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PIETRA DURA 248 PILCHARD PIETRA DURA, a species of inlaid work composed of hard stones, such as agate, jasper, chalcedony, carnelian, and lapislazuli, set in a slab of marble, gen- erally black. PIGEON. See Carrier Pigeon. PIGEON PEA, the fruit of the legu- minous shrub Cajanus indicus, a native of India, but now cultivated in tropical Africa and America. In India the pigeon pea forms a pulse of general use; called also Angola pea and Kongo pea. PIG IRON. See Iron and Steel. PIGMENT CELL, a small cell con- taining coloring matter, as in the choroid coat of the eye. PIKE, a military weapon, consisting of a narrow, elongated lance-head fixed to a pole or a simple spike of metal. The end of the staff had also a spike for insertion in the ground, thus allowing a musketeer to keep off the approach of cavalry while attending to his other arms. It is now superseded by the bayonet. Also, any individual of the genus Esox, especially Esox lucius, the commoft pike. It is one of the larger fresh-water fishes, sometimes attaining a length of five or six feet, and much esteemed for food. Pikes are ex- tremely voracious, and small fish and frogs form their staple food. They commence to spawn at three years old; the ova are deposited in March, and the spawning season lasts about three months. The pike are migrants, and have been known to travel overland. The head and back are olive-brown, sides paler, belly silvery white; body mottled with roundish spots, which sometimes form cross bars on tail. The English name has reference to the elongated form of the fish, or the shape of its snout. PIKE, ZEBULON MONTGOMERY, an American military officer; born in Lamberton, N. J., Jan. 5, 1779 ; was ap- pointed an ensign in his father's regi- ment in 1799; conducted an expedition sent by the government to trace the Mis- sissippi to its source in 1805; also made explorations in Louisiana Territory, dis- covering Pike's Peak and reaching the Rio Grande in the course of his travels. In 1813 he was promoted Brigadier- General, and on April 13 of that year while m command of the attack on York (now Toronto), in Upper Canada, was killed. PIKE PERCH, Lucioperca, a genus of fishes closely allied to the perch, but showing a resemblance to the pike in its elongated body and head. Like the pike, it is a dangerous enemy to other fresh- water fishes, but the flavor of its flesh is excellent. In Europe it occurs in two species. It also occurs in the fresh PIKE PERCH waters of North America, such as the Great Lakes, the Upper Mississippi, and the Ohio. PIKE'S PEAK, a peak of the Rocky Mountains, in Colorado, 65 miles S. of Denver, discovered by Captain Pike, U. S. A., in 1806. It is situated in lat. 38° 50' N., and Ion. 105° 2' W., and rises to a height of 14,147 feet. On its sum- mit is one of the highest meteorological stations in the world. PILASTER, a square column, gener- ally attached to a wall, as an ornamental support to an arch, etc., and seldom pro- jecting more than one-fourth or one- third of its breadth from the wall. PILATE, PONTIUS, a Roman ruler, who became governor of Judaea, A. D. 26. He commanded in that country 10 years. The Jews brought Jesus Christ before Pilate, who, perceiving that envy and malice occasioned their charges, wotild have scourged the prisoner and dis- missed him, but being threatened with the wrath of Caesar, Pilate delivered Jesus, whom he pronounced innocent, to be crucified. He is said to have sub- sequently treated the Samaritans with great cruelty, for which he was recalled by Tiberius, and banished to Gaul, where he slew himself, a. D. 37 or 38. PILATUS, MOUNT, an isolated moun- tain at the W. end of the Lake of Lu- cerne, rising opposite the Rigi. The lower half is clothed with wood and meadow, the upper portion is a mass of bare and jagged peaks, rising in the Tomlishorn to 6,998 feet. Below the summit lies Lake Pilatus. Since 1889 there has been a tooth-and-rack railway from Alpnach to the top, whence there is a splendid view of the Bernese Alps. In 1891 a steel tower was undertaken, to be 300 feet in diameter at its base and 840 feet high, and so pierce any en- veloping cloud. PILCHARD, Clupea pilchardus, an important food fish, found on the coast of Northwestern Europe. It abounds also on the coast of Portugal and in the