L O A 



L O A 



neighbourhood of London, and confidcred -is very excellent, 

 found it to confill of 87 per cent, of a rcddifh-grey fand, as 

 fine as meal, and 13 of argil. Suppofing, therefore, clay 

 to confift, as it molt frequently does, of '^o per cent, of argil, 

 and 70 of fine fand, we fhall find, fays Kirwan, that loam 

 of the boll kind contains an cxccfs.of fand amounting to 

 ij per cent. ; if the excefs of fand he greater, it will form 

 what is called z. fandy loam; if fmaller, clayey ham. Mr. 

 Bergman found nothing calcareous in the loam ; when it 

 contains any, it fo far inclines to the nature of marie, and 

 this marhiceous loam may be either fanily or clayey, accord- 

 ing as the proportion above indicated is exceeded on eitlier 

 fide. But loams mod frequently contain alfo a portion of 

 calx of iron, and this calx is more or lefs oxygenated ; a 

 circumllance which produces a couliderable variety in the 

 colour, and probably alfo in the vegetative powers of this 

 earth : if its proportion be coijiiderable, viz. 4 or 5 per 

 cent, tl'.ey often contain alio fomc proportion of vitriolic 

 acid. The colour of loam frequently proceeds from that of 

 the calces of iron contained in it, but mor? frequently from 

 its fandy part. Gravel, which is a coarfer fort of fand, ei- 

 ther of a calcareous or iiliceous nature, is often mixed with 

 loams, and alfo pebbles, whence new diltinftions arife of 

 importance to agriculture. Kirwan's Elem. of Mineralogy, 

 Tol. i. See Mould and Soil. 



Loam is alfo ufed for a fort of mortar made of this earth, 

 by tempering it with water, flraiv, S:c. 



LOAMY Soil, in Agriculture, that fort of foil into 

 which loam enters in a couliderable proportion. Thefe foils 

 are diftinguiihed by many different names and colours. See 

 Soil. 



LOAN-Banks, or Lending-houfts, eflabli/hments which 

 may be traced to an ancient origin, formed and fupported by 

 humane perfons, with a view of lending money to the poor 

 for a certain period, on pledges, without intercft. Thus, we 

 are told, the emperor Augullus converted into a fund the 

 furplus of the money which arofe to the ftatc from the con- 

 fifcated property of criminals, and lent funis from it, with- 

 out intercft, to thofe who could pledge value equal to double 

 the amount. (Suet. Vit. Augulli, cap. 41.) Tiberius alfo 

 advanced a large capital, from which thofe were fupplied 

 with money for three years, who cou'd give fecurity in lands 

 equivalent to twice the value. (Suet. Vit. Tiberii, c. 48. 

 Tacit. Annal. vi. 17. Dio Cafiitis c. viii. 21.) Alex- 

 ander Sevcrus reduced the intereft of money by lending 

 money at a low rate, and advancing fun.s to the poor with- 

 out intereft to purchafe lands, and agreeing to re;eive pay- 

 ment from the produce of them. {JE\. Lamprid. Vit. Alex. 

 Severi, cap. 21.) Thefe examples of the ancients were fol- 

 lowed in modera Italy. In order to GoUeft money, the 

 popes conferred upon thofe who would contribute towards 

 that objeft many fictitious advantages, which at any rate coft 

 them nothing. At firft, money was lent to the poor for a 

 certain time without intereft, provided they could depofit 

 pledges of proper value. At length the po. tiffs refolved to 

 allow the lending-houfes to receive intercft, not for the whole 

 capitals which they lent, but only for a part, merely that 

 tlicy might raife as much money as might be fufHcient to de- 

 fray their expences. In procefs of time, it was tlio'jght 

 proper, for the purpofe of their having fufficient ftock in 

 liand, to give to thofe who Ihould advance tlum money a 

 moderate intereft, which was prudently concealed by blending 

 it with the unavoidable expences of the ellabliilimen't. The 

 lendmg-houfes, therefore, gave and received iiitercft. But 

 in order to avoid the odious name, the intereft that was re- 

 ceived was faid to be " pro indemnitate ;" and this is the 

 cxprefiion made ut of in the papal bull. The pope declared 



the holy mountains of piety, as they were called, to bo 

 legal; and threatened thofe with his vengeance ulio dand 

 to entertain any farther doj^ibts on the fuhjiift. All the 

 cities now haftened to cftablilh IcndiHg-houfes ; and their 

 example was at length fcllov/ed in other countries. The 

 origin of lending-houfes, in the ftrift fenfe of the term, ii 

 referred to the time of pope Pius II. or Paul II., who 

 filled the papal chair from 1464 to 147 1. The greater part 

 of the lending-houfes in Italy was ellablifhcd in the fifteenii* 

 and following centuries by certain Minorites. Notv\'i!!i- 

 ftanding the manifeft advantages with wliicli lending-houfe_s 

 were altendedfand though many of them had been fanc\ioned 

 by the infallible court of Rome, many, bi:t chiefly Domi- 

 nicans, exclaimed againft thefe inftitutions, which they did 

 not c'lU monies pirfatis, but Impielatis, As this difpu'e ws» 

 revived with much warmth in the beginning of the i6Lh 

 century, it was at length terminated by pope LeoX., who, 

 in the council of the Lateran, declared by a partic.ilar bull, 

 that lending-houfes were legal and uleful ; that all doubts to 

 the contrary were finful ; and that thofe who diould write 

 agsiull them would be in a ftate of cxcommuniiaLion. The 

 council of Trent alfo, by a decree, aeknowledgcd their le- 

 gality, and confirmed them. See Mounts of Piety. See 

 alfo LoMBAKDS and Ba.nk. 



LOANDA, in Geography, an ifland in tiie Atlantic, near 

 the coaft of Angola, about 12 miles long, and one wide, fe- 

 paratcd from the continent by a narrow channel, which 

 forms a good harbour. The foil does not produce grain ; 

 but fruits, fuch as oranges, figs, &c. are plentiful. It con- 

 tains feven or eight villages, and on the coail are found fhcll- 

 fifh, called " ziinbi," ufed for money by the natives, hke 

 cowries in India. S. lat. 8 50'. 



LoANDA, or St. Paul tie Loaiida, a fea port town of 

 Africa, in the kingdom of Angola, the fee of a bifliop, and 

 capital of a fertile province called Loanda, in poffefTion of 

 the Portuguefe ; containing feveral churches and convents, 

 and about 5000 inhabltantf, of whom 1000 are v.hitcs, and 

 the reft blacks or mulattoes. The ccur.try abounds in cat- 

 tle and flieep ; Indian corn, millet, manioc, and fruits. 

 S. lat. 8' 53'. E. long. 13° 22'. 



LOANGHILLY, a town of Africa, in Loango ; the 

 ufual burying place of the emperor ; io miles S. of 

 Loaiijio. 



LOA NGO, a country or kingdom of Africa, fituated 

 on the W. coaft towards the Atlantic, and bounded on the 

 N. by Benin, on the E. by Anziko, and on the S. by 

 Congo. Its climate is hotter, but not lefs health/ and plea- 

 fant than that of Congo and Angola, nor is its foil lefs fer- 

 tile. The inhabitants, inftead of cultivating the land, con- 

 tent themfelvcs with bread and fifh, and fuch frbiits, greens, 

 and pulfe, as the loil naturally produces. Cocoas, oranges, 

 and lemons are not much cultivated ; but fugar-cancs, caflia, 

 and tobacco, as well as the palm, banana, cotton and pi- 

 mento trees, grow here plentifully. They have alfo a great 

 variety of roots, herbs, fruits, grain, and other vegetables, 

 of which they make bread, and which they ufe for food. 

 They have few quadrupeds for domeftic ufe except goats 

 and hogs, but poultry and various forts of game are abun- 

 dant : among the wild bcalls they have the zebra, and a 

 great number of elephants, whofe teeth they exchange with 

 the Europeans for iron. The natives, who are called 

 Bramas, are tall, ftout, and well formed, and though for- 

 merly cannibals, are of late much improved in their manners. 

 They pra6tife circunicifion, are addiiScd to trade among 

 themfelvcs, and are friendly and hofpitable in tlieir mutual in- 

 tercourfe. They are fond of females and jealous of tbeir 

 wives. Their Jrcfs confifts tliiefly of cloth inanufa\itured 



by 



