MACAQUE

macaque, a name of french origin denoting the monkeys of the mainly asiatic genus _macacus_, of which one species, the barbary ape, inhabits north africa and the rock of gibraltar. displaying great variability in the length of the tail, which is reduced to a mere tubercle in the barbary ape, alone representing the subgenus _inuus_, macaques are heavily-built monkeys, with longer muzzles than their compatriots the langurs (see primates), and large naked callosities on the buttocks. they range all over india and ceylon, thence northward to tibet, and eastwards to china, japan, formosa, borneo, sumatra and java; while by some naturalists the black ape of celebes (_cynopithecus niger_) is included in the same genus. mention of some of the more important species, typifying distinct sub-generic groups, is made in the article primates. like most other monkeys, macaques go about in large troops, each headed by an old male. they feed on seeds, fruits, insects, lizards, &c.; and while some of the species are largely terrestrial, the barbary ape is wholly so. docile and easily tamed when young, old males of many of the species become exceedingly morose and savage in captivity. (r. l.*) macaroni (from dialectic ital. _maccare_, to bruise or crush), a preparation of a glutinous wheat originally peculiar to italy, where it is an article of food of national importance. the same substance in different forms is also known as _vermicelli_, _pasta_ or italian pastes, _spaghetti_, _taglioni_, _fanti_, &c. these substances are prepared from the hard, semi-translucent varieties of wheat which are largely cultivated in the south of europe, algeria and other warm regions, and distinguished by the italians as _grano duro_ or _grano da semolino_. these wheats are much richer in gluten and other nitrogenous compounds than the soft or tender wheats of more northern regions, and their preparations are more easily preserved. the various preparations are met with as fine thin threads (vermicelli), thin sticks and pipes (spaghetti, macaroni), small lozenges, stars, disks, ellipses, &c. (pastes). these various forms are prepared in a uniform manner from a granular product of hard wheat, which, under the name of semolina or middlings, is a commercial article. the semolina is thoroughly mixed with boiling water and incorporated in a kneading machine, such as is used in bakeries, into a stiff paste or dough. it is then further kneaded by passing frequently between rollers or under edge runners, till a homogeneous mass has been produced which is placed in a strong steam-jacketed cylinder, the lower end of which is closed with a thick disk pierced with openings corresponding with the diameter or section of the article to be made. into this cylinder an accurately fitting plunger or piston is introduced and subjected to very great pressure, which causes the stiff dough to squeeze out through the openings in the disk in continuous threads, sticks or pipes, as the case may be. vermicelli is cut off in short bundles and laid on trays to dry, while macaroni is dried by hanging it in longer lengths over wooden rods in stoves or heated apartments through which currents of air are driven. it is only genuine macaroni, rich in gluten, which can be dried in this manner; spurious fabrications will not bear their own weight, and must, therefore, be laid out flat to be dried. in making pastes the cylinder is closed with a disk pierced with holes having the sectional form of the pastes, and a set of knives revolving close against the external surface of the disk cut off the paste in thin sections as it exudes from each opening. true macaroni can be distinguished by observing the flattened mark of the rod over which it has been dried within the bend of the tubes; it has a soft yellowish colour, is rough in texture, elastic and hard, and breaks with a smooth glassy fracture. in boiling it swells up to double its original size without becoming pasty or adhesive. it can be kept any length of time without alteration or deterioration; and it is on that account, in many circumstances, a most convenient as well as a highly nutritious and healthful article of food.