PED 
liaving the appearance of a small cherry ; 
peduncle or stem tawny, and covered with 
a gelatinous hyaline skin. P. tridens : 
head three-lobed, the lobes oval and awn- 
ed ; neck round : this class inliabits the 
Northern Seas, among the spines of the 
ecliini ; the neck is smooth and hyaline, 
sometimes reddish; lobes of the head some- 
times four, and three times as long as the 
neck, rarely unarmed with awn ; peduncle 
reddish, and three times as long as the neck. 
PEDICELLUS, in botany, a partial 
flower stalk, or the proper stalk of any sin- 
gle flower, in an aggregate or head of flow- 
ers. The principal stalk, which supports 
all the flowers, is called the common flower- 
stalk : the stalk of each partial flower, if it 
has one, is syled the proper flower-stalk, or 
“ pedicellus.” 
PEDICULARIS, in botany, louse-wort, 
or red rattle, a genus of the Didynamia An- 
giospermia class and order. Natural order 
of Personatae. Pcdiciilares, Jussieu. Es- 
sential character: calyx five- cleft; capsule 
two-celled, mucronate, oblique ; seeds coat- 
ed. There are nineteen species. 
PEDICULUS, in botany, a foot-stalk, 
so called by former botanists ; but Linna;us 
has substituted, in its stead, “ petroliis,” 
for the foot-stalk of the leaves ; and “ pe- 
dunculus,” for the foot-stalk of the flowers. 
Pediculus, in natural history, the louse, 
a genus of insects, of the order Aptera. 
Generic character : month with a retrac- 
tile, recurved sucker, without proboscis; 
no feelers ; antennae as long as the thorax ; 
two eyes ; abdomen depressed ; legs six, 
formed for running. These live by extract- 
ing animal juices ; the larv® and pupae are 
Six-footed, and nimble, resembling the per- 
fect insect. There are between seventy 
and eighty species: of these some infest 
the bodies of quadrupeds, others of birds, 
and some even of insects themselves. P. hn- 
manus, or common louse, is distinguished 
by its pale, livid colour, and lobated, oval 
abdomen. It is produced from a small 
oval egg, popularly called by the name of 
a nit, which is fastened or agglutinated by 
its smaller end to the hair on which it is de- 
posited : from this egg proceeds the insect, 
complete in all its parts, and only different 
from the parent animal in its smaller size. 
When examined by the microscope, it is 
seen, that the trunk or proboscis, which is 
generally concealed in its sheath or tube, is 
of a very sharp form, and is furnished to- 
wards the upper part with a few reversed 
aculei or prickles; the eyes are large, 
PEE 
smooth, and black ; the stomach and intes- 
tines afford a very distinct view of the pe- 
ristaltic motion ; the legs are each termi- 
nated by a double claw, not very much un- 
like that of a lobster, but of a sharper form; 
and the whole ^animal is everywhere co- 
vered by a strong granulated skin. Few 
insects are more prolific than the louse. 
It is said, that in about eight weeks a louse 
might see five thousand of its own descen- 
dants. 
PEDIMENT, in architecture, is a kind 
of low pinnacle, serving to crown an ordon- 
nance, or finish a frontispiece, and is placed 
as an ornament over gates, doors, windows, 
niches, altars, &c. being ordinarily of a tri- 
angular form, but sometimes forming an 
arch of a circle. 
PEDOMETER. See Perambui.ator. 
PEDUNCULUS, in botany, the foot- 
stalk of a flower, of head of flowers ; the 
peduncultis elevates the flower and fruit 
only, without tlie leaves ; tlie pctiolus, or 
leaf-stalk, supports the leaves only, without 
the flower or fruit. Flower-stalks have dif- 
ferent epithets, from the place which they 
occupy on the plant. When they proceed 
from the root, they are termed radicles ; 
when from the stem, trunk-stalks ; and 
when from the branch, branch-stalks. They 
sometimes afford excellent characters in 
discriminating the species : an example is 
found in a species of the globe amaranth, 
which is distinguished by its flower-stalks 
being furnished wifli two leaves that are 
plaeed opposite, and immediately under 
each head of flowers. 
PEEK, in the sea-language, is a word 
used in various senses : thus, the anchor is 
said to be a-peek, w’hen the ship, being 
about to weigh, comes over her anchor in 
such a manner, that the cable hangs per- 
pendicularly betwixt the hawse and the an- 
chor. To heave a-peek, is to bring the 
peek so as that the anchor may hang a-peak. 
A ship is said to ride a-peak, when, lying 
with her main and fore yards hoisted up, 
one end of her yards is brought down to 
the shrouds, and the other raised up an 
end, which is chiefly done when she lies in 
rivers, lest other ships falling foul of the 
yards should break them. Riding a-broad 
peek, denotes much the same, excepting 
that the yards are only raised to half the 
height. 
PEER, in general, signifies an equal, or 
one of the same rank and station : hence, 
in the acts of some councils, we find these 
words, witli the consent of our peers, bi- 
