Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 20.djvu/117

Rh P U M P U N 105 inches, the tail being rather more than half that length. The head is rather small compared with that of other cats and has no mane. The ears are large and rounded. The tail is cylindrical, with some bushy elongation of the hairs near the end, but not forming a distinct tuft as in the lion. The general colour of all the upper parts and sides Puma. of the adult is a tawny yellowish brown, sometimes having a grey or silvery shade, but in some individuals dark or inclining to red. The lower parts of the body, inner sur- face of the limbs, the throat, chin, and upper lip are dirty white ; the outside of the ears, particularly at their base, and a patch on each side of the muzzle black ; the end of the tail dusky. The young, as is the case with the other plain-coloured Felidx, are, when born, spotted with dusky brown and the tail ringed. These markings gradually fade, and quite disappear before the animal becomes full-grown. The puma has an exceedingly wide range of geographical distribution, extending over a hundred degrees of latitude, from Canada in the north to Patagonia in the south, and was formerly pretty generally diffused in suitable localities from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, but the advances of civilization have in recent years considerably curtailed the extent of the districts which it inhabits. In Central America it is still common in the dense forests which clothe the mountain ranges as high as 8000 or 9000 feet above the sea-level, where the hideous sound of its howl- ing is said to be almost continuously heard at night dur- ing the breeding season. Though an expert climber, it is by no means confined to wooded districts, being frequently found in scrub and reeds along the banks of rivers, and even in the open pampas and prairies. Its habits much resemble those of the rest of the group to which it be- longs ; and, like the leopard, when it happens to come within reach of an abundant and easy prey, as the sheep or calves of an outlying fanning station, it kills far more than it can eat, either for the sake of the blood only or to gratify its propensity for destruction. It rarely attacks man, and, when pursued, escapes if possible by ascending lofty trees. Several instances have occurred of pumas becoming tame in captivity. Edmund Kean, the celebrated actor, had one which followed him about like a dog. When caressed they express their pleasure by purring like a domestic cat. PUMICE, a highly porous light mineral substance of volcanic origin, resulting from the solidification of foam or scum formed by the escape of steam or gas on the surface of molten lava. It is principally found of a whitish or clear grey colour, more rarely of a slaty blue or reddish tint. In composition it is allied to the obsidians, containing in every 100 parts about 72 of silica, 17 of alumina, 2 of iron oxide, and 9 of soda and potash ; and under the blow- pipe it fuses to a white enamel. Its porosity renders it so exceedingly light that in the dry condition it floats readily on the surface of water, sinking only when thoroughly saturated. Owing to this property it is found very widely diffused over the ocean-bed, even at points far removed from volcanic vents, considerable blocks having been brought up in the dredgings of the " Challenger " at all the points of its sea-bottom exploration. It is obtained for industrial purposes in the regions of recent volcanoes the Lipari Islands, Iceland, Auvergne, Teneriffe, &c. and is highly valued as a smoothing and polishing material for the metals, marble, horn, wood, bone, ivory, and leather. For some purposes it is reduced to the condition of a fine powder, and used either direct or spread upon paper or linen, as glass or emery-paper. A toilet soap is prepared contain- ing a proportion of powdered pumice. An artificial pumice is made from a mixture of calcined and pulverized quartz and alumina baked in the form of a porous brick. PUMP. See MINING, vol. xvi. pp. 458, 459 ; PNEUMATICS, vol. xix. p. 246; and HYDROMECHANICS, vol. xii. p. 533 sr/. PUMPKIN. See GOURD, vol. xi. p. 4, and HORTI- CULTURE, vol. xii. p. 283. PUNCHINELLO (It. Policindla, Pulcinella), the most popular of the puppets, is of Italian origin, though its history is by no means free from obscurity. The earlier etymologists sought to trace the name to various mythical individuals, by whom, it was alleged, the type was first furnished. Galiani adopts the theory Avhich derives it from the name of Puccio d'Aniello, a vintager of Acerra near Naples, who, having by his wit and grotesque appear- ance vanquished some strolling comedians in their own sphere, was induced to join the troop, and whose place, by reason of his popularity, was supplied after his death by a masked actor who imitated his dress and manner. The claims of other individuals Paolo Cinella, Polliceno, and Pulcinella, a Neapolitan dealer in fowls -have also found supporters, and the derivation of the name and character from some old mystery representing Pontius (O.E. Pownce ; Fr. Ponce) Pilate and Judas, or the Jews, was formerly popular. It has even been suggested that the title is a modification of iroXv /aveto as expressive of the restlessness which is characteristic of the puppet ; and the assumption that the character was invariably of diminutive size has given rise to its reference to the word pollice, the thumb (cf. Daumling, Tom Thumb). The most plausible theory, however, regards the name in its Italian form as a diminutive of puldno, fern, pulcina, a chicken. It is sometimes stated that, in consequence of the habit of using the word "chicken" as a term of endearment, it came to mean "a little child," and hence " a puppet " (Skeat). But this again involves the assumption that the application of the name to the char- acter was in some measure determined by the size of the puppets, whereas it would appear to have been trans- ferred from the comic stage to the puppet show, and the Pulcinella of the stage was not necessarily a dwarf. The choice, therefore, seems to lie between the theory of Quadrio, that it was applied on account of the resemblance of the hooked nose to a beak, and that of Baretti, which ascribes its employment to the nasal squeak and timorous impotence of the original character. With respect to the development of the modern type, it has been assumed that the whole family of Italian maschere ( Arlecchino, Brighetta, and the like) are modified survivals of the principal Oscan characters of the Atellanae, and that Punchinello is the representative of Maccus, the fool or clown. In proof of XX. 14