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MOULTING 332 MOUNDSVILLB MOULTING, a name for the process by which birds lose some of their feathers, crustaceans cast their cuticular shells, or young insects get rid of their outer husk in metamorphosis. The shedding of the hair in mammals and the sloughing of snakes, etc., are also analogous. MOULTON, RICHARD GREEN, born in Preston, England, in 1849, he attained the London University B. A. and the Cambridge M. A. and in 1891 the Uni- versity of Pennsylvania Ph. D. In 1892 he became professor in English at the University of Chicago, and in 1901 be- came head of the department of general literature. He published his first work, "Shakespeare as a Dramatic Artist," in 1885. His later works include: "The An- cient Classical Drama"; "Four Years of Novel Reading"; "The Literary Study of the Bible"; "Moral System of Shake- speare"; "World Literature and Its Place in General Education"; "The Mod- ern Study of Literature." Also edited the "Modern Reader's Bible" in 21 vols. MOULTRIE, a city of Georgia, the county-seat of Colquitt co. It is on the Atlanta, Birmingham and Atlantic, Flint River and Northeastern, Georgia and Florida, and other railroads. It is the center of a commercial and manufactur- ing community, and has meat-packing plants, mattress factories, fertilizer plants, lumber mills, and cotton mills. There is a library and handsome gov- ernment building. Pop. (1910) 3,349; (1920) 6,789. MOULTRIE, FORT, a defensive work on Sullivan's Island, at the mouth of Charleston Harbor, S. C, celebrated for the repulse of a British squadron com- manded by Sir Peter Parker, June 28, 1776. MOULTRIE, WILLIAM, an American military officer; born in South Carolina, in 1731. He was of Scotch descent, his parents emigrating to South Carolina early in the 18th century. In 1761 Ke commenced his career as captain in a mi- litia regiment, raised for the defense of the frontier against the Cherokees, ren- dering important service. He was elected to the provincial congress in 1775, and appointed colonel of the 2d South Caro- lina regiment. In 1776 he was desig- nated to construct a fort on Sullivan's Island, at the mouth of Charleston har- bor. The fort, which had 26 guns and 435 men, and was commanded by Moul- trie, hastily built of palmetto logs, was found to resist the cannon balls perfect- ly. The British fleet attacked the fort before its completion, but were repulsed with great slaughter. Moultrie was made brigadier of the Continental forces, and distinguished himself by the repulse of the British advance on Charleston, in 1779. In the spring of 1780 Charleston was again attacked, and Moultrie, second in command, shared in the capitulation of the American forces. He remained a prisoner two years, being exchanged in 1782, and was promoted a Major-Gen- eral by Congress. In 1785 he was elected governor of South Carolina, and again in 1794, after which he retired to private life. He was the author of "Me- moirs of the Revolution." He died in Charleston, S. C, Sept. 27, 1805. MOUND, a ball or globe used as the sign of sovereign authority and maj- esty, and forming part of the regalia of an emperor or king. It is surmounted by a cross and encircled with a horizon- tal band, from the upper edge of which springs a semicircular band, both en- riched with precious stones. MOUND BIRDS (Megapodidas) , a family of gallinaceous birds remarkable for the large mounds which they build as incubators for the eggs. They are na- tives of Australasia and of the islands in the Eastern Archipelago and Pacific. The Australian megapodes (Megapodius tumulus), about the size of common fowls, build mounds of leaves, vegetable refuse, and soil, and add to them year after year till they become immense structures. MOUND BUILDERS, the name given to a prehistoric race, formerly inhabit- ing the Ohio and Mississippi valleys, who have left some very remarkable earth- works as their only memorials. The best known group of mounds is near Newark, O., and consists of "elaborate earthworks, in the form of a circle, octagon, and square, inclosing an area of about 4 square miles, on the upper terraoe_ be- tween two branches of the Licking river. Scattered over the same plain, and crowning the neighboring hills, are nu- merous tumuli or mounds, evidently erected by the same people that built the larger works." The human remains found in these mounds are usually so much decayed as to preclude the recovery of a single bone entire. MOUNDSVILLE, a city of West Vir- ginia, the county-seat of Marshall co. It is situated about 11 miles S. of Wheeling, on the Ohio river and on the Baltimore and Ohio railroad. It is the seat of the State Prison and contains a court house, Federal building, and Reynolds Memo- rial Hospital. Within its limits is one of the famous mounds of prehistoric origin. The city is the center of important agri-