Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/617

* PULSE. 539 PUMA. pressure by the finger. Hardness is favored by a powerfully acting heart, a normal amount of blood, and contraction of the peripheral blood ves- sels, as for instance by cold. (Softness of the pulse is favored by a feeble heart, by valvular im- perfections interfering with the supply of blood to the arterial system, and by a free flow through the capillary area. A hard pulse is generally in- dicative of intiamniation, and a soft or compressi- ble pulse of general weakness. The blood from the veins returns to the heart irader normal conditions in a steady stream, the pulse being lost in the capillary area. (Some pulsation, however, can often be seen in the larger veins near the heart, the jugular veins, for example, in many persons with a healthy circulation. The expansion of the vein is syn- chronous with dilatation of the ventricles, and collapse with contraction. Another kind of pul- sation, in which this relation is reversed, takes place when the tricuspid valves guarding the veins hecome insullicient through disease. A wave of blood is sent back into the venous trunks, producing a visilile pulsation. This phenomenon . may also be produced by hypertrophy of the right auricle and aneurism of the aorta. . instrument has been devised by which the variations of the pulse can be indicated upon ]iaper attached to a revolving cylinder. See Sphygmogr.ph : He.bt, Diseases of the; Ar- teries, paragraph Diseuses. PULSOMETEK. See Pumps and Pumping Maciii.xkry. PULSZKY, pul'ske, Franz Aurel (1814-97). An Hungarian politician and author, born in Eperies. He studied law, and visited England, where he wrote in German and Hvuigarian .-1ms dem Taqrbuche eines in Grossbritannien reisenden h'ngarn (1837). In 1839 he entered the Diet as memlier from Sflros. In 1848 he became Un- der-Secretary of State in the Hungarian Ministry of Finance, and subsequently Minister of Com- merce. After Kossuth went to England, Pulszky remained with him, and accompanied him on his journey through America, described in ^yhUe, lied, and BIcicl- (18.52) in English. He was con- demned to death in continiincirini by the Austrian Government in 1S52. After 1860 Pulszky resided in Italy. He fought under Garibaldi. In 1806 he •was pardoned. After his return to Hungary he was elected to the Diet and became director of the National Museum at Pesth. His publications include: Die Jalcohiner in Unijarn (1851), a romance: Eletem es Korom (1882), an auto- ibiography; and Die Kupferxeit in Unf/arn (1884). PULTENEY, pult'ne. William, Earl of Bath (1684-1764). An English political leader, born in London. He was educated at Westminster School and Christ Church, Oxford, and after traveling on the Continent, entered Parliament as a Whig in 170,5. On the prosecution of Wal- pole in 1712. he defended him with great elo- quence, and from 1714 to 1717 was his Secre- tary of War. In 1725, however, he joined the opposition, and became the bitter antagonist of his former friend, succeeding by the brilliancy of his speeches in depriving him of his place. Shortly after Walpole's fall in 1742 Pulteney was created Earl of Bath. On the resignation of the Pelhani Jlinistry in 1746 he was made Premier, but, unable to form a Cabinet, he held Vol. XVI. —S5. the office for only two days and then practically retired from public life. As a speaker, Pulteney was full of spirit and fire and showed much of the searching keenness of satire, the inexhausti- ble resources of ridicule and persiflage, which distinguished him as a writer. He joiijied Boling- broke in establishing The Craftsinmi (1726), a political periodical, and he wrote many political pamphlets and ver.ses, including the popular song The Honest Jury, or Caleb Triinnphant. PULTOWA, pyl-to'va. A government and a city of Kussia. See Polt.wa. PULTUSK, pul'tusk. A town of Russian Poland, in the Government of Warsaw, situ- ated on the Narev about 34 miles north of Warsaw (Map: Russia, B 4). It is a well-built town with an old castle, the former residence of the bishops of Plotzk. It is noted as the scene of an engagement betw'cen the Rus- sians and the French in 1806. Population, in 1897, 15.900. PUMA (Peruvian name). Cougar, or Moun- tain Lion, A large American cat (Felis con- color), originally native from the watershed of Hudson Bay to the Straits of Magellan, and still present except in the most civilized parts of the country. It is of slender build, with a rather small head and long limbs, and usually measures about 40 inches from the snout to the root of the tail, which usually is about 26 inches in length, and of nearly the same thickness through- out. Unlike the other great American cat, the jaguar (q.v.), which is densely spotted, the adult puma has no spots, except that the lips and the outer rim of the ear are black, there is a patch of white on each side of the muzzle, and the tip of tlie tail usually is blackish. The ujiper parts are uniform dull fox-red. appearing gray in cer- tain lights, owing to the fact that each hair is fawn-gray, red only at the tip: the throat, belly, and inside of the legs are reddish-white. This unspotted, tawny coat led the earliest explorers on the Atlantic coast to regard the animal as a lion, and the name survives in the West. The early settlers in the States called it a panther (usually pronounced 'painter'). 'Cougar' is de- rived from a Brazilian language, but involves an error. (See Cougar.) 'Puma' was its native name in Peru. Considering that the species is distributed over so great a range of territory, its variations in form and color are surprisingly small. In the Eastern United States it has been great- ly dreaded as a fierce and treacherous beast, par- ticularly dangerous because of its alleged habit of s])ringing upon travelers from branches of trees or rocky ledges. When attacked it was coura- geous in resistance, and the killing of one was justly considered evidence of skill and courage. In the West, on the other hand, the mountain lion, although more numerous in the Rocky Moun- tains than the panther ever appears to have been in the East, has always been regarded as a shy and cowardly beast, little to be feared, except when cornered. The truth seems to be that this animal has less ferocity than any other of the great cats, and under ordinary circumstances is inclined to avoid rather than to attack men, and often seems to seek their company in a friendly wav. This timidity and confidence aided the easy extinction of these animals throughout the eastern part of the country, but they are still