LAWSONIA 



195 



LEMMING 



Lawsonia, (law-so'ni-a). [Mr. W. Lawson.]= 

 Henna, q.v. : a plant belonging to Lythracese. 



Laying off. The art of planning a ship's hull. 



Lazulite, (laz'u-llt). [Lazulum, the Latin 

 word. ]=Voraulite : a mineral, chiefly phos- 

 phate of aluminum, coloured blue by phos- 

 phate of iron; also called Azurite, Blue-spar, 

 &c. 



Lead, (led). [The A.-S. word. ]= Plumbum = 

 Pb": a soft, bluish-white, malleable metal, 

 much used in building and in making type- 

 metal, glass, &c. L. glance= Galena, q.v.: 

 the common ore of lead. L. group of 

 minerals: includes galena, cerussite, pyro- 

 morphite, and mimetite, all soft and heavy. 

 L. line: a line used to measure the depth of 

 the sea, rivers, &c. v. Sounding lead. L. 



plant, of Mexico=Amorpha canescens. L. 

 tree: a tree-like deposit of metallic lead 

 when a piece of zinc is placed in a solution 

 of acetate of lead; also called Arbor Saturni. 

 L. >07'i=Plunibago. q.v. L. worts=Plum- 

 baginacese, q.v. Black i.=Graphite, q.v. 

 Red L. = Minium, q.v. Sounding L., v. 

 Sounding-lead. White L.=. Cerussite: car- 

 bonate of lead. 



Leaf, (lef). [The A.-S. name.] An expansion 

 of the stem of a plant. 

 Sessile L.: having no stalk. 

 Water L. = Hydrophyllum, 

 q.v. L. 6ai=Vespertilio sori- 

 cinus Glossophaga. L. but- 

 ier%=Kallinia. L. carrying 

 cm=CEcodoma cephalotes: an 

 ant of Brazil, which uses leaves 

 to grow fungi on, which it 

 uses for food. L. insect= 

 Mormobyce phyllodes. L. 

 insects=M.&niid$B : belonging 

 to Orthoptera ; resemble leaves 

 of trees, v. Mimicry. L. &cftens=Panne- 

 liaceae. 



Leaflike=:Foliaceous, q.v. 



League, (leg). [W. Llech=.a stone.]=3 miles: 

 a measure of length. Sea Zr.=3 nautical 

 miles=nearly 3 miles. 



Leap-year = Bissextile, q.v. 



Least common multiple. The smallest number 

 which can be divided, without there being a 

 remainder, by any given numbers is the 

 least common multiple of those numbers. 

 Ex.: 12 is the least common multiple of 2. 

 3, 4, and 6. 



Leather, (leTH'er). [Ledher, the A.-S. word.] 

 A permanent modification of the hides of 

 animals, resulting from the union of the 

 contained gelatin with the tannic acid in 

 which they are steeped. L. cloth: a cloth 

 made to resemble leather in appearance. 

 L. jackets: the New Zealand name for file 

 fishes. L. wood=Dirca, palustris: has tough, 

 leathery bark. Chamois L.: soft leather 

 prepared from the skin of the Chamois goat. 

 Enamelled L.'. coated with varnish, but 

 capable of being bent without cracking. 

 Japanned L. : coated with varnish so as to 

 have a surface as smooth as glass. Morocco 

 L.: the tanned skin of the Barbary goat. 

 Russia .: dyed with aromatic dye, ami not 



subject to injury from damp or insects. 

 Vegetable L.: linen covered with a coating 

 of Indian -rubber. Wash L.: a soft, rough, 

 kind of leather, usually prepared from sheep- 

 skin. 



Leaven, (lev'n). [Levain, the French word.] 

 Dough that has commenced to ferment; 

 used instead of yeast. 



Leaves, (levz). [Leaf, q.v.} In Botany: ex- 

 pansions of the stem; usually consist of a 

 blade and stalk, v. Goethe. 



Leay. v. M'Leay. 



Lecanora, ( le-ka-no'ra )=Cudbear, &c.: an 

 Alpine lichen, from which a dye is procured. 

 L. Taj-torax=Cudbear. 



Lecanoric acid, (le-ka-no'rik). [Lecanora, q.v.] 

 =Orsellic acid=C 8 H 8 O4: a white crystalline 

 substance obtained from Lecanora. 



Lecanorine, (lek-a-no'rln). [Lecanora, q.v.] 

 A colouring matter found in the lichen 

 Lecanora and othersir:Lecanoric acid. 



LecythidacesB, (le-sith-i-du'se-e). [Gk. leky- 

 thos, vase.]=Lecyths: large tropical trees, 

 with large showy flowers, belonging to 

 Myrtales, some immensely high, named 

 from the shape of the vase. 



Leda, (le'da). [Classical.] A small marine 

 bivalve shell found in Tertiary rocks. 



Ledum, (le'dum). A plant belonging to 

 Ericacere. L. spalustre: used in the tanning 

 of Russian leather. 



Leech, (lech). [Losce, the A.-S. name.]= 

 Annelida suctoria=Hirudo medioinalis. v. 

 Leeches. 



Leeches, (le'chez), [Leech, q.v.] Fresh-water, 

 aquatic, hermaphrodite, vermiform animals, 

 belonging to Hirudinea, q.v. 



Lee- way. The difference between the intended 

 and real courses of a ship. 



Leek, (lek). [Leac, the A.-S. name.]=Allium, 

 q. v. Sand L. = Allium scorodopasum. Wi Id 

 i.=AJlium ampeloprasum. 



Legume, (le-gum'). [The Latin name.]=Pod: 

 a dry carpel, opening along the sides and at 

 one end, and having a placenta on one side. 

 Ex.: Pea. cf. Follicle. 



Legumin, (le-gu'min). [Legume, q.v.] C 8 H 14 

 ^Og: an albuminoid substance found in 

 seeds of Leguminacese; also called vegetable 

 casein. 



Leguminous plants, (le-gii'min-us). [Legume, 

 q.v.] Fabaceae, q.v. =Leguminacese=Legu- 

 minosse: a very numerous and varied group of 

 plants forming a sub-division of Dicotyledons. 



Leidenfrost's phenomenon=:Spheroidal con- 

 dition, q.v. 



Leiodon, (ll'6-don). [Gk. leios, smooth ; odous, 

 tooth.] An animal known only by fossil 

 remains, belonging to La- 

 certilia. A ,, 



Lemma, (lem'ma). [The \l|\W 

 Greek word.] A preli- *! 



minary proposition in a 

 course of reasoning. 

 Lemming, ( lem'ming ) = ,, 

 Mus lemmus=Myodes lem-" 

 mus = Lapland Marmot: 

 a small rat -like animal Lemming, 

 belonging to if uridse; als,o called Georychus. 



