PERENNIALS 



4584 



PERFUME 



to American anglers are the pike perch and the 

 yellow perch. The former, called locally wall- 

 eyed pike, salmon, jack salmon, blow fish, pike, 

 dory and other more or less appropriate names, 

 is found abundantly throughout the Great 

 Lakes region, and in many streams and lakes 

 in the Mississippi Valley, especially those with 

 clear water and rocky or sandy bottom. In- 

 dividuals vary considerably in size, the largest 

 specimens being three feet long and weighing 

 twenty-five pounds. Those caught in the Great 

 Lakes, however, are not usually over ten pounds 

 in weight, and others are not more than two 

 pounds. The prevailing color also varies, be- 

 ing yellow, gray or blue. The flesh is very 

 agreeable and is firm and white. At Put-in- 

 Bay, on Lake Erie, the United States Fish 

 Commission has an important hatchery for the 

 propagation of the pike perch. 



The yellow perch, also abundant in the Great 

 Lakes region, and in the lakes of New England 

 and New York, is found as far north as Nova 

 Scotia and the Saint Lawrence River, and it 

 also inhabits most of the smaller lakes of the 

 upper Mississippi Valley. The average fish is 

 about a foot long and weighs two pounds or 

 less. In color it is a golden yellow, of varying 

 brightness; the sides are marked with several 

 dark bars; the flesh is very sweet and appe- 

 tizing. Yellow perch having a value of $300,- 

 000 are caught on the Great Lakes each year 

 and shipped to inland markets. 



PERENNIALS, peren'ialz, a term in bot- 

 any, derived from two Latin words meaning 

 through and year, and applied to plants that 

 live and blossom for more than two years, 

 sometimes, as in the case of trees, year after 

 year, or indefinitely. Plants whose life-span is 

 two years are called biennials, and those which 

 live a single year are called annuals. This 

 classification, however, is not hard and fast, 

 for the above-ground parts of some plants are 

 annual, while those below the soil are peren- 

 nial. Some shrubs and herbs, such as the cas- 

 tor-oil plant, are perennials in their native 

 habitat; nevertheless, when grown in cold cli- 

 mates, they live but a year. Therefore the 

 term perennial is most commonly used to desig- 

 nate plants all parts of which endure for more 

 than two years. 



Related Subjects. The reader Is referred to 

 the following articles in these volumes : 



Annuals 

 Biennials 



Botany 

 Plant 



PERFECTIONISTS, per fek' shun ists. See 

 ONEIDA COMMUNITY. 



PERFUME, pur' fume. We read in the Bible 

 that when the wise men from the East came 

 to visit the child Jesus they brought with them 

 costly gifts, among which were gold and the 

 sweet-scented gums, frankincense and myrrh. 

 As far back as we can trace religious ceremonies 

 we find that perfumes, usually in the form of 

 incense, were associated with them, and it is 

 probable that from this association arose the 

 ancient custom of presenting the gums as a 

 token of esteem for the one to whom they were 

 piven. Be this as it may, perfumes have been 

 held in high regard in all ages, and their manu- 

 facture to-day may be considered as one of the 

 fine arts. Perfumes may be classified as ani- 

 mal, vegetable and artificial. 



Animal Perfumes. The animal odors used in 

 perfumery are ambergris, castor, civet and 

 musk. (Each of these except castor is described 

 under its title; for castor, see BEAVER.) Ani- 

 mal odors are of great value because of their 

 permanence and their penetrating power. Musk 

 and civet, for instance, will impart their aroma 

 to objects without coming in contact with them. 

 Preparations of animal perfumes are used in the 

 manufacture of various perfumes into which 

 they enter in small proportions. Civet is ex- 

 tensively employed in sachet and other toilet 

 powders. Musk constitutes the foundation of 

 many perfumes. Tonquin musk, which is the 

 highest grade, ie worth $25 an ounce, and is the 

 most expensive animal perfume. Castor has 

 a fixing power equal to that of musk, and dilute 

 tinctures of it are extensively used. 



In concentrated form all these perfumes are 

 so strong as to be nauseating, and their prepa- 

 ration for the market requires skill and care. 

 The original substances are soaked or macer- 

 ated in alcohol to form tinctures; these are 

 so strong that they can be used only in small 

 quantities in the preparation of the perfumes. 



Vegetable Perfumes. There are so many 

 vegetable perfumes that it is impracticable to 

 name them all. Odor-bearing plants contain 

 little sacs or glands in which the odoriferous 

 substance is stored, and the part of the plant 

 used in its extraction is the part in which these 

 glands are found in the largest numbers. The 

 most delicate perfumes come from the blossom, 

 as in case of the rose, the violet and the helio- 

 trope. The oils of these flowers are extracted 

 by distillation, as in making the attar of roses, 

 and by the use of fats for more delicate per- 

 fumes. Glass vessels are lined with fat, and 

 the petals of the flowers are spread over its 

 surface. The fat extracts the oil, and one sup- 



