Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/116

PALiEARCTIC REGION 84 I-ALENCIA "La espunia"; "La fe"; "El niaes- trante"; El origen del personiento" ; "Tristan, o el pesimismo," etc. Nearly all are translated into English and other languages. PAL^ARCTIC BEGION, a very ex- tensive region, comprising all temperate Europe and Asia, from Iceland to Bering Straits, and from the Azores to Japan. To the S. it includes the extra-tropical part of the Sahara and Arabia, and all Persia, Kabul, and Baluchistan to the Indus. It comes down to a little below the upper limit of forests in the Hima- layas, and includes the larger N. portion of China, not quite so far down the coast as Amoy. PAL^ICHTHYES, or PALEICH- THYES, a sub-class of fishes. The heart has a contractile conus arteriosus, intestine with a spiral valve; optic nerves non-decussating or only partly decussating. It embraces two orders, Chondropterygii and Ganoidei. PALEOGRAPHY, or PALEOGRA- PHY, an ancient manner of writing; ancient manuscripts collectively. Also the art or science of deciphering ancient inscriptions, writings, manuscripts, docu- ments, etc., by a knowledge of the char- acters, signs, and abbreviations used by the writers or sculptors of various na- tions at different times; the study of an- cient writings and inscriptions, and modes of writing. PAL.ffiOLOGTJS, an illustrious Byzan- tine family, first mentioned about 1078, when George Palaeologus was a faithful servant of the Emperor Nicephorus III. He was killed while defending Dyrrha- chium, or Durazzo, against the Normans in 1081. The Palaeologi, the last Greek family that occupied the throne of Con- stantinople, reigned from 1260 to 1453. A branch of the Palaeologi ruled over Montferrat in Italy from 1305 to the end of 1530. PAL.ffiOTHERIUM, or PALEOTHE- RITJM, the type-genus of the family Palseotheridse, resembling the antelope. It was founded on remains discovered by Cuvier in the quarries of Montmartre, and named by him P. magnum. Several species are known, varying in size from that of a roedeer to that of a tapir. PALEOZOIC, or PALEOZOIC, in ge- ology, the term generally applied to the series of strata commencing with the first rocks which have traces of life, and ending with the upper part of the Per- mian. See Fossil: Geology. PALAMEDES, a Grecian hero, the son of Nauplius, King of Eubcea. PALATE, the roof of the mouth. The fore part is called the hard palate and the back part the soft palate, the former having an osseous framework and a membrane provided with many muci- parous glands. In botany, the prom- inent lower lip of a ringent corolla. PALATINATE, LOWER, or PALAT- INATE OF THE RHINE, the name for- merly given to two states of Germany, which were designated, by way of dis- tinction, the Upper and Lower Palati- nate, and though not contiguous, were under the control of the same sovereign till 1620. The word palatinate is of feu- dal origin, and signifies the province or seigniory of a palatine, i. e., of a high dignitary during the Middle Ages, who originally held office in the court of the sovereign, and was designated the comes palatii, but who afterward obtained, within his own province or district, the same power, rank, and jurisdiction, which the comes palatii possessed in the palace. Hence the old German title pfalzgraf, count-palatine; in English, palsgrave. PALATINE HILL, one of the seven hills of Rome. It borders on the Forum and is said to be the site of the city founded by Remus. PALATKA, a town and county-seat of Putnam co., Fla., on the Atlantic Coast Line, the Georgia Southern and Florida, the Florida East Coast and the Ocala Northern railroads; 30 miles S. W. of St. Augustine. It is noted for its large shipments of oranges and as a winter resort for Northern invalids. It also has large shipments of cotton, sugar, and various fruits. Pop. (1910) 3,779; (1920) 5,102. PALEMBANG, capital of a residency (formerly an independent kingdom) near the S. end of Sumatra; on the Musi river, 50 miles from its mouth. The houses of the town are built on great log rafts on either bank. Manufactures, trade in silk goods, carved wood, ornaments in gold and ivory, and krises, as well as shipbuilding, are carried on. In the Mid- dle Ages Palembang was one of the most important centers of Arabian trade with China. Pop. over 60,000; and of the residence about 775,000. PALENCIA (the ancient Pallantia), a walled city of Sp^in, in Old Castile (province of Palencia) in a fruitful plain, 180 miles N. N. W. of Madrid. The Gothic cathedral was built 1321-1504. The first university of Castile was found- ed here in 1208, but was removed to Salamanca in 1239. Blankets and coarse