Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/108

 MYS

M Y T

MYRTLE, Myrtus, in botany. See the articles Myrtus, in/ray and Myrtle, Cycl.

There are feveral fpecies of this plant preferved in our gardens ; they are all eafily propagated from cuttings. The beft feafon for this is July ; and the ftraitefl and youngeft vigorous fhoots are to be chofen. Thtfe fhould be cue oft" about eight inches long, and the leaves of the lower part {tripped off to two inches high, and that part of the ftalk twitted which is to be placed in the ground ; they are to be planted in pots of light rich earth, at about two inches dittance from each other, cb- ferving to clofe the earth very well about them, and give them a gentle watering. They are then to be removed into a moderate hot-bed, and fhaded and watered once in two or three days till they have taken root. In about a month's time they will be rooted, and will begin to (hoot, and mull then be inured by degrees, to the air ; and in Auguft they mould be removed into the open air, but placed in a warm fituation, and fheltered from the winds ; they fhould ftand here till Octo- ber, and then be removed into a green-houfe, where they fhould be placed (o as to have as much air as poffiblc. In the March following they fhould be removed into feparate pots of rich earth, and in May fet out to the open air in a warm and well defended place. They will require in the fummer frequent waterings, and the dead leaves fhould be carefully picked off. As they advance in growth, they are to be fhifted at times into pots of a larger fize ; and this fhould be done either in April or in Auguft ; and toward the end of Odtober, they fhould always be removed into the green- houfe.

MYRTILLUS, in botany, a name by which fome authors have called the black whortle berries. The vitis idaa angu- lofa of other authors. Dale, Pharm. p. 294.

MYRTOCHEILIDES, a name given by fome authors to the nymphs in the female pudenda.

MYRTUS, the Myrtle, in botany, the name of a genus of trees, the characters of which are thefe: The flower is of the rofacc-ous kind, and is compofed of feveral petals arranged in a circular form. The cup finally becomes a fruit or berry of the fhape of an olive, coronated at the end, divided into three cells, and containing kidney-fhaped feeds. The fpecies of Myrtle, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are thefe: 1. The broad-leaved Roman Myrtle. 2. The broad- leaved Bcetic Myrtle, or the bay-leaved Myrtle. 3. The bay-leaved Myrtles, with leaves growing in clutters. 4. The broad-leaved Belgic Myrtle. 5. The common Italian Myr- tle. 6. The common Italian Myrtle with white berries. 7. The narrow-leaved Bcetic Myrtle. 8. The wild Myrtle with very fliarp-pointed leaves. 9. The Myrtle with very fmall fharp-pointed leaves. 10. The common fmall Myrtle. 11. The common fmall Myrtle, with leaves variegated with yellow. 12. The broad -leaved white-berried Spanifh Myr- tle. Tourn. Lift. p. 640.

^fyr//t?-berries are efteemed cooling and aftringent. They are recommended in gonorrhoeas, diarrhoeas, dyfenteries, and hae- morrhages of all kinds ; but feldom ufed by the faculty.

Myrtus Sylvejlris, the wild Myrtle, in botany, a name given by fome authors to the rufcus, or butcher's broom, from fome faint rcfcmblance of its leaves to thofe of the Myrtle, Ger. Emac. Ind. 2. See the article RuscUs.

MYRUS, in zoology, a kind of fea-ferpent, a fifh of the eel clafs, fuppofed by fome to be the male muraena, but erro- neously. Its fnout is very long and fharp-pointed ; its body black, {lender, and round, without fcales, and free from fpots. The cavity for the gills is only one on each fide. Near the neck there are fome fmall yellow dots to be feen, while the creature is alive ; but thefe are fcarce vifible after it is dead. Its flefh is tender and delicate. Rondelet. de Pifc. vol. 1. p. 340. _

MYS, in ichthyology, a name given by iElian, Appian, and many others, to the fifh called caprifcus by the later writers ; the capros and charm of others of the antients. See the arti- cle GoAT-FiJh.

MYSIA, Mvtrnt t in antiquity, a feftival in honour of Ceres. For the origin and ceremonies obferved in it, fee Potter, Ar- chseol. Grcec. 1, 2. c. 20. T. 1. p. 415.

MYSTE RY(t>7.)— Mathematicians have been accufed of in- troducing m$fleties into geometry, which ought to have none. Sec the Analift ; and Mr. Mac/aurin's Fluxions in the Intro- duction, and in other places. See alio the article Para- dox.

MY'STOCEROS, in ichthyology, a name given by Gefner and fome others to that fpecies of the filurus which we call the fheat-fifh. It is the glanus of Pliny, and the reft of the old authors ; the filurus of Rondeletius and others. It is di- ftinguifhed by Artedi by the name of the filurus with four • beards under the chin. It is plainly to be known from the fifh called the lake, by this character ; that having only one beard, it is a genuine fpecies of filurus. See the article Si-

LURITS.

MYS1RUM, among the antients, a liquid meafure, which was the fourth part of the cyathus.

It weighed about two drams and an half of oil ; and of water or wine, two drams two fcruples. It was much about our fmall fpoonful, Danet. and PUJfc. in voc. 3

MY'STUS FlwuiatHis, in zoology, a name by which fome writers, particularly Bellonius, have called the common bar- bel, l/illughby, tlift. Pifc. p. 259. See the article Bar- bus.

Mystus Marinus, the Sea Barbel, the name of a fifh caught in the Adriatic, and common in the markets of Ve- nice.

It is of an oblong figure, and in colour of a filvery white, va- riegated on each fide with ten obliquely tranfverfe black lines. Its belly is very white. Its tail is forked, and its head long. Its back fin has part of its rays prickly, part foft to the touch. Its eyes are not large, and their idles are yellow. Its lips are prominent, thick, and foft, and only ferrated in the place of teeth ; but in the hinder part of its mouth it has feveral rows of fhort and large molares or grinders. Its fcales are large, and adhere firmly to the flefh. It is a very well tatted fifh. Gefner, dePifc. p. 144.

Mystus Niloticus, in zoology, a name given by Bellonlus to a fifh of the barbel kind, caught in the Nile. Its body is thick and fhort, and its belly very broad. It grows to fo large a fize as to weigh twenty pounds. Probably this may be no other than the common' barbel growing to a larger fize, 3s we fee many fifh will in fome places more than others. Bellonlus, de Pifc.

MYTAdSM, MuTBXfo-fi©^, in rhetoric, the too frequent re- petition of the letter M, thus mammam ipj'am amo, quaft meam animam. Vojf. Rhet. 1. 4. p. 46.

MYTIS, a name ufed by fome writers to exprefs the blackjuice found in the mouth of the fepia or cuttle-fifh, with which it colours the water when in danger of being taken, and by this means often makes its efcape. It is alio ufed by Hippocrates as the name of a fea-f-ifh different from the fepia.

MYTTOTON, a word ufed by the antients to exprefs a mixt fort of country food, made of garlic, onions, eggs, cheefe, oil, and vinegar. It was much eaten by the labouring peo- ple among the antients, and accounted a very wholefome difh.

MYTULUS, the Mufcle, in natural hiftory, the name of a genus of fhell-fifh, the characters of which are thefe : It is a bivalve fhell, of an oblong form, ending in a point, and hav- ing its two extremities -equal. It is fometimes fmooth, fome- times rough. In fome fpecies flat; in others elate; and in fome has the beak elate. The Tellina and Pinna marina* of each of which there are feveral fpecies, are properly of this genus.

The three words of Mytulus, Muf cuius, and Tellina, may however be made of great ufe in the fubdiftinctions of the ge- nus into certain feries.

In this fenfe the word Mytulus may exprefs all the large Muf- cles, fuch as the pinna marina, and other Mufcles, which are remarkably much elevated in their fhape, and have pointed beaks. The word Mufculus may be ufed to fignify fuch Muf- cles' as are fmaller and more flat ; and Tellina to exprefs, as it ufually does with authors, a bivalve fhell of the Mufcle kind, but thinner and tenderer, and of an oblong figure, but not pointed.

The hinge of thefe fhells is not in the center of the fhells, but toward one end, and they have ufually a kind of little beak at that part.

The Tcllina: are attached to the fhell by two ligaments; the Mufcles only by one.

The largelt kind of Mytulus we know, is the Pinna ma- rina ; of which fhell we have three kinds, one larger than the reft, which is red within ; this often produces pearls, but they are nearly of the fame reddifh colour with the lining of the fhell. There have been found fhells of this fpecies fo large as that the pair have weighed fifteen pounds. The fmall Pinna, and the rough echinatcd Pinna, have their fhells thicker near the edge where they open, than at the cardo. Thefe Pinna marina have a fort of filaments iffuing from the body of the fifh, and fattening it to ftones, or any other fub- ftances. This the antients called byjfus, and wrought it into gloves and other things of that kind; and in fome places it is to this day put to the fame ufe. The common Mufcles have the fame property of forming thefe threads ; and Lifter has thence called them feiifera. The filk of thefe common Mufcles is greatly inferior to that of the Pinna ?narina in fine- nefs and beauty. The Mufcles hold themfclves in the fame place, by means of their threads. The Pinna marina fticks its fharp end into the mud or fand, and all the reft of the fhell remains at liberty to open in the water. Its filaments, which are propagated from the middle of its body, ferve to draw up the mud and fand about it, on occafion, to defend it againft the motion of the water in tempefts. The fpecies of Mufcles, known at prefent, are thefe : Of the flat kind, which terminate in a point at one end, we have the following: 1. The great ftriated magtllanic Mufcle. 1. The fmaller ftriated magellanic Mufcle. 3. The fmaller variegated rmgeWmic Mufcle. 4. The fmooth Mufcle. 5. Themoufe- throat Mufcle. 6. The date Mufcle, 7. The large rough Mufcle ; this is commonly found covered with balani or cen- fer-fhclls. 8. The fmaller rough fi&ufcle;, this is frequently found covered with fea-worms. 9. The blue Mufcle, ftriated near the bottom ; this is a very rare fhell. 10. The rofe-co-

loured