Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/898

MANIS. themselves into a ball, whiih a man's strength is unable to open, and thus they present to their enemies only an armored surface, after the manner of armadillos. The largest species are tho.se of Africa, and live upon the West Coast, one {Mollis giyanlca) reaching a length of six feet, including the tail. The one called 'phatagen' by the ancients was probably the long-tailed manis {Munis macrura). A third, the short- tailed (Munis Temininckii), ranges all across south-central Africa. The three Asiatic species arc little difl'erent. One, common in India (Manis pcnliidiiclylii), has a body two and one- half feet long, and dwells in rocky jilaces. A second species ranges eastward to China; and a third, more slender and long-tailed (Mnnis Javanus), is the one originally called by the Malays 'pangolin,' a term often now applied to the whole genus. They live well in captivity and become tame. Consult writers on the zoology of India and Africa. Also, Beddard, Mammalia (London. I!)02i; Ilornaday, Tico Years in the Jungle (New York, 1885).

MANIS'SA, or Manisa (the ancient Mag- nesia). . town of Asia Minor, in the Vilayet of Aidin. situated 20 miles northeast of Smyrna, with which it has railroad connection. It has numerous mosques, one Armenian and several (ireek churches, four synagogues, and several notable secular buildings, among them the palace of Kara 0.sman Oglu. The chief indus- tries are the manufacture of cotton goods and pack-saddles. Population, about 35,000, includ- ing 13,000 Greeks. (5000 Armenians, anil 3000 Jews. For history and archaeology, see Mag- nesia.

MANISTEE, man'is-te'. A city and the coun- ty-.scat of Manistee County, Mich., 270 miles nortlnvest of Detroit; on the Manistee River, which flows between Manistee Lake and Lake Michigan, a distance of one mile, and on the Flint and Pere Marquette, the Manistee and Northeastern, and other railroads (Map: Mich- igan, G 4). It has a fine harbor and regular steamship comnmnication, during the open sea- son, with Chicago, Milwaukee, and other points on the lake. The city is in a fertile fruit-grow- ing region, and its excellent transportation facili- ties have developed large commercial interests, particularly in lumber, shingles, and salt, all of which are manufactured on an extensive scale. There are manufactures also of furniture, foun- dry products, and sole leather. The principal points of interest are a fine court-house, .several business blocks, two bridges across the Manistee River in the Oily Park, and Orchard Beach, a popular lake resort. Settled about 184!). Man- istee was chartered as a city in 18G9. The pres- ent government is administered under <a revised charter of 18110 by a mayor, annually elected, a unicameral council, and subordinate oificials. The city owns and ojierates the water-works. Popu- lation, in 18!H). 12,812; in 1900, 14,260.

MANISTIQUE, ni.-in'is-tek'. A city and the county-seat of Schoolcraft County. Mich., 107 miles west by south of Sault Sainte Marie; on Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Manistique River, and on the Minneapolis, Saint Paul and Sault Sainte Jfarie. and the IManistique and Northwestern railroads (Map: Michigan. G 3). It has some reputation as a summer resort, but is known chiefly as an industrial and commer- cial centre, its trade being carried on both liy rail iind lake. The most extensive mauufactiircs comprise lumber, iron, chemicals, alcohol, chai- coal, and lime. The fishing interests also arc important. There is a jjublic librar}', founded in 1894. Manistique received a citj- charter in 1901. Population, in 1890, 2940; in 1900, 4126.

MANITOBA, man'i-toba. A province of the Dominion of Canada, situated between 49° (the international boundary line) and 52° 50' N. latitude, and between 95° and 101° 20' W. longitude. It is bounded on the north by Saskatchewan and Keewatin, on the east by the latter and Ontario, on the south by the States of Minnesota and North Dakota, and on the west by Assiniboia and Saskatchewan. Its shape is almost a perfect square with straight sides, about 270 miles long, running along meridians and parallels. Area, 73,956 square miles, including 9890 square miles of water.

. The province belongs to the great central prairie region, except the northeastern portion, which is a part of the Laurentian country, and is broken and hilly, with a higher altitude than the adjoining region. The southeastern and central parts consist of an almost perfectly level lacustrine bed. the bottom of the Pleistocene Lake Agassiz. (See Lake Agassiz.) It slopes very gently northward, being 800 feet above the sea in the south and 710 feet in the north. Its western boundary is formed by a line of escarpments with a maximum height of 500 feet above the plain and running southeast to northwest. These are the ancient shore lines of Lake Agassiz, and above them stretches a more elevated and undulating plain known as the Riding and Duck Mountains, which cover the western and southwestern parts of the province. Both this plain and the lacustrine plain below are treeless prairies, becoming gradually wooded northward, first along the river courses and in isolated clumps of poplars, and finally thickening into dense pine forests on the Duck Mountain in the northwest. The principal river is the Red River of the North, which enters the province from the south and flows through the prairies into Lake Winnipeg near the centre of the province. Its chief tributary is the Assiniboine. cutting through the western upland. Nearly all the rivers of the province have cut their beds through the soft drift deposits, so that they flow in narrow valleys from 30 to nearly 100 feet below the surrounding plains. As the waters of Lake Agassiz were drained off, the lowest depressions of its bed remained flooded and now form the great lakes of the province. Of these Lake Winnipeg is 270 miles long and from 20 to 60 miles broad; Lake Winnipegoosis 150, and Lake Manitoba 135 miles long. The last-named is very shallow, and the shores of all are low and marshy.

The climate is very cold in winter and warm in summer. The mean annual temperature is 33°, and the extremes 95° and 40° or even 50° below zero. Both extremes, however, are rendered bearable by the dryness of the air; and the winter cold does not interfere with the wheat crops, as the sowing season arrives here even earlier than in the eastern provinces which lie farther south. The mean annual rainfall is only 17.43 inches, but 74 per cent, of it falls during the growing seasons, the winters being very dry and sunny, and the snowfall light.