Part 382

POUTRELLE, Fr. a small beam.

POWDER. See GUNPOWDER.

POWDER-magazine, a bomb-proof arched building to hold the powder in fortified places, &c. containing several rows of barrels laid one over another. See MAGAZINE.

POWDER-cart, a two wheeled carriage, covered with an angular roof of boards. To prevent the powder from getting damp, a tarred canvas is put over the roof; and on each side are lockers to hold shot, in proportion to the quantity of powder, which is generally four barrels.

POWDER-mill, a building in which the materials are beat, mixed together, and grained: they are placed near rivers, and as far from any house as can be, for fear of accidents, which often happen. See MILL.

POWER, a natural faculty of doing or suffering any thing. Mr. Locke, in his Essay on the Human Understanding, considers power under two heads. One he calls active and the other passive power.

POWER, in military affairs as well as in all others, is knowlege--of human passions--of arms--of distances--of the skill and numbers of an enemy.

To be in the POWER of any body, in a figurative sense, to have committed yourself in such a manner, as to be under the necessity of keeping upon good terms with a person who might injure you by a disclosure of your secrets. To avoid putting yourself in the power of any man, hear much, say little, and write less. These are maxims which every public character ought to attend to; and every general should cautiously follow during an active campaign, when there are frequent occasions to communicate with spies, &c. and he is not unfrequently obliged to hold intercourse with suspected persons.

To be in the POWER of an enemy. To have taken up, injudiciously, such a position as to expose you to a defeat whenever the enemy may think proper to attack you.

POWERS of lines and quantities, are their squares, cubes, &c. or other multiplications of the parts into the whole, or of one part into another.

Small POX. A disease to which most infants, adults, &c. are exposed; and which has been rendered less malignant by inoculation. The introduction of a humor, called the Cow Pox, or Vaccine Matter, into the human system, has lately been found extremely beneficial. When recruits join a regiment they should be examined respecting this disease; and no time should be lost to vaccinate them.

Great POX, commonly called the venereal disease. Few men are more likely to catch this cruel disorder than soldiers; and in no case ought the attention of the regimental surgeon to be more imperiously engaged than in the speedy cure of it. In the navy, where the disease is often prevalent, the surgeons are entitled to receive a certain sum of money, which is stopped out of the pay of their venereal patients, for extraordinary trouble and attendance. In the army of the U. States the soldiers are treated in this as in all other diseases. The soldier should be liable to stoppages. Every officer of a company, who has the welfare of his soldiers at heart, should examine their linen at the weekly inspections, as the disorder generally manifests itself, particularly in its first stages, in stains upon the shirt.

PRACTICABLE. A word frequently used in military matters to express the possible accomplishment of any object. Hence, “a practicable breach.”

PRACTICE, or gun-practice. In the spring, as soon as the weather permits, the exercise of the great guns begins, for the purpose of shewing the gentlemen cadets at the British military academy at Woolwich, and the private men, the manner of laying, loading, pointing, and firing the guns. Sometimes instruments are used to find the centre line, or two points, one at the breech, the other at the muzzle, which are marked with chalk, and whereby the piece is directed to the target: then a quadrant is put into the mouth, to give the gun the required elevation, which at first is guessed at, according to the distance the target is from the piece. When the piece has been fired, it is sponged, to clear it from any dust or sparks of fire that may remain in the bore, and loaded: then the centre line is found, as before; and if the shot went too high or too low, to the right or to the left, the elevation and trail are altered accordingly. This practice continues morning and evening for about six weeks, more or less, according as there are a greater or less number of recruits. In the mean time others are shown the motions of quick firing with field-pieces. There is no practice in the army of the U. States, in which there are officers of ten or twelve years standing who never saw a mortar loaded; but this is the effect of a total want of system.

Mortar PRACTICE, generally thus: a line of 1500 or 2000 yards is measured in an open spot of ground, from the place where the mortars stand, and a flag fixed at about 300 or 500 yards: this being done, the ground where the mortars are to be placed is prepared and levelled with sand, so that they may lie at an elevation of 45, or any required number of degrees; then they are loaded with a small quantity of powder at first, which is increased afterwards, by an ounce every time, till they are loaded with a full charge: the times of the flights of the shells are observed, to determine the length of the fuzes. The intention of this practice is, when a mortar-battery is raised in a siege, to know what quantity of powder is required to throw the shells in to the works at a given distance, and at what elevation, and to cut the fuzes of a just length, that the shell may burst as soon as it touches the ground.

PRACTICE-Book. See BOOK.

To PRACTICE. In a military sense, to go through the manual and platoon exercises, or through the various manœuvres, &c. for the purpose of becoming thoroughly master of military movements. Practice is likewise used, in imitation of the French, to signify the act of effecting or executing any military operation, viz. to practise a mine beneath the covert way, &c.

PRAME, Fr. A sort of boat or barge which is used on the canals in France.

PRAME, in military history, a kind of floating battery, being a flat bottomed vessel, which draws little water, mounts several guns, and is very useful in covering the disembarkation of troops. They are generally made use of in transporting the troops over the lakes in America. These vessels are well calculated for the defence of large havens and seaports. Belair, in his Elements de Fortification, page 397, strongly recommends the use of Prames in cases of inundation, &c. See the improvements proposed by him in page 316, where he speaks of “Bateaux insubmersibles.”

Di PRATICA, Ital. Free intercourse; admitted to pratique. Persons who, having performed quarantine, are permitted to land in Italy, and mix with the inhabitants.

PRACTICABLE, Fr. See PRACTICABLE. This word is in general use among the French, viz.

Les chemins ne sont pas PRACTICABLES. The roads are not passable.

Le gué n’est pas PRACTICABLE dans se moment-ci. The river is not fordable at this moment; verbatim, the ford is not practicable at this moment.

PRATIQUE, Fr. Practice. The term likewise signifies, among the French, commerce, intercourse, traffic, &c.

Avoir PRATIQUE avec des insulaires, Fr. To trade, or have intercourse with the inhabitants of islands.

Une PRATIQUE eclairée, Fr. A project undertaken and put into execution upon solid principles.

Une PRATIQUE aveugle, Fr. A plan ill digested, and executed without discernment or ability.

PRATIQUES, Fr. In the plural, this term signifies the same as mal-practices, or secret intelligence with an enemy, viz.