M O N
MOO
The firft day of the third decad was termed *rpJI»> tw* nm.& ; the fecond-, mvlcftat m «««&, and fo of the reft. Sometimes they inverted the numbers of this laft decad, the firft being called
^Sfvofloj Jtj£a]t) ; the fecond, ^Qivotlo; ev/oIji j the third, 9Gi«v7oj
- y&u ; and fo on to the laft day of the Month, which was
called A^lfia?, Demetrias, from Demetrius Poliorcetes ; be- fore whofe time* particularly in Solon's laws, it was called ffntdKw, the old and new, becaufe the new moon falling out on that day, part of it belonged to the old moon, and part to the new. It was alfo called rpiaxo?, the thirtieth ; and that not only in the Months which confuted of thirty days, but alfo in thofe of twenty-nine ; for in thefe, according to fome accounts, the twenty-fecond day was omitted ; or, according to others, the twenty-ninth: But which day foever was omit- ted in computation, the thirtieth was constantly retained. Hence, according to Thales's firft fcheme, all the Months were called Months of thirty days ; tho', by Solon's regulation, half of them contained only twenty-nine : And the lunar year of Athens was called a year of 360 days ; tho' really, after So- lon's time, it confifted of no more than 354. Vid. Pott. Archseol. Grec. 1. 2. c. 26.
The names of the Months being various in different parts of Greece, it will be fufficient particularly to confider thofe of Athens, barely mentioning thofe of others that correfpond with them. 1. Hecatombaon., this was the firft Month of the Athenian year, beginning on the firft new moon, after the fummer folftice, and fo anfwered to the latter part of our June, and the firft part of July. It confifted of thirty days, and was by the Boeotians called Hippodromus^ and by the Ma- cedonians Lous; but its antient name was Cronius. 2. Me- tagitnion, the fecond Month of the Athenian year, anfwering to the latter part of our July, and firft of Auguft. It con- tained only twenty-nine days, and was called by the Boeotians Panemus ; and by the people of Syracufe, Carnius. 3. Boe- dromion, the third Month of the Athenian year, which con- tained thirty days, and correfponded to the latter part of our Auguft, and firlt of September. 4. MesmaEterion, the fourth Month of the Athenian year, confifting only of twenty-nine days. It anfwered to the latter part of our September, and firft of October j and was called by the Boeotians Alalcomenius . 5. Pyanepfion, the fifth Month of the Athenian year : It con- tained thirty days, correfponded to the latter part of our Octo- ber, and firft of November ; and was called by the Bceotians, Damatrius. 6. Anihejier'ton, the fixth Month of the Athe- nian year, anfwering to the latter part of our November, and firft of December. It contained twenty-nine days, and was called by the Macedonians Dcejion, or Dejion.. 7. Pofidion, the feventh Month of the Athenian year, anfwering to the lat- ter part of our December and firft of January, and containing thirty days. 8. Game/ion, the eighth Month of the Athenian ■year; it anfwered to the latter part of our January and firft of February, and confifted of twenty-nine days. 9. Elaphe- bolion y the ninth Month of the Athenian year, correfponding to the latter part of our February and firft of March ; it con- tained thirty days. 10. Munychion, the tenth Month of the Athenian year : It contained twenty-nine days, and anfwered •to the latter part of our March and firft of April. 1 1. Thar-
- gelion, the eleventh Month of the Athenian year : It contained
thirty days, and anfwered to tiie latter part of our April and ■ firft of May. 12. Scirrophorion, the twelfth and laft Month
- of the Athenian year : It contained twenty-nine days, and an-
fwered to the latter part of May and firft of June. Vid. Pott. Archaeol. Grec. L. 2. c. 26. h Stephan. Thef. Ling. Graac. T. 5. p. 223. feq.
As the Roman Months were the fame with thofe now in ufe among the Europeans, we fhall only refer to the article Ca- lends, Cycl. and Suppl. where the manner of their computa- tion is explained.
MONTI A, in the Linmean fyftem of botany, the name of a diftinct genus of plants ; the characters of which are thefe : The cup is a perianthium compofed of two oval, hollow, ob- tufe and erect leaves, which remain when the flower is fallen. The flower is compofed of three petals, joined together at ^their infertion ; thefe are of an oblong oval figure, and the two fide-ones are larger and placed lower than the others. The ftamina are three capillary filaments, of the length of the flower: The antherae are fmall : The germen of the piftil- lum is of a turbinated form ; the ftyles are three, hairy and expanded, the ftigmata are firnple. The fruit k a capfule of a turbinated form, obtufe, of one cell, feparated by three valves: The feeds- are three in number, and roundifh. Linn&i Gen. Plant, p. 21.
MONTIFRINGILLA, in zoology, the name of a bird known in Englifh by the name of the bramble, br ambling, or moun- tain-finch ; and called by the antiente orofpiza. It is of the fize and fhape of the chaffinch ; its beak is large, very ftrong, and ftrait, beginning with a large bafe, and ending in a point in form of a cone. Sometimes this is altogether black, fome- times it is partly black and partly yellow ; from the head to the middle of the back it is of the blackifh colour of the common ftarling, with a variegation of a greyifh red from the edges of the feathers being of that colour ; the hinder part of the back is white; the throat is of a rcddifh yellow, and
the breaft white. It is common in Italy, and is fometime> found in England. Ray's Ornithol. p. 189,. There are befide this, two other fpecies of the Montifringilla* or brambling; the one large, of the fize of the common lark, and having the claw of its hinder toe longer than the reft, as in the lark ; and the other a fmaller, and fecming of a middle nature between the lark and brambling. It is red- dim on the back, and white on the belly, and variegated with black and reddifh brown on the wings. ' Thefe arc both com- mon in Lincolnshire, and fome other parts of England. MONTROSE-/^/^. Steel fpaws are very numerous in the country about Montrofe in Scotland : The principal of thefe are at Aberbrothoc, Kincardin, and Peterhead *. That of A- berbrothoc is ingreateft efteem b , — [ a Medic. Eft. Abr. Vol. 1. p. 106, 107. b Ibid. p. in.]
Befide thefe, there is a well near Montrofe, the water of which is of a whitifh colour, foft tafte, and faintly difcovering the mineral quality. This water is of a different nature from the fteel-fprings. The alcali prevails in its fait ; it refembles the Scarborough-water, and no falts come up to any analogy with thofe of the Montrofe water, and thofe of Scarborough, but nitre and fea-falt. See Med. Eft. Vol. 3. Art. 8. Abr. Vol. 1. p. j 12. feq. where various experiments with thofe waters are enumerated, and a companion inftituted between them and the Scarborough waters.
The water of this Montrofe well is univerfally diuretic; be- ing drank from two to three pints, purges ; and half the quan- tity fucceeds with fome. It has been found very ufetul in ftranguries and ftoppage of urine, fcorbutic diforders, flatu- lencies, fpafmodic colic, and fpitting of blood. In rheums and ftrains it has been of good uie by way of cold pump, where perfons could not bear i'uch ufe of ordinary cold water. Med. EfT. Vol. 3. Art. 9. Abr. Vol. 1. p. 122. feq.
MONYCHA, an epithet applied by naturalifts to thofe animals whofe hoofs are fingle and undivided ; fuch are the horfe, and the like.
MOON {Cyd.) — It is commonly agreed among philofophers and aftronomers, that the Moan turns about the earth ; but father Alexander fuppofes they may be all miftaken, and that the earth really turns about the Moon ; and from this ex- traordinary hypotbefis, he endeavours to account for the flux and reflux of the fea. See Journ. des Scav. Oct. 1727. Monf. Grand-jean de Foucby endeavours to prove, that there is no matter about the Moon, that can feniibly inflect the rays of light : And hence, that this fecondary planet has no atmo- fphere whofe refraction is obfervable. It might indeed have a circumambient fluid, the horizontal refraction of which might amount to 1" or 2", and fome obfervations may feem to give ground for admitting fomething of this fort. But with refpect to aftronomers the Moon may be faid to be defti- tute of an atmofphere. See Phil. Tranf. N°. 455. fee. 3. We have fome obfervations and tables concerning the Moon's motion, by Mr. Richard Dunthorn, in the Philofophical Tranfactions, N°. 482, fee. 13. where he gives an hundred obferved longitudes of the Moon compared with the tables, viz. 25 eclipfes of the Moon, taken (except the fiift) from Flamftead's Hiftoria Cceleftis, the Philofophical Tranfattions, and the Memoirs of the Royal Academy of Sciences ; the two great eclipfes of the fun in 1706, and 1715 ; 25 felect places of the Moon, from Flamftead's Hiftoria Cceleftis ; and 48 of thofe longitudes of the Moon, computed from Flamftead's Ob- fervations by Dr. Halley, and printed in the ift edit, of the Hiftoria Cceleftis.
In the Philofophical Tranfactions, ^.473. we have a new method of computing the appuhes of the Moon to the fixed ftars and planets ; as alfo of eclipfes of the earth, commonly cailcd eclipfes of the fun, by Mr. Gerften, profeflbr of the mathematics at Gieflen.
The full Moon appears to the naked eye broader than a cir- cular object fubtending an equal angle feen by perfect vifion. In a Moon of three or four days old the illuminated part ap- pears too broad, in proportion to the obfeure part, and like- wife feems to extend more outwards, or to have a greater diameter than the obfeure part. Alfo in an eclipfe of the fun or Moon, the bright part appears too broad in proportion to the dark part, and the eclipfe appears lefs than it really is.
This obfervation was made by Horrox, and is accounted fof by Dr. Jurin, in his eflay upon diftinct and indiftinct vifion.
Moon-£^j, in the manege. A horfe is faid to have Moon-eyes when the weaknefs of his eyes increafes or decreafes according to the courfe of the Moon ; fo that in the wane of the Moon his eyes are muddy and troubled, and at new Moon they clear up ; but ftill he is in danger of lofing his eye- fight quite.
Moox-Fifh, a name given to the fifh called by authors, orhis. See the article Orbis.
MOP, in fome counties of England, is the terra for what is called the ftatute in other places ; being the time that young people who intend themfelves for fervants, meet at foms certain place, in order to be hired into fervices. Plot's Ox- fordfhire, p. 207.
MOOR (Cycl.)— Moors, in the ifle of Man, thofe who fum- mon the courts for the fevers! /headings ; fuch arc the lords
bailiffs :
