46 MEL 
cornered towards the top, hoary with meal, dilated below 
the leaves. Leaves from three to five inches in length ; 
the upper furface very fmooth and even, hoary underneath 
except the marginal nerves 1'pringing from the bafe, veins 
Ample, remote, the nerves of the more advanced leaves 
y.ellowifh ; the younger leaves mealy. Found in Mont- 
ferrat by Ryan. 
62. Melaftoma verticillata: leaves ovate, oblong, atte¬ 
nuated, toothletted, villofe, rugged above ; racemes axil¬ 
lary j flowers in whorls. Branches foftly and clofely vil¬ 
lofe, four-cornered, jointed ; joints three inches long, 
gradually fhorter upwards, channelled alternately on the 
oppofite fides, by a narrow membranaceous edge Handing 
out. Leaves four or five inches long, triple-nerved befides 
thole on the edge which fpring a little above the bafe, very 
finely toothletted, ciliate, villofe on both fides, efpecially 
underneath on the midrib and nerves, rugged above with 
railed dots, underneath not dotted, lefs rugged, paler. 
JBerry globular, three times the fize of muftard-feed. Na¬ 
tive of the Caribbee-illands. 
63. Melaftoma lateriflora: leaves obovate, acuminate, 
fetaceous-fubferrate, l'mooth ; peduncles intrafoliaceous, 
aggregrate, one-flowered. Stem from two to three feet 
high. Branches round below r , four-cornered above, di¬ 
chotomous, fmooth, purplilh. Leaves above on the 
branches, from two to three inches long, oblong, fmooth 
on both fides, pale underneath, fomewdiat rugged. Berry 
the fize of coriander-feed, globular, when examined with 
a glals appearing to have ftrigofe clofe-prefled hairs thinly 
fcattered over it. Found in the ifland of Montferrat, to¬ 
wards the tops of the mountains, by Ryan. 
£. Eight-fiamened, with five-nerved leaves. 
64. Melaftoma coccinea: leaves elliptic-ovate, acumi¬ 
nate, fmooth, quite entire; thyrfe terminating; pe¬ 
duncles and pedicels knotted, hifpid. Ryan, who difco- 
vered this in Montlerrat, obferves that it is a very beau¬ 
tiful Ihrub, from four to fix feet high, with a regular head 
like an orange-tree ; large fcarlet flowers, in thyrfes, co¬ 
ver the whole head. The leaves are wrinkled; and the 
flowers are fometimes white. 
65. Melaftoma fefliliflora : villofe-fubtomentofe ; leaves 
lanceolate-ovate, toothletted, fub-petioled; flowers axil¬ 
lary, feflile, in a fort of whorl. Found by Von Rohr in 
the Weft Indies. 
V. From Loureiro. 
66. Melaftoma feptemnervia : leaves feven-nerved, quite 
entire, lancedlate-ovate, hifpid. Stem flirubby, fix feet 
high, upright, round, hifpid, with fpreading branches. 
Flowers large, red-purple, on many-flowered upright ter¬ 
minating peduncles. Common in Cochinchina. 
67. Melaftoma dodecandra: leaves five-nerved, quite 
entire, fmooth ; flowers twelve-ftamened. This is a fmall 
Ihrub, about ten inches high, upright, even. Flowers 
rofe-coloured, on few coloured terminating peduncles. 
Native of China about Canton, and Cochinchina. It dif¬ 
fers from M. laevigata and difcolor more in ftamens than 
leaves. 
Gaertner remarks, that the fruit in this genus being fo 
various, fome fpecies bearing genuine berries, others cap- 
iules differing in fituation and number of cells, theeflence 
of it, fo far as concerns the fruit, confifts in the feeds being 
void of any albumen, and lying in a foft pulp without any 
proper receptacle, and having a curved embryo. We are 
cautioned by Ryan, to whole diligence we owe many of 
the fpecies from the Weft Indies, not to attend too much 
to the fmoothnefis or hairinefs of the leaves in this genus, 
that of Pfychotria, and other inhabitants of mountains ; 
becaufe they vary much in this relpeft, according as they 
grow in a rich foil and peaceful valley, or on a rugged 
brow expol’ed to winds and weather. 
Mr. Miller has eighteen fpecies, natives of the warm 
parts of America, where he lays there are many more 
fpecies. Molt ot thole which he has mentioned were 
found by Dr. Houftoun in Jamaica, whence he lent many 
MEL 
of the feeds to Europe, fome of which fucceeded; but molt 
if not all the plants which were raifed from them were loft 
in the levere winter of 1740, fince which time they have 
not been recovered in Europe. There is great beauty in 
the diverlity of leaves in thefe plants ; many of them are 
very large, and moll of them are of different colours on 
the two furfaces, their under fide being white, gold co¬ 
lour, or ruffet, and their upper of different fliades of green. 
Their flowers have no great beauty; but, for the Angularity 
of the leaves, they deferve a place in all curious collections. 
Mr. Miller’s fpecies are fo confnfed, that it would be diffi¬ 
cult to afcertainany of them, if many of his fpecimens did 
not yet exift in the Bankfian Herbarium. They are ail in¬ 
cluded, though under different names, in the preceding de- 
fcriptions. 
Propagation and Culture. Thefe tender plants are belt 
obtained by having the entire fruits put up in their native 
places in dry fand as foon as ripened, and immediately for¬ 
warded, which as foon as they arrive fliould be taken out, 
and the feeds fown in pots of light earth, plunging them 
in a moderate hot-bed of tanners’ bark ; when the plants 
are up, and fit to remove, they fliould be planted each in a 
fmall pot of light earth, replunging them in the tan-bed of 
the ftove. Afterwards they require the management of 
of other woody ftove-plants. They may alfo be increafed 
by laying the young branches in the fpring, or by planting 
cuttings of the young Ihoots in the fummer feafon in pots, 
and plunging them in a hot-bed. They ihould afterwards 
have the fame culture as the other plants. 
MELATI'AH, [Hebrew.] A man’s name. 
MELAVER'D, a town of Perfia, in the province of 
Irak: forty-five miles north-eaftof Ifpahan. 
MELAU'I, or Melou'i, a town of Egypt, on the left 
bank of the Nile. It is about a mile round, and makes 
a tolerable appearance within, the fliops being well built. 
It is at th.e head of nine villages, which form all together 
a fmall principality belonging to Mecca; fo that the emir 
badge, who is commonly one of the greateft beys, and has 
the care of conducting the caravan to Mecca, is mailer of 
it, and fends a fardar to govern the country, who lives in 
as much ftate as the caftiifs and other great governors. 
This place lupplies Mecca with 390,000 facks of corn, 
every year, which are fent by way of Cairo, Suez, and 
the Red Sea, it being a very rich corn-country. The 
Chriftians have no church, but are obliged to go to the 
convent on the other fide. It is 120 miles foutli of Cairo. 
Lat. 28. 2. N. 
MELAWAS'KA, a town of North America, in the 
north-eaft part of the province of Maine, firft fettled by 
fome French families. 
MELAY', a town of France, in the department of the 
Mayenne : ten miles fouth-eaft of Laval, and nine north- 
north-eaft of Chateau Gontier.—A town of France, in the 
department of the Saone and Loire: four miles fouth of 
Marcigny, and feven weft-north-weft of Charlieu. 
MELAZ'ZO, or Milazzo, anciently Myla ?, a fea-port 
town of Sicily, in the Valley of Demona, fituated in a 
fmall bay on the north coaft of the ifland. It confifts of 
two parts ; one of which Hands on a promontory of the 
fame name, and is fortified ; the other on a bay, with a 
good harbour, the entrance of which is defended by a 
caftle. This town was unfuccelsfully befieged by the 
Spaniards in the year 1719. It is eighteen miles weft of 
Meffina, and ninety-four eaft of Palermo. Lat. 38. 16. N. 
Ion. 15. 23. E. 
MEL'BON, one of the duller called the Seven I (lands, 
in the Englilh Channel, near the coaft of France. Lat. 48. 
54. N. Ion. 3. 22. W. 
MEL'S ORN, a village in Cambridgelhire, north of 
Royfton : ten miles from Cambridge. 
MEL'BORN, a village in Derbylhire, near Kegworth, 
was formerly a royal manfion, ana had a caftle. Here is 
a charity-lchool. 
MEL'BURY, a village in Dorfetlhire, one mile eaft of 
Evershot, See that word, vol. vii. p. 55. 
MEL'BURY- 
