Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/317

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PINDTJS 251 PINE MARTEN take part in public affairs. Pindar ex- celled in all varieties of choral poetry, hymns to the gods, paeans, odes for pro- cessions, drinking songs, etc. But the only poems of his now extant are the "Epinikia, or Triumphal Odes," com- posed in celebration of victories at the great public games, the Olympian, Pythian, Nemean, and Isthmian. They are marked by an extraordinary variety of style and expression. No two odes have the same meter. Pindar attained the highest renown in his own age, and as a lyrical poet has no rival. When Thebes was destroyed by Alexander, the conqueror spared the house of Pindar. He died in 443 B. c. PINDTJS, the ancient name of the principal mountain range of Northern Greece, forming the watershed of the country and the boundary between Thes- saly and Epirus. It was, like Helicon and Parnassus, a seat of Apollo and the Muses. PINE, Pinus, a genus of trees of the natural order Coyiiferas. The Linnaean genus includes all kinds of fir, larch, and cedar; but as now limited the genus Pimis is distinguished by monoecious flowers and woody cones vnth numerous two-seeded scales, the scales having an angular truncated apex. The leaves are linear and very narrow, of a very dark green color, growing in clusters or in pairs, and surrounded by scarious scales at the base. To this genus belong many noble and useful trees. They mostly grow in mountainous or other exposed sit- uations, and their narrow leaves are ad- mirably adapted to evade the force of winds. Many species of pines, some of them very beautiful and very valuable, are found in North America. Besides those long known, and which are found in the States and colonies near the At- lantic, a number of the noblest species of this genus haye, during the 19th century, been discovered in California and the N. W. parts of the Continent. The red Canadian pine (P. resinosa) is found from Canada to the Pacific, but does not reach far S. in the United States. It is the yellow pine of Canada and Nova Scotia. PINEAPPLE, the Ananassa sativa. The leaves are hard and fibrous, with spiny edges. The flowers rise from the center of the plant, and are in a large conical spike, surmounted by spiny leaves called the crown. The conical spike of flowers ultimately becomes en- larged and juicy, constituting the pine- apple, believed to be the finest of fruits. The first particular account was given by Oviedo, in 1535, and it was first cul- tivated in Holland. More than 50 varie- ties have been produced. The plant grows in the S. portion of the United States and in Hawaii. In PINEAPPLE the islands they sometimes reach the weight of 17 pounds, though the average weight is six. PINE BLUFF, a city of Arkansas, the county-seat of Jefferson co. It is about 40 miles S. of Little Rock, on the St. Louis Southwestern and the St. Louis, Iron Mountain, and Southern railroads. It contains the State Colored Normal College, the Merrill Institute, a library, opera house, court house and other pub- lic buildings. It is the center of a fer- tile agricultural community. Cotton is largely grown. It has also an important lumber trade. The industries include railroad shops, cottonseed-oil mills, boiler works and sheet iron works. Pop. (1910) 15,102; (1920) 19,280. PINE BULLFINCH, or PINE GROS- BEAK, Pyrrhula or Pinicola enucleator, a wellknown bird with head, neck, fore part of breast, and rump bright red; back grayish-brown or black, edged with red; lower parts light gray; two white bands on the dusky wings; larger than the bullfinch. Common in the Arctic regions, whence it migrates S. in num- bers in the United States, more spar- ingly in Europe; called also pinefinch and pine grosbeak. PINE CHAFER, or PINE BEETLE (Hylophagus pinipey-da) , a species of beetle which infests Scotch pines. It feeds on the young shoots of these trees and eats its way into the heart, thus converting the shoot into a tube. PINE MARTEN, an animal, Mustela martes, distributed over Europe and Asia. The body is long and lithe, about 18 inches, with a tail two-thirds that length; legs short, paws with five digits