M A S
MaRYgold Flower, in zoology. See the article Regulus Crijtatus.
MASARINO, in zoology, a name given by the Portugucfc, in the Brafils, to a large bird of the curlew kind, approach- ing tothe^ofe in fize; and more commonly known by its Brafilian name curicaca. See the article Curicaca.
MASCHARADA, in the Italian muiic, is applied to mufic compofed for the geftures of pantomimesj buffoons, mi- mics, and fuch grotefque characters.
MASLACH, the name of a medicine greatly in ufe among the Turks, and called alfo Anfon or Amphion. It is prepared principally of opium. They take a dram of it at a time, and fometimes two or three : They always ufe it when going to battle, and very often as a provocative to venery, as they do the crude opium.
MASLIN. Seethe article Bullimony.
MASORAH andMASORiTES. Seethe article CabbAlists.
MASSALIS, a Word by which fome of the chemical writers have expreffed mercury.
MASSIMA, in the Italian mufic, is a note or character made in a long fquare, with a tail to it j thus, t _|__' 'l • It con- tains eight femi-breves in common time. This character is difufedln the modern mufic, for they have found other ways to feparate the bars, and to mark the length of notes.
MASTED. A Ihip is faid to be maflcd, when fhe has all her mads com pleat.
Armed Mast, in a fhip, one that is made of more than one tree.
Oiw-Masted, or TVz^-Masted, is faid of a fhip whofe marts are either too long or too big ; which makes her He too much down by the wind, and labour too much a- hull.
Spending a Mast, at fea, is when it is broke by foul weather.
Springing a Mast, at fea, is when it is cracked in any place.
£/«<&>--Masted, or Ito-Masted Ships, fuch whofe Mafs are either too fmall, or too fhort : In which cafe fne cannot bear fo great a fail as fhould give her true way.
MASTER (Cycl.)— Master of a Ship ofJVar, the next officer to a lieutenant ; he has under his care and direction every thing relating to the conducting and failing of the fhip, as to detcr- " mine the courfe fhe is to fail, command the failors, and give orders for {leering, trimming and failing the fhip. He is to keep the moft accurate account of the fhip's way, and be at all times able to give eftimate, or prick off her place on the true fea-chart ; and is allowed mates to affift him in his office. In: merchantmen the Majler is the chief officer.
Master Load, in mining, a term ufed to exprefs the larger vein of a metal, in places where there are feveral veins in the fame hill. Thus it often happens, that there are feven, fame- times five, but more ufually three veins or loads, parallel to each other, in the fame hill. Ofthefethe middle vein is al- ways greatly the largeft. This is called the Majler Load; and the others which lie three, two, or one, on each fide of mis, are called the concomitants of the Majler Lead. The general breadth of tile Mafter Loads, in Cornwall, is from three to feven foot. They are fcldom larger than this, except in certain peculiar places, as where all the veins meet together, as they fometimes do, and form a knot, from ■which they feparate again, and each takes its peculiar courfe. The fize of fuch a knot is not eafily determined, and it is ufually very rich in tin, or the other metal of the mine. The feveral parts, even of the Majler Load* are not at all regular in breadth, but from fix foot, it will, in fome places, dwin- dle to one foot, or even to an inch broad, in a very final! fpace; but the miners are not difheartcned at this, for they know it will foon grow wider again, unlefs really worked out. Phil. Tranf. N°. 69.
The Majler Lvad ufually lies in a hard rocky of fhelfy ftra- tum, made up of metalline matter, fpars, mundic, and other unprofitable fubltances, or weeds, as the miners call them, and is, as it were, all along a continued rock; but has many veins and joints, as they are called. In fome places the matter in which the ore lies is fofter, and then it is much more eafily worked. In Cornwall they ufually allow two fliovcl-men to three beele-men or pickers ; but where the load runs in a fofter fubftance, there muft be a greater pro- portion of the fhovellers or carriers away. There is generally water found about the Loads of the metal. In moft places it is met with at fome feet deep from the toady furface ; and it often runs through the heart of the Load, not in a direct channel, but windin^y, in and out, infenfibly through the veins and joints of the Load. When the miners have followed a Load to fome depth, and the water begins to be troublefomc, as it generally foon is, if there be any in the work, they defcend to the bottom of the hill, where they have that convenience, and at the loweit place begin as little a drift as the convenience of working or driving will permit, fcarce half fo big as that for a Load; they carry this on, on a 1 level, till they come to the work itfelf. In this the ufe of thedial is needful, which they term plumming and dialling. See the article Dialling, Cycl. and Plumming, Suppl. By this means the exact place of the work is known, where to bring the adit, or where to fink down to make an air' ihait. 1 hough the water is troublefomc in the Loads, yet '
M A T
there is always one great convenience attending it; which i?| that where there is water, there is never want of air for the refpiration of the miners, and the candles always burn well. But it is alfo to be obferved, that in a foft, loo'fe, quag- mire country, the earth fometimes falls in after the workmen j in fuch a manner as, though it does not choak up the whole ihaft, yet it fo far ftops it* as to render the current of air Iefs free, and the miners find the utmoft neceffity of opening a fhaft for air to refpire from the furface. If the foil be fo foft as not to be able to fupport itfelf in the working, as is fome- times the cafe in thefe wet clayey hills, it is neceffary to prop it up, as they go on, with boards, pofts, and the like. This adds greatly to the expencc of mining ; but in the working a Majler Load, it is often worth while. When the miners are out of heart at the trouble of walling and propping, on this occafion, it fometimes happens, that a dipping of the Load carries them down into a firmer ftratum, and they are at once reliev'd from all that trouble and danger. Master-/AW, in botany, &c. Sec the article Imperato-
RIA.
Master-^cw, a large Tazu fomctines remaining after faliva- tion. Se the article Yaws.
MASTICA Defobo, in the materia medica, the name given by the Indians to the ftone commonly know r n among authors by the name of Pedro del Porco, a fort of bezoar taken out of the gall-bladder of an Indian boar. The Indians, and many of the European nations, efteem this one of the greatcfi: medi- cines in the world in peftilential difeafes, and the fmall pox.
MASTIC (Cycl.) — The Arabian writers, Avifenna and Scra- pio, in their chapters of the turpentine tree, often mention the lentifk and its refin, which they fay was very much like the refin of the common turpentine tree. But befide this, Avifenna has a peculiar chapter en Majlic; whence it mould feem, that by the name lentifk they do not mean the' tree which produces Majlic, as we do, but fome peculiar fpecies of the turpentine tree.
Avifenna diftinguifhes two kinds of Mafic, the one called rum, and the other cupii ; The rumi came from the iilahd of Chios, and was white ; the cupti was or a blackifh colour, and was brought from ^Egypt. See the article Lentiscus.
Mastic is alfo ufed as the name of an herb, otherwife called Marum. See the article Marum.
Mastiche Terra, Majlic Earth, a name given by fome of the old writers on the materia medica to the Chio earth, or Terra Chia. The reafon of this ftrange appellation feems to have been, that the fineft Majlic coming from the Ifiand of Chios, had obtained the name of Kic, or Chic, and Mafic and Chia being thus become, in one fenfe, fynonimous words, the ufe of them was, in this manner, carried much farther, and the earth of that ifiand called by the name of the gum. The Arabians feem to explain this very well, in their name of this earth; they not calling it Mafic earth, but thin heled Almajl'tchi, that is, Terra Regionis Maftichis, the earth of the country where Majlic is produced.
MASTICHINA, in botany, a name given by fome authors to the herb maftic, or garden marum. Boer. Ind. 156. See the article Marum.
MAST1GADOUR, or Slabbering-Bit, in the manege, 13 a fnaffle of iron, all fmooth, and of a piece, guarded with pater nofters, and compofed of three halves of great rings, made into demi-ovals of unequal bigflefs, the lefier being iri- clofed within the greateff, which ought to be about half a foot high. A Mafligadcur is mounted with a head-frail and two reins. A horfe, by champing upon the Mafigadour, keeps his mouth frefli and moifr.
To put a horfe to the Majligadour, is to fet his croupe to the manger, and his head between two pillars in the ftable. Horfcs that ufe to hang out their tongue, cannot do it when the Mafigadour is on ; for that keeps their tongue fo much in fubjection, that they cannot put it out.
MASTIGOPHORI, MkhytyhpC, among the Greeks, certain officers appointed to preferve the peace, and correct fuch as were unruly at the Olympic games. Potter^ 1. 2. c. 22. See" alfo Mem. Acad. Infcript. 'I*. 1. p. 338, 339.
MASTON, in botany, a name by which Pliny and fome other authors have called Xhzfcabiofa^ oifcabtous, a blue-flowered plant, common among corn. Gcr. Emac. Ind 2.
MATCHING, in the wine trade, the preparing veflels to pre- ferve wines and other liquors, without their growing four or vapid. See the article Wine.
The method of doing it is this : Melt brimftone in an iron ladle, and, when thoroughly melted, dip into it flips of coarfe linnen cloth ; take thefe out, and let them cool. This
what the wine-
coo pe
call match. Take one of thefe
matches, fet one end of it on fire, and put it into the bung- hole of a cafk ; flop it Joofely, and thus fuffer the Match to burn nearly out ; then drive in the bung tight, and fet the cafk afide for an hour or two. At the end of this time examine the cafk, and you will find that the fulphur has com- municated a violently pungent and fuffocating fcent to the cafk, with a confiderable degree of acidity, which is the gas, and acid fpirit of the fulphur. The cafk may, after this, be rilled with a fmall wine, which has fcarce done its fermenta- tion, and bunging it down tight., it will be kept good, and b 1 will
