144 M E Tt 
ME'RES, [Hebrew.] A man’s name. 
MERETINT'ZA, a town of the duchy of Stiria : four 
miles fouth-eaft of Pettaw. 
MERETRI'CIOUS, adj. [from meretrix, Lat.] Whorilh ; 
fuch as is praftifed by prolhtutes ; alluring by falle Ihow. 
•—Our degenerate underftandings have fuffered a fad di¬ 
vorce from their deareft object, defile themfelves with 
every meretricious femblance that the variety of opinion 
prefents them with. GlanviUe's Scepfis. 
Not by affc&ed meretricious arts, 
But ftri<ft harmonious fymmetry of parts. JRofcommon. 
MERETRICIOUSLY, adv. Whorifhly ; after the man¬ 
ner of whores. 
MERETRI'CIOUSNESS, f. Falfe allurement, like that 
of ftrumpets. 
MER'ETRIX, f. Among the Romans, the meretrices 
were the better fort of courtezans, and differed much from 
the prqftilmlcc, or common proflitutes, who had bills or 
infcriptions, over their doors, and were ready at all times 
to entertain their cuftomers; whereas the meretrices en¬ 
tertained none but at night. 
The meretrices were diitinguilhed from the matrons by 
their drefs, being obliged to wear the toga, and Ihort tu¬ 
nics, like thole of the men ; whereas the matrons wore 
the Jtola, which was a garment that reached down to their 
feet, as did likewife their palla, or outer robe. 
ME'REVILLE, Mer'ville, or Meren'ville, a town 
of France, in the department of the Seine and Oife: ten 
miles from Eflampes. 
MER'FELT, a town of France, in the department of 
the Roer : four miles fouth of Gerolftein. 
MER' FO'LIE, a rock in the channel, near the weft 
coaft of France. Lat.49.43.N- Ion. 1.12.W. 
MERG, a town of Africa : thirty miles north of Fez. 
MERGAN'SER, j. in ornithology. See Mergus. 
To MERGE, v.a. [from mergo, Lat.] To fink. — When¬ 
ever a greater eftate and a lefs coincide in one and the 
fame perfon, the lefs is annihilated, or, in the law-phrafe, 
is faid to be merged, that is, funk or drowned, in the 
greater, l^lackfione. 
MER'GEN, j. A word ufed by fome chemical writers 
to denote coral. 
MER'GENDORF, a town of Bavaria, late in the bi- 
fhopric of Bamberg; three miles eaft-fouth-eaft of Streit- 
berg. 
MERGENEV', a fortrefs of Ruftia, in the government 
of Caucafus, on the Ural: feventy-two miles fouth of 
Urallk. 
MER'GENTHEIM, a town of Germany, fituated on 
the fouth fide of the Tauber, the refidence of the grand 
•mailer of the Teutonic order, and feat of the regency; 
granted to the order by Henry of Hohenlohe, who had 
been grand mailer in the year 1620. In the year 1631, 
this town w r as taken by the Swedilh general count Gufta- 
vus Horn, and made a lordlhip in his favour; but this 
did not continue long. It is twenty-five miles fouth- 
fouth-weft of Wurzburg, and forty eaft of Heidelberg. 
Lat. 49. 21. N. Ion. 9.27. E. 
MER'GER, f. in law, the finking or annihilation of a 
lefs eftate or title in a greater.—Ellates tail are protefled 
and preferved from merger. Biacljione. 
MER'GIAN, a town of Perfia, in the province of Se- 
geftan : thirty-two miles fouth-fouth-weft of Kin, and 
fifty-five north-eait of Kabri. 
MER'GUEN HO'TUN, a town of Chinefe Tartary: 
670 miles north-north-eaft of Pekin. Lat. 49. 12. N. Ion. 
142. 20. E. 
MER'GUI, a town of Afia, and capital of a province 
of the kingdom of Siam, fituated on an ifland near the 
eaft coaft, with a harbour which paffes for one of the bell 
in the Indies. The above fea near the coaft being full of 
illands is named by Capt. Forreft the Mergui Archipelago. 
Lat. 12.6. N. Ion. 98.23. E. 
MER'GUS, J'. The Merganser, or Goosander; a 
MER 
genus of birds of the order of anferes. Generic charafters 
—Bill toothed, (lender, cylindrical, hooked at the point; 
noilrils fmall, oval, in the middle of the bill; feet four¬ 
toed, the outer toe longeft. 
Thefe birds, with few exceptions, are of a middle fize, 
between that of a goofe and of a duck. The edges of 
both mandibles are ferrated, the tongue is thick, fet 
with final] bridles pointing backward; a happy con¬ 
trivance for holding the flippery fifties which form their 
prey, and conducing it into the bird’s throat. They 
fwallow, with an undiftinguilhable voracity, fifties that 
are by far too large to enter entire into the ftomach; and 
hence, while the one end is digefting in the cefophagus, 
the other often remains in the throat. As this bird is 
obliged to fearch for its food by diving, it is capable of 
remaining a long time underwater; and, for this purpofe, 
is furniihed with a quantity of air, lodged in a cavity of 
its body, to ferve the purpofe of refpiration while it re¬ 
mains below'. The merganfers, from their voracity, and 
their expertnefs in fwimming, are perhaps the mod de- 
ftrudlive of all birds that plunder the waters; while their 
flefti, which is dry and of a bad flavour, makes but a 
fmall compenfation for the devaftations which they com¬ 
mit. Some of them build in trees ; but the greater part 
in rocks, jutting over precipitous forelands. One or two 
fpecies are faid to have been found as high up the North 
Seas as Iceland ; but this is uncommon. In all the fpe¬ 
cies, the female is of a fmaller fize than the male, and 
differs confiderably in the diftribution of her colours. 
There are ten fpecies, of which five are common to our 
country; the others are natives of Europe and America. 
1. Mergus merganler, the common merganfer, or 
goofander : white ; head, neck, upper part of the breaft, 
and wings, glofly-black ; tail cinereous. It weighs about 
four pounds when full growm ; its length is two feet four 
inches. It is found in Europe, Afia, and America. Some¬ 
times the goofander vifits our rivers and lakes in fevere 
winters, but retires to the more northern latitudes to 
breed. It has been known to build on trees, like the cor¬ 
morant, but more frequently among rocks or Hones ; and 
lays fourteen eggs, which, with the bird itfelf, are often 
devoured by the weazel. It fwims with its head above 
the water; dives deep ; remains a long time below, and 
riles at a conliderable diftance: hence the name merganfer, 
or mergus anjer, i. e. the diving duck. Its flefh is rancid, 
though lometimes eaten. In quell offilh,it dives with great 
celerity, and holds its flippery prey with great fecurity by 
means of its toothed bill, fo admirably adapted to the 
purpofe. Bill, legs, and irides, red; the greater quill- 
feathers black, the fmaller white. This fpecies is repre- 
fentedon the annexed Plate, at fig. 1. 
2. Mergus cucullatus, the crefted or crowned mer¬ 
ganfer. This fpecies is diftinguilhed by a brilliant crown 
on its head, black in the circumference, and white in the 
middle, formed of feathers elevated to a dilk ; which has 
a fine effedt, but appears to advantage only in the living 
bird. Its breaft and belly are white ; the bill, the face, 
the neck, and the back, are black : the quills of the tail 
and wings are brown ; the innermoft of the wings are 
black, and marked, with white ftreaks. This bird is 
nearly as large as a duck : the female is entirely brown, 
and its creft is fmaller than that of the male. This ele¬ 
gant fpecies inhabits North America; appears at Hud- 
Ion’s Bay the end of May, and builds clofe to the lakes : 
the nelt is compofed of grafs, lined with feathers from 
the breaft ; and lays from four to fix white eggs. The 
young are yellow, and are fit to fly in July. They all 
depart from thence in autumn. Appear at New York, 
and other parts as low as Virginia and Carolina in No¬ 
vember, w r here they fpend the winter. They frequent 
the frelh waters, and return to the north in March. See 
the Plate, fig. 2. 
3. Mergus caftor, the dun diver: crefted, cinereous; 
head and upper part of the neck bay ; chin, middle quill- 
feathers, and belly, white. “ This bird,” fays Belon, 
4 “ commits 
