r •f -r ;r 
MYT 
most larger ; germ longer than the corolla ; 
legume one-seedecl. There is but one spe- 
cies, viz. M. peruiferum ; this is a very 
beautiful tree, with a smooth, thick bark, 
which is resinous ; leaves alternate, leaflets 
in two pairs, mostly opposite, they are en- 
tire, veined, and very smooth ; racemes ax- 
illary, erect, pointing one way, peduncle 
roundish, pubescent, flowers scattered ; pe- 
dicels erect j calyx hoary green, on tlie out- 
side of the orifice surrounded by the petals 
and anthers, which are white, within con- 
taining the green legume, having a singular 
appearance ; the substance of the leaves is 
full of linear dots, they are transparent and 
resinous. The balsam of Peru is the pro- 
duce of this tree ; it is a native of the hot- 
test provinces of South America. 
MYRSINE, in botany, a genus of the 
Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
Natural order of Bicornes. Sapot®, Jus- 
sieu. Essential character : corolla half five- 
cleft, converging; germ filling the corolla ; 
berry one-seeded, with a five-celled nu- 
cleus. There are two species, viz. M. Afri- 
cana, African myrsine, and M. retusa, 
round-leaved myrsine, or tamaja. 
MYRTUS, in botany, myrtle, a genus of 
the Icosandria Monogynia class and order. 
Natural order of Hesperide®. Myrti, Jus- 
sieu. Essential character : calyx five-cleft, 
s\iperior ; petals five ; beiry two or three- 
celled; seeds several, gibbous. There are 
thirty-six species and many varieties. This 
genus is composed of small trees and shrubs ; 
flowers in some solitary, with two scales at 
the base; in others forming opposite co- 
rymbs or panicles, axillary or terminating. 
Tlie M. communis, common • myrtle, is 
well known, and admired as an elegant 
evergreen shrub: it is a native of Asia, Afri- 
ca, and the southern parts of Europe ; it 
was a great favourite amongst the ancients, 
for its elegance, and its evergreen sweet 
leaves; it was sacred to Venus, either on 
this account, or because it flourishes most 
in the neighbourhood of the sea. Myrtle 
wreaths adorned the brows of bloodless vic- 
tors, and were the symbol of authority for 
magistrates at Athens; both branches and 
berries were put into wine, and the latter 
were used in the cookery of the ancients : 
the myrtle was also one of their medicinal 
plants ; it is an astringent, but is now dis- 
carded from modern practice. 
MYTHOLOGY, the history of the fabu- 
lous gods and heroes of antiquity, with the 
explanations of the mysteries or allegories 
couched therein. Lord Bacon thinks, that 
MYT 
a great deal of concealed instruction and 
allegory was originally intended in most 
part of the ancient mythology : he observes, 
that some fables discover a great and evi- 
dent similitude, relation, and connection, 
with the tiling they signify, as well in the 
structure of the fable, as in the meaning of 
the names, whereby the persons or actors 
are characterised. 
The same writer thinks it may pass for a 
further indication of a concealed and secret 
meaning, that some of these fables are so 
absurd and idle in their narration, as to 
shew an allegory even afar off: but the 
argument of most weight upon this subject 
he takes to be this, that many of these 
fables appear by no means to have been in- 
vented by the persons who relate them : he 
looks on them not as the product of the 
age, nor invention of the poets, but as 
sacred relics, as he term^ them, gentle 
whispers, and the breath of better times, 
that from the tradition of more ancient 
nations came at length into the flutes and 
trumpets of the Greeks. He concludes, 
that the knowledge of the early ages was 
either great or happy ; great if tliey by de- 
sign made this use of trope and figure ; or 
happy, if, whilst they had other views, they 
afforded matter and occasion to such noble 
contemplations. 
MYTILLUS, in natural history, the mus- 
sel, a genus of insects of the Vermes Tes- 
tacea class and order. Animal allied to an 
ascida; shell bivalve, rough, generally affix- 
ed by a byssus, or beard of silken filaments ; 
hinge mostly without teeth, with generally 
a subulate, excavated, longitudinal line. 
There are between fifty and sixty species, 
divided into sections, viz. A. parasitical, 
affixed as it were by claws ; B. flat, or com- 
pressed into a flattened form, and slightly 
eared ; C. ventricose, or convex. In the 
second division is M. margaritifeius, which 
inhabits the American and Indian Seas; 
about eight inches long, and something 
broader ; the inside is beautifully polished, 
and produces true mother-of-pearl, and fre- 
quently the most valuable pearls ; the out- 
side. sometimes sea-green, or chesnut, or 
bloom colour, with whitish rays ; when the 
outer coat is removed it has the same per- 
laceous lustre as the inside; the younger 
shells have ears as long as the shell, and 
resemble scallops. M. edulis inhabits Euro- 
pean and Indian Seas, found in laige beds, 
adhering to other bodies by means of a long 
silky beard: the fish affords a rich food, 
but is often noxious to the constitution. 
