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Rimewhat dufkier. Its eyes are large, and the coverings of the gills terminate on each fide in a very long and {harp thorn, which is ferrated on the outfide. The mouth is fmall, and is placed low in the head ; and its jaws are granulated, rather than toothed. Its belly is white, and its tail forked. Its gill-fins, commonly called its wings, are fo long as when laid clofe to the body to reach to the tail, and they are as it were double a fmall tin compofed of a feries of ihort nerves or rays connected by a fmall membrane ftanding before each. Thefe wings are of an olive colour on their upper fide, and are ibotted with very beautiful blue fpots near their edges. Willughbys Hiit. Pifc. p. 284.
This hfh, when it pleafes, is able to rife out of the water and fly to a confiderable diftance in the air ; but when its wings are dry, is obliged to plunge again into the water to moiften them. It does this often, when purfued by an enemy ; and whole fhoals have been ko.n thus flying together. It is com- mon in the Mediterranean, and fome other feas j but is not known in oars, nor in any of the colder climates.
Milvus, in ornithology, the name of the common kite : A bird diitinguilhed from all other birds of prey, by its forked tail. It remains with us the whole year ; but in many other "countries is a bird of paflage. Ray's Ornithol. p. 4.1.
Milvus /£ruginojus y in zoology, the name of the moor-buz- zard ; a bird of the long-wing'd hawk kind, fmaller than the common buzzard, and not fo flat on the head. Its beak is large and crooked, covered with a greeniih yellow fkin near the top, and black in other places. Its mouth is bluifh within. Its head is of a whitifh orange colour, variegated with black ftreaks ; its throat is of the fame colour ; and all the reft of its body, as well back as belly, is of a dufky ruft colour, only that in each wing there is a yellowifh white fpot ; and the feathers at the root of the tail are yellowiih. Its legs are long and llender, and of a yellowifh colour. The inhde of its wing- leathers are whitifh. It is common with us about heaths and marfhes. Ray's Ornithol. p. 42.
MIMOSA, the fenfitive plant? in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe : The flowers arc ufually collected into tufts or heads, and each confift of one leaf of a fennel-like fhape, containing a great number of itamina : The piftil arifes from the bottom of the flower, and finally becomes either a fimple bivalve pod containing a num- ber of oblong feeds, or elfe a compound one made up of fe- veral parts joined to one another by a fort of tranfverfe arti- , culation, each containing one roundifh feed. To this it is to be added, that the leaves of all this genus of plants, when touched, become capable of a fort of reciprocal motion. Tourn. Hifl:. p. 605.
The fpecies of Mimofa, enumerated by Mr. Tournefort, are thefe: 1. The common fenfitive Jhritb. 2. The prickly and more fenfitive Mimofa. 3. The hxoa&-\t2.v' 6. fenfitive plant, with pods collected in round clutters. 4. The Jamaica fen- fitive plant. 5. The prickly Pemambuco Mimofa. See the article Sensitive Plant.
MINA, or Mna, among the antient Greeks, a piece of mo- ney worth an hundred drachmas.
TtizMina was fomewhat more than three pounds Sterling; fixty Mina; made the Attic talent. Danet. in voc. See the article Coin, Cycl.
MINCA, a name given by the antients to a very coarfe and bad kind of myrrh.
MINCHA, in the Jewifh cuftoms, offerings of meal, cakes, or bifcuits, made in the temple of the Lord a . The Seventy have fometimes preferved this word in their tranflation b ; but inftead of Mincha they read Manaa, which doubtlefs was the received pronunciation in their time. We find Manaa in the famefenCe, in Baruch i. io c — [ a Levit. ii. 3, t?V. b See the Greek of Jerem. xvii. 26. Dan. ii. 46. 2 Kings viii. 5, g. xvii. j. xx. 12. 2Chron. vii. 7. Nehem. xiii. 5, g, c=fV, c Calmet. Dift. Bibl.]
MINE (Cycl.) — The difcovery of Mines is not always attended with a certainty of advantage. The firft thing to be con- fidered in regard to it, is whether it can be dug to profit ; and to be able to determine in this refpect, we are duly to weigh the nature and fituation of the place, and compare the refult of the whole with the profit from the richnefs of the ore, and the charges of digging, fmelting, and working it. A Mine is either found in a mountain, a hill, a valley, or a flat ; of thefe, mountains and hills are dug with greateft eafe and conveniency, chiefly becaufe the drains and burrows, that is, the adits and avenues may be here readily cut both to drain off: the water, and to form gangways for bringing out the ore. In whatever place the Mine Iks we are to look for the veins, which rains or other accidents may have difcovered ; and where fucb a vein is found, if it be tolerably large and rich, it is beft to open the Mine there. Otherwife the moft com- modious place for fituation is to be chofen, that is, neither on a flat, nor on the tops of mountains, but in their fides. Shaw's .Lectures, p. 244.
The beft fituation for a Mine, is a mountainous, woody, wboielome fpot, of a fafe eafy afcent, and bordering upon a navigable river. For wood is indifpenfably ncceflary for mak- ing the engines and inftruments, building the huts, fencing in the works, and working the ores. But tho* wood fhould be iiui-PL. Vol, II.
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wanting, if a navigable river be nigh, that may be Applied, as water-Carriage is cheap. Water however muft never be wanting. 1 his is beft lupplied by a large river, and is necef- fary on a thouland occafions, to waih the ores, turn the works, &c. Good convenience of carriage muft alfo be regarded both for the carrying the ore or metal to market, a!,d the bringing necdlanes to the workmen : For provifions are fel- dom to be found where there are Mines. See the articles Digginc, Mining, and Tracing.
Mint-Dial, is a box and needle with a brats-ring divided into 360 degrees, with feveral dials graduated thereon ; generally thus made for the ufe of Aimers.
MINERAL (CyeL)—E„ g t;fi-MiXEKALS. Dr. Woodward has obferv'd, that the Englifh Minerals are much more valuable and numerous, than has been generally fuppofed. Fullers- earth, a thing fo cheap as to be difregarded by many, he ob- ferves, is of almoft as much value to our commerce, as any article of foreign produaion. The property this earth has of imbibing oil and greafc, is not confined to the trifling fer- vice of taking out accidental ftains in clothes, but it is of fo much ufe in cleanfing the wool and the cloth made of it, that we could never have flourifhed in the cloth-trade in the man- ner we have done, had we not this foffil among us fo very plentiful and cheap, and at the fame time fo excellently good. I his earth is one inftance of the pre-eminence of our foil above others. Another inftance we have in our black-lead or wadd, a Mmiral of great ufe and value in feveral branches of trade and arts ; and which is found no where fine and good, except m England, and in our colonies ; and that of the laft place, tho' better than the black-lead of other nations, is greatly inferior to our own.
The amber and jet of England are found in confiderable quantity and are equal to thofe of any other part of the world. Our cannal-coal comes very near the beauty of let • and even our common coal for firing is greatly fuperior in goodnefs, to that of any other part of the world, and is no where found in fuch vaft plenty as with us. The EiHifh earths and gravel are well known to be fuperior to thofe of other countries, in none of which fuch grafs-plats or fuch gra- vel-walks are to be feen, as in the Englifh gardens. We have ftones, flates, flags, and the other necell'ary foffils for building in fufficient plenty.
Vitriol and alum are found in greater plenty in England, than in any other country ; and are fo ealily worked or procured from their ores, that we can fell them cheaper than any other people. Woodw. Cat. Fof. Vol. I. p. 5. Tin is another article in which England has always had a ureal pre-eminence; the county of Cornwall alone produces more tin than all the world befide ; and the tin of England is well known to excel that of other nations, as well in value as in quantity.
Lead ore is alfo richer in England than in any other country, and is found in greater quantity here than any where elfe ; befide this, it runs more kindly in the fire, and requires lefs trouble and expence in the working, than any other lead ; and is, when wrought, much finer and more duaile, than any other lead.
This does not arife from any peculiarity in the metal, for lead is the fame in all countries, when equally purifi- ed ; but the fpar which lies about, and is mixed with our lead-ore, is of fuch a nature and difpofition, that it is eafily wrought upon and readily parts from it, leaving the metal more pure than it can be procured by the common large ope- rations in other countries ; fo that they are forced to fend it away much lels pure than ours is.
Copper and iron are alfo found in England in very great plenty, and feveral ores of thefe metals have of late been brought into ufe, which were not known before the modern improvements in chemiftry.
Mineral Waters. See the article Mineral Waters.
Earth of Mineral Waters. See thearticle Earth.
Mineral Juiees. See the article Juice.
Mineral Courts, Caries Minerales, inlaw, courts for regu- lating the concerns of lead-mines ; as Jlann&ry courts are for tin. Blount.
MINERVALIA, among the Romans, called alfo ghiinquatria, were feafts celebrated in honour of Minerva. They began March 19th, and lafted five days. The firft day was fpent in prayers to the goddefs ; the reft in offering facrifice, feeing gla- diators fight, acting tragedies upon mount Albanus, and reciting pieces of wit, wherein the conqueror had a prize given him. Scholars had then a vacation, and made a prefent to their mafters, which was called Minerval.
MINICULATOR, among the Romans, a fervant who embel- lifhed any writing with Minium. Hojfm. Lex. in voc. See the article Minium, Cycl. and Suppl.
MINING, the finking or digging into the earth in fearch of me- tals, or other valuable fofiils.
The ncceflity of cleaving and opening rocks has been always accounted one of the moft troublefome articles in the bufiiiei's of Mining ; they being often compofed of fuch ftone as tools can work but very flowly upon in the common ways. Fire and gunpowder have been the two things principally had re- courfe to on thefe occafions ; and both fucccfsfully, but in dif- P ferent
