Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/194

182 MARMOT MARMOT, a large rodent of the squirrel family, and genus arctomys (Schreber). The body is thick and compressed, the head large and flat- tened, the legs short and stout, and the tail short, bushy, and nearly cylindrical ; the inci- sors are less compressed than in the squirrels, smooth in front and rounded ; the molars are ~1, enamelled continuously, with transverse pointed tubercles, the first upper one the small- est ; the ears are short and rounded, but dis- tinct above the fur; the fore feet with four toes armed with sharp claws, and a very rudi- mentary thumb with a small flat nail instead of a claw ; the hind feet five-toed, with strong curved claws; the soles are entirely naked; there are very shallow cheek pouches. The com- mon European marmot {A. marmota, Schreb.) is 18 in. long, the tail 2 in. ; the color is yel- lowish gray, with the top of the head dark gray, russet at the base of the tail, and incisors yellow. The form is clumsy, the movements slow, and the sagacity small ; inhabiting the mountains of Europe near the snow line, they European Marmot (Arctomys marmota). live in families in burrows, in which they pass the winter in a state of lethargy ; the food is vegetable, during the search for which one animal is stationed as a sentinel near the bur- row, into which all retreat at the signal of dan- ger; the circular chamber for the family is approached by a narrow gallery 6 or 6 ft. long; they hibernate on beds of dried grass, and are very fat at the beginning and very lean at the end of this season ; when fat they are sometimes used by the mountaineers as food. The Poland marmot (A. lobac, Pall.) is some- what larger, with more reddish tints. They burrow in the plains of less elevated districts in Poland, Russia, and northern Asia; they prefer dry and stony soils, into which they dig very deeply, living in families of 30 or 40, and amassing large quantities of dried grasses. Other marmots are described, which occasion- ally, as perhaps do all, feed upon birds and small quadrupeds. For the American marmot (A. monax, Gmel.) see WOODCIIIJCK, its com- mon name. Many animals of the allied genus spermophilus (Cuv.) are sometimes called mar- MAROCHETTI mots, but such come more properly under the head of prairie squirrels. The fur is thick and not very coarse, and is considerably used for common caps, robes, and similar objects. MARNE (anc. Matrona), a river of France, which rises in the department of Haute-Marne, and, after a N. W. course of about 280 m., falls into the Seine near Paris. Its principal tributaries are the Ornain, Blaise, Petit-Morin, and Grand-Morin. The chief cities on its banks are Langres, Chaumont, Joinville, St. Dizier, Vitry-le-Francais, Chalons, Epernay, and Meaux. It is navigable from its junction with the Seine to St. Dizier, 210 m. The Marne is connected with the Rhine and Aisne by means of canals. MARNE, a N. E. department of France, in Champagne, bordering on Aisne, Ardennes, Meuse, Haute-Marne, Aube, and Seine-et- Marne; area, 8,159 sq. m. ; pop. in 1872, 386,157. The surface is an inclined plane, sloping from E. to W., and diversified by a few hills of moderate elevation. It is divided into two nearly equal parts by the river Marne, whence it derives its name. The land adjoin- ing this river is rich, but the soil elsewhere is in general light and barren. The principal riv- ers, besides the Marne, are the Aisne, Suippe, and Vesle in the north, and the Aube and Seine in the south. Great quantities of wine are made, mostly champagne. The most important manufacture is that of wool, which centres chiefly at Rheims. The department is divided into the arrondissements of Chalons-sur-Marne, Epernay, Rheims, Ste. Menehould, and Vitry- le-Francais. Capital, Chalons-sur-Marne. MARNE, Haute. See HAUTE-MARNE. MARNIX, Philip van. See ALDEGONDE, SAINTE. MAROCHETTI, Carlo, baron, an Italian sculp- tor, born in Turin in 1805, died in Paris, Dec. 28, 1867. He studied in Paris and Rome, and after 1848 went to London. Among his prin- cipal works are: "The Fallen Angel" (1831); a bronze statue of Emanuel Philibert, duke of Savoy, erected at Turin (1838); equestrian statue of the duke of Wellington, at Glasgow (1844); "Sappho" (1850); Richard Coeur de Lion, at London (1851); "Cupid and Grey- hound " (1854) ; equestrian statue of the queen, at Glasgow (1854) ; and statue of Wellington, at Strathfieldsay (1866). He was employed in a large number of monumental works, such as " The Battle of Jemmapes," a bass relief on the Arc de VEtoile, and the tomb of Napoleon in the Invalides, Paris ; monument to the British soldiers buried at Scutari, in London ; monu- ment to the officers of the Coldstream guards who fell at Inkerman, in St. Paul's cathedral, London ; and a monument to the princess Elizabeth, daughter of Charles L, in Newport church, Isle of Wight. He also executed a large number of portrait busts, among the best of which is one of Prince Albert. He was en- nobled by Charles Albert of Sardinia in 1838, and was elected a member of the royal academy in London in 1866.