LAMP-BLACK. 



know*, tisooej. H to Mt probably due to a local and temporary change 



wBMD*iCM*r aicsitbe sea ; they have been observed on the lakes of 

 XsMr^rift astfl Oenovvv 



Certain lake* seem to be plaord in the immediate neighbourhood of 

 indue or fad of sloutiiisl attraction ; thus in the Uke Huron there is 

 bay over which illutrlcil doods are perpetually hovering. It is 

 IBlineil that no person ha* ever Uaversed it without bearing thunder. 

 The proximity of this Uke to the American magnetic pole, that is, to 

 to* spot where the megnethi intensity is greatest, not where the dip is 

 greatest, may perhaps have some influence in producing so remarkable 

 a phenomenon. 



"NearBejein Portugal there U a Uke which is said to announce the 

 approach of a storm by a tremendous rumbling. In Siberia also, near 

 the little river Orcibat. which flow* into the Abakan, there is, according 

 lo Pallas, a lake called the Roaring Lake, from the dreadful noise it 

 tnakm, and which announce* internal revolutions similar to that 

 which nnmsirmnd the rupture of the dykes of the Lake Gousinol in 

 Dooaria. 



Some lake* have been observed to possess a petrifying or an intrust- 

 ing property. The Utter U merely a deposition of carbonate of lime. 

 This, being absolved by an exoess of acid in the waters of certain 

 springs, is precipitated whenever the waters of these sources coming 

 into the lakes are exposed to the air and lose their excess of acid. 



There is an interesting phenomenon presented by the Lake of Zurich, 

 called the flowering of the Uke. When this takes place the surface of 

 the water i* seen covered with a yellow scum or froth, which upon 

 examination is found to be a very minute vegetation. 



There are various other phenomena presented by lakes, but the most 

 jngiiU.- of them all perhaps U the attractive force of the mud at the 

 bottom of some lakes, which is such that boats can hardly moke their 

 way through the water. The Lake Rose and one or two more in Canada 

 are of this kind. Mackenzie describes the fact in these words : " At 

 the portage or carrying-place of Martres, on Rose Lake, the water is 

 only three or four feet deep, and the bottom is muddy. I have often 

 plunged into it a pole twelve feet long, with as much ease as if I merely 

 plunged it into the water. Nevertheless this mud has a sort of magical 

 effect upon the boats, which is such that the paddles can with difficulty 

 urge them on. This effect is not perceptible on the south side of the 

 lake, where the water is deep, but is more and more sensible as you 

 approach the opposite shore. I have been assured that loaded boats 

 have often been in danger of sinking, and could only be extricated by 

 being towed by lighter boats. As for myself, I have never been in 

 danger of foundering, but I have several times had great difficulty in 

 passing this spot with six stout rowers, whose utmost efforts could 

 scarcely overcome the attraction of the mud. A similar phenomenon 

 is observed on the Uke Saginaga, whose bottom attracts the boats with 

 such force that it U only with the greatest difficulty that a loaded boat 

 can be made to advance ; fortunately the spot is only about 400 yards 

 over.' Captain Back has confirmed the above by later observations. 



Lakes differ very much in temperature, transparency, and in the 

 colour of their waters. Lakes fed by the water of melted snows in 

 summer are generally much colder than would be thought conformable 

 with the season ; but the difference U principally in the'lower waters, 

 which, being cold, remain at the bottom by reason of their greater 

 density. Some lakes never freeze, which is owing to their great depth. 

 This is the case with Loch Nees in Scotland, which U 810 feet deep in 

 the deepest part Lakes are not subject to tides ; at least the amount 

 of tide, so far as observation goes, seems not to be ascertained. 



The remarkable transparency of certain lakes is truly astonishing ; 

 thus the waters of Lake Superior are so pellucid, that, according to 

 Mr. Heriot, the fish and rocks may be seen at a depth incredible to 

 pel sous who have never visited these regions. The density of the 

 nvtdrnm on which the vessel moves appear* scarcely to exceed that of 

 the atmosphere, and the traveller becomes impressed with awe at the 

 novelty of his situation. Elliot, in his ' Letters from the North of 

 Europe,' say*, " Nothing appears more singular to a foreigner than the 

 transparency of the waters of the Norwegian lake*. At the depth of 

 100 or 130 feet, the surface of the ground beneath is perfectly visible ; 

 sometimes it may be seen wholly covered with shells, sometimes only 

 sprinkled with them ; now a submarine forest presents itself to view, 

 and now a subaqueous mountain." In the Uke Wetter, in Sweden, 

 It is said a farthing may be seen at the depth of twenty fathoms. 



With regard to the colour of Uke*, it may be observed that it is 

 sometime* very difficult to account for the tints of large masses of 

 water. The colour of the bottom, the depth, the shadows and reflected 

 colours of surrounding bodies, subaqueous vegetation, springs, and 

 many other circumstance*, affect the colour of lake*. 



Lakes perform a very important function in the economy of the 

 earth. Ham does not always fall, and were it not for lakes, both 

 visible and subterranean, those great natural reservoirs, the greater 

 amber of rivers would be dried up in summer, and canals could not 

 have a constant supply of water. The freshness and humidity which 

 these (heeta of water ooreMoo by their evaporation are also eminently 

 favourable to the vegetation in their environs. Many lakes are of 

 extant to be navigated, and thus facilitate commerce and 

 The fisheries of some are very valuable, and others, by the 

 ah obtained from then, are a mine of wealth. Finally, they most 



agreeably diversify the surface of the earth by the various appearances 

 which they present of the beautiful and the sublime. 



LAMA, LAMAISM, is the name given to the Buddhist religion in 

 Mongolia and Tibet. Lama in these languages propel ly mean* priest, 

 but is only applied to those person* who < -nj".v tin- higher dignities of 

 the Buddhist hierarchy. It first became an illustrious aj.!-ll iti..n 

 after the conquests of the Mongols under Genghis. Khan ai: 

 successors had elevated the individual who pretended to be the succes- 

 sor of Buddha to the dignity of Dalai Lama. The name was first 

 confined to eight subordinate chiefs, who were appointed to act OB his 

 council, but was afterwards extended by the Dalai Lama to all other 

 prieste who possessed a certain degree of authority. The title of Lama 

 is given to the head of every monastery, and every Lama is considered 

 a vicar of the deity, and requires implicit obedience to nil his com- 

 mands, like the Dalai Lama himself. The opinions of this sect are 

 fully developed in the article BUDDHA ; and their religious rites and 

 ceremonies resemble those of the BONZES in Japan. 



M. Hue (' Souvenirs d'un Voyage dans U Tarterie, le Thibet, et U 

 Chine, pendant lee annees 1844, 1846, et 1848,' Paris, 1850), say.- the 

 Lamas of Tibet are persons of the most limited information, and that 

 their creed is little more refined than that of the vulgar. 



The Lamas of Tibet are the physicians ; they cure by prayers and 

 some insignificant medicament. 



At the Lamasery of Tchort-chi there are 2000 Lamas : it is a favoured 

 place of the emperor, and in it the Mantehou language is taught. 



The death of a Grand Lama, Bays M. Hue, occasions no visible grief 

 or mourning, they only consider the death as a disappearance, ami with 

 fasting and prayer the Lamasery await the announcement of his re- 

 appearance. This is revealed by certain augurs, who inform the dis- 

 ciples when and in what place a child will l>e found in whom the new 

 Buddha has taken up his abode. When found, the child, usually about 

 five or six years old, is examined as to the circumstances of his recent 

 death, and of the events of his previous existence ; the answers are 

 usually satisfactory ; he is conducted in grand procession to the Lama- 

 sery, and becomes at once the Grand Lama of the particular Lama- 

 sery, for there is no Tartar kingdom which does not possess in one of 

 its chief Lamaseries a living Buddha. 



In all the great Lamaseries are placed barrel-like figures, formed of 

 a number of sheets of paper pasted together, into a thick board, and 

 turning on an axle. On these sheets of paper are written the most 

 usual prayers of the district ; and those who want the power or the 

 will to perform long and tedious ceremonies, set this barrel in motion, 

 by which the same effect is produced the praying and the prostra- 

 tions are done for them. 



LAMIAN WAR. Those cities of Greece which were impatient 

 under the supremacy of the Macedonians regarded Alexander's death 

 as a favourable opportunity to regain independence. In this struggle 

 the Athenians took the lead. They were cordially supported by the 

 ..Ktolians, both having a private reason for their alacrity in Alexander's 

 avowed design to restore all Greek exiles to their countries. By such 

 a measure the Athenians would have been obliged to cede Samoa, part 

 of which they had lately colonised to the expulsion of the former 

 possessors, while the yKtolians hod a similar motive in their treatment 

 of (Eniadic. The richer part of the Athenians were very averse to 

 contend again with the power of Macedon ; but the poor, who looked 

 to war for pay and plunder, of whom Philip said that war was their 

 peace, and peace their war, carried the point, and ambassadors were 

 despatched through Greece to organise a confederacy, in which the 

 Argians, Messenions, and other states of Peloponnesus, with many of 

 the minor nations of northern Greece, joined. The events of this, 

 which is called the Lamian War, will be found under ANTI PATER and 

 LKOSTHFNKS, in the Bioo. Drv. ; and ATHENS, in the GF.OO. Div. 



LAMMAS DAY, the name for the first of August, from the Anglo- 

 Saxon Illaf-matte, loaf-mass or feast, when the Saxons offered an 

 oblation of loaves made from new corn ; other derivations havs been 

 given, as Lamb-mass, from the tenant* of the see of York having been 

 bound to bring a live lamb into the church at high mass. Brand in 

 his ' Popular Antiquities ' speaks of it as still a usage in some places 

 for tenants to be bound to bring in wheat of the year to their lord on 

 or before this day. In the Salisbury Manuals of the 15th century it 

 is called " Benedictio novorum Fructuum." This day had a! 

 name of the Oule of August, as Pettingal (' Archjcologia,' vol. ii. p. 67) 

 says from the Celtic Wyl, or Gwyl, a festival. This was the day (the 

 festival of St. Peter's ad Vincula) on which Peter-pence was paid in 

 England while Popery was established. 



LAMP-BLACK is a variety of carbon ; it is characterised by a total 

 absence of crystalline structure, and by its exceedingly minute state of 

 division. It may be prepared by burning organic matters rich in 

 carbon, with an imperfect supply of air, and providing means for col- 

 lecting the dense smoke or soot produced. Inferior varieties of resin 

 are sometimes employed as a source of lamp-black, but the material 

 generally made use of is coal-tar. The latter substance, purified to a 

 certain extent by the action of lime and steam, is supplied from 

 heated main-pipe to a series of small jets, each furnished with a wick, 

 and ignited. Over each burner is fixed a small hood into which the 

 dense smoke passes, and being conveyed along successive series of coarse 

 canvas bags connected together by pipes, deposits its soot or lamp-black 

 on their sides. After the operation has continued for some days, the 



