Poole, William Frederick
William Frederick (1821-1894), an American librarian. He was born at Salem, Massachusetts, December 24, 1821. He died at Evansville, Illinois, March 1, 1894. He is known chiefly as the author of Poole's Index to Periodical Literature, a work which he appears to have begun in 1848, the year before he was graduated at Yale. He was one of the best known librarians in the United States . He began work as an assistant in the Boston Athenaeum in 1851. In 1852 he was made librarian of the Boston Mercantile Library. He held successively the librarianship of the Boston Athenaeum, the Cincinnati Public Library, the Chicago Public Library, and the New-berry Library at Chicago. In 1877 he was made vice-president of the International Conference of Librarians at London, and in 1885 president of the American Library Association. These positions gave him excellent opportunity for his work. His famous Index contains not only the titles of the articles that appear in the various periodicals, but a short summary of their contents. A student desiring to write an article on iron, for instance, can obtain from the Index a list of all the magazine articles on that subject that have appeared since the beginning of the Index. The Index was for a time alone in the American field, but of late it has had a worthy rival in Wilson's Guide to the Periodicals, published at Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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Poon Wood
the wood of the poon tree (Calophyllum inophyllum and Calophyllum angustifolium), a native of India. It is of a light, porous texture and is much used in the East Indies in shipbuilding for planks and spars. The Calcutta poon is preferred to that of other districts. Poon seed yields an oil called dilo, poon-seed oil, etc.
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Poona
or PUNA, a town of British India, 119 miles S. E. of Bombay; the military capital of the Deccan. The city is surrounded by gardens, but its streets are mostly narrow or crooked, and the houses poor. The ruins of the peshwa's palace, burned in 1827, still remain. Under the peshwas the city was the capital of the Mahratta princes and power; it was occupied and annexed by the British in 1818. Here have been built the Deccan College and the College of Science, the latter for training civil engineers. The Europeans live chiefly at the cantonments, N. W. of the city. The natives manufacture cottons and silks, gold and silver jewelry, ivory and glass ornaments, and clay clay figures. figur Pop. about 160,000. The district has an area of 5,348 square miles. Pop. about 1,000,000.
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Poore
HENRY RANKIN, an American artist; born in Newark, N. J., 1859, and graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1883. His first pictures were combinations of figures and animal subjects, but his later work has been devoted to landscape pictures, mostly of New England scenes. Among his most celebrated works are "Hounds in Winter" (1898); "Pilgrim Sons" (1915). He is the author of a valuable book for students of art entitled "Pictorial Composition and the Critical Judgment of Pictures" (1913).
BENJAMIN PERLEY, an American author; born in Newbury, Mass., Nov. 2, 1820; spent several years abroad, and devoted much time to research in French history. On his return he became active in journalism, and for 30 years was Washington correspondent of the "Boston Journal." His works include "The Rise and Fall of Louis Philippe" (1848); "Early Life of Napoleon" (1851); "Reminiscences of Sixty Years" (1886). He died in Washington, D. C., May 30, 1887.
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Popayan
capital of Cauca, Colom- Bogota. Buildings include university, bia, near river Cauca, 226 miles S. W. of city hall, cathedral and ecclesiastical seminaries. Seat of archbishopric. Formerly a gold mining center, but now has few industries, including sheep raising, wool and blanket manufactures. Pop. about 20,000.
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Popcorn
a dwarf variety of Indian corn or maize. When ripened popcorn is heated intensely, the small amount of water which it contains is converted into steam which swells the grains of starch and causes the kernel to explode or burst with a sudden popping sound. The original hull or outside of the kernel is then almost concealed by the white interior which swells out to several times its former size. Strangely enough, the best results are obtained when the corn is thoroughly dry. In popping, the corn should be heated quickly without being allowed to char or burn. Popcorn is thoroughly wholesome, and is eaten usually with the addition of a little salt and butter well stirred in. When mixed with molasses it may be formed into popcorn balls, or the "crackerjack" much sold on trains and at refreshment stands. "Popping" is not confined to popcorn. Clover seed pops; indeed this is one of the tests for sound seed. See Corn
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Poperinghe
a town in West Flanders, Belgium, near the French frontier, 6 miles W. S. W. of Ypres. It has an ancient wall and mediæval church, and its industries include the gathering of hops and the making of cloths. The town as a result of the World War was largely reduced to ruins, being the scene, along with Ypres, of some of the bloodiest fighting in the war. Pop. about 12,000.
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Popinjay
a parrot; a figure of a bird put up as a mark for archers to shoot at ("papingo " being another Scotch form for this sense). The green woodpecker is also sometimes called popinjay. Also derisive term for a fop.
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Popish Plot
in English history, an alleged plot made known by Titus Oates in 1678. He asserted that two men had been told off to assassinate Charles II., that certain Roman Catholics whom he or kins d
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Poppy Head
a generic term applied to the groups of foliage or other ornaments placed on the summits of bench ends, desks, and other ecclesiastical woodwork in the Middle Ages.
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Poppy Seeds
Divination by smoke was sometimes practised by magicians. A few jasmine or poppy seeds were flung upon burning coals, for this purpose; if the smoke rose lightly and ascended straight into the heavens, it augured well; but if it hung about it was regarded as a bad omen.
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