LIVESTOCK. 



LOBELIA. 



a beacon to other cultivators, and affords that 

 satisfaction which ever accompanies the ac- 

 quirement of knowledge. (Journ. Roy. jig. Soc. 

 vol. i. p. 147.) 



LIQUORICE (Glyryrrhiza, (romglnkus,sweet, 

 and rhiza, a root ; the sweetness of the root of 

 liquorice is well known). A deep, light, sandy 

 loam suits all the sppcies of this genus, and 

 they are readily increased by slips from the 

 roots with eyes, and planting them in spring. 



Common liquorice (G. glabra) is a native cf 

 the south of Europe; but it is also cultivated 

 in England for medicinal use. It is a legumi- 

 11.. 'UN plant, with unequally pinnated leaves, 

 composed of ovate, retuse leaflets; the flowers 

 are in racemose spikes, shorter than the leaves. 

 The legumes are smooth, and six-seeded. The 

 root, when fit for use, is long, about the thick- 

 ness of the finger, grayish without, and yellow 

 within. The sweet, subacrid, mucilaginous 

 juice contained in the root is much esteemed 

 as a pectoral demulcent. Liquorice requires 

 three years to perfect its growth, when the roots 

 are taken up about the end of November with 

 the spade ; they are then washed, the fibres 

 trimmed off, and the smaller roots which are 

 termed " offal," are separated from the larger. 

 The small roots are dried and ground into 

 powder; but the larger, which form the princi- 

 pal article of profit, are packed up and sold to 

 the druggists. A fair crop will yield from 18 

 to 20 cwt., at an average price of about 45s. per 

 cwt. ; but the expense of digging up ard pre- 

 paring it for market is not short of 10Z. per 

 acre ; which, great as it nay appear, is by no 

 means extravagant, if v e consider the depth to 

 which the roots run, and the care which is ne- 

 cessary to avoid breaking or leaving any of 

 them in the ground. (Paxton's Bot. Diet.; Brit. 

 Hush. vol. ii. p. 330.) 



LIQUORICE, WILL). A species of the 

 genus Galium (Circcezans) found in the United 

 States, frequent in rich woodlands, &c. Its 

 root is perennial, and the slems grow 12 to 18 

 inches high, often branched near the base. The 

 flowers are purplish-white, and appear in June 

 and July. The leaves have a sweet taste, re- 

 sembling liquorice. See MILK-VETCH. 



LITTER. The straw, fern, or other dry sub- 

 stances which are placed under horses and 

 cattle in the stables, cow-houses, farm-yards, 

 &c., for the purpose of keeping the animals 

 clean and warm, and providing a supply of 

 manure. In this last view, all sorts of dry ma- 

 terials should be carefully collected and stacked 

 Uj> for winter use. 



LIVERWORT (Anemone hepatica, Hepatica 

 jUtnericana, or Three-lobed Liverwort} is very com- 

 mon in the open woodlands of the United States, 

 where it flowers in Pennsylvania in May, and 

 matures its seed in May and June. This plant 

 has acquired much notoriety, of late years, as 

 a remedy in pulmonary COD sumption; but its 

 virtues have doubtless been greatly exagge- 

 rated. Dr. Darlington thinks it the only species 

 in the United States. (Flora Cestricu.) See 

 HEPATICA. 



LIVE-STOCK. See HORSES, CATTLE, SHEEP, 



&c. In Great Britain, the live-stock forms the 



chief wealth of a larm. The term implies cat- 



le; cut poultry, too, is strictly live-stock; and 



"32 



in some countries, fish, game, bees, &c., are of 

 that importance that they are considered to be 

 live-stock. In several districts of England, 

 rabbits are so, and that to a very essential ex- 

 tent. In some parts of southern Europe, even 

 the silk-worm is live-stock. 



Through the combined exertions of many 

 distinguished writers, and the practical know- 

 ledge of modern breeders, a very material alte- 

 ration for the better in the breeds of live-stock 

 has taken place, and is still progressing ; and 

 there is little reason to doubt but that still 

 greater improvements are yet to be effected. 

 To such researches too much attention can 

 hardly be paid ; for on the well or ill stocking 

 of the land will mainly depend the cultivator's 

 success. To this end, however, much must 

 rest on the circumstances in which he is placed. 

 See AGRICULTURE IN THE UNITED STATES. 



LIVE OAK (Quercus tnmts). See OAK. J 



LOAD. A term used in the United States 

 rather vaguely, and meaning different amounts 

 or measures in different places. The general 

 meaning of a load of manure, according to 

 Buel, is what can be drawn by two horses, or 

 two oxen, to the field where it is to be applied. 

 At Boston and other large towns in the East- 

 ern, as well as other States, the term load is 

 applied commonly to express as much as can, 

 be drawn by four and even six cattle upon a 

 hard road, or about 96 cubic feet. A load of 

 earth, clay, or marl, is generally estimated at 

 a cubic yard, or 27 cubic feet. 



LOAM. By this term is generally under- 

 stood dark-coloured, rich mould, principally 

 composed of dissimilar particles of earth and 

 decomposed vegetable matter, moderately co- 

 hesive, and therefore neither retentive of mois- 

 ture, like clay, nor too ready to part with it, 

 like sandy soil. According as the different in- 

 gredients predominate, loamy soils are of dif- 

 ferent qualities friable and mellow, middling, 

 or heavy loams. (Pract. Husb. p. 284.) Loam 

 is supposed to consist chiefly of woody fibre in 

 a state of decay, which, as it progresses, ac- 

 quires a black-brown colour, and is then mould 

 or loam. It is a continued source of carbonic 

 acid, as almost every.particle of it is enveloped 

 by an atmosphere of that gas, which is absorbed 

 by the roots of plants, and replaced by atmo- 

 spheric air, to be again converted into carbonic 

 acid. Upon this transformation the influence 

 of loam on vegetation is readily understood : it 

 does not itself nourish plants, but it presents to 

 them " a slow and lasting source of carbonic 

 acid, which is absorbed by the roots." (Liebig, 

 Organic Chemistry in its Application to Agriculture, 

 p. 4861.) See HUMUS. J 



LOBELIA (Lobelia, in honour of Matthew 

 Lobel, author of various botanical works. He 

 was a native of Lisle ; became physician and 

 botanist to James I., and died in London in 

 j 1616). This is an extremely interesting genus 

 of plants, on account of the beauty of the blos- 

 soms, and the medicinal properties of some of 

 the species. The green-house, and stove, 

 , shrubby, and herbaceous kinds, grow well in a 

 mixture of peat and sand ; the shrubby kinds 

 are readily increased by cuttings in the same 

 kind of soil, and the herbaceous species by di- 

 , viding and by seeds. The hardy herbaceous 



