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throat; and a shining tongue. The murrain is occasioned by va-ious causes, but principally by a hot, dry season, or a generalcorruption of the air ; in consequence of which the blood becomesinflamed; the symptoms above stated speedily appear: and, ifno precautions are taken, the disease suddenly pi roves fatal. Itraged about the middle of the last century in various parts of the'Continent, and carried off great numbers of cattle, Tlie remedythen employed, both for its prevention and cure, consisted in amixture of equal parts of gunpowder, salt, soot, and brimstone:one spoonful of this composition was given for a dose, and washeddown with warm water. In the 36th vol. of Annals of Agricul-ture, the following recipe is inserted for the murrain in hogs: A-handful of nettles is to be previously boiled in a gallon of small-beer, when half a pound of Hour of sulphur, a quarter of a poundot elecampane, three ounces of liquorice, and a quarter of a poundof aniseeds, are to be added in a pulverized state. This prepara-tion should be administered in milk, and the quantity here statedis said to be sufficient for six doses. But the most effectual pre-ventative of this destructive contagion is, to keep the cattle coolduring the summer, and to allow them a sufficiency of water: allcarrion should be speedily buried; and as the feeding of thoseUseful animals in wet places, or on rotten grass or hay, frequentlycauses this malady, their food ought to consist of dry and sweetfodder.

MURRAY, William, Earl of Mansfield, the fourth son ofDavid, Earl of Stormouth, was born at Perth , in 1705. He waseducated at Westminster, and studied at Christ Church, Oxford ,"here he took his degrees. He afterwards travelled, and on hisreturn, entered at Lincoln’s Inn, and in due course was called tothe bar, where he soon distinguished himself by his abilities as anadvocate. On the 20th November 1738, he married Lady Eliza-beth Finch, daughter of Lord Winchelsea. In 1742, he was ap-pointed solicitor-general, and elected M. P. for Borough-bridge,in 1754 , he was appointed attorney-general, and in 1756, LordChief Justice of the King’s Bench, in the practice-of which courtlie made many improvements. He was soon after created BaronMansfield. In 1757, he was appointed chancellor of the Exche-quer, in which office he effected a coalition of parties, whereby anadministration was formed that carried the glory of Britain to amost unrivalled pitch. In 1776, he was created Earl of Mans-held. In 1780, when London was a scene of anarchy, his lord-ship’s house in Bloomsbury-Square was burnt by a lawless mob ;his valuable iibrary and MSS. annihilated, and even his personendangered. A resolution of the House of Commons was passedto make him a compensation for his loss; hut he generously re-vised to accept of any. Indeed no pecuniary recompence couldmake up for the loss of so great a man’s MSS. either to him or tothe republic of letters. In June 1788, he was obliged by theinfirmities of age to resign his office; on which occasion he re-ceived a most respectful address from the gentlemen of tlie bar,transmitted to him in their name by the Hon. Thomas Erskine .Dus great lawyer, whose abilities and probity will ever be anhonour to his country, died March 20th, 1793, aged 89, and hisremains lie interred in Westminster Abbey , between those of theEarl of Chatham, and Lord Robert Manners. As he died withoutEsue lfis titles and fortune descended to his nephew', the Earl ofStormont.

Murray, or Elginshire, or Moray, a county of Scotland ,extending along the coast on the Spey on the E. to Beauly on theW. which is the boundary of Ross-shire, It produces wheat, bar-my, oats, rye, pease, beans, hemp, and a great deal of flax ; ofMi ich linen is made, both for home-consumption and exportation,e^reat quantities of potatoes are also cultivated. Several hundreds

black cattle are exported. Peculiar to this province is a kindof Wood, called red saugh, or sallow; which is as beautiful as ma-hogany, much more firm and tough, and resembles the lighter-coloured kind of that wood. It receives a fine polish, hut is veryscarce.

Murray Islands, a cluster of islands of Scotland on tlie S. W.c °ast of Kirkcudbrightshire, 12 miles N. N. E. of Burrow-Head.

Mur raya, in botany, a genus of the monogynia order anddecandria class of plants. Calyx five-parted; corolla bell-shaped,Mth a nectary encircling the germ; berry one-seeded. There is“Jit one species, M. e>,'.otica„ash-leaved Murraya, a native of theEast Indies.

vcl. in.— N0 . iii„

M URRHINA VASA, or MURRHINE VESSELS, j

in antiquity, a delicate sort of cups and vases brought from theeast, which added not a little to the splendor of the Roman ban-quets.

MUS, in zoology, a numerous genus of quadrupeds belonging tothe order of glires, called Murine Quadrupeds by Mr. Kerr.Upper fore-teeth wedge-shaped : three grinders, sometimes, thoughrarely, only two, on each side of the jaws; clavicles or collar-bones complete. Very great improvements have been made in thearrangement of this genus by modern zoologists, since the time ofLinnaius. The Agouti, Ashkoko, Cavy , Dormouse, GuineaPig, Jerboa, Marmot, &c. which were included by Linnamsunder the genus Mus, have, in consequence of more accurateinvestigation, been separated from it, and arranged under five newgenera; viz. Arctomys, Cavia, Dipus, IJ yeax, and Myoxus.See these articles. And even the remaining genera arc still sonumerous, that, in the late edition of Linnseus’s Systema Naturae ,published by Dr. Gmelin, and translated by Mr. Kerr, they are“ subdivided into four sections ; I. Myocastores, or beaverrats, the individuals of which have tails flattened laterally at theends. II. Mures, or rats and mice ; which are subdivided into,1. Myosuri, having round naked tails : 2. Cunicularii, with roundhairy tails. HI. Criceti , or hamsters, having pouches in theircheeks, and short hairy tails. IV. Myotaipie, or mole-rats,called by Dr. Gmelin mures subterranes, having no externalears, very small eyes, very short tails or none ; and living entirely,under ground, like moles.

M. \Amfhibius, the Water-Rat, has a long tail; the upperparts of the body are covered with black hair mixed with yellow-ish, and the under parts ash-coloured ; the ears scarcely appearabove the fur ; the feet have three toes each, and the rudiments ofa fourth. 'Phis species, of which there are several varieties, differ-ing in the toes and in the colour, inhabit all Europe , the N. partof Asia as far as the icy sea, and North America. —They dwellchiefly near waters, forming burrows in their steep banks; aboutponds and ditches; likewise in marshy places, meadows, and gar-dens : feeding on roots, herbs, and shrubs; and on frogs, craw-fish, insects, small fish, and the fry of large ones. They swim anddive with great facility, and live much in the water. They arevery fierce, and bite severely. Their flesh is reckoned very deli-cate by the savage inhabitants of Russia ; and is eaten by theFrench along with that of the otter, in lent.

M. Cricetus, Hamster Rat . Of the "pouched rats the ham-ster is tlie most remarkable, and Indeed is the only European spe-cies provided with those peculiar receptacles, which are situatedon each side of the mouth, and when empty are so far contractedas not to appear externally, hut when filled resemble a pair oftumid bladders, having a smooth veiny surface, concealed, however,under (he fur or skin of the cheeks, which bulge out extremely inthis state. They are so large as to hold the quantity of a quarterof a pint, English measure. The bodies of tlie males are about 10inches long, and the tail about three, hut the females are scarcelymore than half so large: the former weigh from 12 to 16 ounces;,the lalterseldom above from four to six. Tlie head is thick, witha blunt nose ,and numerous whiskers, large lull black eyes, andlarge round open ears ; the head and back of a reddish brown colour,with red cheeks; the sides paler, with three white spots; thebreast, upper part of the fore-legs, and belly, are black; the feetlarae and white, with four toes, and a claw on the fore-feet, andlive toes on each hind-foot. Sometimes, though rarely, they, areentirely white or yellowish, or white w ith black spots on the back ;sometimes the snout is white, and the forehead r. h-coloured, or thelower jaw of a white colour. This species inhabits Siberia , the S.ot Russia, Poland, Sclavonia, Hungary, Silesia, Bohemia , andGermany beyond the Rhine, especially in Thuringia . Each indi-vidual forms a subterraneous burrow', consisting of several chambers,with two holes leading from the surface; one ot these is perpendi-cular, and the other, for their excrements, is oblique; the holes ofthe females have several perpendicular openings, and each youngone is lodged in a separate chamber. r I hese chambers are linedwith straw or grass; tlie rest are larger, and tilled with grain, beans,pease, lintseed, vetches, and other seeds, each in a separate cell.The chambers of tlie elder animals are dug several feet deep,while those of the younger seldom exceed a foot under the sur-face. The hamster sleeps during the winter; when in a torpid8 G state

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