MALTESE CROSS 95 MALVERN HILL Both the vine and olive are cultivated, and fruit, particularly figs and oranges, is very abundant. The manufactures con- sist of cotton goods, lace, jewelry, etc. The central position of Malta in the Mediterranean makes Valetta an inval- uable naval station, although the harbor is open to objection on account of its small size; it has been provided with ex- cellent docks and very strong fortifica- tions. The climate is very hot in sum- mer, but pleasant and healthy in winter, attracting many visitors at this season. During the World War Malta was an important naval station for the British and the Allied navies. Malta passed successively through the hands of the Phoenicians, Greeks, and Carthaginians, and was finally attached to Rome during the 2d Punic war. After the fall of the Roman empire it was seized at different times by Vandals, Goths, and Saracens. From the last it passed to Sicily, and followed its fortunes till 1522, when Charles V. granted it to the order of St. John of Jerusalem. In 1798 the grand-master surrendered it without defense to Napoleon. It was tak- en by the British in 1800, and finally an- nexed by them in 1814. The executive government is in the hands of a governor and council. Excavations carried on in 1916-1918 have revealed the existence of an advanced primitive civilization. The educational institutions include a univer- sity, a iyceum, secondary schools, besides primary and infant schools. Besides the capital Valetta and the "Three Cities" adjoining there are several considerable towns or villages. MALTESE CROSS, a cross formed of four arrow-heads meeting at the points; the badge of the Knights of Malta. _ The eight points of this cross are said to symbolize the eight beatitudes. This form of cross is the emblem of the order known as "King's Daughters and Sons." MALTESE DOG, a small variety of spaniel, with long, silky hair, most fre- quently white; the muzzle is round. MALTESE ISLANDS. See MALTA. MALTHUS, THOMAS ROBERT, an English political economist; born in Al- bury, Surrey, England, Feb. 14, 1766. He was appointed about 1805, Professor of History and Political Economy in the col- lege of the East India Company at Haileybury, and continued to hold that situation till his death. His best known work, the "Essay on the Principle of Population," first appeared in 1798. It was subsequently enlarged, and passed through many editions. The Malthusian system is founded on the hvnothesis that population increases in a geometrical, while provisions only increase in an arithmetical ratio. He died in Bath, Dec. 29, 1834. MALTING, a process by which barley, wheat, rye, or any other description of grain is converted into malt. MALTOSE. Malt sugar, Ci^HssOn. A sugar formed from starch by the enzyme diastase. Dextrin is first produced and this is further acted upon by diastase to form maltose. Pure maltose crystal- lizes from water in the form of crystal- line flakes. The commercial product, however, occurs, mixed with more or less dextrin, as a thick syrup, varying in color from dark reddish brown to pale straw yellow. It is prepared from barley, by soaking the grain in water and then allowing it to sprout by keeping it in a moist atmosphere at a carefully regu- lated temperature. During this process, the enzyme diastase is formed in the grain. When the grain has sprouted sufficiently, which occurs in from nine to twenty-one days, it is dried in a kiln, the higher the temperature of drying the darker being the malt produced. The malt is then stirred with water and kept at 60-65° C. in order to bring about dia- static fermentation, by which process the starch in the grain is converted into dextrin and maltose. CeHioOs + H2O = Ci.H.30it + C.H10O3 Starch Water Maltose ^ Dextrin The extract thus produced is clarified and decolorized by treatment with car- bons and by other methods, and is then evaporated to the consistency of a thick syrup. It is used in the manufacture of candy and soft drinks, and to an in- creasing extent as a table syrup, and for domestic purposes as a substitute for cane sugar. MALVERN, GREAT, one of the most fashionable watering-places in England, on the E. side of the Malvern Hills, at the foot of the Worcestershire Beacon, from the summit of which (1,444 feet above the sea-level) extensive views are obtained. It is irregularly laid out, and has a fine cruciform church, with a square embattled tower 124 feet high rising from the center, rebuilt in the reign of Henry VII., and restored in 1860-1861. On the outskirts is Malvern College. Madame Goldschmidt (Jennie Lind) resided near Malvern many years previous to her death. Pop. about 17,000. MALVERN HILL, an eminence near the James river, S. E. of Richmond, Va. Here, on July 1, 1862, the Confederates under Lee were defeated by the Union army under McClellan.
