PIL 
wood, on which the bodies of the deceased 
W'ere laid in order to be burnt. 
Pile, in coinage, denotes a kind of pun- 
cheon, which in the old way of coining with 
the hammer, contained the arms, or other 
figure and inscription to be struck on the 
coin. Accordingly we still call the arms 
side of a piece of money the pile, and the 
liead the cross , because in ancient coin, a 
cross usually took the place of the head in 
ours : but some will have it called pile, from 
the impression of a church built on piles, 
struck on this side our ancient coins, and 
others will have it to come fronj pile, the 
old French word for a ship. 
Pile, in heraldry, an ordinary in form of 
a wedge, contracting from the chief, and 
terminating in a point towards the bottom 
of the shield. The pile, like other ordina- 
ries, is borne inverted, ingrailed, &c. and 
issues indifferently from any point of the 
verge of an escutcheon. 
Pile engine. See Engine. 
Pile, in military affairs. Piles of shot or 
shells, are generally formed in the King’s 
magazines, in three different manners : the 
base is either a triangular square, or a rec- 
tangle ; and from thence the piles are called 
triangular, square, and oblong. 
Rules for finding the 'Number of Shot in 
any Pile. 
Pile, triangular. Multiply the number 
in the side of the base by the base -|- 1, this 
product by the base -f- 2, and divide by 6. 
Pile, square. Multiply the bottom vow 
by the bottom row -j- 1, and this product 
by twice the bottom row -j- 2, and divide 
by 6. 
Piles, rectangular. Multiply the breadth 
of the base by itself rf- 1, and this product 
by three times the difference between the 
length and breadth of the base, added to 
twice the breadth -j- 1, and divide by 6. 
ViL&s, incomplete. Incomplete piles being 
only frustrums, wanting a similar small pile 
on the top, compute first the whole pile as 
if complete, and also the small pile wanting 
at top ; and then subtract the one number 
from the other. 
PILEUS, in botany, the orbicular hori- 
zontal expansion, or upper part of a mush- 
room, which covers the fructification. This, 
from its figure, is termed, by botanists, the 
hat of the mushroom. 
PILL. See Pharmacy. 
PILLAR, in architecture, a kind of irre- 
gular column, round and insulated, but de> 
PIM 
viating from the proportions of a just co- 
lumn. See Architecture. 
PILLORY, was anciently a post erected 
in a cross road, by the Lord of the Manor, 
with his arms upon it, as a mark of his seig- 
nory, and sometimes with a collar to fix 
criminals to. At present, it is a wooden 
machine, made to confine the head ' and 
hands, in order to expose criminals to pub- 
lic view, and to render them publicly in- 
famous. 
PILOCARPOS, in botany, a genus of 
the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
Natural order of Dumos®. Rhamni, Jus- 
sieu. . Essential character : calyx five-leav- 
ed ; corolla five-petalled ; filaments inserted 
below the germ ; pericarpium with from 
two to five cocculi, united below, elastic. 
There is only one species, riz. P. racemosus, 
a native of the West Indies. 
PILOT, a person employed to conduct 
ships over bars and sands, or through intri- 
cate channels, into a road or harbour. Pilots 
are iio constant and standing officers aboard 
our vessels, but are called in occasionally, 
on coasts or shores unknown to the Master, 
and having piloted in the vessel, thpy return 
to the shore where they reside. 
Every respect and attention are paid to 
pilots on board his Majesty’s ships : they 
are likewise well accommodated, and when 
conducting a ship have the sole command of 
it, and may give orders for steering, setting, 
trimming, &c. The captain is to see that 
all the officers and men obey his orders. 
Pilot. All pilots must be examined and 
approved by the Trinity House. 3 Geo. I. 
c. 13. And for the particular regulations of 
the pilots of the Trinity House, at Dept- 
ford, see the statute 5 Geo 11. c. 30. 
PILULARIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Cryptogamia Miscellanese class and order. 
Natural order of Filices, or Ferns. Generic 
character : common receptacle globose, 
with four cells and four valves, lined with 
numerous anthers, and many globose germs 
beneath them. There is but one species, 
viz. P. globulifera, pill-wort, of peeper- 
grass. 
PIMELEA, in botany, a genus of the 
Diandria Monogynia class and order. Essen- 
tial character : calyx none ; corolla four- 
cleft; stamina inserted into the throat; nut 
covered with a bark, one-celled. There are 
four species, natives of New Zealand, and 
jfew South Wales. 
PIMELIA, in natural history, a genus of 
insects of the order Coleoptera. Generic 
character ; antenn® filiform ; feelers four j 
