MALAGA WINE 90 MALAYS The chief exports are fruit and wine. Manufactures linens, woolens, sailcloth, paper, rope, hats, leather, and soap. Malaga was founded by the Phoenicians. It fell into the hands of the Moors in 714, and was not wrested from them till 1487, when Ferdinand the Catholic took it. In 1810 it was taken by the French, and remained in their possession till the year 1812. Pop. about 140,000. MALAGA WINE, a sweet Spanish wine produced in the province of Malaga. It is one of the "muscatel" wines, and is rich, luscious, and full of body. MALARIA, a morbid poison formerly believed to be due to emanations gener- ated by the decomposition of animal or vegetable matter under certain conditions of heat and moisture. Modern investiga- tion has proved the disease to be caused by the bite of the MOSQUITO (q. v.). MALARIAL FEVER, a fever pro- duced by Malaria (q. v.). There are several forms of this disease, all pro- duced by the same poison and all influ- enced by the same line of treatment, especially by the more marked anti- periodic remedies, particularly quinine. The _ principal forms of malarial fever are intermittent (commonly called ague, chills and fever, etc.), remittent or bil- ious, congestive, and a few complicated forms, wrongly designated typho-mala- rial, haemorrhagic-malarial, etc., all be- ing only aggravations of the usual form of malarial fever. MALATESTA, a distinguished Italian family the chief branch of which were lords of Rimini from 1295 to 1526, and celebrated for the active share they took in the stirring events of that period. MALATIA (ma-Ia-te'a) , a town in the N. W. of the province of Diarbekir in Asia Minor, 8 miles from the Euphra- tes, and on an important trade route. It was the Melitene of ancient Cappadocia, and was long the headquarters of the Jacobite Christians. Pop. about 30,000. MALAYAN BEAR, Helarctos (Ursus) malayanus, a bear found in the Malayan Archipelago, Borneo, Sumatra, and Java. It is about 4:V2 feet in length; the fur is black, fading into brown on the nose. The chest bears a crescentic white mark; the Bornean variety has an orange- coloi-ed, heart-shaped patch. It usually feeds on grains and fruits, and is very fond of honey. It occasionally indulges in animal food; and attacks man when there is no means of escape. MALAY ARCHIPELAGO, INDIAN ARCHIPELAGO, or EASTERN ARCHI- PELAGO, the great group of islands situated to the S. E. of Asia, and washed on the W. by the Indian and E. by the Pacific Ocean ; may roughly be said to lie between the meridians of 95° and 135° E- and the parallels of 11° S. and 17° K. Within these limits lie some of the largest and finest islands in the world, as Borneo, Sumatra, Java, Celebes, the Philippines, etc., but New Guinea is not ranked as belonging to the group. The chief of the smaller islands are the Moluccas or Spice Islands, Billiton, Banca, Madura, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Timor. The small islands may be truly called innumerable. The islands are generally fertile and covered with a luxuriant vege- tation, and they produce all kinds of trop- ical products in abundance. Many of them contain volcanoes. As regards their fauna and flora, they may be di- vided into two main groups, those E, of the Strait of Macassar and the channel between Bali and Lombok having more affinities with Australia, while the others are rather Asiatic in character. The chief native race is theMalayan. A large portion of the archipelago is really or nominally under the sway of Holland, and this portion is frequently called the Dutch East Indies. MALAY PENINSULA. See StrattS Settlements. MALAYS, a people inhabiting the Malay Peninsula and the Eastern or Malay Archipelago, or collectively Malay- sia. They are of Mongolian affinity, and may be looked on as an oceanic branch of that division of mankind, being modi- fied physically by mingling with the Papuan element in the E. and the Cau- casian element in the central _ and W. parts of the archipelago. This enter- prising race has made its way widely over the Pacific islands, reaching as far S. as Madagascar, where they exist as the dominant Hova element of the popu- lation. This widespread dominion is due to their bold, enterprising, and roving disposition, their place of residence on the peninsula and the larger islands be- ing the coast region, whence they have driven the natives into the interior and where they long pursued a piratical career, darting from hidden streams in their well-manned proas on any vessel that approached too near the coast, or more boldly lying in wait in fleets in the open sea for any expected rich prize. Physically considered, the Malays are of low stature, slight in figure, and with very small wrists and ankles. The face is round, the eyes black and somewhat almond-shaped, the nose short and small, cheek bones prominent, features flat, the hair straight and black, the complexion
