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PTOMAINE 377 PUBLIC UTILITIES Ptolemaic System.) The "Great Con- struction" was translated by the Ara- bians into their language about 827, and from this translation, which bears the title of "Almagest," a Latin version, was made by command of the Emperor Frederick II., in 1230. PTOMAINE, a putrescent product of animal origin and of a basic or alka- loidal nature, closely allied to the vege- table alkaloids J a cadaveric poison. About 150 varieties of ptomaines are known, some being harmless, others very poisonous. Ordinary foods frequently undergo changes that render them harm- ful, and especially is this so with mus- sels, clams, oysters, fish, meat, sausage, milk, ice-cream, cheese and canned goods. These changes are due to the presence of ptomaines. Heat will destroy the ptomaine bacteria, but their poison is not eliminated by cooking. See Bacteria. PTOSIS, in pathology, a falling; as Ptosis fcdpehrse, a paralysis of the mus- cle which should keep the upper eyelid from falling. PUBERTY, the age at which persons are capable of begetting or bearing chil- dren; the period marked by the func- tional development of the generative system in both male and female, and their corresponding aptitude for pro- creation. In botany, the period at which a plant first begins to bear flowers. PUBILIUS VOLEBO, the author of the Pubilian law at Rome; a law by wH h the power of the plebs or people was greatly increased. PUBLICAN, in Roman antiquities, a collector of revenues, or farmer of the taxes consisting of tolls, tithes, harbor duties, duties for the use of pasture lands, mines, salt works, etc., in Roman provinces. Also, formerly a collector of toll, tribute, customs, or the like. PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, a bu- reau of the United States Treasury De- partment, formerly going under the name of the Marine Hospital Service, The officials in its service have the work of managing the marine hospitals and relief stations established for men in the American merchant marine who are ill or disabled. It is also charged with the supervision of the quarantine stations, and the collection of data and dissem- ination of literature relating to mor- tality and health, including the exami- nation of persons from abroad who may be suffering from infectious diseases. The Public Health Service dates from the year 1798, and its duties have de- veloped considerably from that time. At first it was charged with the supervision of a small group of hospitals. Then in 1871 the bureau was brought more in touch with the Treasury Department and was established on a broader basis under a surgeon-general with headquarters in Washington. The staff was gradually increased till the number of surgeons has totaled over 400, and hospitals have been established both on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts, on the coasts of the Great Lakes, the Gulf of Mexico, and in other places in the more recent possessions. In 1914 the hospitals numbered 24, and the relief stations 120. In the year pre- vious the bureau distributed close on 1,500,000 pamphlets and similar pieces of literature dealing with matters of health. PUBLICIST, a term originally applied to a writer on international law, now used to denote a writer on current politics. PUBLIC PROSECUTOR, an officer ap- pointed to originate and conduct prose- cutions in the public interest. In the Uni- ted States his title is usually district attorney, though in some states special prosecutors are assigned to minor courts. PUBLIC UTILITIES, REGULATION OF, in which the government, national, state or municipal, on behalf of the pub- lic, asserts its right to interfere in the management of certain corporations for the protection of the public interest. It was, at one time, a generally accepted theory that the right of private individ- uals and corporations to manage their own business was sacred. Governments, however, are more and more regulating private business in the social interest. The right of the government to I'egulate the control of public utilities is no longer questioned, even by the most conserva- tive. Public utilities are those enter- prises which, though privately owned and controlled, have as their object the ren- dering of service to the general public, chief of which are railways, lighting plants, telephone and telegraph lines, water supply, etc. Foremost among these are such enterprises as street rail- ways, waterworks, gas companies, etc., which exercise what is practically a monopoly in their own domain. Obvi- ously, in granting such rights of mon- opoly, the public must reserve the right of regulation. Regulation was at first attempted through legislation, but this method proved not only too slow, but inadapta- ble to special conditions which might arise. Regulation is, therefore, almost always carried on by commissioners, or commissions, which exercise the right of interference as the conditions may arise. The first official body of this sort created