L I C 
L 1 C 
l i e 
tiienfrom the west to the east; so that the 
parts in the western limb or margin ot the 
moon sometimes recede from the centre ot 
the disk, and sometimes move towards it, by 
which means they become alternately visible 
and invisible to the inhabitants ot the earth. 
Libration of the earth, is sometimes used 
to denote the parallelism of the earth’s axis, 
in every part of its orbit round the sun. 
LICENCE, in law, an authority given to 
a person to do some lawful act. 
A licence is a personal power, and there- 
fore cannot be transferred to another. If the 
person licensed abuse the power given him, 
la that case he becomes a trespasser. 
LICENTIATE, one who has obtained the 
degree of a licence. The greatest number of 
the officers of justice in Spain are distinguish- 
ed by no other title but that of licentiate. In 
order to pass licentiate in common law, civil 
law, and physic, they must have studied 
seven years ; and in divinity, ten. Among 
lis, a licentiate usually means a physician 
who has a licence to practise, granted by the 
college of physicians, or the bishop ot the 
diocese. 
LICHEN, liverwort, a genus of the na- 
tural order of alga;, in the cryptogamia class 
of plants. The male receptacle is roundish, 
somewhat plain and shining. In the female 
the leaves have a farina or mealy substance 
scattered over them. There are about 21b 
species, all* found in Britain. Among the 
most rem ukable are the following: 
1. The geographicus ; it is frequent in 
rocks, and may be readily distinguished at a 
-distance. The crust or ground is of a bright 
greenish-yellow colour, sprinkled over with 
numerous plain black tubercles; which fre- 
quently run into one another, and form lines 
resembling the rivers in a map, from which 
•last circumstance it takes it name. 
2. The calcarious, or black-nobbed dyer's 
lichen, is frequent on calcarious rocks; and 
has a hard, smooth, white/stony, or tar- 
tareous crust, cracked or tesselated on the 
surface, with black tubercles. Dillenius re- 
lates, that this species is used in dyeing, in 
the same manner as the tartareus after-men- 
tioned. 
3. The ventosus, or red spangled tartare- 
ous lichen, has a hard tartareous crust, crack- 
ed and tesselated on the surface, of a pale 
yellow colour when fresh, and a light olive 
when dry. The tubercles are of a blood-red 
colour at top, their margin and base of the 
same colour as the crust. The texture and 
appearance of this (according to Mr. Eight- 
foot) indicate that it would answer the pur- 
poses of dyeing as well as some others of this 
tribe, if proper experiments were made. 
4. The candelarius, or yellow farinaceous 
lichen, is common upon walls, rocks, boards, 
and old pales. There are two varieties. 
The lirst has a farinaceous crust of no regular 
figure, covered wifh numerous small green- 
ish-yellow or olive shields, and grows com- 
monly upon old boards. The other has a 
smooth, hard, circular crust, wrinkled and 
lobed at the circumference, which adheres 
closely to rocks and stones. In the centre 
are numerous shields of a deeper yellow or 
orange colour, which, as they grow old, 
swell in the middle, and assume the figure of 
tubercles. The inhabitants of Smalaud in 
Sweden scrape this lichen from the rocks, 
and mix it with their tallow, to make golden 
candles to burn on festival days. 
5. The tartareus, or large yellow-saucered 
dyer’s lichen, is frequent on rocks, both in 
the Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. 
The crust is thick and tough, either white or 
greenish white, and has a rough warded sur- 
face. The shields are yellow or buff-colour- 
ed, of various sizes, from that of a pin’s head 
to the diameter of a silver penny. Their 
margins are of the same colour as the crust. 
This lichen is much used by the Highlanders 
for dyeing a fine claret or pompadour colour. 
For this purpose, after scraping it from the 
rocks, and cleaning it, they steep it in urine 
for a quarter of a year. Then taking it out, 
they make it into cakes, and hang them up in 
bags to dry. These cakes are afterwards pul- 
verised, and the powder is used to impart the 
colour with an addition of alum. 
6. The parellus, or crawfish-eye lichen, 
grows upon walls and rocks, but is not very 
common. The crusts spread closely upon 
the place where they grow, and cover them 
to a considerable extent. They are rough, 
tartareous, and ash- coloured, ot a tough cori- 
aceous substance. The shields are numerous 
and crowded, having white or ash-coloured, 
shallow, plain discs, with obtuse margins. 
This is used by tiie French for dyeing a red 
colour. 
7. The saxatilis, or grey-blue pitted lichen, 
is very common upon trunks of trees, ro ks, 
tiles, and old wood, it forms a circle two or 
three inches diameter. The upper surface is 
of a blue grey, and sometimes of a whitish 
ash-colour, uneven, and full of numerous 
small pits or cavities; the under side is black, 
and covered all over, even to the edges, with 
short simple hairs or radicles. A variety 
sometimes occurs with leaves tinged of a red 
or purple colour. This is used by finches 
and other small birds in constructing the out- 
side of their curiously formed nests. 
8. The omphalodes, or dark-coloured 
dyer’s lichert, is frequent upon rocks. It 
forms a thick widely expanded crust of no re- 
gular figure, composed of numerous imbri- 
cated leaves of a brown or dark-purple co- 
lour, divided into small segments. The mar- 
gins of the shields are a little crisped and 
turned inwards, and their outside ash-colour- 
ed. This lichen is much used by the High- 
landers in dyeing a reddish-brown colour. 
They steep it in urine fora considerable time, 
till it becomes soft and like a paste; then, 
forming the paste into cakes, they dry them 
in the sun, and preserve them for use in the 
manner already related of the tartareus. 
9. The parietinus, or common yellow 
wall-lichen, is very common upon walls, 
rocks, tiles of houses, and trunks of trees. It 
generally spreads itself in circles of two or 
three inches diameter, and is said to dye a 
good yellow or orange-colour with alum. 
10. The Islandicus, or eatable Iceland 
lichen, grows on many mountains both of the 
Highlands and Lowlands of Scotland. It 
consists of nearly erect leaves about two 
inches high, of a stiff substance when dry, 
but soft and pliant when moist, variously di- 
vided without order into broad distant seg- 
ments, bifid or trifid at the extremities. The 
upper or interior surface of the leaves is con- 
cave, chesnut-colour, smooth, and shining, 
but red at the base ; the under or exterior 
12 
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surface us. smooth and whitish, a little pitted, 
and sprinkled with very minute black warts. 
The margins of the leaves and all the seg- 
ments from bottom to top, are ciliated with 
small, short, stiff, hair-like spinules, of a dark 
chesnut-colour, turning towards the upper 
side. The shields are very rarely produced. 
Made into broth or gruel, it is said to be very 
serviceable in coughs and consumptions ; and, 
according to Haller and Scopoli, is much 
used in these complaints in Vienna. 
11. The pulmonarius, or lung-wort lichen, 
grows in shady woods upon the trunks of old 
trees. The leaves are as broad as a man’s 
hand, of a kind of leather-like substance, 
hanging loose from the trunk on which it 
grows, and laci mated into wide angular seg- 
ments. Their natural colour, when fresh, is 
green; . but in drying) they turn first to a 
glaucous and afterwards to a fuscous colour. 
It has an astringent, bitter taste; and, ac- 
cording to Gme'.in, is boiled in ale in Siberia, 
instead of hops. The antients used it in 
coughs and asthmas, &c. but it is not used in 
modern practice. 
12. The caiicaris, or beaked lichen, grows 
sometimes upon trees, but more frequently 
upon rocks, especially on the sea-coasts, but 
is not very common. It is smooth, glossy', 
and whitish, producing flat or convex shields, 
of the same colour as the leaves, very near 
the summits of the segments, which are acute 
and rigid, and, being often reflected from the 
perpendicular by the growth of the shields, 
appear from under their limbs like a hooked 
beak. This will dye a red colour; and pro- 
mises, in that intention, to rival the famous 
lichen rocolla or argol, which is brought from 
the Canary Islands, and sometimes sold at the 
price of 80/. per ton. It was formerly used 
instead of starch to make hair-powder. 
13. The prunastri, or common ragged 
hoary lichen, grows upon all sorts of trees; 
but it is generally most white and hoary on 
the sloe and old palm trees, or upon old 
pales. This is the most variable of the whole 
tribe of lichens, appearing different in figure, 
magnitude, and colour, according to its age, 
place of growth, and sex. The young plants 
are of a glaucous colour, slightly divided into 
small acute crested segments. As they grow 
older, they are divided like a stag’s horn, into 
more and deeper segments, somewhat broad, 
flat, soft, and pitted on both sides, the upper 
surface of a glaucous colour, the under one 
white and hoary. The male plants, as Lin- 
naeus terms them, are short, seldom more 
than an inch high, not hoary on the under 
side; and have pale glaucous shields situated 
at the extremities of the segments, standing 
on short peduncles, which are only small 
stiff portions of the leaf produced. The fe- 
male specimens have numerous farinaceous 
tubercles both on the edges of their leaves, 
and the wrinkles of their furnace. The pul- 
verised leaves have been used as a powder 
for the hair, and also in dyeing yarn of a red 
colour. 
14. The juniperinus, or common yellow 
tree-lichen, is common upon the trunks and 
branches of elms and many other trees. Lin- 
naeus says it is very common upon the juni- 
per. The Gothland Swedes dye their yam. 
of a yellow colour with it, and give it as a 
specific in the jaundice. 
15. The caninus, or ash-coloured grourid 
liverwort, grows upon the ground among 
