Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/421

MUSSEL 359 MUSTARD GAS Varieties are known as Swiss, buke, mull, jaconet, lawn, saccharilla, harness, leno, nainsook, seerhand, foundation, cambric, cord, check, figured, long-cloth, tamboured, muslinet, organdie. Other very different styles of fabric are also indifferently called muslins, and the term is used differently on the respective sides of the Atlantic, in England being confined ex- clusively to white goods. MUSSEL, an individual of the genus Mytilus. The fry are found in water a few fathoms deep, and grow to matu- rity in about a year. Knapp states that 40,000,000 Mytilus edulis are annually dredged in the Frith of Forth, to be used for bait in the deep sea fishery. Though prized and largely used for human food, mussels sometimes prove deleterious, and fatal effects have followed their con- sumption. Mussels, the family Mytilvdse. MUSSET, ALFRED DE (mii-sa'), a French poet; born in Paris, France, Dec. 11, 1810. After completing his education at the College of Henry IV., where his fellow-pupil and intimate friend was the Duke of Orleans, son of Louis Philippe, he essayed the most diverse studies. The law, medicine, finance, painting, were in turn engaged in, in turn abandoned. In 1830, he put forth a small volume of poetry, entitled "Stories of Spain and Italy," which was received with great favor. A celebrity at 23, the young poet made a journey to Italy with George Sand, under the name of confidential secretary. During his last years, he gave himself up to play, and even grosser pleasures. His last volume of verse was published in 1850, and showed a prema- ture decay of the author's powers. He was nevertheless elected a member of the French Academy, in 1852. His best works are his poems, "View from an Armchair"; "The Cup and the Lips"; "Of What do Young Girls Dream?"; "Namouna"; "Rolla"; and his two ex- quisite dramatic pieces, "A Caprice," and "A Door Should be Open or Shut." He died in Paris, May 2, 1857. MUSSORGSKI, MODEST PETRO- VITCH, Russian composer; born in Karev, Pskov, in 1839, he entered the St. Petersburg Military Academy, but resigned his commission to devote himself to musical composition. He wrote an incomplete opera, "Salammbo," and brought out a number of songs which made him well known. His masterpiece, however, was his "Boris Godunov" which appeared in 1874, and which, considerably revised, has become a standard Russian opera. An opera almost equal in fame was "Khovanstchina," which appeared in 1880. He left behind three uncom- pleted operas, a fantasie, suite for the piano and choral works. He died in 1881. MUSSULMAN, a Moslem or Moham- medan. MUST, the juice of the grape, which by fermentation is converted into wine. MUSTANG, the small wild horse of southwestern United States and northern Mexico, It is supposed that the mus- tangs are descendants of Spanish horses which escaped from domestication in Mexico, and became the parents of the immense herds which afterward occupied the plain and prairie regions of the N. MUSTARD, various species of the cruciferous genus or sub-genus Sinapis. Also a condiment obtained by grinding and sifting the seeds of black and white mustard. The flour produced forms the genuine mustard of commerce. The seeds yield by pressure from 18 to 36 per cent, of a fixed oil, and, after macerating with water and distilling, a small quantity of a highly pungent and volatile oil. MUSTARD GAS. Dichlorethylsulphide, (CH2CICH)2S. A water-white liquid boiling at 219° C, first prepared by the German chemist, Victor Meyer, in 1886, and first used in warfare by the Germane at Ypres, July 20, 1917. In the follow- ing February, the English chemist, Pope, reported the discovery of a process of manufacture by absorbing ethylene gas in sulphur monochloride. His process, with some modifications developed by the U. S. Chemical Warfare Service, was adopted by the Allies throughout the bal- ance of the war. The liquid has a corrosive effect on the skin, raising painful blisters, slow in healing, and has a tendency to eat further and further in, sometimes even corroding the bone beneath the flesh. The vapor, when strong, also blisters, particularly when the skin is moist or greasy. The eyes, being moist, readily absorb the gas, are rendered very sore and roll up under the lids, staying up for some days, after which the sight is usually recovered. The vapor also at- tacks the lungs, sometimes resulting in complete destruction of the tissue. When it was first introduced, 4 per cent, of all mustard gas casualties were fatal, but toward the end of the war fatalities di-opped to less than V2 per cent. The gas is very persistent and a shelled district takes from two to seven days to clear. Rain washes it into the soil, but warm sun will bring it out again. At low temperatures, it becomes a yellowish grease, and to prevent freezing in the