PEA 



PEA 



flesh has become decidedly putrid : the 

 reason for so doing is obvious, as the 

 particles of decayed matter and maggots 

 lire readily floated off by repeated wash- 

 ings in inclined receptacles, so contrived 

 us to arrest the progress of even the 

 smallest pearls, as they descend by their 

 weight. Every possible precaution is 

 taken, by the picking and sifting, to se- 

 cure the whole of the produce, and yet it 

 is said that vast numbers are lost. 



After the most valuable are selected, 

 they are sent to be drilled ; a most inge- 

 nious and delicate operation, which is 

 thus performed : a piece of wood in the 

 shape of an inverted cone is placed upon 

 three legs, raising it about one foot from 

 the ground : holes of various dimensions 

 are made in the surface to receive the 

 pearls : the person who drills sits close 

 to the machine : he then drives the pearls 

 steady into their sockets. "A well-tem- 

 pered needle is fixed in a reed five inches 

 long, with an iron point at the other end, 

 formed to play in the socket of a cocoa 

 nut-shell, which presses on the fore- 

 head of the driller. A bow is formed of 

 a piece of bamboo and a string. The 

 workman brings his right knee in a line 

 with the machine, and places on it a small 

 cup, formed of part of a cocoa nut-shell, 

 which is filled with water to moderate 

 the heat of friction. He bends his head 

 over the machine, and applying the point 

 of the needle to a pearl sunk in one of 

 the pits, drills with great facility, every 

 now and then dexterously dipping the 

 little finger of his right hand in the water, 

 and applying- it to the middle, without 

 impeding the operation. In this manner 

 he bores a pearl in the space of two or 

 three minutes, and in the course of a day 

 perforates 300 small, or 600 large pearls." 



There are different methods of fishing 



pli 



tion is so obvious, it would be well if it 

 \vere universally adopted. 



PEAHL-s/>ar, is a fossil of the calcareous 

 kind, being composed of carbonate of 

 lime, with the oxides of iron and manga- 

 nese : it has received different names, 

 and occurs massive, disseminated, and 

 crystaiized : its colours are white, often 

 with shades of grey, yellow, or red; but 

 by mere exposure to the air its colour 

 darkens, it becomes brown, and at length 

 nearly black. Specific gravity about 2.8. 

 It does not melt before the blow-pipe, 

 but blackens : it effervesces with acids ; 

 it is said by Bergman to consist of 



VOL. v. 



Carbonate of lime . 

 Oxide of iron .... 

 Oxide of manganese 



. . . 50 

 ... 22 

 . . . 28 



100 



PEARLSTEIN, or PEARLSTONE, in mi 

 neralogv, occurs in round and longish 

 vesicles. Its lustre is shining and pearly, 

 and its colour varies from the pearl to the 

 flesh-red and greyish black. It is com- 

 posed of thin, concentric, lamellar con- 

 cretions. It is translucent on the edges, 

 easily frangible, and soft. It occurs in 

 porphyry, and contains balls of obsidian, 

 and is found in Hungary. It is compos- 

 ed of 



Silex .... 

 Alumina . . 

 Oxide of iron 

 Potash . . . . 



Lime 



Water . 



Loss 



. 75.35 



. 12. 

 . . 1.6 



. . 4.5 



. 2.5 



98.35 

 1.65 



100 



PEAT, otj as it is sometimes called, 

 TURF, is a congeries of vegetable matter, 

 in which the remains of organization are 

 more or less visible ; consisting of the 

 trunks of trees, of leaves, fruits, and 

 stringy fibres, the remains of aquatic 

 mosses. It occurs in extensive beds, call- 

 ed peat mosses, occupying the surface of" 

 the soil, or covered to the depth of a few- 

 feet with sand, gravel, and other matters 

 It is met with in great abundance in the 

 northern, and in some of the central dis- 

 tricts of Europe ; in moist, uncultivated, 

 mountainous tracts, and likewise in low 

 Vallies and fenny plains; and in several 

 parts of the western shore of Great Bri- 

 tain. The depth of peat mosses is very 

 various, from a few feet to twelve or 

 fifteen yards : its consistence is very va- 

 rious : sometimes in a semi-fluid state, 

 forming a black, impassable wilderness, 

 studded here and there by tufts of rushes : 

 when more solid, it is scantily covered 

 over with heath and coarse grasses : in 

 this state it is passable by sheep and other 

 animals, especially during the dry season 

 of the year. In deep peat mosses the 

 upper part is loose, and less inflammable 

 than the lower part of the bed. When 

 of a good quality, it is moderately com- 



