both the claimants to the council so convened. Neither of them complied with the citation; but the council proceeded, nevertheless, to examine and deliberate upon the cause. It was opened at Pisa, March 25, 1409, there being present 22 cardinals, 4 patriarchs, 12 archbishops, 80 bishops, together with representatives of 12 archbishops and 102 bishops, and a vast body of abbots, doctors in theology, and other eminent ecclesiastics. Of the proceedings, it will be enough to say, that after a formal citation of the rival popes to appear within a stated period, the council, on the expiration of that period, proceeded to declare them contumacious, and to examine their respective claims as though they had appeared. The result, after a protracted inquiry, was a decree in the 13th session by which they were both declared schismatics, and their conduct heretical, and calculated to lead the people from the faith; wherefore, since they had violated the Bolemn engagements made at their respective elections, they were deposed from the papal dignity, and their followers released from obedience. In the 17th session, the cardinals having first pledged themselves by oath, each, that, if elected, he would continue the sittings of the council, entered into conclave to the number of 24, and unanimously elected Peter Philargi, one of the cardinal priests, and a member of the Franciscan order. He took the name of Alexander V. The council proceeded after his election to pass a number of decrees, for the purpose of giving validity to the acts done on either side during the schism. A vain attempt was made to obtain the submission of the still recusant rivals, and it was resolved that a new council should be held within three years. The authority of this council, like that of the Council of Constance, is alleged, on the Gallican side, as establishing the superiority of a general council over the pope. But the Ultramontanes reply that both these councils, and also that of Basel, must be regarded as abnormal assemblies, called to meet the special emergency of a disputed succession and of a doubtful pope, and that these principles cannot by any means be applied to the ordinary circumstances of the church, or form a precedent by which to estimate the normal relations between a pope whose title is certain and undisputed, and a general council regularly assembled at a time of peace, and in the ordinary circumstances of the church. It cannot be doubted, nevertheless, that the spirit of the fathers of Pisa was the same which ran through the succeeding assemblies of Constance and Basel, and found its permanent representation in the Gallicanism (see GALLICAN CHURCH) of later centuries.

which forms the southern part of the boundary PISCATAQUA, a river about 80 miles in length, between Maine and New Hampshire, U.S., and empties itself into the Atlantic, forming at its

mouth the excellent harbour of Portsmouth.

PI'SCICULTURE, or FISH-CULTURE, the breeding and rearing of fishes, in order to the increase of the supply for food. Hitherto, it has been almost entirely limited to fresh-water fishes; nothing having been done as to sea-fishes but by legislation-chiefly in the case of the herring-to prevent the destruction of the very young fish, and that not, apparently, to much advantage. Ponds for sea-fishes have, indeed, been sometimes constructed, advantage being taken of natural circumstances favourable for the purpose; the ancient Romans had such ponds, and some have been made on different parts of the British coast; fishes being caught in the open sea and placed in them to be fed and fattened for the table. Such ponds, however, are of little real utility. That the Romans

succeeded in keeping sea-fishes in fresh-water ponds, as has been asserted, must be regarded as mere fable, or as an exaggeration, founded on the power which a few fishes have of adapting themselves both to fresh and salt water. But it may be doubted if in modern times sufficient advantage has been taken of this power.

Ponds for fresh-water fishes have been common

from a very remote antiquity. It appears from Isaiah, xix. 10, that they were used in ancient Egypt. In the times of Roman luxury, almost every wealthy citizen had fish-ponds. The Chinese have long bestowed more attention on pisciculture than any other nation, and with them it is truly a branch of economy, tending to the increase of the supply of food and of the national wealth; not merely, as it seems to have been among the Romans, an appliance of the luxury of the great. In some countries of modern Europe, this branch of pisci culture is also prosecuted to a very considerable extent, particularly in Germany and Sweden, and of late years in France, in order to the supply of fish for the market. In Britain, it has never been systematically prosecuted, or for any important purpose; the country-seats of the nobility and gentry being, indeed, generally provided with fishponds, but in most cases rather as ornamental waters than for use. In the northern parts of Britain, trout, perch, and pike are almost the only fish kept in ponds; in England, they are often stocked with carp and tench, and are turned to much better account than in Scotland. In Germany, ponds carefully attended to are found very productive and remunerative. There can be no doubt that in Britain, also, many a piece of land at present very worthless, might easily be converted into a pond, and made to yield large quantities of excellent fish; but such a thing seems almost never to be thought of.

In the construction of ponds, or stews, for fish, it is recommended to have, if possible, a succession of three ponds on the same rivulet, with sluices, by which they can be dried, so that the fish may be easily taken when required, the different ponds being in part intended for fish of different ages. But all this must be very much regulated by local circumstances. It is of more importance to note that the margins should be shallow, so that there may be abundance of reeds and other water-plants, and that only a small part of the pond should be too deep for the growth of pond-weeds (Potamogeton). Much depends on the soil of the neighbourhood as to the supply of food, and consequently the growth of fish and productiveness of the pond. Trees overThe growth of weeds is more to be encouraged in hanging the pond are not desirable; the decomposi tion of their fallen leaves being injurious to fish. ponds for carp and tench than in those for perch or trout. A stony bottom is very advantageous to perch and trout ponds. Ponds for pike must be larger than is necessary for any other fish known to British pisciculture: an extent of at least six acres is desirable. A nursery for minnows may be established with great advantage in connection with a fish-pond, as they afford most acceptable food to perch, pike, and trout. But in a pond where carp and tench are expected to spawn, the presence of minnows is very undesirable. It is often impossible to provide a pond with a place suitable for the spawning of trout, for which a gravelly stream with a quick current is necessary; but for perch, pike, carp, or tench, the pond itself is sufficient, and the stock once introduced is kept up without replenishing. Indeed, it is recommended that a pond stocked with carp should also be stocked with pike, that the excessive multiplication of the carp may be checked,

The

The greatest improvement in pisciculture, and a most important branch of it, to which the term is often restricted, is the breeding of fish in artificial breeding-places, from which not only ponds but rivers may be stocked; or the art of fecundating and hatching fish-eggs, and feeding and protecting the young animals till they are of an age to secure their own food, and protect themselves from their numerous enemies. As at present conducted, pisciculture has become in many instances a profitable branch of industry; and the art has been employed in France with great success for replenishing with fishes many of the most important streams that had become barren through over-fishing; in Britain, also, this artificial system has become a profitable adjunct of one or two of our larger salmon-fisheries. Modern pisciculture is the revival of an old art well known to the ancient Italians, but which had fallen into abeyance for a number of centuries. The art of breeding and fattening fish was well known to the luxurious Romans, and many stories are told about the fanciful flavours which were imparted to such pet fishes as were chosen for the sumptuous banquets of Lucullus, Sergius Orata, and others. The art had doubtless been borrowed from the ingenious Chinese, who are understood to have practised the art of collecting fish-eggs and nursing young fish from a very early period. Fish forms to the Chinese a most important article of diet; and from the extent of the water-territory of China, and the quantities that can be cultivated, it is very cheap. The plan adopted for procuring fish-eggs in China is to skim off the impregnated ova from the surface of the great rivers at the spawning season, which are sold for the purpose of being hatched in canals, paddy-fields, &c.; and all that is necessary to insure a large growth of fish is simply to throw into the water a few yolks of eggs, by which means an incredible quantity of the young fry is saved from destruction. Although all kinds of fish are enormously fecund, it is well known to naturalists that only a small percentage of the eggs ever come to life, and of the young fish, very few ever reach the table as food. So many of the eggs are destroyed by various influences, and so many likewise escape impregnation, that if we are to keep up our fish supplies, pisciculture, or protected breeding becomes absolutely necessary.

Commercial pisciculture, as at present carried on, owes its origin to the French, the art having been first put in practice by M. Remy, a poor fisherman, who gained a living by catching fish in the streams of La Bresse in the Vosges. This re-discovery of the lost art of fish-breeding is understood to have been quite accidental on the part of Remy, although it is thought by some zealous Scotchmen that the Frenchman must have heard of the experiments of Mr Shaw of Drumlanrig, who, for a few years previous to Remy's discovery, had been trying to solve some problems in the natural history of the salmon by means of the artificial system. The art had also been partially revived in Germany about the middle of last century by a gentleman of the name of Jacobi, who practised the artificial breeding of trout. Whether or not Remy had heard of either of these experimenters, it is certain that to him we owe the revival of the art in its larger or commercial sense; the others only used it as an adjunct to their study of the natural history of fishes. In one sense, fish-culture was largely practised in this country long before the discovery by Remy of the system of artificial fecundation-we allude to the fact of there being large numbers of private ponds and stews in which country gentlemen bred fish for the

It was the great waste of eggs incidental to the natural system of fish-breeding that led Remy, about 1842, in conjunction with Gehin, a coadjutor whom he assumed as a partner, to try what he could do in the way of repeopling the fish-streams of his native district. His plan being at once successful, attracted the favourable notice of many of the French savans, and led to rewards and preferment for Remy; the new art was taken under the protection of the government; and now, after the experience of twenty years, artificial fish-culture has been so perfected in France that there has arisen at Huningue, near Basel, on the Rhine, a gigantic fish-nursery and egg-dépôt for the supply of eggs, and the dissemination of the art both in France and other countries. The place is fitted up specially for this purpose with egg-boxes and reservoirs; and millions of eggs are annually received, and sent to Germany, Spain, England, and other places. A drawing is given on the next page of one of the halls of this interesting establishment.

The course of business at Huningue is as follows: the eggs are chiefly brought from the streams of Switzerland and Germany, and embrace those of the common trout, as well as the Rhine and Danube salmon, and the tender charr or ombre chevalier. People are appointed to capture gravid fish of these various kinds, and, having done so, to communicate the fact to Huningue. An expert is at once sent to deprive these fishes of their spawn, and bring it to the breeding or resting boxes, where it is carefully tended till it is ready to be despatched to some district in want of it. It is, of course, much more convenient to send the eggs than the young fish, as the former, nicely packed among wet moss in little boxes, can be carried to a distance with greater facility. The mode of artificially spawning a salmon is as follows. It should, of course, be ascertained that the spawn is in a perfectly matured state, and that being the case, the salmon is held under water in a large tub, while the hand is gently passed along its abdomen, when, if the ova be ripe, the eggs will flow out like so many pease. The eggs are then carefully washed, and the water is poured off. The male salmon is then handled in a similar way, when the contact of the milt immediately changes the eggs into a brilliant pink colour. After being again washed, they may be ladled out into the breedingboxes, and left to come to life in due season. The period occupied in hatching is different in different climates. At Stormontfield, where the eggs have no shelter, the usual period is about 135 days; but salmon ova have been known to burst in about half that period, and to yield very healthy fish. Great care is of course necessary in handling the ova. The eggs manipulated at Huningue are all carefully examined on their arrival, when the bad ones are thrown out, and those that are good are counted and entered in a record. The ova are watched with great care, and from day to day all that become addled are removed. The applications for eggs, both from individuals and associations, are always a great deal more numerous than can be supplied; and before second applications can be

eggs are lost. The general calculation, however, is twelve living fish for a penny..

The total number of all kinds of fishes distributed from Huningue, during the first ten years was upwards of 110 millions! See HUNINGUE.

A very successful effort in pisciculture has been carried out in connection with the salmon-fisheries of the river Tay. At Stormontfield, near Perth, a series of ponds have been constructed, and a range of breeding-boxes laid down capable of receiving 300,000 eggs; and in a large addition to their rental, the proprietors of the Tay fisheries are reaping the reward of their enterprise. The operations at Stormontfield were begun in 1853, and from the end of November till the end of December, 300,000 ova were deposited, and these coming to life in April 1854, remained in the boxes and ponds one half for one year, and the other moiety for two years before they assumed the scales of the smolt, and were seized with the migratory instinct. See SALMON. Every two years since the completion of the ponds, a brood has been obtained, and upwards of one million of salmon have by means of these ponds been added to the fish-stock of the river Tay, so as considerably to enhance the value of the fisheries. Another pond (there was only one originally) has now been added to the suite, for the purpose of holding the second-year parrs, so that a brood of 300,000 will now be obtained annually. At several other places in Scotland, the artificial system is being introduced as an adjunct to the natural breeding resources of different rivers.

The art of pisciculture has also been introduced into Ireland, at the fisheries of Loughs Mask and Carra, by the Messrs Ashworth, who have obtained excellent practical results from their enterprise. These lochs contain an area of water equal to thirty-five acres; and a communication with the sea having been opened, they now teem with salmon; and the proprietors are confident that it is as easy and as profitable to cultivate salmon as sheep. The latest experiment in fish-culture with the salmon consists in the introduction of that fish into Australia and Tasmania. Impregnated eggs carefully packed in ice were sent out in a fast-sailing ship, and were at once transferred to a suitable river, where (1864) they burst into life, with every prospect of becoming naturalised in that vast continent.

A series of piscicultural experiments have been very successfully carried on in the upper waters of the Thames, and the salmon has been bred along with various other fishes, upwards of 120,000 fishes having been added to the stock of the river; but the success of this experiment yet remains to be determined, as it is not certain whether the salmon will be able to penetrate to the sea, in consequence of the lower Thames being used as the sewer of London.

This branch of pisciculture has begun to be prosecuted to some extent in several countries of Europe, and has been deemed of sufficient importance to demand the attention of governments. It is probable that the attention turned to the whole subject of pisciculture, and the example of the transportation of salmon to Australia, may lead to

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the introduction of valuable kinds of fishes into waters where they are now unknown. The grayling has thus already been introduced into the Clyde and Tweed. There is no apparent reason why every valuable fresh-water fish of Europe should not be plentiful in Britain.

The French government are now extending the system of artificial culture to some kinds of sea-fish and to many of the larger crustaceans. See OYSTER. At Comacchio (q. v.), on the Adriatic, a curious industry is carried on in the cultivation of eels; and in the Bay of Aiguillon, there is an ancient mussel-farm in which large quantities of that shellfish are annually grown from the seed, and turned to very profitable account. There is no practical difficulty, it is said, in rendering an acre of water as productive as an acre of land.

PI'SEK (Boh. Piscek, sand), a small town of Bohemia, on the right bank of the Wottawa, an affluent of the Moldau, stands on a sandy plain (from which circumstance it probably received its name) 55 miles south-south-west of Prague. The town is old, and contains the remains of a royal castle. Among other institutions are a school of arts and a high school. The manufactures are woollen and cotton fabrics, iron wire, and musical instruments. Pop. 8178.

PISHAMIN. See DATE PLUM.

PI'SOLITE (Gr. pea-stone), a concretionary limestone, differing from oolite in the particles being as large as pease.

PISTA'CIA, a genus of trees of the natural order Anacardiacea, having dioecious flowers without petals, and a dry drupe with a bony stone. The PISTACIA OF PISTACHIO TREE (P. vera) is a small tree of about 20 feet high, a native of Persia and Syria, but now cultivated in all parts of the south of Europe and North of Africa, and in many places naturalised. It has pinnate leaves, with about two pair of ovate leaflets, and an odd one; flowers in raceines; fruit ovate, and about the size of an olive. The stone or nut splits into two valves when ripe; the kernel, which is of a bright green colour, is very oleaginous, of a delicate flavour, and in its properties very much resembles the sweet almond. In the south of Europe and in the East, Pistachio nuts are much esteemed; but as they very readily become rancid, they are little exported to other countries. They are sometimes called Green Almonds. Oil is expressed from them for culinary and other In cultivation, one male tree is allowed to

uses.

five or six fertile ones. The tree produces flowers and even fruit readily enough in the south of England, but the summers are not warm enough to ripen the fruit, and the tree is apt to be destroyed by a severe frost.-The MASTIC TREE, or LENTISK (P. lentiscus), yields the gum-resin called Mastic (q. v.). It is a native of the countries around the Mediterranean.-The TURPENTINE TREE (P. terebinthus) yields the Turpentine (q. v.) known in commerce as Cyprus Turpentine, Chian Turpentine, or Scio Turpentine, which is of a consistency somewhat like that of honey, a greenish-yellow colour, an agreeable odour, and a mild taste, and in its properties resembles the turpentine of the Coniferæ, but is free from acridity. It is obtained by making incisions in the trees, and placing stones for the turpentine to flow upon, from which it is scraped in the morning, before it is liquefied again by the heat of the sun. The tree is about 30 or 35 feet in height; and has pinnate leaves, of about three pair of leaflets and an odd one; the flowers in compound racemes, the fruit nearly globular. The kernel of the fruit is oleaginous and pleasant.-The BATOUM TREE (P. Atlantica), a round-headed tree of about 40 feet in height, a native of the north of Africa, produces a fruit much used by the Arabs; and a taste, which exudes from its stem and branches, is gum-resin of pleasant aromatic smell and agreeable chewed to clean the teeth and impart a pleasant smell to the breath. The fragrant oil of the kernels of P. oleosa, a native of Cochin China, is used by the people of that country to impart a perfume to ointments.

PI'STIL, in Botany, the female organ of fructification in phanerogamous plants; that part of the Flower (q. v.) which, after flowering is over, is developed into the fruit. There is sometimes one pistil in a flower, sometimes more; in some flowers, of whorls, one within another, sometimes on an which have numerous pistils, they form a number elevated receptacle or elongated axis, or, more rarely, they are spirally arranged. In every case, the centre of the flower is occupied by the pistil or pistils, if present. See FLOWER. A pistil is either formed of a single Carpel (q. v.), as is the case when there are numerous pistils, or of several carpels combined; and the number of carpels of which the pistil is formed is often indicated by the number of the cells of the germen, or by its lobes or angles. The pistil usually consists of a Germen contained, and which is surmounted by a stigma, (q. v.) or ovary, in which the Ovules (q. v.) are either immediately or through the intervention of a style; but in Gymnogens (q. v.), there is neither germen, style, nor stigma, the female organs of fructification being mere naked ovules. germen is always the lowest part of the pistil. The stigma exhibits an endless variety of forms, and is adapted to the reception and retention of the pollen grains requisite for fecundation, partly by the roughness of its surface-which is of a some what lax cellular tissue, covered with projecting cells, often in the form of minute warts, and often elongated into hairs-and partly by the secretion of a viscous fluid. The stigma when not sessile-or seated immediately on the germen--is supported by the style, which rises from the germen, and on the top of which the stigma is generally placed. The style is sometimes very long and slender, sometimes very short; the germen sometimes passes imperceptibly into the style, and sometimes the style rises from it abruptly; and similar differences appear in the relations of the style and stigma; the stigma, however, may be regarded as always an expansion of the top of the style, although it is sometimes, but rarely, situated on one or both sides of the style, beneath its summit. I like

The