Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XII.djvu/117

 MYEE MYLODON 109 about 10 m. long and 6 m. wide; pop. about 6,000. Its highest summit has two peaks, whence Pliny calls it dimastus. Corn, wine, cotton, and figs are produced. In ancient times it was famous for the number of bald persons among its inhabitants. JHYER, Albert J., an American meteorologist, born in Newburgh, N. Y., Sept. 20, 1828. He graduated at Geneva college in 1847, took the degree of M. D. at the university of Buffalo in 1851, and in 1854 was appointed assistant sur- geon in the United States army. From 1858 to 1860 he was on special duty in the signal service, and in the latter year was made major and chief signal officer in the army, serving in New Mexico and the Eocky mountains till May, 1861. In June he was made signal officer on the staff of Gen. Butler at Fortress Monroe, and afterward of Gen. McOlellan, and took part as chief signal officer in nearly all the engagements during the peninsular campaign. In November, 1862, he took charge of the sig- nal office at Washington. He was successively brevetted as lieutenant colonel, colonel, and brigadier general, the last being for " distin- guished services in organizing, instructing, and commanding the signal corps of the army, and for its especial service Oct. 5, 1864," at Al- latoona, Ga. He was made colonel and chief signal officer in the army in July, 1866, and introduced a full course of study of signals at West Point and Annapolis. By virtue of an act approved Feb. 9, 1870, he was charged with the special duties of the observation and giving notice by telegraph and signals of the approach and force of storms on the northern lakes and seacoast, at the military posts in the interior, and at other points in the states and territories. He organized the meteorological division of the signal office, being assigned to duty according to his commission as brevet brigadier general in June, 1871. By an act approved March 3, 1873, he was placed in charge of the special duties of telegraphy, &c., being authorized to establish signal sta- tions at lighthouses and at such of the life- saving stations as are suitable for the purpose, and to connect these stations by telegraph with such points as may be necessary. In 1873 he was a delegate to the international meteorolo- gical congress at Vienna. He has published a "Manual of Signals for the United States Army and Navy" (1868). MYERS, Peter Hamilton, an American novelist, born in Herkimer, N. Y., in August, 1812. He has published " The First of the Knickerbock- ers, a Tale of 1673 " (New York, 1848) ; "The Young Patroon, or Christmas in 1690 " (1849); ^ The King of the Hurons " (1850), republished in England under the title of " Blanche Mon- taigne;" and "The Prisoner of the Border, a Tale of 1838" (1857). He has also written several tales, and "Ensenore, a Eomance of Owasco Lake," and other poems. He now (1875) resides in Auburn, N. f. MYGALE. See SPIDER. MYLITTA, the Greek name of the Babylonian goddess Beltis or Bilit, "the Lady." She is commonly represented as the wife of Bel-Nim- rod (Belus), and the mother of his son Nin, though she is also called the wife of her son Nin. She united the characteristics of the Ju- no, Venus, and Diana of classical mythology, but was chiefly the goddess of birth and fertil- ity. She had temples at Nineveh, Ur, Erech, Nipur, and Babylon. The Baaltis of the Pho3- nicians was the same in name and character. The young women of Byblos, like those of Babylon, sacrificed in her service their virgin- ity, and gave the price they received to the temple of the goddess. The Derceto of Asca- lon, the Ashera of the Hebrews, and the Ish- tar of the Babylonians were kindred divinities. MYLODOtf (Gr. //a?, mill, and bdobs, tooth), a genus of gigantic fossil edentates established by Prof. Owen, and closely allied to the sloth, resembling megalonyx and megatherium. The mylodon has the heavy form of the megathe- rium, with a dentition resembling that of the megalonyx ; the molars are |c, and are worn into flat surfaces ; in the upper jaw, the first is subelliptical and separated from the rest, the second elliptical, and the others triangular, with the internal surface grooved ; in the lower jaw, the first is elliptical, the third quadrangular, and the last the largest and bilobed, and the symphysis stronger than in the megalonyx. The head resembles that of the megatherium in its form, and has a strong descending process of the zygomatic arch ; the extremities are equal, the anterior five-toed, and the posterior four- toed ; the two external fingers are without nails, and the others have large semi-conical and unequal claws ; the acromion and coracoid are united, the radius turns around the ulna, the tibia and fibula are distinct, the heel bone long and large as in the other megatherioids. (See MEGALONYX, and MEGATHEKIUM.) The M. Darwinii (Owen) was discovered by Mr. Darwin in northern Patagonia ; the symphysis of the lower jaw is long and narrow, with the second molar subelliptical, and the last with two furrows, of which the internal is angular ; it is found from the pampas of Brazil south- ward. The M. Harlani (Owen) has the symphy- sis shorter and wider, the second molar square, and the last with three grooves, the internal one biangular ; this has been found in Ken- tucky, Mississippi, Missouri, South Carolina, and Oregon. The M. robustus (Owen) is char- acterized by a short and wide symphysis, with the second molar subtriangular, and the last with three grooves, of which the internal is rounded. A fine and nearly complete skeleton of this species is now in the museum of the London college of surgeons ; it was discovered in 1841 in the fluviatile deposits about 20 m. north of Buenos Ayres, recently elevated above the level of the sea. The skeleton is very ro- bust; the trunk, shorter than that of the hip- popotamus, ends in a pelvis as wide as and deeper than that of the elephant; the hind