INDEX. 303 



Labrus, (the wrasse), description of this fish, v. 120. 

 Labyrinth of Candia, a subterranean wonder, supposed the 



work of art, i. 57. 

 Labyrinth, convolutions in the wind-pipe and lungs of some 



birds, iv. 11. 



Lama, the camel of the new world ; countries where found ; 

 their flesh an excellent food; their hair, or rather wool, 

 spun into beautiful clothing ; carry their burdens over pre- 

 cipices and craggy rocks, where men can scarcely accom- 

 pany them ; description and age ; manner of coupling ; its 

 food ; exceeds the camel in temperance ; requires little 

 water, being supplied with quantities of saliva, the only of- 

 fensive weapon it has to testify its resentment ; the Indians 

 say, where this saliva falls, it will, from its acrimonious 

 nature, burn the skin, or cause dangerous eruptions ; colour 

 and wool ; habits and marks of agility in the state of nature ; 

 seems the largest of the camel kind in America ; the 

 natives hunt the wild lama for its fleece ; a smaller, weaker 

 sort of the camel kind, called also guanaco and paco ; the 

 manufacture of stuffs, carpets, and quilts, made of the wool 

 of the .paco, forms a considerable branch of commerce in 

 South America, and might usefully be extended to Europe, 

 iii. 378, &c. 

 Lambs, how to be produced all the year round, ii. 174-. The 



third an ewe brings forth, supposed to be the best, 260. 

 Lamprey, a fish every way resembling the lamprey, was pos- 

 sessed of the numbing quality of the torpedo ; people will 

 not venture to touch those of Ireland ; a species very diffe- 

 rent from ours served up as a delicacy among the modern 

 Romans ; doubtful whether it be the murena of the ancients, 

 which our lamprey is not ; ours differently estimated, ac- 

 cording to the season ; those of the river Severn the most 

 delicate of all fish ; description of the fish ; extraordinary 

 power of adhering to stones ; instance of it ; Muralto, in 

 giving the anatomy of this fish, makes no mention of the 

 lungs, for which it has absolute necessity to breathe in the 

 air ; its time of leaving the sea annually, in order to spawn, 

 is the beginning of spring ; after a few months, it returns 

 to the sea ; peculiar preparation for spawning ; the young 

 from eggs ; the female remains at the place where produc- 

 ed ; they are excluded till they come forth ; has her family 

 playing about her, and conducts them in triumph to the 

 ocean ; its food ; some continue in fresh water till they die ; 

 a single brood the extent of the female's fertility, two years 

 being the limit of her existence ; best season for them in 



