the most active peace societies of the present day is the Peace Society of the City of New York organized on January 23d, 1906. The remarkable success of the National Arbitration and Peace Congress, held in New York City on April 14th-17th, 1907, in which many distinguished foreigners took active part, was due in large measure to the wisely directed efforts of this society.
Peach, the well-known fruit of a species of Prunus (P. Persica) which is native to China. Associated with the peach, in the genus Prunus, are the almond, plum, apricot and cherry. A smooth-skinned variety is called nectarine. The peach has long been cultivated and many varieties have been produced. They are extensively cultivated in the warmer parts of Asia as well as in certain regions of the United States. The pericarp, that is, the transformed ovary, ripens into an outer fleshy layer and an inner stony one. Cultivation has done much in increasing the thickness of the pulpy layer. The tree is small, from 10 to 20 feet high and bears many branches. The fragrant, pink blossoms usually appear before the leaves; the leaves are lanceolate. In this country peaches are grown in orchards, but in England they are trained against walls and also cultivated under glass. Peaches are cultivated in the United States most extensively in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Michigan, Arkansas, Texas and on the Pacific slope. A great danger lies in the early blossoming and the killing of the fruit-buds by frost. Insect enemies are the peach-tree borer, the twig-borer, the fruit-tree bark-beetle, the peach-tree leaf-roller, scale insects and aphids. The trees must be carefully examined, and spraying is essential. They are subject to various fungous diseases, and under the best conditions are not long-lived.
Peach-Tree Borer, a larva that works much harm to the peach crop. The moth resembles a steel-blue wasp in appearance and emerges from its cocoon from late June to early September. It flies by day, and feeds on flowers. The eggs, brown in color, are glued to the bark of the peach or the pear close to the ground. As many as 700 have been counted in one female. They hatch in about a week. At once the tiny borer makes its way to the inner bark. Here it stays about ten months, feeding during this long period save in the coldest weather. It then makes a brown cocoon, usually placed near the ground and in about three weeks the adult insect emerges. In combating this grievous pest, trees should be gone over in September, May and late June, all gummy exudations watched and the larvae dug out and destroyed. There are few natural enemies to assist in the extermination of the peach-tree borer.
Pea′cock, a bird belonging to the pheasant family and conspicuous for the beautiful train of the male. This train is not composed of the tail-feathers, but of long feathers which overlie those of the tail and are called tail-coverts. These, with the tail, are capable of being raised. The birds roost in trees or high places, and always sit facing the wind. They make their nests on the ground, of small sticks or leaves. The peacock is a native of India and Ceylon, and is plentiful in their forests and jungles. Their diet is varied, consisting of worms, reptiles, grain, flesh or fish etc. These birds have been naturalized in many parts of the world. The plumage of the male combines blue, green, gold and bronze tints. The tail-coverts are especially magnificent, with bright-colored eye-spots, and can be spread into the form of a huge fan. The blue tint is so characteristic that it has given rise to the name of peacock-blue. The proud, self-conscious air worn when showing off his splendors, has given rise to the phrase: “proud as a peacock.” The bird is said not to exhibit these splendors save when sure of an audience. By the ancients the peacock was called the bird of Juno. But though the plumage is so beautiful, the voice is discordant, the utterance a scream. The flesh was once considered a great delicacy; peacock's liver being much in vogue at the old Roman banquets, and during the middle ages a cooked bird decked out in all its finery often appeared on the table of the rich. The female is not brilliantly colored, is brownish and is without showy tail-coverts. At first, both are alike in plumage, but the male begins to acquire gorgeous tints, and is in perfect plumage at the end of about three years.
Peale, Charles Wilson, an American portrait-painter, was born at Chestertown, Md., April 16, 1741. His education in art he received from a German painter and from Copley. His paintings are chiefly portraits, for which he was celebrated, among them being several of Washington. In 1785 he formed a collection of natural curiosities, founding Peale's Museum at Philadelphia. During the Revolutionary War he commanded a company at Trenton and at Germantown. He died at Philadelphia, Feb. 22, 1827.
Peale, Rem′brandt, an American painter, the son of Charles W. Peale, was born in Pennsylvania, Feb. 22, 1778. He painted portraits for awhile at Charleston, S. C., and then went to England and France to study his art. Besides his many portraits, he painted several historical pictures, among them the well-known Roman Daughter; and the Court of Death, Notes on Italy and Port-folio of an Artist, were published by him. He died at Philadelphia, Oct. 3, 1860.
Peanut. The pod and seed of an annual plant (arachis hypogaia) which belongs to
