M A M 



448 



MAN 



version of its starch into sugar, by an 

 incipient growth or germination artifici- 

 ally induced, called malting. The grain 

 is ittrst steeped in water until it germi- 

 nates to a certain extent, when it is 

 stopped by the application of heat in a 

 malt-kiln. The quantity of grain malted 

 in Great Britain and Ireland is abont 4J 

 million quarters yearly. 



MAL'THA. Mineral pitch. A soft glu- 

 tinous substance, which smells like pitch, 

 and dissolves in alcohol. It seems to be 

 inspissated petroleum. 

 MA'Lus )( {*<xXov,the apple-tree. SeP?nrs. 

 MAL'VA.. The Mallow. An extensive genus 

 of plants. Monadelphia Polyandria. There 

 are three or four herbaceous species na- 

 tives of Britain ; but many of the exotic 

 species are permanent plants. Jtlalva is a 

 Latin corruption of malache, the /Mx.ha.%-/; 

 of Pliny, from /MtXazos, soft, in allusion 

 to the softness of the leaf. 



MALVA'CKS. A natural order of plants, 

 consisting of mallows, hollyhock, &c., 

 equivalent to the columniferse of Lin- 

 naeus. Type, the malva. 



MAM'ALUKES, ) The former military force 



MAM'ELCKES. j of Egypt. The Mama- 

 lukes were originally Turkish and Cir- 

 cassian slaves, but afterwards masters of 

 the country. Their power was annihilated 

 by Mehemet Ali, in 1811, by destroying 

 the Beys. 



MAM'MALIA, \ A. great division of the 



MAM'MALS. J animal kingdom, compris- 

 ing animals which have mammee and 

 suckle their young. Epithets mammalian 

 and mammiferotts. The mammalia are 

 placed at the head of the animal kingdom, 

 not only because it is the class to which 

 Man himself belongs, but also because it 

 is that which enjoys the most numerous 

 faculties, the most delicate sensations, 

 the most varied powers of motion, and 

 in which all the different qualities seem 

 combined in order to produce a more per- 

 tect degree of intelligence the one most 

 fertile in resources, most susceptible of 

 perception, and least the slave of instinct. 



MAMJIAL'OGY, mamma, teat, and Koyo<; t 

 discourse. The science of Mammals. 



MAM'MARY. Pertaining to the mammae, 

 as the mammary glands, &c. 



MAM'MEA. The mammee-tree: a genus. 

 Polyandria Monogynia. One species, a 

 tree of Jamaica which affords a delicious 

 fruit, also called mamtnea. It is named 

 from its vernacular appellation in the 

 "West Indies, mamei, retained by Linnaeus, 

 because of the resemblance of the fruit in 

 shape to mammee. It is sometimes called 

 the West Indian apricot. 



MAM'MIFER, from mamma, a breast, and 

 fero, to bear. An animal having breasts 

 and which suckles its young. The mam- 

 mifers form the class mammalia (q. v.}. 



MAM'M ILLATED. Having little protuber- 

 ances like mammee. Thus flint containing 

 chalcedony is generally maminillated, and 

 shells are said to be mammillated when 

 the apex is rounded like a teat. 



MAM'MOTH. An extinct genus of animals 

 allied to the elephant. See MASTODON. 

 The origin of the word mammoth is not 

 agreed upon. Some state it to be a Rus- 

 sian word, mamant ; others that it is a 

 Siberian word, signifying " animal of the 

 earth." It is also derived from Behemoth, 

 an Arabic word for elephant. 



MAXA'TI, ) A genus of herbivorous ce- 



MANA'TUS. } tacea, the Lamantins, which 

 from their manner of living are termed 

 sca-coics, mermaids, &c. The manati are 

 found near the mouths of rivers in the 

 hottest parts of the Atlantic ocean, and 

 grow to the length of 15 feet. Those of 

 the American rivers differ specifically 

 from those of the African. They employ 

 their fins with great dexterity in carrying 

 theu young and in creeping: hence the 

 comparison of these organs with hands, 

 and the name manatus (handed) applied 

 to the animal, of which lamantiH is a 

 corruption. 



MANCHIXE'EL. Hippoman'e. A tree of 

 the "West Indies, which grows to the si/e 

 of a large oak. The fruit is poisonous, 

 and the sap corrosive, but the wood is 

 much valued by cabinet-makers. 



MAN'CIPLE, Lat. manceps, a clerk of the 

 kitchen, or caterer. The steward of the 

 Inner Temple was formerly so called, and 

 the name and office are still retained in 

 colleges in some universities. 



MANDA'MCS. In law, a writ issued by 

 the Court of Queen's Bench, commanding 

 the performance of something ; and so 

 named from the initial word of the writ. 



MANDARINS'. Magistrates and governors 

 of provinces in China. They are chosen 

 out of the most learned men, and their 

 government is always at a great distance 

 from the place of their birth. 



MAN'DIBLE, frommandibulum, a jaw. The 

 instrument of manducation. The upper 

 jaws of insects are called mandibles, and 

 the under jaws maxillce ; but both the 

 upper and under parts of the bill of a bird 

 are termed mandibles. The mandibles of 

 insects are two strong corneous hooks, 

 which move horizontally, and cut objects 

 by crossing their edges like the blades of 

 a pair of scissors. 



MANDIB'ULATA. A grand section of in 

 sects, including all those which preserve 

 their organs of mastication in their last 

 stage of metamorphosis. 



MAN'DIOC. The American name of cas- 

 sava, which is extensively cultivated in 

 America for the sake of the nutritive fe- 

 cula in its stems. 



MAN'DOLINE. A musical instrument re- 

 sembling 0ie lute and guitar; round JU&e 



