the relics of human industry. These have been exhumed in every continent, showing that at a very remote epoch man was not only living on the earth, but had already wandered widely over its surface. Investigations on the sites of the oldest known cities of the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates prove beyond question that several of them were founded and were the scenes of a developed civilization long antecedent to the remotest date above mentioned as that of the creation of Adam. The term "preadamites" is no longer regarded as sufficiently accurate for the language of science. It is better to employ the phrase "prehistoric men," meaning those who lived before the recorded dates of any authentic historical narratives. Preb'end (Latin, præbere, to deliver), in ecclesiastical usage, a pensioned office attached to a cathedral or collegiate church, and the emoluments derived from the same. Canons or members of cathedral or conventual chapters were to receive for the singing of the divine office, or some equivalent duty, a stipend, which was called portio canonica præbenda. In the English Church, after the Reformation, prebends attached to the cure of souls were given to priests who were not canons; but at present all members of English chapters are styled canons and are provided with prebends. Preb'le, Edward, 1761-1807; American naval officer; b. Falmouth (now Portland), Me.; 1777 embarked in a privateer, and 1779 entered the provincial navy; was taken prisoner in New York harbor, and on his release served on board the sloop of war Winthrop, with which he remained till 1782, greatly distinguishing himself by boarding with four men an B.C. Preces'sion of the E'quinoxes, slow regression of the equinoctial points on the plane of the ecliptic. It is so called from its causing the sun to arrive in either equinox a little earlier than he otherwise would. The effect is to increase the longitudes of the fixed stars at the rate of about 501" annually. The discovery of the movement is due to Hipparchus, about 150 Copernicus was the first to give a true explanation of the phenomenon. Newton discovered its physical cause. This cause is the attraction of the sun, moon, and planets on the spheroidal figure of the earth, giving to the axis a conical motion. The pole of the equator is thus made to shift its place, performing a complete revolution around the pole of the ecliptic in 25,868 years. See ASTRONOMY; EQUINOX; SOLSTICE. Précieuses (prā-syėz′), name given in France in the seventeenth century to a group of women who cultivated an extreme refinement in speech and manners. They carried to excess the concern for propriety and elegance of expression and of the forms of social intercourse which, centering in the Hôtel de Rambouillet, was doing much to refine French language and society. For a moment the précieuses were conspicuous in the salons that imitated the Hôtel de Rambouillet, and even invaded that salon itself, and threatened to impose their jargon on the French language; but good sense, aided materially by the satire of Molière's "Précieuses ridicules," turned them into ridicule. Pre'cious Stones, mineral substances possess. ing such beauty and brilliancy of color, hardness, and rarity as to fit them for use in jew |