M A T 



M A T 



tree (the Pistncia icittisciis}, a tincture 

 from which is used in medicine. 



MAS'TICIXE. "When mastic is digested 

 in dilute alcohol, it does not dissolve 

 completely: a soft elastic substance 

 separates during the solution. This 

 amounts to about a fifth of the mastic 

 employed, and has, while moist, all the 

 characters of caoutchouc, but becomes 

 brittle when dried. It therefore appears 

 to be a peculiar principle, and has ac- 

 cordingly been named masticine. 



MAS'IIJ-F, Lat. masticus. The bull- dog. 

 A variety of the canis familiaris, Lin., 

 distinguished by its large head, pendent 

 lips and ears, strength and courage. The 

 English mastiffs were, in old times, held 

 in such high estimation at Rome, that 

 an officer was appointed to breed and 

 train them for the sports of the amphi- 

 theatre. 



MAS'TODON, from peta-rtf, the breast, 

 aiid tiovt, a tooth. The name given by 

 Cuvier to an extinct genus of mammi- 

 ferous animals, in allusion to certain re- 

 markable mamillary processes on the 

 teeth: order Pachydermata : family Pro- 

 boseidiana. Two species have been found. 

 The Great Mastodon (31. gigantetim) or 

 Mammoth is the most celebrated species. 

 It equalled the elephant in size ; but 

 with still heavier proportions. Its re- 

 mains are found hi a high degree of 

 preservation, and in great abundance, 

 throughout all parts of North America. 

 The M. anaustidens was a third less than 

 the Great Mastodon, and much lower on 

 its legs. Its remains are found in Europe 

 and South America. Not only the bones, 

 but portions of the flesh and skin, and 

 even whole carcases, of the Great Mas- 

 todon have been found in icebergs and 

 frozen gravel, especially in Siberia. To- 

 wards the end of the last century, an 

 entire carcase, perfectly fresh, was ex- 

 posed, and at length fell to the ground, 

 from a cliff of ice and gravel on the banks 

 of the river Lena. 



MAS'TOID, from u,a<rro;, the breast, and 

 iitio;, likeness; nipple-shaped. Applied 

 in anatomy to parts from their shape, as 

 the mastoid process of the temporal bone, 

 mastoid foramen, &c. 



MAT, Eng. Dut. Wei. Russ. matt: Ger. 

 matte : Lat. Sp. Ir. matla. A. texture of 

 sedge, rushes, straw, rope-yarn, or other 

 coarse material, used for covering floors, 

 for packing fruits, and other purposes. 

 Mats are principally manufactured in 

 Russia, partly from flags, but chiefly from 

 the inner bark of the lime or linden tree. 

 These latter are known in this country 

 as bast mats. 



MATCH, Fr. miche. l.Some combustible 

 substance used for catching fire from a 

 tpark, as hemp, flax, cotton, c.^ -2. A 



sort of hempen rope, composed of three 

 strands, sliahtly twisted together, and 

 again covered with to\v, and boiled ia 

 the lees of old wine, so that when lighted, 

 it retains the fire, but burns slowly till 

 wholly consumed. It is used in firing 



artillery, mines, fireworks, &c. 3. See 



MATCHING. 



MATCH'IXO or WINE CASKS. A method 

 of preparing casks for wines, &c., to pre- 

 serve the liquor from becoming vapid. 

 It is done thus : Slips of coarse linen 

 cloth, &c. are dipped into melted sulphur 

 to form matches; one of these matches is 

 set on fire and immediately plunged in 

 the bung-hole of the cask ; the cask is 

 thereby filled with sulphurous acid fumes, 

 which "are allowed to remain some hours 

 with the bung tightly driven home, and 

 the cask is then matched, and is ready to 

 be filled. 



MATE. In a ship, a deputy of the mas- 

 ter in a man-of-war, selected from the 

 midshipmen. The boatswain, gunner, 

 carpenter, &c., have also each their mates, 

 taken from the crew. In merchantmen 

 the mate is second in command ; but the 

 law does not recognise him otherwise 

 than as a mariner. In large ships there 

 are often two or more mates. 



MATE'. The Paraguay name for the 

 Ilex paramtetisis, used in that country as 

 tea is here. 



MA'TER, Lat. for mother. Two mem 

 branes of the brain are thus named, from 

 an old notion, that all the other mem- 

 branes of the body were derived from 

 them, or from their protecting the brain. 



MATE'RIALISM, from inateria, matter. 

 The doctrine of materialists : the opinion 

 of those who maintain that the soul 

 of man is not a spiritual substance, dis- 

 tinct from matter, but that it is the re- 

 sult or effect of the organisation of matter 

 in the body. The materialist holds that 

 the phenomenon of thought is a function 

 of the brain, just as the secretion of bile 

 is a function of the liver ; and denies the 

 distinct existence of the incorporeal 

 being called the soul. 



MYTE'RIA MED'ICA. A term including 

 all those substances selected from the 

 animal, vegetable, and mineral king- 

 doms, which are used in the cure of 

 diseases : a catalogue of remedies. 



MATHEMAT'ICS, Lat. mathematica, from 

 fActO'/ifAaTtxy. The science of quantity! 

 or that science which considers magni- 

 tudes as measurable and computable. 

 This science is divided into pure or specu- 

 lative, which considers quantity abstract- 

 ly, without relation to matter ; and mired, 

 which treats of magnitude as subsisting 

 in material bodies, and is consequently 

 interwoven with physical considerations. 

 Arithmetic, Geometry, Algebra, Trigono- 

 metry, and Conic Sections, are branch w 



