Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 13.djvu/170

MASON. 144 MASON BEE. and coiiiposing. His works include numerous compositions, mostly for the pianoforte, but he is hest known for his text-books: .1 Method for the I'iuiiofoitc (1807). >Si/stem for licgiiuicrs (1871). both in collaboratiim with H! S. Hoad- ley; Touch uitd 'I'tchnic (1878) ; and his interest- in}; Memorie.i of a Musical Life (1901). MASON, William Pitt (1853—). An Ameri- can chemist, burn in New York City. He grad- uated at the Rensselaer I'dlytccluiic institute (1874 and 1877); and returned there as pro- fessor of chemistry, after studyinj; medicine at I'nion I'niversity and bacteriolofjy at the Pasteur Institute in Paris. His works include: Examin<t- tion of Potable Water ( 1890) ; llaYer Sup/ilj/ (189(i) ; Xotes on Qualitative Analysis (189(i)': and Examination of ll'a^er (1899). MASON AND DIXON'S LINE. The boun d:uy line IhIwi-'U tli,' States of .Maryland and Pennsylvania, as nni by two distinguished Eng- lish surveyors. Charles .Mason and .Jeremiah Dixon, during the years 1703-07, and popu- larly accepted prior to the Civil War as the dividing line between the free States and the slave States. The line was the result oi a dis- pute between the States of Maryland and Penn- sylvania over their respective boundaries as de- scribed in (heir charters. The chief contro- versy turned upon the meaning of the phrases 'the beginning of the 40°' and Hhe beginning of the 43° of N. Lat.' employed in the description of the Pennsylvania Ooundary. The quarrel, in which Lord Maltiniore and Penn soon engaged, eontinued for more than cigiity years; was the cause of endless trouble between individuals, and occupied the attention of the proprietors of both provinces, the Lords of Trade and Plantations, the High Court of Chancery, and the PriN-j' (Jouneils of three kings. Xo compromise was reached during the life of Penn. but. after his death, his s<ins succeeded in obtaining from Charles. Lord Baltimore, in 1732, an agree- Tnent by which the boundary line was to be drawn "oy eoinmissioners repiescnting both par- ties to the controversy. Baltimore at once came over with his commissioners. Init was unable to get the Pennsylvania proprietors to take action. The unseUlcd condition of the boiindary. there- fore, continued and with it increasing disturb- ances in the disputcil territory. The (iovcrnor of Maryland then laid the matter before the Pro- prietary and the King. an<l invoked their inter- viiitioM for the settlement of the dispute, liy an order in Council the King commanded both sides to keep the peace and instructed the Proprie- taries to grant no lands in the disputed territory until the bo.imbiry could be adjusted. Pending a decision of the question by the English Coiirt of Chancery, to which the matter was submitted in 173.5, both p;irties agreed upon a provisional houndarj". decision wa- finally n ached in I'.iO by the Chancellor. Lord Ilardwicke. which, with (he agreement of 1732. served as the basis of a compromise between the proprietors in 17C0. Commissioners representing both sides were ap- pointed, and the eastern boundary was deter- mined. To run the east and west line, as well as other parts unsettled. Mason and Oixen were appointed in 1703. and at once enlered upon their task. Ry the year 1707 they had carried the line over llie mountains to a point 244 miles from the Delnware Rivei. Farther advance was stopped by the Indians, but the line was subse- quently' completed by others. The boundary was marked by mile-stones, every lifth one having tile arms of Baltimore engraved on one side and those of Penn on the other. Its exact latitude is 39° 43' 20.3" North. A resurvey of the line was made in 1849. and in 1900 another resurvey was authorized by the States of Pennsylvania and ^Maryland, the work being placed under the direc- tion of the eoiiiniission consisting of the Superin- tendent of the L'nited States Coast and Geodetic Survey, the Secretary of Hiternal Affairs of Pennsylvania, and the Director of the Geological Survey of Maryland. Consult : Browne. Mury- liiiiil. the Hislury of a I'alalinute (Boston, 1884) ; Donaldsonj The I'ublic Domain (3d ed., Washington, 1884) ; and Hin.sdale, The Old Xorthuest (Boston. 1899). MASON BEE. A bee of the sub-family Gsniiiuic of the family Megaehilidic ; especially in the L'nited States one of the genus Osniia, and in Europe one of the genus Chalicodonia. The name is derived from the manner in which tbi'se bees construct small earthen cells, sometimes mixed with sand, pebbles, and wood-scrapings, glued together so firmly that they are smooth inside. Ten to twenty of the cells are usually found to- gether, and each one contains a store i}f honey and pollen for the larvae, only one of which is found in each of the cells. These bees show a iiigh order of intelligence in the manner in which they adapt themselves to circumstances, and this accounts for the very great diversity seen in the situations in which the cells are placed. Ceratosmia lignivora is a true wood-borer. Cer- tain s])ccies excavate the pith of brambles, alternately widening and e(mtracting the bur- row to correspond with the proposed cells and the intervals between them. Others use the hol- lows of reeds and straws: two European species utilize the enijity shells of several species of Helix, compactly filling c;icli shell with their cells, which arc plae<>d in diirerent relative posi- tions according to the exigencies of the ease, and then carefully closing the entrance with pellets of clay, sticks, and pebbles; others again |)laster their cells thickly upon the under side of a flat stone which is slightlv raised from the ground; and still another sjx'cies places its cells in com- ])aratively uni)rotect<'cl situations at the roots of grass. The Clialic<idomas make very perfect, mason work in the walls of their cells. The f<K)d stored up in the cells is composed of a mixture of honey and iiolhii, Reaumur and Kabre experimented with the young bees to find whether they were able to overcome additional dillieulties in making their way out of the cell. When the mouth of the cell is covered with earth and pith or brown paper put in contact with the covering of the cells, the bees make their way out without any great apparent dilTieulty, but when some -ipaee intervenes between the niinith of (he cell and the new barrier, the bees are unable to gain their freedom. The Osmiina' are of comparatively small size, and are usually of dark metallic colors. The eggs are white, oblong, and ;iliout the size and shape of a caraway seed. They hatch in abcnit eight days. Development of the larvir is rapid; they spin delicate cocoons and winter as pupic. Consult: Fabre. T>">rrt Life, translated from the French (London, 1901) ; Howard, Standard