proved that spontaneous generation does not occur. In 1865 he turned his attention to the diseases of the silkworm, and in two years was able to arrest the ravages of a disease among them. His discoveries resulted in saving millions of dollars annually to the silk industry. His further work helped in establishing the germ-theory of disease (which see). He studied profoundly the methods of using attenuated virus for vaccination against splenic fever, hydrophobia and other diseases. In 1888 Pasteur Institute was formally opened at Paris for the cure or prevention of hydrophobia. He received many honors both at home and from learned societies all over the world. He died on Sept. 28, 1895. See Louis Pasteur; translated by Lady Hamilton.
LOUIS PASTEUR
Pas′teur Institute. This is an institution partly supported and controlled by the French government, which as its chief aim prosecutes researches in cancer, tuberculosis, appendicitis and other prevalent maladies. Its name is taken from Louis Pasteur, who carried on his later researches there. Pasteur indicated the possibility of a science of stereo-chemistry; and was the first to show that the fermentations of milk, butter etc. are due to living micro-organisms. He showed the possibility of vaccination against disease and of sterilizing substances like milk which may convey it. Pasteur Institute became short of funds to continue its valuable researches; but early in 1907 it was the recipient of a legacy of 30,000,000 francs [nearly $6,000,000] under the will of M. Osiois, one of the executors of which was M. Emile Loubet, former president of the French republic.
Pat′ago′nia, as the most southern country of South America was once called, extends south from the Argentine republic 1,000 miles to the Straits of Magellan, which separate it from Tierra del Fuego. The Andes divide the country into two parts, the eastern area of which now belongs to the Argentine republic and the western to Chile. To-day Patagonia is but a geographical term. The western portion is rugged and mountainous, with islands and cliffs along the Pacific coast, which give it a wild outline. The strip of shore along the Pacific from the Andes is so narrow that there are no rivers longer than 13 miles. The temperature varies from 50° to 33°, summer and winter, and is very damp. Coal is mined at Punta Arenas, where Chile has a colony and penal settlement. Eastern Patagonia is not so desolate, but has high plains in some places covered by grass, forests, and shrubs, yet along the Atlantic coast everything is wild. The rivers here are the Negro, Chubut, Deseado, Chico, Santa Cruz and Gallegos, all rising in the Andes. Some horses and cattle are raised, and wild fowl and animals are found in some regions. The inhabitants are Indians, almost a race by themselves, who are tall and straight, hardy, strong and muscularly developed. Some Europeans are found at the settlements at Patagones, on the Chubut and the Santa Cruz. Magellan sailed along the entire coast in 1520, and the great plain was explored by De Isla in 1535. See works on Patagonia by Falkner, Snow, Pritchard and Musters.
Pataps′co, a river of Maryland, flowing into Chesapeake Bay, 14 miles below Baltimore. It is 80 miles long, and admits large vessels as far as Baltimore.
Pat′ent, the privilege granted by a government to an inventor, of the exclusive right to his invention for a term of years. The royal grant in England was made by letters-patent or open letters, called so because they were not sealed. The system of giving patents is common in Europe and the United States, though Switzerland and Holland have no patent laws and Prussia does not favor them. The United States Patent-Office is a branch of the Department of the Interior, and has its records, models and drawings at Washington. The first American law of patents was passed in 1790; the present law in 1870. Any invention, both new and useful, can receive a patent. It is necessary only that it should be new in the United States, its previous use in foreign countries not preventing a patent. Any person who is the first inventor of anything that admits of a patent can obtain one, whether a resident of the country or a foreigner. The patents are given for seventeen years and cannot be renewed. About 30,000 patents are applied for yearly in America.
PATENTS AND THE CONTROL OF PRICES
A decision by the U. S. Supreme Court in 1913 declared it unlawful for a manufacturer to fix the retail price of his product by refusing to sell to retailers who fail to adhere to this price. The case was one in which a manufacturer of a patented article claimed that his patent gave him the absolute control of the sale of the article, including the price.
Pat′erson, N. J., a city 15 miles from New York city, is situated on Passaic River. The river curves around three sides of the city, and has a fall of 50 feet, which gives the fine water-power used in many manufactures. Its principal manufactures are silk goods and locomotives, paper mills, fac-
