P Pv I
PRIAPEIA, (Cycl.) in botany, a name given by John Bauhine and fome other authors, to the fmall fpecies of tobacco called by Mr. Tournefort and others, nicttiana minor, bee the ar- ticle NlCOTIANA. .Li. a PRIAPOLITHUS, a name given by ionic authors to a irone found about Caftro in Italy, which very aptly referable* the figure of the human penis. . PRICK (Cycl. )— Prick, or Pinch, in the manege, is to give a horfe a gentle touch of the fpur, without clapping them hard to him. To prick or pinch, is an aid ; but to appujtr, or bear hard with the fpur, is correction. PRICKING (Cycl-) — Pricking of a bar/is foot, in the ma- nege is the hurt received by a nail driven too far into the foot, fo as' to reach the quick, or prefs the vein in the horfe's foot when he is fhod. PRICKLE back, in natural hiftory, a fmall fifh fo called from the prickles on its fides and back. Vaft numbers of thefe little .fifh are to be found in almoit all freih waters, wherever it is pofiible for fifh to live, as Mr. Arderon informs us, Phil. Tranf. N e . 482. feet. 15. who gives us fome account of thefe crea- tures. ' They are very deftrudtive to the fpawn of all forts of fifh ; and they themfelves are tormented to death by a kind of loufe of an oval figure, with eight legs and a very tran- ' fparent body. This loufe has little fins always in motion, whether it be fwimming about or fixed on the fifli. PRIDE of the Ifis, a name given by Dr. Plot to the common lampern, from its being found very plentifully and very deli- cate in that river.
It is to be obferved, that we diftinguifh between the lampern and lamprey, which, tho' words very nearly the fame in found, are yet the names of two different fifhes : what we call the lampern, is the lampetra parva jiuviatilis of Willugh- by ; this is the nth found in the Ifis. The lamprey is the lampetra of Willughby, and others : they are both fpecies of the petromyzon of Artedi. See the articles Petromyzon and Lampetra. Pside gavel, a cuftom in the manor of Rodely in the county of Gloucefter ; by which to this day a rent is paid to the lord, by certain tenants, in duty and acknowledgement to him for their liberty and privilege of fifhing for lampreys or lam- prids in the river Severn. Tayl. Hift. Gavelk. 1 1 2 Blount. PREMIER fCyr/.)— Primier ferjeanl, the King's firfl ferjeant
at law. PRTMING (Cycl.)— Priming-/™, in gunnery, a fmall fharp iron, which is thruft into the touch-hole of a great gun, and pierces into the cartridge that holds the powder, that fo they may put in the prime-pot/der, or touch-powder, to fire off the piece. PRIMO (Cycl.)— Primo, in the Italian mufic; is often abridg- ed thu>, P°. or 1 Q . and added to other words, as, primo canto, the firft treble ; alto primo, the firft counter tenor ; tenore primo, the firft tenor ; bajfo primo, the firft bafs ; fagotto primo, the firft baffoon ; chcro primo, the firft chorus, tic. PRIMULA, ar Primula veris, in the Linnsean fyftem of bo- tany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : the cup is a general involucrum, fmall, compofed of many leaves, and containing feveral flowers. The fepa- rate perianthium of every flower is tubular, and of a penta- gonal figure, compofed of one leaf, divided into five fegments, placed erect, and remaining when the flower is fallen. The flower is compofed of only one leaf, in form of a cylin- dric tube, of the length of the cup, terminated by a fmall he- mifphere neck. The margin is fprcad open, and divided into five fegments, which are obtufe, inverted in the fhape of a heart at their ends, and have a rim round their edges. The ftamina are five very fhort filaments, fituated within the tube of the flower. The anther* are erect, pointed, and converge toward one another at their ends. The germen of the piftil- lum is globofe. The flyle is (lender, and of the length of the cup, ahd the ftigma is globofe. The fruit is a clindric capfule, nearly of the length of the cup, covered, containing only one celi,' and fplitting open. Its top is dented into ten feuments. The feeds are numerous and round. The recep- tacle is of an oblong oval figure and free. Linnai Genera Plant, p. 63.
The characters of this genus, according to Mr. Tournefort, are thefe : the flower confifts of only one leaf, which is ex- panded wide at the mouth, and divided into feveral fegments. The cup is tubular, and from it arifes a piftil, which is fixed like a nail into the hinder part of the flower, and afterwards becomes a fruit, or an oblong cafe, clofely furrounded by the cup, and containing fmall roundifh feeds, affixed to a pla- centa.
The fpecies of primula, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are thefe: 1. The fweet yellow-flowered tingle primula, com- monly called the cow/lip. 2. The taller Angle primula, with a paler flower. 3. The fcenflefs prmltttg, which has no cup to the flowers. 4. The fccntlefs primula, with double flowers. 5. The fweet primula, with indented or diffefied cups. 6. The primula, with a foliaceous head inftead of flowers. 7. The yellow, mountain, hairy primula. 8. The red-flowered primula. 9. The white-flowered primula. 10. The great fcarlet umbellated primula, with a foliaceous ftalk and foliace-
P R I
ous flower. 1 1 . The lefler yellow umbellated prim/la, with a foliaceous ftalk and flower. 12. '1'he garden umbellated yellow primula. 13. The garden white umbellated primula. 14. The garden red umbellated primula. 15. The ferrugine- ous umbellated garden primula, 16. The common wild many- flowered primula. 17. The double many -flowered fpiing pri- mula. 18. The fweet proliferous primula, ig. The laree- flowercd proliferous primula. 20. The white-flowered proli- ferous primula. 21. The purple- flowered proliferous primulas 22. The ferrugineous-flowered proliferous primula. 23. The great-flowered, pale, whitifh, fingle primula. 24. The pure white fingle- flowered primula. 25. The green-flowered fingle primula. 26. The double green -flowered primula. 27. The green and white fingle- flowered primula. 28. The double- flowered feparately divided primrofe, called Hejkefs primrofe.
29. 7 he deep green- flowered primula, with fimbriated edges.
30. The Conftantinople primula, with a pale purple flower.
31. The Conftantinople primula, with a large purple flower.
32. The Conftantinople primula, with fmaller purple flowers;
33. The Conftantinople primula, with a fcarlet flower. 34. The Conftantinople primula, with a ferrugineous flower with white fpots. 3;. The Conftantinople primula, with white flowers. 36. The Conftantinople primula, with pale flefh- coloured flowers. 37. The Conftantinople primula, with yellow flowers. 38. The Conftantinople primula, with pale lemon-coloured flowers. 39. The Comfantinople primula, with a rufty whitifh flower. 40. The Conftantinople primula, with a brownifh flower.
The flowers of this plant are eftcemed greatly cephalic and nervine. They are recommended in palfies, apoplexies, and all nervous diforders.
The primula may be known when not in flower, by t'-eir having rugged and wrinkled leaves of a thin confiftence. Tourn. Inft. p. 1 ^4, T25.
PRIMUS (Cycl.) — Primus Brachii mowrdimn, in anatomy, a name given by Vefalius, and fome others who have copied from him, to a mufcle generally known under the name of the peSi 'oralis. See the article Pect' ralis.
Primus communium laryngis, in anatomy, a name given by Caf- ferius and fome others to the mufcle more generally known by the name of the jhmothyro'i clams, or Jlerno-thyro'uks. See the article Sternothyroid ^eus.
Primus hyiidis offis mufculus, in anatomy, a name given by Fal- lopius and fome others to the mufcle of the os byoides, called by Al bi nus Jle mobyo'idaus.
Primus oculum movens, in anatomy, a name given by Vefalius to one of the four mufadi reSli of the eye, called by Albums and others the aduElor. It is called by Fabricius the rectus in- terior, and by fome the bibitorius.
Primus propriorum auricula: mufculus, in anatomy, a name given by Cafferius to one of the mufcles of the head, called by Al- binus the auricuhm attollens, and by Cowper and Winflow fuferior auricula, which fee.
PRINCE (Cycl.) — Prince of the Senate. There was one mem- ber of the Roman Senate diftinguifhed always from the reft by the title of Prince of the Senate. This title was given of courfe to that perfon whofe name was called over the firft in the roll of the Senate, whenever it was renewed by the cenfors. He was always one of confular and cenforian dignity. After the inftitution of the cenfors, it became a cuftom to confer this title of Prince of the Senate on the oldeft fenator then living of cenforian dignity, Yet there were no peculiar rights annexed to this title, nor any other advantage, except an acceflion of authority, from a notion which it would na- turally imprint of a fuperior merit in thofe who bore it. Middlcton of Rom. Sen. p. 14;, 149. See Senate.
Prince of plenfantry, prince de pla'fance, in the cuftoms of Flan- ders. See Sports.
Prince of the horfe-comb, in the cuftoms of Flanders. See Sports.
Princes feather, in botany, a name given to the amaranth. See Amaranth/
Princes metal. Copper, tho' one of the lefs precious metals, yet has been found of fo great ufe in the common affairs of life, that fcarce any other has been fubjecl to fo many trials for its improvement, or the rendering it either more beautiful or more fit for certain purpofes.
One of the firft difcoveries in thefe attempts was the making it into brafs, by means of an addition of lapis calaminaris; and tho' it was not at that time known to be a ftone which contained any metal, yet the brafs was always found to weigh one third more than the copper which had been ufed in the procefs.
This yellow metal gave many people hopes of making copper approach yet nearer to gold, and without knowing that zink was the feparated metalline part of lapis calaminaris, the ex- perimenters foon found, by happy accident or repeated chance mixtures, that it would give copper a yet finer and purer yel- low ; but it was alfo found, that this mixed metal was much more brittle than brafs made in the common way. This, however, did not prevent the world from ftill valuing it for fuch works as were to be finiftied by cafting, and did not re- quire the hammer ; and we, who firft had it in perfeSion,
cited
