Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/294

 284 PERCH PERCIVAL of the northern parts of Asia; the body above is greenish brown, passing into golden-yellow- ish white below, and on the sides are from five to seven blackish bands ; the dorsals and pec- torals brownish and the other fins vermilion ; it is a bold biter, and its flesh is excellent ; it is voracious, omnivorous, and tenacious of life out of water; it deposits an immense number of eggs united by a viscid substance into length- ened strings. In some allied species the single dorsal is deeply notched, and the villif orm teeth are interspersed with canines. There are some sea perches belonging to the genus serranus (Ouv.), with a single dorsal, canines, preoper- culum rounded at the angle and smooth, two or more spines on operculum, and the jaws not scaly ; there are 26 species, many of them handsome fishes, abundant in the warmer seas, and some of them known to the ancients under the name of perca. The allied genus anthias (Bloch), smaller, with brilliant colors and scaly jaws, was famous in ancient times, and, according to Aristotle, was called sacred by the sponge fishers, because no voracious fishes came to the places it frequented to an- noy the divers. In other genera the dorsal is single and canines are absent, as in centropris- tis (Ouv.), which includes the fish often called black perch; this, with other fishes of the genera Idbrax (Ouv.), grystes (Cuv.), and others called white, ruddy, and sea perches, have been described under BASS. The bream (pomotis vulgaris, Ouv.) is often called pond perch ; the white perch of the Ohio is the corvina oscula (Lesueur). The salt-water perch, Conner, or chogset, so common around the rocky shores of New England and the British provinces, is a cyclolabroid fish of the genus ctenolabrus (Ouv. and Val.). In this fish (C. cceruleus, De Kay) the body is elongated and scaly, the pre- Salt- Water Perch (Ctenolabrus caeruleus). operculum finely denticulated, lips thick and fleshy, a row of conical teeth in each jaw and a band of villiform ones behind these, the scales cycloid, and the anal fin with three spinous rays. It varies exceedingly in size and colors, being from 6 to 16 in. long; it is generally bluish, but presents various tints of brown, rusty, coppery, reddish, or green, often with black dots, and irregular bluish lines on the head ; the front teeth are larger than the others, and the upper jaw is very projectile ; there is a single dorsal, with 18 strong spinous rays. It is an excellent pan fish, and is taken in great numbers from June to October. PERCHE, Le, an ancient division of France, in the old province of Maine, bounded N. by Normandy, and now included in the depart- ments of Orne, Eure-et-Loir, and Eure. In the middle ages it formed a county, which was permanently united to the crown in the 16th century. The capital was Mortagne. The district is noted for its draught horses, called percTierons. PERCIVAL, James Gates, an American poet, born at Berlin, Conn., Sept. 15, 1795, died at Hazel Green, Wis., May 2, 1856. At the age of 14 he wrote a burlesque poem on the times. He graduated in 1815 at Yale college, his tragedy of "Zamora" forming part of the commence- ment exercises. After teaching some time in Philadelphia he began the study of medicine, and in 1820 received his degree, but soon relin- quished practice. In 1821 he published a vol- ume of poetry, which contained the first part of 44 Prometheus " and a few minor poems. Hav- ing removed to Charleston, S. 0., he published there in 1822 the first number of the " Clio," a pamphlet of about 100 pages, consisting prin- cipally of verse with a few prose essays added ; a second part was composed entirely of verse. In 1823 he published in New York a collection of his poems, which was republished in Lon- don in 1824. In the latter year he was ap- pointed assistant surgeon in the United States army, and was detailed to West Point as pro- fessor of chemistry in the military academy ; but he soon resigned, and was made surgeon in connection with the recruiting service in Boston. There he contributed to the 4t United States Literary Gazette," and edited several works, one of which was a republication of Vicesimus Knox's 44 Elegant Extracts." In 1827 he removed to New Haven, and the same year published the third part of " Clio," and commenced an edition of Malte-Brun'& geog- raphy, which was finished in 1832, He was also during the year 1827-'8 engaged in assist- ing in the preparation for the press of Web- ster's 44 Dictionary." In 1835 he was appoint- ed, in connection with Prof. Charles U. Shep- ard, to make a geological and mineralogical survey of Connecticut, his report of which was published in 1842. From 1841 to 1844 he con- tributed to the New Haven journals metrical versions of German, Slavic, and other lyrics, and in 1843 published ' 4 The Dream of a Day." In 1853 he was engaged by the American mining company to survey their lead-mining region in Wisconsin, and in the following year he was appointed geologist of that state. The first report was published in 1855, and he was pre- paring the second when he died. A complete edition of his poems was published in Boston in 1859 (2 vols. 8vo) : and his life has been written by the Rev. J. H. Ward (Boston, 1866). PERCIVAL, Thomas, an English physician, born in Warrington, Lancashire, Sept. 29, 1740, died in Manchester, Aug. 30, 1804. He was edu< cated at the Warrington academy and at Ed- inburgh, and received the degree of M. D. at