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PISTACHIO NUT 



Pisano, NTCCOLA (3. 1206-78). 

 Italian sculptor. Born either at 

 Pisa or in Apulia, his best known 

 works are the sculptured pulpit of 

 the Baptistery of Pisa, 1260, and 

 that of Siena Cathedral, 1208. 

 These are inspired by the classic re- 

 mains of Tuscany. He worked also 

 at Bologna and Perugia. Archi- 

 tect and engineer as well, he influ- 

 enced a large number of pupils in 

 the direction of a less hieratic art 

 than had previously obta'ned in 

 Italy. See Pulpit. 



Pisano, VTTTOKE, OR PISANELI.O 

 (c. 1380-1456). Italian painter and 

 medallist. Born at San Vigilio, he 

 painted frescoes at Verona, Fer- 

 rara, Venice. Mantua, excelling in 

 the renderings of animals, particu- 

 larly horses ; an example is the 

 fresco of S. George, painted for 

 S. Anastasia, Verona. Animal life 

 is also well interpreted in his panel, 

 Miraculous Stag appearing to S. 

 Eustace, in the National Gallery, 

 London. A great number of por- 

 trait medals of contemporary nota- 

 bilities were executed by him. He 

 died in Rome. 



Piscary, COMMON OF, OR COM- 

 MON OF FISHERY. English law term, 

 describing the right of fishing in 

 another man's water. The right is 

 annexed to land. In some ancient 

 manors the whole of the freehold 

 tenants of the manor, and in others 

 the tenants of certain farms, have a 

 right to fish in the rivers or ponds 

 of the lord of the manor. This is the 

 original common of piscary. Some- 

 times the right extends only to cer- 

 tain seasons of the year ; and some- 

 times only certain kinds of fish may 

 be taken. A several fishery is an 

 exclusive right to fish in certain 

 waters. See Angling. 



Pisces (Lat., fishes). Zoological 

 name for the class of vertebrates 

 popularly known as fishes. See 

 Animal ; Fish. 



Pisces. In astronomy, the 

 twelfth constellation of the Zodiac. 

 It contains no bright stars. Alpha 

 Piscium is a variable double star of 

 the fourth magnitude, while zeta 

 and eta Piscium are triple. Owing 

 to precession of the equinoxes the 

 first sign of the Zodiac, Aries, is 

 now in this constellation. See 

 Constellation ; Zodiac. 



Pisciculture (Lat. piscis, fish). 

 Term used for the culture of fish. 

 See Fish Culture ; Fish Hatchery. 



Piscina (Lat., a fishpond, cis- 

 tern). In eccles. architecture, a 

 bowl for water recessed in a niche, 

 in which the priest could wash his 

 hands or the sacred vessels after 

 the service. Its place was generally 

 in the sanctuary wall, south of the 

 altar ; where there was more than 

 one altar, a piscina might be found 

 in the neighbourhood of each. The 



Piscina in the 

 chapel of S. Mary 

 Magdalene, Exe- 

 ter Cathedral 



piscina and its 

 arc hitectural 

 setting were 

 often very 

 elaborately 

 decorated. In 

 Roman archi- 

 tecture the 

 term signified 

 either a fish- 

 pond or a tank 

 for bathing. 



Piscis 

 Australis 01; 

 HIE SOUTHERN 

 FISH. One of 

 the southern 

 constellations 

 The chief 

 star of the 

 constellation is Fomalhaut or the 

 Fish's Mouth, one of the four 

 ancient royal stars. 



Pise de Terre (Fr, rammed 

 earth). Method of building adopt- 

 ed in pre-Columbian America, 

 familiar in France, and adopted by 

 settlers in Australasia, where the 

 material dries almost as hard as 

 cement. Walls are formed by ram- 

 ming earth or chalk into temporary 

 moulds or shapes of wood, which 

 are removed when the earthen 

 walls can dispense with support. 

 Corrugated iron roofing completes 

 an inexpensive but primitive 

 dwelling. In 1916 the method was 

 recommended for adoption in 

 Britain, in view of the shortage of 

 housing accommodation, and in 

 1917 some pise de terre hutments 

 were constructed in Surrey 



Pisek. Town of the republic of 

 Czecho-Slovakia, in Bohemia. It is 

 24 m. W.S.W. of Tabor, and is a 

 rly. junction on the Watawa. A 

 medieval castle and fortifications 

 are still preserved. Here is a state 

 school of forestry and agriculture. 

 Woollens and cottons, iron wire, 

 and musical instruments are manu- 

 factured. Pop. 16,500. 



Pisgah. Mt summit in Moab 

 From it Moses was permitted sight 

 of the land of Gilead (Deut 34) 



Pistachio Nut. 

 the plant. 



Leaves and nuts of 

 Inset, single nut 



The word is usually accepted as an 

 alternative for Mt. Nebo, or as in- 

 dicating a summit of that int. 



Pishin. . District of British 

 Baluchistan. Occupied by the 

 British since 1878, it lies N. of 

 Quetta. The railway from Quetta 

 passes through it as far as the 

 Afghan frontier on the route to 

 Kandahar. Before 1878 it belonged 

 to Afghanistan. Area, 2,700 sq. m. 

 Pop. 55,000. 



Pisidia. Inland dist. of Asia 

 Minor, lying N. of Lycia and Pam- 

 phylia. In ancient times the in- 

 habitants, a hardy and warlike 

 folk, succeeded in maintaining 

 some degree of independence even 

 against the Romans. 



Piso, Lucius CALPURNIUS. Ro- 

 man statesman. As consul at 

 Rome, 58 B.C.. he took a leading 

 part in the proceedings which led 

 to the banishment of Cicero. He 

 was governor of Macedonia, 57-56, 

 and was attacked for extortion by 

 Cicero in two speeches. He was 

 father-in-law of Julius Caesar. 



Gnaeus Calpurnius Piso, governor 

 of Syria under Tiberius in A.D. 18, 

 was accused of the murder of 

 Germanicus, and committed suicide 

 before the trial. Gaius Calpurnius 

 Piso conspired against Nero in A.D. 

 65, and committed suicide on the 

 discovery of the conspiracy. See 

 Germanicus. 



Pissarro, CAMILLE (1830-1903). 

 French painter. Born at St. 

 Thomas, in the Danish Antilles, he 

 studied in Paris 

 under Antoine 

 M e 1 b y e and 

 C o r o t. His 

 earlier sym- 

 pathies were 

 classic, but he 

 came under 

 M a n e t's in- 

 fluence and was 

 one of the first 

 Imp ressionists 

 of 1874. Later, 

 h e launched 

 and led the Pointillist painters ; 

 but did not adhere too strictly to 

 the theory of the division of tones 

 held by this group. He virtually 

 confined himself to landscapes, pro- 

 ducing beautiful views of Paris, 

 where he died Oct. 12, 1903. 



His son, Lucien Pissarro (b. 

 1863), became an exponent of the 

 Pointillist method of impressionism, 

 exhibiting many landscapes both in 

 Paris and in London. As an en- 

 graver on wood he reproduced 

 several of his father's drawings. 



Pistachio Nut (Pistacia vera). 

 Small tree of the natural order 

 Anacardiaoeae, native of W. Asia. 

 The leaves are divided into three or 

 five oval leaflets, and the small 

 brownish-green flowers are without 



Camille Pissarro, 

 French painter 



