Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/220

LEFT MEDJIDIE 178 MEGALONYX toth diflicult and dangerous; and in this respect the S. side presents a striking contrast to the N., where, generally speaking, deep soundings may be had close to the shore; while in parts, par- ticularly between Nice and Genoa and near Gibraltar, no soundings can be found under 1,000 fathoms and upward. The temperature averages from 72° to 76% or 3%° F. higher than that of the Atlantic Ocean. The principal rivers which flow into the Mediterranean are the Ebro, Rhone, Po, and Nile. The Mediterranean was long considered tide- less, but this is untrue, as in the Adri- atic, as well as between that sea and the coast of Africa, the tide rises from 5 to 7 feet. The prevalent winds vary during the spring between S. E. and S. W.; at other times from N. W. to N. E. The most formidable of these winds is the si- rocco, or solano, which is very destruc- tive. Water spouts are of frequent oc- currence, especially along the coast of Asia Minor. Several springs of fresh water rise in different parts of the Medi- terranean; the largest being in the port of Tarento, near the mouth of the Gale- sus, where the fresh water ascends with such impetuosity and in such a volume that it may be taken up at the surface without the least impregnation of salt. MEDJIDIE (me-je'de), a Turkish order of knighthood, instituted in 1852. It has been conferred on numerous for- eign officers, soldiers, and seamen, who have taken part in wars on behalf of Turkey. Also a Turkish coin, value about $4.50 (gold) ; silver, about 80c. MEDLAB, a much-branched spinous tree. The leaves are obovate or oblong- lanceolate, entire or serrulate, pubescent beneath ; the flowers white, with a woolly calyx; the fruit half an inch or an inch in diameter; depressed at the top. It is eaten raw, but not till it is rotten. The large-flowered medlar is Pyrus (7nes- pilus) grandiflonis ; the medlar of Japan, Eriobotrya japonica; the medlar of Suri- nam is one of the Sapotaceae, and the West Indian medlar MiTnuspos elengi. MEDULLA, a medical term for mar- row. It exists chiefly in the central canal, in the long bones; blood-vessels, and even nerves, have been traced going in for the nutrition of the osseous tissue. MEDULLA OBLONGATA (-ga'ta), the cranial prolongation of the spinal cord, of similar structure, but differing by a peculiar arrangement of the strands of the cord before entering into and form- ing a connection with the brain. In it are found the great ganglionic centers which control respiration, deglutition. vomiting, etc. Pressure of the medulla oblongata and not strangulation is the actual cause of death in judicial hanging. It is formed of two lateral columns, each divided into three smaller ones, and passes through the pons Varolii, termin- ating in the crura cerebelli. MEDUSA (-du'sa), in classical mythol- ogy, one of the Gorgons who, giving of- fense to Minerva, had the fine hair, on which she prided herself, turned to ser- I)ents; her eyes were also endowed with the power of converting every one who looked at her into stone. There are some unimportant variations in the myth. Medusae (the plural): Jelly-fishes, or of the family Medusidse. It consists of an umbrella-like disk surrounded by nu- merous short filiform tentacles. Medusae (the plural): Jelly-fishes, or sea-nettles, a sub-class or order of Hy- drozoa. It is called Diseophora. Head of Medusa: In astronomy, a por- tion of the constellation Perseus, who is supposed to carry the head of Medusa in his left hand. It contains the variable or periodic star Algol. MEEANEE, or MIANI (me-a'ne), a village in Sind, India, on the Indus, 6 miles N. of Hyderabad. It was the scene of a battle between Sir Charles Napier with 2,800 men and a Baluch army, 22,- 000 strong, on Feb. 17, 1843; the latter were totally routed, losing 5,000 men; the British loss was 256. The result of this victory was the conquest and annexation of Sind. MEERSCHAUM, a peculiar silicated magnesian mineral found in several parts of Europe, but mostly in Greece and Tur- key. In the last-mentioned country it is extensively used as fxillers' earth; but in Austria and Germany it is adapted to the manufacture of tobacco pipes. MEERUT (me'-), or more correctly MEBATH (me'rath), a town, district, and division in the Northwestern Prov- inces of British India. The town lies 40 miles N. E. of Delhi, about half-way be- tween the Ganges and the Jumna. Here in 1857 the great mutiny broke out. Pop. about 116,000. MEG.aBRA (me-je'ra), one of the Furies. MEGALONYX (-lon'iks), a genus of large, sloth-like edentates from the post- Pliocene of North America. It has the same dental formula as Megatherium and Mylodon. The fore limbs are shorter than the hind limbs, and the calcaneum is excessively long. The animal was named in 1797 by Jefferson, President of the United States, who thought the remains