PENCIL MANUFACTURE 529 



from the root. The pectate may be decomposed by a stronger acid, but it is better tc 

 decompose it by muriate of lime ; whereby a peetate of lime, in a gelatinous form, 

 quite insoluble in water, is obtained. This having been washed with cold water upon 

 a cloth, is to be boiled in water containing as much muriatic acid as will saturate the 

 lime. The pectic acid thus liberated, remains under the form of a colourless jelly, which 

 reddens litmus-paper, and tastes sour, even after it is entirely deprived of the muriatic 

 acid. Cold water dissolves very little of it ; it is more soluble in boiling water. The 

 solution is colourless, does not coagulate on cooling, and hardly reddens litmus-paper; 

 but it gelatinises when alcohol, acids, alkalis, or salts are added to it. Even sugar 

 transforms it, after some time, into a gelatinous state : a circumstance which serves to 

 explain the preparation of apple, cherry, raspberry, gooseberry, and other jellies. 



PECTIN, or vegetable jelly, is obtained by mixing alcohol with the juice of ripe 

 currants, or any similar fruit, till a gelatinous precipitate takes place ; which is to be 

 gently squeezed in a cloth, washed with a little weak alcohol, and dried. Thus pre- 

 pared, pectin is insipid, without action upon litmus ; in small pieces, semi-transparent, 

 and of a membranous aspect, like isinglass. Its mucilaginous solution in cold water 

 is not tinged blue with iodine. 



Fremy has published a very comprehensive investigation on the ripening of fruit, in 

 which he shows that this peculiar body only exists in fruit arrived at maturity. Not 

 a trace of pectin can be detected in the juice expressed from an unripe apple ; but on 

 boiling the juice for some seconds with the pulp, pectin immediately appears, and is 

 indicated by the liquid becoming viscid. Fremy considers the following as the only 

 way to procure pure pectin : 



From the juice of ripe pears, expressed in the cold, and filtered, the lime is to 

 be separated by means of oxalic acid, and the albuminous substance by the aid of 

 tannic acid. From this liquid pectin is now precipitated by means of alcohol ; it 

 separates in long threads, which after being washed with alcohol are to be dissolved 

 in water, and again precipitated with alcohol. This is to be repeated three or four 

 times, until the liquid t is free from sugar and oxalic acid ; hot water must be avoided 

 in these operations. 



PELtlTORY OP SPAIKT. Pyrethrum officinale. A native of the East. The 

 root when chewed produces a hot sensation. It is used for toothache. 



PELTRY. (Pelleterie, Fr. ; Pelzwerk, Ger.) This term comprehends all the skins 

 of the wild animals found in high northern latitudes, especially on the American 

 continent. Under FUR these are described. It should be understood that when the 

 skins are received in their unprepared state they are properly called peltry or pelts ; 

 when tawed or tanned they become furs. See FUR DRESSING. 



PSLT WO OIi. Wool plucked from the pelts or skins of sheep after they are dead. 



PEIKMXC.A.XT. The North American Indians cut the muscular portions of meat 

 into thin slices, having separated the fat, and dry it in the sun. This tough dry meat 

 cannot undergo putrefaction ; it is stamped closely together with a portion of fat, and 

 preserved in buflalo- and deer-skins. This pemmican affords the largest amount of 

 nutritive food in the least quantity of solid matter. 



PENAWG CASTES are small palms which are brought from the island of Penang. 



PENCIL BLUE. See CALICO-PRINTING. 



PEW C III MANUFACTURE. ( Crayons, fdbrique dc, Fr. ; Bleistifte Verfertigung, 

 Ger.) The word ' pencil' is used in two senses. It signifies either a small hair-brush 

 employed by painters in oil and water-colours, or a slender cylinder of black-lead or 

 plumbago, either naked or enclosed in a wooden case, for drawing black lines upon 

 paper. The last sort, which is the one to be considered here, corresponds nearly to 

 the French term crayon, though this includes also pencils made of differently-coloured 

 earthy compositions. See CRAYON ; DRAWING CHALKS. 



The best black-lead pencils of this country are formed of slender parallelepipeds, 

 cut out by a saw, from sound pieces of plumbago, especially such as have been ob- 

 tained from Borrowdale, in Cumberland. (See PLUMBAGO). These parallelepipeds 

 are generally enclosed in cases made of ' cedar wood,' though of late years they are also 

 used alone, under the name of ever-pointed pencils, in peculiar pencil-cases, provided 

 with an iron wire and screw, to protrude a minute portion of the plumbago beyond 

 the tubular metallic case, in proportion as it is wanted. The wood commonly used 

 for pencils, though called ' cedar,' is really a juniper, being usually obtained from the 

 Juniperus Virginiana. 



Pieces of plumbago sufficiently large to be thus employed are very rare,, aud the 

 supply from the Cumberland mine can no longer be relied on. The mine has been 

 closed for many years. In 1859 a company was formed for again working it, but failed 

 to discover any plumbago of value. This year (1874) another attempt is being made 

 to develope the mine. Many efforts have been made to utilise the smaller frag- 



VOL. III. M M 



