LITHOTOMY LITTORALE. 



495 



cess, which is called etching: the strength of the solu- 

 tion will depend upon the nature of the stone, as 

 likewise on the nature of the drawing. A strong etch- 

 ing liquor destroys the finer tints, and blackens the 

 deeper shades: the strength of the acid solution must 

 also diminish with the softness of the stone. 



Wood cut engravings can be very well imitated in 

 lithography, by covering the stone with ink, and 

 taking out the light part by means of a steel point, 

 the finer lines being put in with a hair pencil. When 

 the drawing is finished, the stone is treated with the 

 acidulated water as described above. 



Copperplate prints may be very well imitated by 

 engravings on stone. Take a well polished stone, 

 and treat it with a solution of nitric acid, so that 

 slight effervescence ensues. Wash the stone, and then 

 cover it with a mixture of gumarabic and honey, and 

 then spread over it a little lamp black when half 

 dry; when dry, etch as in copperplate engravings, 

 taking care not to make the lines very deep, fill in 

 the hollow parts with linseed oil, which after a little 

 must be taken out by pressing a blotting paper on it. 

 The lines are then to be filled with a mixture of lin- 

 seed oil and tallow in equal quantities, with a little 

 lamp black. In two or three hours the stone is 

 washed clean, and is then ready for use. 



Engravings upon copper may be taken from the 

 plate upon transfer paper, and then taken from 

 it immediately upon the stone. 



When the drawing or writing is placed upon the 

 stone, it is prepared for printing. The stone is 

 placed on the table of the press, and a proper sized 

 scraper is placed in the scraper box, being adjusted 

 with nicety by screws to touch the surface of the 

 stone. The stone is gently washed with rain water, 

 and ink taken upon the roller from off the ink table, 

 and distributed upon the stone, in the same manner 

 as in letterpress printing. The drawing receives the 

 ink with difficulty at first, and two or three of the 

 first proofs are commonly bad. The stone should be 

 kept just wet enough to prevent the ink from going 

 on any place but the drawing, and a very little gum 

 is allowed to remain on the stone during the whole 

 process. Should the ink go on any part where it 

 ought not, it must be taken out by the application of 

 a strong acid. There are many particulars regarding 

 the press work, especially the tempering of the ink, 

 which need not be specified here, as they can only be 

 learned by practice. 



When during the process of printing any error is 

 found, and erasure becomes necessary, the follow- 

 ing solution must be employed: dissolve two parts of 

 caustic potass, in 126 parts of pure water. The 

 liquid must remain a few minutes on the stone before 

 it be washed oft', when the drawing will be effaced. 

 Another method is to wash with oil of turpentine, 

 then come over it with vinegar of the ordinary 

 Strength. 



LITHOTOMY is the name given to the opera- 

 tion for extracting the stone from the bladder. See 

 Stone. 



LITHOTRITY ; a surgical operation, by which 

 the stone in the bladder is crushed by an instrument 

 invented and first applied by doctor Civiale, of Paris, 

 in 1826. He has written on the subject. 



LITHUANIA (in the language of the country, 

 Litwa ; in German, Lithauen}; an extensive coun- 

 try, formerly an independent grand duchy, contain- 

 ing 60,000 square miles, but in 1569, united to 

 Poland. Since the dismemberment of that kingdom 

 in 1773,' 1793, and 1795, the greater portion of it 

 has been united to Russia, and forms the govern- 

 ments of Mohilew, Witepsk, Minsk, Wilna and 

 Grodno The climate is temperate and healthy, 

 and the face of the country nearly a level, inter- 



rupted only by a few insignificant hills. The soil is 

 in some parts sandy ; in others marshy, or covered 

 with woods; but, wherever it is cultivated, very 

 productive. The principal rivers are the Duna, 

 or Dwina, the Dnieper, the Niemen, the Przypiec 

 and Bug. There are also many lakes and morasses. 

 Lithuania raises considerable numbers of cattle, and 

 produces abundance of corn, flax, hemp, wood, 

 honey, and wax. 1'he mineral kingdom yields iron 

 and turf. The forests are full of game ; among the 

 wild animals are the urus, lynx, elk, beaver, &c. 

 Corn, wax, honey, wolf and bear skins, leather, 

 wool, and small but good horses, are exported. 

 The manufactures are iron, glass, leather, and there 

 are numerous distilleries. The Lithuanians, who are 

 of the Lettish origin (see Livonia), were in the 

 eleventh century tributary to Russia. They made 

 themselves independent when Russia was divided 

 by the troubles under the successors of Wladimir, 

 and soon became formidable to their neighbours. 

 Ringold, in 1235, bore the title of grand duke, and, 

 under his successors, the whole of Russian Lithuania 

 was separated from Russia. Gedemin conquered 

 Kiev ; Wladislaus Yagello was baptized in 1386, 

 and, by his marriage with the Polish queen Hedwig, 

 united Lithuania and the conquered Russian pro- 

 vinces with Poland. A portion of Lithuania, 6675 

 square miles, with nearly 400,000 inhabitants, now 

 forms part of Gumbinnen, in the province of East 

 Prussia, and is fertile and well cultivated. See Rus- 

 sia, and Poland. 



LITMUS ; a blue paste or pigment obtained 

 from the lichen parellus. It is brought from Hol- 

 land at a cheap rate, but is not much used in paint- 

 ing, for the least acid reddens it ; but the colour is 

 again restored by the application of an alkali. On 

 this account, it is a very valuable test to the chemist 

 for detecting the presence both of an acid and alkali. 

 It is employed also for staining marble, and by silk 

 dyers for giving a gloss to more permanent colours. 

 Considerable quantities of the lichen are collected in 

 the northern parts of Great Britain. 



LITRE. See France, division Decimal Measure. 



LITTER ; a sort of vehiculary bed ; a couch or 

 chair wherein the Roman patricians were borne by 

 their servants, particularly on solemn public occa- 

 sions, such as triumphal pomps or religious cere- 

 monies. These litters were mostly provided with 

 an awning or canopy, to preserve their occupiers 

 at once from the heat of the sun and from the 

 general gaze. 



LITTLETON, or LYTTLETON, THOMAS, a 

 celebrated English judge and law authority, born 

 at the beginning of the fifteenth century, at Frankley, 

 having been educated at one of the universities, was 

 removed to the Inner Temple, where he studied the 

 law, and became very eminent in his profession. 

 In 1455, he went the northern circuit as judge of 

 assize, and was continued in the same post by Ed- 

 ward IV., who also, in 1466, appointed him one of 

 the judges of the common pleas. In 1 475, he was 

 created a knight of the Bath, and continued to enjoy 

 the esteem of his sovereign and the nation until his 

 death, at an advanced age, in 1481. The memory 

 of judge Littleton is preserved by his work on 

 Tenures, which has passed through a very great 

 number of editions, those from 1539 to 1639, alone 

 amounting to twenty-four. This work is esteemed 

 the principal authority for the law of real property 

 in England, while the commentary of Sir E. Coke is 

 the repository of his learning on the subjects treated. 



LITTORALE; an Italian word signifying the 

 sea coast, applied particularly to the Hungarian 

 province on the coast of the Adriatic, comprising 

 the three towns Fiume, Buccari and Porte-Re with 



