Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 15.djvu/554

PEACOCK. port it. The common peacock (Pavo cristatus) Isas for crest an aigrette of 24 upright feathers, with slender almost naked shafts and broad tip. The tail consists of 18 brown stiff feathers, and is about si.K inches long. The train derives much of its beauty from the loose barbs of its feathers, I while their great number and unequal length contribute to its gorgeousness, the upper feathers being successively shorter, so that when it is erected into a disk the eye-like or moon-like ^pot at the tip of each feather is displayed. The blue of the neck; the green and black of the back tile tail; the arrangement of the colors, their metallic splendor, and the play of color in chang- ing lights, render the male peacock an object of iiiiiversal admiration — a sentiment in which the bird himself seems to participate, as he struts about to display himself. hen the disk is erected, the peacock has the power of rattling the shafts of its feathers against one another in a very peculiar manner, by a strong muscular vibration. The peahen is much smaller than the adult male bird, has no train, and is of dull plu- mage, mostly brownish, except that the neck is green. Individuals with white plumage not in- frequently occur, in which even the eye-like spots of the tail are but faintly indicated; and pied peacocks have the deep blue of the neck and breast contrasted with pure white. The 'ja- panned peacock' {Pai'o nigripennis) is probably a variety ; it has deep blue wing-coverts and the female is grayish white.
 * aid wings; the brown, green, violet, and gold of

The peacock is generally supposed to have been known to the Hebrews in the time of Solomon, but it is not certain that the word commonly translated 'peacocks' in the account of Solomon's importations from Tarshish ( II. Chronicles ix. 21) does not signify parrots. It is commonly stated that it first became known to the Greeks on the occasion of Alexander's expedition to India, but Aristophanes mentions it in plays written before Alexander was born. It has taken a considerable part in the folk-lore and religious history of most peoples familiar with it. It is regarded as sacred by various Indian castes, was made the emblem of certain classic divinities, and its plumes are still thought 'unlucky' by many persons. The peacock became common among the Greeks and Romans : a sumptvious banquet in the latter days of Roman greatness was scarcely complete without it; and wealth and folly went to the excess of providing dishes of peacocks' tongues and peacocks' brains. Throughout the Jliddle Ages, also, a peacock was often presented at the tables of the great, on state occasions, the skin with the plumage being placed around the bird after it was cooked.

The peacock is now common in most parts of the world; generally kept, however, except in warm countries, for ornament rather than profit, although both the flesh and the eggs are very good. It readily partakes of all the ordi- nary food provided for the poultry yard, and is fond of buds and succulent vegetables. It is hardy enough even in cold climates, except that few eggs are laid and the young are difficult to rear. The adult birds sit on trees or on the tops of houses or stacks during the keenest frosty nights, never, if they can avoid it. submit- ting to the confinement of a house. A sketch of its history in civilization will be found in Stally- brass's English translation (London, 1891) of Hehn's work entitled Cultiinted PInnl.s nnd Do- mestic Animals in Their Migrations. Peacocks are found wild in almost all parts of India and Siam. In general habits they resemble other pheasants. They roost at night in trees, for .safety, but find their food and make their nests on the ground. When alarmed on the ground the bird cannot readily take wing, and is some- times run down by dogs or by horsemen. The female lays about ten eggs, dirty brown in color. The other species is the .lavanese peacock (Pavo muticus), a native of some of the south- eastern parts of Asia and neighboring islands. It is nearly e(|ual in size to the conniion pea- cock, but of perhaps more brilliant although very similar plumage. The cheeks and around the eyes are yellow; the neck, and other fore parts, greenish with golden reflections. The crest is longer than that of the common peacock, its feathers less equal, and webbed along their whole length. Consult the works of Jordan, Hume, Gates, Legge, Seebohm, Blyth, and other writers on East Indian ornithologv'; Darwin, Variation of Aytimals and Plants Under Domestication (2d ed., London, 1875) ; Gubernatis, Zoological My- thology (ib., 1872); De Kav, Bird Gods (Xew York, 1898). See Plate of Peacocks, etc.

PEA'COCK, Edward (1831—). An English antiquary, born at Hemsworth, in Yorkshire, December 22, 1831. He was educated by private tutors. In 1857 he was elected fellow of the Society of Antiquaries. His antiquarian works comprise mainly the Arm;/ List of Roundheads and Cavaliers (18G3; enlarged 1874); Instruc- tions for Parish Priests, bii John Miirc (Early English Text Society. 18(iS) ; A List of the Roman Catholics in the County of York, in IGOJ^ [?>'2) ;' Index to English-f^pealcing (Students Who Hare Gradu<ited at Leyden University (In- dex Society, 1883) ; The Moneton Papers ( Philo- biblon Society. 1885). Between 1870 and 1874 he published three novels.

PEACOCK, George (1791-1858). An Eng- lish mathematician and divine, born at Thorn- ton Hall, Denton. He was educated at Rich- mond, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, where he became second wrangler ( 1813), fellow ( 1814), and tutor and lecturer (1815). He was a fel- low student with Herschel, Babbage, and Wood- house. These four translated Lacroix's Differ- ential and Intrcgal Calculus (ISlfi), and were instrumental in the introduction of the Conti- nental notation of the calculus into Cambridge. In 1836 he was elected Lowndean professor of astronomy at Cambridge, which oflice he retained until his death, although he soon treated it as a sinecure. In 1839 he became Dean of Ely and removed thither. Peacock was one of the found- ers of the Cambridge I'niversity Philosophical Society (1819), Fellow of the Royal .Astronomi- cal. Geological, and other societies. In 1838 and 1843 he was member of the commission for standard weights and measures, and advocated a system of decimal coinage. In 1850 he was mem- ber of the royal commission and in 18.55 of the Parliamentary commission for drawing up new statutes for the university and colleges. His principal mathematical works are: Collection of Examples of the .ipplication of the Differential and Integral Calculus (18201; contributions to the Encyelopwdia Metropolitana (1825-26); Treatise on Algebra (18.30; 2d ed.. 2 vols., 1842-