More than one of these 7 encyclopedias carries each of the following subjects — but every one of them treats it in a sentence or two and then moves on. They are gathered here so the different accounts can sit side by side.
Pterodactyl
Aiton's Encyclopedia: ter-o-dak'til, a flying reptile. Fossil forms of several species have been found in the Jura limestone of Europe. The skeleton is made up of the body and legs of a bird, the wings of a bat, the neck of a serpent (only not so long), and a large, long head set with sharp teeth in each jaw. The largest must have sailed through the air like a bat, with a total wing spread of not less than twenty feet. These fossils are intermediate between lizards and birds. They strengthen the argument that birds have been developed from reptiles.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a remarkable genus of fossil lizards, peculiar to the Mesozoic strata. Collini, and other more eminent naturalists, referred it to the mammalia, finding its nearest ally in the bat. The careful investigations of Cuvier, however, showed that the pterodactyl was a true lizard, but possessed of the power of flight.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Puck
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a reputed chief of the domestic fairies or brownies of Scotland. He is known in England as Robin Goodfellow and Friar Rush. Midnight is his favorite hour. Many tales are told of his whimsical tricks and good turns. The popular notion of his ways and character is well set forth in Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream . The small hairy-robert or crow's bill-wild geranium-is known as puck-needle. See Fairy ; Brownie
Collier's New Encyclopedia: 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.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Pulque
Aiton's Encyclopedia: pul'ka, the national beverage of the Mexicans, corresponding to the beer and ale and wine of other countries. It is made from the sap of the agave plant. When the bud of the flower stalk appears in the center of the huge rosette of leaves, a slit is made across the tender center of the plant, and the center of the bud is scooped out to form a cavity. Morning and evening for a month a quart or two of sweet sap is dipped out of this hollow with a gourd and poured into a goatskin bag on the back of a donkey. The fresh juice is fermented, like that of the grape or the juice of barley malt, to make pulque. It is sold throughout the country by the skin, glass, barrel, or bottle, like beer or milk. Agave raising is one of the largest industries in Mexico. A second and stronger liquor called "mescal" is produced from pulque by the additional process of distillation. See Alcohol ; Agave
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a vinous beverage, made in Mexico, by fermenting the juice of the various species of the agave. It resembles cider, but has a disagreeable odor, like that of putrid meat.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Puma
Collier's New Encyclopedia: 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, attacks man, and may be tamed with little difficulty. It ranges from Canada to Patagonia, being most numerous in the forests Central America.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: . See Cougar
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Pumice
Aiton's Encyclopedia: pumis, a form of lava through which gas or steam has escaped during the process of cooling, leaving it full of air holes. Three-fourths of typical pumice by weight consists of fine sand converted into minute powdery particles of glass, mixed with alumina, iron, lime, soda, etc. It varies in color from brown to a whitish gray. Although twice as heavy as water, it is so full of air holes that it floats until it becomes watersoaked. Powdered pumice is used to polish marble, glass, and ivory surfaces. It also serves as the gritty ingredient of many tooth-powders. It is used by the painter in polishing wood and metal. A piece of pumice stone in the lavatory is useful to scour stains from the hands. The pumice of commerce is obtained largely from the Lipari Islands, north of Sicily. Pumice of excellent quality is to be had also from Mexico and Iceland. See Volcano
Collier's New Encyclopedia: 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.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Pumpkin
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a member of the gourd family, closely akin to the squash. Probably native to Central America . At all events the American Indians cultivated pumpkins in fields of corn as is done by their white successors to this day. With pumpkin rhyming so well with bumpkin, and "pumpkin head," a proverbial expression for want of mother wit, it might seem that this honest old vegetable would be left by the poets as hopelessly prosaic; but James Whitcomb Riley has done very well in When the Frost Is on the Pumpkin, and Whittier's The Pumpkin recalls the oven and the traditions of Thanksgiving admirably. Boys make Hallowe'en jack-o'-lanterns by cutting holes in the side of a pumpkin-two narrow slits for eyes, a triangular hole for a nose, and a wide horizontal slit for a mouth. Set in a window with a candle inside of it, the pumpkin "jack" is quite effective. For botanical characteristics, see SQUASH. See also VEGETABLES.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the Cucurbita pepo, or more loosely any gourd akin to it. It is a native of Astrachan, but is now cultivated throughout India and other parts of the tropics; also in the United States.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Punic Wars
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a series of wars carried on between Rome and Carthage. The First Punic War occurred 264-241 B. C.; the second, 218-201 B. C.; the third, 149-146 B. C. These wars were in reality one continued struggle for the mastery of the Mediterranean world. They resulted in the destruction of Carthage and the complete mastery of Rome. See Hannibal; Scipio ; Carthage
Collier's New Encyclopedia: three great wars between the Romans and the Carthaginians. The first (264-241 B. c.) was for the possession of Sicily, and ended by the Carthaginians having to withdraw from the island. The second (218-202 b. c.), the war in which Hannibal gained his great victories in Italy, was a death
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia