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MELILOT. 293 MELLO. and when lliey decay leave drainage tubes. In this way it may l)e used two or more years before being turned under as green manure. Another species which has become naturalized in the United States is the common yellow nielilot {Meliloliis officinalis) , an annual growing two to three feet high and occurring in swamps and wet meadows. Its llowers are used in the maiui- facture of perfumery. The blue nielilot ( Meli- loliis cariilvii or Triijoncllii cocniica), a native of Northern Africa, is cultivated in Europe, and was formerly much used in medicine as an anodyne. Melilotus is useful for pasturage and for hay. The gieen crop, cut when in bloom, has the fol- lowing average percentage composition; water, 70.5 ; protein, 2.8 ; fat, 0.4 : nitrogen-free ex- tract, 12.1; crude fibre, 0.6; and ash. 1.0. !Melilotus must be cured with care, as too much sun causes shedding of the leaves. At first ani- mals commonly refuse to eat it, but later relish it; its hay is especially valuable for home con- sumption. It has not been found as salable as some other kinds of leguminous hay. MELINE, ma'len', F£ux Jules (18.38—). A Freneli statesman. He was born at Remire- mont, studied law in Paris, and in 1800 was ad- mitted to the bar. His earliest political activity was in the democratic opposition to the Empii'e. In 1871 he refused an election to the Commune, but in the following year was returned to the National Assembly, where he upheld Tliiers and became a member of the Republican Union. For a few months in 1870 and 1877, he was Under- Secretary of State in Jules Simon's Cabinet, and in 1880 made himself prominent by his able advocacy of the policy of protection. Eight years afterwards, as president of the Chamber of Deputies, JleUne carried through his great protective measure which went into force in 1802. Mi'line refused to form a ^Ministry in 180.3 ; undertook the management of the Repuhliqiic Frani^aisc. which he carried on until 1890; and in the winter of 1804 was reelected president of the Cliambcr. In 1800 he was made Prime Jlinister and again took the portfolio of Agri- culture, which he had held under Ferrv from 1883 to 1885. The Jlay elections of 1808 forced the Cabinet out. however, and Meline returned to the Chamber of De[)uties. There he acted as the leader of the Conseivative branch of the Repub- lican Party in opposition to the Radical wing which, with the aid of the Socialists, had come into power under Waldeek-Rousseau. MEL'INITE. See Explosives. MELIS'MA (Xeo-Lat., from Gk. fteAiafia. i-ong, from unAiCrn-j mrlizein. to sing, from y-e'or, melos. song). A term applied in modern music to melodic groups of notes executed u]ion one syllable of a word. It is particularly employed to give Oriental color. The songs of Rubinstein dealing with Oriental subjects (Dcr Asra), Verdi's A'idii. and Goldmark's Kiinifiin von Saha otTer fine examples of melismatic writing. MELIS'SA. A genus of plants. See Balm. MELISSA. ( 1 ) Tn Greek mythology, a nymph by whom the use of honey was said to have been discovercil, whence bees were called /i(?.iaaai. The actual derivation is from fir?i. honey. (21 Tlie daughter of Procles and wife of Periander. who killed her by a blow while she was with child. 1 3) In Arioslo's Orlando furioso. a kindly fairy wlio protects Kogero and Bradamant. MEL'ITA, The Latin name of Malta (q.v.). MEL'ITO (Lat., from Gk. iiairuv, Meliton). IJishop of Sardis, in the second half of the second century. He is mentioned by Eusebius as an upholder of Catholic orthodoxy, and is known to have written many works, only fragments of which are extant. Among those mentioned by Eusebius are an Apologia addressed to Aurclius concerning the pa.schal controversy, and Evlogw, containing the catalogue of "the books of the Old Covenant.' Consult: Otto, Corpus Apoloi/flarum Christ iaiianim Swculi Secinuli, vol. ix. (Jena, 1842-72) ; Harnack, Textc und Viitersuclnini/cii, v(d, i. (Leipzig, 1882) ; and the translation in the AiiU-Xicciic Falliers, vol. viii. MELITOPOL, ma'le-to'pol-y'. A town in the Government of Taurida, South Russia, situated on the river jMolotchna, 150 miles north-north- east of Simferopol (Map: Russia, E 5). It has a gymnasium and a realschule and carries on some trade in agricultural products and salt. It was founded in the beginning of the nineteenth cen- tury. Population, in 1897, 15,120. MELTCARTH. A PlKcnician divinity identi- fied with the Greek Melicertes. He was the god of Tyre, where he had a magnificent temple. He represents the olu Chaldean sun-hero, and in his adventures, strength, and labors appears as the original type of Hercules. MELILITE (from Lat. »nei, honey), or Ho2«et Sto>'e. a complex mineral silicate of sodium, calcium, magnesium, aluminum, and iron. It crystallizes in the tetragonal system, has a vitre- ous lustre, and is white or of light shades of yellow, green, brown, and red in color. It occurs in various rocks, certain varieties of which are loiown as melilile basalls. Melilite is found in Wiirttemberg, Germany, in Italy, the Hawaiian Islands, and in several localities in the United States. It is also produced in furnace slags. The name is also given to a group of minerals in- cluding the one described above and gehlenite. MELLO, mal'16, Cxtstodio Jost de (c.I845- 1902). A Brazilian admiral, of whose early life little is known. For his services to the republi- can cause in 1889, he was made admiral and Min- ister of Marine. But in 1803, siding with the Federals and the navy against the Administration and the anny, and fearing Peixoto's reelection, he seized practically the whole navy and xuidertook the blockade of Rio de Janeiro. The bombardment was stopped by the Powers, especially the United States of America. Mello left the fleet, estab- lished a provisional government in Santa Cata- rina, an<l captured Rio Grande do Sul. Rut a quarrel with Saraiva made success impossible, and hearing that the navy had surrendered to the new fleet bought by Peixoto, ]fello gave himself up to the Argentinian authorities in April, 1804. Jlello's alleged purpose throughout had been merely to purify the Republic. I)ut in 1001 he was suspected of a prominent ])art in an imperial plot, and was arrested and confined in the island of Cobras. MELLO, or MELO, Francisco Manoei, de (1011-00). A Portuguese poet and historian, born at Lisbon of a noble family, and there trained by the Jesuits. He became an army officer, first serving with the Spanish fleet, and