M E A 
animals are of an oblong- and (lender form 5 their heads fite 
furnidled with a kind of trunk or hollow tube, by means 
of which they take in their food ; and their body is com- 
pofed of feveral rings. They do vail mifchief among ma¬ 
gazines of flour laid up for armies and other public ufes. 
When they have once taken polfeflion of a parcel of this 
valuable commodity, it is impoflible to drive them out 5 
and they increafe fofalf, that the only method of prevent¬ 
ing the total lofsof the parcel is to make it up into “bread 
as fcon as can be done. The way to prevent their breed¬ 
ing in the meal is to preferve it from damp. Nothing gets 
more injury by being put up damp than flour; and yet 
nothing is more frequently put up fo. It (hould be al¬ 
ways carefully and thoroughly dried before it is put up, 
and the barrels alfo dried into which it is to be put; then, 
if they are placed in a room tolerably warm and dry, they 
will keep it well. Too dry a place never does flour any 
hurt, though one too moift almoft always fpcils it. 
Wheat-meal, when carefully analyzed, is found to be 
compofed of three very different fubftances. The firft and 
nioft abundant is pure Jlarch, or white fecula, infoluble 
in cold, but foluble in hot, water, and of the nature of 
mucous fubftances; which, when diffolved, form water- 
.glues. The fecond is the gluten, molt of whofe properties 
have been deferibed under the article Bread, vol. iii. 
The third is of a mild nature, perfectly foluble in cold 
water, of the nature of faccharine extractive mucous mat¬ 
ters. It is fufceptible of the fpirituous fermentation, and 
is found but in fmall quantity in the flour of wheat. 
The colour and the weight are the two things which 
denote the value of meal or flour ; the whiter and the hea¬ 
vier it is, other things being alike, the better it always is. 
Tliny mentions thefe two characters as the marks of good 
flour; and tells us, that Italy in his time produced the 
flneft in the world. This country indeed was famous be¬ 
fore his time for this produce : the Greeks have cele¬ 
brated it; and Sophocles in particular fays, that no flour 
is fo white or fo good as that of Italy. The corn of this 
country has, however, loft much of its reputation fince 
that time ; and the reafon of this feems to be, that the 
whole country being full of fulphur, alum, vitriol, mar- 
cafnes, and bitumens, the air may have, in time, affefted 
them fo far, as to make them diffufe themfelve.s through 
the earth, and render it lefs fit for vegetation ; and the 
taking fire of fome of thefe inflammable minerals, as has 
fometimes happened, is alone fufficient to alter the nature 
of all the land about the places where they are. 
The flour of Britain, though it pleafes by its whitenefs, 
yet wants fomeof the other qualities valuable in flour ; the 
bread that is made of it is brittle and does not hold to¬ 
gether, but after keeping a few days become hard and dry 
as if made of chalk, and is full of cracks in all parts; and 
this mult be a great difad vantage in it when intended for 
the fervic.e of an army, or the like occafiuns, where there 
is no baking every day, but the bread of one making muft 
neceflarily be kept a long time. The flour of-T’icardy is 
very like that of Britain ; and, after it has been kept fome 
time, is found improper for making into pafte or dough. 
The French are forced either to ui'e it immediately on the 
grinding, or el(e to mix it with an equal quantity of the 
flour of Brittany, which is coarfer, but more unftuous and 
fatty ; but neither of thefe kinds of flour keep well. 
The flour of almoft any country will do for the home- 
con lumption of the place, as it may be always frefli ground ; 
but the great care to be ufed in /electing i,t, is in order to 
the fending it abroad, or furnifning fhips for their own ufe. 
The laline humidity of the fea-air ruits metals, and fouls 
every thing on-board, if great care be not taken in the 
preferving them : this alio makes the flour damp and 
mouldy, and is often the occalion of its breeding in/efts, 
and being wholly fpoiled. The flour of fome places is 
conftantiy found to keep better at lea than that of others; 
and, when that is once found out, the whole caution needs 
only be to carry the flour of thole places. Thus the 
French find that the flour of Poitou, Normandy, and Gui- 
Kol.XIV. No. 997. 
M E A 5 89 
ehfiS, all bear the Tea-carriage extremely well; and they 
make a confiderable advantage by carrying them to their 
American colonies. The choice of flour for exportation 
being thus made, the next care is to preferve it in the 
fhips; the keeping it dry is the grand confideration in re¬ 
gard to this; the barrels in which it is put up ought to 
be made of dry and well-feafoned oak, and not to be larger 
than to hold two hundred-weight at the molt. If the 
wood of the barrels have any fap remaining in it, it will 
moiften and fpoil the flour ; and no wood is fo proper as 
oak for this purpofe, or for making the bins and other 
veflels for keeping flour in at home, lince, when once weil 
dried and feafoned, it will not contraft humidity after¬ 
wards. The beech-wood, of which fome make their bins 
for flour, is never thoroughly dry, but always retains l'ome 
fap. The fir will give the flour a tafteef turpentine; and 
the afh is always fubjefl to be eaten by the worms. The 
oak is preferable, becaufe of its being free from thefe 
faults | and, when the feveral kinds of wood have been 
examined in a proper manner, there may be others found 
as fit, or poffibly more fo. than this for the purpofe. The 
great tell is their having more or lefs fap. 
To MEAL, v. a. \_meltr, Fr.] To fprinkle ; to mingle 
Were he meal'd 
With that which he corrects, then were he tyrannous. 
Shakefpeare . 
MEAL BOW'IE, a mountain of Scotland, in the county 
of Perth: ten miles weft-north-weft of Crieft. 
MEAL FOUR'WICK, a mountain of Scotland, in the 
county of Perth. 
MEAL FRAS'HICH, a mountain of Scotland, in the 
county of Perth : eight miles north of Dumbiatie. 
ME'AL-MAN, /. One that deals in meal. 
ME'AL RENT,/ Arent formerly paidin meal. Phillips, 
ME'AL-TIDE,/. Meal-time; dinner-time. Chaucer. 
ME'AL-TIME, f. The time in which people generally 
take their meals.—Boaz faid unto her at msal-tine, Come 
eat, and dip thy morfel. Ruth ii. 14. 
ME'AL-TUB, f. A tub containing flour, or meal.— 
An old weal'd conveys herfelf into a meal-tub for the mice 
to come to her, lince Ihe could not go to them. L'EJlrange. 
MEALERUM', a mountain of Scotland, in the county 
of Perth : four miles fouth of George’s Town. 
ME'ALESj a village in Lancalhire, on the Irifn Sea, 
between the Mode and the mouth of the Ribble. 
ME'ALINESS, J~. The ftate of being mealy. 
ME'ALING, f. The act of fprinkling with meal. 
ME'ALY, adj. Having the talte or loft infipidity of 
meal ; having the qualities of meal.—The mealy parts of 
plants diffolved in water make too vifeid an aliment. Ar- 
buthnot on Aliments. —Befprinkled, as with meal: 
Like a gay infect, in his fummer fhine, 
The fop light fluttering fpreads his mealy wings. Thomfon. 
ME'ALY-MOUTHED, adj. [imagined by Skinner to 
be corrupted from mild-mouthed, or mellow-mouthed: but 
perhaps from the lore mouths of animals, that, when they 
are unable to comminute their grain, muft be fed with 
meal.] Soft-mouthed; unable to (peak freely.—She was 
a fool to be mealy-mouthed where nature fpeaks fo plain. 
L’Eflrange. 
MEALY-MOU'THEDNESS,/. Balhfulnefs; reftraint 
of Ipeech. 
ME'ALY-TREE See Viburnum. 
ME'ALY-WINGED, adj. Having the wings befprink¬ 
led as with meal.—With four wings, as all farinacious 
and mealy -winged animals, as butterflies and moths. Brown , 
MEAMBOLANGAM',a town oi’ Binnah, on the Ava; 
thirty-fix miles north of Prone. 
MEAME', a river of North America, which runs into 
Lake Erie in lat.4J. 12. N. ion. 83. 5. W. 
MEAME'S, Indians of North America, about the above 
river. 
MEAMOY', a town of Birmah, on the right bank of 
Ihe Ava; fixteSB m]].e,s weft of Ava. 
7 £ MEAN, 
