Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/243

* MYERH. 205 MYSORE. dish brown. It is brittle. .Tiid has a waxy frac- ture, often exhibiting whitisli veins. Its smell is balsamic, its taste aromatic and bitter. It is used in medicine as a tonic and stimulant, in disorders of the digestive organs, excessive secre- tions from the mucous membranes, etc., also to cleanse foul ulcers and j)romote their healing, and as a mouth -wash and gargle, particularly in a spongy or ulcerated condition of the gums. The best myrrh is known as Turkey myrrh, being brought from Turkish ports, ilost of the myrrh of connnerce, however, passes either through Aden or through Bombay. The chief constituents of myrrh are: A resin known as mjTrhin; a gum: a volatile oil known as myrrhol and hav- ing the composition C,„H,40, and a bitter prin- ciple. An excellent mouth-wash for sore gums may be prepared by mixing 1 part of myrrh, 16 parts of eau de cologne, 1 part of borax, 3 parts of water, and 3 parts of syrup. M;YRTA'CE.ffi (Xeo-Lat. nom. pi., from Lat. myriiis. Gk. //I'/iros. myrtos, myrtle, from Pers. mihd. myrtle), or Mybtle Family. A natural order of dicotyledonous trees and shrubs. Even as restricted by some botanists, who exclude various groups as orders which other botanists consider as suborders of the Myrtacea'. this order contains about 70 genera and over 2000 species, chiefly na- tives of warm countries, but represented in tem- perate climates. Some of the sijecies are gigantic trees, as the Eucalyptus or gum trees of Austra- lia, and certain species of Jletrosideros. The tim- ber is generally compact. Astringency seems to be characteristic of the order, and the leaves or other parts of some species are used in medicine for this proi)erty. A fragrant or pungent volatile oil is often present in considerable quantity, of which oil of cajeput and oil of cloves are examples. Cloves and pimento are among the best known products of this order. The berries of several species are occasionally used as spices. A considerable number yield edible fruits, among which are the guava, species of the genus Eugenia, and some species of Myrtus. The pomegranate (Punica Qranatum). which some botanists place in this order, Engler makes the type of the order Pu- nicaceie. Bentham and Hooker place it in the order Lythraceae. The chief genera of the or- der as limited by Engler are Myrtus, Psidium (the guava), Pimenta (allspice), Eugenia ( cloves ), Jletrosideros, Eucalyptus, Melaleuca, and Darwinia. MYRTLE (Myrtus). A genus of plants of the natural order Myrtaeeie. The common myrtle (Myrtus communis) is well known as a beauti- ful evergreen shrub, or a tree of moderate size, with white llowers. It is a native of the Jledi- terranean region and of the temperate parts of Asia. The leaves are astringent and aromatic, contain a volatile oil, and were used as a stimulant by the ancients. The .berries are also aromatic, and are used COMMON MVRTLE ^^fy^tUS commuDis). in medicine in Greece and India. A myrtle wine, called myrtidanum, is made in Tuscany, ilyrtle bark is used for tanning in many parts of the south of Europe. Among the ancient Greeks the myrtle was sacred to Venus as the symbol of youth and beauty, and was much used in the festivals. It is often mentioned in poetry. The small-leaved myrtle (Myrtus micro- phylla) of Peru has red berries of the size of a pea, of a pleasant flavor and sugary sweetness. Those of the luma (Myrtus Luma) are also pala- table, and are eaten in Chile, as are those of ilyrtus Ugni, the Chilean guava, which is said to become a large tree with very hard and use- ful wood. These species have all been success- fully grown in California as outdoor ornamental shrubs. MYRTLE-BIRD. The American yellow- rumped warbler ( Dcndroica coronata) . It is about .5^4 inches long, bluish ash above, streaked with black; white below, with a black patch on the breast: crown, rump, and sides bright yellow, and the throat white. It is one of the most numerous and earliest of spring migrants in the United States, and scatters all over the country, but passes on to the north, and few breed south of the latitude of Lake Ontario. The name refers to the prevalence of this warbler in the Southern States in winter, where they feed on ber- ries, especially those of the wax-myrtle (Myrica cerifera). From the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Coast a very similar species (difl'ering mainly in having the throat yellow) takes the place of the Eastern form : it is known as Au- dubon's warbler (Dendroica Auduboni). MYRTLE FAMILY. A popular name for the natural order Myrtaceae (q.v. 1. MY'SIA (Lat.. from Gk. Jlixrfa). In ancient geography, a district in the northwest of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by the Hellespont and Propontis, on the east by Bithynia and Phrygia, on the south by Lydia. and on the west by the .Egean. In a stricter sense, Mysia was only the southeastern part of this district. The principal rivers were the Granicus, Scamander, Caicus, .Esepus, and Ehyndacus. The surface is mountainous in the interior, and in part table- land, among the mountains being Ida in the west and 01-mpus in the east. The inhabitants were thought by some ancient writers to be of Thracian, and by others of Lydian descent ; prob- ably there were immigrations from both coun- tries. Mysia was subject to the Lydian mon- archy, and under the Persian dominion formed, together with Lydia, one of the satrapies created by Darius. After the death of Alexander the Great it shared in the vicissitudes of Asia Minor during the wars of his successors and the Gallic invasion, but first assumed prominence in history with the rise in the third century B.C. of the Kingdom of Pergamum. Among its principal towns were Abydos, Cyzicus. Prusa, Lampsacus, Adramyttium. Alexandria Troas. and Pergamum. MYSLOWITZ, mis'16-vits. A town in the Province of Silesia. Prussia, on the Przemsa. 110 miles southeast of Breslau (Map: Prussia. H 3). Coalmining, zinc-refining, flax-spinning, and brick-making are its principal industries. Popu- lation, in 1900. 13.365. MYSORE, mi-sor'. or MAISUR, mi-sTior'. A native State of Southern India, bounded on the east, south, and west by Madras, on the south-