MUL 



iMUL 



membrane which lines the mouth, 

 nostrils, exterior of tlie eyes, lungs, 

 stomach, intestines, bladder, and uri- 

 nary apparatus. It secretes an ani- 

 mal fluid, mucus, by whicli it is moist- 

 ened and protected from the contact 

 of air and other substances. Irrita- 

 tions and inflammations are very 

 common, and do not extend so rap- 

 idly as in other membranes. They 

 are usually subdued by bleeding, ca- 

 thartics ; or special medicines, when 

 the lungs or urinary membrane is at- 

 tacked. 



MUCRONATE. In botany, a leaf 

 or other organ, having a rounded ex- 

 tremity, tipped with a sharp point or 

 prickle. 



MUCUS. The viscid, ropy secre- 

 tion of the mucous membrane. It 

 contains five per cent, solid matter 

 (albumen), and is azotized. 



MUD. The fine particles of earth 

 and organic matters suspended in 

 rivers, &c., and deposited by subsi- 

 dence. When mellowed by exposure 

 to frost, and composted with one 

 bushel of lime to the cubic yard, it 

 makes a good amendment to loose, 

 thin soils, destitute of humus. 



MUD WALLS. See Cottages. 



MUDAR. Calotropis gigantca. 

 An asclepiadeoiis plant, used medi- 

 cinally in scrofula in the East. 



MUFFLE. A semi-cylindrical 

 vessel of earthen-ware, capable of re- 

 sisting a high temperature, in which 

 crucibles are placed in assaying, and 

 by which means they are exposed to 

 a great heat without coming in con- 

 tact with the fuel. The upper, curv- 

 ed side, is usually cut into slits, to 

 allow the passage of reflected heat. 



MUGWORT. Artemisia xmlgaris. 

 A kind of wormwood. It is used in 

 decoction, as a weak stomachic bit- 

 ter. 



MULBERRY. The genus Morus. 

 They prefer a moist, deep, loamy soil, 

 and good exposure. The mulberries 

 are readily propagated by layers and 

 cuttings put down in spring. The 

 black fruit {M. nigra) mulberry grows 

 to a large size. The fruit is rather 

 sickly, and used as a sirup in medi- 

 cine. There is a red variety. The 

 508 



wood is yellow, and tolerably hard ; 

 it is used in carving and turning. 

 The bark makes strong ropes, when 

 separated by steeping in water and 

 twisted. A common wine is made 

 from nuilberries in some parts of Eu- 

 rope. The bark of the root is a ver- 

 mifuge and cathartic. 



The wild mulberry {Morus rubra) 

 of the United States yields smaller 

 and pleasant fruit. The M. tarlanca 

 of the north of Europe yields an in- 

 sipid fruit, which is, however, pre- 

 served, dried, and made into a wine 

 and spirit. 



The 31. tinctoria, or yellow mulber- 

 ry, yields the fustic of commerce. 

 See Fustic. 



The white Italian mulberry {M. 

 alba) is a small tree of 15 to 20 feet, 

 and extensively cultivated in France 

 and Italy as food for silk-worms. 

 This tree has been much developed 

 and improved. From it the choice 

 Moretta, Provence, and Lombardy 

 mulberries, for silk culture, have been 

 obtained. The multicaulis, Broussa, 

 and Canton, with the hybrid multi- 

 caulis, are most suitable for silk cul- 

 ture in the United States, especially 

 the last, which can be cut down to 

 the roots annually, and thus kept per- 

 fectly free of frost, for all the mul- 

 berries are tender with respect to 

 climate. The Broussa and white 

 yield the earliest foliage, but that of 

 the latter is too small. 



The paper mulberry {Broussonctia 

 papijrifera) is a tree of some 20 feet, 

 cultivated, in China and .Japan, for 

 the paper which is made from the 

 bark of the young shoots. The bark 

 is steeped in water, then boiled, 

 washed, and beaten into a pulp ; this 

 pulp, being put into water, separates 

 like grains of meal ; to this a muti- 

 lage from rice and the root of the 

 manihot is added, to give it consist- 

 ence ; it is then spread, pressed, and 

 dried. The juice of the tree also 

 furnishes a glutinous varnish, used 

 in gilding. The inner bark of the 

 same tree supplies the Otaheitans 

 with a white cloth. The multicau- 

 lis and other varieties, treated in the 

 same way, make a coarse paper ; the 



