New volumes of the Encyclopædia Britannica > Volume 30, K-MOR

590 MAYENNE — MAZAGAN
and at Chateau-Gontier is the only industry of a department which
is almost exclusively agricultural. Laval, the capital, had in 1901
30,356 inhabitants.
EVlayenne, chief town of arrondissement and rail¬
way station, department of Mayenne, France, 18 miles north
by east of Laval. A statue of Joan of Arc was erected
in 1896. The “ cloth ” manufacture consists of tickings,
linens, handkerchiefs, and calicoes. There is a depart¬
mental asylum, and a practical school of agriculture
about three miles from the town. Population (1891),
7386; (1901), 10,125.
May hew, Henry (1812-1887), English author,
son of a London solicitor, was born in 1812. He began
to study law under his father, but soon gave it up for
writing. With Gilbert a Beckett, in 1831, he started
the first of several ephemeral papers, which introduced
him to journalism; and he had a fairly successful opening
with one or two farces. His brothers Horace (1816—1872)
and Augustus Septimus (1826 - 1875) also took to
authorship, and with them Henry occasionally collaborated,
notably with the younger in stories like The Greatest
Plague of Life (1847), and in Acting Charades (1850).
In 1841 Henry May hew was one of the leading spirits in
the foundation of Punch, of which he was for the first two
years joint-editor with Mark Lemon. He afterwards
figured as a writer on all kinds of subjects, and published
a number of volumes of no permanent reputation —
humorous stories, travel, practical handbooks, and
journalism of various sorts. He is credited with being
the first to “ write up ” the poverty side of London life
from a philanthropic point of view; with the collaboration
of other writers he published London Labour and London
Poor (1851 ; completed 1864) and other works on the
subject, which had considerable influence at the time. He
died in London, 25th July 1887. Horace Mayhew also
contributed to Punch up to 1852, and was the author of
several humorous publications and plays. Both his and his
brother Augustus’s volumes were enriched by Cruikshank’s
illustrations, and their survival is mainly due to that.
National schools on 31st December 1900 was 37,402, of whom
36,707 were Roman Catholics and 695 Protestants.
The following table gives the number of births, deaths, and
marriages in various years :—
Year.
1881
1891
19.0
Births.
6013
5058
4491
Deaths.
3277
3339
2817
844
703
808
In 1900 the birth-rate per thousand was 22'2, and the death-rate
13'9 ; the rate of illegitimacy was ‘3 per cent, of the total births.
The total number of emigrants who left the county between 1st
May 1851 and 31st December 1900 was 164,291, of whom 74,924
were males and 89,367 females. The chief towns in the county
are Ballina, Westport, and Castlebar.
Administration.—The county is divided into four parliamentary
divisions—North, South, East, and West, the number of registered
electors in 1901 being respectively 7655, 8412, 8204, and 8412.
The rateable value in 1900 was £318,829. By the Local Govern¬
ment (Ireland) Act, 1898, the fiscal and administrative duties of the
grand jury were transferred to a county council, urban and rural
district councils were established, and under that Act the county
now comprises three urban and eight rural sanitary districts.
Agriculture.—The following tables show the acreage under
crops, including meadow and clover, and the amount of live stock
in 1881, 1891, 1895, and 1900. The figures for 1900 are for the
new administrative county :—
I Year.
1SS1
1891
1895
1900
1046
1700
1112
1211
Oats.
62,830
45,326
44,234
40,341
« C3
pq
3717
3582
3021
3339
56,728
43,473
42,144
39,104
8427
7695
7904
6825
Other
Green
Crops.
3856
3881
4547
5480
Meadow
and
Clover.
42,739
48,020
59,310
61,079
Total.
179,343
153,677
162,272
157,379
In 1900 the total value of the cereal and other crops was estimated
at £1,091,683. The number of acres under pasture in 1881 was
545,040,in 1891, 547,279, and in 1900, 534,764.
Year.
1881
1891
1895
1900
Horses
and
Mules.
21,293
18,718
21,190
19,479
20,424
23,866
23,623
24,418
Cattle.
166,527
174,983
180,830
191,497
Sheep.
251,108
351,343
308,148
361,978
48,216
53,316
67,854
74,746
Goats.
6122
8979
7855
8486
Poultry.
677,610
751,992
775,800
917,657
Mayo, a maritime county of Ireland, province of
Connaught.
Population.—The area of the administrative county in 1900 was
1,327,777 acres, of which 157,279 were tillage, 534,764 pasture,
429 fallow, 8870 plantation, 278,151 turf bog, 44,517 marsh,
232,644 barren mountain, and 71,123 water, roads, fences, &c.
The new administrative county under the Local Government
(Ireland) Act, 1898, includes two electoral divisions formerly
situated in Galway, and three electoral divisions formerly situated
in Sligo, but is diminished by two electoral divisions now added
to other counties. The population in 1881 was 245,212, in 1891,
219,034, and in 1901, 202,627, of whom 99,058 were males and
103,569 females, divided as follows among the different religions :
—Roman Catholics, 198,014 ; Protestant Episcopalians, 3757 ;
Presbyterians, 562 ; Methodists, 166 ; and other denominations,
128. The decrease of population between 1881 and 1891 was 10'68
per cent., and between 1891 and 1901, 7'3 per cent. The average
number of persons to an acre was '16 in 1891 and ‘IS in 1901.
Of the total population in 1891, 207,754 persons inhabited the
rural districts, being an average of 191 persons to each square
mile under crops and pasture. The following table gives the
degree of education in 1891:—
Read and write
Read only
Illiterate
57,401
10,118
27,848
53,673
11,349
34,661
Total.
111,074
21,467
62,509
Percentage.
R.C. Pr.Ep. Presb. Meth
56-1
11-2
32-7
5'8
5‘4
93-4
3-3
3-3
94-5
3-5
2-0
The percentage of illiterates among Roman Catholics in 1881
was 45-9. In 1891 there were three superior schools with 251
pupils (Roman Catholics 233, and Protestants 18), and 410
primary schools with 30,840 pupils (Roman Catholics 30,008, and
Protestants 832). The number of pupils on the rolls of the
The number of milch cows in 1891 was 52.710, and in 1900,
57,432. Mayo supports more sheep than any other county in
Ireland except Galway. It is estimated that the total value of
cattle, sheep, and pigs for 1900 was £3,343,604. In 1900 the
number of holdings not exceeding 1 acre was 2104 ; between 1
and 5, 3490 ; between 5 and 15, 15,180 ; between 15 and 30,
9544 ; between 30 and 50, 2905 ; between 50 and 100, 1690 ;
between 100 and 200, 751 ; between 200 and 500, 459 ; and above
500, 198—total, 36,341. The number of loans issued (the number
of loans being the same as the number of tenants) under the Land
Purchase Acts, 1885, 1891, and 1896, up to 31st March 1901 was
759, amounting to £193,273. The number of loans for agricultural
improvements sanctioned under sect. 31 of the Land Act, 1881,
between 1882 and 1901, was 986, and the amount issued was
£63,649. The total amount issued on loan for all classes of works
under the Land Improvement Acts, from the commencement of
operations in 1847 to 31st March 1901, was £232,761.
Fisheries.-—The number of boats registered in 1900 in the deep-
sea and coast fishing districts of Keel, Belmullet, and Ballycastle
was 485, employing 2449 hands. The number of persons employed
in the same year in the salmon-fishing district of Ballina was
450. (w. H. Po.)
Mayotte. See Comoro Islands.
Maysville, a city of Kentucky, U.S.A., capital of
Mason county, on the Ohio river, in the north-eastern part
of the state, at an altitude of 511 feet. It is on the
Chesapeake and Ohio and the Louisville and Nashville
Bailways, in a farming region, and has varied manufactures.
Population (1890), 5358 ; (1900), 6423, of whom 237 were
foreign-born and 1155 were negroes.
Mazagan {El Jadlda), the port for Marrakesh
(from which it is 110 miles nearly due north), Morocco. It