PIC 
pitjue, whence the name of the game. Mr. 
de Moivre, in his doctrine of chances, has 
resolved, among others, the following 
problems : 1. To find, at picquet, the pro- 
bability which the dealer has for taking one 
ace or more in three cards, lie having none 
in his hands. He concludes from his com- 
putation, that it is 29 to 28 that the dealer 
takes one ace, or more. 2. To find at 
picquet the probability which the eldest has 
of taking an ace or more in five cards, he 
having no ace in his hand. Answer ; 232 
to 91, or 5 to 3, nearly. 3. To find at 
picquet the probability which the eldest has 
of taking both an ace and a king in five 
■cards, he having none in his hand. Answer ; 
the odds against the eldest hand taking an 
ace and a king are 331 to 315, or 21 to 20 
nearly. 4. To find at picquet the probabi- 
lity of having twelve cards dealt to, without 
king, queen, or knave ; which case is com- 
monly called cartes blanches. Answer; 
the odds against cartes blanches are 323 to 
578,956, or 1791 to 1 nearly. 5. To find 
how many ditferent sets essentially different 
from one another, one may have at picquet 
before taking in. Answer, 28,967,278. 
This number falls short of the sum of all the 
distinct combinations, whereby twelve cards 
may be taken out of 32, tins number being 
225,792,840; but it ought to be considered, 
that in that number several sets of the same 
import, but differing in suit, might be 
taken, which would not introduce an essen- 
tial difference among the sets. 
PICRAMNIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Dioecia Pentandria class and order. Essen- 
tial character : calyx thre^ or five-parted ; 
corolla three or five-petalled ; beriy two- 
celled. There are two species, viz. P. an- 
tidesma and P. pentandra, both natives of 
Jamaica. 
PICRIS, in botany, »x-tongue, a genus 
of the Syngenesia Polygamia jEqualis class 
and order. Natural order of Compositas 
Semiflosculos®. Cichoracese, Jussieu. Es- 
sential character : calyx calycled ; recepta- 
cle naked ; seed transversely grooved ; 
down feathered. There are six species. 
PICRIUM, in botany, a genus of the Te- 
trandria Monogynia class and order. Natu- 
ral order of Rolaceae. Gentianae, Jussieu. 
Essential character; calyx four or five 
cleft ; corolla one-petalled, four or five 
cleft ;■ nectary of four or five scales ; stigma 
bilamellate ; capsule half two celled, two 
valved. There are two species, viz. P. spi- 
eatum and P. ramosum. 
PICTS wall, in antiquity, a wall begun 
PIC 
by the Emperor Adrian, on the northern 
bounds of England ; to prevent the incur- 
sions of the Piets and Scots. It was first 
made only of turf, strengthened with pali- 
sadoes, till the Emperor Severus coming in 
person into Britain built it with solid stone. 
This wall, part of wliich still remains, begun 
at the entrance of Solway Frith in Cumber- 
land, and running N. E. extended to the 
German ocean. 
PICUS, the wood-peclcer, in natural his- 
tory, a genus of birds of the order Picaj. 
Generic character : bill straight, strong, 
angular, and wedge-formed at the tip nos- 
trils covered with bristly feathers, reflected 
downwards; tongue long, slender, cylin- 
dric, bony, jagged at the end, and missile ; 
tail of ten feathers, stiff and sharp-pointed. 
These birds live principally upon insects, to 
obtain which they climb trees, and are per- 
petually in search of those crevices in which 
their food is lodged. These insects they 
transfix with their missile and daggered 
tongue, which, when it has obtained its pur- 
pose, is by an almost invisible motion with- 
drawn wholly into the mouth. This pro- 
cess is incessantly repeated tliroughout the 
day, with inconceivable precision and cele- 
rity. Doomed to this perpetual occupa- 
tion wood-peckers avoid society, even of 
their own species, and appear to possess 
none of the animation of cheerfnlness or 
vigour of courage. They have no notes but 
such as are expressive of pain and sadness, 
and lead a life of labour and restlessness. 
There are fifty species. P. martins, or the 
greatest black wood-pecker abounds in 
Germany, and builds in ash and poplar 
trees, which they are said to excavate spee- 
dily, so as to expose them to be blown 
down by winds which would not otherwise 
have affected them ; under the hole made by 
these birds may be often found several pecks 
of dust and pieces of wood. They are of the 
size of a jack-daw. 
P. virides, or the green wood pecker, is 
the largest species in Great Britain, and is 
thirteen inches long. These birds are more 
frequently seen on the ground than the 
other species, particularly where ant-hills 
abound, the population of which they al- 
most extirpate by their incessant efforts. 
Occasionally this bird is not content with 
darting its tongue at them single, bqt by 
the combined exertion of its bill and feet 
lays open the whole nest, and commits the 
most wholesale ravage upon both the ants 
and their eggs. 
P. major, or the wit wall, is nine inches 
