Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/105

p P, p, the 16th letter and the 12th con- sonant of the English alphabet is^ a labial sound, _ formed by a compression of the anterior part of the lips, as in pull, papa, ap. As a sharp labial it is classed with f, and corresponds to the flat labial b. P has but one sound in English, except when in combination with h it forms the digraph ph, which is sounded as f, and occurs in words de- rived from the Greek. In the case of many words derived from the Greek, initial p is not sounded, as in pneuma- tics, psalm, psalter, pterodactyl. It is sometimes, but rarely, silent in the mid- dle of a word, as in receipt. P repre- sents the Latin post = aiter; as p. m.= post meridiem = after noon; p. s.= post- script, etc. ; in music for piano = softly. As a symbol, P was formerly used: In numerals: To denote 400, and with a dash over it, to denote 400,000. PACAGUARAS, an Indian tribe liv- ing in the N. parts of Bolivia and Brazil. They have numerous small villages and follow hunting and fishing for a liveli- hood. Some of them formerly embraced the Christian religion. There is but a remnant of the tribe remaining. PACAY, a Peruvian tree (Prosopis dulcis) , natural order Leguminosse, sub- order Mimosx. The pure white, flaky matter in which the seeds are embedded is used as food, and the pods, which are nearly two feet long, serve for feeding cattle. The mesquite belongs to the same genus. PACHACAMA, a town and temple of ancient Peru, on the coast, about 20 miles S. of Lima. In this temple wor- ship was paid to Pachacama, the Su- preme Deity, or "founder of the world." The ruins of the building, are of an older type of architecture than that of the Incas. The shrine and wooden image of the god were destroyed by Pizarro in 1523. PACHIRA, in botany, a genus of Bombacex, akin to Adansonia. P. {Car- olinea) alba is a South American tree, the inner bark of which furnishes excel- lent cordage. P. macrantha is a large tree, 100 feet high, with greenish flowers and blood-red filaments. PACHMANN, VLADIMIR DE, a Russian pianist; born in Odessa, Russia, July 27, 1848. He studied under his fa- ther, who was a violinist of some talent, and was also a pupil of Dachs at Vienna. His first appearance was in 1869, and in 1871 he began his tours. He visited Paris, Vienna and London (1882-1883) and was received with enthusiasm. He came to the United States and toured the country in 1899-1900. He became fam- ous here and in Europe especially for his interpretations of Chopin. PACHYDERMATA, an order of Mammalia, founded by Cuvier, for hoofed non-ruminant animals with thick integuments. He divided it into three groups, Proboscidea, Ordinaria, and Soli- dungula. The first division is now raised to ordinal rank, and contains the elephants; the others are grouped in one order, Ungulata. To these two orders Professor Huxley has provisionally added a third, Hyracoidea. PACIFIC OCEAN, the largest of the five great oceans, lying between America on the E., and Asia, Malaysia, and Aus- tralasia on the W. The name "Pacific," was given to it by Magellan, the first European naagator who traversed its expanse. The greatest length of the Pacific Ocean from the Arctic (at Bering Strait) to the Antarctic cii'cles is 9,200 miles, and its greatest width, along the parallel of lat. 5° N., about 10,300 miles; while its area may be roughly estimated at about two-fifths of the whole surface of the earth. The deepest sounding yet found in the Pacific Ocean is 26,850 feet, or about 5 miles — nearly equal to 73