Page:EB1911 - Volume 18.djvu/183

 M. cucullatus, the hooded merganser of North America, is in size intermediate between M. albellus and M. serrator; the male is easily recognizable by his broad semicircular crest, bearing a fanshaped patch of white, and his elongated subscapulars of white edged with black. The conformation of the trachea in the male of M. merganser, M. serrator and M. cucullatus is very like that of the ducks of the genus Clangula, but M. albellus has a less exaggerated development more resembling that of the ordinary Fuligula. From the southern hemisphere two species of Mergus have been described, M. octosetaceus or brasilianus, L. P. Vieillot (N. Dict. d’Hist. naturelle, ed. 2, vol. xiv. p. 222; Gal. des oiseaux, tom. ii. p. 209, pl. 283), inhabiting South America, of which but few specimens have been obtained, having some general resemblance to M. serrator, but much more darkly coloured, and M. australis, Hombron and Jacquemont (Ann. sc. nat. zoologie, ser. 2, vol. xvi. p. 320; Voy. au Pol Sud, oiseaux, pl. 31, fig. 2), known only by the unique example in the Paris Museum procured by the French Antarctic expedition in the Auckland Islands.

Often associated with the mergansers is the genus Merganetta, the so-called torrent-ducks of South America, of which six species have been described; but they possess spiny tails and have their wings armed with a spur. These with Hymenolaemus Malacorhynchus, the blue duck of New Zealand, and Salvadorina waigiuensis of Waigiou are placed in the sub-family Merganettinae.

 MERGENTHEIM, a town of Germany, in the kingdom of Württemberg, situated in the valley of the Tauber, 7 m. S. from Lauda by rail. Pop. (1905), 4535. It contains an Evangelical and three Roman Catholic churches, a Latin and other schools, and a magnificent castle with a natural history collection and the archives of the Teutonic order. This is now used as barracks. The industries of the town include tanning, the manufacture of agricultural machinery and wine-making. Near the town is a medicinal spring called the Karlsbad.

Mergentheim (Mariae domus) is mentioned in chronicles as early as 1058, as the residence of the family of the counts of Hohenlohe, who early in the 13th century assigned the greater part of their estates in and around Mergentheim to the Teutonic order. It rapidly increased in fame, and became the most important of the eleven commanderies of that society. On the secularization of the Teutonic Order in Prussia in 1525, Mergentheim became the residence of the grand master, and remained so until the final dissolution of the order in 1809.

 MERGER (Fr. merger, to sink), in law, the sinking or “drowning” of a lesser estate in a greater, when the two come together in one and the same person without any intervening estate. In order to effect a merger the two estates must vest in the same person at the same time, must be immediately expectant one on the other, and the expectant estate must be larger than the preceding estate. The term is also used for the extinguishment of any right, contract, &c., by absorption in another, e.g. the acceptance of a higher security for a lower, or the embodying of a simple contract in a deed.  MERGUI, the southernmost district of Lower Burma, in the Tenasserim division, bounded on the W. by the Bay of Bengal and on the E. by Siam. Area 9789 sq. m. Two principal ranges cross the district from north to south, running almost

parallel to each other for a considerable distance, with the Tenasserim river winding between them till it turns south and flows through a narrow rocky gorge in the westernmost range to the sea. The whole district, from the water’s edge to the loftiest mountain on the eastern boundary, may be regarded as almost unbroken forest. The timber trees found towards the interior, and on the higher elevations, are of great size and beauty, the most valuable being teak (Tectona grandis), then-gan (Hopea odorata), ka-gnyeng (Dipterocarpus laevis), &c. The coast-line of the district, off which lies an archipelago of two hundred and seven islands, is much broken, and for several miles inland is very little raised above sea-level, and is drained by numerous muddy tidal creeks. Southwards of Mergui town it consists chiefly of low mangrove swamps alternating with small fertile rice plains. After passing the mangrove limits, the ground to the east gradually rises till it becomes mountainous, even to the banks of the rivers, and finally culminates in the grand natural barrier dividing Burma from Siam. The four principal rivers are the Tenasserim, Le-nya, Pakchan and Palauk, the first three being navigable for a considerable distance. Coal is found on the banks of the Tenasserim and its tributaries, but is still unworked. Gold, copper, iron and manganese are also found in various parts of the district, and there are tin mines at Maliwun, upon which European methods have been tried without much profit, owing to the cost of labour.

From the notices of early travellers it appears that Mergui, when under Siamese rule, before it passed to the Burmese, was a rich and densely peopled country. On its occupation by the British in 1824–1825 it was found to be almost depopulated—the result of border warfare and of the cruelties exercised by the Burmese conquerors. At that time the entire inhabitants numbered only 10,000. It had a population of 88,744 in 1901, showing an increase of 20% in the decade and giving a density of 9 inhabitants to the sq. m. Mergui carries on a flourishing trade with Rangoon, Bassein and the Straits Settlements. The chief exports consist of rice, rattans, torches, dried fish, areca-nuts, sesamum seeds, molasses, sea-slugs, edible birds' nests and tin. The staple imports are piece goods, tobacco, cotton, earthenware, tea and sugar. The climate is remarkably healthy, the heat due to its tropical situation being moderated by land and sea breezes. The rainfall is very heavy and usually exceeds 150 inches.

Mergui town has risen into prominence in recent years as the centre of the pearling trade in the neighbouring archipelago. The pearling grounds were practically unknown in 1890, but in the following decade they produced pearls and mother-of-pea r l shell of considerable value. In 1901 the population was 11,987; but the census is taken at a time when many of the fishermen and their families are away in the islands. There is a considerable coasting trade with other Burmese ports and with the Straits Settlements.  MERGUI ARCHIPELAGO, a cluster of islands in the Bay of Bengal, near the southern coast of Lower Burma. They are chiefly noted for their picturesque beauty, some of them rising to 3000 ft. They are only sparsely inhabited by the island race of Selungs.  MERIAN, MATTHEW (1593–1650), Swiss engraver, was born in Basel, on the 25th of September 1593. The family came originally from near Delémont, but in his grandfather’s time settled in Basel, where in 1553 it obtained the burghership of the city. As Matthew early showed signs of artistic tastes, he was placed (1609) under the care of Dietrich Meyer, a painter and engraver of Zürich (1572–1658). He went on to Nancy in 1613, where he already displayed considerable talents as an engraver on copper. After studying in Paris, Stuttgart (1616) and the Low Countries, he came to Frankfort, where in 1618 he married the eldest daughter of J. T. de Bry, who was a publisher and bookseller as well as an engraver. Merian worked for some time with his father-in-law in Oppenheim, but then returned to Basel, whence he came back (1624) to Frankfort after Bry’s death (1623), in order to take over his business;