Putrefaction
the apparently spontaneous decomposition of organic substances, especially those rich in nitrogen.
PUTS and CALLS, terms used in American stock dealings. The trade in privileges is something which is scarcely understood outside of Board of Trade and Stock Exchange circles. For $1 per 1,000 bushels a trader can purchase the privilege to "put" (sell) or "call" (buy) from the seller of the privilege at a stipulated price and within a stipulated time. The ordinary privileges are sold one day to be good to the close of the next session. In inactive markets the "put" and "call" prices may be close together and close to the market price of the property.
They are countenanced by the State of New York and are a regular feature in the New York Stock Exchange. In Illinois they are specifically classed as gam- PUTTY PYLE bling operations. The theory of "priv- brought from Sebastopol. The most ileges" is that they are a species of in- notable building is the Romanesque surance by which an operator can protect himself against market fluctuations. A trader who is "short" in the market can protect his position to a certain degree by buying "calls"; a "long" can prevent losses in the same degree by buying "puts." The insurance proposition is a theory, however, as "privileges" more often serve to originate new trades than to serve as an insurance on existing business conditions.