pass from one country to another, and spend the summer or the winter where it is most agreeable to them; and that even the birds of our own island will seek the most distant southern regions of Africa, when directed by a peculiar instinct to leave their own country. It has long been an opinion pretty generally received, that swallows reside during the win ter-season in the warm southern regions; and Mr. Adanson particularly relates his having seen them at Senegal, when they were obliged to leave this country. But besides the swallow, Mr. Pennant enumerates many other birds which migrate from Britain at different times of the year, and are then to be found in other countries; after which they again leave these countries, and return to Britain. The reason of these migrations he supposes to be a defect of food at certain seasons of the year, or the want of a secure asylum from the persecution of man during the time of courtship, incubation, and nutrition. The following is his list of the migrating species.

1. Crows. Of this genus, the hooded crow migrates regularly with the woodcock. It inhabits North Britain the whole year: a few are said annually to breed on Dartmoor in Devonshire. It breeds also in Sweden and Austria in some of the Swedish provinces it only shifts its quarters, in others it resides throughout the year. Our author is at a loss for the summer retreat of those which visit us in such numbers in winter, and quit our country in the spring; and for the reason why a bird, whose food is such that it may be found at all seasons in this country, should leave us.

2. Cuckoo. Disappears early in autumn; the retreat of this and the following bird is quite unknown to us.

3. Wryneck. Is a bird that leaves us in the winter. If its diet be ants alone, as several assert, the cause of its migration is very evident. This bird disappears before winter, and revisits us in the spring, a little earlier than the cuckoo.

4. Hoopoe.-Comes to England but by accident: Mr. Pennant, once indeed heard of a pair that attempted to make their nest in a meadow at Selborne, Hampshire, but were frightened away by the curiosity of people. It breeds in Germany.

5. Grouse.-The whole tribe, except the quail, lives here all the year round: that bird either leaves us, or else retires towards the seacoasts.

6. Pigeons. Some few of the ring-doves breed here: but the multitude that appears in the winter is so disproportioned to what continue here the whole year, as to make it certain that the greatest part quit the country in the spring. It is most probable they go to Sweden to breed, and return from thence in autumn; as Mr. Ekmark informs us, they entirely quit that country before winter. Multitudes of the common wild pigeons also make the northern retreat, and visit us in winter; not but numbers breed in the high cliffs in all parts of this island. The turtle also probably leaves us in

the winter, at least changes its place, removing to the southern counties.

7. Stare. Breeds here. Possibly several remove to other countries for that purpose, since the produce of those that continue here seems unequal to the clouds of them that appear in the winter. It is not unlikely that many of them migrate into Sweden, where Mr. Berger observes they return in spring.

8. Thrushes.-The fieldfare and the redwing breed and pass their summers in Norway and other cold countries; their food is berries, which abounding in our kingdoms tempt them here in the winter. These two, and the Royston crow, are the only land birds that regularly and constantly migrate into England, and do not breed here. The hawfinch and crossbill come here at such uncertain times as not to deserve the name of birds of passage.

9. Chatterer. The chatterer appears annually about Edinburgh in flocks during winter, and feeds on the berries of the mountainash. In South Britain it is an accidental visitant.

10. Grosbeaks. The grosbeak and crossbill come here but seldom; they breed in Austria. The pine grosbeak probably breeds in the forests of the Highlands of Scotland.

11. Buntings. All the genus inhabits England throughout the year, except the greater brambling, which is forced here from the north in very severe seasons.

12. Finches. All continue in some parts of these kingdoms, except the siskin, which is an irregular visitant, said to come from Russia. The linnets shift their quarters, breeding in one part of this island, and remove with their young to others. All finches feed on the seeds of plants.

13. Larks, Fly-catchers, Wagtails and Warblers. All of these feed on insects and worms; yet only part of them quit these kingdoms, though the reason of migration is the same to all. The nightingale, black cap, fly-catcher, willow-wren, wheat-ear, and white-throat, leave us before winter, while the small and delicate golden-crested wren braves our severest frosts. The migrants of this genus continue longest in Great Britain in the southern counties, the winter in those parts being later than in those of the north; Mr. Stilling fleet having observed several wheat-ears in the isle of Purbeck on the 18th of November. As these birds are incapable of very distant flights,* Spain, or the south of France, is probably their winter asylum.

14. Swallows and Goat-sucker.-Every species disappear at the approach of winter.

WATER-FOWL.

Of the vast variety of water-fowl that frequent Great Britain, it is amazing to reflect how few are known to breed here: the cause that principally urges them to leave this country seems to be not merely the want of food, but the desire of a secure retreat. Our country is too populous for birds so shy and timid as

the bulk of these are: when great part of our island was a mere waste, a tract of woods and fen, doubtless many species of birds (which at this time migrate) remained in security throughout the year. Egrets, a species of heron, now scarce known in this island, were in former times in prodigious plenty; and the crane, that has totally forsaken this country, bred familiarly in our marshes; their place of incubation, as well as of all other cloven-footed water-fowl (the heron excepted), being on the ground, and exposed to every one. As rural economy increased in this country, these animals were more and more disturbed; at length, by a series of alarms, they were necessitated to seek, during the summer, some lonely safe habitation.

On the contrary, those that build or lay in the almost inaccessible rocks that impend over the British seas breed there still in vast numbers, having little to fear from the approach of mankind: the only disturbance they meet with in general being from the desperate attempts of a few to get their eggs.

CLOVEN-FOOTED WATER-FOWL.

15. Herons.-The white heron is an un common bird, and visits us at uncertain seasons; the common kind and the bittern

never leave us.

16. Curlews.-The curlew breeds sometimes on our mountains, but considering the vast flights that appear in winter, it is probable that the greater part retire to other countries: the whimbrel breeds on the Grampian hills, in the neighbourhood of Invercauld.

17. Snipes. The woodcock breeds in the moist woods of Sweden and other cold countries. Some snipes breed here, but the greatest part retire elsewhere; as do every other species of this genus.

18. Sandpipers.-The lapwing continues here the whole year; the ruff breeds here, but retires in winter; the redshank and sandpiper breed in this country and reside here. All the others absent themselves during summer.

19. Plovers and Oyster-catcher. -The longlegged plover and sanderling visit us only in winter; the dottrel appears in spring and in antamn; yet, what is very singular, we do not find it breeds in South Britain. The oystercatcher lives with us the whole year. The Norfolk plover and sea-lark breed in England. The green plover breeds on the mountains of the north of England, and on the Grampian hills.

We must here remark, that every species of the genera of curlews, woodcocks, sandpipers, and plovers, that forsake us in the spring, retire to Sweden, Poland, Prussia, Norway, and Lapland, to breed: as soon as the young can fly, they return to us again, because the frosts which set in early in those countries totally deprive them of the means of subsisting; as the dryness and hardness of the ground, in general, during our summer, prevent them from penetrating the earth with their bills, in search of worms, which are the natural food of

20. Rails and Gallinules.-Every species of these two genera continue with us the whole year; the land-rail excepted, which is not seen here in winter. It likewise continues in Ire land only during the summer-months, when they are very numerous, as Mr. Smith tells us in the History of Waterford, p. 336. Great numbers appear in Anglesea the latter end of May; it is supposed that they pass over from Ireland, the passage between the two islands being but small. As we have instances of these birds lighting on ships in the Channel and the Bay of Biscay, we may conjecture their winter-quarters to be in Spain.

FINNED-FOOTED WATER-BIRDS.

21. Phalaropes.-Visit us but seldom; their breeding place is Lapland, and other arctic regions.

22. Grebes. The great-crested grebe, the, black and white grebe, and the little grebe, breed with us, and never migrate; the others visit us accidentally, and breed in Lapland. WEB-FOOTED Birds.

23. Avoset.-Breed near Fossdike in Lin

colnshire, but quit their quarters in winter. They are then shot in different parts of the kingdom, which they visit, not regularly, but accidentally.

24. Auks and Guillemots.-The great auk or penguin sometimes breeds in St. Kilda. The ank, the guillemot, and puffin, inhabit most of the maritime cliffs of Great-Britain, in amazing numbers during summer. The black guillemot breeds in the Bass Isle, and in St. Kilda, and sometimes in Llandidno rocks. We are at a loss for the breeding-place of the other species; neither can we be very certain of the winter residence of any of them, excepting of the lesser guillemot and black-billed auk, which, during winter, visit in vast flocks the Frith of Forth.

25. Divers. These chiefly breed in the lakes of Sweden and Lapland, and in some countries near the pole; but some of the red-throated divers, the northern and the imber, may breed

in the north of Scotland and its isles.

26. Terns. Every species breeds here; but leaves us in the winter.

27. Petrels.-The fulmar breeds in the isle of St. Kilda, and continues there the whole year except September and part of October. The shearwater visits the isle of Man in April; breeds there; and, leaving it in August or the beginning of September, disperses over all parts of the Atlantic ocean. The storinfincli is seen at all distances from land on the same vast watery tract; nor is ever found near the shore except by some very rare accident, unless in the breeding season. Mr. Pennant found it on some little rocky isles on the north of

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 cider-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, Svo. 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.

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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.

MILANIA. 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, hospi tals, 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 A. 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 these 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 re-conquered by the allies. At present, it is at the disposal of the emperor of the French.

MILAZZO, a strong sea-port 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. Etheiburga 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).

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MILD. a. (mild, 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 ŒECIDIUM.

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

MILDLY. ud. (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 lonia 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 Milesii, 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 be 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. An 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 resembles 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(Templ.). MILITANT. a. (militans, Lat.) 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).

See TENURE, FEO

MILITARY TENURES.
DAL 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 marching 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 insurrections 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