MOLTO MOLYBDENUM. 



27 



MOLTO (Italian, very, or much); a word used in 

 conjunction with some other, by way of augmenta- 

 tion, as molto allegro, very quick, molto adagio, very 

 slow. 



MOLUCCAS, or SPICE ISLANDS; an archi- 

 pelago between Celebes and New Guinea, having 

 the Pacific ocean on the north, the straits of the 

 Moluccas separating them from Celebes on the north- 

 west, and the sea of the Moluccas on the south-west, 

 between lat. 3 N. and 5 30' S., and Ion. 124 20' 

 and 132 20' E. The Little Moluccas are Ternate, 

 Motir, Machian, Bachian, and Tidore ; the Great 

 Moluccas are Gilolo (q. v.), Ceram, Amboyna (q. v.), 

 Banda (q. v.), &c. Most of the islands have volcanic 

 traces, and many of them have active volcanoes. 

 The heat is excessive, but is often moderated by the 

 frequent rains, and, during a part of the year, by the 

 prevalence of the north wind : the climate is healthy. 

 The productions are sago, bread-fruit, cocoas, and all 

 sorts of tropical fruits : the clove-tree is most plenti- 

 ful in Amboyna, and the nutmeg-tree in Banda. 

 Ebony, iron-wood, teak, a species of laurel yielding 

 an aromatic oil, with other rare and valuable trees, 

 are found in the forests. The barbaroussa, opossum, 

 birds of paradise, cassowaries, &c., are among the 

 animals. Hidden rocks, sand-banks, and shoals, 

 make the navigation in this sea of islands dangerous. 

 The aborigines are called Harafores, or ^I/ores, 

 and are an agricultural people. The Malay is the 

 prevailing language in the Moluccas. The follow- 

 ing cut represents the costume of the inhabitants. 



There are also many inhabitants of Chinese, Japa- 

 nese, and Arabian extraction. When the Portuguese 

 discovered the Moluccas (1511), the Arabians were 

 already settled here, and Mohammedanism, much 

 mingled, however, with paganism, had become the 

 prevailing religion. The inhabitants were severely 

 oppressed by the Portuguese, who perpetrated the 

 roost revolting cruelties in these islands, remote from 

 the seat of the general administration (Goa), and no 

 less harshly treated by the Dutch, who converted 

 the produce ofithe soil to their own use, for more 

 than 150 years, prevented the free cultivation of the 

 land, and opposed every attempt to establish manu- 

 factures, and any kind of improvements which could 

 supply the wants of the people. The Portuguese 

 had almost entirely the monopoly of the spice trade 

 till the beginning of the seventeenth century, when 

 the Dutch took the islands from them. The new 

 masters kept possession till 1796, since which time 

 the islands have been twice conquered by the Bri- 

 tish. By the peace of Paris, they were again re- 

 stored to the Dutch. These occupy only Amboyna 

 Bod Banda, but the chiefs of the other islands are 

 more or less tributary to them. After the Dutch 

 had been about twenty-six years in possession of thf 



Moluccas, and the monopoly of the spices, they 

 found it advantageous to transplant the spice trees 

 to the southerly group of islands, Amboyna and 

 Banda. In 1638, an agreement was made with the 

 king of Ternate, who was subject to them, and the 

 petty rulers of the other islands, by which it was 

 stipulated that all the spice-trees on the islands 

 belonging to them should be rooted up, and that no 

 more should be planted ; in consideration of which 

 an annual sum was paid to the king and the nobility 

 of Ternate, and the other princes. To ensure the 

 fulfilment of this agreement, the Dutch erected three 

 strong fortresses in Ternate, and about nine others in 

 the other islands. The spice-trees, which again 

 sprung up in these islands, were destroyed every 

 year, as far as the woods and wild beasts permitted 

 them to be reached ; and, in order to see that this 

 was properly executed, and to prevent the smuggling 

 of spices, the governor of Amboyna went through his 

 government every year, with a squadron of from 

 twenty to fifty ships. But, notwithstanding these 

 precautions, the spice-trees, the natural growth of 

 the islands, continually sprung up where the power 

 of the Dutch could not penetrate, and the British 

 carried on considerable smuggling business with the 

 oppressed natives. In other respects, the Moluccas 

 are sparingly endowed by nature. They are wanting 

 in water, and are obliged to procure rice and other 

 necessaries of life from Celebes. The want of water 

 is, in some measure, supplied by cocoa-trees, which 

 grow in abundance, and the fruit of which contains a 

 nourishing drink. 



MOLWITZ ; a village in the circle of Breslau, 

 near Brieg, celebrated for the battle between the 

 Prussians and Austrians, April 10, 1741, which was 

 terminated in favour of the former by the exertions 

 of Schwerin. Frederic II. (the Great) was present. 

 He acknowledged that he did not then understand 

 the art of war, and had committed important mis- 

 takes, but observed, at the same time, that the battle 

 had been a good school for him and his soldiers. 



MOLYBDENUM ; a metal which has not yet 

 been reduced in masses of any considerable magni- 

 tude, but has been obtained only in small, separate 

 globules, of a blackish brilliant colour. It is ex- 

 tremely infusible. By heat, it is converted into a 

 white oxide, which rises in brilliant, needle-formed 

 flowers. Nitric acid readily oxidizes and acidifies the 

 metal ; nitre detonates with it, and the remaining 

 alkali combines with its oxide. Molybdenum unites 

 with several of the metals, and forms with them 

 brittle compounds. The specific gravity of the pure 

 metal is 8-611: it has three degrees of oxidation, 

 forming two oxides and one acid. The molybdic acid 

 is composed of forty-eight parts of molybdenum 

 and twenty-four of oxygen ; it has a sharp metallic 

 taste, reddens litmus paper, and forms salts with 

 alkaline bases ; specific gravity, 3-4. It is very 

 sparingly soluble in water; but the molybdates of 

 potash, soda, and ammonia, dissolve in that fluid, and 

 the molybdic acid is precipitated from the solutions 

 by any of the strong acids. The protoxide of molyb- 

 denum is black, and consists of one equivalent of 

 oxygen and one equivalent of molybdenum. The 

 deutoxide is brown, and contains twice as much oxr. 

 gen as the protoxide. Berzelius has formed three 

 chlorides of this metal, the composition of which is 

 analogous to the compounds of this metal with oxy. 

 gen. The native sulphurct of molybdenum is com- 

 posed of forty-eight parts, or one equivalent of molyb^ 

 denum, and thirty-two parts, or two equivalents oi" 

 sulphur. It occurs in most primitive countries, dis- 

 seminated in granite, or gneiss rocks, in thin plates 

 of a foliated structure, soft, flexible, slightly soiling 

 the fingers, and greasy to the feeling ; colour pure 



