Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/661

 POKANOKETS province of Aquitania, was conquered by the Visigoths early in the 5th century, fell into the hands of (Jlovis, king of the Franks, in 507, and under his Merovingian successors was held by the dukes of Aquitania. During the reign of Pepin the Short it became part of the Car- lovingian empire, and Charlemagne gave it counts of its own in 778. It passed into the hands of the family of Plantagenet by the mar- riage of Henry II. of England with Eleanor of Aquitaine, was taken from John Lackland in 1204 by Philip Augustus, and was recaptured by the English after the battle of Poitiers in 1356, remaining in their hands till 1369, when Charles V. again subjected it. Before the execution of Louis XVI. the Poitevins rose in insurrection against the convention, and under the name of Vendeans and the leader- ship of their lords waged a terrible war. (See VENDEE.) They were partly subdued by Gen. Hoche in 1795. Attempts to renew civil war took place in 1815, during the hun- dred days, and after the fall of Charles X. in 1830 and 1832, but failed. Poitou is now dvii- ded chiefly among the departments of Vienne, Deux-Sevres, and Vendee. POKANOKETS. See MASSACHUSETTS INDIANS. PORE, one of the many common names for phytolacca decandra (Gr. Qvrdv, a plant, and Fr. lac, lake, from the color of the berries), which is also called garget, pigeon berry, co- cum, scoke, and mechoacan. The genus gives its name to a small apetalous family, the phy- tolaccacece, of which it is the only representa- tive in the Atlantic states, where it abounds; it also grows in North Africa, the Azores, China, and the Sandwich islands. It has a large, branched, fleshy root, from which arise numerous herbaceous, branching stems, 6 or 8 ft. high ; the pith of the stems, especially late in the season, is curiously arranged in horizon- tal plates ; the large, petioled leaves are alter- nate ; the flowers, borne in long racemes op- posite the leaves, have a white calyx of five rounded sepals ; 5 to 30 stamens, and a pistil the ovary of which consists of 5 to 12 carpels united in a ring, and which ripens into a flat- tened, dark-purple berry filled with a crimson juice. The plant is found on the borders of fields and clearings; its roots are very tena- cious of life, and it sometimes becomes a weed ; it is but little esteemed in this country, but in Europe it is valued as an ornamental plant. All parts of the plant possess active properties ; it gets one of its popular names from the use of the root to cure an inflammation of the udder in cows called garget. The old leaves partake of the properties of the root, but the young shoots, as they start in spring, and be- fore the leaves are developed, are by many highly esteemed as a table vegetable, cooked in the same manner as asparagus. The ber- ries yield a remarkably rich crimson juice, but the color is fugitive and has not been fixed. Death has resulted from eating the raw ber- ries, and severe purging has followed from POKER 641 j eating the flesh of pigeons whiclj had fed upon I them ; and though pies have sometimes been ably destroying their poisonous qualities, they should be looked upon with suspicion. A tincture of the berries has long been a pop- Poke (Phytolacca decandra) ular remedy for chronic rheumatism. The root is emetic, acting usually only some time after the dose is administered, and then con- tinuing to act for a long time upon the stom- ach and bowels. Drowsiness, vertigo, and dimness of vision have been observed after its use, and when large quantities have been taken, great prostration and convulsions. Infusions and ointments made with it have been used ex- ternally in cutaneous diseases. Its reputation as a remedy for cancer, which it shares with so many other vegetables, undoubtedly rests on erroneous diagnosis. Indian poke is a name often given to the American hellebore {vera- trvm viride), which has very different proper- ties. (See HELLEBOKE.) POKER, a game derived from brag, and first played about 40 years ago in the southwestern United States. At first it was played with 20 cards, all below the tens being thrown out, and the number of players being two. three, or four, who were confined to the cards first dealt. The game thus played, admitting com- paratively few complications, never became popular. Subsequently the entire pack was used, cards being drawn from it to improve the game originally dealt to the players. Poker thus modified, and termed "draw poker" to distinguish it from the first "twenty -deck poker," rapidly spread throughout the United States and even to Europe, completely driving out its progenitor, brag. The manner of play- ing the game is as follows, according to the principles which are now generally accepted by the best authorities. The deal is of no special value, and anybody may begin. The dealer,
 * made from them, the heat of cooking prob-