Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/234

 PHO

P H OS

fined to be compound, inflammable, metallic bodies, found in fmall mafles, and of determinately angular figures. Of this clafs of bodies there are three genera.

I. The pyriatbia, which are pblog r mte of a regularly cubic fi- gure. 2. The pyroStagnia: thefe are phlogoniee of an octo- haedral figure, or compofed of eight planes. And, 3. 'I he pyripolygonUi ; thefe are ph 'agonies of a dodecahardral figure, or compofed of twelve planes. Hilt's Hift. of Faff. p. 618, 619. See Pyricurium, &c. PHLOGUS, in botany, a name given by fome of the antients to the feveral fpecies of the trii and gladiolus, and by fome to the flammula jovis, a fort of clematitis, fo called becaufe of the violent heat of its leaves to the tafte.

Theopbraftus mentions this in the fame part of bis work with the violet and other fpring flowers, and thi-, not becaufe they are allied to one another in their character?, but becaufe they all flower at the early time of the year. 1 liny miftakes the author's meaning in this fo far, as to fuppofe that he placed it among the violet- as a plant of that kind ; and has accord- ingly mentioned it as a violet with a flame-coloured flower. This plant feems to have owed its name jovis flamma to a mitlake of Pliny's, who copying Theopbraftus, and finding him mention this ih'.ogus, or phUgium, and another flower, called diofanthos, or Jove' ; ; flower, together, has feemed to blend the two names, and make out the word flamma, or Jiammula "Jovis, between them. PHLOMIS, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the cha- racters of which are thefe: the flower is labiated, confifting of one leaf; the upper lip is hooded, and the lower, over which this lies, is divided into three ferments : the piftil arifes from the cup, and is fixed in the manner of a nail to the hinder part of the flower, and furrounded with four embryos, which finally ripen into four feeds, of an ob ong fhape, contained in a pentangular cup, which is the cup of the flower. The fpecies of pblomis, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are thefe: 1 .The fhrubby/^j/flWj, with a broad and roundiih fage-like leaf. 2. The fhrubby pblmiis, with a narrow and longer fage- like leaf. 3. The round leafed purple-flowered fhrubby pbL- ni's. 4. The pointed-leaved purple-flowered fhrubby phhntis of Portugal. 5. The purple-flowered clary-leaved phlomis. 6. The purple-flowered very white Spanifh fhrubby phlmds. j. The herbaceous very white Spanifh pb'omis. 8. The taper phlemt'i commonly miftaken for a fpecies of mullein, and called by authors verbafewn angujlis falvia foliis, or the nar- row fage-Ieaved mullein, and the wild yellow mullein, with gaping flowers. Town. Inft. p. 177. PHLOMON ftephanomatkon^ in the botanical writings of the antients, a name given to the common white mullein. The upper part of the thyrfus, or fpike of flowers of this plant, was frequently ufed in the garlands and corona? of the antients ; and it is named by Diofcoridcs and others among ' the yellow flowers in general ufe on that occafion.

It'is remarkable, that Diofcorides, tho' he mentions this plant in the clafs of garland herbs, among the elychryfa and other yellow flowered herbs, no where mentions it under the mul- lein, where he is defcribing the characters and fpecies of that plant. It mould feem from this, and from fome other fuch pafiages, where this author defcribes the fame plant twice without knowing it; or omits it in its proper place, and treats of it only occasionally in fome other, that he had not a perfect knowledge of the botany of h s time : but that, like Pliny, he collected what he has left us from the works of other au- thors now loft. PHLYSIS, a term ufed by the antients to expref-; an eruption on

the fkin, from a redundance of humors. PHLYZATION", a puftule or inflammation on thefkin, or the blifters arifing on it after being burnt or fcalded with a hot li- quor. PHOCA, the fen-calf, in the Linnrean fyftem of zoology, a di- ftinct genus of animals, the characters of which are, that they have two paps placed near the navel, feet adapted to fwimming, and have no ears.

There are two kinds of this animal : the common one, called the fea-ca I 'f, which has its canine, or dog-teeth, enclofed like the others in its mouth ; and the other, which fome improper- ly call the hippopotamus, or fea borfe, which has thefe teeth ex- ferted or thruft out. Linnaii Syftem. Natur. p. 36. ' We have a draught of this animal in the philofopbical tranf- actions, numb 4fjq, by Dr. Parfons, who obferves, that Al- drqvandus, Johnfton, Rondeletius, and Gefner, have made feveral miftakes in the figure of this creature, fo as to convey no juft idea of it.

Upon diffectihg one of thefe animals, the ftomach, inteftines, bladder, kidneys, ureter, diaphragm, lungs, great blood-veffels, and pudenda, were like thofe of a cow ; the hairs of the whif- kers were very hornv and clear; the fpieen was two foot long, fotir inches broad, and very thin ; the liver confifted of fix lobes, each hanging as long and as lank as the fpieen, with a very fmall gall-bladder. The beaft was long and flabby in its ■contexture in general, having a large foramen ovale, and very great columnar carnofas. In the lower ftomach were about four pounds weight of flinty pebbles, all iharp and angular, as if the animal chefe them of that form for cutting the food. TIil ut-rus was of the horned kind, each of the cornua being

thicker than the body nr du& leading to them The ovaria were very large, being granulated on the furface with the ova, under a very thin membrane ;■ and the opening into the tubes leading to the cornua is a great hole.

The authors who have treated on this animal, are Ariftotle, Pliny, Aidrovandus, Rondeletius, Gefner, Wolfgangius, and Johnfton Phil. Tranf N c '. 40a.

This animal is viviparous, and fuckles its young by the ma- millx, like quadrupeds ; and its fiefh is carn< us and mufcutar. That diflecTx-d by 1 Jr. Parfons was feven foot and an half long, tho' very young, having fcarce any teeth, and having four holes regularly placed about the na^el, which in time become papillre.

PiIOCiENA, in zoology, the name ufed by authors for the porpejfe, difiinctively from the dolphin, a fifh very like it, and by many confounded with it. See Delphinus. The pboccer. a is ' of a roundHh, not flat body, crowing gra- dually fmaller toward the tail ; and iuft at the root of the tail is a little flatted its nofe is long and pointed, and furnifhed with ftrong mufcles; by means of which it is able to turn up the mud and fand, to feek after fmall animals. Its flan is fmooth, and but thin: its back is of a dufky bluifh hue, al- moft black in fome of the fifh; and from the middle of the fides downwards, it is whitifn : it has no gills, nor any aper- tures in the place of them ; but in the middle of* the upper part of its head, it has a fpiracle, in form of a half moon, di- vided by a fubftance refembling a. coxcomb, into two noftrils, . which, as they run inward, join and make one canal, which opens within the mouth a little below the cefophagus. f his canal is provided with mufcles, to keep it fliut againft the ad- mifTion or emiffion of any fluid, but at the creature's plea- fure; and by means of this he difcharges the water taken in with his food. Its eyes are fmall : its auditory paffages ex- tremely minute : its teeth alfo fmall : it h's two fins on the breaft, and one on the back : and its tail is flightly forked, and placed horizontally, not vertically, as in other fifties: its lungs are like thofe of quadrupeds: it is common in many- places, and fometimes is ftranded on the EngHfh coaft : its flefh is not at all valued. Ray's Ichthyol. p. 31.

PHCENICOPTERUS, in zoology, the name of a very remark- able water-bird, called alfo faa.mant and flamingo. It has extremely long legs, and an extremely long neck. Its beak is broad, and of a very fingular figure j the upper chap being bent, depreffed, and dentated; the lower, much thicker, and firmer. It is black at the end, and in the other part of a dufky blue. Its neck and body are white ; the long flight fea- thers of its wings black, but the ftiorter feathers, which make the covering of the wings, are of a very elegant and bright red, whence the bird has its name : it is web-fo ted, tho'fo remarkably long legged : it lives about waters, and feeds on fifh: it is common in many parts of America, and is (een at times in many parts of Europe : it was well known to the antients, and its tongue was accounted a very great deli- cacy among the nice eaters of old times, bee Tab. of Birds, N 1 " 46. Ray's Ornithol. p. 240.

One thing very remarkable about it is, that its beak is fo lon^ and crooked, that the whole head muft be immeffed before the water can get into it. Pitifc in voc.

PHCENICOPUS gilbnuta, in zoology, a name by which fome authors have called a bird, more ufualiy known by the name tringa. Gefner de Avib. See Tringa.

PIICEMCURUS, powxepat, in zoology, a name by which the antient naturalids called the? utidila^ or redftart. See the ar- ticle RUTICJLI.A.

PHCENIX, (Cycl.) in botany, a name given fy medicinal writers to the grafs called latum rubrum, and in Englifh, ray-grafs. C. Bauhin. p. 9.

Phoenix is alfo the name given by Kiempfer and Linnae- us to a genus of plants, called by others elate and kato- vhdel The characters are thefe : it produces feparate male and female flowers, in both the whole fpatha fervesfcr a cup: . in the male the petals are three in number, and are of an oval figure, and concave : the ftamina are three flender filaments, and the antherx are very fhort : in the female flower the ger- men of the piftil is of a roundifb figure : thef.yle isftiortand pointed, and the fligma is acute : the fruit is an oval berry, having only one cell ; this contains one feed, which is of a bony hardnefs, and of an oval figure, with a deep longitudi- nal furrow reaching from one end to the other. LinnxfGen. PI. 513. MusClifF, ,2. Hort. Mai 3,23.

Phoenix, p« M |, among the antients, a mufical inftrument not unlike the cttbara. Hoffm. Lex. in voc. See the article

Cl I HARA, Cyd.

PHCEQPUSj in zoology, a name ufed for two different birds j the one called by the Germans b-ac/ruogel, and the other the whimhrell, or aquata minor, the fmall curlew of authors. The tirft of thefe, or the braebvogei, is of a deep black co- lour, fpotted with ayellowifh and a reddifh brown: its beak is long, flender, and black, and is moderately bent: its neck is grey, tending to reddifhnefs towards the bottom, and its belly is white. Mr. Ray fufpects this not efll-ntially to differ from the other, but the fight of the bird alone can deter- mine, that. Gefner dc Avib. Ald-ovand de Avib. L. 20. c. 41.

PHOL^S,