Pogroir

3768

Poisonous

Terranuova, near Florence. His most famous
book is the Liber FacctrtintM, a collection of
humorous and not over-decent stories and
jests, written in fair Lai in, at the expense of
the monks and secular clergy.

Pogrom, a w»nl which came into use in
connection with revolutionary outbreaks in
Russia (1905-00) as a general term for an
unprovoked attack by the authorities upon
Jews or other classes.

Poincare, Jules Henri (1854-1912),
French mathematician and physicist, was
born in Nancy. He made original contribu-
tions in pure mathematics, in celestial me-
chanics, and in the mathematics of physics,
and was the recipient of many prizes and
medals, including the Sylvester medal of the
Royal Society of London (1901).

Poincare, Raymond (1860-19^4), French
public official, was born in Bar-le-Duc, and
was educated at the College; of Nancy. In
1912 he became Premier and Minister of
Foreign Affairs, his premiership bring sig-
nalized by a succession of important French
initiatives in connection with the Near list-
ens crisis, while in home affairs he identified
himself with electoral reform and propor-
tional representation. He was President of
France (1913-20, and 1922-4), and once
more in 1926 was Premier and Minister of
Foreign Affairs, He stabilized the franc, and
set the country on the road to recovery. He
resigned because of illness in 1929, ai:d de-
clined an offer of the premiership in 1930* He
was elected leader of the French bar in 1931.

Poinciana, a species of tropical legumin-
ous trees of the genus C&salpinia, with showy
scarlet or orange flowers. The Royal Poinci-
ana is familiar in Southern Florida.

Poindexter, George (1770-1853), Amer-
ican public official. In 1819 he was elected
governor of Mississippi, 'notwithstanding at-
tempts to unseat him. From 1830 to 1835 hv
was a member of the U. S. Senate. Poin-
dexter's pronounced views on Federalism led
to his fighting a duel with Abijah Hunt
(1811), whom he killed. The accusation was
made that he had fired before the signal was
given, but it was never substantiated.

Poindexter, Miles (1868- ), American
legislator, was born in Memphis, Tenn. He
was U. S. Senator from 1911 to 1923, when
he was appointed Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary to Peru. He held this
office until 1928.

Poinding, in the law of Scotland, is the
general process by which the goods of a debt-

or are seized and made available to his cred-
itors.

Poinsett, Joel Roberts (1779-1851), Am-
erican diplomat, was born in Charleston, S.
C. He was a member of Congress from 1821
to 1825, and advocated the cause of the
South American republics and of Greek in-
dependence. From 1822 to 1829 he was U. S.
Minister to Mexico, and from 1837 to 1841
Secretary of War in President Van Buren's
Cabinet.

Poinsettia, a South American shrub of the
order Euphorbiaceae, a noted greenhouse
plant of many countries. It grows to a height
of six ft. or more, and bears small yellow or
green flower heads surrounded by large ver-
milion bracts.

Point-a-Pitre, town and port, Guadeloupe,
French West Indies; 20 m. n.c. of Basse Terre
It is of considerable commercial importance,
having exports of sugar, cacao, and vanilla.
The harbor is commodious and sheltered; p.

26,455-

Point Barrow, the most northern point in
Alaska. It is a whaling center, has a trading
post and a government relief and life-saving
station. In 1881-3 the U. S. Signal Corps es-
tablished an international polar station and
system of meteorological stations here.

Pointer, a smooth-coated bird finding and
retrieving dog, whose name indicates its meth-
od of standing rigid when it scents the proxim-
ity of game, and pointing with its nose

Point Pleasant, or Great Kanawha,
Battle of. In American history a battle
fought in the present state of West Virginia,
Oct. 30,1774, between colonial troops and In-
dians. As a result of the battle the Indians
made a treaty by which they surrendered their
prisoners and all claim to land south of the
Ohio. Sec Roosevelt's Winning of the Wast
(1889).

Poire, Emmanuel (1858-1909)9 known as
'Caran cTAche,' French caricaturist, born in
Moscow, his grandfather being one of Napo-
leon's soldiers. The grandson returned to
France, and under his pseudonym (Russia, for
'lead pencil') became celeb rat (id, He contrib-
uted political cartoons to the Figaro, and won
great fame by L'Epopte, a scries of 2,000 por-
traits of celebrated men who helped to win
Napoleon's victories- His Chtquz Book, issued
during the Panama scandal, made quite a stir.

Poisonous Plants are those that contain
some principle capable of destroying animal
life. Among the most virulent poisons known
aa* those obtained from the vegetable king'