Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/330

* MELON. 296 MELOS. CitniUiis vulgaris of the family Cucurbitaceae. See MusKMELOX; Watermelon. MELON CATERPILLAR MOTH. See Melon Insects. MELON INSECTS. :Most of the insects which attack iiichiiis also feed upon certain other cucurbitaceous plants. Thus the squa.sh vine borer {Mclittia ceto) also bore.s in the stems of melons. The striped squash beetle (Uiabrotica vittala) also feeds upon the leaves of melons, as does the cucumber llea-bcetle (Crtqiidoikra cu- cumeris). The melon caterpillar {Margaronia hyalinata) is a widely distributed insect found through the greater part of North and South America, and is particularly destructive in the southern part of the United" States. Tlie cater- pillars of the first generation feed upon the leaves, arid those of the second generation eat into the fruit of melons, cucumbers, and pump- kins. The wings of this moth are pearly-white with a peculiar iridescence, are bordered with black, and measure about an inch from tip to tip. A similar and closely related caterpillar, the larva of Margaronia nitidalis, also feeds in the fruit of melons and cucumbers. Poisoning the foliage with some ar.senical mixture to destroy the larvie of the first generation is the standard remedy. The melon plant-louse is perhaps the most destructive insect enemy of this plant. This insect has a wide range of food plants, but is an es[)ecial enemy of melons, and feeds on the under sides of the leaves. Under-spraying with a kero- sene-soap emulsion is the only remedy in large fields, but in small gardens carbon disulphide may be used irader inverted tubs or paper cover- ings. See Colored Plate of MoTiLS, AMERICAN. MELONITES, mel'o-ni'tez (Neo-Lat. nom. pi., from Gk. /i^Aov, melon, apple). A fossil sea- urchin found in the Sub-Carboniferous rocks of North America and Europe. The test is melon- shaped with vertical grooves, is four to si.x inches in diameter, and made up of numerous thick hexagonal or pentagonal plates that are regularly arranged in vertical series and that are covered by minute tubercles and small needle- like spines. Large slabs of limestone on the surfaces of which are several finely preserved specimens of this sea-urchin, have been obtained from the vicinity of Saint Louis, JIo. See ECIIIN'OUERMATA ; SeA-URCIIIN. MELOPLASTE, mft'h'/plast' (from Gk. /i('>»f, mihis. s<iTig -f TT/iinriir. plantfs, niolder, from irf.Arraeiv, iitnssrin. to form). A peculiar method of teaching children the rudiments of music, orig- inated by Pierre Galin at the beginning of the nineteenth century. In order not to confuse the beginner with the various nuisical characters. Galin used a slate with only the five lines of the statr drawn upon it. He then sang familiar airs to his pupils; but instead of singing words he used the syllabh's do. rr, mi. etc., at the same time pointing out the place of each note upon the stafT. Rhythm he taught by means of a double metronome which marked the beginning of n measure ns well as each beat within that measure. ME'LOS fUat.. from Gk. Mr/zor). or MiLO. The soutlnvc-ternm'Kt island of the Cyclades in the Grecian .rchipelago. or .Kirean Sea. about 70 mile-i northeast of Crete, nml C't miles east of the Peloponnesus, ft is 14 miles long and S broad, and has on its northern coast one of the best and safest natural harbors in the Levant. The island is crescent-shaped and seems to be part of the rim of the crater of an old volcano. The highest eminence is Mount Saint Elias (2539 feet), in the southwestern part. The island shows many traces of its volcanic character, and contains hot mineral springs and considerable deposits of sulphur. The soil is fertile, and produces good crops of grain, as well as wine and oil. The chief town is Plaka, in the northern part of'the island near the site of the ancient capital, Melos, of which extensive remains are to be seen. Near the sea the grounil is marshy, and the air is unwholesome in summer. In pre- historic times the island seems to have been of some importance, on accoinit of the obsidian, used in the Stone Age for knives and arrow- heads. The chief settlement was on the northeast coast near the modern Phylakopi. where are re- mains of three successive towns, extending from the Stone Age to the end of the Myeeuiean pe- riod. There are traditions of Phn-nician occupa- tion at a later time, but during the classical period Melos was inhabited by Dorians, and dur- ing the Peloponnesian War was one of the few islands not in the Athenian League. Though the inhabitants were willing to remain neutral, the Athenians in B.C. 416 seized the island, killed the men and sold the women and children into slavery. With the fall of .thens, however, the Athenian colonists Avcre expelled and the former inhabitants brought back so far as possible. Melos fell successively under the dominion of the Romans, the Byzantine emperors, Venice, and the Turks: it is now a part of (Jreece. Dur- ing the later classical period the island evidently enjojed considerable prosperity and was enriched with many works of art, s(mie of which have been recovered from time to time. Notable among these are the fine "Poseidon" in the National Mu- seum at Athens, and especially the "Venus of Milo," discovered in 1820 by a jjeasant, and now one of the chief treasures of the Louvre. From ISilti to 1809 excavations Avere conducted on the island by the British School at Athens, which led to the discoverj- of the hall of the "Mystie* or 'Initiated.' and some foundations at the site of the ancient capital, near the modern vil- lage of Klinia on the great bay. The chii'f re- sult, however, was the recovery of the prehistoric settlements at Phylako])i, with a wealth of early pottery and some very interesting frescoes. Tlie preliminary reports may be found in the Annual of the British School at Athens, vols, ii.-v. (Lon- don, 1807-1000) and The Journal of Hrllcnitt Sliidicn. vols, xvi.-xix. (London, ISOriOO). A complete publication is promised shortly. MELOS (Neo-Lat.. from Gk. /jOoc. song). A nuisical term denotitig the continuity of the melodic outline in any single movement of • composition. A symphonic movement, for in- stance, consists of several themes complete in themselves. In the movement, however, they do not appear as .«o many independent musical phrases with a full cadence, but follow one an- other in a certain order, one leading either ilirect- ly or by means of a transition passage into (In next — so that their connection, unbroken by .any full cadence, forms n continuous melodic chain from the first bar to the last. This chain or ag- greg.ite of melodie phrases ecju'-t itnte-; the melM of the movement. The term melos was first used in this sen.se by Wagner in his theoretical works.