PIEDRAS 



Piedras Negras. Town of Mex- 

 ico, in the state of Coahuila, for- 

 merly known as Ciudad Porfirio 

 Diaz. It stands on the Rio Grande, 

 at the S.W. end of the inter 

 national bridge over this river, and 

 is served by the International Rly. 

 "The surrounding district has cattle- 

 breeding, agricultural, and fruit- 



Steel and iron piers consist of 

 columns, pillars, or stanchions rest- 

 ing upon masonry or piled founda- 

 tions, sometimes braced together 

 and joined at the top by a girder 

 upon which the bridge superstruc- 

 ture bears ; high braced piers are 

 known as steel trestles. Masonry 

 piers are of concrete, brick, granite, 



Pier. Promenade pier with T-headed landing stage, showing different 

 systems of construction. Top, plan ; below, elevation. A A'. Cast-iron 

 columns planted in firm sand. B. Steel cylinder or caisson planted on rock. 

 C. Steel screw piles driven into firm mud. D. Tram line with crossing at 

 E, where pier is widened to give increased strength sideways. F. Landing stage. 

 G. Low level, ditto. H. Timber fenders. J. Mooring pawls or bollards. K. 

 Pavilion. L L. Offices and shops. M. Boat pass 



growing industries, of which the 

 town is an important centre. It 

 was founded in 1849. Pop. 6,500. 



Pie -Powder OR PIEDPOUDRE, 

 COURT OF. Ancient court of record 

 connected with every fair or 

 market in England. It was the 

 lowest court of justice, and, with 

 the steward of the lord of the 

 manor or the owner of the tolls as 

 judge, administered summary jus- 

 tice for all commercial injuries in 

 any particular fair or market. 



The name pie-powder is the Eng- 

 lish adaptation of the old French 

 pied pouldre, dusty foot ( = pedlar) 



Pier. In architecture, any iso- 

 lated vertical mass of masonry, 

 such as the supports of an arch, or 

 the square or round posts on which 

 a gate or bridge is hung. A number 

 of columns grouped or clustered 

 together is known as a compound 

 pier ; in this form the pier is a con- 

 spicuous feature of medieval archi- 

 tecture from the 10th century. 



Bridge piers are the intermediate 

 supports of a bridge, as distin- 

 guished from its end supports or 

 abutments, and serve to distribute 

 the weight of the superstructure 

 and its load over a sufficient foun- 

 dation area to prevent subsidence. 

 They vary from simple timber sup- 

 ports to great masses of masonry 

 on caisson foundations, such as the 

 piers of the Forth Bridge. Timber 

 piers consist of a grillage of cross- 

 piled timber or of vertical posts, or 

 of piles driven into the ground. 

 Small timber piers are termed 

 bents, and high braced piers are 

 usually known as timber trestles. 



or other suitable stone built up 

 from their foundations. Cylinder 

 piers are constructed by weighting 

 hollow steel or iron cylinders, sink- 

 ing them down to the right level, 

 excavating the soil, and filling them 

 solid with concrete upon which the 

 bridge girders rest. See Column ; 

 Pilaster ; Pillar. 



Pier. Jetty or staging project- 

 ing into a sea, river, or lake. A pier 

 may be built of stone, being then 

 more often 

 called a 

 mole, but 

 usuall}' con- 

 sists of super- 

 structure 

 beams or gir- 

 ders carried 

 upon inter- 

 mediate sup- 

 ports, such as 

 piles driven 

 or screwed 

 down to a se- 

 cure founda- 

 tion, carry- 

 ing rly. or 

 other traffic, 

 and provid- 

 ing em barka- 

 tio n and 

 landing 

 facilities. In 

 some waters 

 the depreda- 

 t i o n s of 

 the teredo 



Pier. Clustered col- 

 umnar pier in Nor- 

 man architecture 



render timber unsafe and useless in 

 a short time, and in some cases 

 creosoting proves of little use and 

 steel and iron piers are constructed. 



In piers of reinforced concrete the 

 superstructure and piles are of 

 reinforced concrete, the girders and 

 piles being built solid with each 

 other. Along that portion of a pier 

 where ships berth, tendering is pro- 

 vided, consisting either of timber 

 piles or of spring beams, which re- 

 sist the impact of vessels. Mooring 

 pawls or bollards are provided. 



The length of a pier depends 

 upon the distance from the shore 

 to a sufficient depth of water for 

 vessels to moor alongside, and the 

 length of berthing accommodation 

 required. In some cases the outer 

 end is enlarged or extended at an 

 angle, as in the case of the rly. pier 

 at Port Limon (Costa Rica), or in 

 the form of a tee head, e.g. the rly. 

 pier at Bahia Blanca (Argentina), 

 which supports very large grain 

 storage bins and elevators. Types 

 of promenade piers may be seen at 

 almost every popular seaside re- 

 sort. Southend pier in Essex is an 

 exceptionally long pier for both 

 rail and passenger traffic. Piers for 

 goods traffic are equipped with 

 cranes, conveyers, and other tackle. 

 Piers serve much the same purpose 

 as docks, and are sometimes con- 

 structed to serve as landing stages 

 within a large dock. They can be 

 rapidly erected, but owing to their 

 exposed position afford no shelter 

 to vessels, and are themselves liable 

 to damage by storms and collision. 

 See Breakwater ; Mole ; Pile. 



Pierce, FRANKLIN (1804-69). 

 President of the U.S.A. Born at 

 Hillsborough, New Hampshire, 



Nov. 23, 1804, 



he was called 

 to the bar in 

 1827. He was 

 member of 

 Congress, 1833 

 -37, and of the 

 Senate, 1837- 

 42, being a 

 strong Demo- 

 crat and a 

 consistent 

 supporter of 

 slavery. After serving with dis- 

 tinction in the Mexican War, he 

 was elected president in 1852 by 

 a larger electoral vote than any 

 previous candidate. His presi- 

 dency was marked by the passage of 

 the Kansas-Nebraska Act ; the 

 Ostend manifesto, advocating the 

 acquisition of Cuba by the U.S.A. ; 

 the Gadsden purchase ; the disap- 

 pearance of the Whigs and the 

 formation of the Democratic and 

 Republican parties. After his term 

 he took little interest in public 

 affairs, and died at Concord, 

 Massachusetts, Oct. 8, 1869. See 

 Douglas ; Gadsden ; consult also 

 Lives, Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1852 ; 

 J. R. Irelan, 1888. 



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