MUSTAGH-ATA 



5607 



MUSWELL HILL 



Mustagh-ata. Lofty mt. peak 

 ,if \V. Chinese Turkmtan, an E. 

 .niilicr of the Pamirs (/.<.). It 

 an alt. of 24,388 ft, 



Mustang (Span, mestrenco, a 



i ). Name applied to the wild 



horse found on the prairies of 



and California. They are 



not natives, but believed to be the 



descendants of horses introduced 



from Europe by the Spaniards at 



tin- lime of their conquest in the 



Kith century. See Horse. 



Mustard (Braasica). Annual 

 herbs of the natural order Cruoi- 

 ferae. They are natives of Europe, 

 Asia, and N. Africa. There are 

 three British species known as 

 mustards black mustard (B. 

 nigra), wild mustard or charlock 

 (B. arvensia), and white mustard 

 (B. alba). These are by some 

 authors separated to constitute the 

 genus Sinapis. They are bristly, 

 branching plants from 1 ft. to 3 ft. 

 in height, with variously lobed 

 leaves and yellow flowers, and long 

 rounded seed pods. In the black 

 mustard these stand erect and close 

 to the stem ; the prefix has refer- 

 ence to the dark coloured seeds. 

 In the two other species the pods 

 stand out from the stem, and the 

 seeds, which in charlock are brown, 

 are in white mustard yellow. 



The mustard of commerce is a 

 mixture of the seeds of black mus- 

 tard and white mustard, ground 





by the Germans during the later 

 tages of the Great War, and subse- 

 quent ly adopted by the Allies. It 



was UMM| exclusively in shell :ind 



Mustard. Foliage, flowers, and seed- 

 pods of charlock 



and mixed with wheat Hour and 

 coloured with turmeric. It is then 

 sifted, and from the residue left in 

 the sieve the mustard oil is ob- 

 tained. This is really produced by 

 the black mustard, but it does not 

 develop until acted on by a prin- 

 ciple known as myrosin supplied by 

 the white mustard. In mediciuu 

 mustard is prescribed as an emetic 

 in cases of poisoning. 



The salad mustard and cress 

 consists of young plants of both 

 species that have only reached the 

 seed-leaf stage. 



Mustard Gas. Popular desig- 

 nation for an asphyxiating and 

 lachrymatory chemical introduced 



Mustang. Specimen of the wild horse ol the Mexican and 

 Californian prairies 



By courleiy of American Mutcum of Natural Hillary 



trench howitzer bombs, and is 

 actually dichloro-diethylsulphide 

 of the following formula : 



ci an, s 

 ci an, - 



As used for the purposes of war- 

 fare it was not a pure product, but 

 frequently contained an excess of 

 free sulphur. It is actually an oily 

 liquid of high boiling point, which 

 slowly evaporates after it has been 

 exposed to air. 



The compound was probably 

 first prepared by Riche in 1854, but 

 the first full account of it was given 

 to the Chemical Society in 1860, 

 by Guthrie, who also prepared it. 



On the explosion of a shell the 

 mustard gas is distributed as a 

 spray of faqe drops. The " gas " 

 evaporates slowly ad may remain 

 for a number of days and constantly 

 infect the surrounding atmo- 

 sphere. Its smell, which is some- 

 what similar to that of garlic, is 

 not sufficiently pronounced to be 

 readily distinguished on a battle- 

 field, and owing to their small burst- 

 ing charge the shells are frequently 

 disregarded. The effect of this 

 gas is two-fold, toxic and vesicant. 

 It particularly attacks those por- 

 tions of the skin which tend to be 

 moist, as under the armpits, raising 

 most painful blisters, whilst its 

 irritant effect on the eyes is very 

 marked. Splashes of liquid on the 

 clothing may cause blisters all over 

 the body which take weeks to heal. 



The gas has a most irritant 

 effect on the lungs if inhale*!, and 

 pneumonia frequently supervenes, 

 occasionally witli fatal results. 

 Whilst the gas masks proved effec- 

 tive in protecting their wearers 

 from the toxic action, many 

 casualties occurred through the 

 presence of the gas not being recog- 



nized, whilst the venicaat action 

 accounted for many men being in- 

 capacitated, M protective clothing 

 wan not devwea which gave suffi- 

 ^B^^^^^^VI cient freedom of 

 movement to 

 carry on duty. See 

 Chemical Shell; 

 Gaa; Gaa Shell; 

 Lachrymatory 

 Shell; Tear Shell 



Mustard Oil 



OB Al-LYL ISOTH- 

 IOCYANATB. Col- 



ourless liquid with 

 a pungent smell, 

 which causes a 

 flow of tears and 

 blisters the skin 

 if allowed to re- 

 main on it for a 

 short time. It is 

 prepared from a 

 mixture of black 

 and white mus- 

 tard seeds ground 

 together into a paste. This is 

 allowed to stand for 24 hours, and 

 then the oil is distilled off. This is, 

 however, an oil of mustard, pre- 

 pared for use as an external medi- 

 cine that does not blister. 



Mustelidae. Family of car- 

 nivorous mammals, comprising the 

 weasel tribe. It includes the 

 weasels, martens, polecats, stoats, 

 skunks, badgers, otters, etc. 



Muster-Roll. Nominal list of 

 soldiers, used when the men 

 answer to their names, a procedure 

 known as calling the roll Formerly 

 this list, signed by the colonel, was 

 the authority for the payment of 

 troops, and after being duly sworn 

 to by the paymaster, was trans 

 mitted to the Government. In 

 spite of this care it became neces- 

 sary to employ commissaries of 

 musters to visit regiments and 

 verify the rolls, for colonels were 

 their own recruiters. To-day the 

 official pay-list takes the place of 

 the muster-roll for financial pur- 

 poses, being certified by the 

 officer commanding the com- 

 pany, squadron, or battery. 



Muswell Brook. Town in 

 Durham co., New South Wales, 

 Australia. It is a road and rly. 

 junction on the Hunter river, 75 

 m. by rly. from Newcastle. It is 

 a centre for the rich vine-growing 

 and wine-making district in the 

 valley of the Hunter. Pop. 2,400. 

 Muswell Hill. Residential 

 district of London. In the county 

 of Middlesex, it lies to the N. of 

 Highgate and the E. of Finchley. 

 The name is derived from a well at 

 the top of the hill, one of the low 

 range running through the county. 

 It has a station on the G.N. 

 Rly., and in the district is the 

 Alexandra Palace (q.v.). 



