LOBELIA 



3472 



LOBSTER 



are the acknowledged salaried agents of inter- 

 ests that wish to see certain laws enacted or 

 certain bills killed. Besides these are persons 

 appearing on their own responsibility in behalf 

 of or in opposition to certain proposed laws. 

 * It is not proper to conclude that lobbyists 

 are necessarily corrupt. It is the privilege of 

 citizens in person or through representatives to 

 advise lawmakers as to their desires. So long 

 as logical argument and persuasion are the 

 means employed the occupation of the lobbyist 

 is legitimate; only when in secret conferences 

 votes are won by immoral proposals, such as 

 the use of money or barter of place and power, 

 does the "lobby" become an evil institution. 

 The very general objection to the "lobby" i? 

 that its acts are in great part secret, and that 

 the public cannot know the relations that exist_ 

 between a legislator and a seeker after favors. 

 The use of money or other valuable thing to 

 secure legislative favors constitutes the crime, 

 of bribery, and in every country severe punish-, 

 ment, which may include both imprisonment 

 and fine, follows conviction. ' . E.D.P. ^ 



Consult Bryce's American'" Commonwealth; 

 Brooks's Corruption in American Politics and 

 Life. 



LOBELIA,' lobe'lia, 'a widely-distributed 

 group of herbs, which contains 400 known spe- 

 cies. They are native to tropical and temper- 

 ate climates, but are found chiefly in damp 

 woods, swamps and marshes of North America 

 and the north ot 

 Pndia. Many 

 favorite garden 

 flowers belong to 

 this group, among 

 them the cardinal 

 and the blue car- 

 dinal, which blos- 

 som year after 

 year in the 

 warmer parts of 

 North America. 

 The red lobelia 

 blooms from the 

 last of July until 

 September, when 

 its bright blos- 

 soms are readily 

 distinguished in meadows and low, wet places. 

 The stem is straight, and grows to a height of 

 two to four feet, terminating in a long spike of 

 brilliant cardinal flowers. 



The Indian tobacco, another species, which 

 has blue flowers and an erect stem a foot high, 



LOBELIA 



was employed by the Cherokee Indians for 

 medicinal purposes. From the roots and tpps 

 of many lobelias a drug is procured which was 

 once widely used as an emetic, but is now 

 valued chiefly as a remedy for asthma. The 

 group was named for Lobel, a botanist under 

 King James I. 



LOB'STER, a large, long-tailed shellfish, ex- 

 tensively used as a food delicacy in cities. 

 The supply is decreasing, and the price has 

 risen over 400 per cent since 1880. 



The principal swimming organ is the tail, 

 which by a sudden bending underneath sends 

 the animal swiftly backwards: The body is 



divided into seven distinct sections, besides the 

 thorax and head. The lobster has six pairs of 

 mouth organs and two pairs of antennae. The 

 first pair of long legs terminate in large claws, 

 -one of which is very thick and strong, and is 

 used for crushing its food; the smaller claw is 

 used for fighting or to seize its victim. The 

 eyes are placed at the end of movable stalks, or 

 peduncles. 



. -The lobster changes its shell to accommodate 

 its growth. The new shell begins to grow un- 

 der the old one; the latter splits in two near 

 the head, but that covering the tail is shed 

 without splitting, the body being drawn out 

 through the joints. As the new shell is very 

 soft, the animal is unprotected after shedding 

 -the old one and is obliged to hide in crevices 

 in the rocks to escape from hungry fishes and 

 its own species until its shell hardens. The 

 shell of the lobster is dark green-, with darker 

 blotches, but turns bright red when boiled. 

 ", The female lobster lays thousands of eggs?. 

 which are glued together and attached to the I 

 underside of her body until they are hatched. 

 The young resemble their parents, but lack the i 

 large claws. They swim near the surface of the i 

 water until they are about an inch long, and 

 often take shelter under the mother's tail. 





