PER 



PER 



the C. baccatvm. The following va- 

 rieties are cultivated : Bell, long red, 

 cherry, tomato -shaped, and sweet 

 Spanish. The latter is used as a 

 salad, and the bell is perennial. Sow 

 early in May in a warm bed and fine 

 soil ; transplant when two inches 

 high, and set at two feet apart. The 

 soil should be dry and light, but rich, 

 and the plants hoed and weeded. 

 For pickles, they should be collected 

 before ripening : for curing meat, 

 when beginning to dry ; hang them 

 in the air until quite dry. The pow- 

 der rubbed upon hams and salt meats 

 preserves them, in some measure, 

 from insects ; and the smoke, which 

 is peculiarly pungent, is very distress- 

 ing to them. Cayenne pepper is the 

 powder of the C baccatum. 



PEPPERS, INDIAN. Ptper ni- 

 grum {Fig. a). An endogenous climb- 

 ing shrub of Sumatra, the fruit of 

 which appears on spikes at three 

 years, and forms the black pepper of 



commerce. The same, hulled by rub- 

 bing, constitutes white pepper. The 

 celebrated betel, or intoxicating pep- 

 per, chewed by the natives of India 

 with lime (ckunam), is the fruit of the 

 Pipfr brtle {Fig. b). 



PEPSIN. Albuminous matter of 

 the stomach and gastric juice in a 

 state of change. It forms the active 

 agent of rennet, and, with a little mu- 

 riatic acid, has been made to produce 

 artificial digestion. 



PER. A chemical prefix to those 



compounds which contain the highest 

 proportion of the element against 

 which it is placed ; as peroxide, per- 

 chloride, &c. 



PERCH. The ^\i\i of a rood, 30J 

 square yards; in long measure, 5^ 

 yards. 



PERCHERS. The Inressores, 

 birds which perch on trees, including 

 the Scansorcs and Fasscres. 



PERCHLORIC ACID. An acid 

 consisting of 1 eq. chlorine with 7 ox- 

 ygen, which forms a sparingly solu- 

 ble compound with potash, the fer- 

 chlorate, and has hence been used as 

 a test for that alkali. 



PERCOLATION. The slow ooz- 

 ing of water through rocks, earths, or 

 other slightly porous structures. 



PERENNIALS. Plants whose 

 roots live several years, but the tops 

 die annually. 



PERFOLIATE. Leaves through 

 which the stem pass. 



PERGAMENOUS. Parchment- 

 like. 



PERI. A common affix of de- 

 scriptive terms, meaning about, or 

 around. 



PERIANTH, PERIANTHUM. A 

 flower which has no distinct calyx. 



PERICARDIUM. The membrane 

 surrounding the heart : its inflamma- 

 tion is called pericarditis. 



PERICARP. The outer portion 

 of the fruit surrounding the carpels. 



PERICRANIUM. The membrane 

 which is attached to the bones of the 

 skull. 



PERIGYNIUM. The case formed 

 in Varices by the union of two bracts. 

 The disk. 



PERIGYNOUS. Stamens which 

 are attached to the sides of the calyx. 



PERIOSTEUM (from rrepi, about, 

 and nrjTEov, a bone). The fibrous 

 membrane attached to the surface of 

 all the bones. 



PERIPHERY. The circumfer- 

 ence. 



PERIPNEUMONY. Pneumonia. 



PERISPERM. The testa or cov- 

 ering of a seed. 



PERISTALTIC. A worm - like 

 motion of the intestines, produced by 

 a contraction and dilatation of their 



571 



