PLUMAGE 



6198 



PLUMER 



order to admit light, 

 air, and sunshine. On 

 walls the pruning neces- 

 sary to keep the trees 

 in shape will be found 

 ample for all needs. See 

 Bladder Plum ; Dam- 

 son ; Fruit Farm ; Green- 

 gage; Sloe. 



Plumage. Collective 

 term for the feathers 

 with which birds are 

 clothed. The plumage 

 of young birds differs 

 from that of adults of 

 the same species, and 

 after they have reached maturity 

 they are subject to periodical 

 moultings, in some species once, 

 in others twice a year. In 1922 

 a plumage act was passed by 

 Parliament with the object of pro- 

 tecting such birds as the egret 

 from wanton destruction. See 

 Birds, colour plate ; Feather ; 

 Protective Colouring ; colour plate. 



Plumbaginaceae OR PLUMBAGO 

 FAMILY. Natural order of herbs 

 and a few shrubs, natives of all 

 regions. They have regular flowers, 

 with a tubular, five-lobed calyx, 

 and five petals with long claws 

 which are sometimes united to 

 form a tube. There are about 200 

 species in eight genera, which in- 

 clude the familiar Sea Pinks 

 (Statice) and Sea Lavenders 

 (Limonium). 



Plumbago (Plumbago capen- 

 *w). Climbing or trailing shrub of 

 the natural order Plumbaginaceae, 



Plumbago. Flowers of P. capensis 



native of S. Africa. It has alter- 

 nate, oblong leaves, and short 

 spikes of pale blue, salver-shaped 

 flowers. P. rosea, from the East 

 Indies, has an erect stem, branch- 

 ing above, and long spikes of rosy- 

 scarlet flowers. The Chinese plant 

 known in gardens as Lady Lar- 

 pent's plumbago (Ceratostigma 

 plumbaginoides) belongs to an 

 allied genus. 



Plumbago. Alternative name 

 for the mineral form of carbon 

 more commonly known as graphite 

 (q.v.). See Lead. 



Plumber (Lat. plumbum, lead). 

 Term for a worker in lead, but 

 now used fpr any workman who is 

 concerned with the fixing and 

 mending of pipes, etc., used for 

 water supply, and sanitary fixtures 

 of a building. A plumber's work 

 also consists in protecting roofs 

 with sheet lead, the fixing of water 

 gutters and other rain-water con- 

 ductors, pipes, and their connex- 

 ions. The term plumber is occasion- 

 ally used for workmen who fit any 

 kind of piping. 



Plumbers' Company, THE. 

 London city livery company. Its 

 records date from about 1365, but 

 it was first incor- . 

 porated in 1611. 



The hall in Che- 

 quer Yard, Dow- 

 gate Hill, rebuilt 

 1830, was re- 

 moved in 1865, 

 and the site is 

 covered by Can- ^V^ 



non Street rly. Plumbers' Co. arms 

 station. In recent years the com- 

 pany has done much to promote the 

 technical education and registra- 

 tion of plumbers. The office is at 

 15, Great St. Helen's, E.G. See 

 The Plumbers' Company in An- 

 cient and Modern Times, 1902. 



Plumbing. Literally, working 

 in lead. Vitravius (Bk. viii, cap. 

 6) mentions the " deep pallor " 

 of plumbers, and infers the un- 

 healthiness of their occupation. 

 Plumbing was therefore in his day 

 a recognized business ; but it was 

 not until after the Renaissance that 

 leadwork in buildings came into 

 general use. Modern plumbing is 

 (1) structural, as in the formation 

 of lead cisterns, coverings to roofs, 

 of lead gutters, of flashings to 

 cover joints (as between chimney 

 and roof, etc.); and (2) sanitary, 

 as in the fixing and jointing of 

 pipes used for flushing closets, 

 filling and emptying baths, in- 

 stalling pipes for water-supply, etc. 



In (1) the processes are beat- 

 ing out sheet-lead to the required 

 shape and thickness ; jointing it 

 with solder or by " burning " to- 

 gether the edges of the sheets ; 



Plum. Varieties of the fruit pro- 

 duced by cultivation. 1. Monarch. 

 2. Elvers' Early. 3. Victoria. 4. 

 Golden 



fixing it, with tacks or otherwise, 

 to various materials. This union 

 may be effected with a lead- burn- 

 ing machine, a blowlamp or blow- 

 pipe, or a particular form of solder- 

 ing iron. In (2) the bending, 

 cutting, and jointing of pipes are 

 the chief operations. Blowpipe 

 joints are not much in favour, 

 "wiped" joints being preferred. 



In joint-wiping, the end of one 

 pipe is expanded to admit about 

 three-quarters of an inch of the 

 other pipe. Molten solder (two 

 parts lead, one part tin) is then 

 poured on in such a way as to 

 cement the union, the solder being 

 dexterously wiped to neat shape 

 with a piece of stout fustian or 

 similar cloth. Many unsuccessful 

 attempts have been made to pass 

 through Parliament a Bill for the 

 compulsory registration of plum- 

 bers, and many local authorities re- 

 fuse to employ or recognize any but 

 " registered plumbers, who obtain 

 that title by passing certain specific 

 examinations conducted by the 

 Plumbers' Company. See Building. 



Plume Bird. Name sometimes 

 applied to birds of paradise of the 

 genus Epimachu*. See Bird of 

 Paradise. 



Plumer, HERBERT CHARLES ONS- 

 LOW, 1st BARON (b. 1857). British 

 soldier. Born March 13, 1857, a 

 son of Hall Plumer of Torquay, he 

 entered the army, York and Lan- 

 caster Regt., in 1876, and served 

 with it in the Sudan in 1884. Hav- 

 ing reached the rank of major, he 

 came into the public eye by raising 

 and commanding a mounted force 

 during the rising of the Matabele 



