M A L 
M A L 
9 8 M A L 
petals; the wood is of a fine grain, and an 
orange colour. 
M AHERN [A, a genus of the class and 
order pentandria pentagynia. r I'he cal. is 
5-toothed: petals 5 ; nect. 5 obcordale, 
placed under the filaments ; caps. 5-celled. 
There are three species, shrubs of the Cape. 
The incisa is a beautiful little shrub for the 
greenhouse. 
MAIL, or coat of Mail, a piece of de- 
fensive armour for the body, made of small 
iron rings, interwoven in the manner of a 
net. 
MAIM, Maiii em, or Mayhem, in law. 
It is enacted, by the statute of 22 and 23 
Car. II. that if any person from malice afore- 
thought, shall disable any limb or member 
of any cf the king’s subjects with an intent 
to disfigure him, the offender, with his aiders 
and abettors, shall be guilty of felony without 
benefit of clergy ; though no such attainder 
shall corrupt the blood, or occasion forfeiture 
of lands, & c. 
If a man attack another with an intent to 
murder him, and he does not murder the 
man, but only maim him, the offence is 
nevertheless within the statute 23 and 23 
Car. II. c. 1, usually called the Coventry 
act. 1 Haw. 112. 
MAINPRISE, the taking or receiving a 
man into friendly custody, that otherwise is 
or might be committed to prison, upon se- 
curity given for his forthcoming at a day 
assigned. See Bail Bond. 
MAINTENANCE, is the unlawful taking 
in hand, or upholding, of a cause or person : 
this offence bears a near resemblance to 
barratry, being a person’s intermeddling in 
tiie suit of another, by maintaining or assist- 
ing him with money, or otherwise, to prose- 
cute or defend it. A man may maintain the 
suit of his near kinsman, servant, or poor 
neighbour, out of charity or compassion, 
without being guilty of maintenance. By 
the common law, persons guilty of mainte- 
nance may be prosecuted by indictment, 
and be fined and imprisoned, or be compelled 
to make satisfaction by action, &c. ; and a 
court of record may commit a man for an act 
of maintenance done in the face of the court. 
1 In t. 363. 
MAJOR, in logic, the first proposition of 
a syllogism. 
Major and Minor, in music, signify 
imperfect concords, which differ from each 
other by a semitone minor. 
MAL AC HOD END RUM, a genus of 
lln. class and order monadelphia polyandria. 
The cal. is simple ; germ, pear-shaped, pen- 
tagonal ; styles, 5; caps. 5, one-seeded: 
one species, of no note. 
MALACHOA, a genus of the class and 
order monadelphia polyandria. The cal. is 
common, 3-leaved, many-flowered, longer ; 
arils 5, 1-seeded. There are five species, 
herbs of the West Indies. 
MALACHITE, green earbonat of cop- 
per. 'This ore is often amorphous, but often 
crystallized in long slender needles. 
Colour green. Brittle. Specific gravity 3. 571 
to "3.053. Effervesces with nitric acid, and 
gives a blue colour to ammonia. Before the 
blowpipe it decrepitates and blackens, but 
does not melt. Tinges borax yellowish 
green. Tinges flame green. 
Variety 1. Fibrous malachite. — Texture 
fibrous. " Opaque when amorphous; when 
crystallized it is partly transparent is 2. 
Colour generally grass-green. 
Variety 2. Compact malachite. — Texture 
compact. Opaque. Colour varies from the 
dark emerald-green to blackish green. 
A specimen of malachite from Siberia, 
analysed by Klaproth, contained 
58.0 copper 
18.0 carbonic acid 
12.5 oxygen 
1 1.5 water 
100 . 
This species is sometimes mixed with clay, 
chalk, and gypsum, in various proportions ; it 
is then known by the name of common moun- 
tain-green. Its colour is verdigris-green. 
Brittle. Texture earthy. Effervesces feebly 
with acids. Before the blowpipe it exhibits 
the same phenomena as malachite. 
A comparison of the analysis of Klaproth 
with that of Pelletier seems to prove that 
malachite contains copper oxidized to a 
greater degree than blue copper ore. 
MALACOLITE. This mineral was first 
observed in Sweden in the silver-mine of 
Sahla in Westermania; afterwards in Nor- 
way. Colour green. Found massive and 
crystallized in six-sided prisms, having two 
opposite edges truncated. Waxy. Texture 
lainellated. Feel soft. Specific gravity 
3.2307. Melts before the blowpipe into a 
porous glass. According to the analysis of 
Vauquelin, it is composed of 
53 silica 
20 lime 
19 magnesia 
3 alumina 
4 oxides of iron and manganese 
99. 
MALATS, in chemistry. This genus 
of salts is almost unknown, owing chiefly to 
the difficulty of procuring pure malic acid. 
The following are the only facts hitherto as- 
certained. 
Malat of potass. 
Malat of soda. 
Malat of ammonia. 
These salts were formed by Scheele. They 
are deliquescent and very soluble. 
Malat of barytes. When malic acid is 
dropt into barytes water, a white powder 
precipitates, which is malat of barytes. Ac- 
cording to Scheele, the properties of this 
salt resemble those of malat of lime. 
Malat of strontian. Malic acid occasions 
no precipitate in strontian water. Hence 
it follows, that malat of strontian is more 
soluble than malat of barytes. 
When malic acid is neutralized with 
lime, it forms a salt scarcely soluble in water, 
which may be obtained in crystals, by allow- 
ing the supermalat of lime to evaporate 
spontaneously. Crystals of neutral malat 
are formed in the solution. But this acid has 
a strong tendency to combine in excess with 
lime, and to form a supermalat of lime. 1 his 
salt is formed when earbonat of lime >s thrown 
into malic acid, or into any liquid containing 
it. This supersalt exists in various vege- 
tables, especially the. sempervivum tectorum, 
and some of the sedums. 
Supermalat of lime lias an acid taste. It 
; yields a precipitate with alkalies, sulphuric 
acid, and oxalic acid. Lime-water satu- 
rates the excess of acid, and throws down a 
precipitate of malat of lime. When (lie 
supermalat of lime is evaporated to dryness, 
it assumes exactly the appearance of gum 
arable; and if it has been spread thin upon 
the nail or wood, it forms a varnish. It is 
not so soluble in water as gum arable, and the 
taste readily distinguishes the two. buper- 
malat of lime is insoluble in alcohol. 
Malat of magnesia. This salt is very so- 
luble in water, and when exposed to the air 
deliquesces. 
Malat of alumina. This salt is almost in- 
soluble in water. Of course it precipitates 
when malic acid is dropt into a solution con- 
taining alumina. Mr. Chenevix has pro- 
posed this acid to separate alumina from 
magnesia; which earths, as is well known, 
have a strong affinity for eacli other. 
MALAXIS, a genus of the class and order 
gynandriadiandria. The nect. is one-leaved, 
concave, cordate ; acumina, pale, bifid in 
front. There are two species, bulbs of Ja- 
maica. 
MALIC acid, obtained from the juice of 
apples ; it is also extracted from the juice of 
common house-leek, where it exists combined 
with lime. The process is as follows: To the 
juice of the house-leek add acetat of lead as 
long as any precipitate takes place. Wash 
the precipitate, and decompose it by me.ans 
of diluted sulphuric acid in tiie manner di- 
rected by Scheele. 
Malic acid may be formed also by the ac- 
tion of nitric acid or sugar. If nitric acid is 
distilled with an equal quantity of sugar, till 
the mixture assumes a brown colour (which 
is a sign that all JLhe nitric acid lias been abs- 
tracted from it), this substance will be found 
of an acid taste; and after all the oxalic acid 
which may have been formed is separated 
by lime-water, there remains another acid, 
which may be obtained by the following pro- 
cess.: saturate it with lime, and liitre the so- 
lution ; then pour upon it a quantity of al- 
cohol, and a coagulation takes place. This 
coagulum is the acid combined with Lime. 
Separate it by filtration, and edulcorate it 
with fresh alcohol ; then dissolve it in distilled 
water, and pour in acetat of lead till no more 
precipitation ensues. The precipitate is the 
acid combined with lead, from which it may 
be separated by diluted sulphuric acid. 
Malic acid, thus obtained, is a liquid of 
a reddish-brown colour and a very acid taste. 
When evaporated it becomes thick and viscid 
like a mucilage or syrup, but it does not 
crystallize. When exposed to a dry atmo- 
sphere in thin layers, it dries altogether, and 
assumes the appearance of -varnish. When 
heated in the open fire it becomes black, 
swells up, exhales ar. acrid fume, and leaves 
behind it a very voluminous coal. When 
distilled, the products are an acid water, a 
little carbureted hydrogen gas, and a large 
proportion of carbonic acid. It is very so- 
luble in water. It gradually decomposes 
spontaneously, by undergoing a kind of fer- 
mentation in the vessels in which it is kept. 
Sulphuric acid chars it, and nitric acid con- 
verts it into oxalic acid. Hence it is evi- 
dent that it is composed of oxygen, hydro- 
gen, and carbon, though the proportions of 
these substances have not been ascertained. 
Malic acid combines with alkalies, earths, 
and metallic oxides, and forms salts known 
by the name of Malats, which see. 
Its affinities have not yet been ascertained. 
