Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/458

PULPIT 382 PUMPELLY of the alveoli and small bronchi, and that air was frequently pumped into the stomach in place of the lungs. Like many other instruments they were found to be dangerous in inexperienced or un- skilled hands, and it has been suggested that the instruments be used only as an auxiliary to the established manual methods of artificial respiration and only used for periods of a very few minutes. Many cases of resuscitation by use of the pulmotor reported in the newspapers were, upon investigation, found to be greatly exaggerated. PULPIT, formerly, a stand from which disputants pronounced their disserta- tions and authors recited their works; a rostrum. Now, a raised place or desk in a church, from which the preacher de- livers his sermon. PULQUE, a vinous beverage, made in Mexico, by fermenting the juice of the various species of the agave. It resem- bles cider, but has a disagreeable odor, like that of putrid meat. PULSE, in physiology, the beat or shock felt in any artery when slight pressure is made on it, caused by the systole of the heart. At birth the num- ber of beats are about 140, at the end of the first year 120, at the end of the second 110; during middle life between 70 and 80, and in old age usually a little more. To feel one's pulse is to sound one; to try to discover one's opinions, views, or feelings. PULSE, a general name for legumi- nous plants or their seeds; leguminous plants, such as beans, peas, etc. PULSOMETER, a form of pump for raising water, by the condensation of steam, in a vessel situated at such ele- vation above the water supply that the atmospheric pressure will raise the wa- ter to the chamber and operate the valves. PULTENEY, WILLIAM, Earl of Bath, an English statesman; born in 1684. He studied at Oxford and entered Parliament where he won a brilliant reputation. At first the friend of Wal- pole, he became the head of a party of malcontent Whigs, the "Patriots," in 1728, and was henceforth the minister's bitterest opponent. He was Boling- broke's chief assistant in the paper called the "Craftsman," which involved him in many political controversies. In 1731 he wrongly ascribed to Lord Hervey the au- thorship of a scurrilous pamphlet; a duel was the consequence, fought with swords in St. James' Park, when both combat- ants were slightly wounded. On the resignation of Walpole in 1741 Pulteney was sworn of the privy-council, and soon afterward created Earl of Bath; and from that time his popularity was gone. His prose was effective and his verse graceful. He died in 1764. PULVERMACHER CHAIN, a form of galvanic battery consisting of a series of small wooden cylinders on which a zinc and copper wire are coiled side by side, but without touching each other. The zinc of one cylinder, touching the copper of the adjacent one, forms with it a couple. The whole is immersed in vin- egar diluted with water. PUMA, the Felis concolor, the couguar of the French, the leon of the South Americans, and the panther or "painter" of the trappers. It is the largest feline of the New World, measuring 40 inches from the nose to root of tail, which is about 20 inches more; the head is small, mane absent; general color of upper surface tawny yellowish-brown. The young, when born, are spotted with brown, and the tail is ringed. The puma is destructive, and slays far more than it can eat, but rarely, if ever, at- tacks man, and may be tamed with little difficulty. It ranges from Canada to Patagonia, being most numerous in the forests of Central America. PUMICE, a very porous, or cellular, froth-like rock, of extreme lightness, floating on water. In commerce, pumice stone. It is imported from the Lipari Isles, and is used for polishing metals and marble, and smoothing the surface of wood and pasteboard. PUMP, a machine, engine, or device, consisting of an arrangement of a piston, cylinder, and valves, for raising water or other liquid to a higher level, or for compressing or exhausting air and other gases. PUMP, a light shoe, or slipper, with a single unwelted sole, and chiefly worn by dancers. PUMPELLY, EAlPHAEL, an Amer- ican geologist; bom in Owego, N. Y., Sept. 8, 1837. In his early life he con- ducted explorations for the governments of Japan and China; was professor at Harvard for several years; and from 1879 to 1892 geologist in charge of the Archaean division of the United States Geological Survey. His chief works are: "Geological Researches in China, Mongolia, and Japan" (18673 : "Across America and Asia" (1870); "Mineral Industries of the United States" (1886) ; "Geology of the Green Mountains" (1894) ; "Explorations in Central Asia" (1905), etc. His "Reminiscences" ap- peared in 1918.