tncK. 



hare Ur*ly emi*'vt.l the latter ela** of material*, such as the Italian 

 pna.mil.nrsj. or UM tn*s of W.t|4lia. in their marine works. Of 

 , however, the UM of UM Roman and of the Portland cemenU 

 iperseded that of the mechanical mixtures of 

 UBM and the silicate of alumina. 



The proportion* of sand it may be desirable to mix with a lime for 

 the purpose of making mortars, must vary with the richness of the 

 limes ; and it may briefly be said, that it ought to be equal to the 

 amount of expansion of the lone itself in slaking; that is to say, that 

 s lime expanding to 3 or 4 times its original volume may be mixed 

 vita three or four time* its said volume of sand, and so on. In 

 lie*, these proportions of sand may often be exceeded without 

 ivenience ; and it would appear that the chemical nature of the 

 ha* a marked influence upon the character of the resulting 

 mortar ; for in jiroportion as the sand participates of the character of 

 the soluble silicate of alumina, or in proportion, in fact, as it con- 

 tributes to the formation of s double silicate of lime and alumina, 

 will the compound between it and the lime acquire the property of 

 hardening under water. 



It may be added, that when the rich, or the poor lime*, are im- 

 mersed in water, in vessels open at the top, as is done in trials upon 

 the quality of this class of materials, they never set. The hydraulic 

 limes set after or 8 days' immersion, and at the end of about 6 

 months they become as hard as the softer kimis of chalk ; and the 

 eminently hydraulic lime* set within 3 or 4 days after their immersion, 

 becoming within 6 months as hard as ordinary limestones. The pure 

 lime itself is soluble, to the very last grain, in water, in proportions 

 varying with the temperature of the Utter. Dr. Dalton considered 

 that at moderate temperatures (about 60*), water could take up .i, of 

 its own weight of lime ; and at 212 Fahr., it is able to take up about 

 i^-gof that weight The colouring material used in building operations 

 under the name of lime-white, is merely water containing an excess of 

 lime, to which a little size should be added, in order to counteract the 

 tendency of the lime to detach itself from the surfaces to which it has 

 been applied when the water has evaporated. The rich lime is used 

 in some trade operations, as in tanning ; and also to a great extent as a 

 disinfectant in the form of lime-white upon walls, and as a soluble 

 hydrate in the case of waters containing impurities in suspension. In 

 farming operations it is also largely employed, as a dressing or even as 

 a manure ; and Utterly, the lime-light may be considered to indicate a 

 further remarkable application of this important material. This light 

 U obtained by igniting the united jets of oxygen and hydrogen gas 

 upon a piece of caustic lime, which thus becomes heated to a most 

 intensely luminous degree. The practical applications of lime in 

 building operations will be further referred to under MORTAR ; PLAS- 

 TERIXO; SLAKIXG. 



LIME, .Vetliral Properlia of. Though lime cxUts in almost all 

 plants, yet H is more particularly the characteristic element of animal 

 structures, into which it U introduced with the food, as well as 

 often by the water drank, especially when hard. It is present in 

 small quantity in sea-water (UeUbeche). A deficiency of lime in the 

 body causes a softness of the bones to result ; while an excess of it 

 occasions preternatural induration of the bones, morbid growths from 

 them, or exostoses, ossifications of the cartilages, of the heart and 

 arteries, a* well as depositions of calcareous concretions in various 

 glands and cavities, such as the urinary bladder. [CALCULUS.] The 

 action of lime on the human system varies considerably according to 

 the state in which it is when introduced into or applied to it Thus 

 quick-lime is violently escharotic, causing inflammation and often de- 

 composition of the part which it touches, and is never employed save 

 when the actual destruction of the part is intended. In a state of 

 great dilution, such ss that of lime-water, or when rendered mild by 

 combination with carbonic acid or phosphoric acid, it scarcely produces 

 any immediate or direct action beyond what results from its com- 

 bining with the acids of the stomach, and, if in considerable quantity, 

 absorbing the mucous and other secretions. It likewise checks the 

 illations of remote mucous membranes with which it is not brought 

 into contact, such as those of the bronchia. After its absorption into 

 the system, it augments the secretion of the kidneys, and at the same 

 time hinders the excessive formation of uric . 



Lime-water ha* an effect beyond what results from its combining 

 with any excess of acid, of a kind to create diarrhrca, for it acts as an 

 astringent and tonic. Hence it remove* a tendency to the distune, as 

 well u cures it, when debility in the cause. Its action is often pro- 

 moted by combination with aromatic*, as in the aromatic com 

 sad ocoasionilly with opium. Carbonate of lime in the form of pre- 

 pared chalk acts in a similar way, but U accompanied with a disengage- 

 MOt of carbonic add, which U sometimes beneficial, at other times 

 rlbtisssins, to UM patient [ANTACID*,; ASTRINUKNTX.] Lime-water 

 often the most effectual means of reconciling the stomach to a milk- 

 diet, and is also of great service in n-inviiig the tendency to the 

 sneraUon of worms. [AXTIII.I.MINTIC*.] I.itne-watcr with". .live ..il 

 is a useful application to barns, called carron oil, or /.;,,;, U i,itum fair,, 

 of the IWmicoptds. 



Chloride of lime sppssr* to exercise a specific power over the 



lymphatic venel* and gland*, increasing their activity, so that under 

 H* influence various swellings and indurations have first softened and 

 then disappeared. This is UM more remarkable as bronchooele, or 



LIMKTI: v* 



enlargement of tin- thyroid gland, seems to be caused eliietly by Drink- 

 ing water abounding in calcareous salt*. Chloride of lime has been 

 strongly recommended in scrofula. It is generally given in the form 

 of solution, but in a dry state, with extract of conium, it is even more 

 useful. 



The great tendency of chloride of lime to absorb humidity from the 

 air renders it of much utility in preserving steel and surgical inrtru- 

 menU from rust. Hence the presence of a portion of it in chests sent 

 to sea protects the fine edge from erosion. For the use of the chloride 

 (hypochlorite) of lime as a disinfecting agent, see ANTISEPTICS, CHLO- 

 it INK, and DISINFECTANTS. 



Phosphate of lime has been recommended in rickets and other 

 diseases of the bones in which this earth is deficient It* utility is 

 increased by using at the same time phosphate of iron, or, if that 

 cannot be obtained, the sesquioxidc or rust of iron. This salt and 

 many other salts of lime exist in different mineral waters, and some of 

 their effects are due to this impregnation. [ MIXKKAI. WATERS.] 



Lime-water, if at hand, affords an efficient antidote to poisoning 

 with some of the mineral acids, such as sulphuric or hydrochloric, also 

 oxalic acid. Some of the lime or plaster torn from the walls of the 

 room, diffused through water, will answer this end. 



LIME. [CALCIUM ; Oxygen and Calcium.] 



LIME. [MANURE.] 



LIME KILNS. The description of ovens in which limestones are 

 subjected to the process of calcination are known by the name of lime 

 kilns. These structures are usually built of brickwork lined with fire- 

 bricks, and in shape are either rectangular straight prisms, portions of 

 cylinders, cylinders surmounted by truncated cones, reversed straight- 

 sided cones, or cones produced by the revolution of an ellipsoid. The 

 first three forms are used for what are called intermittent kiln, whether 

 of wood or coal ; the next two forms are used for what are called r> 

 kilnt, and are those in which coal is burnt ; whilst the last of all is most 

 generally used when peat is the fuel employed. In the intermittent 

 kilns the main body of the fuel is applied below the charge, and after 

 it has been consumed the fire is let out and the kiln cooled ; in the 

 running kilns the fuel is intermixed with the charge, and the calcined 

 lime, falling to the bottom, is gradually withdrawn as it is burnt, so 

 that the operation is, technically speaking, continuous. Local con- 

 siderations of the cost of construction, of fuel, and of the nature of 

 the demand, must regulate the choice of the particular description of 

 kiln. 



It is calculated that the degree of heat required in a lime kiln in 

 about from 15 to 30 of Wedgewood's pyrometer, and that in inter- 

 mittent kilns this heat must be maintained for between 8 or 4 days. 

 It is supposed that about 60 cubic feet of oak, 117 feet of fir, about 

 the same quantity of peat, and 9 cubic feet of coal are required to 

 calcine 35 cubic feet of limestone, in intermittent kilns ; and that 7 

 cubic feet of coal are able to calcine that quantity of lime-stone in 

 running kilns. The lime-stones lose, on the average, 45 per cent, of 

 their weight by the evaporation of the water, and the expulsion of the 

 carbonic acid gas ; but they hardly diminish in volume more than 

 from 1 to 2 per cent. A great deal of the loss of weight by calcination 

 is permanent ; for even after the lime has been hydrated thoroughly, 

 it remains about from 15 to 17 percent, leas in weight than it had 

 previously been, when in the form of the stone. 



LUKE LIGHT. [DRUMHOND'S LIGHT.] 



LIME-TKEE : Kmuomifal I'tft. The wood of the European Linn-, 

 which is of a yellowish-white colour, is close-grained, soft, light, 

 smooth, and not liable to be attacked by insects. It is used for the 

 Hounding-boards of pianofortes ; for many articles of cabinet-work and 

 domestic utensils ; for small boxes to contain perfumery and drugs ; 

 and for some of the better kinds of children's toys. Curriers, glovers, 

 and shoemakers find lime to be the best wood for tlirir cutting-boards. 

 The colour, grain, softness, and surface texture have given lime-wood a 

 high favour among carvers; many of the fine carvings at Windsor 

 Castle, Chatoworth, and Trinity College Library at Cambridge, are in 

 this wood. Hollar, the wood-engraver, is said to have used lime-tree 

 for his blocks. 



The charcoal obtained from the lime ranks next to that from hazel 

 for gun]>owder. Baskets and cradles are sometimes made from the 

 twigs. The bark is twisted into rope, twine, and matting, in some 

 countries. The Russian peasants often make the Holes of shoe* with 

 the outer bark, while the bark of the young shoots is woven into a 

 material for the uppers. They also manage to make baskets and boxes 

 with stri|M of the inner bark ; and employ the outer bark ,'of the 

 older trees as a substitute for tiles and slates for their huts. In 

 various countries the fibres of the inner Imrk are so prepared as to 

 be used as a substitute for hemp and flax in making fishing-nets, 

 cloth, Ac. The matting, so much used by upholsterers and gardeners, 

 comprise*, among other kinds, that which is made in Sweden and 

 Russia from lime-bark; the piece* are steeped in water till the layers 

 se|>arate freely ; and these layer*, when separated into ribands or 

 strips, and dried, are woven or interlaced into matting. The leaves of the 

 lime-tree are used as cattle-food in some part* oi l-'.\ir<>|x>. The sap 

 will yield sugar, but not to a profitable extent. A sort of cocoa has 

 been prepared from the fruit The honey procured by bees from the 

 flowers of the lime-tree is said to excel all others in delicacy. It i 

 an important article of commerce in Lithuania, Galicia, Transylvania 



