Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/374

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MOROCCO 312 MOBBIS suited in the immediate increase of the German army and was one of the steps toward the World War in 1914. In the World War Moroccan troops fought with great bravery in France and elsewhere. The country under the French regime has steadily progressed. MOROCCO (Arabian, Marakesch, by which name it is usually known among European residents), the S. capital of the empire of the same name; between 4 and 5 miles from the left bank of the Tensift, at the N. end of an extensive and fertile plain; 1,447 feet above the sea. It is surrounded by a lime and earth wall, more than 5 miles in circumference, be- tween 20 and 30 feet high, and pierced by seven gates. In the bazaar and mer- chants' quarter a considerable local trade is carried on with the country people, the mountaineers from the neighboring At- las, and with Sus, Tafilet, Mazagan, Saffi, and Mogadox'. Morocco possesses many mosques, one of which, the Kutubia, has a tower 320 feet high. There are several tanning and leather-dyeing establish- ments of considerable extent, though of late years European goods have been gradually displacing native manufac- tures. Morocco was founded in 1072 by the Emir Jusef ben Tachefyn, and reached the summit of its prosperity in the 13th century. Population between 50,000 and 80,000. MORON, town in Andalusia, Spain, on the Guadaira river, 32 miles S. E. of Seville. Region rich in cattle, olives, chalk, and marble quarries. Moorish castle in vicinity. Pop. about 18,000. MOROXITE, the crystallized form of apatite, occurring in crystals of a brown- ish or greenish-blue color. MORPHEUS (-fus), in classical my- thology, a minister of the god Somnus, who was wonderfully proficient in imitat- ing the grimaces, gestures, words and manners of mankind. He is sometimes called the god of sleep, MORPHINE, or MORPHIA, in chem- retry, C17H19NO3. Morphinum. The most important of the opium bases, discovered by Sertiirner in 1816. It is obtained by decomposing an aqueous extract of opi- um by chloride of barium, and allowing the chloride of morphia to crystallize out. The crystals, which contain codeine, are dissolved, and the morphine is then precipitated by ammonia, and finally purified by recrystallization. It crystal- lizes from alcohol in colorless, lustrous, trimetric prisms, soluble in 500 parts of boiling water, easily soluble in alcohol, but insoluble in ether and chloroform. Morphine forms well defined salts with mineral and organic acids. The most characteristic and best defined salt is the hydrochloride, which crystallizes in slender, colorless needles, arranged in stellated groups, soluble in 20 parts of cold water, and in its own weight at the boiling heat. MORPHOLOGY, that branch of natu- ral science which treats of the laws, form, and arrangement of the structures of animals and plants, treating of their varieties, homologies and metamorphoses; the science of form. Morphology teaches that most organs of a plant, including the bracts, sepals, petals, stamens, and pistils, are modifications of leaves. With regard to animals, it investigates the tissues of which their structures are composed, the states through which each animal has to pass before reaching ma- turity, and the modifications of form which the same organ undergoes in dif- ferent animals. For instance, the hand of a man, the forefoot of a mole, adapted for digging, are only modifications of one type. Morphology treats also of serial homologies in the same animal, and of homogeneous and homoplastic homologies of organs. MORRIS, CLARA, an American ac- tress; born in Toronto, Canada, in 1849; was taken to Cleveland, 0., when an in- fant. In 1869 she became the leading lady in Wood's Theater, Cincinnati, 0., and a year later joined Daly's Fifth Avenue Company, New York. She soon achieved prominence in emotional roles, and after- ward made many tours throughout the United States. Her leading roles include Camille; Alixe; Miss Multon; Mercy Merrick in "The New Magdalene"; Cora in "L'Article 47"; etc. She is the author of "A Silent Singer"; "Little Jim Crow"; "Autobiography of Clara Morris"; "A Paste-Board Crown"; etc. MORRIS, SIR EDWARD PATRICK, Newfoundland statesman; bom at St. John's in 1859, he studied at Ottawa University, and after being called to the bar was elected in 1885 to the legislature. From 1890 to 1895 he was Attorney-Gen- eral and in the following years led in the campaign of the reorganization of the railroads. From 1903 onward he was head of the Justice Department and in 1909 became Premier. He represented Newfoundland in London on the French shore question, and at the Imperial Con- ference in 1911. He was knighted in 1904, and made Privy Councillor seven years later. The legal work known as "Morris's Reports" are his chief contri- bution to literature.