MIN 



MIS 



useful for this purpose. It is an ex- 

 cellent food for poultry, pigs, and, if 

 ground, would probably be useful for 

 neat cattle and horses. The straw 

 is eaten freely by cattle, and both the 

 seed and straw abound m nutritious 

 matter." 



Indian Millet. — This plant very 

 closely resembles broom corn, ex- 

 cept that the seeds are collected to- 

 gether in a bunch at the top of the 

 stalk. It grows from five to seven 

 feet high ; the seeds are round, yel- 

 lowish, and easily thrashed. It re- 

 quires the same management as In- 

 dian corn, but may be sown in much 

 closer drills. It often yields 80 bush- 

 els per acre of seed, besides an abun- 

 dant straw. The grain is good fod- 

 der for horses, cows, pigs, and poul- 

 try, and forms nearly the only bread- 

 stulf of the Arabians. The meal is 

 very much like that of corn. Eight 

 quarts of seed are enough for the 

 acre : it is sown in May on land pre- 

 pared as for corn. 



MILLET GRASS. Milium. The 

 only species which appears to be cul- 

 tivated is the 31. ejfusum ; this is per- 

 ennial, from four to eight feet high, 

 with a loose, spreading panicle : it 

 very much resembles the panic grass- 

 es. If the seed is sown in the fall 

 broad-cast, and raked in, it will ripen 

 in the following July. It is indige- 

 nous. 



MILL-STOXE. See Buhr-stone. 

 Conglomerates, or sandstones, are 

 somethnes used for coarse purposes, 

 but should not be set up for flouring. 



MILL-STONE GRIT. A geologi- 

 cal formation immediately under the 

 coal, and made of beds of coarse 

 quartzoze sandstone. 



MILSEY. A sieve in which milk 

 is strained. 



MILVIXES. A family of raptorial 

 birds, of which the kite {Milvus) is a 

 member. 



MIMUS. The genus of passerine 

 birds, of which the mocking-bird (M. 

 poli/gloitus) is a species. 



MINUERERUS SPIRIT. Solu- 

 tion of acetate of ammonia, a febri- 

 fuge. 



MINERALOGY. The science 

 500 



which has for its object the exam- 

 ination and description of minerals. 



M INI M. A measure equal to a 

 drop of water: there are sixty min- 

 ims in a fluid drachm. 



.MINIUM. Red-lead, used in 

 painting. 



MINT. The genus Mentha, but, 

 especially, the M. viridis, or green 

 mint ; a well-known fragrant peren- 

 nial, of the natural fauuly Labiala, 

 used in juleps, with pease, &c. The 

 M. ptpenia yields the valuable pep- 

 permint oil. 



All the mints are creeping-rooted 

 perennials ; they require a rich, moist 

 soil, and, when cultivated for their oil, 

 are grown in beds with trenches be- 

 tween them for irrigation. They are 

 propagated from pieces of stem, set 

 in rows six inches apart each way, 

 in April : the third year gives a full 

 crop, which is continued for five or 

 six seasons. The plants are cut as 

 soon as the flowers expand, and dis- 

 tilled while fresh, with a large quan- 

 tity of water, the essential oil pass- 

 ing over with the steam, and float- 

 ing on the cooled distilled water : 

 the latter forms the best peppermint 

 water. 



MINUS. Less, distinguished by 

 the mark — , and used in physics to 

 designate quantities below a stand- 

 ard ; thus, all degrees of temperature 

 below zero (0) are minus, and read 

 minus 50, — 30, &c. 



MIOCENE (from f/eiuv, less, and 

 Kaivoc, recent). The intermediate 

 portion of the tertiary epoch, in which 

 some seventeen per cent, of recent 

 shells are discovered. 



MIRAGE, FATA MORGANA, 

 LOOMING. An optical delusion, in 

 which ships and objects at sea appear 

 depicted against the clouds. 



MIRROR. A looking-glass, spec- 

 ulum, or any polished surface, used 

 as a reflector. Mirrors are plane, 

 concave, or burning (magnifying), 

 and convex, or minifying. 



MISCARRIAGE. See Abortion. 



MISLETOE. Visciis album, verti' 

 cillatum. Shrubby, parasitical plants, 

 growing occasionally on large trees. 

 Manv fabulous virtues are attribu- 



