MOSQUITO COAST
1270
MOTHS
able to gain access to such pools. Therefore every possible source of this kind must be hunted for when one is engaged in mosquito-extermination. " See Howard: Mosquitoes; Michell: Mosquitoes and Practical Side of Mosquito Extermination in Vol 23 of Science, PP- 379-85 (March 9, 1906)
Mosquito Coast, formerly an independent state under the protection of Great Britain, lies on the east side of Nicaragua, to which it now belongs. The land on the coast is swampy, but the mountain regions in the interior are healthy. The people are a mixed race, part Indian and part African, and number about 15,000. It was discovered by Columbus in 1502, and claimed by Spain. It was the home of the buccaneers in the i7th century, and subject to Britain from 1655 to 1850. The Mosquito Reserve (assigned to the mixed race of Indians) forms one of the departments of Nicaragua, and bears the name of Zelaya.
Moss. See Musci and MOSSES.
Moss, Florida, Spanish or Long, a flowering, gray plant hanging from trees, found in tropical America and in the United States from. Texas to Florida and eastern Virginia. The slender stem is often very long, the leaves narrow and scattered, the flowers small, inconspicuous, yellow. The gray drapery of the Spanish moss is a feature of our southern forests. It is used for packing, and sometimes is prepared for upholstery.
Moss, Sir Charles, was born at Cobourg, Ontario, in 1840. Called to the bar in 1869, he was an unsuccessful candidate for Parliament for one of the Ridings of Toronto in 1878 Engaged in very important cases in the High Court. In 1897 appointed a judge of the court of appeal. Has been vice-chancellor for several years of Toronto University. Appointed chief justice of Ontario in 1902. Administrator (in the absence of the lieutenant-governor) of the province on several occasions. A member of the board of governors of Toronto University. Member of the council of Wycliffe College; vice-president of Havergal Ladies7 College. Received knighthood in 1907.
Moss'es, a large class of flowerless plants. Found in all climates, they are most abundant in temperate regions and arctic lands; though found in dry places, they are found submerged. There are two great groups: bog-mosses and true mosses. A moss-plant consists of a stem with leaves and roots. Roots will grow out from any part of the plant. The plant produces what are called moss-flowers, something like a bud, but which really are an egg-cell; from the egg grows another plant, which remains on the parent plant and produces spores or seeds, when usually the mother-plant dies. In mountain regions there are thick beds of moss which soak up the rain and often prevent floods. The feeds of moss which are seen growing to-day in bogs are the tips of plants
which began life thousands of years ago, and have formed great beds of peat 20 feet thick. There are about 3,000 species of mosses. Irish moss is not a moss, but a seaweed, and Iceland moss is a lichen. The moss on trees is mostly lichens. Florida or Spanish moss is a flowering plant. See Musci.
Mother Goose. This name, familiar in connection with nursery rhymes, is of uncertain origin. Tales of Mother Goose was the title of a series of French stories as early as 1697. Mother Goose's Melodies was the title, again, of some nursery rhymes written by Elizabeth Goose in Boston in 1719. A set of rhymes was published for children by Newbery about the middle of the i8th century, again with the heading Mother Goose's Melody. In 1826 appeared Mother Goose's Quarto in Boston. Thus the name has become closely connected with nursery lore; but by what process we know not.
Moths, insects closely related to butterflies, but flying mostly at night. They usually have thread-like or feathery antennas, and hold their wings nearly flat when resting; butterflies usually hold theirs erect. Like butterflies, their wings are covered with scales, and, therefore, they belong to the order of Lepidoptera. There is a general impression that moths are smaller and more somber than butterflies, but, though this is true in reference to many moths and "millers," some of the largest and most beautiful of the Lepidoptera are moths. The Cecropia *and Promethea moths are large and beautiful forms with bright colors and eye-spots on their wings. The Luna moth, of a pale-green color, with eye-like spots having a transparent center on each wing, is especially attractive. The hawk-moths, coming from larvae like the tomato-worm, are examples of large moths. Among the best known moths are the silk-worms, whose cocoons supply most of the silk of commerce. Some of the smaller forms are very destructive to furs, woolen cloths and other fabrics. Many larvae are destructive to crops and trees, annually causing great loss. The army worm, cotton worm, tobacco worm and tent caterpillars are larvae of moths; the codling moth, sphinx moth, grape-berry moth, grape-leaf folder, plume moth, tussock moth and others work much ruin. The sphinxes or hawk moths are very beautiful but also very baneful. They are large and narrow-winged, visit flowers at dusk, frequently are mistaken for humming-birds. The larvae, which are very large, work much havoc on the grapevine, feeding upon the leaves; it is said that a single larva may strip or kill a grape-vine in two or three days. The moths appear in July, laying their eggs underneath grape-leaf or leaf of Virginia creeper. The plume moth is another enemy of the grape. Often one sees young grape-leaves curled up in little balls, examination of which will disclose the greenish-yellow larvae of the plume moth.
