Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 14.djvu/27

* MORNY. 15 MOROCCO. Hortense left him at her death, in 1837, an annuity of 40,000 francs. Morny took a nominal part in the Revolution of July, 1830, and entered the army in 1832 as a sublieutenant. He served with .some distinction in Algeria, being made a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor; but he soon abandoned military life, and in 1838 made his appearance as a manufacturer of beet-root sugar, and publislied a pamphlet on the subject. From that time he was involved in all .sorts of commer- cial and financial speculations. Chosen a Deputy in 1842, he became the leader of fashion at Paris, but liis financial schemes began to go wrong, and after the Revolution of 1848 he attached himself to the cause of his half-brother and was one of the prime instigators of the subtle and treasonable policy which cuhninated in the coup d'etat of 1851. The morningafterthe deed was done Morny was made Minister of the Interior. This office he soon 'resigned, however, and in 1854 he became President of the Corps L^gislatif, and was Ambassador to Russia during 1856-57, where he married the rich and handsome Princess Trou- betzkoi. Morny was created a duke in 1862, and continued his gay and extravagant life up to the time of his death on March 10, 1865. His char- acter was sketched by Alphonse Daudet as the Due de Mora in Le nabab. An- extract from his memoirs appeared under the title. Line uinbassude en Russie (1856). Consult: Castille, M. de Morny (Paris, 1859) ; De la Guerroni^re, Etudes et portraits poUtiques (Paris, 1S56) ; Imbert de Saint-Anuuul, The Court of Napoleon III. and the Second Empire (Eng. trans.. New York, 1890). MORO, mo'rd. A general designation for Mo- hammedan Malay peoples, with infusion of Semitic blood, living in the southern portions of the Phili])pines, chiefly in the Sulu Archipelago and the adjoining portions of Mindanao. In the fourteenth century Islam, with Moliammedan culture, reached the islands from Borneo, and its influence was still extending when the Spaniards arrived in 1521. Subdivisions are named llano, Joloano, Maguindanao, Samale, etc. See Philip- pine Islands. MOROCCO, or MAROCCO, md-i^k'6, called b}' the natives Ua>jhrih-cl-Aksa, 'the extreme west,' or briefly Maghrib. An empire or sultan- ate in the northwest of Africa, bovmded on the east by Algeria and on the north and west by the Mediterranean Sea, the Strait of Gibraltar, and the Atlantic Ocean. It extends southward into the Sahara, but the boundary in that direction is not exactly determined (Map: Africa, D 1). The Sultan has considerable influence as far south as the Sakiet-el-Hamra, south of Cape Juby; and the whole of the Dra territory. Tafilelt and Tekna, but not Tuat, are conceded to be parts of Mo- rocco. The latest estimate of the area of Morocco is 234,000 square miles. Topography. The country is generally moun- tainous, the Atlas (q.v.) range, which attains an elevation of nearly 15,000 feet, traversing it in several parallel chains from southwest to north- east, and sending out numerous spurs to both the coast-country and the desert. There are, however, many level tracts, especially at the west- ern and eastern extremities, and on the borders of the desert. Through the heart of Northern Morocco extending east and west is a depression, passing just north of Fez, the northern capital, to Oran, Algeria. The central range of the Atlas forms the water-parting .separating the streams which flow into the Atlantic and Mediterranean from those which run .soutliward to the desert. The former rivers liave the shorter course and less volume, but they are perennial; while the latter become drj' in summer, and even when running are lost in the sands of the Sahara. The chief river is the Muluya, with its tributary the Sharef, which drains the northeast of the country, and falls into the Mediterranean after a course of 400 miles. The JIuluya is an old waterway of much commercial importance. The Sebu is the most important river of Northwest Morocco draining to the Atlantic. The Kus, Bu-Regreg, I'm-er-Rebia, Tensift, Sus, and Assaka drain the central and western districts, and fall into the Atlantic; the Dra, Ziz, Ghir, and other streams irrigate the dry plains of Tafilelt, the first mentioned emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. The other rivers are lost in the desert. All the rivers flowing to the sea are obstructed at their mouths by sandbars, which only small vessels can cross at high tide. Climate. The climate between the central range of the Atlas and the sea is temperate, the thermometer seldom falling lower than 40° F., or rising above 90° F., owing partly to the regu- lating influence of the .sea breeze, and the shelter afforded by the mountains from the scorching winds of the desert; but in the southeastern dis- tricts extremes of heat and cokl prevail, and rain is there unknown. The entire country is very healthful. Malaria, the pest of the other Atlas lands, is almost unknown. Along the Atlantic coast the winter precipitation is so large that good pasturage is found as far south as Cape Juby. But dryness prevails throughout the Atlas region, though the winter precipitation cov- ers the mountain-tops with snow : this fact, to- gether with the infrequence of wide valleys, makes the mountain region unfavorable for a large population ; the settlement among the moun- tains is confined to the valleys where irriga- tion is possible, and to the lower slopes. In the Saharan steppes cultivation is impossible, excepting where streams, fed by the mountain snows, bring surface or underground supplies of water. Flora. The flora is richer in flowers and shrubs than in trees. The forests that once covered Western Barbary have disappeared and Morocco is largely a treeless country, though some well-wooded valleys are found among the northern ranges. The cedar, walnut, and cork- oak are the principal trees. The date and oil palms, the fig tree, pomegranate, oranges and lemons, apricots, peaches, the almond, and other varieties of fruit and nut trees are all important. Fauna. The wild animals include the leopard, bear, hyena, and wild hog. The bustard, part- ridge, and water fowl abounil. The domestic animals comprise the dromedary and the horse, both bred extensively, and mules, asses, cattle, fat-tailed sheep, and goats. Mineral Re.sot'Rces. The country is rich in de- posits of copper, iron ore, antimony, and rock salt (north of Fez), and gold and silver are re- ported. The exploitation of all this mineral wealth, however, is hardly to be thought of under the existing conditions on account of the deep aversion of the official classes to foreigners.