Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XI.djvu/420

408 MERIDA MERIONETHSHIRE and bags are exported to Havana. The port of M6rida is Progreso, on the gulf of Mexico. M6rida was founded by Francisco de Mon- tejo the younger, on the site of the antique Maya town Te-hoo, in 1542; and it was erect- ed into a bishopric in 1561. MERIDA. I. A S. W. state of Venezuela, bor- dering upon Zulia (formerly Maracaybo), Tru- jillo, and Barinas, and the United States of Co- lombia; area, about 10,000 sq. m. ; pop. about 70,000, mostly Indians and mestizos. The sur- face is extremely uneven, being traversed in all directions by mountains belonging to the Andine chain, comprising 31 peaks exceeding 10,000 ft. in height. The highest summit is in the Sierra Nevada, 15,066 ft. Between the mountain ranges are lofty table lands and ex- tensive valleys. There are 75 rivers, 33 of which flow to the Orinoco through the plains of Barinas ; the largest is the Grita, a tribu- tary of the Zulia, navigable for 50 m. from the junction. There are several lakes of consid- erable size, among them the Lagunilla, 3,000 ft. above the sea, yielding large quantities of urao or sesquicarbonate of soda. Nearly all the productions of the torrid and temperate zones abound, and domestic animals are very numerous. II. A city, capital of the state, on a beautiful plateau, 5,421 ft. above the sea, 310 in. S. W. of Caracas; pop. about 6,000. The streets are regular, and the houses generally low and solidly constructed, owing to the fre- quency of earthquakes. The city has a cathe- dral, several chapels, a convent, a seminary, a college, and several primary schools. The climate, though subject to frequent and sudden changes, is considered tolerably healthy; the mean annual temperature is 50 F. The chief occupations of the inhabitants are agriculture, cattle rearing, and the manufacture of cotton and woollen fabrics, which are preferred by reason of their cheapness to those from Eu- rope. Woollen carpets, tastefully variegated with brilliant colored flowers from a native vegetable dye, are extensively made. Merida is the seat of an episcopal see, and was once second in importance among the cities of Ve- nezuela; but it has never fully recovered from the earthquake of 1812. MERIDEN, a town and city of New Haven co., Connecticut, on the New York, New Ha- ven, and Hartford railroad, 18 m. N. E. of New Haven; pop. in 1850, 3,559; in 1860, 7,426; in 1870, 10,495. The city is handsomely situ- ated and well laid out, and has gas and water works and a paid fire department. There are three post offices, Meriden, South Meriden, and West Meriden. Its manufactories employ a capital of about $5,650,000, and produce goods to the value of $7,500,000. The principal pro- ductions are iron castings, rolled brass, manu- factures of iron, steel, brass, bronze, and tin (including machinery and cutlery), woollens, carriages, cement pipe, and britannia and elec- tro-plated silver ware, the Meriden britannia company being the largest of its kind in the world. Meriden contains the state reform school for boys, 3 national banks, 2 savings banks, 33 public schools, 3 daily and 4 weekly newspapers, and 12 churches. It was incor- porated as a town in 1806, and as a city in 1867. MERIDIAN. See LONGITUDE. MERIMEE, Prosper, a French author, born in Paris, Sept. 28, 1803, died in Cannes, Sept. 23, 1870. He studied law, and wasreceived as ad- vocate, but did not practise. In 1830 he be- came secretary of the count d' Argon t, and suc- cessively officiated as secretary in the ministry of commerce and chief of bureau in the ministry of marine. In 1834 he succeeded M. Vitet as inspector of ancient historical monuments of France, which furnished him with the mate- rials for several valuable archaeological works. In 1844 he was elected to the French academy, as successor of Charles Nodier. In 1848 two letters published in the Revue des Deux Mondes on behalf of his friend Libri, who had been accused of purloining from public libraries, subjected him to an imprisonment of 15 days. In 1853 he was made a senator.- He contrib- uted to the romantic literature and drama of France the Theatre de Clara Gazul, comedienne espagnole (1825; new ed., 1865), a professed translation from the Spanish, and La Guzla, (1827). a professed collection of Illyrian songs. He wrote a series of novels, La double meprise, Colomba, Carmen, La Jacquerie, &c., and sev- eral historical works. Among the latter are Chronique du regne de Charles IX. (1829), Histoire de Don Pedre /., roi de Castille (Pa- ris, 1843), and Episode de Vhistoire de Rmsie : les faux Demetrius (1854). His Melanges his- toriques et litteraires appeared in 1855. His archaBological works are Peintures de Veglise de Saint-Savin (1845), and researches in Cor- sica and in the south and west of France. Sev- eral of his works have been translated into German and English. A posthumous work, Lettres d une inconnue (2 vols., Paris, 1873; English translation edited by R. H. Stoddard, New York, 1874), comprises a series of letters of travel and gossip from 1842 to Sept. 23, 1870, the last having been written two hours before his death. He left numerous manu- scripts, including an autobiography, announced in 1874 as in preparation for the press. MERINO SHEEP. See SHEEP. MERINTHUS. See CEKINTHUS. MERIONETHSHIRE, a maritime county of North Wales, bordering on Cardigan bay ; area, 602 sq. m. ; pop. in 1871, 46,598. The surface is almost entirely rocky and mountainous, sev- eral of its summits attaining a height of near- ly 3,000 ft. above the sea. The most cele- brated elevation is Cader Idris, whose summit is crowned with immense columns of crystal- line basalt, similar to those forming the Giant's Causeway in Ireland. The principal rivers are the Dee, Maw, and Dovy. The largest lake is Bala, 12 m. in circumference. The principal minerals are copper, limestone, and slate. At the slate quarries of Festiniog several thousand