P IN
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P IN
Bcchic fills, are a fort of J>»//f good againft Coughs, (b
call'd from the Greek (35?, Cough They are alfo call'd Ny-
poglottides, becaufe left to difiblve under the Tongue.
Pills are ufually wrapp'd up in Leaf-Gold, in Sugar, or the like, to prevent the ill Tafts being perceived. They take their Name from the Latin, PiU, Ball. PILOT, Piioie, by the Dutch call'd Piloot, the Italians P 1 L o T A, the Spaniards Pi L r o, in Navigation, an Officer on board a Ship, who watches her Courfe, and directs it. See Course, Sailing, &c.
There are two kinds of Pilots; the one a Coafling Pilot, well acquainted with the Coafts, Ports, Roads, Bars, Sands, r>r. and who commands in Sight thereof. See Coasting. The other an Officer who makes Obfervations and takes Altitudes out at Sea, ufes the Quadrant, Fore-Staff, watches the Compafs, &c. See Observation, Altitude, &c.
There are alfo Pilots of Havens, Rivers, &c. call'd Loch- mans. See Lochman.
The Pilot is always the fecond Perfon in the Ship-, whe- ther it be a Man of War, or a Merchant- Man.— In the for- i)..-r the Captain is the firft, the Pilot the fecond. In a Mer- int'Ship, the Mafter is the firft, the Pilot after him. The Pilot is alio the Steerfman, who fluids at the Helm, and ma- nages the Rudder. See Steerage, Helm, and Rudder.
Menage derives the Word Pilot from Prorita, q. d. he who governs the Prow, or Head. Others fetch it from the old French, Pile, Ship.
PIMENTO, Pimenta, or all-Spice; an Aromatic Grain; call'd alfo Guinea-Pepper. See Pepper.
PIN, in Commerce, a little neceffary Utenfil, chiefly ufed by the Women in adjufting of their Drefs.
The Form and Application of this little Moveable need no Defcription; but its Conl'umption, and the Number of Hands it employs, are too confiderable to be pafs'd by un- noted.
Pins are now altogether made of Brafs-Wiar blanch'd : Formerly they likewife made them of Iron-Wiar, which being blanch'd like the others pafs'd, for Brats; but the ill Effefts of thofe Pins has quite difcarded their Ufe.— The French however could not be driven off from 'em, without feveral Arrets of Parliament. By a Sentence of the Lieu- tenant de Police, July 1695, the Seizure of fome Millions of thofe Pins was confirm'd, and the Pins condemn'd to be burnt by the common Executioner.
The Pins moft efteemed in Commerce are thofe of Eng- land; thofe of Bourdeaux are next, then thofe made at Rugle, Naigle, and fome Places in Normandy.
The Perfection of Pins confifts in the Stiffnefs of the Wiar, and its blanching, in the Heads being well turn'd, and the Points filed.
The London pointing and blanching are the moft efteemed; becaufe after forming the Points on the Stone, they fmooth them again on the Polifher; and in blanchiug ufe fine Tin well calcin'd, and fometimes Silver-Leaves prepared by the Gold-Beaters; whereas in other Parts they ufe a Mixture of Tin, Lead, and Quickfilver, which not only blanches worfe than the former, but is alfo dangerous, by reafon of the ill Quality of that Mineral, which renders a Puncture with a Pin thus blanch'd very difficult to cure.
The Confumption of Pins, and the Number of Artificers employ'd in the Manufacture thereof are incredible. In Pa- ris alone there were anciently above 1000 People employ'd in it, at prefent there are none; yet is there every Year fold above 50000 Crowns worth of the Pin-Wiar, to the Pinmahrs of the neighbouring Places, all brought thither from Stockholm.— -In the little Town of Rugle in Normandy, there are computed at lead 500 Workmen employ'd in the Pin- /Manufacture; the whole City being peopled there- with.
Notwithftanding that there is fcarce any Commodi ty cheap- er than Pins, there is none that paffes thro' more Hands e'er they come to be fold. — -They reckon 25 Workmen fuc- ceffively employ'd in each Pin, between the drawing of the Brafs-Wiar, and the flicking of the Pin in the Paper.
Pins are diftinguilhed by Numero's, the fmalleft call'd from N° 3, 4, 5- thence to the 14th; whence they are on- ly accounted by two to two, viz.. N° 16, 18, and 20, which is the Urged Size.
Befide the white Pins, there are alfo black ones made for Mourning, from N° 4, to N° 10.— Thefeare uftially of Iron- Wiar.
Laftly, there are Pins with double Heads, of feveral Nu- mero's, ufed by the Ladies to fix the Bucklas of their Hair for the Night, without Danger of being difturb'd by their pricking, C*r.
One of the Article of the Statutes of the ancient Pin- makers of Paris, was, That no Mafter fhould open more than one Shop for the Sale of his Wares, except on New- Tear's-Day, and the Eve thereof: This we mention in an Age of Luxury and Profufion, to recolleft the agreeable Sim- plicity of our Forefathers, who contented themfelves with giving Pms for New-Years.-Qifts 1
Hence the Cuftom of flill giving the Name Pins, or Pin-- Money, to certain Prefents which accompany the moft con- 1 fiderable Bargains; in which 'tis ufual to give fomething to. wa»ds the Pins of the Wife, or Children, of the Perfon with whom the Bargain is ftruck.
Ad Pinnas hibere, is a Method of drinking, ufed among the Danes in England.- — The Cuftom was to fix a Pin in the Side of a wooden Cup or Bowl; which Pin, each Gueft was to drink bare, upon Penalty of forfeiting.
PiN-and-lVch, a horny Induration of the Membranes of the Eye, not greatly unlike a Cataract. SeeC.tTARACT.
The Pin and Web is the fame with what we otherwife call Panntts, Vnguis, Pterygium, &c. See Pannus, Pte- rygium, 0-c.
Pitt-Wheel, of aCIock, the fame with theftriking Wheel; See Wheel and Clock.
P I N D A R 1 C, in Poetry, an Ode form'd in Imitation of the manner of Pindar, See Ode.
The Pindaric Manner is dillinguilh'd by the Boldnefs and Height of the Flights, the Suddennefs and Surprizingnefs of the Tranfitions, and the teeming Irregularity, Wildnefs, and Enthufiafm of the whole.
Pindar, whence the manner takes its Name, was otThcbes. He flourilh'd about 478 Years before Chrifl; and was co- temporary with zAtfcliylut : What we have remaining of his is a Book of Odes, all in Praife of the Victors at the Olym- pian, Pythian, Nemitan, and Iflhmian Games -, whence the firft is entitled the Olympians, the fecond the Pythians, the third the Nem&ans, and the fourth the Ifihmians.
Pindar is full of Force and Fire; his Thoughts fenten- tious, his Style impetuous; his Sallies daring, and frequent- ly running as it were at random : he affects a beautiful Dif- order, which is the Effect of the greateft Art.
The fuppofed Irregularity of his Numbers has made fe- veral of his Imitators imagine themfelves Pindaric Poets, by the meer Wildnefs and Irregularity of their Verfes.— None of our Writers teem to have fucceeded in the Pindaric Cha- racter, but Mr. Cowley.
In a Pindaric Ode, the Plan of the whole is to be drawn firft, and the Places mark'd out where the elegant Sallies and Wandrings may beft be, and how the Returns may be juftly made to the Subject.
PINCHING, in Gardening, a fort of pruning •, per- form'd by nipping or breaking off the Branches, or Sprigs of a Plant, or Tree, between the Nails of two Fingers. See Pruning.
Moft Gardeners hold, that pinching contributes to the Abundance of the Fruit, as well as of the Branches; and fay, that young Shoots, thus lopp'd, are lefs apt to grow black and die, than when cut with a pruning Knife.
The Seafon for pinching is chiefly in April or May, fome- times 'tis alio practis'd in June and July.
Pinching is moft ufual in Melons, Cucumbers, &c. Ouin- tinyc alfo prefcribes it for Fruit-Trees.
It is chiefly to be practifed on the large Branches towards the Top of the Tree, which are ufelefs and yet confume a great Quantity of good Sap. It malt rarely be practifed on the large Branches below; which ought always to be pre- ferv'd for the Winter's pruning, that they may yield others,
the following Year, fit to fill the empty Places Nor moft
the Operation of pinching be perform'd on the tender Shoots; becaufe having only juftSap enough for. themfelves, when they come to put forth more Branches' in the Place where they are pinch d, the fmall Stock of Sap allotted them being divided, will ftarve them — The Operation is p-rform'd within two or three Eyes of the Branch they grow out of . .
The Effect of pinching is, that inftead of one ufelefs, per- haps hurtful, Wood-Branch, a vigorous Tree will put forth two or three at the Eyes remaining; and the Sap beinjg thus divided, the Branches may be lefs, and fit foi" Wocid and Fruit.
Pinching, in the Manage, is when, the Horfe ftanding, the Rider holds him faft with the Bridle-hand, and applies the Spurs jult to the Hairs of his Sides, without pricking him.
Pinching is accounted an Aid, fpurring a Correction. See Aid.
P I N E A, or Pigne, in Commerce, a Term ufed in Peru and Chili, for a kind of light, porous Maffes, or Lumps, form'd of a Mixture of Mercury and Silver-Dull from the Mines. See Silver.
The Ore, or Mineral of Silver, being dug out of the Veins of the Mine, is firft broke, then ground in Mills for the Purpofe, driven by Water with IronPeftles of 200 Pound-Weight. — The Mineral thus pulveriz'd, is next (ifted, then work'd up with Water into a Pafle, which when half dry, is cut into Pieces, call'd Cuerpo's, a Foot long.-, weighing each about 2500 Pound.
Each Cuerpo is again kneaded up with Sea-Salt, which diffolving incorporates with it.— -They then add Mercury, from 10 to 20 Pound for each Cuerpo, kneading the Pails a-frefh 'till the Mercury be incorporated therewith. This
