Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/712

 692 POMEGRANATE POMERANIA variegated foliage. The fruit varies much in size and somewhat in color, usually being or- ange-yellow with a crimson cheek ; sour-fruit- ed, sub-acid, and sweet-fruited varieties are Double-flowered Pomegranate, and Fruit of Single- flowered. recognized; though the sour variety has the largest and handsomest fruit, it is too acid to be pleasant. The edible portion of the fruit is the pulp surrounding the seeds, in eating which the seeds themselves are swallowed ; the fruit is highly ornamental upon the table, and when carefully divided in halves presents a singularly beautiful appearance, the shining bags of pulp looking like amethysts ; a popu- lar way of serving the fruit in warm countries is to remove the grains carefully, sprinkle them with sugar, and add wine enough to moisten them. The pomegranate is hardy and bears fruit as far north as the Ohio river and Mary- land, but it attains much greater perfection further south, as it requires a long season for ripening; the neighborhood of Augusta, Ga., is celebrated for the excellence of its fruit; even in the climate of New York city, if trained upon a wall or trellis in a sheltered place and covered during the winter, it will bear, and some seasons ripen its fruit. It grows in great perfection in northern Mexico, where it was early introduced by the Jesuit missionaries; the vicinity of Magdalena, in the state of So- nora, is celebrated for the abundance and fine quality of the fruit; the writer, having pur- chased two dozen pomegranates at Magdalena for a real (12 cts.), found that several speci- mens measured 16 in. in circumference, with the grains correspondingly large and delicious ; a large share of the crop is used in distilling aguardiente, a most fiery spirit. The double varieties do not produce fruit, and are more tender than the single ; they are grown as greenhouse plants, or in tubs set out in summer and housed in the cellar during winter. The plant is used in the south of Europe to make ornamental hedges. The pomegranate con- tains a great deal of tannin, which is especially abundant in the rind of the fruit, the bark of the root, and to a less degree in the flowers, and these parts were used medicinally by the ancients. So astringent is the rind that in eating the pulp it is necessary to avoid those portions of it which extend into the interior as partition walls and placentae ; it is used in tanning morocco leather, and to some extent for making ink ; it was formerly much used in medicine as an astringent, but is now little employed in this country ; the flowers, called balaustines, are used in some countries for a similar purpose. The bark of the root has been long known as a vermifuge, and is es- pecially efficacious against the tsenia. It may be given as a powder, though a decoction or extract is preferable. A moderate dose is li- able to produce nausea and sometimes vomit- ing, colic, or diarrhoea; a larger one headache, vertigo, and even gastro-intestinal inflamma- tion. An acrid substance called punicine, re- sembling an oleo-resin, has been extracted from it. The dose of the bark in powder is 20 to 30 grains, but a decoction of 2 oz. to a pint may be taken in three doses. The fresh bark is the most effectual. POMERAMA (Ger. Pommern ; Wendish, po y .along, and more, sea), a province of Prussia, bordering on the Baltic sea, West Prussia, Brandenburg, and Mecklenburg; area, 11,629 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 1,431,633, including 14,000 Roman Catholics and 13,000 Jews, nearly all the rest being Lutherans. It is divided into the districts of Stettin, Koslin, and Stralsund. On the N. coast are the islands of Riigen, Usedom, and Wollin. The largest river is the Oder, which forms below Stettin the lake of Damm and the Grosses and Kleines Haff, and flows into the Baltic through three channels. The principal of the numerous lakes are those of Kummerow, Plone, and Madtie. Pomerania is one of the most level regions of Germany. The soil, though mostly sandy, is generally fertile, and the province is celebrated for its large number of landed proprietors. It raises more sheep and possesses more registered ves- sels than any other province of Prussia. It is rich in agricultural products, cattle, and horses. There are prosperous fisheries, and many iron and glass works, paper and oil mills, breweries, distilleries, and manufactories of tobacco and other articles. The principal edu- cational institution is the university of Greifs- wald. Pomerania was in the early part of the middle ages a principal portion of the old