Chapter XXXVII: Front Matter (37)

The furs of the rabbit and hare are rendered fit for the purposes of the felt and hat manufacturers by a process called by the French ‘_sécretage_,’ This consists in thoroughly moistening the hair with a solution of quicksilver, 1 part, in aquafortis, 16 parts, diluted with half to an equal bulk of water. This is applied with a brush, and the moistened skins being laid together, face to face, are dried as rapidly as possible in a stove room. See FURS.

=PEMPHIGUS.= A disease of the skin, in which large vesicles or blisters filled with a serous fluid, develop themselves. In the mild form of the disorder the blisters vary in size from a pea to a chestnut. They chiefly attack the extremities, and break after three or four days, when they then give rise to a thin scab, which soon heals and disappears without causing any bodily derangement.

In the acute form, however, there is a considerable constitutional disturbance, which shows itself in the shape of more or less fever and inflammation; the blisters too are larger, and the scabs very irritable and obstinate. Children during teething, or owing to injudicious diet, are frequently subject to this kind of pemphigus. There is also a chronic variety of the disease, which varies but slightly from the acute form, except that it continues longer. Old people are those who principally suffer from this chronic pemphigus.

A mild attack seldom calls for any treatment; the best course to pursue in the case of an acute one is to administer some saline aperient, to adopt a moderately low diet, and to protect the exposed parts caused by the breaking of the blister by applying to them some simple dressing, such as spermaceti ointment.

When the case becomes chronic it will be advisable to consult the medical practitioner.

=PENALTIES.= The following sections of the Public Health Act of 1875 refer to various offences for which penalties may be inflicted under the statute:——

BUILDING or re-erecting a house in an urban district without proper drains, &c., £50 (s. 25). For building or re-erecting a house in any district without proper sanitary conveniences (privies, &c.), £20, or less (s. 35).

Unauthorised building over sewers or under streets in an urban district, £5 penalty, and 40s. per day during continuance of offence (s. 26).

BURIAL. For obstructing a justice’s order with regard to the burial of a person who has died from an infectious disease, &c., £5, or less (s. 142).

BYE-LAWS. Penalties may be imposed by local authorities for the contravention of bye-laws; such penalties are not to exceed £5, and for continuing offences further penalties of sums not exceeding 40s. a day (s. 183). Penalty for injury or defacement of any board, &c., on which a notice or bye-law of any authority is inscribed by the authority of the Government Local Board, or of the local authority, £5, or less (s. 306).

CELLARS, Unauthorised occupation of, 20s. per day (s. 73).

CLEANSING AND WHITEWASHING, &c., Failure to comply with notice to cleanse and whitewash a house, 10s. per day (s. 46).

CONTRACTS. All contracts are to specify some pecuniary penalty (s. 174). Officers or servants being concerned or interested in contracts, accepting fees, are liable to a penalty of £50, recoverable with full costs of suit.

DISINFECTION. Failure to comply with notice to disinfect and cleanse articles and premises, not less than 1s. and not more than 10s. per day. Expenses of local authority doing the work may also be recovered (s. 120). Failure to disinfect public conveyances after conveying infected persons, £5, or less (s. 127). For letting infected houses without proper disinfection, £20, or less (s. 128).

DRAINS, &c. Unauthorised connection of a drain with a sewer, £20, or less (s. 21). For neglecting to comply with notice for the construction of privies, &c., for factories, £20, or less, and 40s. per day. For non-compliance with notice for the construction of drains, privies, &c., 10s. per day (s. 41).

EPIDEMIC DISEASES. For violation or obstruction of the regulations of the Local Government Board with regard to epidemic diseases, £5, or less (s. 140).

EXPOSURE of infected persons or things, £5, or less (s. 126).

HOUSES OR ROOMS. Making false statements with regard to infectious diseases for the purpose of letting, £20, or less, or imprisonment for one month with or without hard labour (s. 129).

LODGING-HOUSES. Receiving lodgers in unregistered houses, failure to make a report, failure to give notice of infectious diseases, £5, or less, and 40s. per day during continuance of offence. Refusal or neglect to affix or renew notice of regulation in common lodging-houses, £5, or less, and 10s. a day during continuance of offence after conviction (s. 79). For neglecting the limewashing and cleansing of lodging-houses according to the Act 40s., or less (s. 82).

MANURE. Failure to comply with a notice of urban authority to periodically remove manure, &c., 20s. a day (s. 50).

MEAT. For exposing for sale or having in possession unsound meat and other articles of food specified in the Act, £20, or less, for each carcase or piece of meat, or fish, &c., or three months imprisonment with or without the option of a fine (s. 117). For obstruction of officer inspecting the food, £5, or less (s. 118).

MORTGAGE OF RATE. Refusal of custodian of register to permit inspection, £50, or less. Neglect or refusal of clerk to register transfer of mortgage, £20, or less.

NUISANCE. The court may impose a penalty of £5, or less, with regard to nuisances generally (s. 98). For want of diligence in carrying out the order to abate nuisance, 10s. per day; for contravention of order, if wilful, 20s. per day during such contrary action, besides the expenses of the local authority in abating the nuisance (s. 98).

For nuisance of pigs, pigsties, and the contents of cesspools, &c., overflowing, 40s., or less, and 5s. per day during continuance of offences (s. 47).

OBSTRUCTION. For wilful obstruction of member of, or person authorised by local authority, £5, or less (s. 306).

Obstruction of owner by occupier in carrying out any of the provisions of the Act, £5 per day, commencing twenty-four hours after non-compliance with the justice’s order (s. 306).

OFFICES. Certain offices are not to be held by the same person. Penalty for offence, £100, recoverable with full costs of suit (s. 192).

ORDER OF JUSTICES. Refusal to obey order for admission of local authority, £5, or less (s. 103).

RATES. Refusal of officers in custody of rate-books, valuation lists for the relief of the poor, &c., to permit inspection, £5, or less (s. 212).

Refusal of person to permit inspection of rate, £5, or less (s. 219).

SCAVENGING. Obstruction of the contractor or local authority in scavenging the streets or in removal of refuse, £5, or less (s. 42). Neglect of local authority to scavenge after undertaking to do so, 5s. per day (s. 43).

STREETS. Wilful unauthorised displacement or injury of pavement stones, injury to fences, &c., of streets vested in urban authority, £5, or less, and a further penalty of 5s. or less for every square foot of pavement injured, &c. Compensation may also be awarded by the court for injury to trees (s. 149).

For building or bringing forward buildings beyond the general line of the houses in the street in an urban district, 40s. per day after written notice (s. 156).

TRADE, OFFENSIVE. Unauthorised establishment of in an urban district, £50, and 40s. per day during continuance of offence (s. 112). Nuisance arising from offensive trade is punishable by penalty——for first offence not less than 40s., and not exceeding £5; for second or any subsequent offence, double the amount of the last penalty which has been imposed, but in no case to exceed £200 (s. 114).

WATER. Pollution of by gas, £280; and when offence is continued at the end of twenty-four hours’ notice, £20 per day (s. 68).

For injuring water-meters, 40s., or less, and the damage sustained may also be recovered (s. 60).

WORKS. For wilful damage of works or property belonging to a local authority, in cases where no other penalty is provided, £5, or less (s. 307).

⁂ All penalties, forfeitures, costs, and expenses, directed to be recovered in a summary manner, or not otherwise provided for, may be prosecuted and recovered under the “Summary Jurisdiction Acts” before a court of summary jurisdiction (P. H. S. 251); but proceedings for the recovery of penalties are only to be taken by the person aggrieved, or by the local authority of the district, except the consent in writing of the Attorney-General be obtained. But this restriction does not apply to the proceedings of a local authority with regard to nuisances, offensive trades, houses, &c., without their district, in cases in which the local authority are authorised to take proceedings with respect to any act or default (s. 253).

Unless otherwise provided for the penalty is thus applied: One half goes to the informer, and the remainder to the local authority of the district in which the offence was committed; but if the local authority be the informer, they are entitled to the whole of the penalty recovered.

All penalties and sums recovered by a local authority are paid to the treasurer, and carried to the account of the fund applicable to the general purposes of the Public Health Act.

(The justices or court have power to reduce penalties imposed by 6 Geo. IV, c. 78. P. H. Part III.)

=PEN′CILS.= This name is applied to the small brushes made of camel’s hair used by artists, as well as to the plumbago crayons familiarly known as black-lead pencils. The last are prepared by one or other of the following methods:——

1. The blocks of plumbago are exposed to a bright-red heat in a closely covered crucible, and are afterwards sawn into minute sticks, and mounted in cases of cedar or satin wood.

2. The plumbago, in powder, is calcined as before, and then mixed with an equal, or any other desired proportion of pure washed clay, also in powder, after which the mixture is reduced to a plastic state with water, and pressed into grooves cut on the face of a smooth board, or into well-greased wooden moulds, in which state it is left to dry. When dry, the pieces are tempered to any degree of hardness by exposing them, surrounded by sand or powdered charcoal, in a closely covered crucible to various degrees of heat. The crucible is not opened until the whole has become cold, when the prepared ‘slips’ are removed and mounted as before. This method was invented by M. Conté in 1795.

3. The dough or paste, prepared as last, is reduced to the required form by forcing it through a perforated plate (in a similar manner to that adopted for coloured crayons), or into minute metallic cylinders, from which it may be readily shaken after it has become partially dry.

_Obs._ The _leads_ for some varieties of drawing-pencils are immersed for a minute in very hot melted wax or suet before mounting them. To the composition for others a little lampblack is added, to increase and vary the degree of blackness. The pencils for asses’ skin books and prepared paper are tipped with ‘fusible metal.’ Numerous improvements in pencil cases and pencil mounts have been patented of late years by Stevens and others.

=PENNYROY′AL.= _Syn._ PULEGIUM (Ph. L. & E.), MENTHA P. (Ph. D.), L. “The recent and dried flowering herb of _Mentha pulegium_, Linn.” (Ph. L.) PENNYROYAL TEA is a popular emmenagogue, expectorant, and diaphoretic, and is in common use in asthma, bronchitis, hooping-cough, hysteria, suppressions, &c. Water, essence, oil, and spirit of pennyroyal are officinal. They are now chiefly used as mere adjuncts or vehicles.

=PENTASTOMATA.= There are two varieties of this entozoon——the _Pentastoma denticulatum_, which Leuckart has shown to be the larvæ of the _Pentastoma tænoides_, and the _Pentastoma constrictum_. The _P. denticulatum_ infests the human liver and small intestines. The _P. constrictum_ does not appear to be known in this country. The latter appears to have caused death by setting up peritonitis. According to Dr Aitken these parasites are provided with two pairs of hooks or claws, placed on each side of a pit or mouth, on a flattened head. He says: “These claws appear to be implanted in socket-like hollows or depressions, surrounded by much loose integument. These socket-like hollows appear to be elevated on the summit of the mass of tissues which lies underneath the folds of integuments surrounding the base of the hooks. These parts are regarded as the feet of the parasite, and the hooks are the fore claws. The pit or mouth is of an oval shape, the long axis of the oval lying in the direction of the length of the worm.

“The less or outer margin of the pit is marked by a well-defined, thin line. There are no spines nor hooks on the integument of the elongated body.”

=PEPPER (Black).= _Syn._ PEPPER; PIPER, B. P.; NIGRI BACCÆ, PIPER NIGRUM (Ph. L., E., & D.), L. “The immature fruit (berry) of _Piper nigrum_, Linn., or the black pepper vine.” (Ph. L.)

_Pur._ The ground black pepper of the shops is universally adulterated; in fact, the public taste and judgment are so vitiated that the pure spice is unsaleable. A most respectable London firm, on commencing business, supplied their customers with unadulterated ground pepper, but in 3 cases out of every 4 it was returned on their hands and objected to, on account of its dark colour and rich pungency, which had induced the belief that it was sophisticated. The house alluded to was therefore compelled by the customers to supply them with an inferior, but milder and paler, article. The substances employed to lower black pepper are known in the trade as——‘P. D.,’ ‘H. P. D.,’ and ‘W. P. D,’——abbreviations of pepper dust, hot pepper dust, white pepper dust. The first is composed of the faded leaves of autumn, dried and powdered; the second, the ground husks (hulls) of black mustard, obtained from the mustard mills; and the third is common rice, finely powdered. Equal parts of black peppercorns, H. P. D., and W. P. D., form the very best ground pepper sold. The ordinary pepper of the shops does not contain more than 1/8th to 1/6th of genuine pepper, or 2 to 2-1/2 oz. in the lb. Very recently, ground oil-cake or linseed meal has been chiefly employed as the adulterant, instead of the old ‘P. D,’

Dr Parkes[92] says: “The microscopic characters of pepper are rather complicated. There is a husk composed of four or five layers of cells and a central part. The cortex has externally elongated cells, placed vertically, and provided with a central cavity, from which lines radiate towards the circumference; then come some strata of angular cells, which, towards the interior, are larger and filled with oil. The third layer is composed of woody fibre and spiral cells. The fourth layer is made up of large cells, which towards the interior become smaller and of a deep red colour; they contain most of the essential oil of the pepper. The central part of the berry is composed of large angular cells, about twice as long as broad. Steeped in water, some of these cells become yellow; others remain colourless. It has been supposed that these yellow cells contain piperine, as they give the same reaction as piperine does; namely, the tint is deepened by alcohol and nitric acid, and sulphuric acid applied to a dry section causes a reddish hue.” (Hassal.)

[Footnote 92: ‘Practical Hygiene.’]

_Uses, &c._ Black pepper is a powerful stimulant, carminative, and rubefacient. Its use in moderation, as a condiment, is peculiarly serviceable to persons who are of cold habit, or who suffer from weak digestion; but in inflammatory habits, and in affections of the mucous membranes, it is generally highly injurious. As a medicine it is often serviceable in nausea, vomiting, chronic diarrhœa, and agues. In North America a common remedy for the last is 1/2 oz. of ground pepper stirred up with a glassful of warm beer; or a like quantity made into a tincture by steeping it in 5 or 6 times its weight of gin, rum, or whisky, for a few days.

Prepared black pepper is made by steeping the berries for 3 days in 3 times their weight of vinegar, and then drying and grinding them. It is milder than common pepper. See CONFECTIONS, PIPERINE, &c.

=Pepper, Cayenne.= _Syn._ BIRD PEPPER, CHILI P., GUINEA P., INDIAN P., RED P.; PIPER CAPSICI, P. CAYENNE, L. This is prepared from chillies, or the pods of _Capsicum frutescens_, or from _Capsicum baccatum_, or bird pepper, but generally from the first, on account of its greater pungency and acrimony; and, occasionally, from _Capsicum annuum_ or medicinal capsicum.

_Prep._ 1. From the dried pods (powdered), 1 lb.; and wheaten bread or captain’s biscuits (heated until they are perfectly dry and brittle, and begin to acquire a yellow colour throughout, and then powdered), 7 lbs.; mixed and ground together. Colouring matter and common salt are frequently added, but are unnecessary.

2. As the last, but making the mixture into a dough with water, then forming it into small cakes, drying these as rapidly as possible at a gentle heat, and then grinding them.

3. (Loudon.) The ripe pods, dried in the sun, are stratified with wheaten flour in a dish or tray, and exposed in a stove-room or a half-cold oven until they are quite dry; they are then removed from the flour, and ground to fine powder; to every oz. of this powder 1 lb. (say 15 oz.) of wheaten flour (including that already used) are added, and the mixture is made into a dough with a little tepid water and a teaspoonful of yeast; after fermentation is well set up, the dough is cut into small pieces, and baked in a slow oven until it is perfectly hard and brittle; it is then beaten or ground to powder, and forms ‘cayenne pepper.’

Pure cayenne pepper, when burnt, leaves a scarcely perceptible quantity of white ash; a red-coloured ash indicates the presence of red ochre, brick-dust, Armenian bole, or other earthy colouring matter. If red lead is present, it will be left behind under the form of a dark-coloured powder, or a small metallic globule.

_Pur._ The ‘cayenne pepper’ of the shops is often a spurious article, made by grinding a mixture of any of the reddish woods or sawdust with enough red pods or chillies to render the mixture sufficiently acrid and pungent. Common salt, colcothar, red bole, brick-dust, vermilion, and even red lead, are also common additions.

_Uses, &c._ The capsicums resemble the peppers, except in their greater energy and their pungency being unmodified by the presence of essential oil. As a condiment, under the form of cayenne pepper, and in all diseases in which the employment of a powerful stimulant or rubefacient is indicated, their uses are well known. In medicine the fruit of _Capsicum annuum_ (Linn.——Ph. E. & D.; _C. fastigiatum_, Blume——B. P., Ph. L.), or annual capsicum is ordered (CAPSICUM——Ph. L., E., & D.). The London College directs the fruit to be that of ‘Guinea,’ less than one inch long, oblong, cylindrical, and straight. See ESSENCE OF CAYENNE.

=Pepper, Prepared Cayenne=, is the residuum of cayenne——vinegar, essence, or tincture, dried and ground (see _below_).

=Pepper (Soluble) Cayenne.= _Syn._ CRYSTALLISED SOLUBLE CAYENNE. _Prep._ 1. Capsicum pods (recent, ground in a pepper mill), 1 lb.; rectified spirit, 2-1/2 pints; proceed by percolation so as to obtain 2-1/2 pints; from this distil one half of the spirit by the heat of a water bath; to the residuum add of fine dry salt, 5 lbs.; mix them well together, and dry the mixture at a very gentle heat, frequently stirring; lastly rub it through a sieve, and put it into warm dry bottles. It is usually coloured with a little vermilion or rouge (sesquioxide of iron), but it possesses an agreeable colour without it,

2. Essence of cayenne (No. 1, page 652), 6 pints; distil off 3 pints, add to the residual liquor of dry salt 12 lbs.; mix well, dry by a gentle heat, and otherwise proceed as before.

3. Capsicums (ground), 3 lbs.; red sanders or Brazil wood (sliced or rasped), 10 oz.; rectified spirit, 1 gall.; macerate for 14 days, then express the tincture, filter, distil off one half, add of dry salt, 15 lbs., and proceed as before.

4. As the first formula, with the addition of a strong decoction of saffron, q. s. It gives a beautiful colour to soups, &c.

_Obs._ The above formulæ are those actually employed by the houses most celebrated for their ‘soluble cayenne.’ The products are of the very finest quality, and are perfectly wholesome. We speak from an extensive experience in the manufacture. The spirit distilled from the essence forms a most suitable menstruum for making fresh essence or tincture of cayenne.

=Pepper, Cu′beb.= See CUBEBS.

=Pepper, Jamai′ca.= See PIMENTO.

=Pepper, Kit′chen.= See SPICE.

=Pepper, Long.= _Syn._ PIPERIS LONGI FRUCTUS, PIPER LONGUM (Ph. L. & E.), L. “The immature fruit (dried female spikes) of _Piper longum_, Linn.” (Ph. L.), or long-pepper vine. The spikes are about 1-1/2 inch in length, with an indented surface, and are of a dark-grey colour. In its general properties it resembles black pepper, but it is less aromatic, though equally pungent. Elephant pepper is merely a larger variety of this species. (Gray.) The root and stems, sliced and dried, form the ‘pippula moola’ of the East Indies. (Roxburgh.)

=Pepper, Red.= See CAYENNE.

=Pepper, White.= _Syn._ PIPER ALBUM, L. This is made by either soaking ordinary black pepper in a solution of common salt, until the outside skins are soft, and then rubbing them off in the hands, or by merely rubbing off the skins of the over-ripe berries that fall from the vines. An inferior quality is made by bleaching black pepper with chlorine.

_Obs._ The use of white pepper instead of black is an instance of the sacrifices made to please the eye. Pure white pepper has only about 1-4th of the strength of pure black pepper, whilst it is nearly destitute of the fine aroma of the latter. It also contains a mere trace of piperina or piperine, one of the most valuable constituents of black pepper.

=PEP′PER PODS.= Capsicums. See CAYENNE PEPPER.

=PEP′PERMINT.= _Syn._ MENTHA PIPERITA (Ph. L., E., & D.), L. “The recent and dried flowering herb of _Mentha piperita_” (Ph. L.), or garden peppermint. The flavour and odour of this herb are well known. It is the most pleasant and powerful of all the mints. Peppermint water and the essential oil have long been employed in nausea, griping, flatulent colic, hysteric, diarrhœa, &c.; but in regular practice chiefly to cover the taste of nauseous medicines, or as an adjunct or vehicle for more active remedies. See OILS (Volatile), WATERS, &c.

=PEP′SIN.= _Syn._ GASTERACE, CHYMOSIN. A peculiar principle found in the gastric juice, and which, in conjunction with hydrochloric acid, also present in the stomach, confers upon it the power of digesting certain portions of the food, and of dissolving, as Tuson has shown, calomel and other mineral substances.

_Prep._ 1. (Beale, ‘Med. Times & Gaz.,’ February 10th, 1872, p. 152.) “The mucous membrane of a perfectly fresh pig’s stomach is carefully dissected from the muscular coat, and placed on a flat board. It is then lightly cleansed with a sponge and a little water, and much of the mucus, remains of food, &c. carefully removed. With the back of a knife, or with an ivory paper-knife, the surface is scraped very hard, in order that the glands may be squeezed and their contents pressed out. The viscid mucus thus obtained contains the pure gastric juice with much epithelium from the glands and surface of the mucous membrane. It is to be spread out upon a piece of glass, so as to form a very thin layer, which is to be dried at a temperature of 100° over hot water, or _in vacuo_ over sulphuric acid. Care must be taken that the temperature does not rise much above 100 F°., because the action of the solvent would be completely destroyed. When dry the mucus is scraped from the glass, powdered in a mortar, and transferred to a well-stoppered bottle. With this powder a good digestive fluid may be made as follows:

Of the powder 5 grains.
Strong hydrochloric acid 18 drops.
Water 6 ounces.

Macerate it at a temperature of 100° for an hour. The mixture may be filtered easily, and forms a perfectly clear solution very convenient for experiment.

“If the powder is to be taken as a medicine, from two to five grains may be given for a dose, a little diluted hydrochloric acid in water being taken at the same time. The pepsin powder may be mixed with the salt at a meal. It is devoid of smell, and has only a slightly salt taste. It undergoes no change if kept perfectly dry, and contains the active principle of the gastric juice almost unaltered.

“The method of preparing this pepsin was communicated to Mr Bullock, of the firm of Messrs Bullock and Company, 3, Hanover Street, Hanover Square, who at once adopted it for the preparation of medicinal pepsin, and soon improved upon it in some particulars. The dose is from 2 to 4 or 5 grains.——_Test._ 4/5ths of a grain of this pepsin, with 10 drops dilute hydrochloric acid and an ounce of distilled water, dissolve 100 grains of hard-boiled white of egg in from twelve to twenty-four hours. In the body probably twice this quantity of white of egg or even more would be dissolved in a comparatively short space of time. The digestive powder prepared from the pig’s stomach retains its activity for any length of time if kept dry. I had some which had been kept in a bottle for upwards of five years, and still retained its active power unimpaired. The solution made with this pepsin and hydrochloric acid was nearly tasteless and inodorous. One pig’s stomach, which costs sixpence, will yield about 45 grains of the powder prepared as above described.

“Gradually the usefulness of this preparation of pepsin of the pig was found out, and it had to be prepared in increasing quantities. I should be afraid to say how many pigs’ stomachs have been used of late years during the winter season.

“In 1857 Dr. Pavy carefully examined the pepsin prepared and sold by many different firms, and found that this dried mucus of the pig’s stomach was the most active of them all (‘Medical Times and Gazette,’ 1857, vol. i, p. 336). In 1870 Professor Tuson instituted a still more careful comparative examination, and with a similar result (‘Lancet,’ August 13th, 1870); for he found that this preparation was _twenty-five times stronger than some others that he obtained for examination_.”

2. (Scheffer, ‘Pharm. Journ.,’ March 23rd, 1872, p. 761.) “Of the well-cleaned fresh hog stomach the mucous membrane is dissected off, chopped finely and macerated in water acidulated with muriatic acid for several days, during which time the mass is frequently well stirred. The resulting liquid, after being strained, is, if not clear, set aside for at least twenty-four hours in order to allow the mucus to settle. To the clarified liquid the same bulk of a saturated solution of sodium chloride is added, and the whole thoroughly mixed. After several hours the pepsin, which, by the addition of chloride of sodium, has separated from its solution, is found floating on the surface, from whence it is removed with a spoon and put upon cotton cloth to drain; finally it is submitted to strong pressure, to free it as much as possible from the salt solution.

“The pepsin, when taken from the press and allowed to become air-dry, is a very tough substance, and presents, according to thickness, a different appearance, resembling in thin sheets parchment paper, and in thick layers sole leather; its colour varies from a dim straw yellow to a brownish yellow. Besides a little mucus, it contains small quantities of phosphate of lime and chloride of sodium, which, however, do not interfere with its digestive properties, as they are found also in normal gastric juice.

“In order to get a purer article I redissolve the pepsin, as obtained after expression, in acidulated water, filter the solution through paper and precipitate again with a solution of sodium chloride; the precipitate, after draining and pressing, is now free of phosphate of lime and mucus, but still contains salt. In the freshly precipitated state the pepsin is very readily soluble in water, and cannot therefore be freed from adhering salt by washing.

“By allowing the pressed sheet of pepsin to get perfectly air-dry——whereby it becomes coated with a white film and small crystals of chloride of sodium——and by immersing it then in pure water for a short time, the greater part of sodium chloride can be extracted, but it has to be done very rapidly, as the pepsin swells up considerably and loses its tenacity. By operating in this matter I have obtained a pepsin which dissolves in acidulated water to quite a clear colourless liquid, but as it still contains traces of salt, I prefer to call it purified pepsin.”

3. (B. Ph.) A preparation of the mucous lining of a fresh and healthy stomach of the pig, sheep, or calf. The stomach of one of these animals, recently killed, having been cut open and laid on a board with the inner surface upwards, any adhering portions of food, dirt, and other impurity, are to be removed and the exposed surface slightly washed with cold water; the cleansed mucous membrane is then to be scraped with a blunt knife or other suitable instrument, and the viscid parts thus obtained is to be immediately spread over the surface of glass or glazed earthenware, and quickly dried at a temperature not exceeding 100° F. the dried residue is to be reduced to powder, and preserved in a stoppered bottle.——_Dose_, 2 to 5 grains.

=Pepsin, Saccharated.= To work it into saccharated pepsin (‘American Journal of Pharmacy,’ January, 1871) the damp pepsin, as it is taken from the press, is triturated with a weighed quantity of sugar of milk to a fine powder, which, when it has become air-dry, is weighed again, the quantity of milk sugar subtracted, and so the amount of pepsin found. The strength of this dry pepsin is now ascertained by finding how much coagulated albumen it will dissolve at a temperature of 100° F. in five or six hours, and after this sufficient milk sugar is added to result in a preparation of which ten grains will dissolve one hundred and twenty grains of coagulated albumen, and this preparation I have called saccharated pepsin.

=Pepsin with Starch.= Pepsin mixed with starch is the _medicinal Pepsine_ of M. Boudault; the _Poudre nutrimentive_ of M. Corvisart.

=PERCENTAGE.= Literally, “by the hundred.” In commerce the term is applied to an allowance duty or commission on a hundred. (WEBSTER.)

=PERCHLO′′RATE=, _Syn._ PERCHLORAS, L. A salt of perchloric acid.

The perchlorates are distinguished from the chlorates by their great stability, and by not turning yellow when treated with hydrochloric acid. Like the chlorates, they give off oxygen when heated to redness. They may be prepared by directly neutralising a solution of the acid with a solution of the base. See POTASSIUM (Perchlorate of), and CHLORINE.

=PERCHLO′′RIC ACID.= See CHLORINE.

=PERCOLA′TION= _Syn._ METHOD OF DISPLACEMENT. A method of extracting the soluble portion of any substance in a divided state, by causing the menstruum to filter or strain through it. The ‘sparging’ of the Scotch brewers is an example of the application of this principle on the large scale. In _pharmacy_, the ‘method of displacement’ is frequently adopted for the preparation of tinctures, infusions, &c., and is, in some respects, superior to digestion or maceration. “The solid materials, usually in coarse or moderately fine powder, are moistened with a sufficiency of the solvent to form a thick pulp. In twelve hours, or frequently without delay, the mass is put into a cylinder of glass, porcelain, or tinned iron, open at both ends, but obstructed at the lower end by a piece of calico or linen, tied lightly over it as a filter; and the pulp being backed by pressure, ranging as to degree with different articles, the remainder of the solvent is poured into the upper portion of the cylinder, and allowed gradually to percolate. In order to obtain the portion of the fluid which is absorbed by the residuum, an additional quantity of the solvent is poured into the cylinder, until the tincture which has passed through equals in amount the spirit originally prescribed. The spirit employed for this purpose is then recovered, for the most part, by pouring over the residuum as much water as there is spirit retained in it, which may be easily known by an obvious calculation in each case. The method of percolation is now preferred by all who have made sufficient trial of it to apply it correctly.” (Ph. E.)

The first portion of liquid obtained by the method of displacement is always in a state of high concentration. In general it is a simple solution of the soluble ingredients of the crude drug in the fluid employed. But sometimes the solvent, if compound, is resolved into its component parts, and the fluid which passes through at any given time is only one of these, holding the soluble parts of the drug in solution. Thus if diluted alcohol be poured over powder of myrrh, in the cylinder of the percolator, the fluid which first drops into the receiver is a solution of an oily consistence, chiefly composed of resin and volatile oil, dissolved in alcohol. In like manner, when the powder of gall-nuts is treated in the same way by hydrated sulphuric ether, two layers of fluid are obtained, one of which is a highly concentrated solution of tannin in the water of the ether, and the other a weak solution of the same principle in pure ether. In all cases, therefore, in which it is not otherwise directed it is absolutely necessary to agitate the several portions of the liquid obtained by percolation together, in order to ensure a product of uniform strength or activity.

Several forms of displacement apparatus are employed by different operators. A simple and useful one is that figured in the margin. It has also the advantage of being inexpensive, and may be made by any worker in tin plate.

In operating on some substances it is found advantageous to hasten the process by pressure. This may be effected by any of the methods adopted for that purpose, and already described under FILTRATION. An ingenious little apparatus, which is well adapted for small quantities, is shown in the _engr._ By pouring mercury or water through (_e_), into the bottle (_c_), the air in the latter suffers compression, and acts in a corresponding manner on the percolating liquor in (_a_). The whole of the joints must be made air-tight.

_b._ Stand.

_c._ Receiver.

_d._ Menstruum.

_e._ Substance operated on.

_f._ Calico strainer.]

_b._ Tube connecting; it with——

_c._ A double-necked bottle containing——

_d._ Mercury.

_e._ Feeding-tube.

_f._ Receiver.

_g._ Stop-cock to regulate or arrest the pressure of air on the contents of the cylinder (_a_).]

The method of displacement, although apparently simple, requires for its successful application no inconsiderable amount of experience and skill in manipulation. The principal points to be attended to are——the reduction of the substance to the proper state of comminution (neither too coarse nor too fine),——the due regulation of the period of maceration according to the hardness, density, and texture of the substance; and, more important still,——the proper packing of the ingredients in the cylinder. On the correct performance of the last the success of the process mainly depends. Some substances require considerable pressure to be used, whilst others, when even lightly packed, scarcely permit the fluid to pass through them. When the material is too loosely packed, the menstruum passes through quickly, but without exerting its proper solvent action; when too great pressure is employed, percolation either progresses very slowly or not at all. On the whole, the firmness of the packing should be inversely as the solvent and softening power of the menstruum upon the solids exposed to its action; but to this rule there are many exceptions, and each substance may be said to require special treatment. An excellent plan, applicable to all substances, and especially to those of a glutinous or mucilaginous nature, is to mix the powder with an equal bulk of well-washed siliceous sand before rubbing it up with the menstruum. In reference to the coarseness of the powder it must be observed that substances which readily become soft and pappy when wetted by the menstruum, should not be used so fine as those that are more woody and fibrous, and not of a glutinous or resinous nature.

The ‘method of displacement’ has the advantage of expedition, economy, and yielding products possessing considerable uniformity of strength; but the difficulties attending its application by the inexperienced are serious obstacles to its general adoption in the laboratory. It answers admirably for the preparation of all tinctures that are not of a resinous nature, and for most infusions of a woody and fibrous substances, as roots, woods, barks, leaves, seeds, insects, &c., and particularly when cold or tepid water is taken as the solvent. It is also especially adapted for the preparation of concentrated infusions and essences, as they may thus be obtained of any required strength without loss, or requiring concentration by heat, which is so destructive to their virtues.

“When (ordinary) tinctures are made in large quantities, displacement is never likely to supersede maceration, on account of any practical advantages it may possess. If the prescribed directions be duly attended to, the process of maceration is unexceptionable. The process is more simple than the other; the mode of operating is more uniform, it is, in fact, always the same; it requires less of skill and dexterity in conducting it; it requires less constant attention during its progress which, in operating on large quantities is a consideration; and, finally, the apparatus required is less complicated. When, however, only small quantities of tincture are made at a time, and kept in stock, the adoption of the process of displacement will often be found convenient and advantageous. It offers the means of making a tincture in two or three hours, which, by the other process, would require as many weeks.” (Mohr and Redwood.)

Another useful application of the method of displacement is to the manufacture of extracts on the large scale. Here it is superior to any other plan. By the simple and inexpensive forms of apparatus in block-tin, stoneware, or glass, which have recently been designed for the purpose, not merely a first-class product is ensured, but a great saving in fuel and labour is at the same time effected. The reader is referred to the last edition of the ‘United States Pharmacopœia,’ and to papers by Messrs Saunders and Schweitzer in the ‘Pharmaceutical Year Book for 1873,’ and by Mr Campbell in the same publication for 1874, for additional information in the subject of “Percolation.” See BREWING, EXTRACT, TINCTURE, &c.

=PERCUS′SION.= _Syn._ PERCUSSIO, L. In _medicine_, the act of striking any part of the body with the fingers, or any instrument, to ascertain its condition.

=PERCUS′SION CAPS.= The composition employed to prime these articles is noticed under FULMINATING MERCURY.

=PER′FECT LOVE.= See LIQUEUR (Parfait amour).

=PER′FUME.= A substance that emits or casts off volatile particles which, when diffused through the atmosphere, agreeably affect the organs of smelling. The term is also applied to the volatile effluvia so perceived. The principal source of perfumes is the Vegetable Kingdom. Its flowers, seeds, woods, and barks furnish a rich variety, from which the most fastidious connoisseur may select his favourite bouquet. A few perfumes, as musk, ambergris, and civet, are derived from the Animal Kingdom; but none of these evolve an aroma comparable in freshness to that of the rose, or in delicacy to that of the orange-blossom, or even the unpretending jasmine. The Inorganic Kingdom yields not a single perfume, so called; nor has the science of chemistry yet been able to produce a single odoriferous compound from matter absolutely inorganic.

=PERFU′′MERY.= Perfumes in general; also the art of perfuming them. In its commercial application, this word embraces not merely perfumes, but also cosmetics, and other articles of a closely allied character employed at the toilet, the manufacture and sale of which constitute the trade of the modern perfumer. Formulæ for the preparation of all the more valuable perfumes, as well as of others met with in trade, both simple and compound, will be found under the heads COSMETICS, DEPILATORY, ESSENCE, HAIR DYES, OILS, PASTES, PASTILS, POMADE, SPIRIT, WATERS, &c., to which we refer the reader.

=PERFUMES, ACE′TIC.= See VINEGAR.

=Perfumes, Ammo′′niated.= These may be prepared by simply adding a sufficient quantity of ammonia to the liquid perfumes. When the articles are to be distilled, a cheaper plan is to add about 5 dr. of sal ammoniac and 8 dr. of carbonate of potassa to each pint of the article just before distillation. Ammoniated Cologne water is now a fashionable substance for spirit of sal volatile.

=PERIODIC ACID.= _Syn._ HYDRIC PERIODATE. (HIO_{4}.) 1. By passing a current of chlorine gas through a solution of sodic iodate, containing caustic soda, in the proportion of 3 atoms of the latter to one atom of sodic iodate. The hydrated basic sodic periodate, which crystallises out, is dissolved in diluted nitric acid, and precipitated by the addition of argentic nitrate; a normal argentic periodate crystallises as the liquid cools, and this salt being treated with water, is decomposed into a basic argentic periodate, which is insoluble, and periodic acid, which is dissolved. By evaporating the solution, the periodic acid may be obtained in deliquescent, oblique, rhombic prisms, which are somewhat soluble in alcohol and in ether.

2. From perchloric acid by the action of iodine. See IODINE.

=PERISTAL′TIC PERSUA′DERS.= See PILLS (Kitchener’s).

=PER′MANENT WHITE.= See BARIUM (Sulphate) and WHITE PIGMENTS.

=PERNAMBU′CO WOOD.= _Syn._ PEACH WOOD. The wood of _Cæsalpinia echinata_. It constitutes the paler variety of Brazil wood used by the dyers.

=PER′RY.= _Syn._ PYRACEUM, L. A fermented liquor prepared from pears in the same way as cider is from apples. The red rough-tasted sorts are principally used for this purpose. The best perry contains about 9% of absolute alcohol; ordinary perry from 5 to 7%.

Perry is a very pleasant-tasted and wholesome liquor. When bottled ‘champagne fashion,’ we have seen it frequently passed off for champagne without the fraud being suspected.

=PER′SIAN BER′RIES.= See FRENCH BERRIES.

=PERSPIRA′TION.= The liquid or vapour secreted by the ramifications of the cuticular arteries over the surface of the body. The perspiratory apparatus consists of a gland deeply seated in the corium, communicating by means of tubules (pores) with the surface of the scarf-skin.

The uses of the perspiratory functions appear to be to preserve the suppleness and sensibility of the skin, to maintain the temperature of the body at a uniform standard, and to remove from the system a number of compounds noxious to animal life. The perspiration “is a fluid whose regularity and continuance of exhalation are not merely conducive, but absolutely necessary, to health; without such regularity the animal temperature would run riot, and substances of an injurious quality would be allowed to permeate the finest and most delicate of the tissues of the body.” (Eras. Wilson.) “From the constriction or constipation of the cutaneous pores by the ambient air, especially when the body, beforehand put into a heat, is suddenly exposed thereunto, the serous particles which used to fly off continually in vapour, being now pent in, excite an intense and feverish effervescence; till, finding some other passage, either by the kidneys or by the glandules of the nose and windpipe, they are discharged by way of a catarrh; or, missing this separation, still keep up the ebullition, very often to the hazard of life, by suffocating the vital flame. And this is the natural consequence of obstructed insensible perspiration, which, in the vulgar phrase, is the same with what they mean by catching cold, and of which, give me leave to remark, that as fevers make two thirds of diseases infesting mankind, according to the computation of the judicious Sydenham, so two thirds of fevers very probably may take their rise from perspiration hindered.” (Daniel Turner.) Suppressed perspiration is also one of the commonest causes of diarrhœa.

=PERU′VIAN BALSAM.= See BALSAM OF PERU.

=PERU′VIAN BARK.= See CINCHONA.

=PES′SARY.= _Syn._ PESSUM, PESSARIUM, L. An instrument made of caoutchouc, gutta percha, box-wood, or ivory, inserted into the vagina to support the mouth and neck of the uterus. They are variously formed, to meet the prejudices of the party or the necessities of the case. The cup, conical, globe, and ring pessaries (pessi) are those best known.

Medicated pessaries are prepared by adding the active ingredients to a hard cerate, and pressing the mixture into the desired form. Astringents (various), belladonna, acetate of lead, mercury, &c., have been thus applied by Dr Simpson and others.

The different formulæ are given below:——

=Pessary, Alum.= _Syn._ PESSUS ALUMINIS. Alum, catechu, wax, of each 1 dr.; lard, 5-1/2 dr.

=Pessary, Belladonna.= _Syn._ PESSUS BELLADONNÆ. Extract of belladonna, 10 gr.; wax, 22-1/2 gr.; lard, 1-1/2 dr.; in each pessary.

=Pessary, Mercurial.= _Syn._ PESSUS HYDRARGYRI. Strong mercurial ointment, 1/2 dr.; wax, 1/2 dr.; lard, 1 dr. Mix.

=Pessary, Lead.= _Syn._ PESSUS PLUMBI. Acetate of lead, 7-1/2 gr.; white wax, 22-1/2 gr.; lard, 1-1/2 dr.

=Pessary, Iodide of Lead.= _Syn._ PESSUS PLUMBI IODIDI. Iodide of lead, 5 gr.; wax, 25 gr.; lard, 1-1/2 dr.

=Pessary, Tannin.= _Syn._ PESSUS TANNINI. Tannin, 10 gr.; wax, 25 gr.; lard, 1-1/2 dr.

=Pessary, Zinc.= _Syn._ PESSUS ZINCI. Oxide of zinc, 15 gr.; white wax, 22-1/2 gr.; lard, 1-1/2 dr.

=PEST′ILENCE.= See PLAGUE.

=PESTILEN′TIAL DISEASES.= All those diseases which are epidemic and malignant and assume the character of a plague. See CHOLERA, &c.

=PETONG′.= Same as _packfong_.

=PET′ROLENE.= The pure liquid portion of mineral tar. It has a pale yellow colour, a penetrating odour, and a high boiling point; is lighter than water, and is isomeric with the oils of turpentine and lemons. In its general proportions it resembles rectified mineral naphtha.

=PETRO′LEUM.= _Syn._ ROCK OIL, LIQUID BITUMEN, OIL OF PETRE; OLEUM PETRÆ, BITUMEN LIQUIDUM, L. PETROLEUM is an oil found oozing from the ground or obtained on sinking wells in the soil. To a limited extent it is met with in most countries of Europe and in the West India islands, but occurs in abundance in Pennsylvania and other parts of the United States and in Canada. It varies in colour from slight yellow to brownish black, in consistence from a thin mobile liquid to a fluid as thick as treacle, in specific gravity from 800 to 1100 (water being 1000) and is either clear and transparent or turbid and opaque. Petroleum is essentially a volatile oil, and when submitted to distillation yields gases homologous with light carburetted hydrogen of marsh-gas (Ronalds obtained three), liquids of similar constitution (Pelouze and Cahours isolated twelve), and solid paraffin-like bodies. Commercially petroleum is distilled so as to yield petroleum-spirit or mineral naphtha used as a substitute for turpentine and for burning in sponge-lamps and costermongers’ barrow-lamps; petroleum oil used all over the world as mineral lamp oil for illuminating purposes; and a heavy oil employed for lubricating machinery. The value of a sample of rock-oil is determined by thus distilling a weighed quantity in a small glass retort and weighing the products. The petroleum or middle product must be of such a character as to have a specific gravity not higher than 810 or 820 and to contain so little petroleum spirit that it only evolves inflammable vapour when heated to 100° Fahr. in the manner prescribed in the Petroleum Act, 1871 (see _below_). Any petroleum product or mineral oil which will not stand this test, and which is kept in larger bottles than one pint, and in larger total quantity than three gallons, cannot be stored or sold except by licence of the local authorities.

_Directions for Testing Petroleum to ascertain the
temperature at which it gives off inflammable
vapour._

The vessel which is to hold the oil shall be of thin sheet iron; it shall be two inches deep and two inches wide at the opening, tapering slightly towards the bottom; it shall have a flat rim, with a raised edge one quarter of an inch round the top; it shall be supported by this rim in a tin vessel four inches and a half deep and four and a half inches in diameter; it shall also have a thin wire stretched across the opening, which wire shall be so fixed to the edge of the vessel that it shall be a quarter of an inch above the surface of the flat rim. The thermometer to be used shall have a round bulb about half an inch in diameter, and is to be graduated upon the scale of Fahrenheit, every ten degrees occupying not less than half an inch upon the scale.

The inner vessel shall be filled with the petroleum to be tested, but care must be taken that the liquid does not cover the flat rim. The outer vessel shall be filled with cold, or nearly cold water; a small flame shall be applied to the bottom of the outer vessel, and the thermometer shall be inserted into the oil so that the bulb shall be immersed about one and a half inches beneath the surface. A screen of pasteboard or wood shall be placed round the apparatus, and shall be of such dimensions as to surround it about two thirds and to reach several inches above the level of the vessels.

When heat has been applied to the water until the thermometer has risen to about 90° Fahr., a very small flame shall be quickly passed across the surface of the oil on a level with the wire. If no pale blue flicker or flash is produced, the application of the flame is to be repeated for every rise of two or three degrees in the thermometer. When the flashing-point has been noted, the test shall be repeated with a fresh sample of the oil, using cold, or nearly cold water as before; withdrawing the source of heat from the outer vessel when the temperature approaches that noted in the first experiment, and applying the flame test at every rise of two degrees in the thermometer. See NAPHTHA, OILS (Mineral), &c.

=PEW′TER.= This is an alloy of tin and lead, or of tin with antimony and copper. The first only is properly called pewter. Three varieties are known in trade:——

_Prep._ 1. (PLATE PEWTER.) From tin, 79%; antimony, 7%; bismuth and copper, of each 2%; fused together. Used to make plates, teapots, &c. Takes a fine polish.

2. (TRIPLE PEWTER.) From tin, 79%; antimon, 15%; lead, 6%; as the last. Used for minor articles, syringes, toys, &c.

3. (LEY PEWTER.) From tin, 80%; lead, 20%. Used for measures, inkstands, &c.

_Obs._ According to the report of the French commission, pewter containing more than 18 parts of lead to 82 parts of tin is unsafe for measures for wine, and similar liquors and, indeed, for any other utensils exposed to contact with our food or beverages. The legal sp. gr. of pewter in France is 7·764; if it be greater, it contains an excess of lead, and is liable to prove poisonous. The proportions of these metals may be approximately determined from the sp. gr.; but correctly only by an assay for the purpose. See BRASS, GERMAN SILVER, LEAD, and TIN.

=PHARAOH’S SERPENTS.= 1. The chemical toy sold under this name consists of the powder of sulphocyanide of mercury made up in a capsule of tin foil in a conical mass of about an inch in height.

Ignited at the apex an ash is protruded, long and serpentine in shape. The fumes evolved are very poisonous.

2. (NON-POISONOUS.) Bichromate of potassium, 2 parts; nitrate of potassa, 1 part; and white sugar, 3 parts. Pulverise each of the ingredients separately, and then mix them thoroughly. Make small paper cones of the desired size, and press the mixture into them. They will then be ready for use, but must be kept from light and moisture.

=PHARMACY ACT.= The following are the principal clauses of the Pharmacy Act of 1860 (31 and 32 Victoria, cap. cxxi). We have separated and placed last, those provisions of the Act which relate to the sale of poisons:——