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Puccinia – Puff Adder

Puccinia

in botany, the typical genus of Puccinxi. The genus is parasitic and destructive to the plants on which it grows. P. graminis, the common mildew, causes the rust or blight in corn.

Puck

in mediæval mythology, the "merry wanderer of the night," depicted in Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream." This fairy is known as Robin Goodfellow and Friar Rush in England, and in Germany as Knecht Ruprecht; but it is by his designation of Puck that he is most generally known in England, Germany, and the more northern nations.

Pud

or POOD, a Russian weight which contains 40 Russian pounds, equivalent to 36 pounds avoirdupois.

Pudding Berries

the berries of the Canadian dogwood (Cornus canadensis), common throughout North America. PUDDING STONE

Pudding Stone

a name given to certain siliceous conglomerates, notably that of Hertfordshire, England, in which the rounded, jaspery flint pebbles resemble the plums in a plum pudding.

Pudukkottai

a State of Madras, southern India, situated between the districts of Madura and Tanjore, mainly rocky and undulating plain, sparsely cultivated. Granite quarries, silk, cotton and perfume works represent the chief industries. Small export trade, chiefly groundnuts and bark of trees. Pop. about 450,000. Capital, Pudukkottai, pop. about 25,000.

Puerperal Fever

the low fever of childbed, commencing with rigors and chills. There are three marked varieties: the simple inflammatory, the mild epidemic with nervous disturbance, and the putrid or malignant epidemic. It is highly infectious, and even contagious, sometimes associated with erysipelas.

Puerto Cabello

a seaport of Venezuela, in the State of Carabobo, 78 miles W. of Caracas. It stands on a long, low narrow peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, 34 miles from Valencia. There is an active foreign trade; the chief exports are coffee, cacao, indigo, cinchona, cotton, sugar, divi-divi, and copper ore. Pop. about 15,000.

Puerto De Santa Maria

a seaport of Spain, at the mouth of the Guadalete, on the bay of Cadiz, 22 miles N. E. of Cadiz. It is one of the principal export harbors for sherry, and manufactures silk, soap, hats, leather, spirits, beer, etc. Pop. about 20,000.

Puerto Plata

the chief port of the Dominican Republic, on the N. coast of the island of Haiti. It has an open roadstead, and exports a good deal of tobacco, mahogany, sugar, coffee, cocoa, divi-divi, etc. Pop. (1916) 10,000. y, sugar, coffee, cocoa,

Puerto Principe

an important inland town in the E. of the island of Cuba, 40 miles S. W. of its port, Nuevitas, with which it is connected by railway. It manufactures cigars.

Now known as Camaguey. Pop. (1916) 30,000.

Puff Adder

the Vipera (Clotho) arietans, one of the most venomous serpents of South Africa. In length, when full grown, it is from four to five feet; is as thick as a man's arm, and, when disturbed, puffs out the upper part of its body, whence its popular name.