Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/270

PHASE 214 PHEASANT PHASE, or PHASIS, in astronomy, one of the gradual changes undergone by the moon in passing from an unillumined state (new moon) through that of a con- tinually broadening crescent to a com- plete orb (full moon), and back to new moon again. Similar phases are under- gone by the inferior planets, Mercury and Venus, though, o^ving to their small size and the excessive brightness of the latter planet under the telescope, the phenom- enon is not so easily seen. In mineral- ogy, transparent green quartz. In etc. In physiology, the several changes which the human and other organisms undergo in the progress from birth to maturity, and thence again to decline and death. PHASIS, in ancient geography, a river in Colchis, now called Rion or Faz. It rises in the Caucasus, and flows W. into the Euxine near the ancient city of Phasis. PHEASANT, Phasianus colchicus, and, more widely, any bird of the sub- MONGOLIAN PHEASANT physics, any one point or portion in a recurring series of changes, especially when contrasted with another point, as, the phases^ in the waves of vibration, in the tides, in the motion of a pendulum, family Phasianinas. The common Euro- pean pheasant probably had its original home in the East. It was esteemed by epicures, but was then only within reach of the wealthy. It is one of the most