MEDJIDIE 



MEERSCHAUM 



121 



winter. The evaporation from the surface of the 

 Mediterranean exceeds lioth the precipitation and 

 the annual discharge of the rivers flowing into it 

 from the surrounding catchment basin, for we find 

 the specific gravity of its waters ( 1 -02800 to 1 "0300 ) 

 to le greater than that of the Atlantic on the west 

 ( 1 -026 to 1 -027 ), or that of the Black Sea on the 

 east (1-012 to 1-014). There is even an outHow of 

 warm dense Mediterranean water into the Atlantic 

 beneath the lighter Atlantic water which rlows in 

 at the surface through the Strait of Gibraltar. 

 There is a similar state of things at the entrance 

 of the Black Sea, where there is an inflow of fresh 

 water from the Black Sea at the surface, and an 

 outflow in the opposite direction of salter Mediter- 

 ranean water by an undercurrent. Were it not for 

 the inflow of Atlantic water the Mediterranean 

 would slowly become salter, and shrink till reduced 

 to two salt lakes like the Dead Sea, The Mediter- 

 ranean is usually called a tideless sea. At Algiers 

 there is a rise of 3J inches at springs and half that 

 amount at neaps ; at other places the rise anil fall 

 is about 18 inches, and in the Gulf of Galies the 

 range reaches 5 feet, but the solilunar tides are 

 as a rule completely masked by the rise of level 

 and the surface currents produced by the action 

 of the winds. The deposits now forming in the 

 Mediterranean in deep water are all blue minis, 

 with a yellowish upper layer, containing usually 

 from 10 to 30 per cent, of carbonate of lime, which 

 principally consists of the shells of pelagic Kom- 

 minifera. The mineral particles and clayey matter 

 are derived from the disintegration of the neigh- 

 bouring land. In gome of the shallower depths 

 there are glauconitic and more calcareous deposits. 

 The deep-sea dredgings show that life, though 

 present, is much less abundant in deep water than 

 at similar depths in the open ocean, in which 

 respect the Alediterranean agrees with enclosed 

 in general. There is an extensive red coral 

 fishery ami tunny fishery on some parts of the 

 coast -i. The Mediterranean region appears to have 

 been covered by the sea from early geological 

 times, and (lining Tertiary times must nave had 

 much wider communication with the open ocean. 



Melji<lir. an Ottoman decoration, instituted 

 in 1852 by the Sultan Ahd-ul-Mcdjid us a reward 

 of merit either civil or military. It was conferred 

 after the Crimean efatfttgo, to a considerable 

 extent, on British ollicers. The order consists of 

 live classes, and the decoration is a silver sun of 

 seven triple rays, with the device of the crescent 

 and star alternating with the rays. 



Mrdl.'ir I .'/<</<//;(.), a genus of trees or shrubs 

 of the natural order ltosace:i-, sub-order Pomea-, 

 having a 5-cleft calyx with leafy segments, nearly 

 round petals, a large honey secreting disc, and '2 ."> 

 styles, united together in the flower, but widely 

 irated on the fruit, the upper ends of the liony 

 cells of which are exposed. The Common Medlar 

 (.!/. <irriii<inir.n), a small tree, spiny in a wild 

 state, but destitute of spines in cultivation, is a 

 native of the south of Kuroi>e and of the temperate 

 parts of Asia, but is a doubtful native of Britain, 

 although it is to l>e seen in hedges and thicket- in 

 tin- southern parts of Kngland. It has lanceolate, 

 undivided leaves, solitary large white flowers at 

 the end of small spurs, and globular or pear-shaped 

 fruit. The medlar is much cultivated in some 

 part* of Kurope, ami is common in gardens in 

 Kngland, but it does not generally ri|>en well in 

 Scotland without a wall. It is very austere, but 

 when btetted, or its tough pulp has l>ecoine soft 

 and vinous by incipient decay, it is relished by 

 many. 



MrdllirllllUIII. a village of Buckinghamshire. 

 near the Thames, 3 miles S\V. of Marlow. Here 



stood a Cistercian abbey (1204); and here, soon 

 after the middle of the 18th century, Sir Francis 

 Dashwood, afterwards Lord le Despencer ( 1708-81 ), 

 founded his mock brotherhood of ' Franciscans,' 

 whose motto was the familiar inscription on 

 Rabelais' abbey of Thelema, ' Fay ce que voudras,' 

 and two of whose twelve members were John 

 Wilkes and Paul Whitehead the poet. Pop. of 

 parish, 336. See \V. Fraser line's Wilkes, Sheridan, 

 Fox (1814). 



Mi'dor. a district in the French department of 

 Gironde, famed for the quantity and excellence of 

 the wine it yields, some of the most famous growths 

 of Bordeaux (q.v.), such as Chateau-Margaux, 

 Chateau -Latite, and Chateau -Latour. The district 

 lies on the left bank of the estuary of the Gironde, 

 being separated from the Landes by low hills, and 

 is 40 miles long by from 5 to 10 wide. See Cham- 

 bers's Journal (March 1890). 



Medulla Oblongata. See BRAIN. 



Medusa*. See JELLY-FISH. 



Medway, a river of Kent, rising in three head- 

 streams in Sussex and Surrey, and flowing 70 miles 

 north-eastward (including 12 miles of estuary), 

 past Tunbridge, Maidstone, Rochester, Chatham, 

 and Sheerness, until it joins the estuary of the 

 Thames. It is tidal and navigable to Maidstone, 

 but large vessels do not ascend above Rochester 

 bridge. See CHATHAM. 



Meeaiiee, or MIANI, a village in Sind, India, 

 on the Indus, 6 miles N. of- Hyderabad, was the 

 scene of a battle tetween Sir diaries Napier with 

 2800 men and a Balucli army, 22,000 strong, on 

 February 17, 1843. The latter were totally routed, 

 losing 5000 men ; the British loss was 256. The 

 result of this victory was the conquest and annexa- 

 tion <:f Sind. 



Meerane. a prosperous manufacturing town of 

 Saxony, 4.'f miles by rail S. of Leipzig. From an 

 unimportant, small country town, it has increased 

 rapidly in si/e and importance through the de- 

 velopment of its woollen manufactures and the 

 large export trade which it carries on with England, 

 France, and America. Pop. (1849) 7345; (1890) 

 2-2,446. See Leopold's Chnmil: run .Ifeertine ( 1863). 



Meereat ir// /<//'*), a South African carnivore 

 akin to the Ichneumon (q.v.). 



Meerschaum (Sepiolite), a mineral existing in 

 many parts of the world. In Europe it is found 

 chiefly at Hrulischitz in Moravia, and at Sevastopol 

 and Kaffa in the Crimea ; and in Turkey in Asia 

 it occurs abundantly just below the soil in the 

 alluvial beds of several districts especially at 

 Kski-shehr. It is also found in Spain and South 

 Carolina. Meerschaum, from its having been 

 found on the seashore in some places, in peculiarly 

 rounded snow-white lumps, was ignorant ly imagined 

 to l>e the petrified froth of the sea, which is the 

 meaning of its German name. Its composition is 

 silica, 60-9; magnesia, 26'1 ; water, 12U Almost 

 all the meerschaum found is made into tobacco- 

 pipes, in which manufacture the Austrian* have 

 been for a long time [ire eminent. Vienna contains 

 many manufactories, in which some very artistic 

 productions are made ; and pipes worth 100 

 guineas, from the beauty of their design, are by 

 no means uncommon. The French pipe-makers 

 have lately used meerschaum, and have displayed 

 great taste in their works. When first dug from 

 the earth, meerschaum is quite soft and soap-like 

 to the touch, and as it lathers with water, and 

 removes grease, it is employed by the Turks as a 

 substitute for soap in washing. Similarly in 

 Algeria it is sometimes used in place of soap at the 

 Moorish baths. The waste in cutting and turning 

 the pipes was formerly thrown away, but it is now 



