POLECAT. 174 POLICE. POLECAT (probably from Fr. poule, lien + En;;. <"'.' biuilly from' J'ulc + cnl. or from OF. pulent, stinking" + Kng. cat), or Fitciiet. The largest of Kuropean martens {I'utorius fcctidus), the length of the liead and body being about eighteen inches, the length of the tail more than five inches, and the form stouter than that of the weasel. Its color is a deep blackish brown; the head. tail, and feet almost black, the under parts yellowish, the ears edged with white, and a whit- ish space around the muzzle. The hair is of two kinds — a short, woolly fur, which is pale yellow, or .somewhat tawny; and long shining, darker •hairs. (See PlateOf FtR-HK.RiNO Animals.) There is a pourli or follicle under the tail, which e.Mides a yellowish, creaniish substance with a fetid odor; and this odor is particularly strong when the animal is irritated or alarmed. Hence its name foumart (foul marten), which, with various provincial niodifications, is ])rcvalent in most parts of Great Britain. The polecat was much more common in Great Britain in former times than now. and is almost extirpated from some districts, through the con- stant war waged against it. It cats everything that the game-keeper wishes to preserve and is extremely destructive in the poultry-yard. The ferret, however, is only a seiiii-dtmiesticatcd race of this species, its natural energies controlled for the pursuit of vermin. The skin is used as a fur under the name of fitch, and is similar but inferior to that of the marten. The long hairs, jmlled out by the furrier, are utilized for making arti>ts' linisbcs. The 'polecat' of North America is the skunk, and that of South .Africa is a badger (qq.v.). POLE FLOUNDER. An elongated species of (loiinder (q.v. ), called in Great Britain 'craig llukc,' which is found in rather deep water on both coasts of the Atlantic as far south as France and Cape Cod. It is occasionally taken in great numbers in beam-trawls off the coast of New England, and is highly valued as delicate food, perhaps equal to the sole. Its Linn.tan name is Chiptoccphahis ri/noiilofimis. A nearly related species on the Paeifie coast is small, thin, and uiia|ipctizing. POL'EMON (Lat., from Gk. nn7J/iuv). A Greek geographer of the second century U.C, sur- nanied the Periegete. He was born in the district of Troas, but afterwards removed to Athens, where he obtained the citizen- ship about B.C. 200. After traveling through Greece, he wrote several geographical works, which were almost the first to contain special ref- erences to inscriptions, dedications, famous paint- ings, and public uionuments of all kinds. His works are frequently quoted by later writers, in- eluding Athen.TUs and Pausanias. The few ex- tant fragments have been collected by Jliiller. in his Frnfimrnta TUstorironim Cnr((iriim (Paris, 1R41 1 . and by Preller (Leipzig. 18.38). POL'EM:ONIA'CE.a; (Xeo-Lat. noni. pi., from Gk. —n'Af/iilji'iov, ptAemonuin. a ])lant. ]irob- ably valerian, or perhaps named in honor of the Athenian philosopher Polemon. or of a king of Pontus of the same name; popularly derived from n-<i^f/ioc, pnlptnox, war. being alleged to have been the cause of war between two kings). TnE PoT.EMO>"HM Famti.y. a natural order of 8 genera and about 200 species, mostly herbs, natives of temperate countries and particularly abundant in Western North .merica, a ivw occurring in iMirojJe, .sia and Soutli .Xnier- ica. Some of the s])ecies are favorite garden Mow- ers, as Polenioiiium cicruleum, Coba'a scandens, and species of Phlox, (Jilia, etc. Polemoiiiuni caMuleuin, .lacob's ladder or Greek valerian, is abundant in the Western mountains of the liiited States and far north. It has a stem from one to two feet high, pinnate leaves, and a panicle of blue (or white) flowers. The chief genera are Phlox, Gilia, Coba?a, Polcmonium, and Collomia. POLESIANS. A brachycephalic people be- tween liile and Little Russia, bounded on the north by (irodno and Jlinsk. on the .south by Vol- hynia, and on the west by Poland. They are iso- lated in the marshes of Piiisk anil along the swamps of the Pripet Kiver and have a cephalic index of 8.5. The I'olcsians are supposed to have an infusion of Polish blood, which accounts for their broad heads. Consult Kittieh. Die lliiiipt- st'iimnie der liuioicn, quoted bv Kipley, The Races of Europe (New York, 1899)". POLE STAB, or Poi.Anis. The nearest con- s])i(iious star to the north pole of the heavens. The second-magnitude star which at the present time goes under the name of Pole star is the star a in the constellation of Ursa Minor. By examin- ing attentively the movements of the stars throughout a clear night, we observe that they, describe circles which are largest for stars near the celestial equator, and become smaller and smallnr as we approach a certain ]ioint (the north pole), close to which is the star above men- tioned. The Pole star is, however, a little less than I'.j" from the pole, and has a small but sensible motion around it. (See Pole.) Owing to the motion of the pole of the heavens arniind the iiole of the ecliptic (see Pbeck.ssion ) . this star will in course of time (about 2100) apinoach to within 28' from the north pole, and will then recede from it. At the time of IIip])archiis (is.c. 150) it was 12°, and in 178.5 2° from the north pole. Its place can easil.v be found in the heav- ens, for a line drawn between the stars a and /3 (called the two pointers, from this peculiarity) of the constellation Ursa ^Ma.jor or the (Jrcat Bear, and iiroduccd northward for about AVi times its own length will almost touch the Pole star. Two thousand years ago the star /? of Ursa Minor was the Pole star; and about 2.300 years before the Christian Era the star n in the "constellation of the Dragon was not more than 10' from the north pole: while about 12.000 years from now the bright star Vega in Lyra will be within .5° of it. The south pole of the heavens is not similarly marked by the neighborhood of a bright star, thouirh there is a small telescopic star very close to it. POLE VAULTING. See Field Sports, and Plate c.f Athletics. POLICE (from Lat. pnlifia, from Gk. ro'/iTtia, potitrla. state, government, citizenship, from T'l/'iVz/r, pnlitex. citizen, from ■!!-6}.ir^ poUx. city). In its broader significance, the whole internal ad- ministration of a State less the judicial jiower. In a more restricted sense the term police denotes that sphere of governmental activity which has to do with the maintenance of the public peace, order, and security, and the ])rotection of the pub- lic health and morals. (See Police Power.) In this article the use of the term is still further
