LAGOON 



LAKE 



missioned in 1902 by the National Teachers' 

 Association of Sweden to write a school text- 

 book which would present in narrative form the 

 folklore and geographical conditions of Sweden, 

 Miss Lagerlof 

 produced The 

 \\~onderful Ad- 

 i't nlin-es of X/ls. 

 ,-i children's clas- 

 sic. Her other 

 writings include 

 J-'rom a Swedish 

 Homestead, In- 

 visible Links and 

 The Girl From 

 the Marsh Croft. 

 I n 1 9 9 M i s s SELMA LAGERLOF 



I -icrnrlof vn^mVorl One of the three leading 



received women novelists of the twen- 



the Nobel prize tieth century, sharing this dis- 



,., tinction with Mrs. Humphrey 



m literature (see Ward and Mrs. Edith Whar- 



XOBEL PRIZES), t0 "' 



due largely to the recognition given The Story 

 of Gosta Berlinq. In 1915 she, published Jeru- 

 salem, a pen picture of the Dalesman of the 

 north country. Her popularity in America is 

 partially due to the painstaking translations 

 by Mrs. Vefma Swanton Howard. 



LAGOON ' , from the Latin lacuna, meaning 

 M nap, or hollow, is the name applied to a 

 shallow ^body of water at the mouth of a river 

 or between sand reefs and the mainland along 

 sea and lake coasts. Occasionally the marshes 

 formed by the gradual filling of such places 

 with sand are called lagoons, but such use of 

 the word is incorrect. The still water enclosed 

 within an atoll, or coral island composed of 

 reefs which form an irregular circle, is also 

 called a lagoon, and the meaning has been ex- 

 tended to include artificial lakes and canals in 

 parks. The city of Venice is built upon 

 numerous small islands in a large lagoon be- 

 tween the mouths of the Piave and Po rivers. 



LA GUAYRA, lagwi'ra, a South American 

 seaport on the north coast of Venezuela, one 

 of the leading commercial cities of the country. 

 It is situated on a narrow strip of land be- 

 iween high mountains and the Caribbean Sea, 

 and is five miles from Caracas, the capital of 

 Venezuela. With this city it is connected by a 

 mountain railroad, and it enjoys steamship 

 communication with America and Europe. 

 The manufactures of La Guayra hats, shoes, 

 cigars and cigarettes are chiefly for domestic 

 use; skins, coffee and cacao are the principal 

 exports. Sanitary improvements have made 

 the city a more desirable residence place than 



it was formerly, with its hot, uuhealthful cli- 

 mate, and the population is now more than 

 12,000. A fort protects the harbor where a 

 breakwater has recently been built, and the 

 city proper boasts of several churches and hos- 

 pitals. In the public square stands a statue of 

 Vargas, a famous physician born in La Guayra. 

 The city is the terminus of a cable to Curacao 

 and the seat of a United States consul. 



LAHORE, lahhohr', the largest city of the 

 Punjab, a province in the northwestern part of 

 British India. Lahore is the capital of the 

 province and of the division and of the dis- 

 trict also called Lahore. It lies on the west 

 bank of the Ravi River, at the meeting point 

 of 'several railroads. The native town covers 

 an area of one square mile and is surrounded 

 by a brick wall fifteen feet high. Its appear- 

 ance is far from pleasant, as the streets are 

 exceedingly narrow, unpaved and dirty; its 

 houses are of irregular construction, but many 

 are rendered attractive by projecting balconies 

 and lattice windows ornamented with varieties 

 of carved woodwork. The sordid aspect of the 

 city is relieved by a magnificent mosque, a 

 mausoleum, and a royal palace dating from the 

 early Mogul period. The European quarter, 

 which lies outside the walls on the south, dates 

 from 1849. 



Lahore has direct railroad connection with 

 Delhi, Calcutta and Bombay. Coarse silks, 

 cotton prints, carpets, vegetable oils and can- 

 dles are important articles of manufacture. 

 The Punjab University, one of the most popu- 

 lar educational institutions in India, is the 

 most important of several schools. Population. 

 1911, 228,680. It is not as attractive as many 

 other cities of India. 



LAKE, a body of water surrounded by land. 

 The distinction between a lake and a pond is 

 not clear. A pond is a small body of water 

 not large enough to be dignified by the name 

 of lake, but how large a pond must be before 

 it is a lake is a matter of opinion. The word 

 appears to be derived from the Greek lakkox. 

 meaning a hole, pond or lake. Scientists agree 

 that no matter what the cause of the forma- 

 tion of a lake it is formed but to perish, and 

 the life of a lake, speaking in geological terms, 

 is limited. It may be destroyed by a change 

 of climate, by volcanic action which changes 

 the contour of the country, or it may shrink 

 by apparent evaporation.' Lakes which have a 

 river outlet are destined to find that the river 

 has gradually worn away the barrier which 

 holds the lake waters in place. 



