ground. It is used by gunners to fire the guns. LINT, linum, from the flax of which linen is made. In surgery, the term lint denotes the scrapings of linen which is used in dressing wounds, and is made up in various forms, as tents, dossils, pledgets, &c. See SUR GERY. LINUM, in botany, flax, a genus of the Pentandria Pentagynia class and order. Natural order of Gruinales. Caryophyileæ, Jussieu. Gerania, Smith. Essential cha racter: calyx five-leaved; petals five; capsule ten-valved, ten celled; seeds solitary. There are twenty-five species. The several species of flax are mostly herbaceous, some are fruticose, or woody at bottom; two are shrubby, and one arboreous; leaves generally alternate; flowers solitary and axillary; corolla commonly blue, sometimes fading to white, and in some yellow. Flax is found wild in many parts of Europe, in corn fields; in England it is, perhaps, doubtful whether it be aboriginal. It is common in the western counties, not only in corn fields, but in pastures and on downs. LION. See FELIS. LIONCELLES, in heraldry, a term used for several lions borne in the same coat of arms. LIP, hare, a disorder in which the upper lip is in a manner slit or divided, so as to resemble the upper lip of a hare, whence the name. LIPARIA, in botany, a genus of the Diadelphia Decandria class and order. Natural order of Papilionaceæ, or Leguminosæ. Essential character: calyx five-cleft, with the lowest segment elongated; corolla wings two-lobed below; stamina the larger, with three shorter teeth; legume ovate, There are five species, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. LIPPIA, in botany, so named from Augustine Lippi, a genus of the Didynamia Gymnospermia class and order. Natural order of Stellatæ. Vitices, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx four-toothed, roundish, upright, compressed, membranaceous; capsule one-celled, two-valved, two-seeded, straight; seed one, two-celled. There are five species. LIQUID. Fluids have been divided into two classes; viz. those which are elastic, and the non elastic, or those which do not sensibly diminish in bulk when subjected to pressure. The first class are airs or gases, the second liquids: hence we may define a liquid to be a fluid not sensibly elastic, the parts of which yield to the smallest impression, and move on each other. hen liquid bodies are mixed together, they act in various ways according to the nature of the substances employed. Some dissolve each other in any proportion, as in the case with most gases when mixed; some unite in determinate proportions; some do not act sensibly upon each other, separating again, though mixed ever so carefully; and some decompose each other. LIQUIDAMBER, in botany, a genus of the Monoecia Polyandria class and order. Natural order of Coniferæ. Amentaceæ, Jussieu. Essential character: male, calyx common, four-leaved; corolla none; filaments numerous: female, calyx in a globe, four-leaved; corolla none; styles two; capsules many in a globe, two-valved, manyseeded. There are two species, viz. L. styraciflua, maple-leaved liquidamber, or sweet gum; and L. imberbe, oriential liquidamber; the trunk of the former is usually two feet in diameter, straight, and free from branches, to the height of fifteen feet; whence the branches spread and rise in a conic form forty feet from the ground. The leaves are shaped like those of the lesser maple, of a dark green colour, their upper surfaces shining; a sweet glutinous substance exudes through their pores in warm weather, which renders them clammy to the tonch; in February, before the leaves are formed, the blossoms break forth from the tops of the branches into spikes of yellowish red pappose globular flowers which swell gradually, retaining their round form to the full maturity of their seed vessels, which are thick set with pointed hollow protuberances, and splitting open discharge their seeds. The wood of this tree is good timber, and is used in wainscotting, &c.; the grain is fine, some of it is beautifully variegated. When wrought too green it is apt to shrink. From between the wood and the bark issues a fragrant gum, which trickles from the wounded trees, and by the heat of the sun congeals into transparent drops, which the Indians chew as a preservative to their teeth; it smells very much like Balsam of Tolu, so that it is diffi cult to distinguish them. The bark is of singular use to the Indians for covering their huts. Native of North America. LIQUOR of flints. Alkalies have a powerful action on silica: they combine in different proportions: two or three parts of potash, with one of silica, give a compound, which is deliquescent in the air, and soluble in water this was formerly distinguished by the name of liquor of flints, but it is now denominated silicated alkali. LIQUORICE. The glycirrhiza, or common liquorice shrub, has a long, thick, creeping root, striking several feet deep into the ground; an upright, firm, herbaceous, annual stalk, three or four feet high, garnished with winged leaves, of four or five pair of oval lobes, terminated by an odd one: and from the axillas, erect spikes of pale blue flowers in July, succeeded by short smooth pods. The root of this plant is the useful part, being replete with a sweet, balsamic, pectoral juice, which is either extracted, or the wood sold in substance. It is much used in all compositions for coughs, and disorders of the stomach; but by far the greatest quantity is used by brewers. The common liquorice is cultivated in most countries of Europe, for the sake of its root; but in Spain and Italy, and particularly in Sicily and Calabria, it makes a considerable article of commerce with this country. In Calabria, liquorice is chiefly manufactured, and exported from Corigliano, Rossano, Cassano, and Palermo. The Calabrian liquorice, upon the whole, is preferable to that coming from Sicily, and the Italian paste to that coming from Spain. Liquorice also grows in great abundance in the Levant; and vast quantities of it are consumed there, in making a decoction which is drank cold in the summer, in the manner of sherbet. To prepare liquorice, the roots are boiled a long time in water, till the fluid has got a deep yellow tincture; and the water at length evaporated till the remains acquire a consistency, when they are formed into sticks, which are packed up with bay leaves, in the same order as we receive them. The boiling requires the utmost care and precaution, as the juice takes an unpleasant smell and flavour, if burnt in the least degree, LIRIODENDRUM, in botany, a genus of the Polyandria Polygynia class and order. Natural order of Coadunatæ. Magnoliæ, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx three-leaved; petals six; seeds imbricated into a strobile. There are two species, viz. L. tulipifera, common tulip tree; and L. lillifera; the former is a native of North America, where it is a tree of the first magnitude, and is generally known in all the English settlements by the name of poplar. The young shoots of this tree are covered with a smooth purplish bark; they are garnished with large leaves, whose footstalks are four inches long; the leaves are of a singular form, being divided into three lobes; the middle lobe is blunt and hollowed at the point, appearing as if it had been cut with scissars; the upper surface of the leaves is smooth, and of a lucid green, the under of a pale green; the flowers are produced at the end of the branches, composed of six petals, three without and three within, forming a sort of bell-shaped flower, whence the inhabitants of North America gave it the name of tulip; the petals are marked with green, yellow, and red spots, making a beautiful appearance when the trees are charged with flowers; when the flowers fall off the germ swells, and forms a kind of cone, which does not ripen in England; the handsomest tree of this kind, near London, is in a garden at Waltham Abbey. The wood is used for canoes, bowls, dishes, spoons, and all sorts of joiners' work. Kalm speaks of having seen a barn of considerable size, the sides and roof of which were made of a single tulip-tree split into boards; there is no wood that contracts and expands so much as this, which is a great inconvenience attending it; the bark is divisible into thin lamina, which are tough like bast. LISIANTHUS, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Rotaceæ. Gentianæ, Jussien. Essential character: calyx keeled; corolla with a ventricose tube, and recurved divisions; stigma two-plated; capsule twocelled, two-valved; the margins of the valves intorted. There are nine species, natives of Jamaica. LISTING. Persons listed are to be carried within four days, but not sooner than twenty-four hours, after they have enlisted, before the next justice of peace of any county, riding, city, or place, or chief magistrate of any city or town corporate (not being an officer in the army); and if, before such justice or magistrate they dissent from such listing, and return the listing money, and also twenty shillings in lieu of all charges expended on them, they are to be discharged. But such persons refusing or neglecting to return and pay such money within twenty-four hours, shall be deemed as duly listed as if they had assented thereto before the proper magistrate; and they will, in that case, be obliged to take the oath, or upon refusal they shall be confined by the officer who listed them till they do take it. Persons owning before the proper magistrate, that they voluntarily listed themselves, are obliged to take the oath, or suffer confinement by the officer who listed them till they do take it. The magistrate is obliged, in both cases, to certify that such persons are duly listed; setting forth their birth, age, and calling, if known; and that the second and sixth sections of the articles of war, against mutiny and desertion, were read to them, and that they had taken the oath. Officers offending herein are to be cashiered, and displaced from their office; to be disabled from holding any post, civil or military; and to forfeit 100l. Persons receiving inlisting money from any officer, knowing him to be such, and afterwards absconding, and refusing to go before a magistrate to declare their assent or dissent, are deemed to be inlisted to all intents and purposes, and may be proceeded against as if they had taken the oath. LITA, in botany, a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Rotaceæ. Gentianæ. Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five-cleft, with two or three scales at the base; corolla salvershaped, with a long tube, dilated at the base and throat; border five-cleft; anthers twin, inserted in the throat; capsule onecelled, two-valved; seeds numerous. There are two species, viz. L. rosea, and L. cærulea, natives of Guiana. LITANY, a solemn form of supplication to God, in which the priest utters some things fit to be prayed for, and the people join in their intercession, saying, "We beseech Thee to hear us, good Lord," &c. At first, the use of litanies was not fixed to any stated time, but were only employed as exigencies required. They were observed, in imitation of the Ninevites, with ardent supplications and fastings, to avert the threatening judgments of fire, earthquakes, inundations, or hostile invasions. About the year 400, litanies began to be used in processions, the people walking barefoot, and repeating them with great devotion; and it is pretended, that by this means, several countries were delivered from great calamities. The days on which these were used were called rogation days: these were appointed by the canons of different councils, till it was decreed by the council of Toledo, that they should be used every month throughout the year; and thus by degrees they came to be used weekly on Wednesdays and Fridays, the ancient stationary days for fasting. To these days the rubric of our church has added Sundays, as being the greatest days for assembling at divine service. Before the last review of the "Common Prayer," the litany was a distinct service by itself, and used sometime after the morning prayer was over; at present it is made one office with the morning service, being ordered to be read after the third collect for grace, instead of the intercessional prayers in the daily service. LITERARY property. Authors, it should seem had, by the common law, the sole and exclusive copyright remaining in themselves or their assigns in perpetuity, after having printed and published their compositions. This, as a common law right, was strangely questioned by some of our judges, who studied special pleading more than common sense. But by statute 8 Anne, c. 19, it is secured to them for fourteen years, from the day of publishing; and after the end of fourteen years, the sole right of printing or disposing of copies, shall return to the authors, if then living, for other fourteen years. This statute, it has been held, restrains the right of the author and his assigns to the fourteen or the twenty-eight years, whatever it might have been at the common law. A penalty on each sheet found in the possession of a party pirating a work, is inflicted by the statute, 9 Anne, c. 19; and, in order to entitle the plaintiff to recover this penalty, the book must have been entered at Stationers' Hall. But an author whose work has been pirated, may maintain an action for damages merely without having so entered his book. When an author transfers all his right or interest in a publication to another, and happens to survive the first fourteen years, the second term will result to his assignee, and not to himself. By statute 12 Geo. II. c. 36. 34 Geo. III. c. 20, s. 57, books printed in England originally, may not be reprinted abroad, and imported within twenty years. last act extends also to Ireland, where English books were frequently pirated. By statute 8 Geo. II. c. 13; 7 Geo. III. c. 28; 17 Geo. III. c. 57. Engravers have a property in their prints and engravings for twenty-eight years absolutely. A fair abridgment is equally protected with an original work. Acting a play on a stage is not a publishing within the statute, 8 Anne, c. 19; but one cannot take a piece in short hand and print it before the author has published it. A LITHARGE, in the arts. Lead is easily oxydable. When first fused its surface is perfectly bright, but by the contact of the air it is quickly covered with a thick film, called the dross of lead. If this be taken off, the same circumstances again take place, and thus the whole of the lead may be converted into a kind of grey powder, which is the oxide of lead. By exposing it to a higher degree of heat, it acquires a yellow colour, forming a pigment named "massicot:" and by a still greater heat, and causing the flame to play upon the surface, while the powder is constantly stirred, the yellow colour becomes red, and the substance is then called minium, or red lead, which is the metal in a bigh degree of oxydizement. By a particular management of the heat, during the oxydizement of lead, supplying it quickly with a current of air blown over the surface of the metal, the oxide is semi-vitrified, forming the soft flaky substance named litharge. By a stronger heat, the lead may be vitrified, when it forms the glass of lead. LITHOMARGE, in mineralogy, is a species of the clay genus, and divided by Werner and others into two sub-species, viz. the friable and the indurated. Friable lithomarge or rock-marrow is white and massive; it occurs likewise as a crust, and disseminated. Its lustre is feebly glimmering, is generally coherent, feels greasy, and adheres to the tongue. It is found in large antities in the Saxon tin veins. Indurated lithomarge is commonly white, but with many varieties of colour. The white and red are uniform, but the other colours are usually disposed in clouded and spotted delineations. It is found in many parts of Germany, and occurs in veins of porphyry, gneiss and serpentine; in drusy cavities of topaz rock, or nidular in basalt, amygdaloid and serpentine; and in beds over coal. According to Jameson, the terra-miraculosa, which is remarkable for the beauty of its coloured delineations, is a variety of the indurated lithomarge. LITHOPHILA, in botany, a genus of the Diandria Monogynia class and order. Essential character: calyx three-leaved; corolla three-petalled; nectary two-leaved. There is only one species, a native of Navaza. LITHOSPERMUM, in botany, gromwell, a genus of the Pentandria Monogynia class and order. Natural order of Asperifoliæ. Borragineæ, Jussieu. Essential character: calyx five parted; corolla funnel form, perforated at the throat. There are twelve species, natives of most parts of Eu rope, particularly in corn-fields and waste places, flowering from May to July. LITHOTOMY, in surgery, the operation by which a calculus is removed from the bladder. LITMUS, in chemistry, a substance, the tincture of which is extremely useful, as a test of the presence of an acid or alkali. All acids, and salts, with an excess of acid, change the natural violet purple of litmus to red; when reddened by an acid, the blue is restored by an alkali. LITTORELLA, in botany, plaintain shoreweed, a genus of the Monoecia Tetrandria class and order. Natural order of Plantagines, Jussieu. Essential character: male, calyx four-leaved; corolla four-cleft; stamina long: female, calyx none; corolla slightly, four-cleft; styles long; seed a nut. LITURGY, a name given to those set forms of prayer which have been generally used in the Christian church. Of these there are not a few ascribed to the apostles and fathers, but they are almost universally allowed to be spurious. LIVER, in anatomy, a very large viscus, of a red colour, situated in the right hypochondrium, and serving for the secretion of the bile or gall. See ANATOMY; PHY SIOLOGY. LIVER, a name formerly given to dif ferent chemical combinations, because they were supposed to resemble the animal liver in colour only. Thus we had liver of sulphur, liver of antimony, &c. &c. See SULPHURET. LIVERY of seisin, a delivery of possession of lands, tenements, or other corporeal thing (for of things incorporeal there can be no seisin) to one that has right. Livery of seisin must be on the land in the presence of two witnesses, and was anciently used to give publicity to gifts or transfers of land. It is now necessary, in order to complete a feoffment, and to make good a lease for life or grant of the freehold to commence at a future day. See ESTATE, LEASE. Where there is land and a house, it must be made in the house, that being the principal. LIVERYMEN, of London, are a number of men chosen from among the freemen of each company. Out of this body the common council, sheriff, and other superior officers for the government of the city are elected, and they alone have the privilege of giving their votes for members of parlia. ment; from which the rest of the citizens are excluded. LIZARD. See LACERTA. LOAM, in mineralogy, is a sub-species of the clay genus, and of a yellowish grey colour, frequently spotted yellow and brown. It occurs massive, is dull and sometimes weakly glimmering. It adheres pretty strongly to the tongue, feels greasy, and is not very heavy it is generally mixed with sand and gravel, and also iron ochre. According to Mr. Jameson it may be considered as sandy potter's clay, mixed with mica and iron ochre. See CLAY. LOAN, in finance, money borrowed by government for defraying the extraordinary expences of the state. The comparative advantage or disadvantage of the terms, on which the public loans have been obtained at different periods, has frequently been misrepresented, either from misconception or for party purposes, though it is evidently a subject on which the truth is very easily ascertained. The economy or extravagance of every transaction of this kind depends on its correspondence or disagreement with the price of the public funds, and the current rate of interest at which money could be obtained on good security at the time the bargain was concluded; and, consequently, a loan, on which the highest interest is paid, may have been obtained on the best terms that could be made at the time it was negociated. The interest paid, however, forms the real burthen of each loan to the country; for, since the mode of buying up stock at the market price has been adopted in the redemption of the debt, the nominal capital that is created has become but of little importance, though certainly not to be wholly disregarded. The first loans differed materially from those of subsequent periods, in being raised wholly on terminable annuities; and in having a particular fund assigned for each loan, by the supposed adequateness or insufficiency of which the interest required by the lenders was frequently influenced, as well as by other causes, which have since ceased to exist. During the reign of Queen Anne, loans were chiefly raised on annuities for 99 years, till 1711; when, by the establishment of the South Sea Company, a variety of debts were consolidated and made a permanent capital, bearing 6 per cent. interest. About this period lotteries were also frequently adopted for raising money for the public service, under which form a considerable premium was given, in addition to a high rate of interest. This mode of raising money was followed in 1712, 1713, and 1714. In the latter year, though the interest paid was equal to only 5l. 7s. 2d. per cent. on the sum borrowed, the premium allowed was upwards of 341. per cent.; but, as peace was restored, and the legal rate of interest had been reduced to 5 per cent. it seems that a larger premium was allowed, for the sake of appearing to borrow at a moderate rate of interest. In the reign of George I. the interest on a considerable part of the public debts was reduced to 5 per cent. and the few loans that were raised were, comparatively, of small amount; that of the year 1720, was obtained at little more than 4 per cent. interest. About 1730 the current rate of interest was 3 per cent.; and, in 1756, government was enabled to borrow at 3 per cent. per annum. The extraordinary sums necessary for defraying the expenses of the war, which began in 1739, were at first obtained from the sinking fund and the saltduties; a payment from the Bank, in 1742, rendered only a small loan necessary in that year, which was obtained at little more than 3 per cent. interest. In the succeeding years the following sums were raised by loans. |