LE M 



424 



LEO 



the seeds along one of its margins only. 

 It is the pod proper to the pea or papilio- 

 naceous tribe of plants, thence earned 

 leguminous, and constitutes a natural order 

 called Lrguminoste (q.v.). 



LEO'UMINE, a principle extracted from 

 dry peas, somewhat like starch, but dif- 

 fering in being insoluble in boiling water. 



LEODMINO'S^. Leguminous plants. See 

 LEGUME. 



LEM'MA. Ajf6ua. A proposition pre- 

 viously assumed. 2. In geometry, a 



previous proposition demonstrated for 

 the purpose of being employed in the 

 demonstration of some other proposition. 



LEM'MING. In zoology, the popular name 

 of a genus of gnawers, the Georychus, 

 Illiger. The Lemming, properly so called 

 (G. lemmus,) is a northern species as 

 large as a rat, with black and yellow fur, 

 celebrated for its occasional migrations 

 in innumerable bodies. At these periods 

 they are said to march in a straight line, 

 regardless of rivers and mountains ; and 

 while no obstacle can impede their course, 

 they devastate the country through which 

 they pass. Their usual residence appears 

 to be the shores of the Arctic Ocean. The 

 Lemming of Hudson's Bay (G. Hudsonius 

 or Mu Hudsonius, Gm.) is of a light 

 pearly ash colour, without tail or exter- 

 nal ears, of the size of a rat, and lives 

 under ground, in North America. 



LEM'NIAN EARTH. Sphragide. A mi- 

 neral found in the island of Lemnos, in 

 the Egean Sea. Colour reddish yellow ; 

 fracture fine, earthy, adheres slightly to 

 the tongue, and has a soapy feel. Consti- 

 tuents, 66 silica; 14'5 alumina; 3'osoda; 

 6 oxide of iron ; 8'5 water, with slight 

 portions of lime and magnesia. 



LEM'ON, the fruit of the lemon-tree 

 (Citrus medico"). A native of Persia, &c., 

 but now cultivated in Europe. Lemons 

 are brought into this country from Spain, 

 Portugal, and the Azores, packed in 

 chests, each lemon being separately rolled 

 in paper. 



LEMON A'DE, water to which a little 

 lemon-juice and sugar are added. It is 

 much improved by being charged with 

 carbonic acid. 



* LEM'ONS, ESSENTIAL SALT or. The bin- 

 oxalate of potash is frequently sold un- 

 der this name. Its use is to remove mould 

 and stains from linen. 



LE'MUR. In zoology, & genus of the order 

 Quadrwnana. The L. makis are active 

 animals, which from their pointed heads 

 have been called fox-nosed monkeys. Their 

 food is fruit. Their species are very nu- 

 merous, but only met with in the island 

 of Madagascar, where they replace the 

 monkeys, none of which it is said are to 

 be found there. 



LEM'URBS. In antiquity, restless ghosts 

 of departed persons, who returned to ter- 



rify and torment the living ; the same 

 with the larvee. 



LENS, Lat. lens, a lentil. A piece of 

 glass or other transparent substance, hav- 

 ing its two surfaces so formed that the 

 rays of light, in passing through it, have 

 their direction changed, and made to con- 

 verge or diverge. Lenses receive parti- 

 cular denominations according to their 

 form. Thus A is a plano-convex lens, one 



side being plane and the other convex; 

 B is a convexo-convex lens, or double convex 

 lens, both sides being convex ; C is a 

 plano-concave lens, one side being plane 

 and the other concave, and D is concavo- 

 concave, both sides being concave. "When 

 one side is concave and the other convex, 



as E, the lens is called a meniscus. 2. 



In anatomy, an important part of the eye. 

 See EYE. 



LENTIC'OLAR, shaped like a lens : ap- 

 plied in botany, conchology, anatomy, 

 &c., to round bodies, having the opposite 

 sides convex and meeting in a sharp edge . 



LEN'TISK, the mastic-tree (Pistacia len- 

 tiscus), common in the south of Europe, 

 Named from lentesco, to become sticky, in 

 allusion to the gumminess of its juice. 



LEN'TO. In music, an Italian word 

 meaning "slow," and used to denote a 

 movement between largo and grave. 



LEO, the Lion. In astronomy, the fifth, 

 sign in the order of the zodiac, and the 

 second of the summer signs, marked Q, . 

 The chief star is Regulus, situated on the 

 ecliptic, and sometimes called Cor leonis, 

 the lion's heart. In the tail of the lion 

 is Dcnebola, also a star of the first mag- 

 nitude. Leo minor, or the little lion, is 

 said to owe its place in the heavens to 

 the fable of Hercules killing the Nemaean 

 lion. The constellation is composed of 

 the stellce infamies of the ancients. 



LE'OXINE VERSE, a sort of Latin verse 

 consisting of hexameters and pentame- 

 ters, of which the final and middle syl- 

 lables rhyme, as 

 " Gloria/acfo?wi, temer conceditur horum." 



Some attribute the invention to Pope 

 Leo I., and others to Leonius, a poet of 

 the 12th century. 



LEOX'T.ODON, the dandelion. A genus 

 of perennial plants. Syngenesia Poly, 

 eequalis. Name from Aewv, the lion, and 

 otiouy, a tooth, from its supposed resem- 

 blance. Thepissabed (L. taraxacum and 

 the marsh dandelion (L. lividus* are Bri- 

 tish species. All the species are hardy. 



