1*1 



i 1 



LETTUCE. 





: 



i generally affects young people from the ige of puberty 

 op to thirty, and appears to occur more frequently in wumen than in 

 men. Sometimes the whole body become* (fleeted by it, even the face 

 and scalp, bat mare commonly it u confined to the limbs, and is 

 obMTTwt especially on the ikin below the knee and elbow, in which 

 situations its true charaoUn are generally most marked. The health 

 of persons aflected with thia disease U but little disturbed, the aooes- 

 Kun of the eruption alone being preceded by headache and slight 

 febrile disturbance. It U generally tedious of cure, recurring periodi- 

 cally in iome constitution*, whilst iu others it will continue for two or 

 three years. Host frequently it arises without any assignable cause ; 

 occasionally it has appeared to be dependent upon suddenly mispressed 

 cutaneous transpiration from persons drinking cold water when over- 



This disease must not be confounded with the leprosy of the sacred 

 and ancient writers, a term which appears to have been used to express 

 any loathsome affection of the skin, or, as some imagine, to have 

 referred to the disease described in the present day under the term 

 KWihsrrtiasis [EurHAjrrusu.] 



The treatment of lepn should consist in the administration of 

 alterative and depurative medicines. Gentle purgatives, iodide of 

 potassium, anenic, quinine, and iron, may be given according to 

 circumstance*. Externally, the preparations of tor and creosote have 

 been found of moet benefit. 



l.Kl'KOSY. [LEPRA; SKIN, DISEASES OF THE.] 



I KITS (the Hare), one of the old constellations, said by Hyginus to 

 be in the act of running from Orion's dog, which is the greater dog, 

 according to some, and the lesser, according to others. It is sitaMbsd 

 directly under Orion. The principal stare are as follows : 



ChararUr. 



f 

 



No. la Catalogue 

 Of Flanutced. 



2 



9 

 11 

 13 

 14 

 15 

 16 

 18 



No. In Catalogue 

 of British 



Association. 



1575 

 1715 

 1741 

 1823 

 1840 

 1871 

 1901 

 1959 



Magnitude. 

 4 

 8 

 3 

 3 



r 



LETHARGY, a state of unnaturally deep and prolonged sleep, a 

 condition intermediate between the sleep of health and complete coma, 

 If not the result of unusual fatigue, it U often an alarming symptom, 

 indicating congestion of the brain, and a disposition to apoplexy, or 

 eren an impending attack of that disease. [APOPLEXY ; COMA ; SI.KKP.] 



LKTTKR OF CREDIT. [CREDIT, LETTER OF.] 



LETTER or POWER OF ATTORNEY is an instrument by which 

 one person authorises another to do some act for him ; it may be used 

 in any lawful transaction, as to execute a deed, to collect rents or debts, 

 to seu estate*. 4c. The authority must be strictly pursued, for the 

 principal is only bound by the act* of his agent to the extent to which 

 the letter of attorney authorises him to proceed, and if the agent goes 

 beyond his authority be is personally liable to the party with whom he 

 contract*. The power authorising an attorney or agent to do some 

 particular act impliedly includes an authority to do whatever is 

 incident to that act ; as for instance, a power to demand and recover a 

 debt authorises the arrest of the debtor in all cases where it is 

 permitted by law. But a power to receive money and to give releases, 

 or eren to transact all business, does not authorise the attorney to 

 negotiate bills received in payment In fact all written powers, such 

 as Utters of attorney or letters of instruction, receive a strict inter- 

 pretation ; the authority never being extended beyond that which is 

 given in terms, or U absolutely necessary for carrying the authority 

 so given into effect. An attorney, unless power be specially given him 

 fur that purpose, cannot delegate his authority or appoint a substitute, 

 and, generally speaking, the words of general authority usually inserted 

 In lettcri of attorney, after giving the particular authority, do not 

 enlarge it 



The authority must be executed during the life of the person who 

 gives it, as the act done is considered to be in every respect his act, 

 and a power to do an act U therefore considered as at once revoked by 

 the death of the person giving it 



Powers of attorney may be given either in separate instruments, or 

 in deeds relating to other matters ; the second form is usually foil. . , <1 

 where the instrument forms part of a security for money, as where a 

 chose in action is assigned either as a security for money or to an 

 actual purchaser. The deed of sssignnwiit contains a power of attorney 

 authorising the sssignss to sue in the name of the assignor. Powers of 

 attorney are generally executed under hand and seal, and where they 

 contain an authority to bind the principal by deed, it is ementul that 

 they should be so executed. When the agent signs any inst. 

 wb.ch is to bind his principal, he must sign it in the name of the 

 principal, and nut in his own name. 



A power of attorney, unless it be given as a security, is revocable at 

 pleasure, either by the personal interference of the principal or by his 

 granting a new power to another person. But if the power has been 



given as a security, or as it is sometimes called, is coupled with an 

 interest, it is not revocable. Though it has been decided that a power 

 of attorney coupled with an interest is revoked by the death of the 

 grantor, yet if it authorise the agent to act in the nm nintor, 



his executors, ftc., it may be held that such a power, when given as 

 part of a security, is not revoked by the death of the principal, and 

 that the assignee of his interest has power to do the acts necessary to 

 render his security available in a court of law, in the name of the 

 representatives of the assignor. At all events a court of equity \v..uM 

 interfere in favour of the assignee. 



A letter of attorney is also in general revoked by the bankruptcy of 

 the princi]>a], unless it is coupled with an interest 



LETTEltS 1'ATKNT (iu Law), the king's letters, sealed with the 

 great seal These grants, says Blackstone (2 'Comment' p. 34'.'. Mr. 

 Kerr's Ed.), whether of lands, honours, liberties, franchises, or anything 

 else that can be granted, are contained in charters or letters] 

 that is, open letters, litmr-paitntti. They are so called becau- 

 are not sealed up, but open to view, with the great seal pendant at the 

 bottom, and are usually directed or addressed by the king to all hi* 

 subjects at largo. Letters-patent, in the time of Queen l-.li/.ibeth, as 

 well as in several preceding reigns, were not unusually obtain 

 purposes of mere monopoly. 



They are now frequently granted under the royal authority as the 

 reward of ingenuity, and are in some cases the only means by which 

 a man can secure any compensation for a discovery, or for the labour 

 and expense which he may hare employed in perfecting an in\ 

 The consideration of the legal rights of patentees, and of the modes in 

 which they may be acquired and secured, properly belongs to the head 

 of PATENTS. At present it may be sufficient to refer the reader to 

 Collier's ' Essay on the Law of Patents for New Inventions, to which 

 are prefixed two chapters on the general history of monopolies, and on 

 their introduction and progress in England to the time of tin 

 regnum,' 8vo., Lond., 1808; to Hand's ' Law and Practice of 1'. 

 for Inventions,' 8vo., Lond., 1808 ; Godson's ' Practical Treatise on the 

 Law of Patents,' 8vo., Lond., 1823, with the ' Supplement,' 8vo., Lond., 

 1832; and Rankin's 'Analysis of the Law of Patents," 8vo., Lond., 

 1824. The Patent Law Amendment Act 1852, now regulates the terms 

 upon which letters patent for inventions arc granted. See Mr. Keir's 

 ' Blackstone,' vol. 2, p. 417. 



Many letters-patent have been granted by the king to the founder* 

 of schools and other charitable endowments, empowering the donor to 

 , ules and ordinances for the government of his charity, and con- 

 stituting into a body corporate those persons and their successors 

 whom the founder should choose or nominate. 



LETTKKS, THREATENING. [THREATS.] 



LETTUCE (the i.n,'t,i,;i rtitint, or garden lettuce) is one of the 

 principal kinds of vegetables used for salads, and it also forms an 

 ingredient in several kinds of soup. It has been introduced and culti- 

 vated in this country for nearly three centuries, but, like many other 

 domesticated plants, its origin is unknown. The names of several oi 

 its varieties indicate their having come to us from the <lio,>k 

 Archipelago and the coast of the Lavaut ; and one of the two di 

 into which the numerous varieties of lettuces are usually classed, 

 termed GV* liltiifft, derives its name from the island of Cos, the 

 modern Stanco. This division includes those of an erect oblong form 

 of growth. The other division, which comprehends those of a 

 roundish, flattened, or spreading form, is termed that of Cabbage 

 lettiu-ei. 



The excellence of lettuces consists in their being crisp and tender ; 

 their growth should therefore be so conducted as to sustain no check 

 or interruption. If their quick vegetation be stopped by such causes 

 as excessive drought, over-crowding in the seed-bed, or improper 

 transplanting, they will in consequence either run to seed or be- 

 ooma tough, and their juices at the same time will acquire an acrid 

 quality. 



The ground intended for the seed should be fresh dug, rich, and 

 mellow. The principal summer crop should be sown in March and 

 April, rind (lie wed lightly covered. A seed bed 4 ft. by 10 ft will re- 

 quire a quarter of an ounce of seed, which ought to produce about 400 

 plants. If the plants are intended to attain their full perfection where 

 sown, they must be thinned out to distances of 9 inches square, in tin- 

 case of the small cabbage varieties, and the larger sorts should be allowed 

 at least a foot each way. In transplanting, the above distances are li 1 

 applicable and the operation should be performed, if possible, in cloudy 

 \viather; but at all events it must be done before the plants arc i 

 or are in the least over-crowded ; for when they arc drawn, or their 

 stems have once commenced lengthening, v.hirli. in dry weather, will 

 sometimes happen whiUt they are yet in a small state, it is useless to 

 transplant them. It in of importance thai , which they are 



grown be neither too wet nor too dry. Where tin IT. adth to be 

 planted is not so great as to render < of labour , in object of 



< i.ition, instead of making holes for the plant* with a dipper, it 

 is better to form a small trench, with a perpendicular cut next the 

 Hue. against which the roots are to be disposed without bn 

 Water should be given, but not at any one time to excess ; nor merely 

 at the root of each plant, but over the whole of the ground. 



The Cos lettuces require to have their leaves tied together moderately 

 fmaUing. for the purpose of assisting their blanch- 



