Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/326

* HELI. 292 MELILOT. pointed professor of chemistry at the University of I'ak'riMO. Meli wrote a number of can:onctte, odes, and epigrams, many of them Sicilian dia- lect, and made collections of Sicilian proverbs. Especial mention may be made of his ISucolica, the I'uhi yuhinte, the Oriyini di lit mannu, the mock-heroic Don Cliisciotii e Sanciu I'anza, and the Fai^olc morali, in virtue of which he may be .styled a Sicilian La Fontaine. His I'ocsic are included in the Pai)iaso siciliuiio (Palermo, (1874). Consult: Natoli, Giovanni Mcli, Hliidio crilico (Palermo, 18S3) ; Sanctis, '•(iiovanni ^leli," in his uoci saggi critici. TtLE'liIA'CEM (Xeo-Lat. nom. pi., from melia, from Gk. fit'/.ia, ash-tree; so called because the leaves resemble those of the ash). A natural order of mostly tropical dicotyledonous trees and shrubs, containing about 40 genera and 600 species, natives of warm climates. Many of the species possess bitter, astringent, and tonic properties; some are used in medicine; the seeds of some yield useful oil: some are poisonous; some yield pleasant fruits; and the wood of some is valuable. (See CzVRap..) The cape ash {Ekeheryia aipensis) deserves notice among the timber trees of this order. It has a trunk two feet in diameter, and yields excellent tough tim- ber, useful for many purposes. Melia Azrdaiach, a tree about forty feet high, with large bipinnate leaves and large spikes of fragrant (lowers, a native of Syria and other parts of the East, has long been planted as an ornamental tree in the south of Europe, and is now common in Cali- fornia and the Southern United States. The fruit is of the size of a cherry, somewhat elongated, pale yellow, containing s brown nut. The nuts are bored and strung for beads in Koman Cath- olic countries, whence the tree is often called bead tree. It is also known as the pride of India, and is sometimes erroneously called Per- sian lilac. The fruit is sweetish, and not poison- ous, although generally rejjuted so. The bark of the root, which is bitter and nauseous, is used as an anthelmintic. The pulp of the fruit of the neem tree or margosa tree iMrlia A:adi- rachia) yields a bitter fixed oil. The mahogany and Spanish cedar are both members of this or- der. The chief genera are Cedrela, Sweitenia, Carapa, and ^lelia. MEL'IBCE'A (Lat.. from Gk. Mf?.;,?o/n, [rU- hoia) . ( 1 ) . daughter of 0<eanus. and mother, by I'elasgus. of I.yeaon. (2) One of the daugh- ters of N'iobe. MELIBCETJS (Lat.. from Gk. McAi'/^oioc. .l/c!i"- Itoios) . shepherd in the first eclogue of Vergil. MELIBCETJS, T.I.E of. A prose tale in Cbau- oer's f^fiiiti iliiiry Tales, taken probably from the Jjiire dr Mclihcr it de Dnmr Priidrncc. a French Tendering of Alhertano da Brescia's Latin work, J.ihrr Coiisnlatiotiix ct Concilii. MEL'ICEB'TES (Lat.. from Gk. UtlmfpTJiq, Mrlihiilr). Sun of Ino (q.v. ). who leaped with him (or his dead body) into the sea. Thereupon both were changed to gods. Ino to l.eucottiea. and ilelieertes to Pnliemon. who was the giardian of tempest-tossed "hips. He was worshiped at Cor- inth, especially in connection with the Isthmian games. It is said that (he name is the Greek transcription of the Semitic Melkartlor Moloch), meaning 'the king,' and thus a Plnrnician origin of the cult has been assumed. Tlie Greeks scorn rather to have identified Hercules with the Tyr- iau Melkarth, and il Melicertes is derived from the Plnenician word, it is more probable that it is the title which PhiEnicians gave to the Greek divinity, misunderstood as a proper name by the Greek worshipers. MELIC GRASS i from Xeo-Lat. Mclica, from It. nii-lic'i. yriul millet, from Lat. mil, honey; connected with Gk. fie/.i, meli, Goth, mclip, honey, OH(j. mili-ton, AS. mile-deaiv, Eng. mildew, literally honeydew), Melica. A genua of grasses of which nearly half of the species (about 30) occur in the United States. The others are found in temperate climates. They are ])erennials of small economic importance, with soft flat leaves and rather large spikelets in open or dense panicles. Mclica- nniflora is a common species growing in woods in (^ireat Britain and Europe, and Mclica mutica and Melica diffusa in similar situations in the United States. Most of the American species are found from the Rocky Mountains westward. MELICOC'CA (Neo-Lat., from Gk. fiih, meli, honey + kukku^, AoA/.os, berry). A genus of trees or shrubs of the natural order Sapinda- cea-, cml)racing five en' si.x species, one of which, Melicocca hijiiya, a native of the West Indie-S, where it is cultivated for its fruit, known as the honev berrv, .Jamaica hullace plum, and genip. It is" from 20 to 40 feet high. The fruit is about the size and shape of a i)lum, yellow or green in color, with a very agreeable flavor. It has been successfully grown in southern Florida and Cali- fornia. The seeds are roasted and eaten like chestnuts, Ctlier siH'cies of Melicocca yield eat- able fruits. MELIKOFF^ meryi-kof. LoRis. A Russian soldier anil statesman. See Loris-JIelikoff. MELILLA, m?l-le'!y:'i. A Spanish presidio on the ninth cciast of Morocco (ilap: Africa, D 1). It is l>uilt on a rocky ])eninsula extending into the Mediterranean and ending in the Cape of Tres Forcas. It is protected on the land side by a circle of forts, and a citadel commands the harbor, which in 1002 was opened as a port of commerce. The population in 1900 was I0.l.'<2, including the Spanish garrison. Melilla was oc- cupied without resistance by the Spaniards in 1496. The Kabyles have made several unsuccess- ful attempts to capture it. the last being made in 1893. after which a n<>utral zone was established outside the fortifications. MEL'ILOT, Mei.ii.otus (Xeo-Lat.. from OF. mclili/l. I- 1. iiiclilot, from Lat. melilotos, from Gk. fie?J?.uToi, melilotos. fitVikuTov. melilolon, a kind of clover, from fie?u, mcli, honey + >mt6(. lotos, lotus). A genus of plants of the order T.eguminiisa'. natives of the Old World and wide- ly disseminaled. The species have upright stems, bear trifoliate leaves re-embling those of alfalfa, and small white or yellow thuvers fnnii early summer until frost. They often take )>ossession of waste grcmnd. especially if composed largely of elav. All the species contain an ethereal "il known as cuinarin. which givfs them a strong, peculiar, sweetish odor, especially when drying. The white melilot (Mrlilotiis aiha) . also known as sweet. Hokhnra. or tree clover, is a common weedy biennial from three to six feet high, which is cuUivatcd as a honey plant, and also to some extent for forage. For plowing under as green manure it is of some importance, especially upon heavy soil. Its roots perforate the substratum,