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LEFT MUSTELID^ 360 MYCEN-ffi shells usually from 15 to 25 per cent of a solvent is added, chlorbenzene or carbon tetrachloride being commonly employed for this purpose. MUSTELIDJE, a genus of carnivorous mammals, section Arctoidae, forming a large group, widely diffused in the N. temperate regions. They have broad flattened skulls, low vermiform bodies, short legs, and feet fitted either for running, digging or swimming. The family may be naturally divided into three sub-families: Mustelinse, LutHnse, and Melinse. MUTATION, theory that evolution progresses by quick changes rather than gradual transformations. The idea long suggested was first brought out in full- ness by Professor de Vries of Amsterdam in 1901. His experiments showed that mutation, not natural selection, led to the development of new characters and new species. He showed it probable that mutation really brought into being some- thing new, without intermediate proc- esses and transitions. The mutant re- mained settled as a new species. Almost simultaneously a Russian investigator showed that the cultivated varieties of plants had come suddenly into being through mutation, without the slow and imperceptible development previously thought necessary, and the theory is now generally accepted by scientists. MUTE, a small instrument used to modify the sound of the violin or violon- cello. It is made of hard wood, ivory, or brass, and is attached to the bridge by means of a slit, its three legs standing between, but clear of, the strings. MUTINY, the unlawful insurrection or revolt of soldiers or seamen against the authority of their commanders; open resistance of officers or opposition to their authority. MUTSU HITO (mot'so heto). Mikado (or Emperor) of Japan; born Nov. 3, 1852. He ascended the throne in 1867, and married Princess Haruko in 1869. His children are Prince Yoshihito, born in 1879, and proclaimed Crown Prince in 1889, and three princesses. His reign was marked by great reforms; and the feudal system, which had impeded the general progress of the country, was abolished. He died in 1912. See Japan. MUTTBA (mut'tra), or MATHURA (ma'tho-ra), a town of India, in the Northwest Provinces, on the right bank of the Jumna, 30 miles above Agra. For centuries it has been a center of the Buddhist faith; the surrounding country swarms with associations of Krishna and Balarama. There are numerous temples and mosques; the river is lined with magnificent flights of stairs, leading down to the bathing places in the sacred river; large numbers of pilgrims resort to the city on the occasion of its religious festivals; and troops of monkeys and turtles are supported by the charity of the gentle-hearted people. The city was sacked by Mahmud of Ghazni in 1017; its temples were destroyed by a native sultan in 1500, and by Aurungzebe in 1669; and it was plundered by the Afghans in 1756. In 1803 it passed into the hands of the British. Pop. about 60,000. The district has an area of 1,453 square miles. MUZAFFABPUR, a city of British India, the capital of a district of Bengal. It has several important educational in- stitutions and has manufactories of carpets and cloth. In the neighborhood are important saltpeter mines. Pop. about 50,000. MYCALE (mik'a-le), in ancient geography, a promontory of Ionia, in Asia Minor, opposite the island of Samos, where the Persian army under Tigranes was defeated at this Ionian city of Asia Minor, by the Greeks, under Leotychides, King of Sparta, and Xanthippus, in September, 479 B. c. MYCELIUM (-se'-), the vegetative part of fungi which is not concerned in spore bearing. It may consist simply of a much-elongated cell growing from the spore, or of a chain of cells, but in the majority it is a tissue of interlaced branched filaments of hyphse, loosely united in many molds, membranous in dry rot, compact and tuberous in mush- rooms. MYCEN2B, or MYCENE (mi-se'ne), an ancient city of Greece, nomarchy of Argolis, near the village Krabata, 22 miles S. W. of Corinth. It is said to have been founded by Perseus, 1457 B. C. It was the capital of the kingdom of Agamemnon, and was at that time the principal city of Greece. About 468, it was destroyed by the inhabitants of Argos, and never after regained its former prosperity. Its ruins are still to be seen in the neighborhood of Kharvati, and are specimens of Cyclopean architec- ture. The most celebrated is the "Gate of Lions," the chief entrance ^ to the ancient Acropolis, and receiving its name from two immense lions sculptured on a block of bluish limestone above the gate. Continued exploration of the site has re- vealed a wealth of material belonging to different ages of history. The name Mycenaean has been given to the period