LAM 
made at Chriftmas, it is not without feme difficulty 
that the Corporation can procure a proper quan- 
tity'j though they fometimes purchafe them at the 
extravagant price of one guinea each fifh. 
Hew much Lampreys were valued among the 
ancients, appears from the teftimony of ahiioft 
every writer who has either praifed good living or 
ridiculed gluttony. But whether the murfcna of 
the ancients refembled any known fpecies of the 
fifh called the Lamprey by the moderns, is not 
certain: we rather apprehend, from the (oUovj- 
ing ftory, that the mur^ena of antiquity is now 
totally unknown. * A fenator of Rome, wliofe 
name is unworthy of being tranfmitred to pofte- 
rity, was famous for the delicacy of his Lampreys. 
Tigelinus, Manucius, and all the celebrated epi- 
cures of Rome, were loud in his praifcs: no man's 
fiih had fuch a flavour, was fo nicely fed, or fo per- 
feftly pickled. Auguftus hearing fo much of this 
man's entertainments, defired to be his gueft ; and 
foon found that fame had been juft to his merits : 
the mm had indeed very fine Lampreys, and of 
an exquifite flavour. The emperor was defirous 
of knowing the method by which he attained fuch 
excellence in feeding his fifli; and the monfter, 
making ho fecret of his art, informed him, that his 
way was to dirow into his ponds fuch of his flaves 
as had at any time difpleafed him. Auguftus (we 
are told) did not much reiifh his receipt, and in- 
itandy ordered all his ponds to be filled up.' 
Lamprey, Lesser ; the Petromyzon Fluviatilis 
of Linnjeus. This fpecies, which fometimes grows 
to die length of ten inches, is found in the Thames, 
the Severn, and tlie Dee; and, for the delicacy of 
it's flavour, is ufually preferred to the common 
kind. Vafl quantities are caught about Mortlake, 
of which more than 400,000 have been Ibid to the 
Dutch in one feafon as bait for their cod-fifhery. 
They are generally purchafed at forty fliillings a 
thoufand; and it is faid that the Dutch poffefs the 
fecret of preferving them for a confiderable time. 
This fiili refem.bies the common Lamprey in 
many refpe£ls : the mouth is formed exaftly in the 
fame m^anner; and it has likewife the fmall orifice 
at the top of the head, by which it ejefts the wa- 
ter. Ln the upper part of the mouth there is a 
large bifurcated tooth ; in each fide there are three 
rows of very m,inute ones ; and in the lower part 
there are feven teeth, the exterior of which on each 
fide is the largefl. On the lower part of the back 
there is a narrow fin ; beneath that rifes another, 
■which at the beginning is high and angular, then 
narrows, furrounds the tail, and ends near the 
anus. The colour of the back is brown or duflcy, 
Ibmetimes mixed with bluej and the v/hole under- 
fide is fiivery. 
Lamprey, Pride; the Petromyzon Brancha- 
iis of Linnaeus. This fpecies is generally fix in- 
ches long, and about the thicknefs of a gooie- 
quill. The body is marked with numbers of 
tranfverfe lines, crofTmg the fides from the back to 
the bottom of the belly, which is divided from the 
mouth to the anus by a ftraight line ; the back fin 
is of an equal breadth ; and the tail is ianceolated, 
and terminates in a point. 
This fifli is coiTiinonly found in the Ifis, near 
Oxford; but does not feem to be peculiar to that 
river, though no where elfe caught in fuch plenty. 
It conceals itfelf in the mud; and has never been 
obferved to pofTefs the powers of fudion, like the 
other Lampreys. 
Lamprey, East Indian. This fpecies is about 
Vol. n. 
a foot long: it's ikin is fnooth and flippery; it is 
brown on the back; and there are yellow fpots on 
the belly. The ventral fins arc purple; and the 
head, which is fhaped like that of the fnail, is fur- 
nifhed with feelers. This fifh is caught in ponds 
and lakes : it's fins are fud to be venomous ; but 
it's ficfli is extremely agreeable. 
LAMPRILLON. An appellation given by 
fome authors to that particular fpecies of' lamprey 
diftinguiflied by the epithet of the Pride. 
LAMPUGA. A name given by fom.e ichthy- 
ologiits to the fifli more ufually known by that of 
the Stroma tens. 
LAMPUGO. An appellation fometimes given 
to the hippurus, a marine filli caught on the coalt 
of Spain, and ilippofed by fome to be fynonym.ous 
with the dorado. 
LAMPYRIS. A genus of the coleoptera clafs 
of infeds in the Linnssan fyftem; the charafters of 
which are thefe: the antenns are filiform; the ely- 
tra is flexile; the thorax is plain and femi-orbicu- 
lated, covering and furrounding the head; and 
the fides of the abdomen are overfpread with folds 
of down. Linnsus enumerates eighteen fpecies, 
of which the glow-worm is one. 
LANIUS. The Latin term for the butcher- 
bird. 
LANNEPv; the Falco Lannarius of Linnjeus. 
A bird of the long-winged hawk kind. The beak 
and legs are blue ; the head and neck are variegated 
with large ftreaks of black and white; the back, 
wings, and tail, are fprinklcd with a fevv^ fmall 
white fpots ; the wings, when extended, are alfo 
fpeckled underneath widi linall round white fpots ; 
and the neck and legs are very fhort. 
This bird, which is common in France, where it 
continues during the whole year, is very docile, 
and well adapted to all the purpofes of hawking. 
In Italy the fpecies feems to vary a little, having 
yellowifn brown ihoulders, and being perfeftly 
ufelefs in falconry. 
This fpecies alfo breeds in Ireland; and is thus 
accurately defcribed by Pennant: it is lefs than the 
buzzard ; the ear is of a pale greenifh blue colour ; 
the crown of the head is of a brown and yellow 
clay-colour; above each eye a broad white line 
palfes to the hind-part of tiie head ; and beneath 
each a black mark points downwards. The throat 
is white ; the breaft is tinged with dull yellow, and 
marked with brown fpots pointing downwards ; the 
thighs and vent are fpotted in a fimilar manner; 
the back and coverts of the wings are a deep 
brown, edged with a paler tinge; the quill-fea- 
thers are dufl-cy; the inner webs are marl^ed v/ith 
oval ruft-coloured fpots; and the tail is fpotted in 
the fame manner as the wings. 
LANTERN FISH. A provincial appella- 
tion for a fifh of the feal kind, the ArnoglolTus of 
Willughby. 
LANTERN FLY. A fmgular fpecies of 
Weft Indian infe£t which exhibits a ftrong light in 
the night-time. The ftrufture of this creature's 
trunk refembles that of the cicada; and as it is in- 
capable of emitting that flirill noife for which the 
cicada is fb remarkable, according to Reaum.ur's 
diftinftions, it belongs to that fpecies of infect 
called the procigale or procicada. 
All the luminous infefts with which we are ac- 
quainted in this quarter of the world, diffufe their 
light from a part fituated near the extremity of the 
body and under the belly; but the luminous fub- 
ftance of the Lantern Fly is contained in it's head. 
C It 
