Pleurisy

3760

Plum

Pleurisy„ inflammation of the pleura, is
one of the commonest of the serious inflam-
mations. Apart from pandemics of influenza,
the most common causes of pleurisy are tuber-
culosis and pneumonia. Occasionally a tuber-
culous pleurisy is due to the extension of a tu-
berculosis of the bones of the chest, or of the
peritoneum, but in the majority of cases it is
associated with tuberculosis of the lungs. The
characteristic symptoms of pleurisy arc pain
and cough. There arc, as a rule, some rise of
temperature, shallow, rapid breathing, and
small, hard pulse. Applications of hot fomen-
tations are of service in mitigating the pain
and in checking the extension of the inflamma-
tion.

Pleurodynia, a form of muscular rheuma-
tism characterized by paroxysmal pnin in the
intercostal muscles, sometimes of such intens-
ity as to simulate pleurisy.

Pleuropneumonia, a term sometimes used
to denote the occurrence of pneumonia com-
plicating pleurisy. In veterinary medicine
plcuro-pcnumonia is synonymous with plettro-
pncitmoma contagiosa, as lung plague. For
which see CATTLE.

Plevna, city, Bulgaria, on a tributary of
the Danube; particularly known as the scene,
in 1877, of a series of battles between the Turks
and Russians, and of the memorable siege, Sep-
tember to December, when Osman Pasha, after
a heroic defence, surrendered with 40,000 men;
p. 25,000.

Plimsoll, Samuel (1824-98), British re-
former, known as 'the sailors' friend/ was born
in Bristol. His trenchant attack on shipown-
ers led to the passing of the Merchant Ship-
ping Act, 1876, which empowered the Board
of Trade to detain any vessel deemed unsafe,
restricted the amount of cargo, and rendered
compulsory on every ship a mark (known as
the Plimsoll mark) indicating the maximum
load-line. Plimsoll resigned his scat in 3880.

Pliny the Elder (25-79 A.P.), whose full
name was GAITJS PLTNIUS SECUNDUS, spent the
years of Nero's reign (55 to 68) in studious
retirement. Vespasian made him one of his
intimate friends, and appointed him admiral
of the fleet at Misenum, When the great erup-
tion of Vesuvius took place in 79, Pliny, who
landed at Stabioc in order to observe the phe-
nomenon more closely, was overcome by the
noxious fumes. His one surviving work is his
Natural History, which contains 20,000 im-
portant facts, collected from over 2,000 books.

Pliny the Younger (6i-£. 114), whose
full name was GAIVS PLIOTUS CAECXLTXJS SE-
croaus, was; a nephew and the adopted son

of the elder Pliny. His works are a panegyric
on Trajan, and ten books of letters, the last
of which, containing his correspondence with
Trajan while he governed Bithynia, is of par-
ticular interest.

Pliocene, a geological period immediately
preceding the glacial. Part of the auriferous
gravels of California belong to this period.
Volcanic activity continued through the Plio-
cene. The plateau region was greatly elevated,
rejuvenating the streams and making possible
such canyons as the Colorado. The Pilocene
beds of Attica (Greece) have yielded many
interesting mammalian fossils. Pliocene life
was very modern in character. The mastodon,
elephant, rhinoceros, horse, were prominent.
Much discussion also has centered around the
discovery of a man-like skeleton in Java,
Pithecanthropus crcclus.

Plotinus (c. 205-270 A.U.), the founder of
the Nco-Plantonic system of philosophy, was
a native of Egypt. He was probably of Ro-
man descent. His theories are based on those
of Plato. The stress he laid on the purely men-
tal source of knowledge, insisting that think-
ing alone led to truth, gave a tone of mysti-
cism to his teaching; his followers practiced a
kind of meditative trance rather than an ob-
servation of nature. Our knowledge of his
works is due to his pupil Porphyry, who ar-
ranged them in their present form.

Plover, a general name applied to many of
the limicoline birds of the sub-family Chara-
driina). What may be regarded as the typical
plovers belong to the genus Charadrius, and
are well exemplified by the golden plovers,
several closely similar species of which inhabit
the northern parts of both the Old and New
Worlds, breeding on the northern moorlands.
Their general color is black, spotted with yel-
low above, with white markings on the head
and sides. In winter the black under parts be-
come white. The eggs, generally four in num-
ber, are prized as food.

Plum, an orchard stone fruit belonging to
genus Pr units widely grown in all temperate
climates. It is closely related to the peach but
is generally smaller and has a smooth skin and
stone. A number of species arc native to Am-
erica. The European plums which are grown
chiefly in the Eastern States include such well
known varieties as Lombard, Green Gage, and
Damsons. The Japanese plums are successfully
grown in all of the Southern States, north as
far as Vermont, and west of California. The
tree is a hardy, vigorous grower and best
adapted of all sorts to grow in the South.
Plums may be grown oa nearly all woll-drain-