MANGROVE 



3624 



MANILA 



The fruit is therefore not an unmixed blessing 

 to the West Indians. 



Introduced into Jamaica in 1782, the cultiva- 

 tion of the plant was extended throughout the 

 West Indies and to Southern Florida and Cali- 

 fornia. The mango is propagated either from 

 seed or by grafting. In Florida, eight-year-old 

 trees sometimes bear 5,000 fruits a season. The 

 fruit is found in Northern markets in August 

 and September. 



MANGROVE, mang'grohv, a genus of shrubs 

 or trees which spread thickly and abound on 

 the shores of lakes and rivers in all tropical 



THE MANGROVE 



countries. The name is derived from the Ma- 

 lay word manggi-manggi, and is sometimes 

 written mangrowe. These trees have the re- 

 markable habit of throwing out roots in all 

 downward directions on the lower part of the 

 trunk, and these take root along the muddy 

 shore. By this means the mangrove spreads 

 in monotonous green thickets, sometimes for 

 hundreds of miles; at their roots new soil is 

 slowly formed from mud brought in by the 

 waves and from falling leaves, etc., and in time 

 even islands of considerable size may appear. 

 The red mangrove is found along the coasts of 

 Florida, Lower California and Mexico. It is 

 a round-topped tree, about twenty-five feet 

 high, with thick, oval leaves and the drooping 

 roots referred to ; in the last respect it is some- 

 what like the banyan tree, although .the latter 

 grows in firm soil. The fruit is sweet, and a 

 wine is made from it ; the wood is used for fuel 

 and wharf piles, and can be given a high polish. 

 The astringent bark is used in tanning. 



MANHATTAN, man hat 'an, ISLAND, an 

 island at the head of New York Bay, thirteen 

 and one-half miles long and two and one-half 

 miles broad at the widest part, covering an 

 area of twenty-two square miles. It is now co- 

 extensive with the main residence portion and 

 the commercial and financial center of New 

 York City. The first Dutch Governor-General, 

 Peter Minuit, acquired this island from the 

 Indians in 1622 for the sum of $24 in merchan- 

 dise; it then contained 200 people, living in 

 thirty-one log houses with bark roofs. The 

 ground value of the island to-day is upward of 

 three billion dollars. 



The history of Manhattan Island since this 

 memorable purchase is told under the heading 

 NEW YORK CITY. 



MANILA , ma nil ' a, in Spanish mah no ' la, 

 the capital of the Philippine Islands, situated 

 on the western coast of the island of Luzon, at 

 the head of Manila Bay. It is divided into two 

 portions by the little River Pasig, on the south 

 bank of which 

 stands the sleepy 

 old town, founded 

 in 1571, surround- 

 ed by walls still 

 in good condition 

 and forming one 

 of the best exist- 

 ing models of a 

 svalled town of the 

 period. Within 

 the wall are LOCATION MAP 



orrmrwsH +Vm pa The sma11 corner map plc- 

 grouped the ca- tures the entire island of Lu _ 



thedral, the arch- zon. 



bishop's palace, numerous churches and monas- 

 teries, the government building and many old- 

 time Spanish houses. On the north bank are 

 the modern suburbs, and the commercial and 

 native quarters. The palace of the Governor- 

 General is in the riverside suburb of Mala- 

 canan. Since the United States has taken con- 

 trol, it has introduced a modern system of 

 sewage disposal and brought down from the 

 mountains east of the city a supply of pure 

 water. The mouth of the Pasig has been deep- 

 ened so as to admit ocean-going vessels of 

 moderate draft. The largest transpacific liners 

 come directly to the new piers in the magnifi- 

 cent new harbor created by Uncle Sam. 



Manila was the first city of the Philippines 

 to develop town-planning on systematic lines. 

 Recently the old city walls together with the 

 surrounding moats (which have been filled in) 

 have been made a part of the park system. 



