Perga

3673

Peri clet

 

fats, oil, spirits, soaps, inodorous inert mate-
rials such as starch or talc. The process of
extraction is carried out by distillation, by en-
fleurage, by maceration, and by expression.
All the ottos obtained by distillation, en-
fleurage, and maceration are soluble in alco-
hol, whence is obtained a spirit essence which
is in many cases more serviceable than the
essential oil. A ready way of producing some
kinds of concentrated essence is to dissolve
the essential oil in the spirit to form a tincture.
Musk, orris root, ambergris, tonka beans, cas-
tor, vanilla, civet and a few other odorous
substances yield their odors to spirits in this
way. The great bulk of the finest quality
perfumes are also produced by extracting the
fragrance from the enfleurage pomades and
oils by contact with alcohol. Besides the per-
fumes extracted from plants, some few are
obtained from animal sources—as, for exam-
ple, musk, civet, ambergris, and castor. With
the exception of musk_3 they are chiefly used
for fixing the more volatile perfumes, though
in a less concentrated form they are used as a
base, the odors of the base being disguised by
a judicious blending of other odors. Many
perfumes and flavoring essences originally ob-
tained from animal or vegetable sources are
now imitated by artificial preparations. These
are in general aromatic aldehydes, esters, or
ethers, and may be divided into two classes—
those which are substantially identical
with the naturally occurring substance, and
are reproduced as a result of the elucidation
of its chemical constitution; and those which
may have similar odor and other properties,
but are constituted quite differently.
Perga, a city in Pamphylia, Asia Minor,
about 10 m. from the coast; was celebrated
for the worship of Artemis, and was the first
town in Asia Minor visited by St. Paul on his
missionary journeys.
Pergamino, tn., Buenos Ayres, prov., Ar-
gentina, an important railway center, 64 m,
s.e. of Rosario; p. 39,000.
Pergamum, or Per gam us. (i) The cita-
adel of Troy, also the city of Troy. (2) A
city of Mysia in Asia Minor, on n. bk. of riv.
Catcus, about 20 m. from the sea. About 280
b.c. Philetaerus established there the kingdom
of Pergamum, which was held by seven kings.
Pergamum was celebrated for its library,
founded by Eumenes n., king from 197 to 159
b.c. The word 'parchment' is derived from
ckarta Pergamem, 'paper from Pergamum/
This city was the capital of the Roman prov-
ince of Asia, and an early scat of Christianity.
The modern name is Bergama.

Pergolesi, or Perogolese, Giovanni Bat-
tista (1710-36), Italian musical composer, a
native of Jesi, near Ancona. After several at-
tempts at opera he produced his masterpiece,
La Serva Padrona, (1731 or 1733). He also
composed Orjeo ed Euridice, and his famous
Stabat Mater.
Peri, or Pairika, is, in Oriental folklore, a
being of beneficent nature and having super-
natural attributes. A notable example is the
Peri Banu of the Arabian Nights.
Perianth, the outer floral envelope—calyx
and corolla—which surrounds and to some
extent protects the essential organs of gener-
ation in a flower.
Pericardium, a fibro-serous sac arranged
in two layers, the inner of which is closely
adherent to the surface of the heart and to
the roots of the great vessels, while the outer
is reflected from the vessels and continued
downwards to the diaphragm, to part of
which its external basal surface is adherent.
The space between the outer and inner layers
is occupied by the pericardial fluid, which by
acting as a lubricant facilitates the cardiac
movements. The most important pathological
condition of the pericardium is pericarditis.
Pericarp, the covering or envelope of
fruits. It usually consists of three layers—
epicarp, mesocarp, and endocarp.
Pericles (c. 500-429 b.c.) , Athenian states-
man, and perhaps the greatest constitutional
statesman of antiquity, belonged by birth to
the noblest families in Athens. In spite of
his noble birth and aristocratic temper, Peri-
cles came forward from the beginning as a
democrat, his first appearance in politics be-
ing about 469 b.c., as an opponent of Cimon.
In domestic politics he introduced the sys-
tem of payment for the performance of pub-
He duties, such as the archonship, and serv-
ing in the law courts on juries; as these offi-
ces were filled by lot, every citizen had an
equal chance of holding political office. In
foreign politics his aim was imperial; at one
time he seems to have hoped to make Athens
head of a confederacy of all the Greeks. He
also adorned Athens with magnificent build-
ings, of which the Parthenon and the Propy-
Lea were the finest. One great factor in Ms
success was his power of oratory; the sub-
stance of several of his speeches may be found
in Thucydides. In 440 he put down the revolt
of Samos, and in 433 he supported the con-
clusion of an alliance with Corcyra, which
led directly to the outbreak of the Pelopon-
nesian War. After his divorce from his wife
he lived in a close relationship with the fa-