The original Grey Pea, P sativum arvense 

 of authors, supposed to he wild in Greece 

 and the Levant, is probably the original 

 parent both of the few sorts of peas grown 

 by the farmer, and the countless numbers 

 of still increasing sorts of the garden. 

 Formerly varieties of the Grey Pea were 

 almost exclusively planted on the farm : 

 now, however, several garden varieties are 

 introduced to field culture, as the White 

 and Blue Prussian, Dwarf Blue and Green 

 Imperial, the Scimitar, and others. Peas 

 formerly took their place on the farm as a 

 seeding crop, but at present in the neigh- 

 bourhood of large towns even farmers cul- 

 tivate green peas. Before the spread of 

 the potato, peas formed a great part of the 

 food of the working-classes, especially in 

 the country ; and a seed so rich in nitrogen 

 was doubtless the cause of that superior 

 muscular development which obtained 

 among the peasantry in the last century. 

 So important was this crop held to be, that 

 in the letting or taking of a farm the acre- 

 age of Siddaw land (the term by which soil 

 that would grow good boiling peas was 

 known in Gloucester, Hereford, and Wor- 

 cester) was always taken into considera- 

 tion. 



Field peas are often drilled with horse- 

 beans, the mixture being known in country 

 vernacular as Poults— no doubt a corrup- 

 tion of Pulse. A greater breadth of peas 

 is grown in the counties of Sussex and 

 Essex than we have seen elsewhere, and 

 in the former county we have observed 

 roasted peas always ready in the huck- 

 sters' shops. Pea-straw is highly esteemed 

 as fodder, its large amount of flesh-form- 

 ing matter rendering it superior in regard 

 to its feeding properties to the straw either 

 of wheat or barley. [J. B.] 



PITA. Agave americana and the allied 

 species. Pita-fibre and Pita-thread are 

 names for the fibre, called also Aloe-fibre, 

 obtained from the leaves of the larger Aga- 

 A r es, such as A. americana and A. mexicana. 



PITANGA, PITANGUEIRA. Names ap- 

 plied to Brazilian fruit-bearing species of 

 Eugenia. 



PITCAIRNIA. A genus of tropical Ame- 

 can herbs belonging to the Bromeliacew. 

 They have linear spiny leaves, and flowers 

 in clusters, perianth of six pieces, the 

 three outer lanceolate keeled erect, the 

 three inner ones larger, combined into a 

 tube below, arching above or spreading, 

 and scaly at the base within ; stamens six, 

 inserted into a ring encircling the partially 

 adherent ovary ; capsule three-celled, three- 

 valved ; seeds numerous. Several species 

 of this handsome genus are in cultivation, 

 and have for the most part scarlet or yel- 

 low flowers. [M. T. M.J 



PITCH. The residuum obtained in the 

 distillation of wood-tar from Pinus syl- 

 vestris and P. Pinaster; the resin of pine, 

 extracted by fire and inspissation. It is 

 commonly known as Black Pitch. — , AM- 

 BOYNA. The resin of Dammara australis. 



BURGUNDY. The purified resinous 

 p of Abies 



PITCHER. A hollowed-out leaf, fur- 

 nished with a distinct extremity or lid ; the 

 latter being the lamina, the former the 

 petiole ; as in Nepenthes. 



PITCHER-LEAF. Nepenthes Phyllam- 

 phora. 



PITCHER-PLANT. Nepenthes ; also Sa- 

 racenia. — , AUSTRALIAN, or NEW HOL- 

 LAND. Cephalotus follicular is. — , CALI- 

 FORNIAN. Darlingtonia califomica. 



PITCHER-SHAPED. The same as Cam- 

 panulate.but more contracted at the orificej 

 with an erect limb ; as the corolla of Vacci- 

 niivm Myrtillus. 



PITCH-TREE. Abies excelsa. — AM- 

 BOYNA. Dammar a orientalis. 

 PITH. The same as Medulla. 



PITHECOLOBIUM. The majority of the 

 species now included in this genus of Legu- 

 minosce were referred by old authors to 

 Inga, from which they are not distinguish- 

 able by their flowers, but by their leaves 

 and pods. Thus the Ingas have simply 

 pinnate leaves, and straight or onlyslightly 

 curved thick-edged pods, which do not 

 open at maturity ; while the leaves of Pithe- 

 colobium are twice-pinnate, and the pods 

 either spirally twisted or very much curved, 

 sometimes so much as t'o form rings, not 

 thickened at the margin, and when ripe 

 splitting into two valves. The seeds are 

 usually surrounded by a thin pulp. Nearly 

 ahundred species are described, the greater 

 number of which belong to the tropics of 

 the western hemisphere, and the remain- 

 der to tropical Asia, with the exception of 

 one found in Eastern Australia. 



P. dulce, a large tree native of the hot 

 regions of Mexico, produces cylindrical ir- 

 regularly swollen pods curled at the top, 

 containing a sweet edible pulp, which the 

 Mexicans, who call the tree Guamuchil, boil 

 and eat. The Spaniards introduced it into 

 the Philippine Islands, from whence it has 

 been carried to India; and it is now plant- 

 ed along the lines of railway in the Madras 

 Presidency, where the fruit is known as 

 Manilla Tamarinds. Other species, such as 

 P. Saman in Brazil and Venezuela, also 

 yield eatable pods, which are given to 

 cattle like the Carob pods of Europe. 

 Those of P. cyclocarpum possess sapona- 

 ceous properties and are used as soap in 

 Caraccas, as also is the bark of P. bige- 

 minum, or an allied species, in Cochin 

 China ; while the bark of P. unguis-cati is 

 astringent. [A. S.] 



PITHYUSA. Euphorbia Pithyusa. 



PI TO. A sort of beer made from the 

 fermented seeds of Zea Mays. 



PITS. Depressions on the inside of 

 cells or tubes, formerly taken for pores, 

 which they resemble. 



PI-TSI. Scirpus tuberosus. 



PITTE (Fr.) Fourcroya gigantea. 



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