Skye. It also breeds on St. Kilda. He also suspects that it nestles on the Blasquet isles off Kerry, and that it is the gourder of Mr. Smith.

28. Mergansers. This whole genus is mentioned among the birds that fill the Lapland lakes during summer. Mr. Pennant has seen the young of the red-breasted in the north of Scotland: a few of these, and perhaps of the goosanders, may breed there.

29. Ducks. Of the numerous species that form this genus, we know of few that breed here the swan and goose, the shield-duck, the eider-duck, a few shovellers, garganies, and teals, and a very small portion of the wild ducks.

The rest contribute to form that amazing multitude of water-fowl that annually repair from most parts of Europe to the woods and lakes of Lapland and other arctic regions, there to perform the functions of incubation and nutrition in full security. They and their young quit their retreat in September, and disperse themselves over Europe. With us they make their appearance the beginning of October; circulate first round our shores; and, when compelled by severe frost, betake them selves to our lakes and rivers. Of the webfooted fowl there are some of hardier constitutions than others: these endure the ordinary winters of the more northern countries; but when the cold reigns there with more than common rigour, they repair for shelter to these kingdoms: this regulates the appearance of some of the diver kind, as also of the wild swans, the swallow-tailed shield-duck, and the different sorts of goosanders which then visit our coasts. Barentz found the barnacles with their nests in great numbers in Nova Zembla. (Collect. Voy. Dutch East India Company, 8vo. 1703, p. 19.) Clusius, in his Exot, 368. also observes, that the Dutch discovered them on the rocks of that country and in Waygate Straits. They, as well as the other species of wild geese, go very far north to breed, as appears from the histories of Greenland and Spitzbergen, by Egede and Crantz. These birds seem to make Iceland a resting-place, as Horrebow observes: few continue there to breed, but only visit that island in the spring, and after a short stay retire still further north.

30. Corvorants. The corvorant and shag breed on most of our high rocks: the gannet in some of the Scotch isles, and on the coast of Kerry: the two first continue on our shores the whole year. The gannet disperses itself all round the seas of Great Britain, in pursuit of the herring and pilchard, and even as far as the Tagus to prey on the sardina.

But of the numerous species of fowl here enumerated, it may be observed how very few entrust themselves to us in the breeding season, and what a distant flight they make to perform the first great dictate of nature.

There seems to be scarcely any but what we have traced to Lapland, a country of lakes, rivers, swamps, and alps, covered with thick and gloomy forests, that afford shelter during

summer to these fowls, which in winter disperse over the greatest part of Europe. In those arctic regions, by reason of the thickness of the woods, the ground remains moist and penetrable to the woodcocks, and other slender-billed fowl; and for the web-footed birds, the waters afford larves innumerable of the tormenting gnat. The days there are long; and the beautiful meteorous nights indulge them with every opportunity of collecting so minute a food, whilst mankind is very sparingly scattered over that vast northern waste.

Why then should Linnéus, the great explorer of these rude deserts, be amazed at the myriads of water-fowl that migrated with him out of Lapland? which exceeded in multitude the army of Xerxes; covering for eight whole days and nights the surface of the river Calix ! His partial observation as a botanist would confine their food to the vegetable kingdom, almost denied to the Lapland waters; inattentive to a more plenteous table of insect food, which the all-bountiful Creator had spread for them in the wilderness. It may be remarked, that the lakes of mountainous rocky countries in general are destitute of plants: few or none are seen on those of Switzerland; and Linnéus makes the same observation in respect to those of Lapland, having during his whole tour discovered only a single specimen of a lemma trisulca, or ivy-leaved duck's meat, Flora Lap. No. 470; a few of the scirpus lacustris, or bullrush, No. 18; the alopecurus geniculatus, or flote foxtail grass, No. 38; and the ranunculus aquatilis, No. 234; which are all he enumerates in his Prolegomena to that excellent performance.

MIKANIA. In botany, a genus of the class syngenesia, order polygamia æqualis. Receptacle naked; calyx four or six-leaved; four or six-flowered; down simple. Fourteen species; natives of the East or West Indies; one or two of Sierra Leone; some with scandent, others with erect, stems.

MILAN, a city of Italy, capital of a duchy of the same name. It was the ancient capital of Lombardy; and although it is thought rather to exceed Naples in size, it does not contain above half the number of inhabitants. It is seated in a delightful plain, between the rivers Adda and Tesin; is 10 miles in circumference, and called by the Italians, Milan the Great. It contains many fine palaces, but that of the governor is the most magnificent: and a great number of churches, convents, hospitals, and schools. The cathedral is in the centre of the city, and, next to St. Peter's at Rome, is the most considerable in Italy. The number of statues, within and without, is prodigious; they are all of marble, and many of them finely wrought. This vast fabric, which the Milanese call the eighth wonder of the world, is entirely built of solid white marble, and supported by fifty columns. From the roof hangs a case of crystal, inclosing a nail, which, they say, is one of those by which our Saviour was fixed to the cross. The treasury belonging to this church is reckoned the richest

in Italy, next to that of Loretto. The college of St. Ambrose has a library, which, besides a prodigious number of manuscripts, contains 45,000 printed books; and its superb gallery is adorned with rich paintings. Milan has considerable commerce in grain (especially rice), cattle, and cheese; and has manufactures of silk and velvet stuffs, stockings, handkerchiefs, ribands, gold and silver lace and embroideries, woollen and linen cloths, glass, and earthenware in imitation of China. It has been several times taken in the wars that have desolated Italy; the last time by the French, in June 1796. It is the see of an archbishop; and is 70 miles north of Genoa, 72 north-east of Turin, and 145 north-west of Florence. Lon. 9. 16 E. Lat. 45. 28 N.

MILAN, OF MILANESE, a duchy of Italy, 150 miles long, and 78 broad; bounded on the N. by Swisserland and the country of the Grisons, on the E. by the republic of Venice and the duchies of Parma and Mantua, on the S. by the duchy of Parma and the territory of Genoa, and on the W. by Piedmont and Montferrat. The soil is every where fertile in corn, wine, fruits, rice, and olives. The rivers are the Secchia, Tesin, Adda, and Oglio; and it has several lakes, the principal of which are those of Maggiore, Como, and Lugano, This country having formerly been possessed by the French, next by the Spaniards, and afterward by the Germans, the troops of those nations have produced a style of manners, and stamped a character, in the inhabitants of this duchy, different from what prevails in any other part of Italy; and nice observers imagine they perceive in the manners of the Milanese the politeness, formality, and honesty imputed to those three nations, blended with the natural ingenuity of the Italians. This duchy was entirely overrun by the French in 1796, and formed the principal part of their Cisalpine republic. On the renewal of hostilities, however, in 1799, it was soon reconquered by the allies. At present it is at the disposal of the emperor of the French.

MILAZZO, a strong seaport of Sicily, in Val-di-Demona. It is divided into the upper and lower town; the upper is very strong, and the lower has a fine square, with a superb fountain. It is seated on a rock, on the W. side of a bay of the same name, 13 miles W. of Messina. Lon. 15. 34 E. Lat. 38. 12 N.

MILBORN-PORT, a borough in Somersetshire, which has no market, but sends two members to parliament. It has manufactures of woollen cloth, linen, and hosiery; and is seated on a branch of the Parret, two miles E. by N. of Sherborn, and 115 W. by S. of London. Lon. 2. 38 W. Lat. 50. 53 N.

MILBOURNE (Luke) an English divine, was A. M. and rector of St. Ethelburga in London. He published several single sermons, a poetical version of the Psalms, and several poems and pamphlets, for which Pope gives him a place in the Dunciad. He died in 1720,

MILCH. a. (from milk.) Giving milk (Shakspeare).

MILD. a. (milo, Saxon.) 1 Kind; tender; good; indulgent; merciful; compassionate; clement (Rogers). 2. Soft; gentle; not violent (Pope). 3. Not acrid; not corrosive; not acrimonious; demulcent; assuasive (Arbuthnot). 4. Not sharp; mellow; sweet; having no mixture of acidity (Davies).

MILDENHALL, a town in Suffolk, with a market on Friday; seated on the Larke, a branch of the Ouse, 13 miles N. by E. of Newmarket, and 69 N.N.E. of London. Lon. 0. 26 E. Lat. 52. 29 N.

MILDEW, in botany. See MUCOR, and ECIDIUM.

To MILDEW. v. a. To taint with mildew (Gay).

MILDLY. ad. (from mild.) 1. Tenderly; not severely (Dryden). 2. Gently; not violently (Bacon).

MILDNESS. s. (from mild.) Gentleness; tenderness; mercy; clemency (Addison).

MILE, a measure of length or distance, containing eight furlongs. The English statute-mile is 80 chains, or 1760 yards; that is, 5280 feet. We shall here give a table of the miles in use among the principal nations of Europe, in geometrical paces, 60,000 of which make a degree of the equator.

MILESTONE. s. (mile and stone.) Stone set to mark the miles.

MILETO, an ancient town of Naples, in Calabria Ulteriore, with a bishop's see, five miles from Nicotera.

MILETS, anciently MILETUS, a town of Turkey in Asia, in Natolia, 64 miles S. of Smyrna. Lon. 27. 14 E. Lat. 38. 22 N.

MILETUS (anc. geog.), a town of Crete mentioned by Homer; but where situated does not appear. It is said to be the mothertown of Miletus in Caria, whither a colony was led by Sarpedon, Minos's brother, (Ephorus, quoted by Strabo.) Milesii, the people, (Ovid.)

MILETUS (anc. geog.), a celebrated town of Asia Minor, on the confines of Ionia and Caria. It was the capital city of all Ionia, and famous both for the arts of war and peace. It

was situated about 10 stadia south of the mouth of the river Mæander, near the sea-coast. It was founded by a Cretan colony under Miletus, the companion of Bacchus; or (according to others) by Neleus the son of Codrus; or by Sarpedon a son of Jupiter. It has successively been called Lelegeis, Pithyusa, and Anactoria. The inhabitants, called Melesii, were very powerful, and long maintained an obstinate war against the kings of Lydia. They early applied themselves to navigation, and planted no less than 80 colonies, or (according to Seneca) 380, in different parts of the world. It was the only town that made head against Alexander, and with much difficulty taken. It gave birth to Thales.

MILETUS, a son of Apollo, who fled from Crete to avoid the wrath of Minos, whom he meditated to dethrone. He came to Caria, where he built or conquered a city which he called by his own name.

MILFOIL, in botany. See ACHILLEA. MILFORD, a town of the state of Delaware, in the county of Sussex, seated at the source of a small river, 15 miles from the bay of Delaware, and 150 S. of Philadelphia. MILFORD, a town of S. Wales, in Pembrokeshire, on the N. coast of Milford Haven. A company of quakers, from America, have formed a plan for establishing here a whale fishery in the southern seas. A new quay has been built, and a considerable number of buildings erected toward forming a town. It is six miles W.N.W. of Pembroke, and six S.S.W. of Haverfordwest.

MILFORD HAVEN, a deep inlet of the Irish sea, on the coast of Pembrokeshire. It branches off into so many creeks, secured from all winds, that it is esteemed the safest and most capacious harbour in Great Britain; but its remote situation greatly impairs its utility. At the entrance, on the W. point, called St. Ann's, is an old lighthouse and a blockhouse. Here the earl of Richmond, afterwards Henry VII. landed, on his enterprise against Richard III. A packet-boat sails hence every day, except Tuesday, for Waterford, in Ireland.

MILIANE, a town of the state of Algiers in Tremesen, with a castle. It is seated in a country fertile in oranges, citrons, and other fruits, the best in Barbary. Lon. 2. 35 E. Lat. 35. 15 N.

MILIARIA. (miliaria, from milium, millet: so called because the small pustules or vesicles upon the skin resemble millet-seed). Miliary fever. A genus of disease in the class pyrexia, and order exanthemata of Cullen; characterised by synochus: cold stage considerable: hot stage attended with anxiety and frequent sighing; perspiration of a strong and peculiar smell; eruption preceded by a sense of pricking, first on the neck and breast, of small red pimples, which in two days become white pustules, desquamate, and are succeeded by fresh pimples. For the eruption similar to miliaria, but unattended with fever. See Su

DAMINA.

MILIARY.a. (milium, Lat. millet.) Small; resembling a millet-seed (Cheyne). MILIARY FEVER. A fever that produces small eruptions. See MEDICINE.

MILICE.S. (Fr.) Standing force (Temple). MILITANT.a.(militans, Latin.) 1. Fighting; prosecuting the business of a soldier (Spenser). 2. Engaged in warfare with hell and the world. A term applied to the church of Christ on earth, as opposed to the church triumphant (Rogers).

MILITAR. MILITARY. a. (militaris, Latin. Militar is now out of use.) 1. Engaged in the life of a soldier; soldierly (Shakspeare). 2. Suiting a soldier; pertaining to a soldier; warlike (Prior). 3. Effected by soldiers (Bacon).

MILITARY TENURES. See TENURE, FEODAL SYSTEM, and KNIGHT.

MILITARY WAYS (via militares), are the large Roman roads which Agrippa procured to be made through the empire in the time of Augustus, for the more convenient inarching of troops and conveyance of carriages. N. Bergier has written the history of the origin, progress, and amazing extent of these military roads, which were paved from the gates of Rome to the extreme parts of the empire. See WAY.

MILITIA, in general, denotes the body of soldiers, or those who make a profession of arms. In a more restrained sense, militia denotes the trained bands of a town or country, who arm themselves, upon a short warning, for their own defence. So that, in this sense, militia is opposed to regular or stated troops.

With us, however, militia signifies the national soldiery; the standing force of the nation. It seems universally agreed by all historians, that king Alfred first settled a national militia in this kingdom, and by his prudent discipline made all the subjects of his dominions soldiers; but we are unfortunately left in the dark as to the particulars of this celebrated regulation

The feodal military tenures were established for the purpose of protection, and sometimes of attack against foreign enemies: (see this Dictionary, title TENURES.) For the further defence in cases of domestic insur.ections or foreign invasions, various other plans have been adopted, all of them tending to unite the character of a citizen and soldier in one. First, The Assize of Arms, enacted 27 H. 2, and afterwards the stat. of Winchester, 13 E. 1. c. 6, obliged every man, according to his state and degree, to provide a certain quantity of such arms as were then in use; and it was part of the duty of constables under the latter statute to see such arms provided. These weapons were changed by stat. 4 & 5 P. & M. c. 2, into more modern ones; but both these provisions were repealed by stats. 1 Jac. 1. c. 25; 21 Jac. 1. c. 28. While these continued in force, it was usual, from time to time, for our princes to issue commissions of array; and send into every county officers in whom they could

confide, to muster and array (or set in military order) the inhabitants of every district; and the form of the commission of array was settled in parliament, anno 5 Hen. 4, so as to prevent the insertion therein of any new penal clauses. Rushw. pt. 3. p. 662, 7. See 8 Rep. 375, &c. But it was also provided by stats. 1 E. 3. st. 2. cc. 5, 7: 25 E. 3. st. 5. c. 8, that no man should be compelled to go out of the kingdom at any rate, nor out of his shire, but in cases of urgent necessity; nor should provide soldiers unless by consent of parliament. About the reign of king Henry VIII, or his children, lieutenants began to be introduced, as standing representatives of the crown to keep the counties in military order; for we find them mentioned as known officers in the stat. 4 & 5 P. & M. c. 3, though they had then not been long in use; for Camden speaks of them in the time of queen Elizabeth, as extraordinary magistrates constituted only in times of difficulty and danger. But the introduction of these commissions of lieutenancy, which contained iu substance the same powers as the old commissions of array, caused the latter to fall into disuse. In this state things continued till the repeal of the statutes of armour in the reign of king James I.; after which, when king Charles I. had, during his northern expeditions, issued commissions of lieutenancy, and exerted some military powers, which having been long exercised, were thought to belong to the crown, it became a question in the long parliament, how far the power of the militia did inherently reside in the king; being now unsupported by any statute, and founded only upon immemorial usage. This question, long agitated with great heat and resentment on both sides, became at length the immediate cause of the fatal rupture between the king and his parliament: the two houses not only denying this prerogative of the crown, the legality of which might, perhaps, be somewhat doubtful; but also seizing into their own hands the entire power of the militia; the illegality of which step could never be any doubt at all.

Soon after the restoration of king Charles II. when the military tenures were abolished, it was thought proper to ascertain the power of the militia, to recognise the sole right of the crown to govern and command them, and to put the whole into a more regular method of military subordination. And the order in which the militia now stands by law is princi. pally built upon the stats. 13 Č. 2. c. 6: 14 C. c. 3: 15 C. 2. c. 4. which were then enacted. It is true, the two last of them are apparently repealed, but many of their provisions are re-enacted with the addition of some new regulations by the present militia laws: the general scheme of which is to discipline a certain number of the inhabitants of every county chosen by lot formerly for three, but now (by stat. 26 Ĝeo. 3. c. 107) for five years, and officered by the lord lieutenant, the deputy lieutenants, and other principal landholders, under a commission from the crown, They are not compellable to march out of

their counties unless in case of invasion or actual rebellion within the realm, (or any of his majesty's dominions or territories, stat. 16 Geo. 3. c. 3.) nor in any case compelled to march out of the kingdom. They are to be exercised at stated times; and their discipline in general is liberal and easy; but when drawn out into actual service, they are subject to the rigours of martial law, as necessary to keep them in order. This is the constitutional security which our laws have provided for the public peace, and for protecting the realm against foreign or domestic violence. See stats. 2 Geo. 3. c. 20: 9 Geo. 3. c. 42: 16 Geo. 3. c. 3: 18 Geo. 3. cc. 14, 59: 19 Geo. 3. c. 72: 26 Geo. 3. c. 107 and 1 Comm. 410, &c.

The act reducing into one all the laws relating to the militia is stat, 26 Geo. 3.c. 107. This mentions the particular quota of each county and district in England and Wales, the whole number amounting to 30,740. And it is by this act provided, that in cases of actual invasion or imminent danger thereof, and in cases of rebellion and insurrection, his majesty may embody the militia: and if parliament is not then sitting, they are to meet by proclamation in 14 days.

Subsequent acts have given rise to the supplementary militia, the local militia, &c. but we have not room to describe these acts here.

MILIUM, MILLET, in botany, a genus of the digynia order, belonging to the triandria class of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the fourth order, Gramina. The calyx is bivalved and uniflorous; the corol is very short; the stigmata pencil-like. There are five species, of which the most remarkable is the panicum, or common millet. This is a native of India, but is now commonly cultivated in many parts of Europe as an esculent grain. It rises, with a reed-like stalk, three or four feet high, and channelled. at every joint there is one reed-like leaf, which is joined on the top of the sheath, and embraces and covers that joint of the stalk below the leaf; this sheath is closely covered with soft hairs, but the leaf which is expanded has none. The top of the stalk is terminated by a large loose panicle, which hangs on one side, having a chaffy flower, which is succeeded by a small round seed. There are two varieties; one with white, and the other with black seeds; but they do not differ in any other particular. This plant is greatly cultivated in the oriental countries, and from whence we are annually furnished with it. It is seldom cultivated in Britain, but in small gardens, for feeding of poultry, where the seeds generally ripen very well. It is used as an ingredient in puddings, and is by some people greatly esteemed. The seeds must be sown in the beginning of April, upon a warm dry soil, but not too thick, because the plants divide into several branches, and should have much room. When they come up, they should be cleansed from weeds; after which they will in a short time get the better of them, and prevent the future growth. In August the seeds will ripen, when the