18*3 M E S 
the Adriatic, on an ifland formed by a branch of the Po: 
thirty miles eaft-north-eaft of Ferrara. 
MESOL'ABE, [ mejblabium, Lat.] A mathematical in- 
ftrument, invented by the ancients for finding two mean 
proportionals mechanically, which they could not come 
at geometrically. It eonfifts of three parallelograms, 
moving in a groove to certain interleftions. Its figure 
is delcribed by Eutocius, in his commentary on Archi¬ 
medes. 
MESOLOG'ARITHM, f. A term ufed by Kelper to 
fignify the logarithms of co-fines and co-tangents ; the 
former of which lord Napier calls anti-logarithms, and 
the latter differentiates. Thefe are alfo called artificial 
fines and tangents. 
MESOME'DES, a Greek lyric poet and mufician, to 
whom the Hymn to Memefis, the laft of the three hymns 
published in Dr. Fell’s Oxford edit, of Aratus, with the 
original mufic, has been afcribed. It is not fatisfaftorily 
fettled who this Mefomedes was, or at what time he lived. 
Lempriere fets him down for the age of Antoninus. 
MESOM'PHALON, f. [from the Greek geaoc, the 
middle, and optpaXos, the navel.] The middle point of 
the navel. 
ME'SON, J. in the ancient Greek mufic, is the name 
given to the fecond tetrachord from the bottom j and it 
was likewife the name by which the four firings of that 
tetrachord were diftitiguiflied: as the firft llring was 
called liypate-mefon, the fecond parhypate-mefon, the 
third lichanos-mefon, or mefon-diatonos, and the fourth 
mefe. Mefon is the genitive cafe plural of mefe, mean 
Or middle ; becaufe the mefon tetrachord is the middle 
between the firft and third tetrachord, or rather becaufe 
the firing or found mefe gives the name to the whole 
tetrachord, of which it is the higheft note. 
MESON YC'TICUM,/! [Lat. from fj.iaavvxriH.ov, Gr.] A 
midnight hymn in the Greek church. 
MESOPOTA'MIA, the ancient name of the province 
of Diarbeck, in Turkey in Alia. It is fituated between 
the rivers Euphrates and Tigris; having Aflyria on 
the eaft, Armenia on the north, Syria on the weft, 
and Arabia Deferta with Babylonia on the fouth. 
The Hebrews called it Padan-aram, (Gen. xxviii. 2. 
&c.) and Aram Naharaim , (title of Pfal. lx.) or “ Aram 
of the two rivers,” becaufe it was firft peopled by Aram 
father of the Syrians, and is fituated between the two 
rivers already mentioned. This country is much cele¬ 
brated in Scripture, as being the firft dwelling of men 
both before and after the deluge ; and becaufe it gave 
Birth to Phaleg, Heber, Terah, Abraham, Nahor, Sarah, 
Rebekah, Rachel, Leah, and to the fons of Jacob. Ba¬ 
bylon was in the ancient Mefopotamia, t.ill, by vaft la¬ 
bour and induftry, the two rivers of the Tigris and Eu¬ 
phrates were united into one channel. The plains of 
Shinar were in the fame country. Often they gave it the 
name of Mefopotamia, (Deut. xxiii. 4. &c.) and fome- 
times that of Syria, (Hofea xii. 12.) Balaam fonof Beor 
was of Mefopotamia, (Deut. xxiii. 4.) Chuflian-rifhathaim 
king of Mefopotamia kept the Hebrews in fubje&ion 
fame time after the death of Joftma, (Judg. iii. 8.) 
MESOSPHdE'RUM, f. in botany. See Bystropogon. 
MESOZEU'GMA, J. [from the Gr. g-vot, the middle, 
and vyfja, a joining.] A figure in grammatical conftruc- 
tion when a word which ftands connected with two 
others is placed between them j as, “ I lleep and thou.'" 
MES'PIbpS, /! the Medlar-tree ; in botany, a genus 
of the clafs icofandria, order pentagynia, natural order of 
pomaceae. (rofiiceae, Juff.) Generic charadVers.—Calyx : 
perianth one leafed, concave-fpreading, five-cleft, per¬ 
manent. Corolla: petals five, roundifh, concave, in- 
ferted into the calyx. Stamina: filaments twenty, awl- 
fhaped, inferted into the calyx ; antherze fimple. Piftil- 
lum : germ inferior; ltyles five, fimple, ere£t; ftigmas 
headed. Pericarpiuxn : berry globular, umbilicated, 
Hgloled by the converging calyx, but aljnoft perforated by 
M E S 
the nave!. Seeds: five, bony, gibbous .—Ejfential Cha¬ 
racter. Calyx five-cleft; petals five; berry inferior, five- 
feeded. 
Botanifts have differed concerning the limits of this 
genus. The Crataegus of Linnaeus is diftinguifhed from 
his Mefpilus folely by the former having but two ftyles, 
and occafionally, on the fame tree, feme flowers with 
but one ; while the latter has five. Sorbus is fuppofed 
to differ from both in having three ftyles and as many 
feeds. Linnaeus was well aware of the clofe relationfhip 
between all the three genera, and hints that there is 
fcarcely any fufficient diftindtion between them. He 
adds however, that “ the leaves, in Sorbus are ufually pin¬ 
nate, in Crataegus angular, in Mefpilus undivided.” This 
would indeed be a charadfer in the habit too important 
to be overlooked ; but Dr. Smith informs us, that it is 
not founded in fadt. That learned and excellent bo- 
tanift, therefore, in his Flora Britannica, has propofed a 
different arrangement, by which he removes five fpecies' 
of the genus Crataegus into this prefent genus. We fhall 
avail ourfelves of his judicious remarks; but it will not 
be neceffary for us to repeat the defcriptions of thofe 
fpecies, which are already given under the article Cra¬ 
taegus, in our fifth volume. 
1. Mefpilus pyracantha, or evergreen thorn or mef¬ 
pilus: thorny, leaves lanceolate-ovate crenate, calyxes of 
the fruit blunt. This is a bufhy irregular fhrub; branches 
ftrigofe and rugged, teftaceous-brown, divaricated, al¬ 
ternately fpinofe. Leaves fcattered, fmooth, petioled, 
continuing till winter, lanceolate with a point, crenate ; 
but, in the garden, ferrate. Flowers white, fcarcely larger 
than thofe of elder. Berry globular, fulvous, the fize of 
a pea, pulpy, five-feeded. The fruit, according to Scopoli, 
is as large as the common medlar; the feeds fubovate 
and comprefled. Native of the fouth of Europe; com¬ 
mon on Caucafus, and in the Cherfonefus Taurica; alfo 
in China. It flowers' with us in May. Cultivated in 
1629, as appears from Parkinfon. It has the names py¬ 
racantha in Latin, and buijfon ardent in French, from the 
rednefs of its berries. 
2. Mefpilus parvifolia, or fmall leaved hawthorn: 
thorny; leaves fomewhat wedge-fhaped, crenate, cut; 
flowers nearly folitary; fegments of the calyx leafy, cut 
and ferrated, as long as the fruit; ftyles five. We are 
indebted to Meflrs. Lee and Kennedy for a knowlege of 
this fpecies. It is remarkable for its flout rigid habit; 
ftraight dark thorns, often two inches in length ; fmall 
leaves, about an inch long, more or lefs downy 5 rather 
large flowers, moftly folitary, at the end of each fliort 
lateral (hoot, with a long leafy green caiyx. The fruit is 
faid to be pale yellow, dotted with little black warts, and 
containing five feeds. Native of Virginia; cultivated 
here in the time of bifhop Compton. 
3. Mefpilus odoratifiima, or downy oriental hawthorn : 
thorny ; leaves deeply five-cleft, jagged ; very downy on 
both lides ; ftyles five. Rather ftouter than the common 
hawthorn; and diftinguifhed by its very.foft deep-cut 
leaves, larger highly-fragrant flowers, and globular fear- 
let fruit, as big as a fmall gooleberry. Native of the Le¬ 
vant. In Greece, and the fouth-weft^rn part of the 
Crimea. Cultivated by Meflrs. Lee and Kennedy for 
fbme years paft. 
4. Meipiius tanacetifolia, or, tanfy-leafed hawthorn: 
thorny; leaves obtuie, pinnatifid, cut; downy on both 
fides ; ftyles five ; braftes permanent. Native of all the 
high mountains of Greece. A very deliralile fhrub for 
plantations, on account of its large highly-lcented co ■ 
rymbofe flowers, and yellow fruit, which refembles a 
fmall apple, and has the feent of one. By culture and 
grafting, it promifes to become an acquifition to our 
tables. Tournefort did not obferve the thorns of this 
fpecies; but he deferibes the eagernefs with which his 
Armenian companions collebled and ate the fruit, and 
he mentions the trees as of the fize of oaks. 
5. Mefpilus 
