801 PRAIRIE WOLF PRATINCOLE in the fields of grain and the vegetable garden, and by disturbing the soil in their excavations. The best known species is the striped prairie squirrel (S. tredecim-lineatus, And. and Bach.), 6 in. long, with a tail of 4 in. ; the color is dark brown above, with nine stripes of this color alternating with eight of a yellowish gray (the lower ones not always distinct), the five central ones of the former with yellowish dots and spots ; lower parts and tail brownish yellow, the latter margined and tipped with blackish. It is found abundantly on the west- ern prairies, above lat. 40 N. In Iowa, Wis- consin, Minnesota, and northern Illinois it is commonly called gopher ; for the true animal of this name (geomys bursarius, Rich.), see GOPHER. It is not found in heavy timber lands, but sometimes in oak openings, and generally on the prairies ; its burrows are so shallow that a few pailfuls of water will commonly drown it out. The food consists of grasses, roots, seeds, insects, and field mice ; though it is Striped Prairie Squirrel (Spermophilus tredecim-lineatus). sometimes destructive in newly cultivated dis- tricts or in neglected fields, to an extent which may require a second planting, it probably more than makes up the loss by the destruction of mice and noxious insects; it disappears before the plough, and rarely attacks old and well cultivated fields. It brings forth six or seven young, once a year, in May or June. PRAIRIE WOLF. See WOLF. PRAKRIT. See INDIA, RACES AND LAN- GUAGES OF, vol. ix., p. 216. PRAM, Christian Henriksen, a Danish poet, born in Norway, Sept. 4, 1756, died in St. Thomas, Nov. 5, 1821. He studied law and political economy in Copenhagen, was connected with the department of commerce, edited a com- mercial journal, originated the literary journal " Minerva," and was one of the founders and long president of the Scandinavian literary society. In 1819 he was appointed director of the custom house at St. Thomas. His principal work is the legendary epic Stwr- kodder (1785). A select edition of his miscel- laneous writings was published by Rahbeck, with a biographical sketch (4 vols., Copen- hagen, 1824-' 6). PRASLIX. I. Cesar Gabriel, count de Choi- seul, duke de, a French statesman, born in Paris, Aug. 14, 1712, died there, Nov. 15, 1785. In 1748 he retired from the army with the rank of general, after 17 years' service. He was ambassador in Vienna from 1758 to 1760, succeeded his cousin the duke de Choi- seul as minister of foreign affairs in 1761, was made a duke and peer in 1762, and in 1763. signed the treaty which ended the seven years' war. In 1766 he became minister of marine and president of the royal council of finance. He enlarged and fortified the port of Brest, increased the navy, and promoted the expe- dition of Bougainville. In 1770 he retired from office with Choiseul. II. Charles Lanre Hngnes Theobald, duke de Choiseul-Praslin, a descendant of the preceding, born in Paris, June 29, 1805, died there, Aug. 24, 1847. He was a deputy from 1839 to 1842, and an. equerry to the duchess of Orleans till 1845, when he was made a peer. In his 19th year he married the only daughter of Marshal Sebas- tiani, by whom he had several children. On Aug. 17, 1847, her body was found in her room hacked to pieces. He was arraigned before a tribunal of peers for assassinating her, and was sent to prison, where he poisoned himself. PRATI, Giovanni, an Italian poet, born at Da- scindo, near Trent, Jan. 27, 1815. He received his diploma as an advocate in Padua, but de- voted himself to poetry. In 1862 he became a member of the Italian parliament. His Canti lirici and Canti per il popolo (3 vols., Milan, 1843) were very popular. Among his other works are Memorie e lacrime (1844), Passeg- giate solitarie (2 vols., 1847), Nuove poesie (Turin, 1856), and Ariberto (1860). Complete editions of his writings appeared at Florence in 1852, and at Milan in 1862. PRATINCOLE (glareola, Briss.), a genus of wading birds of the plover family, inhabiting the temperate and warmer regions of the old world. About half a dozen species are de- scribed in Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, frequenting the borders of rivers, lakes, and marshes, in low and in high regions ; the food consists of worms and insects, which they pick from the ground or aquatic plants, or take on the wing like swallows ; they fly and run very swiftly ; the nest is a slight structure on the ground, among the thick herbage of the marshes, and the eggs three or four in number. The collared pratincole (G. pratincola, Pall, is about the size of a blackbird, 9 in. long ; i is brown above, white on the rump and below ; the throat surrounded by a black circle ; the base of the bill and the feet reddish. It plentiful in Austria, and has received one its specific names (Austriaca) from that coun- try; it is occasionally found in England, anc"
