﻿877 



MALIKEa 



MALLOW. 



«78 



Many are mere narrow strips, 50 or 100 yards broad, forming a circle, 

 which iucloses a lower tract, filled up with broken coral-rocks, and 

 dry at spring-tides. Within this ring there is sometimes a considerable 

 depth of water, from one to ten fathoms, so that a perfect lagoon is 

 formed. The highest part of the islands is from 6 to 14 feet above 

 water. Their surface consists of sand, about 3 feet thick, the top 

 part of which is mixed with Tegetable matter, forming a black light 

 sandy soil. Beneath the sand is a soft sandstone, resembling paiticles 

 of beech-sand indurated. This sandstone is about two feet thick, 

 below which depth it softens again to sand, and here fresh water is 

 found. All the inhabited islands have fresh water, and also some 

 which are not inhabited. 



AH the islands are covered with a thick impenetrable jungle, among 

 which there are many fine large trees, as the Indian banyan fig-tree, 

 tlte candoo-tree, the breadfruittroe, and others. The bamboo grows 

 on some islauds, but is scarce. On some of the islands are small 

 plantations of Indian corn and sugjir-caue, A little cotton is grown, 

 Uom which a small quantity of cloth is made. Two kinds of millet 

 are cultivated. The inhabitants live mostly on fish and the oocoa-uut 

 palms, which are cultivated with care. A few cattle are found 

 onljr on the Mali or ilaldiva Atoll, but there are no sheep or 

 goata. The common fowl is very abundant. A few cats are kept to 

 ieep the houses clear of rats and mice, which are very numerous. 

 The ' fljLuK fox," as it is called in India, a large species of bat, is very 

 common. Fish is very abundant, and sharks nre common and dangerous. 

 Turtle are common. Cowries an ooUectad and exported to a great 

 amount. 



The inhabitants are Mobammedaos. Two languages are in use 

 among them — the common, which Eeems to bo peculiar to the people, 

 and the Arabic, as a learned language. They have also a peculiar 

 alphabet, wliiuli is written from right to left, and the vowels are indi- 

 cated by poiuii, as in Arabic. The whole population may amount to 

 between 150,000 and 200,000. They are governed by a chief called 

 saltan, who sends annual presents to the British governor of Ceylon, 

 receiving others in return. Ho resides on the Mali or Maldiva Atoll, 

 which contains the largest of the islands, called Mali ; its circum- 

 feranoe is about 7 miles. Spoken of collectively us a kingdom the 

 Valdiraa are called by the natives ' Male-Hague.' 



Tba inhabitants bring cowries, coir, cocoa-nut oil, turtle-shell, salt- 

 fiah, rop«-mats, and some smaller articles to Bengal, Sumatra, and 

 elsewhere, whence they import rice, sugar, silk-stufb, broadcloth, 

 hardware, and tobacco. They arrive at Calcutta in June or July with 

 the sontb-weitem monsoon, and depart from that place in the middle 

 of Deoember with the north-^ast monsoon. 



UUmdm Geographical JownaL) 



MALIMES. [Hechelex.I 



MALLINO, TOWN, or WEST MALLINO, Kent, a smaU town, 

 formerly a market-town, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, in the 

 parish of West Mailing, is situated in 61° 17' N. lat., 1° 23' E. long., 

 distant 9 miles W. from Maidstone, and about 28 miles &£. from 

 London. The population of the parish in 1851 was 2021. The 

 living is a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Maidstone and diocese of 

 Canterbury. Mailing Poor-Law Union contains 22 parishes and 

 townships, with an area of 48,30S acrai, and a population in 18S1 of 

 19,fi66. 



A Benedictine monastery was founded at Mailing at a very early 

 dat«b Many parte of the conventual buildings still remain, especially 

 a portion of the west end of the church, which is a fine specimen of 

 Korman architecture. The parish church is a spacious and handsome 

 building, with a Norman tower at the west end. A parochial school 

 is partly supported by endowment. There is a savings bank. Fairs 

 are held in August, ijeptember, and October : the principal fair, that 

 in September, is chiefly for horses. Numerous remains of moats and 

 encampments, probably Roman, exist in the neighbourhood. 



MALLORCA, or MAJORCA, the largest of the Rilearic Islands, is 

 situated in the Mediterranean, off the eastern coast of Hpain, to which 

 kingdom it belongs. It lies between 39° 20' and 89° 57' N. lat, 2° 20' 

 and 3" 80' EX long., about 110 miles from the coast of Cataluba, and 

 120 miles from that of Valencia. It is nearly 60 miles long from east 

 to west, and in some parts 40 miles broad from north to south. The 

 ciroumference is 143 miles. The area is about 1410 square miles. 

 The,population is about 182,000. 



The general surface of the country is hilly. On the north-west 

 side a mountain range crosses the island, the highest summit of which, 

 the Puig de Torellas, is above 4600 feet high. Another range of lofty 

 hills runs parallel to this, through the heart of the island, and high 

 grounds in many parts border on the coast. The eastern and southern 

 districts are the most level. Some of the plains are liable to be inun- 

 dated by the periodical rains, on which aooonnt they are generally 

 oaed as pasture-land. Near (.'ampos on the south, and near Alcudia 

 on the north of the island, are marshy tracts which generate malaria 

 to a very pernicious extent. The general aspect of the country is 

 extremely beautiful and picturesque. The roads in the interior are 

 very rugged and stony, aud are traversed only by mules, which form 

 the ordinary mode of conveyance, and by carts of clumsy and primitive 

 •eoatruction. 



The climate of Mallorca is delightful ; the winters being mild, 

 UMOfh oooasionally stormy, and the heats of summer being tempered 



by the sea-breezes and the vicinity of the mountains. The extreme 

 fertility of the soil is mentioned by Strabo. Firs, holm-oaks, and 

 wild olives, adorn the slopes, and often cover the summits of the 

 higher mountains ; lavender, rosemary, thyme, marjoram, safi'i-OD, and 

 roses, perfume the ail-; and the valleys and level tracts produce some 

 com aud wine, oil, and fruit in abundance. The date-palm and the 

 plantain attain their full e,\ze, though seldom yielding fruit. The 

 valley most famed for beauty aud fertility is that of Soler, 11 or 12 

 miles in circumference, abounding in orchards of orange and lemon 

 trees, and hemmed in by mountains luxuriantly clothed with wood. 



Three rivers of no great size fall into the sea on the southern const. 

 Oue of these enters the sea beneath the ramparts of Palma. It is 

 almost dry in summer, but in the rainy season it is very full and 

 impetuous. Two other small rivers reach the sea between Cabo 

 Blanco and Cabo Salinas. SmaU streams ai'e very numerous. 



Mallorca produces wheat, barley, and oats; wines of excellent 

 quality ; olive-oil in large quantities ; hops, vegetables, fruits, particu- 

 larly melons, oranges, and citrons, all of superior flavour; honey, 

 hemp, wool, aud a little silk. Mules and asses, sheep, goats, homed 

 cattle, and pigs are bred in considerable numbers ; poultry nud game 

 are abundant. Olive-oil, wine, brandy, fruits, safi'ron, flax, aud hemp 

 are exported. The imports are corn, salt-beef, iron, hardware, sugar, 

 cofiee, spices, tobacco, rice, cutlery, and other made goods, and 

 articles of clothing. With the exception of a few foxes and hawks 

 the island is free from beasts and birds of prey. 



The geology of Mallorca is but imperfectly known. Qranitc and por- 

 phyry are said to be found, but the generality of the rocks are of second- 

 ary or tertiary formation. There is slate, fine marble of various coloura, 

 with abumlance of sandstone, freestone, and chalk. Salt is procured 

 by the evaporation of sea-water in the low grounds about Campos. 



The manufact«ires of Mallorca are lineo-cloths (coarse and fiue), 

 sUk-stufb, and woollen goods, as tapestry, blankets, sashes, and corded 

 stuH's. Brooms and baskets are made of the leaves of the palm, 



Palma, a city, is the capital of the island. It was one of the two prin- 

 i oipal towns in the time of Strabo, and is on the south-east of the island, 

 picturesquely situated on a slope in the bight of a deep bay, 10 or 12 

 miles wide, formed by the capes Blanco and Cala Figuera. 'The popu- 

 lation in 1846 was 40,514. The city, though walled and fortified, 

 could not sustain a regular siege. 'I'be streets are in some parts 

 narrow and mean, in others wide and regular ; the houses are large 

 and without exten al ornament, mostly io the Moorish style of archi- 

 tecture, and some are built of marble. Palma is the see of a bishop, 

 who is a Bufiragan of Valencia. The cathedral, a large gothic eilifioe 

 of much simple beauty, was built in the beginning of the 18th century 

 by James of Aragon, suraamed the Conqueror, who is interred within 

 ita walls. Attached to the cathedral is a spire of such i-emarkable 

 delicacy and airiness that it has received the name of the Angel's 

 Tower, There are many other religious edifices in Palma, five parish 

 churches, aud numerous buildings which belonged to the couventual 

 establishments, together with several hospitals and two colleges. 

 Ferdinand V. founded a imiversity here iu 1483. The other public 

 buildings are — the episcopal palaoe ; the royal palace, a very ancient 

 edifice, the residence of the captain-general or governor of the island, 

 comprehending also an arsenal, a magazine, aud a prison ; the town- 

 hall ; and the house of oontractation, or of mercantile assembly and 

 judicature, a gothic edifice of remarkable beauty. Palma, though in 

 the 13th century one of the chief markets of Europe, has now com- 

 paratively but little commerce. Its port is small, aud will only admit 

 vessels of little draught. Within and without the city are to be seen 

 numerous evidences of the superior size, population, and commercial 

 importance of Palma in past ages. 



The other principal towns cf Mallorca ore the following: — Alcudia, 

 on the north-east coast, on a neck of land between the two bays of 

 ^Vlcudia and Pollensa, stands on a rising ground, and is fortified with 

 ancient walls of great heights Some centuries ago it was a large and 

 flourishing city, but is now in a state of decay, with a population of 

 only 1000. Arta, in the northern part of the island, on a range of 

 hills which extend eastward to Cape Para : population 4000, who 

 manufacture coarse linens and woollens, and are employed in fishing. 

 Llumai/or, 17 milee E.S.E. from Palma, is well built, and has manu- 

 factures of woollens and linens: popuhition, 7112. Manafor, 80 

 miles E. from Palma, stands in a fertile plain. It is the see of a bishop. 

 The population in 1845 was 9042. PoUenza (the Polleutia of Strabo), 

 28 miles N.E. from Palma, stands 2 miles W. from the Bay of Pollenza. 

 The bay is large and well sheltered. The town contains a handsome 

 church, and has manufactures of block woollen cloth : the population 

 in 1845 was 6402. There are several other towns of smaller size, and 

 numerous villages. 



Castilian is spoken by the upper and middle classes, but the 

 language of the lower orders is a mixed dialect of CastiUan, Catalonian, 

 aud Anibic 



A sketch of the history of these islands is given in the article 

 Baleaihc Islands. 



(Strabo, 167, Cataub. ; Mariana, Uittoria Ocneral de E»paiia; 

 Laborde, Itinfraire l>e»a-iptrf de VEtpagne; Dalmeto and Mut, Jlittary 

 of the Balearic Kinjdom; St, Sauveur, TrareU through the Balearic 

 and Pithiutian Itlandt; Macgregor, Commercial Slatittiti.) 



MALLOW, county of Cork, IreUmd, a market-town, parliamentary 



