PELOSIXE. 



PEN. 



nuy pUee the fullest dependence. HU history ends abruptly in the 

 year 411 H.I. rVr thr rest of the war we have to follow Xrnophon 

 and Diodonu. The value of Xeuophon's history ia impaired by Ilia 

 uvjuilicM, and that of Diodonu by hi* careleaaneaa. 



I'KU'SINK (CnH^JfO^ObMMIMHML Therootof the CbMMpefat 

 pan-in* contain* a peculiar alkaloid, to which then names have been 

 given. It piueuiU the appearance of an amorjihoiui white powder, 

 which U inodorous, but has a sweetish bitter taste. It it insoluble in 

 water, and posMMes the same composition as codeine. When pelosine 

 is exposed to moisture, air and light, it become* yellow, disengages 

 ^pimnnU, and becomes converted into ixUulciiu (C M H.,NG e ). 



PEHPHIOUS is a disease of the akin, consisting of the eruption of 

 one or more rather Urge busters, containing serous fluid, and termi- 

 nating either in thin scale*, in superficial excoriations, or in ulceration. 

 The common and most acute form of pemphigus is usually preceded 

 by shivering, and accompanied by slight fcverishness ; the eruption 

 appears on some part of the body from one to four days after the 

 beginning of the illness, with a pricking sensation and bright redness 

 of the part affected. Within 24 hours afterwards the busters begin to 

 rise, and increase in size till they are most frequently as large as nuts, 

 but often much larger, and sometimes smaller. They then, after two 

 or three days, burst, and leave the skin raw and painful. A thin scab 

 usually forms over the exposed skin, and after a few days more, drops 

 off and leaves it healthy, but redder, and with a thinner cuticle than 

 ntnrl The treatment should consist of gentle purgatives, and cool- 

 ing medicines and diet ; the local applications, if any, should be mild 

 dressing*, merely for the purpose of defending the raw surfaces from 

 the air and injury. The disease will thus usually run its course to 



:.'....: PI \ 



A more obstinate form in the chronic pemphigus, which occurs in 

 old or very debilitated persons. The blisters appear one after the 

 other, through an indefinite length of time, some breaking out while 

 others are healing or ulcerating or even sloughing. They are so com- 

 monly the accompaniments of other more serious disorders, that the 

 local affections of the skin in these cases are seldom the objects of 

 peculiar treatment ; if the condition of debility on which they ore 

 grafted can be relieved, they also will soon disappear. 



A third form is that termed infantile or gangrenous pemphigus. It 

 is entirely confined to children, and especially affects those who are 

 less than five years old. It occurs sometimes as on epidemic, and is 

 very common among the children of the poor in Ireland, where it is 

 known under the name of white blisters, burnt-holes, eating-hive, &c. 

 The blisters in this form ore usually succeeded by deep ulcers, which 

 enlarge rapidly and discharge profusely, and have dork livid edges and 

 a remarkable smell. The child at the some time becomes emaciated 

 and weak, and often about the eighth day of the disease sinks into a 

 state of debility which soon terminates fatally. 



PEN. This simple but useful little instrument was formerly made 

 of reed ; but the quill has been used in this country for the purpose 

 for about five hundred years ; and metal ia now adopted still more 

 largely. 



Quill Peru. Under FEATHERS on account U given of the mode of 

 preparing goose-quills, up to the point where they pass to the pun- 

 maker. Of the common method of making pens by hand it is not 

 necessary to speak; we shall therefore only say a few words upon 

 the manufacture of " quill nibs." The barrel of the quill in the 

 first place has both ends cut off, and is divided down the centre ; the 

 halves are then laid on their convex side and the edges shaved smooth ; 

 after this they are divided into three or four lengths each, and the 

 end of each length is mode into a pen by a small machine, which at 

 one stroke makes the slit and cuts the shoulders; they are then 

 finished by being nibbed by bond. Small pocket machines ore sold 

 by cutlers for making pens on the same principle as that used in the 

 manufacture of the nibs ; but they are expensive, and require careful 

 usage, or they soon get out of order. 



The pen used for Oerman text, old English, engrossing, and 

 other black hands as they are called, differs in make, but still 

 more in application, from that employed for ordinary writing. 

 The nib is made as broad as the intended thick or down stroke 

 of the writing ; and in using it no pressure ia required to open 

 the nibs, as in making a. thick stroke by .the common pen. The 

 only use of the slit is to give greater elasticity to the point, and to 

 form a channel for the ink. For very large writing two other slits ore 

 tmmitinvn made, one in each shoulder ; a pen made in this manner 

 works more freely, and does not tire the hand so much as if made 

 with one slit only. The fine or up strokes are produced by throwing 

 the pen to one of the angles of its nib, generally that to the left of the 

 hand in writing, by a turn of the wrist, and a practised hand con pro- 

 duce in this manner the finest hair-stroke. These pens are made of 

 the Turkey quill, the goose quill being too weak for the purpose. In 

 making the slit, in all quills, but more particularly in these, it is 

 necessary that they should bo well scraped, as the upper surface, being 

 formed of fibres lying in rings around the quill, will otherwise cause 

 the slit to be ragged. 



Bono pens are now made to some extent in France ; or rather bone 

 nibs, requiring to be fixed into some kind of han>l]< . 



fUttl fetu. Owing to the constant necessity for mending quill ]>ens, 

 the low of time consequent thereon, and the inequality of the writing, 



on immense amount of labour and ingenuity has been employed to 

 produce some more durable substitute. The only one, how. \ < > . wUoh 

 has attained to anything like general use is the steel pen. These 

 pens are manufactured to an amount in quantity, and at a coat so 

 small, as hardly to be credible. Different makers have different modes 

 of operation, but the following will give a general idea of the method 

 employed. In the first place flat pieces of steel are cut out, of the 

 shape required, by a stamping-press; they are then placed under 

 another press, which pierces the holes and cuts the slits ; and they are 

 struck into their convex shape by a third press. They are then 

 polished and tempered. The polishing is managed in rather a curious 

 manner : a quantity of pens ore shut up in an iron cylinder, leaving 

 a considerable apace unoccupied ; this cylinder is attached at each end 

 to a crank, the axes of which are connected by a wheel and set in 

 motion by a handle or by machinery. Thus by being rubbed against 

 each other the pens come out well polished, and with all the burrs "or 

 sharp angles left by the cutting-presses rubbed smooth. It is impos- 

 sible to follow with anything like accuracy the mming spread of this 

 manufacture. Steel pens fell in price from sixpence each to sixpence 

 a dozen ; then by degrees to sixpence a gross ; and they can now 

 be purchased at fourpence a gross, box included. Some of the 

 largest and finest establishments in Birmingham are for the manu- 

 facture of steel pens. Before the general introduction of stoel for tliU 

 purpose, silver was occasionally used, when intended for presents ; and 

 brass when intended to accompany cheap brass inkstands, that were 

 mode some years ago. Sometimes quill pens were armed with metallic 

 nibs, but this plan was not found to answer; nor was the substitution 

 of tortoiseshell for quill much better. It has been found more 

 practicable, although necessarily costly, to employ small fragments of 

 precious gems for the nibs, and to imbed these in pens made of gold ; 

 the gold resists the corrosive action of the ink, while the gem will bear & 

 large amount of work without wearing away. Diamond and ruby havu 

 been thus employed. There ore also certain rare metals, especially 

 rhodium, occasionally employed for this purpose, on account of their 

 great hardness and durability. Qold pens with rhodium nibs are now 

 made in the following way : Sheet or plate gold, about s ',nd of an inch 

 in thickness, is cut by means of a die into stubs, or small pieces, each 

 piece having a point at one end. A machine then indents the point 

 for the reception of the nib. Small particles of rhodium, as obtained 

 from platinum ores, sometimes sell at prices varying from 1 /. to 20/. 

 per ounce ; and one such particle is fastened to the golden point with 

 gold solder. The gold ia then rolled to the proper length and thickness, 

 care being taken to have dents in the rollers to accommodate the hard 

 bit of rhodium. The gold, after being hammered to give it elasticity, 

 is cut to the proper shape with a die, stamped with the maker's naiuu 

 and any other device, and turned up to the rounded quill-like form. 

 The rhodium is then split into a nib by a rapidly-revolving copper disc ; 

 and another machine extends the slit into the gold. The point is 

 ground on a revolving copper wheel ; the gold is made elastic by being 

 rubbed with a small hard stone and water ; and the finished pen is 

 finally polished. 



fountain Pen is a pen made with a reservoir in its stem or holder, 

 to supply ink for some time without replenishing. The nib is in most 

 cases supplied by a small valve, which may be closed when not in use. 

 The varieties are very numerous ; but it cannot be said that the plan 

 is successful, for no one variety has obtained an extensive and 

 permanent sale. 



Music Pent. There are two kinds of pen used for the purpose of 

 writing music ; the one to rule the lines, and the other to make the 

 dots. The former is a piece of brass with five prongs or points, in each 

 of which is a channel for the ink, which is supplied from a small cup 

 in the solid part of the pen just above the division of the points. The 

 latter is a mere tube with a hole in its side for supplying it with ink, 

 and a small wire or piston fitted within it. The ink flows between tin; 

 wire and its case, and the dot is made by placing the pen upon the 

 spot, and pressing the wire down upon the paper. 



Geometric Pen. This is an instrument invented by Suardi, on Italian, 

 for drawing geometric curves. These curves may by combination be 

 made to form an almost infinite variety of patterns. The pen is supported, 

 as shown in the diagram, by three legs bowed so as to allow room for 

 the instrument to work within them. These legs abut together by the 

 joint at the top for the convenience of package. Attached to the joint 

 is a stem or axis x, upon the lower end of which is fixed the t<>ilu-il 

 wheel A ; this stem, with its wheel, U stationary, and all the other parts 

 of the instrument move round it. Just above the wheel A is a small tube 

 or cannon, c, to which is attached an arm carrying two boxes and 

 spindles for supporting the wheels I>B; the spindle i; is continued 

 downwards, and terminates in a socket s, through which passes an arm 

 carrying the pencil or tracer, T. The two wheel boxes, D B, on the one 

 arm, and the socket, 8, on the other, may be fixed at any part of their 

 respective anna by means of screws for that purpose. Fixed to the 

 tube c i* a small circular plate of metal with a milled edge, by which 

 the instrument is moved around its axis by the thumb and finger. 



The sort of curves produced by this instrument depends upon throe 

 circumstances ! first, the relative size of the wheels A and B ; second, 

 whether the wheel n be employed or not, or in other words, whether 

 the two arms move in directions contrary or similar to each other (this 

 wheel has no effect otherwise, and may be of any convenient size) ; and 



