in fortification, stakes sharp at one end, and sometimes shod with iron, used in laying out the ground, of about three feet long; but, when used for pinning the fascines of a battery, they are from three to five feet long.
artillery, are about five or six feet long, shod with iron, to pin the park lines, in laying out the boundaries of the park.
the camp, are also stakes of about six or eight inches long, to fallen the tent cords, in pitching the tents; also, of about four or five feet long, dri- wen into the ground near the tents of the horsemen, to tie their horses to.
Picket, an out-guard posted before an army, to give notice of an enemy approaching.
Picket, a kind of punishment so called, where a soldier stands with one foot upon a sharp-pointed stake; the time of his standing is limited according to the offence.
Picquering, a flying war, or skirmish, made by soldiers detached from two armies for pillage, or before a main battle begins.
Piquet, or Picquet, a celebrated game at cards, much in use throughout the polite world.
It is played between two persons, with only 32 cards; all the duces, threes, fours, fives, and fixes, being set aside.
In reckoning at this game, every card goes for the number it bears, as a ten for ten; only all court-cards go for ten, and the ace for eleven; and the usual game is one hundred up.—In playing, the ace wins the king, the king the queen, and so down.
Twelve cards are dealt round, usually by two and two; which done, the remainder are laid in the middle; if one of the gamblers finds he has not a court-card in his hand, he is to declare he has carte blanche, and tell how many cards he will lay out, and desire the other to discard, that he may shew his game, and satisfy his antagonist that the carte-blanche is real; for which he reckons ten.
Each person discards, i.e., lays aside a certain number of his cards, and takes in a like number from the stock.—The first, of the eight cards, may take three, four, or five; the dealer all the remainder, if he pleases.
After discarding, the eldest hand examines what suit he has most cards of; and reckoning how many points he has in that suit, if the other have not so many in that or any other suit, he tells one for every ten of that suit.—He who thus reckons most is said to win the point.
The point being over, each examines what sequences he has of the same suit, viz.: how many tierces, or sequences of three, quartes or fours, quintes or fives, fixes or six's, &c. For a tierce they reckon three points, for a quarte four, for a quinte five, for a fixieme six, &c. And the several sequences are distinguished in dignity by the cards they begin from: thus ace, king, and queen, are called tierce major; king, queen, and knave, tierce to a king; knave, ten, and nine, tierce to a knave, &c. and the best tierce, quarte, or quinte, i.e. that which takes its descent from the best card, prevails, so as to make all the others in that hand good, and destroy all those in the other hand.—In like manner, a quarte in one hand sets aside a tierce in the other.
The sequences over, they proceed to examine how many aces, kings, queens, knaves, and tens, each holds; reckoning for every three of any fort, three; but here too, as in sequences, he that with the same number of threes, has one that is higher than any the other has, e.g. three aces, has all his others made good hereby, and his adversary's all set aside.—But four of any fort, which is called a quatorze, always sets aside three.
All the game in hand being thus reckoned, the eldest proceeds to play, reckoning one for every card he plays above a nine, and the other follows him in the suit; and the highest card of the suit wins the trick.—Note, unless a trick be won with a card above a nine (except the last trick), nothing is reckoned for it; though the trick serves afterwards towards winning the cards; and that he who plays last does not reckon for his cards, unless he wins the trick.
The cards being played out, he that has most tricks reckons ten for winning the cards.—If they have tricks alike, neither reckons anything.—The deal being finished, and each having marked up his game, they proceed to deal again as before, cutting afresh each time for the deal.
If both parties be within a few points of being up, the carte blanche is the first thing that reckons, then the point, then the sequences, then the quatorzes or threes, then the tenth cards.
He that can reckon 30 in hand by carte blanche, points, quintes, &c. without playing, ere the other has reckoned any thing, reckons 90 for them; and this is called a repique.—If he reckons above 30, he reckons so many above 90. If he can make up 30, part in hand and part play, ere the other has told any thing, he reckons for them 60. And this is called a pique. Whence the name of the game.—He that wins all the tricks, instead of ten, which is his right for winning the cards, reckons 40. And this is called a capot.
Picris, Ox-tongue; a genus of the polygamia æqualis order, belonging to the syngenesia clas of plants. There are four species, of which the only remarkable one is the echoides, or common ox-tongue, growing spontaneously in corn-fields in Britain. It has undivided leaves embracing the stem, with yellow blossoms, which sometimes close soon after noon, at other times remain open till nine at night. It is an agreeable pot-herb while young. The juice is milky, but not too acrid.