PAPUA

ricke; and was active in the controversy with Leibnitz concerning the so-called "dead" and "living" forces.

Pa'pua. See NEW GUINEA.

Papy'rus, large reed, various parts of which were employed by the Egyptians in the construction of boats, mats, baskets, and other woven fabrics, but particularly in the preparation of writing paper. It is known as Cyperus papyrus (Papyrus antiquorum), and is extinct in Egypt, being found only in remote parts of Abyssinia; is also said to occur in W. Asia. In the hieroglyphic writing the papyrus plant

PAPYRUS.

is employed as the symbol of Lower Egypt. The stalks were triangular, from 4 to 6 in. in diameter and 12 to 15 ft. high. The roots were used for fuel, and a part of the inside of the stalk was edible. For paper making a piece of the stalk of a length corresponding to the width of paper required was cut off, the rind was removed, and the inner portion was unrolled with a needle or a sharp knife. On this sheet another was placed transversely, and the two were joined by the juice of the plant or by a thin gum, the union being enforced by heavy pressure. The sheets were smoothed and afterwards bleached by exposure to the sun. The color varied from a gray or yellow to a rich brown. The sheets varied from 6 to 17 in. in width, and any required length was obtained by fastening a number of sheets together end to end. The Papyrus harris in the British Museum is the longest known, being 135 ft., and a fairly full copy of the ritual of the dead required a roll 15 in. wide and from 80 to 90 ft. long.

PARACELSUS

Pará (pä-rä'), officially, BELEM, capital of State of Pará, Brazil; at the mouth of the river Guamá in the Pará; 85 m. from the mouth of the latter in the Atlantic; is regularly laid out with wide streets, which, except in the business portion, are adorned with mangrove and other trees; principal public buildings are the cathedral, customhouse (formerly a Jesuit convent), and the government theater; the president's and bishop's palaces and the house of the legislature are plain buildings. The finest residences are in the quarter called Nazaré; many of them are surrounded by extensive gardens. Pará has a marine arsenal, botanical garden, museum, library, theological seminary, and good public and private schools; is the commercial metropolis of the Amazon valley; exports rubber far in excess of any other port in the world, averaging (including that in transit) over 8,000,000 lb. annually. Pop. (1900) 100,000.

Parable, short fictitious narrative intended to illustrate some point in moral or religious teaching. Parables abound alike in the teaching of Christ and in the Jewish Talmudical writings; but the parables of Christ (not used by Him in the beginning of His ministry, but only after He had encountered opposition) immensely surpass all others. See ALLEGORY; FABLE.

Parab'ola, a plane curve on one of the conic sections, formed by intersecting a cone, having a circular base, with a plane parallel to one of its sides. In modern geometry it is defined as a curve of the second degree, touching the line at infinity. Every part of the curve is equally distant from a fixed point, called the focus, and from a given straight line, called the directrix. A straight line through the focus perpendicular to the directrix is the principal axis. At every point of the curve the line from the focus and a parallel to the axis make equal angles with the tangent. Any line parallel to the principal axis is called a diameter, and every diameter bisects all the chords of the curve that are parallel to the tangent at the point where it meets the curve. The principal axis is therefore a line of right symmetry, and every other diameter is a line of oblique symmetry. breadth of the curve through the focus is called the parameter of the curve or the parameter of the principal axis. The parameter of any diameter, including the parameter of the principal axis, is equal to four times the distance from the focus to the vertex of that diameter.

The

Parab'oloid, surface of the second order whose plane sections parallel to a certain right line are parabolas. In modern geometry it is defined as a surface of the second degree, principal kinds, the elliptic and the hyperbolic. touching the plane at infinity. There are two In both paraboloids all sections parallel to the straight line called the axis are parabolas, while in the elliptic paraboloid all other sections are ellipses."

Paracel'sus (assumed name of PHILIPPUS AUREOLUS THEOPHRASTUS BOMBASTUS VON

PARACHUTE

HOHENHEIM), 1493-1541; Swiss alchemist; b. Einsiedeln; son of a physician, from whom he learned something of medicine, alchemy, and astrology; made himself proficient in conjuring and juggling; traveled on foot through Europe, collecting information on the healing art; and was made Prof. of Physic and Surgery in the Univ. of Basel. He proclaimed himself sole monarch of physic, publicly burned the works of Galen and Avicenna, and professed to know the art of prolonging life and curing all diseases. He was compelled to leave Basel, and, after wandering through Germany, died in poverty in Salzburg.

Parachute (părʼă-shût), machine first successfully employed by Blanchard at Strassburg, 1787, designed to enable aëronauts to descend safely from a balloon. It is shaped like an umbrella, and is taken up in a collapsed or closed form. The car is attached beneath the parachute, and the balloon above the whole; a rope passing through the hollow stem of the parachute attaches the balloon to the car; this rope is cut at the proper time, the car falls rapidly, and the parachute is expanded by the action of the air. The car's downward motion is thus checked, and it descends slowly toward the earth. In practice, the parachute is not to be depended on.

Paradise, literally, a garden or pleasure ground planted with trees and flowers. In the Septuagint it is employed to express the Hebrew garden of Eden." Metaphorically the word expresses the happiness of the righteous in a future state, an application adopted by the later Jews.

Paradise, Bird of. See BIRD OF PARADISE.

Paraffin (păr'ǎf-fin), white, waxy solid which occurs native in the mineral wax ozokerite, found in Galicia, Utah, and elsewhere and in some kinds of petroleum, and also found in coal and shale oil, and the products of the destructive distillation of many other organic bodies, as oil, fats, wax, wood, peat, etc. It was discovered by Reichenbach, 1830, in wood tar. Paraffin is obtained from ozokerite by distillation, cooling, and pressing the product, and purifying it by treatment with sulphuric acid and caustic soda, washing and pressing. By similar means it is prepared from the heavier portions of coal oil and petroleum, which solidify on cooling. Besides candles, paraffin is used for waterproofing fabrics, cloth,

and leather for shoes, even dress silks, which are thus protected from stains. It is used for protecting from rust or decay, and putrefac tion, meat, fruit, timber, metals, cartridges, pills, etc.; for making tight the stoppers of acid bottles; as a substitute for sulphur in matches; for oil baths of constant temperature; for refining alcohol and spirits, by passing the vapor during distillation through melted paraffin, which abstracts the fusel oil; a great deal used for chewing gum.

Paraguay (pä-rä-gwi'), smallest of the S. American republics, except Uruguay; between Bolivia on the N., Brazil on the N. and E., and the Argentine Republic on the SE., S., and W.; area, 98,000 sq. m.; pop. (1905) 631,347. The

PARAGUAY

Paraguay River divides the country into two sections. W. of the Paraguay is a low plain, a wilderness of swamps, forest, and grass lands. The larger portion (about 62,000 sq. m.) occupies a peninsula formed by the Paraguay and upper Paraná rivers, which unite at the SW. extremity; the N. boundary is the Apa River, and the NE. is formed by the continuation of a line of heights which begins about 75 m. ESE. of Asuncion and extends NNE. across the country. The maximum elevation is probably less than 2,500 ft. The Paraguay and Paraná rivers are natural highways of importance. The Jejuy and Tibicuary, affluents of the Paraguay, are both navigable.

Iron, gold, copper, pyrites, marble, and kaolin are found. The climate is tropical, but the temperature varies, according to the prevalence of S. or NE. winds. The mean for the year is about 73° F.; in December and January the thermometer occasionally rises about 100° at Asuncion, and from May to August light frosts are sometimes felt when the S. wind blows. Important industries are agriculture, grazing, maté gathering, and timber cutting. The common crops are mandioca, maize, beans, sugar Ocean oranges, and tobacco. steamers ascend to Asuncion and beyond, and there is telegraphic communication with Europe. Exports, generally about $26,000,000 in value annually, are mainly to the Argentine Republic; principal items, maté, tobacco and cigars, timber, hides, jerked beef, quebracho extract (for use in tanning), and oranges.

cane,

The president is elected for four years, as well as the congress, consisting of two houses; recognized religion, the Roman Catholic, but all sects are tolerated; education, nominally compulsory. Sebastian Cabot explored the Lower Paraguay, 1527. After Pedro de Mendoza founded the first colony of Buenos Aires he sent an expedition up the Paraguay under Ascunsion, which later became the capital of Ayolas, who, about September, 1536, founded the region; this was soon after attached to the viceroyalty of Peru. In 1620 Buenos Aires was separated from Paraguay, both remaining provinces of Peru till 1776, when Paraguay was attached to the new viceroyalty of Buenos Aires, or La Plata. Paraguay declared its independence, 1811; but fell almost immediately under the dictatorship of Francis; succeeded by Carlos Antonio Lopez, 1841, and, 1862, by

his son, Francisco Solano Lopez. All these dictators or presidents continued a policy of isolation. The ambition of the younger Lopez plunged it into a war with Brazil, the Argentine Republic, and Uruguay, 1864-70. It ended with the death of Lopez, but left the whole country ruined and its population reduced to little over one third. Misiones, part of the Chaco, and a considerable territory on the N. were given up to Argentina and Brazil. The present constitution was adopted soon after the war, and since then the republic has enjoyed internal and external peace. A boundary dispute with the Argentine Republic, involving part of the Chaco, was referred to the arbitration of the President of the U. S., and, 1878, was decided in favor of Paraguay.

PARAGUAY RIVER

Paraguay Riv'er, river of S. America; rises near the center of the continent, on the Brazilian plateau of Matto Grosso; flows S. through Brazil, between Brazil and Bolivia, through Paraguay and between Paraguay and the Argentine Republic, and finally joins the Upper Paraná to form the Lower Paraná near lat. 27° 13′ S. The Paraguay rises in a group of little ponds, the Sete Lagoas, on a low part the plateau, 1,000 ft. above the sea. Swelled by numerous affluents it is already a large stream at Villa Maria; 30 m. below and only 400 ft. above the sea it enters the great depression of the Paraguay and Paraná. The longest affluents are the Pilcomayo and Bermejo, which join it from the W. in the Chaco region; nearly all the other branches are on the E. side. The most important navigable ones are the São Lourenço (with its branch, the Cuyaba), the Jaquary, and Miranda in Brazil, and the Jejuy and Tebicuary in Paraguay. The main river is open to free navigation; is the only commercial outlet of Paraguay and Matto Grosso; estimated length, 1,800 m.; discovered_by_Cabot, 1526; explored nearly to its source by Irala and others before 1550.

Parahyba (pä-rä-ē'bä), capital and largest town of Brazilian state of same name; on the Parahyba do Norte; 11 m. above its mouth; is one of the oldest towns in Brazil, dating from 1579; among ancient buildings are the cathedral and the college of the Jesuits; modern government buildings are unpretentious. Only light-draft vessels can ascend to this point, larger ones anchor at Cabadello, near the mouth of the river, a thriving little town, rapidly superseding Parahyba as a commercial center. Pop. (1906) 32,000.

Parahyba, or Parahyba do Sul (dō sôl), river of SE. Brazil; rises in São Paulo, flows E. between Minas Geraes and Rio de Janeiro, nearly parallel to the coast, and enters the Atlantic near lat. 21° 38′ S.; length (with its principal head, the Parahytinga), 658 m. The valley of the Parahyba, which separates the Serra do Mar from the Serra da Mantiquiera, is populous, and is one of the richest coffee regions in Brazil.

Paral'dehyde, clear, colorless liquid, having a peculiar ethereal odor and a warm followed

by a cold taste; prepared by treating ordinary aldehyde at a moderate temperature with small quantities of hydrochloric acid, and purified by repeated freezing and rectifying; employed in medicine as a hypnotic.

Parallax, apparent displacement of a heavenly body arising from a change of the observer's position. The angle subtended at the body by the line joining the two stations is the measure of the parallax. As the positions of the heavenly bodies have reference in practical astronomy to the earth's center, a correction for parallax is necessary in every observation, except when the body is in the zenith, where the parallax vanishes. It is greatest in the horizon, and is there termed horizontal parallax. It is manifestly equal to the angle subtended by the earth's radius as supposed to be

PARALYSIS

seen from the body, as the earth's radius varies with the latitude, and the equatorial radius is commonly selected as the measure of | parallax.

Parallel'ogram, quadrilateral whose opposite sides, taken two and two, are parallel. If one angle of a parallelogram is a right angle, all the other angles are right angles, and the figure is a rectangle. If two adjacent sides are equal, the other sides are also equal, and the figure is a rhombus. If the diagonals of a parallelogram are equal, the figure is a rectangle; if they are perpendicular to each other, the figure is a rhombus; if they are equal and perpendicular, the figure is a square. The area of a parallelogram is equal to the product of its base and altitude.

Parallelopi'ped, polyhedron bounded by six parallelograms. If the faces are rectangles, the volume is a rectangular parallelopiped; if the faces are squares, the volume is a cube. The volume of any parallelopiped is equal to the product of its altitude and the area of its

base.

on

Par'allels of Lat'itude, on the terrestrial sphere, circles drawn around the earth planes parallel to the equator. Through the center of each circle passes the earth's axis. The equator itself is the only one of these parallels which is a great circle. The others are smaller circles, whose limits are the great circle (the equator) on the one hand, and zero (at the poles) on the other.

Paralysis, loss of voluntary or reflex motion, generally through failure of nervous excitation. A partial loss of motion is termed paresis. From the motor centers of the brain nerve fibers travel downward to the spinal column. In the latter are secondary centers which produce motion only after receiving impulses from the brain. From the secondary spinal cells originate the nerves of the body, which carry the impulse to the muscles. Paralysis may be due to disease or destructive change anywhere along this tract. If the disease is in the brain, we speak of cerebral paralysis, as in apoplexies; if in the spinal cord, of spinal paralysis, as in palsy of infants; if in the nerves, of peripheral palsy, as in paralysis from pressure of a crutch on the recurrent spiral nerve of the arm. Any part of the body containing muscle fibers may be paralyzed. It is customary to divide cases of paralysis into groups according to the parts affected. Hemiplegia designates paralysis of one lateral half of the body. It is generally due to a cerebral lesion, and nearly always follows after cerebral hemorrhage or apoplexy. Sometimes the face is paralyzed on one side, while the arm and leg of the opposite side are affected. This "crossed palsy " is due to disease in the pons Varolii. Paraplegia is paralysis of the lower half of the body, affecting both legs and perhaps part of the trunk. is due to disease of the spinal cord, or more rarely of the nerves of the legs. Monoplegia is the paralysis of a single member, as one arm or leg. It is due to disease of the periph

It

PARALYSIS AGITANS

eral nerves, or to affection of the motor center of the brain.

Multiple paralysis is the term by which are designated groups of palsies of irregular distribution. Glossoplegia (paralysis of the tongue), cycloplegia (paralysis of the pupil), laryngeal palsy, etc., are instances of local paralysis, in which only a certain muscle or group of muscles is affected. Of paralysis of the muscles of the face there are two forms: (1) Central, in which the disease is situated between the nucleus of origin of the nerve and the cortex of the brain; (2) peripheral, called Bell's palsy, in which the lesion is in the nucleus or the nerve itself. In the first the upper face muscles are but little or not at all affected, and those around the mouth suffer most, but respond normally to electric stimulus. In the second form there is complete palsy of one side of the face. The onset is rapid, but not sudden. The commonest cause is inflammation of the nerve due to cold.

Paralysis Ag'itans, or Shak'ing Pal'sy, incurable disease of advanced age, characterized by weakness, tremor, and rigidity of the muscles. Men are more often affected than women, and worries and mental strain are important causes. Sometimes the shaking of fear has been followed directly by this disease. There is a fine and continuous tremor of the hands, feet, and less commonly of the head, which, however, ceases during sleep. The muscles are apt to be rigid, and a peculiar masklike immobility of the facial expression is a marked characteristic. The weakness of the muscles is rarely marked, but is a constant symptom. There is a peculiar staggering gait in which the patient seems to be running after his center of gravity.

Paramaribo, capital of Dutch Guiana; on the Surinam, 19 m. above its mouth; has wide streets, shaded with orange and tamarind trees, and gardens around most of the houses; nearly all buildings are of wood; there are many Protestant and Roman Catholic churches, hospitals, barracks, etc.; principal export, sugar. Paramaribo dates from the end of the sixteenth century; was twice bombarded by the French, and has repeatedly been almost destroyed by fire. Pop. (1907) 34,870.

Paramat'ta. See PARRAMATTA.

Param'eter, in mathematics, a term generally expressing a quantity, by whose variation systems of equations or curves, etc., are represented. Thus if the shape and magnitude of a curve be considered, but not its position, the radius is the sole parameter of a circle, and the major and minor axes of an ellipse are its two parameters.

Paraná (pä-rä-nä'), capital and largest town of Entre Rios, Argentine Republic; on a bluff overlooking the Paraná, nearly opposite the mouth of the Salado; center of a rich grazing region; in vicinity are thriving colonies of Germans, Swiss, and Italians; steamers asending the river touch regularly at this port; founded, 1730; capital of the Argentine Republic, 1852-61. Pop. (1907) 27,000.

PARDO

Paraná Riv'er, river of S. America; formed in Brazil by the union of the Paranahyba and Grande, both from the mountains of Minas Geraes; flows SSW. to lat. 24° 4', where it forms the magnificent cataract of Guayra or Salto Grande, and thence S. and afterwards W., dividing Paraguay on the one hand from Brazil and the Argentine Republic on the other, till it is joined by the Paraguay at Tres Bocas, a little above Corrientes, 900 m. above its mouth. Thence it flows S. and afterwards SE. through the Argentine Republic till it unites with the Uruguay to form the Rio de la Plata, after a course of 1,860 m., exclusive of that of the Paranahyba and Grande. The Paraná is full of islands, which, composed of mud and sand bound together by vegetation, undergo a constant round of decay and renovation.

Paranaph'thalene. See ANTHRACENE.

Pará (pä-rä') Riv'er, large inlet in the coast of Brazil, State of Pará, SE. of Island of Marajó, generally regarded as the S. mouth of the Amazon; physically, the estuary of the river Tocantins, but through a network of channels S. and W. of Marajó receives a volume of Amazonian water exceeding that of the Tocantins itself. The Pará, up to the junction of the Amazonian channels, is 120 m. long, 10 m. wide above, and over 30 m. at the mouth.

Par'asang, ancient Persian measure of distance; still in use; variously estimated, but fixed by modern travelers at 31-4 m.

Parasit'ic An'imals. See ENTOZOA; EPIZOA. Parasitic Plants. See EPIPHYTE.

Parcæ (pär'sē), Latin name for the Fates. See FATES, THE.

Parch'ment, skins of sheep and other animals, prepared for being written on. The making of parchment is said to have been improved by Eumenes II, King of Pergamus (197-159 B.C.), whence its name. According to Herodotus, the ancient Ionians wrote on skins that its use was common in Egypt ages before many ages before that time, and it is certain the time of Eumenes. The finer sorts of parchment, called vellum, are made from the skins of calves, kids, and stillborn lambs. The heavier parchment for drum heads is made from the skins of asses, older calves, wolves, and goats. Paper or vegetable parchment, first noticed, 1847, by Poumarède and Figuier, who called it papyrine, and first manufactured, 1857, is used for legal documents and maps, for connecting laboratory apparatus, etc. It is made by dipping unsized paper for a few seconds in a mixture of equal volumes of strong sulphuric acid and water.

Par'do, Manuel, 1834-78; Peruvian statesman; b. Lima; became a banker in Lima, besides conducting several large plantations; President of Peru, 1872-76; was the first civilian ever elected to this office, and one of the best and most popular presidents Peru ever had; was later president of the senate; assas

sinated.