white, or with a few fine reddish dots. See Colored Plate of Eggs of American Water and Game Birds.
Consult: Evans, Birds (London, 1901); Baird, Water Birds of North America (Boston, 1884).
PETRI, pā′trē̇ Olaus (1493-1552). A Swedish reformer, born at Orebro, in the Province of Nerike. He studied at Upsala and the University of Leipzig, and afterwards at Wittenberg, where he continued his theological studies under Luther and Melanchthon. Upon the recommendation of King Gustavus I. he was appointed town clerk of Stockholm and at the same time preached in the cathedral, where he fearlessly expounded and urgently pleaded for the introduction of the reformed religious service. He wrote the first hymn-book in Swedish, also a Swedish chronicle (to 1520). This was published in the Scriptores Rerum Succicarum Medii (1818). From 1531 to 1533 he was chancellor of the King, but his enthusiasm got him into trouble with his sovereign, and at one time seemed likely to cost him his life.—His brother, Laurentius (c. 1499-1573), was first Lutheran Archbishop of Sweden, and was born at Orebro. About 1527 he was appointed professor of theology at Upsala, and in 1531 he was elected first Lutheran Archbishop. He devoted his life to establishing the Reformed Church in this country. He drew up the first Swedish Evangelical Church order that was printed (1571), and with his brother translated the Bible into Swedish. He also wrote many theological treatises defending the principles of Church reform.
PETRIE, pe′trĭ, William Matthew Flinders (1853—). An English Egyptologist, born at Charlton, June 3, 1S53, the son of William Petrie and Anne, daughter of Captain Matthew Flinders, the Australian explorer. He was educated at private schools, and at first turned his attention to the study of British archaeology. His earliest works were Inductive Metrology (London, 1877), and Stonehenge: Plans, Descriptions and Theories (London, 1880). After 1880 he occupied himself with the investigation of Egyptian antiquities, and made many valuable discoveries. Between 1884 and 1886 he excavated the site of Tanis, Naukratis, and Daphne and revealed the existence of ancient Greek settlements at the two latter places. From 1888 to 1890 he worked in the Fayûm, finding a number of interesting funeral portraits at Hawara, and gathering an extensive collection of valuable papyri, chiefly from the ruins of Kahun and Gurob. In 1890 he discovered and excavated for the Palestine Exploration Fund the site of ancient Lachish at Tell el-Hesy, in Palestine. In 1893 he received the degree of D.C.L. from the University of Oxford and was appointed to the newly founded professorship of Egyptology at King's College, London. In 1895 he discovered the remains of a prehistoric race at Nagada, and the following year found at Thebes the stele of Meneptah, containing the sole mention of Israel occurring in the Egyptian inscriptions. After 1899 he investigated the very interesting tombs of the First Dynasty at Abdos. Among his more important works may be mentioned: The Pyramids and Temples of Gizeh (1883); Tanis, Memoirs II. and V. of the Egyptian Exploration Fund (1885-87); Hawara (1889); Kahun (1890); Ten Years' Diggings (1893); A History of Egypt (2d ed. 1897); Egyptian Tales (1895-99); Religion and Conscience in Ancient Egypt (1898); Royal Tombs of the First Dynasty (1900-01).
PETRIFACTION (from Lat. petra, from Gk. πέτρα, rock + facere, to make). A name given to organic remains found in the strata of the earth, because they are generally more or less mineralized or made into stone. The word has fallen into disuse, having given place to the term fossil (q.v.).
PETRIFIED FORESTS. The same as fossil forests (q.v.).
PETROBRUSIANS. See Bruys, Pierre de.
PETRIFIED WOOD. Plant remains in which the woody tissue has been replaced by mineral matter, usually some form of silica. The name dendrolites has been given to petrified fragments of plants that are commonly found in the coal measures. See Fossil Forests.
PETROGRAPHIC PROVINCE (from Gk. πέτρα, petra, rock + γράφειν, graphein, to write). A region within which the igneous rocks reveal a relationship (so-called consanguinity) in chemical composition, which may be referred to a community of origin. This relationship may be chemically a close one, but the rocks have widely varying mineralogical composition, or the kinship may be restricted to one or more of the chemical components in the rocks.
PETROG′RAPHY. See Petrology.
PETROLATUM (Neo-Lat., from ML. petroleum, rock oil, from Lat. petra, from Gk. πέτρα, rock + oleum, from Gk. ἔλαιον, elaion, oil). A residue from the distillation of petroleum, prepared by filtration, and known to the trade by different names, as petroleum jelly, vaseline, and cosmoline. It is an amber-colored, translucent, semi-solid substance, slightly soluble in alcohol, and readily so in ether. It does not become rancid, and is largely used in pharmaceutical preparations, especially ointments, instead of the ordinary fats. It is taken inwardly as a remedy for coughs and colds; it is an excellent lubricant, and will protect polished steel from rust. The term vaseline, while often applied to petrolatum in general, is really a trade name, protected by copyright, belonging to one particular preparation. See Petroleum.
PETRO′LEA. A town of Lambton County, southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated on a branch of the Grand Trunk Railroad, 10 miles east of the Saint Clair River. In the neighborhood are numerous oil wells producing yearly about 20,000 barrels of crude petroleum. Population, in 1891, 4357; in 1901, 4135.
PETROLEUM (ML., rock oil). A natural rock oil composed of hydrocarbons. It is classed with natural gas and asphalt as a bitumen; natural gas containing the more volatile members of the series, asphalt the solid, while petroleum is composed chiefly of the liquid members, although it contains a small proportion of both solid and gaseous compounds. Other names for petroleum are mineral oil, rock oil, and naphtha, the last being employed especially in Europe for the Russian oils.
History. Petroleum has long been known in various parts of the world by its appearance in the form of bituminous springs or as a floating scum on the surface of pools. It was used at a very early period in the walls of Babylon and Nine-
