LIQUORICE OF ECONOMIC PLANTS. 247 



Linseed Oil. {See Flax.) 



Lint, the woolly flock obtained by scraping linen. 



Lion's - leaf {Leontice ZeontojMtalum), a herbaceous plant 

 of the Barberry family (Berberide?e). It consists of a round, 

 tuberous corm or root -stock, from the centre of which rise a 

 few compound leaves, and the leafy flower-stalk about a foot in 

 height, bearing yellow flowers. It is a native of Southern 

 Europe and Sp^ia. In Aleppo the root is pounded and used as 

 a substitute for soap. Dioscorides speaks of it as a cure for 

 snake-bites. At the present day the Turks employ it as an 

 antidote against an overdose of oj^ium. Allied to this is Bon- 

 gardict Baiiwolfii. It has a large, flat, superficial tuber, 4 to 6 

 inches in diameter. It is a native of the same countries as the 

 last. The Persians roast or boil the tubers for food, 



Liquidambar, the name of a gum obtained from Ziquidamhar 

 styraciflua and L. orientale, trees of the family Altingiacese. 

 The first is a native of North America, and the second a native 

 of Armenia, Syria, and the southern parts of Eastern Europe. 

 The first yields the substance called Gum Storax of commerce. 

 The chief supply comes from ports in the Mediterranean. 

 These gums are used in medicine and as varnishes, and are 

 different from true storax (which see). 



Liquorice {G-lycyrrhiza glabra), a strong-rooted perennial of 

 the Bean family (Leguminosse), with winged, clover-like leaves. 

 It attains a height of 2 to 3 feet, and is a native of the South 

 of Europe, where it is extensively cultivated, as also in some 

 parts of this country, especially about Pontefract in Yorkshire. 

 The root contains a sweet juice, which is expressed, and is used 

 for making the Pontefract cakes, so called. By boiling it 

 tliickens, and forms the well-known stick or Spanish liquorice, 

 which is. imported from Italy and Spain, from whence ship-loads 

 are exported to the United States, and used for sweetening 

 tobacco, and it is also used as a demulcent and in the prepara- 

 tion of lozenges. The great quantity grown is, however, indi- 

 cative that some other use is made of it, the general belief being 

 that it is used by brewers for giving an apparent body to inferior 



