MYCETOZOA 



stroyed by the Argivea. In 

 ho extensive remains of the 

 ran ring-walla with tin- 

 i.i iii> nis Lion Gate, and of a domed 

 I. in 1. 1 inn of bee-hive shape (the 

 H r.ill.,1 Treasure House of Atreus, 

 in n-iility a tomb), were investi- 

 h archaeologist*. 

 On Ilio Acropolis (citadel) Schlie- 

 niiimi discovered several rock- 

 hewn graves containing an im- 

 mense number of gold and silver 

 'in.iiiicnts, arms, vases, and 

 utensils of various kinds. They 

 aji|-.ir to have been the graves of 

 members of the royal house. 



iticial remains were found in 



abundance, and there is reason to 



that human sacrifice was 



Cractised. Later research has 

 rought to light the remains of a 

 royal palace on the acropolis 

 height. Remains of private houses 

 have yielded many objects of 

 pottery, belonging to what is 

 called the late Mycenaean period 

 the period of the palace, the Lion 

 Gate, and the domed tombs. 

 Researches in the royal grave 

 circle in 1920 yielded evidence 

 that Mycenae was inhabited at 

 the very end of the Neolithic or 

 the very beginning of the Bronze 

 age. See Aegean Civilization. 



Mycetozoa OR MYXOMYCETES- 

 Class of organisms variously re- 

 garded as low forms of animals 

 (Protozoa), and as slime-fungi. 

 They live in rotten wood, decaying 

 leaves, and similar organic waste. 

 Beginning life as microscopic 

 spores, they rapidly become, in 

 moisture, amoeba-like swarm-cells 

 that glide through the decayed 

 material, and feed upon bacteria 

 by enveloping them in their jelly- 

 like substance. They multiply in 

 this stage by division ; and Jater 

 vast numbers unite into a cream- 

 like mass (plasmodium) that flows 

 out to the exterior of the leaf or 

 tree-stump. 



In the swarm-cell stage they 

 avoid the light, but the plas- 

 modium is attracted to it. After a 

 few hours of the flowing move- 

 ments, the plasmodium invests 

 itself in affirm crust, beneath which 

 it breaks up into millions of micro- 

 scopic spores again, lying among 

 the meshes of a network of delicate 

 threads (capillitium), some of the 

 latter bearing knots of calcium 

 carbonate. The spore-containing 

 crust (sporangia) may be flat or 

 cushion-shaped, or may be cylin- 

 drical or globular, mounted upon a 

 stalk. These are the more interest- 

 ing to observe : from the creamy 

 plasmodium a number of hair-like 

 growths extend vertically, and up 

 these creeps a portion of the cream, 

 arranges itself as a cylinder or a 

 globe, and then develops the hard 



961 1 



crust, which may be black, brown, 

 red or yellow according to species. 

 Some of these are of beautiful form. 



Several hundred species are 

 known from all but the driest and 

 coldest parts of the earth, about 

 160 species being British. In certain 

 phases of their [life-history they 

 appear to be animals, in others 

 plants ; and though the majority 

 of naturalists follow De Bary, who 

 declared them to be " outside 

 the pale of botany," many botan- 

 ists regard them as being within 

 the pale. See Protozoa; consult 

 also Monograph of ; the Mycetozoa, 

 A. Lister, 1011. 



Mycology (Gr. mykia, a mush- 

 room ). Branch of botanical 

 science concerned with the study 

 and classification of the fungi (q.v. ). 



Mycetozoa. Specimens o! organ- 

 isms occupying a doubtful position 

 between the animal and vegetable 

 world. Top, Tricbia botrytis. Lett 

 centre, Brefeldia maxima, capilli- 

 tium and spores. Right centre, 

 Mucilago spongiosa. Bottom, Ste- 

 monitis fusca, flowing plasmodium 



Mycosis Fungoides. Disease 

 of the skin characterised by the de- 

 velopment of tumours, which may 

 be scattered all over the surface. 



Myddelton, SIR HUGH (c. 1560- 

 1631). English capitalist Born at 

 Galch Hill, Denbighshire, he came 

 to London as 

 a youth and 

 became a gold- 

 smith and 

 banker in Bas- 

 inghall Street 

 Sundry pro- 

 fitable . ^.ren- 

 I tures in the 

 | New World 



Sit Hugh Myddelton, enabled him 

 English capitalist t o contract 



MYERS 



with the corporation of London for 

 making a river to supply the city 

 with water from Ware, 1609. This 

 he puccessfully executed, but 

 nearly ruined nimvlf in the 

 undertaking. The New River, M 

 it was called, was opened in 1613, 

 and Myddelton was made a baro- 

 net Subsequently concerned in 

 other ventures which restored his 

 fortunes, he died Dec. 10, 1631. 



Mydriatics. Drugs which cause 

 the pupil to dilate. Those most 

 frequently used in medicine are 

 atropine and homatropine. Drugs 

 which contract the pupil are called 

 myotics. 



Myelitis (Gr. myelnt, marrow). 

 Inflammation of the spinal cord. 

 Acute myelitis may be due to ex- 

 posure to cold and wet, fracture or 

 injury of the spine, or may be a 

 complication of infectious diseases, 

 such as typhus and small pox. The 

 condition may also arise from ex- 

 tension of disease of the vertebrae, 

 such as caries, or may occur in the 

 course of syphilis. The onset of 

 acute diffuse myelitis may be 

 marked by chills and rise of tem- 

 perature. Paralysis rapidly de- 

 velops, first in the legs, and in the 

 arms, if the upper part of the cord 

 becomes involved. The muscles 

 waste rapidly, and delirium and 

 high fever terminate in death. In 

 acute transverse myelitis only a 

 section of the cord is involved, and 

 the symptoms vary with the site of 

 the inflammation. 



Myers, FREDERIC WILLIAM 

 HENRY (1843-1901). British man 

 of letters. He was born, Feb. 6 

 1843, at Kes- 

 wick, and edu- 

 cated at Chel- 

 tenham Col- 

 lege and Trin- 

 ity College, 

 Cambridge. 

 After a brief 

 period as col- 

 lege lecturer he 

 became an 

 inspector of 

 schools. Of 

 bis poems The Renewal of Youth, 

 1882, is probably his finest effort, 

 In later life he became interested in 

 spiritualistic phenomena, and was 

 an original member of the Society 

 for Psychical Research. The re- 

 sults of his psychic studies are 

 embodied in several publications, 

 notably Human Personality and 

 its Survival of Bodily Death, 1903. 

 Myers died at Rome, Jan. 17, 1901. 

 Before his death he agreed to make 

 every effort to communicate with 

 his friends of the Psychical Re- 

 search Society from beyond the 

 grave, and it is claimed that several 

 messages have been received. Set 

 Psychical Research. 



F. W. H. Myers, 

 British man of letters 



