PARR, SAMUEL, LL.D., an English scholar, clergyman, and author, born at Harrow-on-theHill, Jan. 15, 1747, died March 6, 1825. He was the son of a surgeon and apothecary. He early manifested a taste for learning, and when, at the age of 15, he was removed from school and placed at his father's business, he devoted his leisure time to the study of Greek and Latin with such assiduity that in 1765 his father reluctantly consented to his entering the university of Cambridge. The death of his parent obliged him to accept in 1767 the first assistant mastership of Harrow school, where he remained 5 years. Having been rejected by the governors as a candidate for the vacant head mastership in 1771, he taught a school on his own account at Stanmore, and in 1777 became master of the school at Colchester, where he was ordained priest, receiving the curacies of Hythe and Trinity church. In the following year he was appointed master of Norwich school. Two sermons "On the Truth and Usefulness of Christianity" and "On the Education of the Poor" (1780) appeared during his residence here, and the latter served to prepare the way for his much admired "Discourse on Education, and on the Plans pursued in Charity Schools" (1785). In the mean time the university of Cambridge had granted him the degree of LL.D. (1781), and Bishop Lowth had appointed him a prebendary of St. Paul's. In 1786 he removed to Hatton in Warwickshire, where he held a perpetual curacy, and here he passed the remainder of his life, engaged in literary pursuits, the care of his parish, and the instruction of children. His personal unpopularity with the members of his own profession and the dispensers of government patronage prevented his rising to those dignities in the church to which his learning entitled him. He was vain, arrogant, and quarrelsome, a violent whig partisan, and both unjust and inconsistent in many of his political opinions. He advocated the repeal of measures against the Roman Catholics and Unitarians, but could not tolerate Methodists. In his controversial writings he was frequently unfair and untruthful, but he possessed great natural benevolence, and is said to have surpassed in conversational powVOL. XIII.-1

ers all his contemporaries except Dr. Johnson. In 1787 he published an edition of Bellendenus de Statu, with a preface in which he eulogized Burke, Fox, and Lord North, but attacked other contemporary statesmen with great virulence. It is esteemed one of the most successful modern imitations of Ciceronian Latin. His preface to an edition of “ Tracts by Warburton and a Warburtonian, not admitted into the Collection of their respective Works" (1789) is remarkable for its polished style; but the work was undertaken in order to annoy Bishop Hurd, the editor of Warburton. His other writings comprise a controversy with Dr. White, whom he accused of plagiarism in his "Bampton Lectures" (1790), papers connected with the Birmingham riots of 1791, a controversy with Dr. Charles Combe in 1795, and one with Godwin and others occasioned by Parr's Spital sermon in 1800, and "Characters of the late Charles James Fox" (1809), consisting partly of original and partly of selected matter. He left a considerable number of historical, critical, and metaphysical papers in manuscript. An edition of his works, with a memoir of his life and writings and selections from his correspondence, was published by John Johnstone, D.D. (8 vols., London, 1828).

PARR, THOMAS, commonly known as Old Parr, an Englishman celebrated on account of his great age, born in Winnington, Shropshire, in 1483, died in London, Nov. 15, 1635. He was the son of poor parents, and after his father's decease continued his occupation of husbandry. He was first married at the age of 80, and begot two children; and after the death of his wife, he married again when about 120 years old. According to a current story, he was engaged in a love intrigue when about 105 years old, and was compelled to do penance for the crime by standing in a sheet in Alderbury church. When a little over 152 years old, he was taken to London by Thomas, earl of Arundel; but dying soon after, he was buried in Westminster abbey. Almost all that is authentically known in regard to him is contained in a pamphlet published in 1635 by John Taylor, under the title of "The Olde, Olde, Very Olde Man; or, the Age and Long

Life of Thomas Parr, the Sonne of John Parr, of Winnington, in the Parish of Alderbury, in the County of Salopp, who was born in the reign of King Edward the IVth, and is now living in the Strand, being aged 152 years and odd monthes. His manner of life and conversation in so long a pilgrimage; his marriages, and his bringing up to London about the end of September last, 1635."

PARRHASIUS, a Greek painter, born in Ephesus, flourished about 400 B. C. He was the son and pupil of Evenor, and, although belonging to the Ionian school of art, passed the greater part of his life in Athens, of which city he was made a citizen. Quintilian calls him the legislator of his art, from the fact that he established certain canons of proportion for the human figure which were adopted by succeeding artists; and Pliny says: "He first gave to painting true proportion, the minute details of the countenance, the elegance of the hair, the beauty of the face, and by the confession of the artists themselves obtained the palm in his drawing of the extremities." He was arrogant and insolent in manner, and in epigrams inscribed on his own productions called himself 'Aẞpodiairos, the elegant, claiming a divine descent, and announcing that in his works the art of painting had reached its highest excellence. His most celebrated work, according to Pliny, was an allegorical representation of the Athenian people, in which every quality, good or bad, ascribed to the Athenians, found its expression. Among other famous works by him were a Theseus, of which Euphranor remarked that it had fed upon roses, and his own Theseus upon beef; Ulysses feigning Insanity;" a Meleager, Hercules, &c. He also painted pictures of a gross and licentious character, two of which, the ". Archigallus" and the "Meleager and Atalanta," were so highly prized by the emperor Tiberius that he caused them to be hung in his own chamber. Two well known contests in which he engaged with contemporary painters are recorded. In the first, when conquered by Timanthes, the subject being the combat of Ulysses and Ajax for the arms of Achilles, he observed that he cared little for his own defeat, but felt pity for Ajax in being a second time overcome by an unworthy rival. In the second contest, which was with the painter Zeuxis, the latter executed a bunch of grapes so naturally that the birds came and pecked at the fruit. He thereupon requested Parrhasius to draw aside a curtain which apparently concealed his own picture; but as the curtain proved to be the picture itself, the victory was conceded by Zeuxis to his rival, who by deceiving men had gone further than himself in the art of imitation. The story told by Seneca, that Parrhasius, when painting a "Prometheus Chained," put an Olynthian captive to the torture, in order to obtain from him the proper expression of bodily suffering, has been proved to be utterly unfounded.

PARROT, the general name of the psittacida, a family of scansorial birds, remarkable for the elegance of their form, the brilliancy of their plumage, and their docility and power of imitating the human voice. They have a large strong bill, much arched, with acute tip, and the lower mandible notched at the end; the upper mandible is movably articulated to the frontal bones, enabling them to seize larger objects than other birds of their size; the tongue is thick and fleshy, the wings and tail generally long, tarsi short and robust, and the strong toes directed 2 before and 2 behind, the former united at the base by a narrow membrane. These are the typical climbers, but are slow and generally awkward on the ground; they use both bill and claws in climbing, and while feeding use one foot to hold their food; though rather sedentary, most of them are good fliers; the neck is short, and has usually 12 vertebra; the sternum is long and narrow, with generally an oval aperture on its inferior margin on each side; the structure of the tongue and the complicated lower larynx enable them to articulate with great distinctness. They are confined to the warm parts of America, Asia, Africa, and Australia, and generally to the southern hemisphere; their food consists of soft pulpy fruits, especially such as have hard kernels or seeds; they are usually seen in large flocks, active in the morning and evening, noisy and quarrelsome, destructive to vegetation in their wild state, and very mischievous in captivity; they are monogamous, and build their nests generally in hollow trees. This is a very extensive family, numbering about 300 species, and divided by Gray into the sub-families of pezoporina, araina, lorinæ, cacatuinæ, and psittacina; the first 4 are described respectively under the titles PAROQUET, Macaw, LORY, and COCKATOO, leaving for this article only the psittacina, and the genus conurus of the macaws. Some of the parrots present raptorial characters in the form of the bill, and especially in its soft skin or cere. Bonaparte makes of them a distinct order, placing them at the head of his system, separated from the typical scansores by the rapacious birds; for the connecting links between the families see OWL, and OWL PARROT.-The only well ascertained species within the United States is the Carolina parrot (conurus Carolinensis, Kuhl); in this the length is about 14 inches, and the alar extent 22; the bill is short, bulging, and very strong; the head is large, the neck robust, and the body and tail elongated, the latter wedge-shaped; the bill is white and the iris hazel; general color green with bluish reflections, lightest below; fore part of head and cheeks bright red, extending over and behind the eye, the rest of the head and neck gamboge yellow; edge of wing yellow tinged with red; wings and their coverts varied with bluish green, greenish yellow, and brownish red; 2 middle tail feathers deep green, the others with the inner webs brownish red; thighs yellow.

This species has been seen as far north as Lake Ontario, though now it is chiefly confined to the southern and south-western states, and as far as the Missouri to the west. They are very fond of the seeds of the cockle bur, and eat almost any kind of fruit and grain, from their immense flocks committing great havoc in the garden, field, and orchard, destroying in search of seeds far more than they consume; they are killed in large numbers by the enraged farmers, who consider their flesh a delicacy. The flight is rapid and direct, with great inclinations of the body and incessant noisy cries; they generally alight close together on the trees bearing the desired fruit; they are savage when wounded, but are easily tamed by immersion in water; they are destructive in captivity, and incapable of articulating words. They are fond of sand and saline earths. Many females deposit their eggs in the same hollow of a tree, each one laying 2 or 3. Several other parrots are found in Mexico and Central America.-To the subfamily of psittacina belong the parrots best known in the domesticated condition, especially the gray and green parrots so common as pets; in this group the head is without crest, the margins of the bill are dentated or festooned, the wings pointed, and the tail short and square. In the old genus psittacus (Linn.) the bill is large, rather compressed, with biangular culmen much arched to the tip, near which the lateral margin is deeply notched, the under mandible much sinuated and the anterior edge sharp; wings generally reaching to the end of the tail, with 2d and 3d quills equal and longest. There are more than 40 species found in the humid forests of Africa and South America; collecting at night in immense flocks, they leave their roosting places early in search of food, which consists chiefly of pulpy fruits and seeds, after which they bathe and retire to thickleaved trees during the heat of the day, going in search of food again at night; they migrate in large flocks to warmer regions on the approach of the rainy season, rising to a great height and uttering the most discordant screams; the young are fed with the disgorged half masticated food of the parents. The gray parrot (P. erythacus, Linn.) is the most remarkable for its docility and power of articulating words, and is the one about which so many wonderful tales are extant; it is about 12 inches long, of an ash-gray color, with a bright scarlet tail, yellowish white irides, and grayish feet and toes. It is a native of W. Africa, whence it has been imported from a very early period; its habits are not very well known in the wild state, but in captivity it feeds on bread and milk, nuts, and even meat, holding its food with one foot, and reducing it to small pieces by the bill and cutters on the palate; it may reach the age of 70 and even 90 years. They breed readily in captivity. Anecdotes of these parrots might fill a large volume; it will be sufficient to say here that many of the recorded apposite speeches made by them are the result of the

3

fortunate repetition of previously acquired sentences, and are not new words dictated by intelligence or any consciousness of their applicability. Large sums have been paid for well taught specimens, and a cardinal is said to have given 100 golden crowns for one which could repeat the Apostles' Creed; another is said to have served acceptably as chaplain of a vessel, reciting the prayers to the sailors. In the genus chrysotis (Swains.), of tropical South America, the bill is smaller but strongly dentated; the wings reach to the middle of the tail, which is broad and rounded. The green parrot (C. Amazonicus, Gmel.) is very often taken to the United States and Europe on account of its great colloquial powers; it is 12 inches long, the bill orange yellow, as well as the cheeks and chin; the general color is shining green, with a bluish purple band over the forehead, and the feathers of the hind neck edged with black; it inhabits the country watered by the river Amazon, where it often does great mischief to the plantations. The festive parrot (C. festivus, Linn.), a native of the same forests, is 15 or 16 inches long, of a general green color, with a narrow red frontal band and eye streak, blue above and behind the eyes, lower back and rump vermilion, and the greater quills with blue outer webs and the inner greenish black; it is docile, easily tamed, and learns readily to pronounce words and sentences. The last two species are those most commonly brought from South America; there are several others described. In the genus psittacula (Briss.) the size is generally small; the bill is rather large with the lateral margins festooned; the pointed wings extend to the end of the tail, which is short and even; there are about 30 species described, in South America, Africa, and Asia and its archipelago; they are rapid fliers and expert climbers, often hanging head downward in their search for fruits; while feeding they utter a shrill chirp, like that of a large grasshopper; when sleeping they generally suspend themselves by one or both feet, head downward. Here belong the beautiful little "love birds," the genus agapornis of Selby. Swindern's love bird (P. Swindereniana, Kuhl) is a native of S. Africa; it is about 6 inches long, with a black strong bill whose upper mandible is notched; the head and nape are bright green, bounded by a black nuchal collar; neck and breast yellowish green, mantle and wings green, lower back and upper tail coverts azure blue; the short and nearly even tail has a median bar of vermilion edged with black and the tip green. These parrots are remarkable for their attachment to each other. Other genera are tanygnathus (Wagl.), of the Moluccas and New Guinea, having a very large and swollen bill without dentations, a very long, broad, and wedge-shaped tail, short tarsi, and long slender toes; and nasiterna (Wagl.), which is a very small New Guinea genus, having a short elevated bill, and the apex of each feather of the short rounded tail prolonged into an acute

point; the N. pygmæa (Wagl.) is the smallest of the parrot family.

PARROT, JOHANN JAKOB FRIEDRICH WILHELM, a German natural philosopher, born in Carlsruhe, Oct. 14, 1792, died Jan. 15, 1841. In 1811 and 1812 he travelled in company with Engelhardt over southern Russia and the Caucasus, and on his return published an account of his travels under the title of "Travels in the Crimea and Caucasus" (2 vols., Berlin, 1815'18). In 1821 he was appointed professor of physiology, pathology, and semeiology in the university of Dorpat, travelled in 1824 in the Pyrénées, and in 1829 was the first to make a successful ascent of Mount Ararat. He wrote "Journey to Ararat" (2 vols., Berlin, 1834; English translation by Cooley, London and New York, 1845); a treatise on "Gasometry" (Dorpat, 1814); and "Views in regard to Universal Pathology" (Riga, 1821).

PARROT FISH, the common name of the numerous cyclolabroid fishes of the genus scarus (Forsk.); the name is derived from the beak-like form of their jaws; they also present the same brilliancy and variety of colors as do the parrots among birds. The form is oblong and stout, with the lateral line branching and interrupted under the end of the dorsal fin. The jaws are prominent, convex, each divided into halves by a median suture; the teeth are incorporated with the bone, arranged in an imbricated manner in crowded quincunxes, the oldest forming the cutting border, and succeeded by the lower ranks as the former are worn away; their surface is generally smooth and polished; the pharyngeal teeth consist of trenchant transverse vertical plates, two above and one below, presenting when worn narrow ellipses of dentine surrounded by enamel; the lips are simple and fleshy, in some species leaving the teeth exposed. The body is covered with large scales, as far as the gill covers and cheeks, there being from 21 to 25 in a longitudinal line and 8 in a vertical one at the region of the pectorals; those at the base of the caudal fin are large and embrace a considerable portion of its rays; there is a single conical dorsal, with 9 spiny and 10 articulated rays; the anal has 2 spiny and 8 articulated rays. The muzzle is obtuse, and the profile sometimes rather high; there are no stomachal nor pancreatic cæca. There are about 100 species described, living principally on the coral reefs of the West and East Indian archipelagos, about one quarter dwelling around the Molucca and Sunda islands. The best known is the parrot fish of the Mediterranean (S. Cretensis, Rond.), of a red or blue color according to season, highly esteemed by the ancients; it is about 15 inches long, of a general purplish color, roseous below, and violet brown on the back; the pectorals orange, ventrals with transverse lines of violet, and dorsal violet gray with golden spots and bands. There is more said of this fish in the ancient writers than of any other; in Pliny's time it was ranked

as the first of fishes, and large sums were expended to stock the Italian waters with it from the sea between Crete and Asia Minor. By the ancients it was believed to have a voice, to sleep at night (alone of fishes), to be very ardent in the pursuit of the female, to release its companions and other fishes from nets, and to have the power of ruminating; the last belief naturally arose from the backward and forward movements of the jaws rendered possible by the mode of articulation, and necessary for the complete mastication of the sea weeds upon which it principally feeds. Its flesh is tender, sweet, and easy of digestion, and the intestines and their contents were highly relished; the modern Greeks call it scaro, and consider it a fish of exquisite flavor, eating it with a sauce made of its liver and intestines, as the moderns eat plover and woodcock; its liver entered into the composition of the famous dish called "the shield of Minerva," with the brains of the peacock and pheasant, flamingoes' tongues, and the milt of the muræna eel. The red parrot fish of the West Indies (S. Abilgaardii, Val.), about 16 inches long, is a handsome species. The great parrot fish (S. guacamaia, Val.), from the same locality, attains a length of 24 or 3 feet, and a weight of 30 lbs.; the colors are red, blue, and green. Many other beautiful species are described from North America in Dr. Storer's Synopsis," and the whole genus is treated at length in vol. xiv. of the Histoire naturelle des poissons by Cuvier and Valenciennes.

PARRY, SIR WILLIAM EDWARD, an English navigator, born in Bath, Dec. 10, 1790, died at Ems, Germany, July 8, 1855. He was the son of a physician, and was intended for his father's profession; but after he had received a good education at the grammar school of his native place, a relative induced him to enter the navy. In June, 1803, he was appointed a first class volunteer on board the Ville de Paris, 110, the flag ship of Admiral Cornwallis, and remained in this vessel until 1806, when he was rated as midshipman on the Tribune frigate. Having been transferred to the Vanguard, 74, of the Baltic fleet, he was several times in action with the Danes, and in one engagement was intrusted with the command of one of his ship's boats. In 1810 he obtained his commission as lieutenant, and sailed in the Alexandria frigate to the polar seas about the North cape, where he corrected the admiralty charts of those waters. After the outbreak of war between Great Britain and the United States, he was sent to Halifax (1813) to join the La Hogue, 74, with whose boats in the spring of 1814 he ascended the Connecticut river about 20 m., and destroyed 27 privateers and other vessels with the loss of only 2 men. He remained on the North American station until 1817, when, hearing that two expeditions, the one under Buchan and Franklin and the other under Capt. Ross, were about to be sent out to the north polar regions, he solicited employment, and was placed in command of the Alexander under

the orders of Ross in the Isabella. They left England in April, 1818, and proceeded to Lancaster sound, which they navigated for about 60 m., when Ross, imagining that he saw the way closed before them by a range of mountains, gave orders to return. Parry freely expressed his conviction that the range of mountains was an optical illusion; and as the public generally coincided in this opinion, it was determined in the spring of 1819 to equip a fresh expedition under his command. With the Hecla, 375 tons, and the Griper gun brig, 180 tons, Lieut. Liddon, he reached Lancaster sound July 30, and sailed through it. He explored and named Barrow straits, Prince Regent inlet, and Wellington channel, and, entering the water which has since been called Parry sound, reached on Sept. 4 long. 110° W., thereby earning a reward of £5,000 offered by parliament to the first ship's company which should attain that meridian. He wintered at Melville island, and his expedients to preserve the health and spirits of his crews during the long arctic night were scarcely less deserving of mention than his achievements as a discoverer. Exercise was rigorously enforced, all possible precautions were taken against scurvy, and a newspaper and theatre were provided as amusements. On Aug. 2, 1820, after being frozen in for 10 months, the ships were released; but the state of the ice was such as to preclude the hope of further progress westward, and Parry accordingly returned to England, where he was welcomed with the utmost enthusiasm. He was promoted to the rank of commander, presented with the freedom of Bath and Norwich, and elected a member of the royal society, and the narrative of his adventures was published by order of the admiralty. The results of his voyage, beside the establishment of the navigability of Lancaster sound and the existence of a polar sea to the north of America, were extremely important to the science of magnetism, no observations having ever before been made so near the magnetic pole. The great problem however of the north-west passage was still unsolved, and in May, 1821, Parry sailed again with the Fury, accompanied by Capt. Lyon in the Hecla. He passed through Hudson's strait and Fox's channel, discovered and named the Duke of York's bay on the N. shore of Southampton island, and passing through Frozen strait reached Repulse bay. After a season of fruitless exploration along these waters lying immediately N. of Hudson's bay, his ships were frozen in at Winter island, Oct. 8, and were not released again until July 2. He now sailed up Fox channel to the mouth of the strait separating Melville peninsula from Cockburn island, and named it Fury and Hecla strait. As it was frozen across, he made a journey on foot to the narrowest part of the strait, whence he could see in the W. an open expanse of water which he thought was the polar sea, but which is now known as the gulf of Boothia, at the S. extremity of Prince

5

Regent inlet. On Aug. 26 they were again imprisoned by the ice, but they performed during the winter several land journeys, sufficient to convince them that any attempt to reach the polar sea through Hudson's strait was hopeless. The appearance of scurvy among his men induced him in the spring to return home, and on Oct. 10, 1823, he arrived at Brassa sound, Shetland. During his absence he had been promoted to the rank of post-captain (Nov. 8, 1821); and in Dec. 1823, he was appointed acting hydrographer to the admiralty. His "Journal of a Second Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage" was published by the admiralty in 1824. The results of these voyages, however imperfect, were sufficient to encourage further search, and the Hecla and Fury were consequently refitted as speedily as possible. In May, 1824, Capt. Parry sailed again in the Hecla, with Capt. Hoppner in the Fury under his orders. His plan was to pass through Prince Regent inlet, but winter overtook him almost at the entrance of that channel; and soon after the ice broke up, July 20, 1825, his vessels were caught in the drift and carried down the inlet. On Aug. 21 the Fury was driven ashore, and so badly damaged that she had to be abandoned. Her crew and stores were transferred to the Hecla, and, deeming it impossible to continue the voyage under such circumstances, Capt. Parry returned to England, having accomplished little or nothing. His "Journal of a Third Voyage for the Discovery of a North-West Passage" appeared in 1826. He now turned his attention to a plan originally proposed by Scoresby for reaching the pole in boats which could be fitted to sledges and floated or dragged as occasion might offer; and having improved somewhat upon the original design and obtained the sanction of the admiralty, he set sail in the Hecla, March 27, 1827, for Spitzbergen. Here the vessel was left in harbor with a part of the crew, while the remainder, led by Capt. Parry and Lieut. James C. Ross, set out for the pole in two boats, June 22. These boats were framed of ash and hickory, covered with water-proof canvas, over which were successive planks of fir and oak, with a sheet of stout felt interposed. They were flat-bottomed inside, and had runners so that they could be used as sledges. The adventurers sailed through an open sea for about 80 m., and then found, not as they had expected a solid plain of ice, but a surface half covered with water, on which walking and sailing were almost equally difficult. They entered this ice June 24, and after 5 nights of laborious travelling (for they travelled only by night to avoid snow blindness) had advanced only 10 miles. After reaching harder ice their progress became more rapid, but on July 19 a north wind sprang up which proved a more formidable obstacle than any they had yet experienced. It was found that the ice moved southward while they were travelling toward the north, and on the 24th they