( 95 ) [PER 



themselves to the " rotary-veneer cutting machines," 

 formerly " scale-board cutting machines," now in the plywood 

 trade " peeling machines," as they slice,* slive,* or slash* 

 thin layers of wood off the round or tangential face of the 

 tree ; by which, as in " Bird's Eye Maple," the " eye " or 

 "slash-grain" or "slash-figure" is obtained. * See above 

 as headings. 



Peeled. Logs from which the bark has been removed. 



Pencil or Virginian Cedar. Otherwise "Red," etc., cedar (Juni- 

 perus virginiana). Largely a cabinet-maker's wood in 

 the last century, prized for its durability and its proof against 

 the worm, possibly from its strong odour or perfume, but 

 now practically a thing of the past. Its scarcity has pro- 

 duced a class in the land of its birth, called "pencil-men," 

 to hunt and buy up cedar posts, rails or any old-time uses 

 to which it has been applied, the "pencil factories" of the 

 world claiming every available stick. 



Pendulum Cross Cut Saws. Consist of an arm with a saw spindle 

 at bottom running in suitable bearings and hinged on the 

 same centre as the countershaft which drives the saw. 

 The saw is fed on to the wood, by swinging the arm pendulum 

 fashion, hence its name. 



Pent Roof. A roof formed like an inclined plane, the slope being 

 all on one side. Called also a shed roof. The covering of a 

 " penthouse." 



Pent-liouse. Old forms " pentee " and " pentice,"an open shed 

 or projection over a door, window, flight of steps, etc., to 

 form a protection against the weather ; a shed standing 

 aslope from the main building. It has much the same 

 meaning as " lean-to " (ivhich see). 



Per Procuration. The authority given by a merchant, or other 

 principal, to his manager or agent to sign his name on letters, 

 etc., is called " power of procuration," and letters and docu- 

 ments are signed either "per pro. J. Robinson & Co.," or 

 " p.p. J. Robinson & Co.," with the name of the authorized 

 person underneath. 



Perch or Perk. (1 ) A pole, as a measure of length or square ; 

 (2) a staging in a builder's yard for storing on-end boards, 

 planks, poles or ladders. In this sense it implies something 

 erect. 



Periphery. See " Circumference." 



Persimmon (Diospyros virginiana). Known as " Date Plum." 

 A strong and tough wood imported from the Eastern States 

 of America and used for shuttles, etc. 



