MATS (Du. Matten; Fr. Naltes; Ger. Matten; It. Stuoje, Stoje; Port. Esteiras; Rus. Progoshki; Sp. Esteras), textures composed, for the most part, of flags, reeds, the bark of trees, rushes, grass, rattans, old ropes, &c. In this country mats are used for a great variety of purposes. The coarser sort are very largely employed in the packing of furniture and goods; in the stowage of corn and various other articles on board ship; in horticultural operations; in covering the floors of churches and other public buildings, &c.: the finer sorts are principally employed in covering the floors of private houses.

In Europe mats are principally manufactured for sale in Russia, where they are produced in immense quantities, forming an article of very considerable value and importance. They are partly formed of flags; but principally of the inner bark of the lime or linden tree, the latter being known in this country by the name of bust mats. The Russian peasants manufacture this sort of material into shoes; and in consequence of the vast quantity of matting made use of in this way, and in shipments abroad, the destruction of the linden tree is immense; though, as it grows rapidly, there is probably less risk of its exhaustion than Mr. Tooke seems to have supposed.-(View of Russia, vol. iii. p. 262.) In 1832 above 840,000 pieces of mat were exported from Archangel only; and in addition to this there is a very considerable exportation from Petersburgh, Riga, and other ports. Russian mats fetch at present (January, 1834), in the London market, 47. 108. per 100, duty (17. 3s. 9d. the 100) included. Mats not otherwise enumerated or described are subject to a duty of 20 per cent. ad valorem.

Various descriptions of reed mats are extensively manufactured in Spain and Portugal; some of them being very beautifully varied. In Spain large quantities of matting are made of the esparto rush.-(See ESPARTO.)

Rush floor mats, and rattan table mats of a very superior description are brought from China. They should be chosen clean, of a bright clear colour, and should, when packed, be thoroughly dry.

The mats of the Japanese are soft and elastic, serving them both for carpets and beds; they are made of a peculiar species of rush cultivated for the purpose.

The bags in which sugar is imported from the Mauritius consist of matting formed of the leaves of a tree growing in the island, interwoven in broad stripes. They are very strong and durable, and may be washed and cleaned without sustaining any injury. Being imported in large quantities, they are sold very cheap.-(Besides Tooke's Russia, already referred to, see Milburn's Oriental Commerce, and the valuable little work entitled Vegetable Substances, Materials of Manufactures, published by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge, pp. 116-123.)

It is probable that mats formed the first sort of wove fabrics produced by man; and it is worthy of remark that but few savage tribes have been discovered that have not attained to considerable eminence in their manufacture. On the coast of Guinea and other places on the west of Africa, pieces of fine mat, about a yard long, and of a pretty uniform texture, were denominated makkutes, and formed a sort of money; the value of commodities being rated and estimated in them !—(Morellet, Prospectus d'un Dictionnaire de Commerce, p. 122.) They enjoyed this distinction, no doubt, from their utility, and the great care and labour bestowed on their preparation. There is hardly an island in the South Seas in which the natives have not acquired great skill and dexterity in the making of mats. The finer sorts consist, generally, of dyed reeds or grass; and have a very brilliant appearance. MAURITIUS. See PORT Louis.

MEAD, OR METHEGLIN (Ger. Meht, Meth; Du. Meede, Meedrank; Fr. Hydromél; It. Idromele; Rus. Lipez), the ancient, and for a long time, the favourite drink of the northern nations. It is a preparation of honey and water. Manufacturers of mead for sale must take out an annual licence.

MEAL (Ger. Mehl; Du. Meel; Fr. and It. Farine; Sp. Farina, Rus. Muka; Lat. Farina), the edible part of wheat, oats, rye, barley, and pulse of different kinds, ground into a species of coarse flour.

MEDALS, are pieces of metal, generally in the form of a coin, and impressed with some peculiar stamp, intended to commemorate some individual or action. Medals are of very

different prices-varying according to their rarity and preservation, the fineness of the metal, the beauty of the workmanship, &c.

MEDITERRANEAN PASS. The nature of this sort of instrument has been described by Mr. Reeves, in his Treatise on the Law of Shipping, as follows:

"In the treaties that have been made with the Barbary states, it has been agreed, that the subjects of the King of Great Britain should pass the seas unmolested by the cruisers of those states; and for better ascertaining what ships and vessels belong to British subjects, it is provided that they shall produce a pass, under the hand and seal of the Lord High Admi ial, or the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty. In pursuance of these treaties, passes are made out at the Admiralty, containing a very few words, written on parchment, with ornaments at the top, through which a scolloped indenture is made: the scolloped tops are sent to Barbary; and being put in possession of their cruisers, the commanders are instructed

to suffer all persons to pass who have passes that will fit these scolloped tops. The protection afforded by these passes is such, that no ships, which traverse the seas frequented by these rovers, ever fail to furnish themselves with them, whether in the trade to the East Indies, the Levant, Spain, Italy, or any part of the Mediterranean; and from the more particu. lar need of them in the latter, they, no doubt, obtained the name of Mediterranean passes. For the accommodation of merchants in distant parts, blank passes, signed by the Lords of the Admiralty, are lodged with the governors abroad, and with the British consuls, to he granted to those who comply with the requisites necessary for obtaining them. As this piece of security is derived wholly from the stipulations made by the crown with a foreign power, the entire regulation and management of it has been under the direction of his Majesty, who, with the advice of his privy council, has prescribed the terms and conditions on which these passes shall be granted. Among others are the following:-They are to be granted for none but British-built ships, or ships made free, navigated with a master and 4ths of the mariners British subjects, or foreign protestants made denizens. Bond is to be given in the sum of 300/. if the vessel is under 100 tons, and in 500l. if it is that or more, for delivering up the pass within 12 months, unless in the case of ships trading from one foreign port to another; and such passes need not be returned in less than 3 years.

"It has been found expedient, at the conclusion of a war, and sometimes during a peace, to recal and cancel all passes that have been issued, and to issue others in a new form. This has been done for 2 reasons. 1st, That these useful instruments, by various means, either accidental or fraudulent, came into the hands of foreigners, who, under cover of them, carried on in security a trade which otherwise would belong to British subjects, and which had been purchased by the crown, at the expense of keeping up this sort of alliance. 2dly, That the Barbary states complained, that, adhering to the rule of fitting the other part of the indenture to the passes, they were obliged to suffer ships to pass that did not belong to British subjects."

The act 52 Geo. 3. c. 143. makes the forging of a Mediterranean pass felony without benefit of clergy. The 9 Geo. 4. c. 76. enacts, that no Mediterranean pass shall be issued for the benefit of any person as being an inhabitant of Malta or of Gibraltar but not being a person entitled to be an owner of a British registered ship, unless such person shall have resided at Malta or Gibraltar, respectively, upwards of 15 years previously to the 10th of October, 1827.

Mediterranean passes are either granted for 1 voyage, or are attached to the ship's certificate of registry, and are in force so long as the said certificate. A stamp duty of 21 is charged on each pass so issued. When issued in the colonies, they continue in force for 12 months to colonial ships, and for 1 voyage to British ships supplied with them. The duty on such passes is 5s.-We subjoin

An Account of the Amount paid by Ships for the Mediterrancan Pass; stating the Number of Passes granted, the aggregate Amount received in the Years 1828-9, and to what Purpose the same was applied. (Purl. Paper, No. 132. Sess. 1830.)

The foregoing fees for Mediterranean passes, after deducting the sums paid for stamps, have been applied, as all other fees are, in aid of the sum voted on the navy estimate for the contingent expenses of the Admiralty Office.

MEMEL, a commercial town of East Prussia, in lat. 55° 41′ 42′′ N., lon. 21° 8′ 14′′ E. Population 8,500. Memel is situated on the north-east side of the great bay, denominated the Currische Haf, near its junction with the Baltic. It is, consequently, the principal entrepôt of the country traversed by the Niemen, and as such enjoys a pretty extensive

commerce.

Harbour. The harbour of Memel is large and safe; but the bar at the mouth of the Currische Haf has seldom more than 17 feet water, and sometimes not more than 13 or 14 feet; so that ships drawing more than 16 feet water are frequently obliged to load and unload a part of their cargoes in the roads, where the anchorage is but indifferent, particularly when the wind is N. or N.W. A light-house, originally 75, but now 100 feet in height, has been erected on the N.E. side of the entrance to the harbour. The light, which is fixed and powerful, may be distinguished in clear weather at more than 20 miles distance. The outer buoy lies in 6 fathoms water, about a mile without the light-house, which bears from it, S.E. by E. E. The channel thence to the harbour is marked by white buoys on the north, and red on the south side. Three beacons to the north of the town, when brought into a line, lead directly into the harbour. Inasmuch, however, as the channel is subject to frequent changes, both in depth and direction, it is always prudent, on arriving at the outer buoy, to heave to for a pilot; but this is not obligatory; and the Prussian authorities have issued directions for ships enter

ing without a pilot, which may be found in Mr. Norrie's Sailing Directions for the Cattegat and Baltic, p. 36.

Trade.-Timber forms the principal article of export; for though that of Dantzic be considered better, it is generally cheaper, and almost always more abundant, at Memel. It comes principally from the estates of Prince Radzivil, and is floated down the river in rafts. Here, as at Dantzic, the best quality of all sorts of wood articles is called krohn, or crown, the 2d brack, and the 3d bracks brack. Large quantities of hemp and flax are also exported, as are bristles, hides, linseed (the finest for crushing brought to England), wax, pitch and tar, &c. The exports of grain are sometimes very considerable. The wheat of Lithuania is reckoned the best. All flax and hemp shipped from Meniel must be bracked, or assorted by sworn selectors.-(See FLAX, and HEMP.) The imports consist principally of coffee, sugar, spices, dye woods, tobacco, rum, cotton stuffs and yarn, cutlery, wine, &c. Merchants at Memel generally send their bills to Königsberg to be sold, charging their correspondents with 1 per cent. for bank commission, postages, &c. The navigation generally closes about the latter end of December, and opens about the middle of March.

Notwithstanding the difficulties which our corn laws and timber duties throw in the way of our commerce with Prussia, we have a very extensive intercourse with Memel. Our imports consist principally of fir timber, and the ships that go out are mostly only partially loaded, or in ballast. We subjoin an

Account of the Ships entering and clearing out from Memel in 1830, distinguishing those belonging to each Country, and those that entered and cleared out in Ballast.

The Monies, Weights, and Measures of Memel are the same as those of Dantzic; which see. For further particulars see Oddy's European Commerce, pp. 220-224.; Coulier sur les Phares; Ferber's New Contributions to a Knowledge of the Commercial State of the Prussian Monarchy (Germ.), Berlin, 1832; Jacob's First Report on the Agriculture of the North of Europe, &c.

MERCURY, OR QUICKSILVER (Fr. Vif argent; Ger. Quicksilber; It. Argento vivo; Sp. Azogue; Rus. Rtut; Lat. Hydrargyrum, Arab. Zibākh; Hind. Parah; Sans. Pārada). This metal was known in the remotest ages, and seems to have been employed by the ancients in gilding, and separating gold from other bodies, just as it is by the moderns. Its colour is white, and similar to that of silver; hence the names of hydrargyrum, argentum vivum, quicksilver, by which it has been known in all ages. It has no taste or smell. It possesses a good deal of brilliancy; and when its surface is not tarnished, it makes a very good mirror. Its specific gravity is 13.568. It differs from all other metals in being always fluid, unless when subjected to a degree of cold equal to -39°, when it becomes solid. The congelation of mercury was first observed in 1759.-(Thomson's Chemistry.)

Mercury is found in various parts of the world. Among the principal mines are those of Almaden, near Cordova, in Spain; Idria, in Carnolia; Wolfstein and Morsfield, in the Palatinate; Guancavelica, in Peru, &c. "Most of the ores of mercury are readily distinguished from those of any other metal; in the 1st variety, globules of the metal are seen attached to or just starting on the surface, which is at once a sufficient criterion, mercury being unlike every other metal; in the 2d, by the fine white colour, and the action of the blow-pipe, which sublimes the mercury and leaves the silver behind; the 3d, by its beautiful deep red tint, varying from cochineal to scarlet red, excepting in those termed hepatic cinnabars, which are generally of a lead grey; the 4th, by its grey colour, its partial solubility in water, and its complete volatilisation by heat, emitting at the same time an arsenical odour. Before the blow-pipe, these varieties burn with a blue flame and sulphurous odour, leaving more or less residue behind them, and which may consist of earthy matter, as silex and alumina, together with the oxides of iron and copper."-(Joyce's Chem. Min.)

Mercury is often adulterated by the admixture of lead, bismuth, zinc, and tin. When the metal quickly loses its lustre, is covered with a film, or is less fluid and mobile than usual, or does not readily divide into round globules, there is reason to suspect its purity.

It is stated by Dr. A. T. Thomson, in his Dispensatory-a work generally distinguished for its accuracy that most of the mercury used in this country is brought from Germany. But whatever may have been the case formerly, this is not certainly true at present. On the contrary, of 314,286 lbs. of quicksilver imported in 1831, none was brought from Germany; 269,558 lbs. were brought direct from Spain, and 13,714 lbs. from Gibraltar; of the latter, a part was derived from Carniola, and a part from Spain; 31,014 lbs. were brought from Italy. Only 192,310 lbs. were retained for home consump tion in 1831.-(Parl. Paper, No. 550. Sess. 1833.)

Quicksilver is produced in several of the provinces of China. During the war, when the intercourse between Europe and America was interrupted, the price of quicksilver rose to such a height in the latter, that it answered to import it from China. But since the peace it has been regularly exported to the latter. At an average of the 14 years ending with 1828, the imports of quicksilver by the English and Americans into Canton amounted to 648,085 lbs. a year, worth 340,262 dollars.-(Lords' Report of 1831, p. 657.)

There are 2 sulphurets of mercury; the black or ethiops mineral, and the red or cinnabar. When mercury and sulphur are triturated together in a mortar, the former gradually disappears, and the whole assumes the form of a black powder, denominated ethiops mineral. If this powder be heated red-hot, it sublimes; and on a proper vessel being placed to receive it, a cake is obtained, of a fine red colour, which is called cinnabar. This cake, when reduced to powder, is well known in commerce by the name of vermilion. Cinnabar may be prepared in various other ways.

Calomel, or protochloride of mercury (mercurius dulcis), is the most useful of all the preparations obtained from it. It is in the form of a dull white, semi-transparent mass, having a specific gravity of 7-176. It is more generally employed, and with better effect, than almost any other remedy in the whole range of the materia medica.

Besides its uses in medicine, mercury is extensively employed in the amalgamation of the noble metals, in water-gilding, the making of vermilion, the silvering of looking-glasses, the making of barometers and thermometers, &c.

MILE, the usual measure of roads in England, being 8 furlongs, or 1,760 yards. MILK (Fr. Lait; It. Latte; Lat. Lac), a fluid secreted by the female of all those animals denominated mammalia, and evidently intended for the nourishment of her offspring. The milk of every animal has certain peculiarities which distinguish it from all other milk. But the animal whose milk is most used by man, and with which, consequently, we are best acquainted, is the cow. The external character of all milk is that of a white opaque fluid, having a sweetish taste, and a specific gravity somewhat greater than that of water. When allowed to remain at rest, it separates into 2 parts; a thick whitish fluid called cream, collecting in a thin stratum over its surface, and a more dense watery body, remaining below. Milk which has stood for some time after the separation of the cream, becomes acescent, and then coagulates. When the coagulum is pressed gently, a serous fluid is forced out, and there remains the caseous part of the milk, or pure cheese.

Butter, one of the most valuable animal products, is solidified cream, and is obtained artificially by churning.-(See BUTTER.)

Milk has always been a favourite food of most European nations, and especially of the British. Lacte et carne vivant, says Cæsar of our ancestors; and the same articles still continue to form a large part of our subsistence. Mr. Middleton estimates (Agricultural Survey of Middlesex, 2d ed. p. 419.), that, in 1806, no fewer than 8,500 milch cows were kept for the supply of London and its environs with milk and cream; and he estimates the average quantity of milk obtained from each cow at nine quarts a day, or 3,285 quarts a year, leaving, every deduction being taken into account, 3,200 quarts of marketable produce. If Mr. Middleton be well founded in these estimates, we may reasonably calculate the number of cows that are at present kept in London and its environs at 9,000, and their annual produce at 28,800,000 quarts of milk. Now, as milk is sold by the retailers at 4d. a quart after the cream is separated from it, and as the cream is usually sold at 3s. a quart, and there is reason to suspect that a good deal of water is intermixed with the milk, we believe we should not be warranted in estimating that the milk, as obtained from the cow, is sold at less than 6d. a quart which gives 720,000l. as the total price of the milk consumed in the city and its inmediate vicinity. If to this sum were added the further sums paid for cheese and butter, the magnitude of the entire sum paid in the metropolis for milk, and the various products derived from it, would appear astonishing.

MILLET (Ger. Hirse; Fr. Millet, Mil; It. Miglio, Panicastrello; Sp. Mijo; Lat. Milium, Panicum miliaceum). There are 3 distinct species of millet; the Polish millet, the common or German millet, and the Indian millet. It is cultivated as a species of grain; and is sometimes employed to feed poultry, and as a substitute for rice. The Indian millet grows to a large size; but the autumns in England are seldom dry and warm enough to allow of its being cultivated here.-(Loudon's Ency. of Agriculture.)

MILL-STONES (Ger. Mühlsteine; Fr. Pierres meulières; It. Mole macine; Sp. Muelas de molino; Rus. Schernowoi kamen), the large circular stones, which, when put in motion by machinery, grind corn and other articles. The diameter of common mill-stones is from 5 to 7 feet, and their thickness varies from 12 to 18 inches. These stones have been principally imported from Rouen and other parts of France; the burr-stones of that country being supposed more durable than our own. Mill-stones are, however, found at Conway, North Wales, and in some parts of Scotland, which are said to equal any imported from foreign countries. Good mill-stones usually last 35 or 40 years.

"Milo," says Mr. Urquhart, "abounds in admirable mill-stones, which I believe answer better than the French burr for the hard wheat of the Black Sea, so much preferred in the Levant to the soft, though not so in England, for want of proper stones. These stones, of full dimensions, might be shipped at Milo for 51. or 61. the pair. But were they brought here, they would be met with a duty of 11 8s. the pair, whereas French burrs, a pair of which cost 357., pay but 10s. the 100."-(Turkey and its Resources, p. 146.) This extraordinary difference in the duty depends on the stones being under or over 4 feet in diameter. Surely, however, if a duty must be laid on such an article as mill-stones, common sense would suggest that it should be charged according to their weight or cubical contents. Were it not for the absurd way in which it is imposed, it is probable that stones from Milo might be brought home as ballast in some of the Turkey ships, all of which, except those loaded with currants. and grain, are light.

MINING COMPANIES. By this designation is commonly meant the associations formed in London, a few years ago, for working mines in Mexico and South America. The mania for mining concerns, which raged in London and the empire generally in 1824

and 1825, after the opening of Mexico and other parts of Spanish America to our intercourse, forms a remarkable, and, we are sorry to add, disgraceful era in our commercial history. Now that the madness is past, we have difficulty in conceiving how men in the habit of sober calculation could be led to entertain such romantic expectations, and to pay such high premiums for shares in distant and uncertain undertakings. We may, therefore, be excused for appropriating a page or two to the history of an infatuation hardly second to that which led to the South Sea and Mississippi schemes.

The mining companies formed at the outset had some sort of basis for favourable expectations, their directors having made contracts for a number of mines in Mexico, described by Humboldt as having enriched many hundred families. This particularly applies to the Real del Monte Company, whose mines are situated in the mountainous district of that name; to the Anglo-Mexican Company, whose mines are at Guanaxuato, the principal mining quarter in Mexico; and to the United Mexican Company, whose contracts, though far too widely spread, comprise several valuable mines at Zacatecas, Sombrerete, Guanaxuato, and other parts.

These associations were formed in London early in 1824, and during the spring and summer of that year their stock or shares bore only a small premium; but towards the winter it began progressively to rise, to the surprise of several of the directors; seeing that it arose less from any favourable intelligence of the mines (for the accounts from Mexico merely reported the arrival of the English agents) than from a blind ardour and spirit of speculation in the public, a spirit which, seeing nothing tempting in our own funds, or in those of continental Europe, directed itself to distant objects, and particularly to Spanish America. It appeared as if our countrymen were about to reap an immediate harvest; to lay their hands on a treasure hid for ages. America, it was said, had been discovered, in one sense, above 3 centuries; but this was the true discovery,-the effectual access to its resources. Every new contract for a Mexican mine produced a rise in the shares of the companies, as if this fresh undertaking must necessarily be a source of profit to the others! And the result was, that in January, 1825, the premium on the shares of each of the companies mentioned above exceeded cent. per cent., although no substantial reason could be given for any advance whatever. It must not, however, be imagined that this rise of price was occasioned solely by the competition of individuals who intended to continue to hold stock, and to trust to the dividends made by the companies for a return. That this was the case in the first instance, is, speaking generally, true. But others, actuated by very different views, speedily entered the field. A peculiar combination of circumstances, at the head of which must be placed an almost incredible degree of ignorance and folly on the part of a considerable portion of the public, spread a spirit of gambling among all classes. Many who were most eager in the pursuit of shares, intended only to hold them for a few days or weeks, to profit by the rise which they anticipated would take place, by selling them to others more credulous or bold than themselves. The confidence of one set of speculators confirmed that of others. Meanwhile the public gullibility, or rather its indiscriminating rapacity, was liberally administered to. Company after company was formed without any previous contract; in other words, without any foundation whatever! The plan was to fix on a district in America understood to contain mines; to form a company bearing the name of such district; to obtain a first payment from the shareholders, and to send out agents, or commissioners, as they were termed, to survey the district and engage mines. Such was the case of most of those having the names of districts in South America, subjoined to the present statement: it was the case also of the Hispaniola or St. Domingo Company, formed on the basis of accounts given by Dr. Robertson of mines wrought in that island some 3 centuries ago! And yet lawyers, clergymen, and even the nobles of the land, were candidates for shares in these miserable bubbles, in the hope of finding (in which, luckily, most of them were disappointed) some dupe to buy their shares at a premium.*

As the year 1825 proceeded, the mining mania gradually declined, not from any falling off in the prospects of the companies, but in the supply of money in London. Speculative merchants had made immense importations of cotton, silk, wool, timber, and other articles; money was, of course, wanted to pay for these; the banks were drained; discounts became difficult; mining shares and South American stock were brought to sale; and the holders found, to their cost, that the public had recovered its senses. The panic in December, 1825, took place; the shares of the 3 principal companies, some of which had been at a premium of 500 per cent., fell to par: that is, 1007. in money, and no more, could be got for 100%. of the company's stock! This price they maintained a considerable time, because most of the parties interested continued to have a favourable impression of the issue of their undertakings. *Those who may be desirous of seeing the extent to which the public credulity was practised upon in 1824 and 1825, may consult a pamphlet published by H. English, broker, in 1827, which contains an account of all the joint stock companies formed and projected in these memorable years. It presents a most extraordinary picture. There were in all 74 mining companies formed and projected! The number and quality of the other schemes were similar. It is due to Mr. Baring to say that he denounced the evil when in progress; and warned the unthinking multitude of the ruin they were bringing upon themselves; but to no purpose.