NATURAL HISTORY 



753 



Manatee. The sea-cow or lamantin, a 

 gregarious aquatic mammal of the genus Mand- 

 tus, order Sirenia, found on the coasts of South 

 America, Africa, and Australia. They gener- 

 ally frequent the mouths of rivers and estuaries, 

 and feed on algae and such littoral land vegetations 

 hey can reach at high tide. Their anterior 

 limbs or swimming paws are furnished with nails 

 by means of which they drag themselves along 

 the shore. They are large awkward animals, 

 attaining a length of eight to ten feet as a rule, 

 but sometimes growing to twenty feet. The 

 skin is of a grayish color, sparsely covered with 

 hairs. Their flesh is excellent, and they furnish 

 a soft, clear oil which does not become rancid. 

 There are several species, the principal being the 

 American manatee, which inhabits the shallow 

 rs of the east coasts of South and North 

 America, and the African manatee. 



Mandrill. A species of baboon which is 

 distinguished by the short or rudimentary tail, 

 by the elongated, dog-like muzzle, and by the 

 presence of buttock callosities which are gener- 

 ally brightly colored. The mandrill inhabits 

 \\-tern Africa, where they associate in large 

 troops. Full-grown males measure about five 

 : they are exceedingly strong and muscular, 

 ami fierce in disposition. It has cheek protuber- 

 ances colored with stripes of brilliant red and 

 blue. 



Mangrove. A genus of plants consisting 

 of trees or shrubs which grow in tropical coun- 

 tries along the muddy beaches of low coasts, 

 whore they form impenetrable barriers for long 

 distances. They throw out numerous roots 

 from the lower part of the stem, and also send 

 down long, slender roots from the branches, like 

 the Indian banyan-tree. The seeds germinate 

 in the seed-\es>el, the root growing downward 

 till it fixes itself in the mud. The wood is dark- 

 red, hard, and durable, and the bark is used for 

 tanning. 



Manna. The sweet, concrete juice which 

 is obtained by incisions made in the stem of a 

 species of ash, Fraxlnus Ornus, a native of Sicily, 

 < ilabria, and other parts of the south of Europe. 

 The manna of commerce is collected in Sicily, 

 where the manna-ash is cultivated for the pur- 

 pose in regular plantations. The best manna is 

 in obl>ng pieces or flakes of a whitish or pale- 

 yellow color, light, friable, and somewhat tran>- 

 nt. It has a slight jx-culiar odor, and a 

 tish ta-te mixed with a slight degree of 

 hilt- mployed ;is a gentle laxative 



for children or persons of weak habit. It is, 

 however, generally used as an adjunct to other 

 re active medicine*, other sweetish secre- 

 tions exuded by some other plants growing in 

 1 dry climates, as the Km-tili/fttn* mnn- 

 i niunnijira Of 



flulUrn of Arabia and Syria, nre eonsid- 



If of manna. Small quantities of manna, 

 known under the name of lirim, 

 obtained from the common larch. In Scripture 

 we are told that a substance called manna 

 miraculously furnM.ed &fl |o ( ,d tor tin 

 in their journey through the wilderness o| 

 bia. Some persons identify it with the sac- 

 charine substance yielded by the 

 mannifera. 



Maple. A name for trees of the genus Acer, 

 natural 'order Aceracece or Sapindacece, peculiar 

 to the northern and temperate parts of the 

 globe. About fifty species are known, distrib- 

 uted through Europe, North America, and differ- 

 ent parts of Asia. They are small or large trees, 

 with a sweetish, rarely milky, sap, usually lobed 

 leaves, and small greenish flowers. 



Mistletoe. An American and European 

 plant growing parasitically on various trees, 

 and celebrated on account of the religious pur- 

 poses to which it was consecrated by the ancient 

 Celtic nations of Europe, being held in great 

 veneration by the Druids, particularly when it 

 was found growing on the oak. It is a small 

 shrub, with sessile, oblong, entire, somewhat 

 leathery leaves, and small, yellowish-green 

 flowers, the whole forming a pendent bush, 

 covered in .winter with small white berriev 

 which contain a glutinous substance. It is 

 common enough on certain species of trees, such 

 as apple and pear trees, hawthorn, maple, lime 

 and other similar trees, but is very seldom found 

 on the oak. Its roots penetrate into the sub- 

 ' ( stance of the tree on which it grows, and latterly 

 it kills the branch supporting it. Traces of the 

 old superstitious regard for the mistletoe still 

 remain in Germany and England, as kissing 

 under it at Christmas. 



Mocking Bird. A genus of the family 

 ; Turdidce, or Thrushes, exclusively American in 

 its distribution, but ranging widely over the 

 northern and southern portions of that conti- 

 nent. These birds are remarkable for their 

 power of song. The best known species is 

 Mi mus polyglottus, which has marvelous power 

 of voice, and is able to imitate almost any 

 species of animal, as well as noises produced 

 artificially. Its own song is loud, full, and ex- 

 ceedingly varied. In plumage it is decidedly 

 somber, being of a general ashy-gray hue, paler 

 beneath; but, though the mocking bird cannot 

 vie with other American birds in brilliancy of 

 plumage, its sweet and varied notes, and its 

 faculty of imitation, render it a prime favorite. 



Monkey. The popular name of a large 

 group of animals, belonging to the order Pri- 

 nidtfs, or the Cuvierian order Quadrumana, and 

 to the class Mammalia. The name is frequently 

 used to comprehend the members of the follow- 

 ing families and sub-families of the order, viz: 

 the Simiidce (Anthropoid Apes ami Gibbons), 

 the Semnopithecina: (Old World Monkcx 

 CynopitheciruF (Baboons and Macaque 

 Cebidoe (American Monkeys), and the Hnjxilithr 

 (Marmosets). In a re-tncted MMIM-. h> 

 it is only applicable to certain memlH-rs 

 of the above families and sub-families, and can- 

 not be correctly applied to the apes and gibbons 

 (Simiida'), or to tne baboons. The chara 



the different species of monkeys are so 

 im|x>8friblc to frame a 



ral definition of them that would U appli- 

 cable to all. and the hi reclude US 

 from entering into a description of each B] 

 . mnonithccirur comprise the long 

 monkeys without check-pouches, which have 

 rather long, rounded faces and more prominent 

 muzzles; they are widely distributed over Africa 

 and Asia. The Cynopithecifur contain nil the 



