T. Love Peacock, 

 British author 



PEACOCK BLUE 



he left school early to enter busi- 

 ness in London, but studied much 

 in his leisure and acquired a good 

 knowledge of the classics. In 1812 

 he met Shelley, and was closely 

 associated with him for some years. 

 In 1819 he entered the service of 

 the East India Company and 

 proved a most capable official. The 

 best of his poems is Rhododaphne, 



Baeaammrnmmmanmmm* 1818, which 



shows the in- 

 fluence of 

 Shelley, but 

 he deserves to 

 be remem- 

 bered rather 

 for Ins satiric 

 novels, such 

 as Headlong 

 Hall, 1816; 

 Nightmare 

 Abbey, 1818 ; Maid Marian, 1822 ; 

 and Crotchet Castle, 1831. He died 

 at Halliford, near Chertsey, Jan. 

 23, 1866. One of his daughters 

 married George Meredith (q.v. ). 

 See Works, with Memoirs, ed. 

 H. Cole, 1875, and R. Garnett, 

 1891 ; Life, C. van Daren, 191 1 ; 

 T L.P., A. M. Freeman, 1911. 



Peacock Blue. Greenish-blue 

 tint found in the peacock's plum- 

 age, and reproduced as a composite 

 colour in the painter's palette. It 

 is the dominant note in Whistler's 

 famous decoration of the Peacock 

 Room at Prince's Gate, London. 



Peak. Wild tableland of Derby- 

 shire, England. It is in the N.W. 

 of the county, forming the S. end 

 of the Pennine Chain. Its highest 

 point is Kinder Scout (2,088 ft.), 

 other heights being Axe Edge, 

 near Buxton (1,860 ft.), and Mam 

 Tor (1,700 ft.). Castleton is re- 

 garded as the capital of the Peak, 

 and Chatsworth is known as the 

 palace of the Peak. Peveril Castle, 

 near Castleton, figures in Scott's 

 Peveril of the Peak. The Peak has 

 no very definite limits, although it 

 may be described as the district N. 

 of Buxton. It is a wild, moorland 

 area, watered by a number of 

 streams that feed the Derwent. 

 On it are stone quarries, and grouse 

 are shot on the moors. Peak 

 Forest is a station on the Mid. Rly., 

 36 m. from Derby. The Peak 

 Cavern is a cave at Castleton, 

 which goes 500 yards into the 

 limestone. 



Pea Nut (Arochis kypogaea). 

 Herb of the natural order Legu- 

 minosae, better known as the 

 ground nut (q.v. ) or monkey nut. 

 . Pear (Pyrus. communis). Tree 

 of the natural order Rosaceae. It 

 is a native of Britain, and from E. 

 Europe to the Himalayas. The soil 

 in which the pear thrives best is a 

 deep, rich loam, free from clay sub- 

 soil. When once established pears 



PEARL 



them on a sunny 

 shelf in a heated 

 greenhouse. The 

 pear, particularly 

 in an uncooked 

 state, should be 

 avoided by per- 

 sons with a ten- 

 dency to bilious- 

 ness. Pears are 

 grown in the S. 

 and W. of Eng- 

 land for the man u- 

 facture of perry, a 

 mildly alcoholic 

 beverage pre- 

 pared'in the same 

 way as is cider 

 from apples. See 

 Perry. 



Pearl. Secre- 

 tion deposited by 

 many bivalve 

 molluscs, oysters 

 and mussels, and 

 a few univalves, 

 in the form of a 





Pearl. 



1. OF 

 off 1 



'urtle Island, 1909. 



2. Shell containing a fine pearl, found 

 3. Cluster of Japanese pearl oysters 



liberally repay a weekly dose of 

 solution of nitrate of soda during 

 the summer months. They are 

 propagated in the same way as 

 apples, chiefly by grafting, but 

 the best stock to employ is the 

 quince (q.v. ), except for standards. 

 Late pears should never be left 

 , on the trees 

 after the middle 

 of November, 

 but picked and 

 carefully stored 



in a well-aired 

 room, on wood- f 

 en shelves, care 

 being taken 

 that one fruit 

 does not touch 

 another. They 

 may be arti- ; Mtt 



ficially ripened ~ 

 whpn rfpsirpd Pear. Fruitofaculti- 

 a vated variety. Top, 

 by placing left, British wild pear 



great number of thin layers ot cal- 

 cium carbonate, one upon the 

 other. Whether found as oval, 

 spherical, or irregularly shaped 

 independent objects, as " blisters " 

 attached to the shells, or as the 

 smooth, inner lining of the shells, 

 called mother-of-pearl, the main 

 composition is identical, though 

 in some instances special colouring 

 matter is present. The beautiful 

 iridescent play of colour, pearly lus- 

 tre or "orient,'' is due to irregular 

 refraction caused by obstruction to 

 light by the numerous thin layers. 

 Pearls of line shape- are formed 

 within the mantle, or fleshy sub- 

 stance, of the mollusc, while irregu- 

 larly shapeu pearls and blisters 

 are formed between the lish and 

 the shell or even on tne shell 

 itself. 



Pearls dissolve in acids, dis- 

 colour if exposed" to alkali, or even 

 to constant warmth against human 

 skin. They are light in weight and 

 comparatively soft, the degree of 

 hardness being between 3 and 4. 



