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MALAKKA

H52

MALORY

Malakka, Strait of, a waterway or sea-passage which separates the Malay peninsula from Sumatra, and forms the channel between the Indian Ocean and the Chinese Sea. It is 480 miles in length and from 30 to 200 broad.

Malay' Peninsula. See MALAKKA.

Malays (ma-ldz'), the race found in the Eastern archipelago and the neighboring peninsula, which are named from the Malay Archipelago and the Malay Peninsula. They belong to the Mongols and usually are short in stature, being not much over five feet in height, with yellow skin, straight black hair, almond-shaped eyes and flat features, much resembling the Chinese. But their language is entirely different from that of the Asiatic Mongols, belonging to the great Polynesian family, which extends across the Indian and Pacific Oceans. Since the i3th century the Malays have been the traders of the archipelago, and of late years have given up their roving habits and are occupied with trade and agriculture. Their language is simple in structure, and soft and harmonious. It is written in the Arabic character, though lately the Roman system has been adopted. See The Malay Archipelago by Wallace.

Maiden (mat'den), Mass., a busy and thriving manufacturing city, incorporated in 1882, on Maiden River and the Boston and Maine Railroad. It lies four miles north of Boston, and is the seat of many large industrial interests, chief of which are the Boston Rubber Shoe Company, establishments for the manufacture of carpets and rugs, cotton goods, leather goods, boots, shoes, shoe-lasts, sand and emery paper and cord. t has many substantial public buildings, libraries, schools, churches, banks and other edifices. It does much for education in the extent and character of its public schools. Population 44,404.

Maldive (mal'dw) Islands, The, lie off the coast of Malabar, extending southward about 20 degrees, reaching an extreme length of 500 miles with an average breadth of 45. The islands are composed of coral, and may be divided into 17 groups, each group or atoll being surrounded by a coral-reef. It is estimated that there are 12,000 islands, of which 600 are Charted and 200 inhabited. The population is estimated at 30,000, mostly Mohammedan. The native races exhibit characteristic features of Malays, Singhalese and Africans, and evidently are a mixed race. The Portuguese, French and Dutch have at various times asserted* authority; but the islands no' constitute a dependency of Ceylon. The exports of tropical fruits are considerable; grain is also grown; and immense numbers of wild fowl frequent the archipelago. The inhabitants live chiefly upon fish, rice and cocoanuts.

Male Cell (in plants), the general name of the sperm or male gamete, which may take a variety of forms. The special use of

the phrase, however, is in connection with the angiosperms, in which the cell which fertilizes the egg is unlike ordinary sperms in several particulars, and is usually called simply the male cell rather than sperm.

Malibran (ma'le'bran'), Maria Felicita, a famous operatic singer, was born at Paris, March 24, 1808. She made her debut in London in 1825. Soon her reputation extended over Europe. At New York she married M. Malibran, a French merchant. Later, this marriage being dissolved, she married Beriot, a famous violinist, in 1836, but on September 23rd she died at Manchester, England.

Malines. See MECHLIN.

MaFlard, a common wild duck inhabiting the northern hemisphere. It belongs to the group of river ducks, and is abundant in the Old and New Worlds. The head and neck of the male are bright green and, therefore, it commonly is called the green-head. It is the original from which most of the domestic ducks are descended. In the west of the United States it visits cornfields; in the southern Atlantic states, the ricefields. It is extensively hunted by the use of decoys, and its fine-flavored flesh makes it a favorite for the table.

Mal'lock, William Hurrell, an English writer upon religious and sociological themes, was born in Devonshire, England, in 1849. His mother was a sister of J. Anthony Froude, the historian. He graduated from Balliol College, Oxford, with honors. He wrote a large part of The New Republic while still at the university, publishing it in completed form (1876) soon after his graduation. He has continued to publish works upon his favorite studies, among which are Is Life Worth Living? The New Paul and Virginia; Social quality; Property and Progress, a reply to Henry George; Labor and the Popular Welfare; Classes and Masses or Wealth, Wages and Welfare in the United Kingdom; and many others. His first purpose in nearly all his writings has been to expose the fallacies of socialism, and his secondary purpose to show that science cannot supply such a basis for religion as will suffice for the needs of man.

Ma!'lory, Stephen Russell, a senator of the United States, 1851-61, was born in Trinidad, West Indies, in 1813, the son of a Connecticut shipmaster. He settled in Florida with li:.c parents in 1820; was admitted to the bar in 1833 at Key West; was inspector of customs under Jackson; United States senator from 1851 to 1861; and at the outbreak of the Civil War entered the Confederacy, becoming secretary of the Confederate navy. After the war he was imprisoned; released on parole; and finally pardoned by President Johnson in 1867. He died at Pensacola, Fla.', Nov. 9, 1873.

Mal'ory, Sir Thomas. Malory's work, a series of prose romances on the life and death