366 



MUZAFFARNAGAR 



MYNA 



.lIll/afTarnatfar. municipality in the North- 

 west Provinces of India anil <-a|iiial of n district 

 (area, 1636 sq. in. ; |M.|>. in l.H'U. 77i'.s74), 80 miles 

 NE. of Delhi by rail. Pop. 15,080. 



llll/aflar|>lir. capital of a district (urea, 3003 

 Bfj. in. : pop. in isitl, '^.71 l.tl.'ii in Helical, on the 

 Little Gandak, 1*1 miles N. by rail of the Ganges 

 at Patna. Pop. 49,192. 



1l>all Wood, the hard violet-f>cente<l wood of 

 the Australian Arttriii limnittunhylla, much used 

 for making whip-handles and touacco-pi|>e.s. 



M>"ll'. a wooded promontory' of ancient 

 Ionia, over against Samos ; in the channel lietween 

 them, Leotychides the Spartan and Xanthippus 

 the Athenian defeuted the Persian lleet, 479 D.C. 



II > cclilllll. the vegetative part of fungi 'which 

 is not concerned in spore-liearing. It may consist 

 simply of a much-elongated cell growing from the 

 spore, or of a chain of cells, hut in the majority it 

 is a tissue of interlaced branched filaments or 

 hyplue, loosely united in manv moulds, membranous 

 iii dry-rut, compact and tuberous in mushrooms. 

 See t'i:.N<;i. 



Myoe'niP, a vorv ancient city in the north- 

 eastern part of Argolis, in the Peloponnesus, built 

 upon a craggy height, and said to have l>een 

 founded by Perseus. It was the capital of Aga- 

 memnon's kingdom, and was at that time the 

 principal city in (ireece. About 468 B.C. it was 

 destroyed by the inhabitants of Argos, and 

 never ' n>se again to anything like its former 

 prosperity. In StraUi's time its ruins alone re- 

 mained ; these are still to lie seen in the neigh- 

 bourhood of Kharvati, and are noble specimens of 

 Cyclopean architecture. The most celebrated are 

 the 'Gate of Lions,' chief entrance to the ancient 

 Acropolis, and the 'Treasury of Atreus." Exca- 

 vations prosecuted at Mycenn- l>y l)r Henry Schlie- 

 mann brought to light in 1876 another subter- 

 ranean treasury and several ancient tombs, con- 

 taining, with architectural fragments, terra-cottas, 

 vases, wea|Mins, gold death-masks (see MASKS), 

 and other ornaments of thin hammered gold. Good 

 authorities sav these objects show a type of art 

 derived from Mesopotamia through Phoenicia ami 

 Asia Minor, with little or no trace of Greek tastes, 

 lieliefs, or usages. Their date seems to be about 

 that of the Doric invasion (see GREECE, Vol. V. 

 p. H86). See Schliemann's MycentE and 'J'iri/iix 

 (trans. 1877) ami The Mt/renamn Aye (1897) by 

 Tsomitas, Maiiatt, and others. 



Mycrtozoa. See MVXOMYCETES. 



Myelitis (myelns, 'marrow') is the term em- 

 ployed to signify inflammation of the substance of 

 the spinal cord. It may lie either acute or chronic, 

 but the latter is by far the most common all'ection. 

 The chronic form begins with a little uneasiness in 

 the spine, somewhat disordered sensations in the 

 extremities, and unusual fatigue after any slight 

 exertion. After a short time paralytic symptoms 

 ap]!ar, and slowly increase. The gait becomes 

 uncertain and tottering, and at length the limits 

 fail t<i Kiip|H>rt the IMH|V. The paralysis finally 

 attacks the bladder ana rectum, and the evacu- 

 ations arc discharged involuntarily ; and death 

 takes place as the result of exhaustion, or occasion- 

 ally of asphyxia if the paralysis involves the chest. 

 In the ,ii-iil,- form the symptoms are the same as 

 those of the chronic form, but they occur more 

 rapidly and with greater severity, anil death some- 

 times takes place in a few days. Pain may lie 

 picsent in the opine, or in the parts of the Imdy 

 whose nerves proceed from the diseased area of the 

 spinal cord ; but it is not usually a prominent 

 symptom when the morbid process begins in the 

 cord it-elf. 



The most common causes of this disease are falls, 

 Mows, ami strains from over exertion ; lint sexual 

 abuses and intemperate habits occasionally induce 

 it. It may also result from other diseases of the 

 spine (as caries), or may IH> propagated from inllam- 

 mation of the corresiMinding tissue of the brain. 

 The treatment, whicli is much the same as that 

 of inflammation elsewhere, must be confided 

 entirely to the medical practitioner; and it is 

 therefore unnecessary to enter into any details 

 regarding it. When confirmed paralysis has set in 

 there is little to hope for, but in the early stage 

 the disease is often checked by judicious remedies. 



Mygale. See BIRD-CATCHING SPIDER. 



1I\ lilla. a Babylonian goddess of fruitfulness, 

 procreation, and birth, in whose honour, according 

 to Herodotus, every girl had once in her life to 

 give herself up to the embraces of a stranger. 



My lodoil ('Jr., 'grinder-teeth'), a genus of huge 



ssil sloths, whose remains are found in the I'leis. 

 tocene dejMisits of America, associated with the 

 Megatherium and other allied genera. A complete 

 skeleton of the best-known species (M. rtiliu.il us \, 

 dug up at Uuenos Avres, measured 11 feet from 

 the forepart of the -Lull to the end of the tail. 

 Another species from the same region was consider- 

 ably larger. The genus ranged into North America, 

 the remains of one species (M. Itiirlniii) having 

 l>een found in Kentucky. Although like the 

 modern sloth in general structure and dentition, 

 the immense size of Mylodon forbids us to suppose 

 that it could have had the same arboreal habits, 

 and the modifications of its structure seem t<i have 

 fitted it for the uwxiting and prostrating of the 

 trees, the foliage of which supplied it with food. 



.llyna (Acrulothercs, or <!i-nrnln of Cuvier), 

 a genus of birds of the family Sturnidir, of 

 which there are seven species ranging over the 

 whole oriental region and Celelies. The head is 

 more or less crested, and some have a naked space 

 behind and under the eye ; the bill is rather short, 

 Stout, anil compressed ; the tail is rounded ; the 

 feet are strong, the toes long, and the claws moder- 

 ately curved. The Common Myna (A. tristix), 

 which is found throughout India and extends into 

 Assam and Burma, measures about 10 inches in 

 length, and is of a glossy black colour on the head, 

 neck, and breast; the rest of the plumage is snull- 

 brown, darkest on the back and wing-coverts, and 

 lightest beneath ; the wing-quills are black, with a 

 white spot at their base, forming a conspicuous 

 wing-spot ; the tail is block, with n white tip ; the 

 bill is deep yellow ; and the legs are dull yellow. It 

 is one of the commonest birds of India, where it is 

 found in large numliers, l>eing eminently sociable 

 in its habits. It feeds chielly on insects, grain, and 

 fruit. It makes it nest in nooks and eaves of 

 houses and in holes in the walls of houses and 

 ruins. The eggs, which usually number four or 

 live, are pule bluish green in colour. It has a 

 variety of notes, some musical and pleasing, others 

 harsh. It is often domesticated, when ttDMOHM 

 pert and familiar, and a good imitator of the human 

 voice, in this respect excelling parrots. This bird 

 wax introduced into Mauiitins to destroy the grass- 

 hoppers, which it did very cll'ectivcly ; but in its turn, 

 when naturalised there, it liecame a pest through 

 its ravages among fruit trees. The name Hill 

 Myna or Grakle (q.v.) is given to four distinct 

 races of birds belonging to the genus Kuhilx-s of 

 Cuvier, or Gracula ot Linnaeus, one from Southern 

 India, another from Cevlon, a third from the Hima- 

 layas and Burma, and tlie last from Malaysia. They 

 are birds of line glossy plumage with prominent 

 yellow wattles behind the ears. This genus com- 

 prises thirteen species found in the oriental region 

 as far as south-west China, Hainan, and Java, and 



