634 M O L 
immediately tinder the calyx come out two bunches of 
pretty long fpines, one on each fide, each bunch confid¬ 
ing of five or fix fpines arifing from the fame point; co¬ 
rolla fmall, and being placed at the bottom of the large 
calyx is not vifible at a diftance ; it is white with a call of 
purple. The four feeds lie within the calyx, which is un¬ 
changed ; they are fhort, thick, three-fided, fmooth, bay- 
coloured. Native of Syria. Cultivated in 1570, by Mat¬ 
thias de Lobel: it flowers in July and Augull. 
2. Moluccella fpinofa, or prickly Molucca balm: calyxes 
ringent, feven-toothed. Root annual. Stems fmooth, 
purplifh, four feet high, branching out in the fame manner 
with the firft. Leaves fmaller, on fhorter footftalks, deeper 
and more acutely indented on their edges ; calyx not fo 
large, and cut into eight fegments, each terminated by an 
acute fpine; flowers and feeds like the preceding, but the 
corolla longer than the calyx ; whereas in the preceding 
the calyx is much longer than the corolla. Native of the 
Levant. Cultivated in 1739, by Mr. Miller. It flowers 
in July and Auguft. Commonly faid to be a native of the 
Molucca Iflands. 
3. Moluccella tuberofa, or knobbed moluccella : calyx 
funnel-fhaped, five-toothed ; teeth equal, pointed ; Hem- 
leaves nearly fefiile, oblong wedge-fhaped, toothed. Na¬ 
tive of muddy places, on hills in the fouth of Tartary; 
flowering in May, and fruiting in July. Root perennial, 
large, compofed of two or three ovate knobs, occafionally 
Ample like a radifh, and fomewhat bitter. Stem eredl, 
branched, jointed, divaricated, fquare, fmooth, hairy at 
the joints. Radical leaves on long rough ftalks, ovate, 
deeply notched ; thofe of the Item almolt fefiile, wedge- 
fhaped, veined, nearly fmooth. Flowers about three or 
four in a whorl, forming a loofe fpike; corolla bright yel¬ 
low, twice as long as the calyx. 
4. Moluccella Perfica, or Perfian moluccella: calyx 
funnel-fiiaped, five-toothed; leaves fefiile, wedge-lhaped, 
ferrated and fpinous. Native of Perfia. Willdenow fays 
that Linnaeus confounded this fpecies very erroneously 
with the following, with which however it by no means 
agrees, except in habit. Stem Ample, eredl, very fmooth, 
hoary, jointed, furnilhed with Ample long unequal fpines 
at each joint, generally from five to twelve in number. 
Leaves wedge-lhaped, entire at the bafe, ferrated at the 
end ; the ferratures terminating in downy fpines. Flow¬ 
ers in denfe whorls ; fpinous teeth of the calyx minute ; 
corolla twice the length of the calyx. 
5. Moluccella frutefcens, orlhrubby moluccella: calyx 
funnel-lhaped, five-toothed ; teeth fpinous ; leaves on 
Ihort ftalks, elliptical, obtufe, flightly five-toothed. Found 
by Sherard in Italy, and by Dr. Sibthorp in the Ifle of 
Cyprus. Stem Ihrubby, much branched, round or nearly 
fo, with downy branches ; fpines at each joint four, awl- 
Ihaped, recurved. Flowers axillary, 1'olitary, their ftalks 
about as long as the leaf-ftalks ; calyx tubular, with five 
broad fpinous teeth, nearly equal; corolla fcarcely ex¬ 
ceeding the calyx, white, with purple ftreaks on the lower 
lip. Profeflor Martyn is of opinion, that this and the 
preceding are the fame plant; comparifon, however, of 
Dr. Sibthorp’s drawing with Burmann’s figure ftiows them 
to be fufficiently diftindf. 
6. Moluccella grandiflora, or large-flowered moluccella: 
calyx funnel-fhaped, five-cleft; its fegments pointed ; 
leaves fefiile, in three deep-cut fegments. Native of Tar¬ 
tary. Willdenow defcribes the corolla as longer than the 
calyx ; its upper lip hairy and cloven. 
Propagation and Culture. The two firft are annual 
plants, which decay foon after the feeds are ripe, and, 
being natives of warm countries, feldom perfedt their 
feeds in England, when they are fown in the fpring. 
They fhould be raifed therefore in autumn, and planted 
in fmall pots, placed under a hot-bed frame in winter, 
where they may have free air in mild weather, by taking 
oft the glafles; but they mult be covered in frofty weather, 
obferving to keep them pretty dry, otherwife they are 
very fubjedt to rot. In the fpring the plants may be 
M O h 
turned out of the pots, with all the earth about their 
roots, and planted in a warm border, defended from ftrong 
winds, giving them a little u'ater to fettle the earth to 
their roots; after this, they will require no other care 
but to keep them clean from v'eeds, and to fupport them 
with ftakes to prevent their being broken by the winds. 
The plants thus preferved through the winter, will flower 1 
at the end of June, and good feeds may be expedled from 
them. 
MOLU'CHES, a tribe of Patagonians inhabiting the 
weftern part of the country. The dead among them are 
buried in fquare pits, in a fitting pofture, with their wea¬ 
pons and drinking-utenfils ; and an old matron annually 
opens the grave to cleanfe and clothe the Ikeletons. Around 
are thofe of the flain horfes, fupported with props. The 
language of the Moluches is more copious and elegant 
than could have been expedted ; the verbs having three 
numbers, and as many tenfes as the Greek. See Pata¬ 
gonia. 
MOL'WITZ, a town of Silefia, in the province of 
Grotfka, remarkable for a battle gained by the Pruflxans 
over the Auftrians in 1741. Lat. 50. 26. N. Ion. 16. 45. E. 
MO'LY, f [moly, Lat. moly, Fr.] A plant. See Al¬ 
lium. — Moly, or wild garlic, is of feveral forts; as the 
great moly of Korner, the Indian moly, the moly of Hun¬ 
gary, ferpent’s moly, the yellow' moly, Spanifn purple moly, 
Spanifh lilver-capped moly, Diofcorides’s moly, the fu'eet 
moly of Montpelier. The roots are tender, and mull be 
carefully defended from frofrs : as for the time of their 
flowering, the moly of Homer flowers in May, and con¬ 
tinues till July, and fo do all the reft except the laft, which 
is late in September: they are hardy, and will thrive in 
any foil. Mortimer's Hujbaiulry. 
Black was the root, but milky white the flower; 
Moly the name. Pope's Odyffey. 
MOLYBDZE'NUM. See the article Mineralogy, p, 
515 of this volume. 
MOLYBDOM'ANCY, f. [from the Gr. lead ; 
and (Azvnict, magic.] A kind of divination by the help of 
melted lead. 
MO'LYN (Peter), called alfo Cctvaliere Tempefta, a fkil- 
ful painter, was born at Haerlem in 1637. He firft dif- 
tinguiflied liimfelf by a fuccefsful imitation of Fr. Sny¬ 
ders in painting animals and hunting-feenes as large as 
life. He next followed the bent of his own difpofition, 
which led him to fubjedls of fublime terror, fuch as ftorms 
at fea and fliipwrecks; and his execution of them was fo 
fpirited and natural, that it fixed upon him the appella¬ 
tion of Tempefta. Having ftudied the works of the bell 
Flemilh artifts in Holland, he went to Rome for improve¬ 
ment and employment, and began by changing his reli¬ 
gion from the Calvinift to the Roman catholic. He paint¬ 
ed in that capital with great applaufe; married, grew 
wealthy, and received the title of Cavaliere. He next 
took up his refidence at Genoa, where he met with great 
encouragement, and might have attained the higheft ho- 
nours and emoluments of his profeflion, had he not fallen 
into a diflolute courfe of life, the confequences of which 
were tragical. He became deeply enamoured of a Ge- 
noefe lady; and, finding that her favours were not to be 
obtained without marriage, he refolved to remove the ex- 
ifting obftacle to fuch an union. Having engaged the 
fervices of an aftalTin, he fent Rim as a mefienger to his 
wife to Rome, with a very affeftionate letter, requefting 
her to accompany the bearer to join him at Genoa. The 
poor woman gladly complied with her hufoand’s defire, 
and was murdered by the villain on the journey. This 
deteilable deed came to light; and Tempefta was appre¬ 
hended, convi&ed, and condemned to death. The in- 
tereft of the nobility, who valued him for his art more 
than they abhorred him for a crime too common in that 
country, procured a fufpenfion of his fentence; and he 
w'as kept in prifon, where he diligently purlued his pro- 
fefiicn. He had been fixteen years in confinement, when 
1 the 
