MANIOC MANNA. 



taken by the British, and ransomed for a million ster- 

 ling. See Philippines. 



MANIOC, MANDIOCA, or CASSAVA (gatro- 

 pha munihot) ; a tortuous shrub, allied to the castor- 

 oil plant, and interesting from the nutritious qualities 

 of the roots. It is indigenous to tropical America, 

 and is now cultivated from Florida to Magellan, and 

 in several countries of Asia and Africa. The stem 

 is smooth, branching six or seven feet high ; the 

 leaves are alternate, deeply divided into from three 

 to seven lobes, which are lanceolate, acute, and en- 

 tire ; the flowers are disposed in loose compound 

 racemes, and the calyx is reddish or pale-yellow ; 

 the fruit is almost globular, and is composed of three 

 cells, each containing shining seed about as large 

 as those of the castor-oil plant. It is easily culti- 

 vated, grows rapidly, and produces abundantly. It 

 is much less subject to the ravages of animals, or to 

 the variations of the atmosphere, than most crops, 

 and, besides, accommodates itself to almost every 

 kind of soil. The roots attain the size of the thigh, 

 and require at least a year to bring them to perfec- 

 tion neither can they be kept in the ground for a 

 longer period than two years. The cultivated vari- 

 eties are very numerous. It is said that an acre of 

 manioc will nourish more persons than six acres of 

 wheat. Every part of the plant is filled with a milky 

 juice, which is a very violent and dangerous poison, 

 bringing on death in a few minutes when swallowed; 

 and it may well excite surprise that human ingenuity 

 should have converted the roots into an article of 

 food. For this purpose the roots were formerly 

 rasped with rough pieces of stone ; but they are now 

 ground in wooden mills, and the paste is put into 

 sacks which are exposed for several hours to the 

 action of a very heavy press. By this means it is 

 deprived of all the poisonous juice, and the residue is 

 called cassava. Cassava flour, when kept free from 

 moisture, continues good for fifteen or twenty years. 

 It is very nutritious, half a pound a day being suffi- 

 cient for any one. The Creole women prefer the cas- 

 sava to wheat bread, but, to a European, the tnste is 

 rather insipid. It is also the basis of several different 

 beverages, some of which are acid, agreeable, and 

 even nutritive. The substance called tapioca, which 

 is frequently imported into Europe and the United 

 States, and is used for jelly, puddings, and other 

 culinary purposes, is separated from the fibrous 

 parts of the roots by taking a small quantity of the 

 pulp, after the juice is extracted, and working it by 

 hand till a thick white cream appears on the surface. 

 This, being scraped off and washed in water, gradu- 

 ally subsides to the bottom. After the water is 

 poured off, the remaining moisture is dissipated by a 

 slow fire, and the substance being constantly stirred, 

 gradually forms into grains about as large as those 

 of sago. This is the purest and most wholesome 

 part of the manioc. 



MANIPULATION (from the Latin) ; work done 

 with the hands. The word is used in pharmacy for 

 the preparation of drugs ; in chemistry, for the pre- 

 paration of substances for experiments ; in animal 

 magnetism, for the motion of the hands, by which a 

 person is magnetised. See Magnetism, Animal. 



MANIPULUS. See Legion. 



MANITOU, among some tribes of the North 

 American Indians, is the name for a magical pre- 

 paration, whose virtues are somewhat like those of 

 an amulet. A figure of an animal, a feather, a horn, 

 a bird's beak, or some other object, is consecrated, 

 with various charms, by the sorcerer, or doctor of 

 the tribe or village, and worn by the individual for 

 whom it is intended as his manitou, or medicine. It 

 seems to be not unlike tlie fetich (q. v.) of most bar- 

 barous people. 



MANLIUS, MARCOS CAPITOLINUS; a brave, am- 

 bitious, and artful patrician and consul of Rome. 

 The Gauls, under Brennus, had captured Rome 

 (B. C. 390), and were besieging the capitol. On a 

 dark night, they determined to surprise the citadel. 

 They had already reached the foot of the walls ; the 

 sentinels, thinking them secure, had fallen asleep, 

 and the enemy had already discovered a vulnerable 

 point, when the garrison was awakened by the 

 cackling of some geese, which were dedicated to 

 Juno. All rushed to their arms ; Manlius was the 

 first who reached the place of danger. Two of the 

 Gauls had gained the summit ; one of them fell under 

 his sword ; and the other he thrust over with his 

 shield. His example animated the rest. The capi- 

 tol was saved, and Manlius received the surname 

 Capitolinus. Having afterwards proposed a law to 

 free the people from taxes, the senate was excited 

 against him, and he was arrested and imprisoned as a 

 disturber of the peace. But the people looked up to 

 him as their greatest benefactor, and with one voice 

 demanded his liberation. It was granted ; but his 

 restless spirit led him to new enterprises ; he even 

 aimed at the sovereignty, and the tribunes of the 

 people became his accusers. He was condemned to 

 death, and thrown from the Tarpeian rock (B. C. 

 383). 



MANLIUS, TITUS TORQUATDS ; a Roman consul 

 and general, son of Manlius Imperiosus. On 

 account of a defect in his speech, his father was 

 unwilling to carry him into the city, and kept him 

 in the country among the slaves. This conduct 

 appeared so unjust to th^ tribune Marcus Pom- 

 ponius, that he summoned the father before him to 

 answer for himself. The son, indignant that his 

 father should be persecuted on his account, immedi- 

 ately hastened to the house of the tribune with a 

 dagger in his hand, and forced him to swear that he 

 would proceed no further. This filial piety made 

 such an impression on the people, that they chose 

 Manlius military tribune for the next year. He 

 marched with the army against the Gauls ; one of 

 whom challenged the bravest Roman to single con- 

 test. Manlius accepted the challenge, conquered 

 his adversary, and encircled his own neck with the 

 collar (torquis) of the Gaul, in consequence of which 

 he received the surname of Torquatus, which he 

 transmitted to his posterity. Some years after, he 

 was appointed dictator. He was the first Roman 

 who ever held this office without having been consul. 

 He was afterwards consul, and held the consulship 

 in the Latin war (B. C. 340). Contrary to his 

 express orders, that no Roman should engage in 

 combat without command, out of the ranks, his son, 

 remembering his father's victory, accepted a chal- 

 lenge to single contest from one of the chiefs of the 

 enemy. He came off victorious, and laid the spoils 

 of the enemy at his father's feet. He turned reluc- 

 tantly from his son, gave him the crown of victory, 

 and immediately ordered the lictor to execute upon 

 him the punishment of his disobedience. This in- 

 stance of severity secured to Manlius the most implicit 

 obedience. A few days after, he defeated the enemy. 

 In the battle, his colleague, Decius Mus, devoted his 

 life to his country. The senate voted to him the 

 honour of a triumph. He then retired to private life. 

 Manliana edicta became a proverbial expression for 

 commands of severe justice. 



MANNA. This substance, which is so frequently 

 employed in the materia medica, and which forms a 

 considerable article of commerce, exudes naturally 

 or from incisions made in the trunk and branches of 

 a species of ash (ornus rotundifolid). It first ap- 

 pears as a whitish juice, thickens on being exposed 

 to the air, and, when dried, forms a whitish or red- 



