Photosynthesis
literally a combining by means of light, the process by which carbohydrates (starch, sugar, etc.) are manufactured by green plants in the presence of sunlight from the carbon dioxide and water of the air and soil. Since this manufacture is the basis of the whole food supply of the human race, its importance is evident and in 1922 the Council of the American Association for the Advancement of Science authorized the appointment of a special committee to coordinate the efforts being made by scientists to penetrate the mystery, with a possible view to the future artificial manufacture of foods from the same exhaustless sources in nature. (See CHLOROPHYLL.)
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Phragmites
in botany, reed; a genus of grasses, tribe Arundineae. Spikelets panicled, four or six flowered, those above perfect, the lower one with stamens only; all enveloped in silky hairs; palea short, two nerved. Known species five. The hard seeds of P. arundinacea and P. calamagrostis. In Cashmere the first species is given to cattle, and sandals are made from its stems. In palæontology, a form of reed occurring in the Miocene.
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Phreno-Magnet
Journal of Magnetism. (See Spiritualism .)
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Phrenology
the science or doctrine which teaches that a relation exists between the several faculties of the human mind and particular portions of the brain, the latter being the organs through which the former act. That the brain, taken as a whole, is the part of the human body through which the mind operates, had been from ancient times the general belief; but the localization of the several faculties was first attempted by Dr. Franz Joseph Gall, who gained, in 1804, a valuable coadjutor in Dr. Spurzheim. When Spurzheim visited Edinburgh, he met Mr. George Combe, who adopted his views, and in 1819 published "Essays on Phrenology," ultimately developed into his "System of Phrenology," which became very popular. Gall enumerated nearly 30, Spurzheim 35, mental faculties which he considered as primitive. These Spurzheim divides into moral, or affective, and intellectual.
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Phrixus
A son of Athamas, king of Thebes , and Nephele. On the plea of insanity, Nephele was repudiated by Athamas, who then married Ino, who persecuted Phrixus with inveterate hatred, because he was to succeed to the throne in preference to one of her own children. Being apprised that Ino had designs on his life, he started with his sister Helle to go to Aeetes, king of Colchis. According to the poets they mounted on a ram, whose fleece was gold, which soared into the air, directing its course to Colchis. Helle became giddy, and, falling into the sea (afterward called the Hellespont), was drowned. Phrixus arrived at the court of Aeetes, whose daughter Chalciope he married. Some time afterward he was killed by his father-in-law.. The murder of Phrixus gave rise to the famous Argonautic expedition under Jason , the object being to recover the Golden Fleece , which Jason succeeded in obtaining. She
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Phrygia
in ancient geography, an inland province of Asia Minor, bounded N. by Bithynia and Galatia, E. by Cappadocia, S. by Lycia, Pisidia, and Isauria, and W. by Mysia, Lydia, and Caria. It was called Phrygia Pacatiana, and also Phrygia Major Major, in distinction from Phrygia Minor, which was a small district of Mysia near the Hellespont, occupied by some Phrygians after the Trojan War. The part of Phrygia Major was also called Lycaonia.
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Phryne
a famous courtesan of Greece, and mistress of Praxiteles, who employed her as a model for his statues of Venus. She acquired immense wealth and offered to rebuild Thebes, provided this inscription should be placed on the walls: "Alexander destroyed this city, and the courtesan Phryne restored it"; but her offer was rejected.
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Phthalic Anhydride
CH (CD), O. A white, crystalline substance, specific gravity 1.527, melting point 128° C. Sublimes below boiling point. Soluble in alcohol, slightly soluble in ether and hot water. An important intermediate in the dye industry, being used in the manufacture of eosin and other dyestuffs. PHTHISIS. See CONSUMPTION.
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Phy
an ancient manner of writing; ancient manuscripts collectively. Also the art or science of deciphering ancient inscriptions, writings, manuscripts, documents, etc., by a knowledge of the characters, signs, and abbreviations used by the writers or sculptors of various nations at different times; the study of ancient writings and and inscriptions, and modes of writing.
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Phyllis
A daughter of Sithon, or, according to other writers, of Lycurgus , king of Thrace. She received Demophoon, who landed on her coasts on his return from the Trojan war, and fell in love with him, and he reciprocated her affection; but afterward proving faithless, Phyllis hanged herself, and, according to an old tradition, was changed into an almond tree. Picumnus and Pilumnus. Two gods of matrimony in the rustic religion of the ancient Romans.
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Phyllite
in mineralogy, a mineral found in small shining scales sca or plates in a clay - slate. Essentially a silicate of alumina, sesquioxide and protoxide of iron, protoxide of manganese, and potash. Found in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Also a name given to some slaty rocks of cryptocrystalline to microcrystalline texture, apparently intermediate between mica-schist and ordinary clay slate.
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Phyllocarida
in zoölogy and palæontology; an order of Crustacea, represented by Nebalia and a number of fossil forms. The group is intermediate between the Phyllopoda and shrimps (Decapoda). The body is compressed, with usually a large shield, a pair of stalked eyes; the hind body ending in two or three spines. There are eight pairs of broad, short, leaf - like feet. fossil forms flourished from the rian to the Carboniferous period. living type is Nebalia bipes; it from Maine to Greenland and and it is only about half an inch
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Phyllopoda
in zoölogy, an order of Crustacea, division Branchiopoda. The feet are never less than eight pairs, and are leafy in appearance. The first pair oar-like, the other branchial, and adapted for swimming. Carapace not always present. They undergo a metamorphosis when young, being called Nauplii. They are of small size, somewhat akin to the ancient Trilobites.
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Phyllostomide
in zoölogy, the vampires, a family of insectivorous bats. See VAMPIRE BAT. Exod. xiii:
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