METHYL. 390 METONIC CYCLE. composed during many chemical transformations of till! substaiues whose molecules contain it. See Carbon CoMPorND: Cuemistby (historical sect ion ) . METHYL ALCOHOL, W'oou Alcohol, or Pykoxylic Spirit, C'lljOH. A colorless liquid having a peculiar aromatic odor. It boils at a lower temperature than ordinary alcohol, and, like the latter, mixes with water in all propor- tions. It is largely used in the manufacture of varnishes and for the preparation of 'methylated spirit' (q.v.). diethyl alcoliol is one of the products obtained when wood is heateil in retorts, out of contact wuth the air. It is contained in the aqueous portion of the distillate, mixed with pyroligneous (crude acetic) acid, ammonia, acetone, etc. To separate the acid, the mixture is neutralized with slaked lime and distilled, the acid then remaining fixed as calcium acetate. Ammonia may be eliminated in a similar man- ner, by adding sulphuric acid and distilling. Further, to separate the alcoliol from acetone (which is especially objectionable if the alcohol is to be used in the manufacture of aniline dyes), oxalic acid may be added to the mixture and a gentle heat applied. Methyl alcohol acts like a weak base; when brought in contact with oxalic acid it forms the crystalline solid substance called methyl oxalate, while acetone does not react with oxalic acid, and renuiins in solution. After separating the .solid methyl oxalate from the remaining liquid, methyl alcohol may be re- obtained from it by dissolving it in potash and distilling. Finally, the alcohol may be freed from water and any remaining impurity by recti- fying it over quicklime. An excellent way to obtain pure methyl alcohol from commercial W(H)d spirit is to add to the latter about one- tenth of its weight of iodine and just enough caustic soda to decolorize the solution, to distill off the liquid, and dehydrate the distillate by means of quicklime. All the onlinary ini|Mnities of wood spirit, including etliyl alcoliol. acetone. aldehyde, etc.. are thus converted, by the iodine and caustic soda, into iodoform, which remains behind when the mixture is subjected to distilla- tion. To eliminate the odor of iodoform in the distillate, a little silver nitrate may be added. and the solution redistilled. METHTTLATED SPIRIT. A mixture of about '."I per eeiil. iif unliriary alcohol and about 10 per pent, of methyl (wood) alcohol. . small amount of parallln oil is also added, which ren- ders the mixture unfit for drinking, while it scarcely interferes with its propertie- as a sol- vent. Methylated spirit is cheaper than ordinary alcohol, and can he used, for most purposes, in place of it. METHTTLENE BLUE. An aniline dye. oc- curring in the foriii of a bluish, finely crystalline powder with a hronzelike lustre. It is slightly soluble in water, and much more freely upon thQ addition of alcohol. It is largely used ns a stain for pathological and normal tissues and for specimens of blood. An attempt has been made to determine the comlition of the kiilneys by noting the time which elapses ln'tween the nd- ministrntion of methylene blue and its appear- ance in the urine. Aside from the variability of the rr><ults obtained with both healthy and diseased kidnevs. it cannot be axsumi* that per- meability of those organs for this drug bears a definite relation to that for the normal urinary constituents. It has, however, proved of some value in the treatment of gonorrhica, and claims are made for it as a substitute for quinine in malaria. METHYLENE (from methyl) BICHLO- RIDE, ur Ui-CuLORO-.MeTIIAXE, CUX'L. A ehelll- ical com])ound of carbon, liydrogen, and chlorine. It can be obtained by the direct action of chlorine gas on methane (marsh-gas), or by the action of nascent hydrogen on chloroform. It is a color- less lieav}' liquid, having a chloroform-like odor. It is a powerful ana'sthetic, and has been used as a substitute for chloroform. Its effect on the organism is more even than that of similar anaisthetics. METIS. The daughter of Oceanus and Tethys and wife of Zeus, who devoured her in the fear that the son whom she should bear would be more powerful than Iiimself. METITTS, ma'te-ns. Adriaan (1.571-1035). A Dutch geometer. born at Alkmaar. He studied law and medicine, but later de- voted his attention to astronomy, and from lo98 until his death was professor of mathe- matics at the University of Franeker. His mathematical works include: Doctrinm Spheric(e Libri (1598); Universw Astronomi(e Institutio (1605; 2d ed. 1630); Praxis Nova Oeonutrica (1623) ; Froblemata Astronomica (1625) ; Calm- darlum Ferpetuiim (1627): Opera Astronomica (1633) : Aritlimctim' Libri 2. ct lleomftriir lAbri 6" . . . Trigonometria' I'hinoriim Metiiodus( 1626) ; De Oenvino Utriusque (llobi Travtiitus ( 1624) ; Prim urn Mobile Astronomice, etc. (1631: 2d ed. 1632-33). METLAKAHTLA, mct'la-kii'tla (properly ildtUikhntUi) . A prosperous mission settlement of .(.'himesyan or Tsimshian Indians, on an island near the extreme southern end of Alaska. The original settlement was some seventy miles, farther south, below Port Simpson, on the main- land of British Columbia. Here the Episcopal missionary William Duncan in 1S62 established a mission, which within a few months was joined by the whole body of Indians residing near Port Simpson, and prosjiered so rapidly that in 1880 it had devclojied into a town of 1500 civilized Indians, with two-story houses, regtilar streets, a salmon cannery, a sash and door fac- tory, a sa^^nill, a brickyard, and one oi the largest churches in British Columbia. An ex- tensive shawl- weaving industry was also carried on. X'nfortunately the British Government un- dertook to place the Indians of the town under the charge of an agent and reduce them to a reservation status, with the result that almost the entire settlement, led by Duncan, abandoned the place and established themselves at the pres- ent location in United States territory, whew they continue to maintain their advanced civili- zation. The original settlement, now called I'M Metlakahtla. is almost in ruins, with a popula- tion of perhaps inn snuls still remaining. METONIC CYCLE (so called from its in- ventor. Meton. who flourished at ,thens about n.r. 432). A cycle of nineteen years of 2.35 lunar months, or 6040 days, at the end of which time the new moon falls on the same day of the year ns it did at the beginning of the cycle, and eclip.ses recur in nearly the same order. This arises from the circumstance that
