LUG. 



precisely similar, did not yield nearly half as 

 much, in proportion, as the lucern. 



"We have no doubt that it may be cut five 

 times another year, and will yield at the rate 

 of a ton and a half of hay to the acre at each 

 cutting." (Zane&ville Gazette.) 



Upon analysis, the stems, &c., of lucern are 

 found to contain gypsum, and this furnishes a 

 satisfactory explanation of the fact, that plaster 

 of Paris applied to the crop generally causes 

 it to grow luxuriantly. Live-stock prefer plas- 

 tered lucern to any other herbage. 



LUG. A long measure of land, the same 

 with a pole or perch, 16 feet. In Gloucester- 

 shire it however signifies a land measure of 

 6 yards, or a rod, pole, or perch of 6 yards. 

 It is a measure by which ditching and other 

 similar operations are performed there. This 

 term is likewise applied to the stick by which 

 the work is measured. It is sometimes called 

 log. 



LUNGWORT (Pulmonaria; it derives both 

 its common and generic names from its sup- 

 posed medical properties in diseases of the 

 lungs). The species of this genus are very 

 pretty flowering plants, well adapted for orna- 

 menting the front of shrubberies. They thrive 

 in any common soil, and are readily increased 

 by divisions. 



LUPINE (Lupinus, from Input, a wolf; in 

 allusion to its exhausting or devouring the 

 soil). The species of this genus are among 

 the most beautiful of border flowers. They 

 will flourish in almost any soil, but a rich 

 loam suits them best. They perfect their seeds 

 very freely, from which young plants are easily 

 obtained. In agriculture, the lupine is culti- 

 vated principally for being turned in as a ma- 

 nure. (See GREEN MANURES.) This plant re- 

 quires but little trouble or labour in its culti- 

 vation, as it will thrive in any soil except the 

 bad chalks, and such as are very wet. It will 

 even grow well on poor, hungry, worn-out land, 

 especially if it be dry and sandy. When sown 

 in February or March, after a single very shal- 

 low ploughing, and slightly harrowed in, it will 

 blossom two or three times between May and 

 August, and prove an excellent enricher of the 

 ground when ploughed in just after its second 

 blooming. The best time for mowing this sort 

 of crop is after a shower of rain, as the seeds 

 drop easily out of their pods when they are 

 gathered too dry. They must, however, be 

 laid up very dry, or worms soon breed in them. 

 They are inferior to many other plants for the 

 above nse. 



LUPINE, WILD. Mr.Nuttall hasenumerated 

 seven species of the lupine genus found in dif- 

 ferent parts of the United States and territories. 

 Dr. Darlington has described common wild lu- 

 pine, an ornamental plant, found in the wood- 

 lands and hills of the Middle States. The root 

 is perennial and creeping; stem 9 to 18 inches 

 high, herbaceous, erect, or decumbent, some- 

 what branching, striated, angular, and pubes- 

 cent. Flower purplish-blue, with violet shades. 

 Legume or pod about an inch and a half long 

 and one-third of an inch wide, somewhat flat- 

 tened, hairy, and of a dark tawny colour. Seed 

 obovoid, slightly compressed, smooth, speckled 

 of variegated with whitish and dark brown. 



MADDER. 



| LURCHER. A sort of hunting dog, much 

 I like a mongrel greyhound, with pricked ears, 

 I a shaggy coat, and generally of a yellowish- 

 white colour. It is a very swift runner, so that, 

 if it gets between the burrows and the rabbits, 

 it seldom misses taking them; and this is its 

 common practice in hunting. 



LURID. In botany, signifies a colour be- 

 tween a purple, yellow, and gray. 



LYME-GRASS. See ELTMUS. 



LYCHNIS (from lychnos, a lamp; on account 

 of the brilliancy of the flowers of most of the 

 species). This is an extremely beautiful genus 

 of plants, well meriting extensive cultivation 

 for the brilliancy of their flowers. A red va- 

 riety is often cultivated in a double state, and 

 called bachelor's buttons; a name, however, 

 which is more frequently given to a species of 

 ranunculus. 



LYNCHET. A country term applied to the 

 stripes or grassy partitions in arable fields in 

 England, but mostly to such as are in the state 

 of commonage. 



I. V \CH-PIN, or LINCH-PIN. The small 

 pin, in carts or other carriages, that is put 

 through the ends of the axle-trees, to confine 

 the wheels on them. 



I- V KATE. In botany, leaves are called ly- 

 rate which are shaped in the form of a lyre 



M. 



MACERATION. The act of softening any 

 substance by steeping it in cold water or other 

 liquid. 



MACHINE (Gr.). In a general sense this 

 word signifies any thing which serves to in- 

 crease or regulate the effect of a given force. 

 Machines are either simple or compound. The 

 simple machines are usually reckoned six in 

 number; namely, the lever, the wheel and axle, 

 the pulley, the wedge, the screw, and the funi- 

 cular or rope machine. Compound machines 

 are formed by combining two or more simple 

 machines. 



In husbandry, the term is applied to various 

 implements, such as the DRILL, THRASHING, 

 and WINNOWING MACHINES, the STEAM ENGINE, 

 &c. See these respective terms. 



MADDER (Rubia, from ruber, red, in allusion 

 to the colour of the roots). This is a genus of 

 interesting plants ; any common garden soil 

 suits them, and they are easily increased by 

 seeds or divisions of the roots. The root of R. 

 tinctorwn is one of the most valuable dyes with 

 which we are acquainted, and is a very import- 

 ant article of commerce. The plant is herba- 

 ceous, several stems rising from the same root; 

 tetragonal, with hooked prickles at the angles. 

 The leaves are four or six in a whorl, lanceo- 

 late, with the midrib on the under disk, and the 

 margins aculeated. The flowers are small, 

 yellow, supported on axillary trichotomous pe- 

 duncles. 



The dried root of the madder is long, cylin- 

 drical, the thickness of a goose quill, branched 

 and covered with a reddish cuticle, which, as 

 well as the bark, is easily separated ; the odour 

 is feeble, and the taste bitter and astringent. It 

 is imported entire from Smyrna and the Levant, 

 but in coarse powder from Holland and France. 



739 



