Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/137

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PALMETTO 95 PALO ALTO energ:y and industry, he directed the Eng- lish policy through the Italian War, the American War, and the Polish insurrec- tion. He died Oct. 18, 1865. PALMETTO, a fan palm growing in the West Indies, Bermuda, and the S. part of the United States. Its leaves are woven into hats, like those made of chip. The trunks form good stockades, and were used for the purpose during the War of Independence. Also Cham- ierops humilis, a palm from southern Europe. PALMETTO STATE, South Carolina. On its coat of arms is a delineation of one of these trees, for the growth of which the State is famous. PALMI, a town of Italy in the prov- ince of Reggio di Calabria. It is on the slope of Mount Elia. It is in the midst of a grape producing region. Olives and oranges are also grown in abun- dance. There is an excellent harbor which affords good fishing. Pop. about 15,000. LINES OP THE PALM A, will; B, logic; 0, mount of Venus; D, mount of Jupiter ; E, mount of Saturn ; F, mount of Apollo; Q, mount of Mercury; H, mount of Mars ; I, mount of tlie Moon ; K, the rascette ; a, a, line of life ; b, b, line of the head ; c,c, line of heart; d, d, line of Saturn or fate; e, e, line of liver or health; f, f, line of Apollo or fortune; g, g, the girdle of Venus; R, the quadrangle; m, m, m, bracelets of life. PALMISTRY, or CHIROMANCY, the art which professes to discover the temperament and character of anyone, as well as the past and future events of his life, from an examination of the palm of his hand; and of the lines traced upon it. The other branch of this general science has been called Chirognomy, and is concerned with the interpretation of the form and charac- ter of the hand and fingers, while chiromancy treats of the palm only. PALM OIL, palm butter; a fat ob- tained from the fruit of certain kinds of palm, and imported from the coast of Guinea. It has the consistence of but- ter, an orange color, a smell resembling violets, and consists mainly of tripalmi- tin, with a little olein. Palm oil is ex- tensively used in the manufacture of soap and candles, and is a common con- stituent of railway-carriage grease. It is frequently adulterated with wax, tal- low, lard, resin, etc. PALM SUNDAY, the Sunday inmiedi- ately preceding Easter. It commemo- rates the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, when the multitude strewed palm "branches," or rather leaves, for the typical palms, like those of Palestine, have no branches (John xii: 13). PALMYRA, an ancient city, in a fruitful and well-watered oasis of the Syrian desert. It was the Tadmor or Thadmor of the Hebrews, founded, or enlarged by Solomon, about 1001 B. c. Both its Greek name Palmyra, and its Hebrew name Tadmor, signify the city of palms, and the Arabs call it Tedmor. It submitted to the Emperor Hadrian in 130, after having repelled Marc An- tony aljout 58 B. c, and rose to its high- est power in the 3d century. Sapor I., King of Persia, was defeated here by Odenathus in 262. Odenathus was mur- dered about 267, and his wife Zenobia assumed the title of Queen of the East. Her army having been defeated at An- tioch and at Emesa, Zenobia was be- sieged in her capital by the Emperor Aurelian in 272. She was taken pris- oner, and Palmyra surrendered in 274. The citizens slew the Roman garrison, and Aurelian destroyed Palmyra. It was restored by Justinian I. in 527, and again destroyed by the Saracens in 744. It was plundered by Tamerlane in 1400. It had an immense temple dedicated to the sun, of which 60 columns out of 300 still remain. PALNI HILLS, a range of southern India, linking the S. extremities of the Eastern and Western Ghats; average height of the higher ridge, 7,000 feet. PALO ALTO, the name of a plain in southern Texas, 8 miles from Browns-