MAPLE 114 MARACAIBO thor of "On the Trifles of the Court," a notebook of the events of the day and of court gossip; and to him is attributed a collection of rhymed Latin verse, in which the abuses of the Church are hit off with vigor and humor. Among the most remarkable of these are the satiri- cal "Apocalypse" and the "Confession of Bishop Golias." He died about 1210. MAPLE, a name for trees of the genus Acer, order Aceracese or Sapindxiceae, peculiar to the N. and temperate parts of the globe. About 50 species are known, distributed through Europe, North Amer- ica, and different parts of Asia. They are small or large trees, with a sweetish, rarely milky, sap, opposite deciduous, simple, usually lobed leaves, and axillary and terminal racemes or corymbs or small greenish flowers. The wood of the great maple {A. Pseiido-platamis) is valuable for various purposes, as for carving, turnery, musical instruments, wooden dishes, etc. Another well-known species is the Norway maple {A. planta- noides), often planted as an ornamental tree. The sugar or rock maple (A. sac- cliarinwm) is the most important Ameri- can species. Some other American species are the white maple {A. dasycarpum), the red or swamp maple (A. nibrtiw), the striped maple or moose wood (A. pennsylvanicum) , the mountain maple (A. spicatum), the vine maple (A. circi- ivatum), and the large-leaved maple (A. niacrophyllum) . MAQXJI (mak'we) (Aristotelia Ma- qui) , the only known species of the genus, which belongs to the natural order Tilia- cese, and has been made the type of a proposed order. It is an evergreen or sub-evergreen shrub, of considerable size, a native of Chile. The wood is used for making musical instruments, and the tough bark for their strings. MAR, an ancient district of Scotland between the Dee and the Don, comprising nearly the S. half of Aberdeenshire, and subdivided into Braemar, Midmar, and Cromar. MARABOU (mar-a-bo'), the popular name for at least two species of storks of the genus Leptoptilus, the vent feathers of which were formerly much esteemed as ornaments and for ladies' headdresses. L. argala is the Asiatic marabou or adju- tant. L. marabou, a smaller species, is from tropical Africa, where it assists the vultures in consuming the filth of the negro villages. It is, if possible, uglier than its Asiatic congener, but its deli- cate vent feathers are equally valued. MARACAIBO, or MARACAYBO (ma- ra-ki'bo), a city of Venezuela, capital of the state of Zulia, on the W. shore (rf the strait which connects the lake and gulf of Maracaibo. It is a handsome town, with many gardens and squares, a college, hospitals, a theater, the usual government buildings, a custom house, wharves, and a number of manufac- tories. The climate is hot, the soil sandy, and the place unhealthy. The staple ex- port is coffee; boxwood, lignum vita;, cedar, and other woods, besides dividivi, hides and skins, and some cocoa, gums, and fish sounds, are the other exports. Pop. about 60,000. MARACAIBO, GULF OF, or GULF OF VENEZUELA, a wide inlet of the Carribean Sea, extending from_ the pe- ninsulas of Paraguana and Guajira to the MARABOU strait by which it is connected with the lake. The latter forms the floor of a great valley, shut in by lofty mountains. Its waters are sweet, and deep enough for the largest vessels; but the bar at the mouth, where a swift current runs, makes entrance difficult. The gulf and lake were discovered in 1499 by Ojeda, who found here houses built on piles, and so gave the district the name Vene- zuela ("Little Venice"), which was afterward extended to the entire country.
