MOTH MULLEIN. 



MULBERRY TREE. 



are found to be the best for keeping all articles ' 

 from moths and other vermin. The cloth lin- 

 ings of carriages can be secured forever from 

 the attac k> of moths by being washed or sponged 

 on both sides with a solution of the corrosive ! 

 sublimate of mercury in alcohol, made just ; 

 stnm -4 Mough not to leave a white stain on a 

 black feather. Moths can be killed by fumi- 

 gating the article containing them with tobacco 

 smoke or with sulphur, or by shutting it in a 

 tight vessel and then plunging the latter into , 

 boiling water, or exposing it to steam, for the 

 space of 15 minutes, or by putting it into an 

 oven heated to about 150 degrees of Fahren- 

 heit's thermometer. 



I grain is exposed to much injury from 

 the depredations of two little tnoths, in Europe, 

 i Hacked in the same way, and apparent- 

 ly bv the same insects, in the United States. 

 : \-Miirn. GRAIJI-WKKVII, and INSECTS. 



MOTH MULLEIN. See MULLEIN. 



MOTTI 111). In botany, signifies marked 



with blotches of colour of unequal intensity, 



'isibly into each other. It is syno- 



n.ii - \viih maculated; as, for instance, in 



the stems of common hemlock (Coniwn macu- 



liltnni}. 



.MOI'LD. A general name for the finely 

 divided earthy Mibstance that forms the upper 

 stratum or surface soil of land, and in which 

 all kinds of vegetables strike root and thrive. 

 See AVALTSIS OF SOILS, EARTHS, and HUMUS. 



M<H I.D-BOARD. SeePLouoa. 



MOULD ON HOPS. A vegetable .1 

 which is liable to affect the hop plant, in the 

 Ivanced periods of its growth, and pro- 

 duce much mischief to the crop. See MILDBW 

 and HMI-S. 



MoiLDKHAEUr. This implement of Flem- 

 ish husbandry resembles a large square malt- 

 shovel : it is strongly prepared with three bars 

 of iron on the lower side, secured by 12 bolts, 

 and is drawn by a pair of horses with swir.gle- 

 It is used for transporting compost, 

 mould, Arc., from one spot to another. Its usual 

 dimensions are as follows: breadth across, 3 

 feet 6 inches; length, 3 feet; height of back, 1 

 foot 6 inches ; length of handle, 4 feet. The 

 person who drives, with long reins, by pressing 

 moderately on the handle as the horses go for- 

 ward, collects and transports about 5 cwt. of 

 earth to the place where it is to be laid down, 

 which is done in the most expeditious manner, 

 by his letting go the handle; this causes the 

 front edge of the implement to dip and catch 

 against the ground, whereby it is at once turned 

 over and emptied of its load. The extremity 

 of the handle, to which a rope is affixed, by 

 this upsetting strikes against, and rests upon, 

 the swingle-tree bar, and in this manner the 

 mouldebaert is drawn along towards the heap 

 of earth or compost; the driver then, by taking 

 up the rope, draws back the handle, collects 

 his load as before, proceeds to the spot which 

 is to receive it, and the horses are never for a 

 moment delayed. 



MOULTING. The fall of the plumage of 

 birds. It may be either partial or total: the 

 complete moult generally takes place annually ; 

 the partial moult occurs at the change of plum- j 

 age ,o which some species of birds are subject I 



at the breeding season. The moult is always 

 accompanied by the developement of a new- 

 plumage, which may be of a different colour 

 from that which is lost. 



MOUNTAIN ASH. See ROWAN TREE. 



MOUNTAIN EBONY (Buuhixia .- in memo- 

 ry of John and Caspar Bauhin, botanists of the 

 sixteenth century). A genus of showy and 

 interesting evergreen shrubs, which will suc- 

 ceed well in a mixture of sand, loam, and 

 peat. 



MOUNTAIN LAUREL. See KALMIA LATL 



FOLIA. 



MOUNTAIN MAHOGANY (Betula knta). 

 Black Birch. See BIRCH. 



MOUSE-EAR CHICKWEED. See CHICK- 



WKKIl. 



MOUSE -EAR SCORPION-GRASS. See 



SCORPION-GRASS. 



MOW. A pile or heap of corn, straw, or 

 hay placed together for thje purpose of being 

 kept dry. See STACK and RICK. 



MOW-BURNT. A term applied to such 

 substances as are over-heated in the mow by 

 the process of fermentation. 



MOWING. The act of cutting down corn, 

 grass, &c., by the scythe. 



MOWING MACHINES. See REAPING MA- 



CHINF.S. 



MUCILAGE. A turbid, slimy fluid, pro- 

 duced by treating some vegetable substances 

 with cold water, others with hot. It resembles 

 gum, but is distinguished from it by not form- 

 ing a thick curd with the solution of Goulard's 

 extract. See STARCH, LINSEED, MARSH MAL- 

 LOW, &c. 



MUCK. A farming term for any sort of ma- 

 terial, such as dung, straw, &c., that is moist, 

 or in a fermenting or decomposing state. 



MUD. The mechanically suspended matters 

 of water deposited atthe bottom of rivers, ponds, 

 ditches, &c. As much of this kind of material 

 should be collected as possible, and be thrown 

 up into heaps in order to become mellow. It 

 contains much carbonaceous matter, and is an 

 excellent manure, either in the simple or com- 

 pound state, mixed with compost, or with a 

 bushel of lime or salt to each cubic yard. 



MUD WORT (Limosclla ; from HMOS, mud, in 

 allusion to the habitation of the species ; 

 whence, also, the English name). The com- 

 mon mudwort (L. aquatica) is an English 

 annual subaquatic plant, growing in muddy 

 spots, where water has stagnated during winter. 

 The herb is diminutive and quite smooth. 



MUGWORT (Artemisia vulgaris). This spe- 

 cies of Artemisia grows very common about 

 English hedges, in waste ground, and the rough 

 borders of fields. This species is weakly aro- 

 matic, and bitterish ; and has, from remote 

 antiquity, been esteemed an active warm me- 

 dicine in decoction. 



MULBERRY TREE (Morus ; from the Celtic 

 word mor, signifying black, in allusion to the 

 colour of the fruit). The species of Mor-us., or 

 mulberry, grow from 10 to 30 feet high. A 

 moist situation and loamy soil, with a free ex 

 posure to the sun, suit them best. 



1. The common mulberry (M. m'gra) is in 

 general cultivation for the sale of its fruit, 

 which is well known. 



835 



