MYOPIA 



4039 



MYRTLE 



the Heroic Age before the Trojan War. It was 

 situated in the Peloponnesus on a hill above 

 the Argive Plain, about six miles northeast of 

 Argos. Excavations are continually going on 

 at Mycenae, and the place seems to be an 

 unlimited storehouse of ancient relics. It is 

 supposed to have been the home of Aga- 

 memnon, and his traditional grave, as well as 

 that of Cassandra, has been found there. Re- 

 cent discoveries show that the people of My- 

 cenae considered it also the home of Odysseus. 

 The great wall of Mycenae has been standing 

 since the founding of this ancient town, which 

 was overthrown by the Argives in 463 B. c. See 



SCHLIEMANN. IlKINRICH. 



MYOPIA, mi o' pi a, a form of defective eye- 

 sight which is commonly known as near sight 

 or short sight. The source of the trouble is 

 that the eyeball is too long. As a result, rays 

 of light are brought to a focus in front of the 

 retina, instead of on it, and this causes the 

 image to be blurred. (The reader will find a 

 full discussion of the process o seeing in the 

 article EYE, subhead How We See.) Near- 

 sighted persons must wear glasses having con- 

 cave lenses; that is, lenses thin in the middle 

 and thick at the edges. Such lenses are the 

 opposite of the eye in shape, and they bring 

 the light rays to a focus on the retina, thus cor- 

 recting the trouble. Some persons are born 

 nearsighted, but in others the defect is devel- 

 oped by misuse of the eyes, such as doing close 

 work for long periods without rest. Those who 

 have defective eyesight should keep in constant 

 touch with a competent oculist. The glasses 

 -hould be changed as needed, and eyestrain 

 should be guarded against. Neglected myopia 

 may develop into blindness. See EYE, subhead 

 Care oj the Eyes; BLINDNESS. R.J.T. 



MYRIAPODA, miriap'oda, a group of long, 



slender, worm like animals, represented by the 



ipedes, galley worms and millipedes. Their 



class name, which means having ten thousand 



refers to their numerous appendages, which 



J.<TVI- .1- l*u-. Tliry have :i distiwt head bcar- 



<>ne pair of antennae, or feelers (see AN- 

 TENNAE), and have situ; mpound eyes; 

 a few have no eyes. Their bodies are divided 

 numerous segments, seldom numbering 

 less than twei. on these Ut borne the 



;k<> appendages by winch tin- animal 

 moves forward. Th.- hmh.-r forms have fewer 

 legs than 1 those are joint. -.1 like 



those of insects, with which they were originally 

 classed ; they are now considered a distinct class 

 of jointed animals (see ABTHROPODA). Myria- 



pods are found in all parts of the earth, and 

 mostly inhabit dark, damp places; they range 

 in size from minute forms which are almost in- 

 visible to those having a length of six inches. 

 The eggs of some species are numerous, from 

 sixty to one hundred being deposited at one 

 time. The claws of the centipede, which con- 

 tain poison, are weapons of attack and defense. 

 Other myriapods are defended by poison fangs 

 and scalding fluids. 



MYRRH, m wr, a fragrant, gumlike substance 

 which oozes from a species of shrub found 

 growing in parts of Arabia and Eastern Africa. 

 The plant itself has scanty foliage, small green 

 flowers and oval fruits. The oil from the gum 

 is used in medicines, incense and perfumery. 

 There are many references to it in the Bible, 

 but the one with which we are most familiar is 

 found in Matthew II, 11: 



"They [the wise men] saw the young child 

 with Mary, his mother, and .... presented unto 

 him gifts ; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh." 



England has preserved a pretty custom in 

 connection with this sacred incident, for tin- 

 subjects of the queen present her annually with 

 these three gifts at the feast of Epiphany 

 (which see), in the Chapel Royal in London. 



MYRTLE, mur't'l, a group of plants belong- 

 ing to the myrtle 

 family, the best- 

 known represen- 

 tative of which is 

 a beautiful ever- 

 green shrub or 

 tree which bears 

 shining blue- 

 green, long, oval 

 leaves and white 

 flowers. This 

 plant, known as 

 the common myr- 

 i* quaintly 

 described in a 

 poem by James 

 Montgomery, 

 Scottish poet: 



cf 



MYKTl.i: 



(a) Branch, with f 

 a (&) vertical section of flow- 

 er : ' <1 pis- 

 til, (d) fruit 



-green nnd gemmed with flowers of snow, 

 With close uncrowded branches spread 

 Not proudly high, nor meanly low, 

 A graceful myrtle reared Its head. 



common myrtle is native to the coun- 

 tries bordering on tin M. . rranean Sea and 

 to thr trnipci.it. n-Kions of Asia. 1 

 bark, flowers and berries are aromatic and are 

 used in the manufacture of perfumery, while 



