Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/715

* MIXED RACES. 637 HIYAJIMA. to man tlipn arises: Are those sul)tvpes jiprnia- neiit and fertile, or do the_' tend to revert to either one or the other of the parent types'; It » is here that the lack of accurate knowledge re- ferred to above prevents positive statement. Early reports as to lack of fertility of certain half- hreeds, as in the case of English and Australians, have been shown upon examination to be errone- ous or the apparent sterility due to non-essential factors; and recent observations on half-breed American Indians actually show an increase rather than a decrease in fertility. Looking at the question broadly, it would seem that the evi- dence, while e.xtremely scanty, points toward the view that any two races (however defined) can unite to form a third; and this in turn with others, until we have a confusion of strains and types in which the originals are indistinguishable, wholly or partly, which is ajjparently precisely the condition which we find to-day in various re- gions of the world. An authoritative catalogue of the existing mixed races of tlic world is there- fore impossible. The most notable are probably the well-known Mulatto, or cross between Euro- pean and Negro, the Mestizo, so called, or cross between European and American Indian, and the complex mixtures which we find in the East In- dian Archipelago, where Chinese and Malayan traits predominate. The social significance of race mixture is of course very great, but the complicating factors in this aspect of the question are even greater than on the physical side. We find here two schools ardentlv advocating diametrically op- posed views both as to the advantages or disad- vantages of racial mixtures, as well as to the mode of transmission of the characteristics of the parent stocks. The whole problem is involved in the general zoological problem of evolution and heredity, and unassailable ground as to the points involved cannot be assumed iintil a much wider range of facts is at our disposal and the disputed questions of inheritance in general have more nearly approached solution. MIXES. See Zoque. MIXOG'AMY (from Gk. ;uifo-, mixo-, mixed, from /jLiy vuvai, mUjnynai, to mix -}- 7(i^os, ga- mofs, marriage). A term describing the breeding habits of most fishes, where the males and fe- males congregate on the spawning-beds, and the number of the former sex is greatly in excess. The same habit has been ob.served in gars (Lepi- dosteus). On the other hand, the stickleback (Gastcrosteus) is truly polygamous, several fe- males depositing their eggs in the same nest, guarded by one male only. Some bony fishes (Ophioeephalus, and probably all chondroptery- gians) are monogamous, as probably are all the viviparous fishes. Consult Giinther, An Introduc- tion to the Study of Fishes (London, 1880). MIXTEC. or MISTEC, me-stek'. An impor- tant tribe of high native culture occupying the, coast region of Guerrero. Mexico, from Acapulco southward into Oaxaca. and inland to beyond the border of Puebla. With their southern neigh- bors, the Zapotec (q.v.). they constitute the Zapotecan linguistic stock. Like them, they were skilled and industrious in agriculture and the simpler arts, built cities and temples of hewn stone, preserved their rituals and traditions in hieroglyphic records, and had a calendar system resembling that of the Aztec tribes. They still occupy much of their original territory, and continue to keep themsehes as far as pos- silde apart from the political afTairs of Mexico and to maintain their ancient reputation for weaving and pottery. MIXTURE (OF., Kr. mixture, from Lat. mis- turd, mixture, from miscere. to mix). An aque- ous preparation of an insoluble substance held in suspension by a suitable vehicle. Among the Hiixtures used in medicine are tlio.se of chalk, of rhubarb and soda, and the compound mixtures of iron and of glycerin. MIXTURE. An organ sto]). consisting of from three to six raidcs of small metallic pipes. It is generally found in large organs, and re- sembles the sesipiialtera and furniture stops, except that it is much higher and shriller. Like other compound stops, the two smaller ranks of the mixture stop change on the upper part of the organ scale into an octave lower. This is necessitated from the fact that the pipes in their upper ranks would produce too small a volume of sound. The mixture can be used only in forte and fortissimo passages, as otherwise the har- monic would be heard too prominently. MIYA, me'ya (.lap., august house). A term sometimes applied to the mansions of .Japanese princes, but more commonly denoting the shrines of the Shinto religion.' These buildings represent the ancient cabins of the primitive .Japanese modified by the progress of civilization and by Buddhistic influence. The earth floor of the hut is replaced by wooden flooring raised two or three feet from the ground, necessitating steps at the entrance. A veranda going com- pletely round the edifice has been added. The sides of the hut were made of mats, but the shrine has walls of wood. The roofs were origi- nally thatched, but are now covered with shin- gles, tiles, or even copper. In many shrines Buddhist influence has led to much decoration, but the characteristic of the true miya is ex- treme simplicity. It contains neither picture, image, nor altar, but only a mirror, or in some instances a 'pillow' for the god. Before the shrines is the 'tnri-i' (supposed to signify "bird- rest"), which is sometimes taken for a gate- way by tourists. Often many of them are placed before a single shrine. From a cord which hangs above the entrance are suspended '(jo-hei,' paper cuttings, representative of the offerings of cloth which were made in ancient times. Services are infrequent, usually not oftener than once a year, and in some shrines there are no ceremonies. 103,476 miya are registered, most of them tiny constructions and only a few of wide reputation. The shrines are divided into four classes: na- tional, provincial, prefectural, and local, and a few are supported in meagre fashion by funds from the Imperial treasury. MIYADZU, me-yad'zii. The most important town of the .Japanese Province of Tango in that part of Hondo known as San-in-do, 87 miles northwest of Kioto. It was the residence in feu- ilal times of JIatsudaira, one of the three daimios who niled the province. Population, about 10,- 000. In the vicinity, near Ama-no-hashidate, or 'Heaven's Bridge,' is a narrow tongue of land which juts out into the sea in a way much ad- mired by the .Japanese. MIYAJIMA, me-yil'je-ma (temple island), sometimes called Itsukushima. A small, beau-