LAU 
Lavater, a physician at Zurich ; a genus of 
the Monadelphia Polyandria class and or- 
der. Natural order of ColnmniferaB. Mal- 
vacese, Jussieu. Essential character : calyx 
double, outer trifid ; arils very many, one- 
seeded. There are nine species, of which 
L. arborea, lavatera or mallow-tree, rises 
in gardens, with a strong, thick stalk, fre- 
quently to the height of eight or ten feet ; 
in its wild state, not more than four or five j 
leaves alternate, cordate, roundish, seven- 
angled, the angles blunt, but soft as velvet, 
shorter than the petioles ; flowers mostly in 
pairs, sometimes three together, on upright 
peduncles, an inch and half in length ; co- 
rolla purplish red, spreading, bell-shaped, 
like that of the common mallow, an inch or 
more in diameter ; petals broader at top 
than at the base, so that the calyx appears 
between the claws. The ring or whorl of 
fruits is seven or eight-capsuled ; common 
receptacle awl-shaped, with a conoid glo- 
bule at top, and small crescent-shaped la- 
mella; at the base, and the interstices of the 
capsules. Native of Italy, the Levant, and 
Britain. 
LAVENIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Syngenesia Polygamia jEqualis class and 
order. Natural order of Coinposit® Dis- 
coidese. Essential character : calyx nearly 
regular, style bifid 3 down three-awned, 
glandular at the tip. There are two spe- 
cies, viz. L. decumbens, and L. erecta, the 
former is a native of Jamaica, and the latter 
of the East Indies and the Society Isles. 
LAUGERIA, in botany, so called from 
Robert Laugier, professor of chemistry and 
botany at Vienna ; a genus of the Pentan- 
dria Monogynia class and order. Natural 
order of Rubiace®, Jussieu. Essential cha- 
racter: corolla five-cleft; drupe with a 
five-celled nut. There are three species, 
natives of America, West Indies, and Santa 
Cruz. 
LAURUS, in botany, bay-tree, a genus 
of the Enneandria Monogynia class and or- 
der. Natural order of Holorace®. Lauri, 
Jussieu. Essential character : calyx none; 
corolla calycine, six-parted; nectary of 
three two-bristled glands, surronnding the 
germ ; filaments inner, glanduliferons ; drupe 
one-seeded. There are thirty-two species. 
This genus consists of trees or shrubs ; 
leaves mostly entire, in a few nearly oppo- 
site, commonly perennial, as in most trees 
of the torrid zone. L. nobilis, common 
sweet-bay, has been celebrated in all ages ; 
with us it ajipears as a shrub ; but in the 
southern parts of Europe, it grows from 
: 
L A V/ 
twenty to thirty feet in height f it has large 
evergreen leaves, of a firm texture, with an 
agreeable smell, and an aromatic, bitterish 
taste ; flowers dioecious, or male and fe- 
male on different trees, in racemes shorter 
than the leaves, of an herbaceous colour; 
corollas four-petalled in the male flowers ; 
stamens from eight to twelve ; berry supe- 
rior, of a dark pai'ple colour, almost black. 
It is a native of the southern parts of Eu- 
rope and Asia. L. persea, alligator, or avo- 
cado pear, of the West Indies, is about 
thirty feet in height ; the bark is smooth, 
and of an ash colour ; the branches have 
large, smooth leaves, like those of laurel; 
the flowers are mostly produced towards 
the extremities of the branches ; the fruit 
is the size of one of our biggest pears, in- 
closing a large seed with two lobes. This 
fruit is held in great esteem in the West 
Indies ; the pulp is of a pretty firm con- 
sistence, and has a delicate, rich flavour ; it 
gains upon the palate of most persons, and 
soon becomes agreeable even to those who 
cannot like it at first ; it is very rich and 
mild, so that most people make use of some 
spice or pungent substance to give it a 
poignancy. 
LAW, {Sax. lag. Lat. lex, from lego, or 
legendo, choosing, or rather a Uganda, from 
binding), tlie rule and bond of men’s ac- 
tions : or it is a rule for tlie well governing 
of civil society, to give to every man that 
which doth belong to him. 
Law, in its most general and compre- 
hensive sense, is defined by Blackstone, 
in the Commentaries, ‘ a rule of ac- 
tion,’ and is applied indiscriminately to all 
kinds of action, whether animate or inani- 
mate, rational or irrational. And it is that 
ride of action which is prescribed by some 
superior, and which the inferior is bound to 
obey. 
Laws in their more confined sense, and 
in which it is the business of works of this 
nature to consider them, denote the rules, 
not of action in general, but of human ac- 
tion or conduct. And this perhaps (it has 
been acutely observed) is the only sense 
in which the word law can be strictly used ; 
for in all cases where it is not applied to 
human conduct, it may be considered as a 
metaphor, and in every instance a more 
appropriate term (as quality or property) 
may be found. When law is applied to 
any other object than man, it ceases to 
contain two of its essential ingredients, dis- 
obedience and punishment. 
Municipal law, is by the same great com- 
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