the pea family. It grows to a height of one to two feet. After its flower has faded, the stalk buries itself in the ground, where a number of yellowish seed pods are developed. These when mature are the peanut of the market. Peanuts thrive best in a light sandy loam, and in a moist, warm climate. In the south peanuts are more commonly known as goobers or goober peas. They are grown principally in Virginia, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. The crop has become an important one. Virginia leads with an annual yield of nearly 4,000,000 bushels. A large part of the crop is used for roasted peanuts, and a high value is placed on the peanut for forage and hay. In 1910 our imports of peanuts amounted to over 33,000,000 bushels. The peanut is cheap and its food-value high. In the manufacture of peanut-butter and confectionery it has come to be extensively used.
Pear, a species of Pirus (P. communis) cultivated from Europe, a member of the rose family. It is associated in the same genus with the apple and quince. The tree in form inclines to the pryamidal, otherwise it resembles the apple. The flowers as a rule are white. The peculiarity of the fruit is that the flesh consists of the transformed cup, upon whose rim the sepals, petals and stamens arise. It is often spoken of as the calyx, but it represents a support common to all three of the outer floral organs. This type of fruit, with flesh developed from the part of the flower which surrounds the ovary, is called a pome. The ripened ovary is represented by the core. The pear has been cultivated from the most ancient times, and has reached a high degree of perfection. It is highly regarded as a dessert fruit, and is extensively canned and preserved. It holds fourth place among our orchard-fruits. Particular attention is paid to cultivation in the regions between New England and the Great Lakes, in California and in portions of Oregon and Washington. Almost innumerable varieties have been produced, each with its appropriate name. In a wild or neglected state the branches are more or less thorny, but under cultivation the thorns disappear. For a parasitic fungus that attacks both fruit and foliage Bordeaux mixture is recommended. Borers and the codlin moth are insect enemies that work some damage; the former must be dug out once or twice a year, for the latter arsenical sprays should be used. See Bailey's Cyclopedia of American Horticulture.
Pearl, one of the gems found in certain sea and fresh-water shells. Shells generally are lined by the animals inhabiting them with a material which gives them a smooth surface. It is laid in thin, partly transparent plates, which produce a beautiful play of colors. This lining is called mother-of-pearl or nacre. On opening the shells, there are sometimes found rounded portions of this nacre, which have been formed by throwing layers of this lining material around a grain of sand or a minute vegetable or animal growth. These are the pearls used in trade and worn as ornaments. They vary greatly in size, those about as large as a pea being the best. The largest one known is two inches long and four around. The smallest are called seed-pearls. The value depends upon size, shape, color and freedom from imperfections. The round ones are the best, the button-shaped next and the drop or pear-shaped least. Pearls, when perfectly round and of extraordinary beauty, sell for large sums; the single pearl which Cleopatra is said to have dissolved and swallowed was valued at over $400,000. The finest pearls are found close to the lips of the shell or in the soft part of the oyster near the hinge. The largest pearl fishery in America is that of Lower California, from which come the largest and finest black pearls in the market. The most famous pearls are from the east, especially from the Persian Gulf and from Ceylon. In Ceylon fishing lasts four to six weeks. Each boat has a crew of 13 men and 10 divers, five of whom rest while the other five are diving. The work has to be done very rapidly, as the best divers cannot stay longer than 80 seconds in the water. When a boatload of oysters has been obtained, the cargo is landed and piled on the shore to rot, so that the pearls can be easily found. When washing out the dead animals, a close watch is kept for loose pearls, which are always the finest, while those attached to the shells are removed by pincers or a hammer. In 1889 in 22 days 50 divers brought up 11,000,000 oysters. River-pearls are found in freshwater shells in Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Russia, Germany, Canada, the United States and China. The chief river-pearl fisheries in the United States are in the streams of the Mississippi Valley; in Wisconsin, Iowa, Kentucky, Ohio and Arkansas. The lining of the shells, mother-of-pearl, is used largely in making buttons, knife and fork handles and inlaid work on furniture. See Gems and Precious Stones of North America by Kunz and Pearls and Pearling Life by Streeter.
Pearl, a river in Mississippi, rising in the center of the state and flowing south into the Gulf of Mexico. It forms part of the boundary between Louisiana and Mississippi. The river is 300 miles long and is obstructed by sandbars and driftwood.
Pearl Harbor, on the southern coast of Oahu, a Hawaiian island, and adjacent to Honolulu, is a land-locked harbor, 8 miles long by 4 wide, with a depth of water from 30 to 130 feet. It has great strategic value to the United States from the fact that it can be made an impregnable naval base
