20 



LACHENALIA L^MODIPODA. 



the outward coat of the cells, forming the excrescences 

 we have mentioned, ending in some fine hairs. The 

 other 1ialf of the cells have a distinct opening, and 

 contain a white substance, like a few filaments of 

 cotton rolled together, and a number of the little red 

 insects themselves crawling about ready to make 

 their exit. Their portion of each cell is about one 

 half, and I think must have contained nearly one 

 hundred of these animals. In other cells less forward 

 I found a thick red dark blood-coloured liquor, with 

 numbers of exceedingly minute eggs, many times 

 smaller than those found in the small bags which 

 occupied the other half of the cells." In the pre- 

 ceding account it is evident, from the close relation- 

 ship existing between the lac insect and the common 

 species of coccus of our own country, that the cells 

 above described were in reality the female insects.whose 

 bodies serve as a covering for the eggs in our species, 

 which are enveloped in a kind of cottony secretion, 

 in the midst of which the young insects just hatched 

 may occasionally be found, and the " minute red 

 aniWls" were unquestionably the larva? of the lac in- 

 sect, of which the development of the males, furnished 

 with wings, &c., is perfectly analogous to that of the 

 coccus adonidum ; whilst, on the other hand, the 

 female, as it advances in age, loses its activity, and 

 becomes a shapeless mass. We give this explanation, 

 although Roxburgh has shown the transformations of 

 what he terms the female, but which we do not hesi- 

 tate to state is the male insect ; and this is the more 

 important, because the male insects contribute in no 

 degree to the producing the material called lac. 



Lac is known as an article of commerce under three 

 distinct names : stick lac, which is the original state 

 in which it is found adhering to the twigs ; seed lac, 

 from which the red colour has been extracted, by 

 immersion in water ; and shell lac, which is produced 

 by melting the seed lac, and straining it through 

 cotton bags over a charcoal fire, and then spreading 

 it out into thin plates. The red colour extracted, when 

 the stick lac is made into seed lac, is employed in dye- 

 ing; it is less brilliant than cochineal, but more durable. 



A curious use is made of this material in India, 

 by forming it into grinding stones, in the following 

 manner : " Take of river sand three parts, and of 

 seed lac washed one part, mix them over a fire, and 

 form the mass into the shape of a grindstone, having 

 a square hole in the centre, cement it to an axis with 

 melted lac, heat the stone moderately, and while re- 

 volving rapidly on its axis it can be easily formed into 

 a circle." Polishing grindstones are also formed by 

 mixing two parts of sand, passed through fine muslin, 

 with one of lac ; these cut very fast. The same com- 

 position is formed upon sticks, for cutting stones, 

 shells, &c. by the hand. 



LACHENALIA (Jacquin). A genus of beauti- 

 ful bulbous plants, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. 

 The flowers are hexandrious, and the genus stands in 

 the order AsphodclccB. Generic character : calyx of 

 six petals, bell-shaped ; exterior petals shorter than 

 the outer, often callous at the point ; stamens joined 

 to the base of the petals ; filaments awl-shaped ; an- 

 thers oblong ; style awl-shaped ; seed-vessel three- 

 sided, three-celled, and full of seeds. The Lachena- 

 IICB are green-house plants, thriving in sandy loam 

 and leaf, or moor-earth, requiring no water when dor- 

 mant, but a due quantity while growing. They may 

 be increased by offsets or seeds. 



LACTUCA (Linnaeus). A genus of annual and 

 biennial herbs, many of which are eminently useful 



as salad and culinary plants. They belong to Com- 

 posite. The very many varieties of lettuce now cul- 

 tivated in our gardens, shows the genus has been 

 long in cultivation. Indeed the annals of botany 

 give no certain account either of its introduction into 

 Britain, or of what country the best sort is a native. 

 The Lactuca was known to Pliny, and no doubt was 

 brought to this country by that author's countrymen. 



Nothing can be easier than the cultivation of this 

 salad herb. There is certainly some skill required in 

 having a constant supply throughout the year, be- 

 cause the summer-sown plants are not hardy enough 

 to stand the frosts of winter, and therefore require to 

 be kept in glass frames ; but all the spring sowings 

 come to great perfection, if the ground on which they 

 are sown or planted be moist and rich. It is good 

 management to sow a little seed in every month of 

 the year, whence supplies of plants are drawn for 

 transplanting at every favourable season. For the 

 earliest spring crops, the seed should be sown under 

 glass in the autumn ; and when the seedlings are 

 large enough, they are dibbed out on well-prepared 

 ground as soon in the spring as the state of the weather 

 will permit. Successive sowings and transplantings 

 continue the supply throughout the summer and au- 

 tumn months. 



Cabbage lettuce is much required in French cook- 

 ing ; and to obtain this in the winter, it is raised on 

 hot-beds. For this purpose, the seeds of the largest 

 growing white kinds are sown on a warm border in 

 August and September. Substantial hot-beds are 

 made soon after, covered with a frame and lights, and 

 a good thickness of rich compost. On this lettuce 

 plants are put at one foot distance from each other, 

 and as near the glass as possible. Here the plants 

 spread and grow luxuriantly ; and by the time the 

 bed gets too cold, the lettuce is all used ; other beds 

 being made in the meantime, continue the supply. 

 The upright growing sorts, fit for salads, are called 

 co&s, and those for stewing are called cabbage lettuce. 



LADY-BIRD. The common English name for a. 

 pretty little coleopterous insect, known systema- 

 tically under the name of Coccinclla septem-punctata, 

 Linnaeus. See COCCINELLID^:. 



L^EMODIPODA (Latreille). A singular order 

 of crustaceous animals, belonging to the second sub- 

 section Edriophthalma (or those with eyes not placed 

 upon foot-stalks) of the hard-shelled section (Mala- 

 costraca). These curious insects are of small size, 

 and have the body in general narrow, elongated, or 

 linear, composed of eight or nine joints, with the ab- 

 domen rudimental and furnished with several small 

 anal appendages. They have four simple setaceous 

 antennas arising from a three-jointed foot-stalk, the 

 mandibles are not furnished with palpi, the legs ter- 

 minated by a strong hook, except the third and fourth 

 pairs in some species, which are nearly rudimental. 

 Unlike the other Edriophthahna,ho\veveT, they appear 

 to respire by means of several vesicles placed at the 

 base of the four pairs of legs, commencing with the 

 second or third pair, including those of the head, 

 which latter represent the four anterior foot-jaws 

 greatly developed. No other respiratory organs have 

 been observed. The females, at least in the genus 

 Cyamus, carry their eggs beneath the second and 

 third segments of the body, in a kind of pouch 

 formed of approximating scales. They are all 

 marine ; according to Savigny, they approach the 

 Pycnogonides, and thus lead the way from the Crustacea 

 to the Arachnides. 



