PUL to be 72 in men, and 66 in wo- men ; though Dr. Falconek fiAOS it, in general, at /3 in a minute, and its extreme acceleration at J 25. Tims, we observe from his com- putation e.hibited in a table, that, for a pc^rson whose natural jinise is 75, the beginning of fever is put down at g6 ; heirlic fever at 103 j and inflammatory fever at 120. According to this proportion, in cue whose natural pulse is 60, the first of these stages should be about 77 ; the second, 86 ; the third, p6. On the othtr hand, a natural pulse of 80 would require them to be about 102, II.-3, and 128, Independcntlv of other symp- toms, neither ihi^ frcq/tciici/ of the pulse, nor its peculiar modification, appears to be of so much conse- quence in diseases, as is generally imagined. Formerly, the imne was chiefly consulted ; but, in modern times, th- quacks have usurped that criterion J and physicians of great praftice seem to pay particu- lar attention to the pulse; as their time is equally short and valuable. — See Physician'. PULSE, in botmy, a term ap- plicable ti; all grains or seeds that are gathered with the hand ; being opposed to corn, &c. which are reaped or mown. It is more par- ticularly emj)loyed to denote the seed oflegaininous vegcta/:/cs, such as pease, beans, lentils;, vetches, kc; respecting the culture of which, the reader will find an account un- der those respeiStive articles. All pulse contains a large por- tion of fixed air, and also of crude indigestible particles : il eaten too frefjuently,or in immcder.Tte quan- tities, leguminous vegetables are apt to produce flatulency and cos- . tiveuess ; for> as such earthy par- ticles cannot assimilate with the P U M [45 1 human fluids, they often remain in tiie body undigested, for a consi- derable length of time, to the con- S'.-quent injury of the alimentary canal. Hence, persons of relaxed habits ought to eat them sparingly, and, in preparing pease-soup, to boil the pease undivided) by which simple expedient they may avoid the oppression of the bowel's, and the heart-burn ; which are gene- rally occasioiied, when these pulse are split, and deprived of their husks. PUMICE-STONE, a hard fos- sil, that is frequently ejected froni volcanoes : it is very ligiit, M'lth numerous pores, bein^ of a white, grey, reddish-brown, or black co- lour. This mineral is usefully etnploy- ed in different mechanical trades^ for rubbing, and smoothing or po- lishing wood, paste-fboard, met;4ls, and stone 3 because, on account of its peculiar roughness and brittle- ness, it effeiSlually removes all in- equalities from their surfaces. PUMP, a well-known hvdrauTic machine, employed for the raising of water by the pressure of the at- mosphere. The utility of pumps, in dojnes- tic life, being universal]} acknov/- ledged, various contrivances have been proposed and adopted uitii a view to facilitate the drawino- of water. Among the latest inven- tions, the Ainerh'an Pump Eni^ine deserves particular notice. Thjs machinery was contrived by Mr. Benjamin Deareokx, and is so construSed, that it n:iay be conve- nieiitly added to a common pump, in order to answer the purpo'^es of a Ftre-Engim. — We have, there- fore, furnished our readers with a plate, from the Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and trg 2 Sciences,
