Prurigo.

army. His power is summary, and he can punish an offender, taken flagrante delicto, on the spot, according to the penalties laid down in the mutiny act. See Supp., page 883.

PROW (from the Latin prora) means, generally, the fore-part of a ship, or more especially the beak or pointed cut-water of a galley, polacre, or xebec.

PROXY (contracted for procuracy), the agency of one person who acts as substitute for another. Every member of the house of lords can (by license, in theory supposed to be obtained from the sovereign) appoint another lord of parliament his proxy to vote for him in his absence. A spiritual lord can, however, only be proxy for a spiritual lord, and a temporal for a temporal lord, and no peer can hold more than two proxies at the same time. Proxies cannot be used in judicial cases, or where the house is in committee, nor can a proxy sign a protest.

PRUDENTIUS, AURELIUS CLEMENS, a Christian 'poet of the 4th c., was a native of Spain, and was b. 348 A.D. Nothing is known regarding him except what he has himself told in a poetical autobiography prefixed to his works. From this we learn that he received a liberal education, was admitted to the Roman bar, practiced as a pleader, discharged the functions of civil and criminal judge, and was ultimately appointed to a high office at the imperial court. The year of his death is not known. In his youth, Prudentius was fond of pleasure, and very dissipated; but as he grew old, he became very devout, and his writings (which are all in Latin verse) reflect the latter phase of his character. The principal are-1. Cathemerinon Liber (Book [i.e., of hymns] for Daily Use), being a series of twelve hymns, the first half of which were reckoned by the author suitable for devotional purposes at different parts of the day; 2. Apotheosis (a defense of the doctrine of the Trinity against heretics); 3. Hamartigeneia (On the Origin of Evil, a polemic, in verse, against the Marcionites); 4. Psychomachia (The Triumph of the Christion Graces in the Soul of a Believer); 5. Contra Symmachum, Liber 1 (a polemic against the heathen gods); 6. Contra Symmachum, Liber 2 (a polemic against a petition of Symmachus for the restoration of the altar and statue of Victory cast down by Gratian); 7. Peri Stephanon Liber (14 poems in praise of Spanish and other martyrs for the faith); 8. Diptychon (48 poems of four verses each, on Scriptural incidents and personages). Bentley calls Prudentius the Horace and Virgil of the Christians," which may be true enough if the critic only meant to say that Prudentius is the first of the early Christian verse-makers; but is ridiculous if he intended to hint at a comparison with these masters of poetic elegance and grace.

PRUD'HOMMES, COUNCIL OF (from Latin homo prudens), municipal tribunals, which existed first in the middle ages at Marseilles, Lyons, and perhaps elsewhere in France, exercising an equitable jurisdiction as arbiters of disputes between masters and work men. Similar tribunals, under the same name, were re-introduced by Napoleon I. in 1806, and have been found of great practical utility. They now exist-or recently existedin Lyons and Paris. They were instituted in the former town in 1806, in favor of the silk trade and other trades immediately connected with it. The council consists of manufacturers, mercers, master-workmen, foremen, dyers, and common workmen, elected among themselves. The council is empowered to dispose finally of all differ ences between manufacturers and their workmen, or between master-workmen, companions, and apprentices, where the sum in dispute does not exceed 200 francs; and it may also take cognizance, subject to an appeal to the tribunal of commerce or tribunal of first instance, of similar disputes, whatever their amount. Other functions of a miscellaneous nature belong to the council of prud'hommes, including the inspection of the workshops, in order to obtain information regarding the number of looms and of workmen, and the giving an opinion, when required by the administrative authorities, on any question submitted to it. In 1844 a council of prud'hommes was established in Paris in favor of the metal trade, and all trades connected with it; and three new councils of the same kind were instituted in Paris in 1847-one connected with the manufacture of tissues of all kinds, another with the manufacture of chemicals, and a third having jurisdiction in all other trades.

PRUNEL'LA, a genus of plants of the natural order labiata, having the upper lip of · the calyx 3-toothed, the lower lip bifid; the upper lip of the corolla arched and nearly entire; the lower lip 3-lobed; and four filaments, each with two teeth at the extremity, of which one bears the anther. Several species are natives of Europe; one only is found in Britain, P. vulgaris, popularly known as SELF-HEAL, a plant very frequent in moist and barren pastures, as it is also throughout most parts of Europe, central Asia, North America, and New Holland. It has oblong-ovate stalked leaves, and violet-blue flowers, very densely whorled, so as to form an imbricated oblong spike. It was at one time in considerable repute as a febrifuge. It is mildly aromatic and slightly astringent.

PRUNES are dried fruit of the plum-tree (prunus domestica), of the variety called Juliana, which is so largely cultivated in France, that not only is that country supplied, but Britain also imports from thence over 400 tons per annum. They are much used in the manufacturing districts of England by the operatives, who make puddings and pies of them when fresh fruit is out of season. The very fine kind which are sold in highly ornamental boxes are called French plums or table prunes; these are a much finer variety, viz., Catherinea, which are much larger, and, when ripe, are much sweeter.

They are more carefully prepared, being gathered by hand, and separately dried. They are used chiefly as a dessert fruit. The imports of these into Britain amount to upward of 200 tons per annum.

PRUNING, the removal of branches from fruit or forest trees, in order to the greater production of fruit, the improvement of the timber, or purposes of ornament. In prun ing for ornamental purposes, taste must chiefly be consulted, but reference must be made to what has been too little regarded in pruning of every kind-the nature or habit of the tree itself. Some trees will bear clipping into fantastic forms, which would be utterly destructive of others. Such forms, once esteemed as the finest ornaments of a pleasure-ground, or the neighborhood of a mansion, are rejected by the simpler taste of the present age, and the topiarian art has few admirers. Much may be done, however, by the removal of branches, to give a finer form to ornamental trees; but in this, as in the pruning of trees grown for the sake of their timber, a great mistake is very generally committed in permitting branches to grow to a considerable size before they are cut off. It may be accepted as a general rule, that the branches removed should be small in proportion to the whole bulk of the tree. The removal of twigs and small branches is attended by no bad effects, and may be beneficial; but the removal of large branches is dangerous. The leaving of stumps or snags is an aggravation of the evil. They rot away, and spoil the timber of the stem; indeed, a hole is not unfrequently formed. But as to forest trees, pruning may with great advantage be in great part avoided, by taking care to plant at proper distances, and thinning out the plantations sufficiently in early periods of their growth. In this way, better timber is obtained, and a greater produce from the land. Pines and firs scarcely ever require pruning, and are probably in almost all cases the worse of that which they get, except in the removal of those lower branches which have actually begun to decay. In other trees, it is sometimes of importance to watch for branches that would divide the trunk, and to prevent the division, causing the main stem to ascend higher before it forms a crown; but to be of any use, this must be done while the branches are still very young. Plantations should, therefore, be examined with a view to pruning, at intervals of not more than two years, after they are six or eight years old.

In orchards and fruit-gardens, pruning is necessary, the object being not to produce timber, or the utmost luxuriance of trees, but fruit in the greatest perfection and abundance. The habits of each kind must be studied. Even in the pruning of gooseberry and currant bushes, regard must be had to natural diversities, the gooseberry and blackcurrant producing fruit chiefly on young wood, while the red and white-currant produce fruit chiefly on spurs from older branches. And so it is among trees; apricots, for example, producing fruit chiefly on young wood; cherries mostly on spurs, while plums produce both in the one way and in the other. The object of the gardener in pruning is to bring the tree into the condition best suited for producing fine fruit and in the greatest abundance; and to this the training of wall trees (q.v.) must also be aceommodated. Sometimes, in order to produce particularly fine fruits for the improvement of the variety by seed, or for the sake of a prize at a horticultural exhibition, the gardener diminishes the number of branches likely to bear fruit, beyond what would otherwise be desirable.

The general seasons of pruning are winter and spring; but some trees, particularly cherries, are advantageously pruned in summer, as they then throw out less gum.

Pruning instruments are of various kinds-knives, axes, saws, bills of very various forms, etc., and the averuncator, which may be described as a pair of scissors, one blade hooked or crooked, attached to a long handle, and working by a cord and pulley. It is scarcely used except for standard trees in gardens and orchards.

PRU'NUS. See PLUM.

PRUNUS VIRGINIANA. See CHOKE-CHERRY.

PRURI GO is a non-contagious affection of the skin, in which intense itching is the most prominent symptom. Sometimes the parts affected present no marked deviation from the normal type, but most commonly they are covered with papulæ, which are nearly of the same color as the skin. Hence prurigo has been placed among the popular diseases of the skin. William makes three varieties of this disorder-viz., P. mitis, P. formicans, and P. senilis. This affection seldom affects the whole surface; its favorite seats being the neck, the shoulders, the back, the outer surface of the limbs, the anus, etc. In P. formicans there is not only intense itching, but patients complain of a feeling like the creeping of ants (hence the specific name) or the stinging of insects, or as if hot needles were thrust into the skin. All the forms of this disease are aggravated by exposure to the air, and by heat, and the sensations are often so distressing after the patient has become warm in bed, as to prevent sleep for many hours. P. senilis, occur. ring, as its name implies, in old persons, is characterized by the extreme severity and permanence of the itching, and by the obstinacy with which it resists every kind of treatment. The different varieties of this disorder may probably be often traced either to disease of the digestive system, or to want of personal cleanliness; but in most cases their origin is obscure.

In the treatment of this disease, attention should be paid to the diet. All stimulating condiments and drinks should be forbidden, and only a plain, easily digested food

allowed. Internal remedies are seldom of use excepting opium, which in severe cases is required in free or large doses, in order to procure rest. The local applications that have been recommended are very numerous. Lotions of spirit, diluted vinegar, solution of acetate of ammonia, glycerine, prussic acid, etc., and ointments containing creosote, iodide of sulphur, aconitine, etc., have been advocated by various physicians of eminence. Unless, however, the greatest attention is paid to personal cleanliness, no remedy is likely to be of permanent benefit.

PRUSA, or PRUSIAS. See BROUSA.

PRUSSIA (Ger. Preussen), a kingdom embracing nearly the whole of northern Germany. It is bounded n. by the German ocean, Jutland, and the Baltic; e. by Russia and Poland; s. by Austria, Saxony, Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Weimar, Gotha, and others of the smaller German states, Bavaria, Hesse-Darmstadt, and Alsace-Lorraine; w. by Belgium and the Netherlands. Prussia owns besides the detached domains of Hohenzollern (q.v.) and Jaade or Jahde on the North sea, which lie within the boundaries of other German states.

The following table gives the area and population (1880) of the 12 Prussian provinces:

The duchy of Lauenburg, with an area of 452 sq.m., and a population (1875) of 48,808, was incorporated with the province of Sleswick-Holstein in July, 1876, and is included in the estimate given.

In 1819 the total population of Prussia was 10,981, 934. In 1858 it was 17,739,913. In 1867 the kingdom, increased from an area of 107,757 English sq.m. to its present size, had a population of 24,106,847. The census of Dec., 1871, gave a total of 24,689,252.

Physical Character, etc.-The larger portion of Prussia is a part of the great plain stretching from Holland to the Ural mountains, and, except in the s. of Hanover and Silesia, is an almost unbroken level. The Sudetic mountains, whose northern ranges, known as the Riesengebirge (q.v.), lie between the Oder and the Elbe, divide Prussia from Bohemia; while the Thüringerwald intersects the line dividing it from Saxony and some of the lesser German states. The Harz mountains (q.v.) of Hanover are now within the limits of Prussian territory. None of these ranges rise, even in their highest summits, above 5,000 feet. In the e. the surface of the great plain of Prussia is marked by two distinct tracts of more elevated land, one of which belongs to the elevation which, running generally parallel to the Baltic, may be traced from the mouth of the Elbe to the source of the Volga, and which in Prussia rises about 400 ft. above the sea-level. This tract is diversified with numerous lakes, none of which is more than 20 sq.m. in extent, but which altogether occupy an area of more than 300 sq. miles. The soil, consisting chiefly of loose sand interspersed with a large number of erratic blocks of granite, is sterile, covered in many places with heaths and belts of stunted pines. On the northern slope, terminating on the shores of the Baltic, there are several fertile districts, more especially along those rivers which have been carefully embanked, as the Niemen aud the Vistula. The southern elevation of the Prussian plain, running between the Polish mountains of Sandomir in the s.e., and the Elbe between Magdeburg and Burg in the n. w., attains a height of about 1000 ft. near Breslau on the Oder, where it is known as the Trebnitz heights. Its general character is more fertile than the northern elevation; while the country between the two is, for the most part, extremely sterile. It includes the sandy waste in which Berlin, the capital, is situated. South of this tract, and in Silesia and Prussian Saxony, the country is fertile, including some of the most productive grain-growing districts of Prussia. Hanover has much the same character. Great marshes or peat-moors cover the n. and n.w. districts; but the valleys that lie among the Harz mountains in the s. are often fertile, and well adapted for agriculture. The coasts are low, and require to be protected from the overflowing of the sea by embankments and dikes. Sleswick-Holstein, the recently annexed territory n. of the Elbe, is in part sandy and heathy, like the plain of Hanover, but it has also numerous marshes. The great plain of northern Prussia is watered by five large rivers-the Weser, Elbe, Oder, Vistula, and Niemen; the numerous affluents of which, together with many smaller streams, con