PUTTY 387 PTLE bling operations. The theory of "priv- ileges" is that they are a species of in- surance by which an operator can pro- tect himself against market fluctuations. A trader who is "short" in the market can protect his position to a certain de- gree by buying "calls"; a "long" can prevent losses in the same degree by buy- ing "puts." The insurance proposition is a theory, however, as "privileges" more often serve to originate new trades than to serve as an insurance on existing business conditions. PUTTY, calcined tin, or oxide of tin and lead mixed in various proportions, used as polishing powder by opticians and lapidaries. In plastering, a fine mortar, nearly all lime, used in stopping crevices of shrinkage. In glazing, a composition of pounded whiting and lin- seed oil, beaten up into a tough tenacious cement. In pottery, the mixture of ground materials in which in potteries earthenware is dipped for glazing. In foundry work, the mixture of clay and horsedung used in making molds in foundries. PUTUMAYO, a province of Colombia, in the S. E., bordering on Brazil, Ecua- dor and Peru, watered by the rivers of the same name, which is a tributary of the Amazon. The district is rich in rub- ber, exploited by British syndicates, driven out of existence in 1912 conse- quent on exposures of cruelty to the na- tives. Part of the province is claimed by Ecuador. The Putumayo river crosses the equator and flows 1150 miles before being received into the Amazon in Brazil. Pop. about 35,000. PUTUMAYO, or IQA, a tributary of the Amazon, rising in Colombia, and flowing S. E. for 950 miles. PUVIS DE CHAVANNES, PIERRE, a French painter; born in Lj^ons, France, Dec. 14, 1824. He studied un- der Couture and Henri Scheffer; painted mural decorations for libraries, etc., in France, especially "Ste. Genevieve" at the Pantheon, Paris; "The Sacred Grove"; a mural painting for the Boston, Mass., Public Library (1894); etc. He died in Paris, Oct. 25, 1898. PUY, LE, or LE PUY-EN-VELAY, a to-wii of France (department Haute- Loire). It consists of the new town in a valley and the old town, this latter one of the most picturesque in France. The town of Le Puy stands on the steep slopes of Mount Anis (2,050 feet), from the summit of which starts up precipitously the basaltic mass called Mont Corneille, crowned by a colossal figure (53 feet) of the Virgin, made of Russian cannon brought from Sebastopol. The most notable building is the Romanesque cathedral (6th-12th century). Lace and thread work are manufactured. Pop. about 22,500. PUYA, in botany, a synonym _ of Pouretia, a genus of Bromeliaceas (Lind- ley). P. chinensis yields an extract used in healing broken bones, and the spike of P. lanuginosa is a transparent gum. PY.ffiMIA, or PYEMIA, a diseased condition in which the blood is poisoned by pus or by some of its constituents; blood poisoning; septicaemia. PUY-DE-d6mE, a central department of France, containing an area of 3,090 square miles and a pop. of about 525,000 The W. side of the department is an ele^ vated volcanic region. (See France). The highest cones are Puy-de-Sancy (6,188 feet) and Puy-de-D6me (4,806) ; on the E. side the Forez Mountains (5,380) march with the frontier. Agri- culture and cattle breeding are the chief occupations. The principal minerals are coal and lead. Hot and cold mineral springs are abundant. PYCNOGONUM, a genus of Arachni- da, the sea spiders. Some species are parasitic upon fishes and other marine animals. PYGMALION, in Greek mythology, grandson of Agenor, King of Cyprus. He fell in love with an ivory statue of a young maiden he himself had made, and prayed to Aphrodite to give it life. His prayer was granted, on which he married the maiden, who bore him Paphus. PYGMY, or PIGMY, in classical mythology, one of a fabulous nation of dwarfs dwelling somewhere near the shores of the ocean, and maintaining perpetual wars with the cranes. Also, a very short or dwarfish person; a dwarf; anything very little. In zoologfy, the chimpanzee. PYLADES, in Greek mythology, son of Strophius, King of Phocis, and Anaxibia, the sister of Agamemnon, after whose murder by Clytemnestra, their son Orestes, being carried secretly to the court of Strophius, formed the friend- ship with Pylades which has become proverbial. He assisted Orestes in mur- dering Clytemnestra, and eventually married his sister Electra. PYLE, HOWARD, an American illus- trator and author; born in Wilmington, Del., March 5, 1853. He was an illus- trator for periodicals, and became popu- lar also as a writer, chiefly of juvenile literature. His works include : "With- in the Capes" (1885), a novel; "Pepper
