MAY FLY 



3706 



MAYOR 



MAY FLY, DAY FLY or SHAD FLY, com- 

 mon names for a species of insects that are 

 noted chiefly for the brief existence of the adult ; 

 from this characteristic comes the name day 

 fly. The traditional belief that they live only 

 a day is errone- 

 ous, though prob- 

 ably none exists 

 longer than three 

 weeks. They are 

 fragile, with large 

 forewings, small 

 hind wings and 

 short antennae 

 (feelers). Most 

 species mate dur- 

 ing flight, and the 

 eggs are laid in 

 fresh water; the 

 larvae exist for 

 years upon the 

 bottom of the stream, under stones covered 

 with mud. The emergence of these insects 

 from the water seems always to be at evening, 

 and as they are strongly attracted by lights, 

 they appear in great swarms around them. 

 They are excellent bait for fish and are imitated 

 in making artificial flies. 



MAYHEM, ma' hem, in law, is the offense of 

 violently and unlawfully rendering a person less 

 able to defend himself or to fight for his coun- 

 try in time of war. If one fears he may be 

 drafted in war he may engage a friend to cut 

 off his "trigger finger," injure his arm or leg or 

 impair his eyesight. The offense is mayhem, 

 and both parties are amenable to the law. In 

 personal altercations, if one combatant bites off 

 his adversary's finger or ear, the offense is pun- 

 ishable as mayhem. Modern statutes regard 

 any crime of violence which results in perma- 

 nent injuries as mayhem, and hold the author 

 liable to a civil action for damages as well as 

 to criminal prosecution. The word mayhem is 

 really an older form of maim, and in most 

 places the two words have the same meaning. 



MAYO, ma'o, WILLIAM JAMES (1861- ) 

 and CHARLES HORACE (1865- ), American 



surgeons and sons of a surgeon, who in a small 

 inland city have won an international reputa- 

 tion. The elder brother was born at Le Sueur, 

 Minn., and educated at the University of Michi- 

 gan, receiving his M.D. degree in 1883. In the 

 same year he began the practice of surgery in 

 Rochester, Minn. The younger brother, Charles 

 Horace, was born at Rochester, Minn., edu- 

 cated at Northwestern University and Chicago 



Medical College, and after his graduation in 

 1888 began to practice in his home town, in 

 partnership with his brother. 



The brothers have founded at Saint Mary's 

 Hospital, in Rochester, one of the most cele- 

 brated clinics in the world, visited by physi- 

 cians from Europe as well as from all parts of 

 the United States. Their patients include peo- 

 ple from almost every civilized land. The suc- 

 cess which the Mayo brothers have attained in 

 their operating is almost phenomenal; a- sur- 

 prisingly large proportion of their patients re- 

 cover. They have given especial attention to 

 operations so difficult that they were usually 

 regarded as practically impossible. Both broth- 

 ers are members of the chief American medical 

 and surgical societies, and have received honors 

 both at home and abroad. 



In 1915 the Mayo brothers gave to the Uni- 

 versity of Minnesota an endowment fund of 

 $2,000,000 and their surgical laboratory for the 

 establishment of a great surgical hospital, with 

 the agreement that a portion of the work each 

 year should be conducted in the brothers' hos- 

 pital at Rochester (see MINNESOTA, UNIVER- 

 SITY OF). 



MAYOR, ma' er, the chief executive officer 

 of a city or corporate town in the United States, 

 Canada, Ireland, England, and the British colo- 

 nies. In the United States the mayor is elected 

 by the qualified voters of the city for a certain 

 number of years (commonly two years, except 

 in smaller cities, where one year is the usual 

 term). The mayor generally appoints all non- 

 elective city officials, subject in most cities to 

 the consent of the council. He is the head of 

 the executive departments, and it is his duty 

 to see that the city ordinances are faithfully 

 enforced. In many cities the mayor exercises 

 a limited veto upon all ordinances passed by 

 the council. In many of the smaller cities, he 

 presides over council meetings, and has a decid- 

 ing vote in case of a tie. Generally, he issues 

 and revokes licenses, and has the judicial au- 

 thority of a justice of the peace. The office of 

 mayor is dispensed with in those cities which 

 have adopted the commission form of govern- 

 ment or the city-manager plan (see COMMIS- 

 SION FORM OF GOVERNMENT; CITY MANAGER). 



The mayor of an English municipality has 

 less important duties than the corresponding 

 American official. He is supposed to devote 

 much time to duties of a social nature, and to 

 preside over meetings connected with public- 

 welfare movements. His most important ad- 

 ministrative function is to act as chairman of 



