58 MEL 
and cottons, from Europe and the Eaft-Xndies; fpices, 
rice, and other grain 5 are the chief articles brought to 
Melinda. 
MELIN'DA, the capital of the above-defcribed king¬ 
dom, pleafantly fituated on a beautiful plain near the 
coaft of the Indian lea, and furrounded by fine gardens 
and orchards, producing all forts of fruit-trees, elpecially 
citrons and oranges. The houfes are built of fquare 
ftone, many of them being conftrufted in a magnificent 
ftyle, and all richly furniihed, for the ftated refidence 
of rich merchants, and the occafional refort of foreigners, 
who carry on an extenfive commerce in gold, copper, 
quickfilver, ivory, wax, and drugs, in exchange for filk, 
cottons, linen cloths, corn, and other commodities. The 
harbour is difficult of accefs, on account of rocks and 
flielves that intercept the approach to it, and oblige 
veffels to come to anchorage at fome diftance from it. 
The warehoufes at Melinda fupply the country with 
European goods to a great diftance within land, where 
they procure vaft quantities of ivory. This city was 
wholly built by the Portuguefe, and is faid to contain 
30,000 of them, befides natives; it has feventeen Chrif- 
tian churches, together with other religious houfes. 
Lat. 3. 5. S. Ion. 42.40. E. 
MELIN'DA, one of the Querimba iflands, in the In¬ 
dian fea. Lat. 10. 30. S. 
MELIN'GEN, or Mf.llingen, a towm of Swiflerland, 
on the Rufs : fifteen miles weft-north-weft of Zurich, 
and forty-three north-eaft of Berne. Lat. 47. 20. N. 
Ion. 8. 15. F,. 
MELI'NUM,/' The name of an earth famous in the 
earlieft ages of painting, being the only white of the 
great painters of antiquity; and, according to Pliny’s ac¬ 
count, one of the colours with which alone they per¬ 
formed all their works. It is a fine white marly earth, 
of a very compact texture, yet remarkably light; a fort 
of texture which mull render any earth fit for the pain¬ 
ter’s ufe, that is of a proper colour. It is frequently 
found' forming a ftratum in the earth, lying immediately 
under the vegetable mould. It is of a very fmooth, but 
not gloffy, furface ; very foft to the touch, adheres firmly 
to the tongue, is eafily broken between the fingers, and 
ftains the fkin in handling. It melts readily in the 
mouth, and is perfectly fine, leaving not the leaft grit- 
tinefs between the teeth. Thrown into water, it makes 
a great bubbling and loud hiding noife, and moulders 
away into a fine powder. It does not ferment with acids, 
and fuffers no change in the fire. Thefe are the cha¬ 
racters by which the melinum of the ancients is diftin- 
guifhed from all the other white earths. It is ftill found 
in the fame place from whence the painters of old had it, 
which is that from whence it has its name, the ifland of 
Milo, called Melos by the Greeks; and is common in 
moft of the adjacent iflands. It has been of late tried 
here as a paint; and is found not to make fo bright a 
v/liite as the other fubftances now in ufe among the 
painters; but feems not liable, like them, to turn yellow; 
and, if lo, would be worth the confideration of perfons 
in the colour-trade, efpecially as it may be had in any 
quantities for carriage. 
MELIONEC', a town of France, in the department of 
the North Coafts: four miles fouth of Roftrenen, and 
five fouth-weft of Gouray. 
To MF/LIORATE, v. a. [meliorer , Fr. from melior, Lat.] 
To better; to improve.—Grafting meliorates the fruit; 
for that the nourishment is better prepared in the ftock 
than in the crude earth. Bacon. 
But when we graft, or buds inoculate, 
Nature by art we nobly meliorate. Denham. 
ME'LIORATING,^-' The aft of improving. 
MELIORA'TION, J’. Improvement; aft of bet¬ 
tering.—For the melioration of mulick there is yet much 
left, in this point of exquifite conlorts, to try. Bacon. 
MELIOR'ITY f. State of being better.—The order 
and beauty of the inanimate parts of the world, the ciifL 
1 
MEL 
cernable ends of them, the meliovity above what was ne- 
ceflary to be, do evince, by a reflex argument, that it 
is the workmanfhip, not of blind mechanifm, but of an 
intelligent and benign agent. Bentley. 
MELIPI'LLA, a town of South-America, and capital 
of a jurifdiftion, in the kingdom of Chili: forty-two 
miles fouth-eaft of Valparayfo, and 200 north of La 
Conception. Lat. 33. 28. S. Ion. 70. 7. W. 
MELIPU', a river of Ceylon, which runs into the fea 
near Matura. 
ME'LIS, a town of Germany, in the principality of 
Gotha ; fixteen miles fouth of Gotha. 
MELISA'NA, a town of Italy, in the country of Friuli ; 
fix miles fouth of Palma Nuova. 
MELISEY', a town of France, in the department of 
the Upper Saone, and bhief place of a canton, in the dif- 
trift of Lure. The place contains 1499, and the canton 
10,130, inhabitants, in twelve communes. 
MELIS'SA, J. [Gr. a bee; from /mXi, honey, becaufe 
of the abundant and excellent honey of the flowers, for 
which bees are faid greatly to frequent them.] Balm, or 
Baum ; in botany, a genus of the clafs didynamia, order 
gymnofpermia, natural orderofverticillata;, (labiate, Jujf.) 
Generic characters—Calyx: perianthium one-leafed, fub- 
campanulate, dry-fcariole, fpreading a little, angular, ftri- 
ated, permanent, with a two-lipped mouth; upper lip 
three-toothed, reflex-fpreading, flat; lower lip fhorter, 
fliarpilh, two-parted. Corolla: one-petalled, ringent; tube 
cylindrical; throat gaping; upper lip fhorter, ereft, arched, 
roundifh, bifid; lowerlip trifid; middle fegment larger, 
cordate. Stamina: filaments four, awl-ihaped, two the 
length of the corolla, two fhorter by half; antherae fmall, 
converging in pairs. Piftillum: germ four-cleft; ftyle 
filiform, the length of the corolla, inclining along with 
the ftamens beneath the upper lip of the corolla; ftigma 
flender, bifid, reflex. Pericarpium: none; calyx larger, 
unchanged, foftering the feeds in its bofom. Seeds: four, 
ovate.— Ejj'ential Cliara&er. Calyx dry, flattifli, above; up¬ 
per lip fubfaftigiate; corolla, upper lip fomewhat arched, 
bifid; lower lip with the middle lobe heart-lhaped. There 
are feven fpecies. 
1. Melifla officinalis, officinal or common garden balm: 
racemes axiilary, whorled; pedicels Ample. Garden or 
common baum has a perennial root, and an annual ftalk, 
which is fquare, branching, from two to three feet high. 
Leaves by pairs at each joint, two inches and a half long, 
and almoft two inches broad at the bafe, growing narrower 
towards the top, indented about the edges; the lower 
ones upon pretty long footftalks. The flowers grow in 
loofe fmall bunches from the axils in whorls, upon Angle 
peduncles. They are white, or yeilowifh, and appear in 
July. Native of the fouthern parts of Europe, efpecially 
in mountainous fituations, in Swiflerland, Carniola, Si- 
lefia, the fouth of France, and Italy. Dr. Sibthorpe found 
it growing on Mount Parnaflus. 
@. Mr. Miller makes a diftinft fpecies of the M. Romana, 
or Roman balm, which grows naturally about Rome, and 
in other parts of Italy. The Italics are flender, the leaves 
much fhorter, the whole plant hairy, and of a ftrong dif- 
agreeable odour. The flowers grow in whorls, and are 
lhialler than thofe of the common fort. 
y. M. altiflima, or tall Greek balm: whorls halved, 
ftalked; braftes ftalked;. leaves heart-lhaped, fharply cre- 
nate. Common in fliady fituations in Greece efpecially 
under hedges, as well as in Crete. This was fufpefted by 
Dr. Sibthorp to be the third j of Diofcorides; but 
that point is fcarceiy to be fettled with any probability. 
It appears to be a taller and larger herb than the above, 
with rather more heart-lhaped leaves ; and the whorls as 
well as braftes are elevated on more evident ftalks. The 
flower is reprefented white, with a pale pink upper lip; 
the lower lip hairy on the upper fide near its bafe, its mid¬ 
dle lobe broadeft, but by no means lieart-fhaped. Sib- 
tjiorpe in Prodr. FI. Grcsc. 423. 
2. Melifla grandiflora, or great-flowered balm : flower- 
ftalks axiilary, forked, longer than the foot-ftalks; braftes 
lanceolate^ 
