LI Cr 



~Tlie phofphorus, wliile burning, a£\s the part of a coi*- 

 rofivc, aiul when it jfots out rcfolvcs into a mcnllnnim, 

 which difTolvcs gold, iron, and other ir.otals j and hghininj;, 

 in the fame u-anticr, unt-lts the fume fubftances. From the 

 whole, it apnea's that there is much more rcfcmblance be- 

 tween this pliofphorus and lightning tlian between gun- 

 powder, or aurnm fiilminans, and that lire ; tkough theie 

 Lave often been fuppofed to be nearly allied to its nature.. 

 See PiiOM'noill-s. 



I.IGNAC, .losp.pii AnniAv i,e Laixgf. de, in liiogra- 

 fh\; a learned French, abbe, defcended from a noble fannly, 

 and burn at Poicliers about the commencement of the lall 

 century. He was brought up among the .Tefuits, and in 

 the courfe of time was chofen to fill different confidentijl 

 polls in that order, and in the Congregation of the Oratory. 

 During a vilil which he had occasion to pay to R'~me, he 

 was introduced to the pope Benedict XIV. and e.irdinal 

 P^iflionei, who honoured liim with attention and friendlhip. 

 He died at Paris in 1762, leaving behind him a confiderable 

 reputation as a philofopher, a uaturalift, and thcologiari. 

 He was author of " Elements of Mctaphylics deduced 

 from Experience :" " The Po.Tibi'.lty of Man's Corporeal 

 Prefence in different Places at the fame Time," in which he 

 attempts to prove that the doArine of trjnfubflantiation 

 tontains nothing in it incongruous with the principles of 

 found phihifophy. " An Examination of the Treatife de 

 l"Kfprit of Helvetius." As a naturali'.l, we have " Memoirs 

 iiluflrative of Aquatic Spiders:" '« A Eetter to an Ameri- 

 can concerning the Natural Hifiory of M. de BufTon :"' 

 and as a divine he publilheil " The Teflimony of internal 

 Senfe and Experience, oppoled to the profane and ridicu- 

 lous Creed of modern Fatalills,'" in three vols. At the 

 time of his death he was employed in compollng a treatife 

 " On the Evidences of Religion." 



EIGNE', in Geography, a town of France, in the de- 

 partment of the I^ower Loire, a;id chief place of a canton, in 

 the dillrict of Ancenis ; 9 miles N.W. of Anccnis. Tlie 

 place contains 1642. and the canton 5770 inhabiUuts, on a 

 territory of \^~\ kiliometres, in 4 communci. 



LIGNE.A. Cassia. See Cassia. 



LIGNEVILLE, the Marciiese di,' in Biography, an 

 ingenious and learned dilettante at Florence in 1770, who 

 had ihidied coun'.crpoint fo ferioufly as to be able to fet the 

 hymn " Salve Regina'' in canon for three voices. The 

 tompolition is correft, and neatly engraved, copies of 

 which were given to his friends. In the titlo of this pro- 

 duftion, dated 1770, the maiquis de Ligneville is ftyled 

 prince of Conca, chamberlain to their Imperial majellies, 

 tii.'-eclor of the mufic of the court in Tufcjuy, and member 

 of the Philharmonic fociety of B.ilogna. He was fon of the 

 famous marfhal Ligneville, who was killed in the gardens of 

 Colorno, a villa belonging to the duke of Parma, during the 

 war of 1733, and was prince of Conca, in the kingdom of 

 Na':les, bv riijht of his mother. 



LlGNiCEKSIS Tiv.-.KA, in the Materia Medka, the 

 name of a hue yellow hole d :g in many parts of Germany, 

 particularly about Enu-ric. in the circle of Weftphalia, and 

 ufed in cordial and ailringcnt compoiitions. It is a com- 

 mon fucccdaneam for the yellow Silcfian bole, where that is 

 not to be had, and is generally elteemed very nearly, if not 

 abfolutely, equal to it in its virtues. 



It is moderately heavy, naturally of a fmooth furface, and 

 of a beautiful gold colour. It cafily breaks between the 

 lingers, and does not llain the flcin in handling, melts freely 

 in the mouth, and leaves no grittinefs between the teeth, and 

 is iiiuncdiateiy diffufiblc in water. It makes ao effervefcecce 



L I G 



with acid* r and burns to a fine red colour, and almod to a 

 ftony hardnafs. 



Charlton (Foff. p. 5.) fays it is more frequently known 

 by the name of ierraJigiUaIn Gohhcrgaijii. 



There is another white bole known by this name. See 

 Gc)LTiiEi((;i:N-.sis terra. 



LIGNIE'RES, in Geography, a town of France, in the 

 (repartment of the Cher, and chi'T place of a canton, in 

 the dillriil of St. Amand ; 24 miles S. of Bourges N. 

 lat. ^6 4j'. E. long. 2 i^'. The pl.ice contains 1205, 

 and the canton 6955 inhabitants, on a territory of 265 kilio- 

 metres, in T I communes. 



LIGNITE. This name is given, by Brongniart, to the 

 fpecies of inflammable foflils, called broun kohle (brown coal) 

 by Werner. The following account, froin Brongniart's 

 Traitc de Mineralogie, will fupply the omifiion of the arti- 

 cle Broiun CO::! in our work. 



The couibullible minerals belcjnging to this fpecies aire 

 chsraderifcd by their fmell and the prcdufts of their com- 

 bullion. The odour which they emit in burning is pungent, 

 often fetid, and has no analogy with that of coal or bitu- 

 mens. They burn with a pretty clear flnmc, without bub- 

 bling and cakiui^, like coal, and becoming fluid in the man- 

 ner of the folid bitumens ; they leave powdery aflies iimilar 

 to thofe of wood, but often more abundant, more ferrugi- 

 nous, and more earthy. The afhes contain a fmall portion 

 of potafli ; at lead Mr. Majon has found about 3 in 100 

 in thofe of the bituminous wood of Callchiuovo. Thefe 

 combullibles yield an acid by di'lillation, which coal does 

 not. 



Lignites vary in colour from deep and fliining black to a 

 dull earthy-brown : the texture of moll of the varieties in- 

 dicates their origin and explains their name. The ligneous 

 texture is ofteiiobfervable, though fometimes it has wholly 

 difappeared. Its fraclure is compad, often rcfinous and 

 conchoidal, or (hiniiig and even. 



The external chtratlers of the varieties of this fpecies 

 vary too much to allow them to be farther generahfed. 



I. Jet Lignite; Jayet. Pech lohle, Wern. 



This fubllance is hard, folid, compaft, and fufceptible 

 of a bright polilh ; it is opaque and of a pure blnck colour; 

 its fradure is undulated, and fometim.es fhining like that of 

 pitch. Specific gravity 1.2 JQ. It is faid to be fometin cs 

 lighter than water ; but Brongniart thinks this prop^-rty rather 

 belongs to the following variety. 



Is foiuid in flrata of little thicknefs, in marly, flaty, cal- 

 careous or gritty beds. It fometimes exhibits the organical 

 texture of wood. 



It is found in France ; in Prcvence, at Beleflat in the 

 Pyrenees; in the department of the Aude, near the village 

 des Bains, fix leagues to the foulh of CarcafTone (this fomr- 

 times contains amber), and near Quilian, in the fame de- 

 partment, in the comnumcs of Sainte Colon.bt, Peyrat, and 

 Bailide ; it is fituatcd at the depth of ten or twelve yards, 

 in oblique flrata between flraia of fand-lione ; but thefe 

 ilrata are neither pure nor continuous Jet proper to be 

 worked is foiuid in mafTcs, the »veight of which is feldona 

 5j pounds. Thefe mines have been wrought for a Icng 

 time, and have produced a conliderable quantity of jet, which 

 was cut and poliflied in the fsmc country. It alfo occurs in 

 Germany, near Wittemberg in Saxony, where it is alfo cut 

 and poliihcd. Very fine jet has alfo been found in Spain, 

 in Galicia, and the /\ilunas. Is likewifo faid to occur in 

 Iceland, in the vvellcrn part of the ifland. 



Befides thefe, proftllbr Jamefon has quoted the following 

 localities of pitch-coal or jet lignite : the coal diilridls of the 



Lothians, 



