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746 MONGHIR merous experiments in physics and chemistry, and investigations into the principles of geom- etry, which led to the foundation of a new and important department of that science, to which he gave the name of descriptive geometry. In 1780 he was made a member of the academy of sciences, and soon after assistant professor of hydrodynamics in Paris. During the revo- lution he was for a short time minister of ma- rine. Through his exertions the normal and polytechnic schools were established, and he taught in both. He accompanied the army into Italy and Egypt, and on his return was made president of the Egyptian commission, head of the polytechnic school, and member of the senate with the title of count of Pelusium ; but on the fall of Napoleon he was deprived of all his honors. He was the first who applied the differential calculus to the general theory of surfaces. His best known work is the Ge- ometrie descriptive (1799 ; 4th ed., 1819). MONGHIR, a town of British India, in Bengal, on the right bank of the Ganges, 80 m. E. S. E. of Patna ; pop. about 30,000. The numerous temples give it a fine appearance, and the pic- turesque and salubrious situation make it a fa- vorite residence for invalids. It contains 16 markets, extending H in. from N. to S. Infe- rior hardware and firearms are manufactured. The houses are mostly of the poorest descrip- tion. A rock jutting into the river is a shrine for pilgrims, and adjoining the bathing place was formerly a temple which has been con- verted into a mosque. The town is of great antiquity, and formerly contained a magnifi- cent palace. The fort, celebrated for its pic- turesqueness, is built on a prominent rock ; it is 4,000 ft. long and 3,500 ft. wide, and con- tains the official and European residences. It was once an important stronghold, but has de- clined in importance, and is falling to ruins. MONGOLIA, a country of Asia, part of the Chinese empire, lying between lat. 37 and 54 K, and about Ion. 85 and 125 E., bound- ed K by Siberia, K E. and E. by Mantchooria, S. by the Chinese provinces of Chihli, Shansi, Shensi, and Kansu, and W. by East Turkistan and Dzungari; area, about 1,300,000 sq. in.; pop. about 2,500,000, of whom 500,000 are Chinese. It is chiefly a plain, about 3,000 ft. above the sea, almost destitute of wood and water. In the central part the great sandy desert of Gobi stretches N. E. and S. W., occu- pying about a third of the entire area. The chief mountain ranges are the Altai and its sub- ordinate chains, which extend eastward, under the names of Tangnu-Oola and Kenteh, as far as the Amoor ; and the Ala-shan, In-shan, and Khingan ranges, which commence about lat. 38 and Ion. 107, and run N. E. and 1ST. to the Amoor, crossing into Mantchooria. The rivers are chiefly in the north. The Selenga, Orkhon, and Tola unite and flow into Lake Baikal. The Kerulen and Onon rise near each other on opposite sides of the Kenteh range, and flow N. E. to the Amoor. In the south, the coun- MONGOLIA try S. of the In-shan range is traversed by the Hoang-ho or Yellow river. In the N. W. part of the country lakes abound, the largest of which are the Upsa-nor, the Kossogol, and the Ike-aral. Mongolia is divided into four princi- pal regions : 1, Inner Mongolia, between the great wall and the desert of Gobi ; 2, Outer Mongolia, between the desert and the Altai mountains, reaching from the Inner Khingan to the Thian-shan ; 3, the country W. of the Ala-shan ; 4, Uliassutai and its dependencies. Inner Mongolia is divided into 6 corps and 24 tribes, which are subdivided into 49 stand- ards, each comprising about 2,000 families commanded by hereditary princes. The Kor- tchin (about 200,000) and the Ortoos (400,- 000) are the principal tribes. Another large tribe, the Tzakhars (180,000), occupy the re- gion immediately north of the great wall. Outer Mongolia is divided into four circles, each of which is governed by a khan or prince who claims descent from Genghis Khan. The Khalkas (250,000) are the principal tribe, and their four khanates are divided into 86 stand- ards, each of which is restricted to a particu- lar territory. The country W. of the Ala-shan is occupied by Torgots, Khoshots (120,000), Khalkas, and other tribes, arranged under 29 standards. Uliassutai is a town of 2,000 houses in the W. part of Mongolia, and lies in a well cultivated valley. Its dependent ter- ritories comprise 11 tribes of Khalkas divi- ded into 31 standards. Mongolia is supposed to be rich in metals and minerals. Its im- mense plains and forests are inhabited by mul- titudes of wild animals, among which are the elk, the stag, the wild goat, the wild ass, the yak, the brown and black bear, the ounce, and two species of tiger, besides hares, squir- rels, and foxes. The wolves of Mongolia are large and fierce ; they will pass through a flock of sheep to attack the shepherd. Among the birds are pheasants and eagles. The eagle is very common, and makes its nest where it pleases, the people never molesting it. The double-humped or Bactrian camel exists in both the wild and domesticated state, supplying ex- cellent milk and large quantities of butter and cheese. The soil of Mongolia is poor, and lit- tle of it is fit for cultivation on account of the want of moisture, neither rain nor snow fall- ing in sufficient quantities except on the accliv- ities of the mountain ranges. From the great elevation of the country and the dryness of the atmosphere, the climate is excessively cold. Mercury in some parts often remains frozen for weeks in succession. The winter lasts nine months, and is immediately succeeded by sum- mer, in which there are sometimes days of stifling heat. The nights are almost invariably cool. At all seasons the weather is subject to great and sudden changes. In the southern part of the country, where Chinese immigrants have introduced agriculture, the temperature has risen with the increase of cultivation, so that kinds of grain which formerly would not