Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIII.djvu/545

 PINEL portation. The juice is used in considerable quantities in flavoring ices and sirups for soda water ; the expressed juice is put into bottles, heated through by means of a water bath, and securely corked while hot ; if stored in a cool place, it will preserve its flavor perfectly for a year. The unripe fruit is exceedingly acrid, and its juice in tropical countries is used as a vermifuge. The variegated pineapple (A. sa- tiva variegata), of unknown origin, has leaves 2 or 3 ft. long, green in the centre, margined with a rich cream color, and tinged with red on the edges ; it is a most effective decorative plant for the hothouse in winter, or for a vase in the open air in summer. The leaves of the pineapple contain an abundance of strong and very fine fibres, which are sometimes woven into fabrics of exceeding delicacy and light- ness ; it is probable that the fabrics advertised as pineapple goods are from the fibres of other Bromeliacece, of which there are many, espe- cially the so-called wild pineapple, Bromelia pinguin, with leaves 5 to 8 ft. long, abounding in fibre, remarkably fine in the young leaf. PIXEL, Philippe, a French physician, born at the chateau de Eascas, near Lavaur, Langue- doc, April 25, 1745, died in Paris, Oct. 26, 1826. He was the son of a physician, and studied in several colleges, supporting himself meanwhile by private teaching. In 1778 he went to Paris, where he gave lessons in mathe- matics, and wrote for the medical and philo- sophical journals. His proposal for a new classification of animals, based on the forma- tion of the jaw bone, gave him much reputa- tion. In 1785, taking charge of a private asy- lum for the insaue, he tried with success for six years the substitution of gentle measures for the harshness then almost universally prac- tised. In 1791 he obtained a prize from the society of medicine for the best essay on the treatment of insanity (Traite medico-philoso- phique sur V alienation mentale), and in 1792 was appointed physician of the Bicetre, which was a prison, almshouse, hospital, lunatic asy- lum, and nursery, all in one, the different classes of inmates mingling with one another. It was crowded almost beyond endurance, and in bad condition. All the arrangements of the asylum were changed by Pinel. Cruelty had rendered the insane patients so ferocious that no one durst set them at liberty. The number of cures he accomplished, even among these chronic cases, astonished the profession ; and his meth- od of treatment has been adopted in all civilized countries. (See INSANITY, vol. ix., p. 298.) In 1795 he was transferred to the Salpetriere, a similar institution for females. His writings on diseases of the mind gave the first decided impulse to the proper investigation of insanity. His work on the classification of diseases (La nosographie philosopMque, 1798) was almost equally famous. Besides the works already named, he was the author of many treatises on insanity and cognate topics, and several on subjects connected with animal mechanics. PINES 529 PIXEROLO, or Pignerol, a city of Piedmont, Italy, on the Clusone, in the province and 20 m. S. W. of the city of Turin ; pop. in 1872, 16,730. It has a cathedral and five other churches, and manufactories of silk, wool, cot- ton, liqueurs, vermicelli, &c. It came into the possession of the house of Savoy in 1042, but was several times conquered by the French, who held it from 1536 to 1574, from 1631 to 1696, and from 1796 to 1814. The conquerors during the 17th century considerably strength- ened its fortifications, but dismantled them on being obliged to give it up. The Man in the Iron Mask is said to have been for a time con- fined in the citadel here. PINES, Isle of. I. An island (Sp. isla de Fi- nos) in the Caribbean sea, 33 m. off the S. W. extremity of Cuba; length 43 m., greatest breadth 35 m. ; area, 1,200 sq. m. ; pop. about 2,000. The coasts are deeply indented by bays and inlets, some of which afford com- modious anchorage, though surrounded by in- numerable rocky islets or keys. A mountain chain traverses the island, the Sierra de la Cafiada, over 1,600 ft. high, and sends off two spurs : that of the Daguilla, 1,500 ft., and the Sierra de los Cabellos, over 1,000 ft. The country is well watered by several rivers, some of which, particularly those of las Nuevas and Santa Fe, are navigable 5 m. inland by craft drawing 10 ft. Among the mineral produc- tions are silver, quicksilver, iron, sulphur, and rock crystal; and marble of various beautiful colors occurs in large quantities. The centre is somewhat marshy, but the soil is elsewhere very fertile. Timber and precious woods are very abundant; and the cultivated products are the same as those of the Western depart- ment of Cuba. The climate being extremely mild and salubrious, the island is a common resort for invalids. Nueva Gerona, capital of the colony of la Eeina Ainalia, had in 1870 about 100 inhabitants. Other towns are Santa Fe and Jorobado. The colony is governed by a resident political and military commandant, under the jurisdiction of the political governor of Havana. The island was discovered by Co- lumbus in 1494, and was long the favorite haunt of pirates, among whom was Gibbs. II. An isl- and (Fr. tte des Pins) in the S. Pacific, belong- ing to France, about 12 m. in circumference, lying off the S. E. extremity of New Caledonia, of which it is a dependency, in lat. 22 38' S., Ion. 167 25' E. ; pop. (exclusive of convicts sent since 1872) estimated at 800. The greater part of the surface is a dry plateau, but in the S. E. part a single peak, the mountain of N'gu, rises abruptly to the height of 872 ft., forming a conspicuous landmark. The smaller islands clustered about this one are thickly covered with valuable wood, which is largely exported; but the isle of Pines, in spite of its name (which is said to have been given by Capt. Cook, who discovered the island in 1774 and cut spars here for his vessel), has a generally barren surface, with a broad belt of fertile land