LAC 



LAC 



can subsist by water as well as land, is 

 slow in its movements, and lethargic in 

 its habits. The idea of its being 1 capable 

 of enduring fire without injury, can be 

 accounted for merely from its possessing a 

 power of exuding, in any state of irritation, 

 a white and glutinous substance, which 

 must of course tend to render the appli- 

 cation of fire less immediately destructive 

 to it than to some other animals; and con- 

 sidering what trifling causes have led, in 

 innumerable cases, to important inferen- 

 ces, this fact may probably have given 

 rise to the notion of the salamander being 

 insusceptible of destruction, and even of 

 injury, in the midst of fUmes. The idea 

 of its poisoning any large animal by its 

 bite is equally exploded. The common 

 lizard, however, is stated to have been 

 poisoned in consequence of the bite of 

 the salamander, from sorne particular 

 fluid contained in the skin of the latter. 

 The salamander produces its young living, 

 hatched from internal eggs, and frequent- 

 ly upwards of thirty in number. 



L. aquatica, or the common water newt, 

 is generally about three inches and a half 

 in length, and is found in Great Britain 

 in almost all its stagnant waters. Newts 

 frequently cast their skins with the most 

 complete wholeness, even to the exqui- 

 sitely delicate and filmy coverings of the 

 eye. In the power of reproduction they 

 resemble the cancer genus. The loss of 

 a leg is reported by Dr. Blumenbach to 

 be easily repaired by renovation, and it 

 is added that the same circumstance oc- 

 curs with respect to the eyes. The tena- 

 ciousness of life exhibited by these ani- 

 mals is remarkable. They have often 

 been found inclosed in large masses of 

 ice, in which they must have been con- 

 fined for days, weeks, or even, in some in- 

 stances, for months ; and, on being freed 

 from their prison, have soon displayed all 

 the alertness and vigour of perfect health. 



LACHENALIA, in botany, a genus of 

 the HexandriaMonogynia class and order. 

 Natural order of Coronarije. Asphodeli, 

 Jussieu. Essential character : corolla six- 

 parted ; the three outer petals diftbrm ; 

 capsule three-winged ; cells many-seed- 

 ed ; seeds globular, affixed to the recep- 

 tacle. There are twelve species, all bul- 

 bous rooted plants, and natives of the Cape 

 of Good Hope. 



LACHES, in law, signifies slackness or 

 .negligence; as when we say, "there is 

 a laches of entry," it means the same as 

 to say, there is lack or neglect of entry. 



LACHNJEA, in botany, a genus of the 

 Octandria Monogynia class and order. 



Natural order of Vepreculae. Thymelear* 

 Jussieu. Essential character : calyx none ; 

 corolla four-cleft, with an unequal bor- 

 der ; seed one, like a berry. There arc 

 two species, viz. L. eriocephala, woolly- 

 headed Iachn?ea; and L. conglomerate 

 cluster-headed lachnsea ; these are both 

 shrubs, and natives of the Cape of Good 

 Hope. 



LACHRYMAL, in anatomy, an appel- 

 lation given to several parts of the eye,, 

 from their serving to secrete the tears. 

 The lachrymal gland is situated in the 

 orbit above the smaller angle, and its ex- 

 cretory duds under the upper eye-lid: 

 these are much more easily demonstrated 

 in the eye of an ox than in a human one. 



LAC1S, in botany, a genus of the t'oly- 

 andria Digynia class and order. Essential 

 character : calyx none ; corolla none ; 

 filaments winged on both sides below ; 

 receptacle girt, with twelve spines ; cap- 

 sule ovate, eight-streaked, one-celled, 

 two-valved, many-seeded. There is but 

 one species, viz. L. fluviatilis ; this plant is 

 called by the natives mourerou ; it is a 

 native of Guiana, and has been found only 

 on the rocks of the great cascade of the 

 river Sinernari ; it is always under water, 

 except the flowering branches ; it is at- 

 tached to the rocks by packets of small 

 fibres. 



LACISTEMA, in botany, a genus of 

 the Monandria Digynia class and order. 

 Essential character": calyx scale of the 

 ament; corolla four-parted; filaments 

 bifid; berry pedicelled, one-seeded. 

 There is but one species, viz. L. myri- 

 coides, found in Surinam and Jamaica. 



LACTATES, combinations of earths 

 and alkalies, &c. with the LACTIC acid, 

 which see. 



LACTEAL vessels, in anatomy, fine sub- 

 tle canals situated in the intestines and. 

 mesentry, and serving to convey the 

 chyle to its destined place. See CHYLE. 



LACTESCENT, in botany, a term ap- 

 plied to the juices of plants, of whatever 

 colour, which flow out of plants, when 

 any injury is done them. The colour is 

 either white, as in the campanula, maple, 

 dandelion, &c.; or yellow, as in the celan- 

 dine, &c. ; or red, *as in the bloody dock. 

 Most latescent plants are poisonous, ex- 

 cepting those with compound flowers, 

 which are generally of an innocent quality. 



LACTIC acid, in chemistry, is contained 

 in milk, and was discovered by Scheele, 

 to whom modern chemistry is indebted 

 for much important knowledge. The for- 

 mation of this acid depends on the change 

 of the saccharine mucous matter; for 



