Prague

Pratt

mental. According to the pragmastist an idea
is true when it works, \vhen it performs that
which is expected of it. Pragmatism is con-
cerned not with thought but with thinking,
not with feeling subjective]}', but with feeling
objectively. Pragmatism was first clearly out-
lined in the United States in 1878 by C. S.
Peirce. It was elaborated and expounded some
twenty years later by Professor William
James of Harvard and has among its most
distinguished followers Professor John Dew-
ey of Columbia, Professor Schiller of Ox-
ford, Professor Jerusalem of Vienna, Jules
Henri Poincare, and Henri Hergson of France,
Ostwald and Mach of Germany, and Papini
of Italy. Consult James' Pragmatism; Leigh-
ton's Man and Ihe Cosmos (1922).

Prague, city, capital of Bohemia, is
situated on both banks of the Moldau; 60
miles northeast of Pilsen. The city itself
consists of seven districts, the Old Town or
Altstadt, Joscphstadt, the New Town or
Neustadt, and Wyschrad on the right bank;
the Little Town or Klcinscite, Hradschin,
and Holschowitz-Budna on the left bank.
Further up the river are the suburbs of
Smichov, Ziskov, Weinbergc, and Knroli-
nental. The Josephstadt, the former Jewish
Quarter, lies e, of the Rudolphinum and con-
tains the Staronova Skola, the oldest syna-
gogue in Prague, and a curious Jewish burial
ground.

The Little Town is chiefly residential and
contains the fine churches of St. Nicholas and
St. Thomas and the Wallcnstein and Lobko-
witz palaces. The fortress of Hradschin
(i333-i7S7-7S) dominates the left bank of
the Moldau. From one of its windows in
1618 were hurled the imperial officers Mar-
tinitz and Slawata, the initial event of the
Thirty Years* War. Prague is the leading in-
dustrial and commercial center of Bo-
hemia. Its industries include iron works,
manufactures of chemicals, cement, pottery,
linen, leather, cottons, hats, carpets, beer,
railway cars, and paper. The establishment of
the University in 1348 made it one of the
lending cities in the German Empire* At the
close of the Great War (igiS) it was made
the capital of the newly constituted republic
of Czechoslovakia, dissolved, 1938; p. 840<ooo.

Pragu«, University oŁ, an institution of j
learning founded in 1348 by Charles, king of
Bohemia* and amalgamated in 1653 with the
Jesuit College of Prague,

Prairie, an undulating grass-covered plain
as distinguished from a forested region

or from a dry semi-arid region known as
steppes.

Prairie Dog, a large ground squirrel of the
Western United States and Mexico. There are
three species of prairie dogs, the most com-
mon of which is Cynowys Intlovicianiis,
found on the open plains e. of the Rocky
Mountains. The prairie dog dwells hi col-
onies or 'towns' of burrows.

Prairie Fox, the Kit or Swift fox of the
Western plains. See Fox.

Prairie Grove, Battle of, a battle of the
Civil War, fought in Northwestern Arkansas,
Dec. 7, i86j. The battle was stubbornly eon-
tested all day, but during the night the Con-
federates withdrew. This defeat checked
further advance into Missouri.

Prairie Hen, a genus (TywpunuGhiis) of
American game birds, belonging to the same
subfamily as the grouse. The common species
(T. nmcricanm) inhabits the region drained
by the Mississippi, extending as far n. as
Ontario.

t'ntirit: Jlcn,

Prairie Rattler, the small ground rattle-
snake of the open interior region of the Uni-
ted States. See RATTU-ISNAKK,

Prang, Louis (1824-1900), German-Amer-
ican engraver, lithographer, nnd art pub-
lisher, was born in Kreslau, when? he studied
engraving, chemistry, und dyeing. He es-
tablished the Prang Educational Company,
which issued druwing-books for school use
that attained an immense circulation.

Prase, a grcyn variety of chalcedony, some-
times used for ornaments, rings, and brooches.

Praseodymium, Pr. 140,5, one of the con-
stituents of didymium, is a metallic element
of the rare earths. It forms green salts with
a characteristic absorption spectrum.

Pratt, Bela Lyon (1867-1017), American
sculptor, was born in Norwich, Conn* Among
his best works are the two figures 'Science3
and *Art' in front of the Boston Public Li-