LAC
197
LAC
its movements, and lethargic in its habits. The idea of its being'capable of enduring fire without injur)-, can be accounted for,merely from its possessing a power of exuding in any state of irri-tation a white and glutinous substance, which must of course tendto render the application of fire less immediately destructive to itthan to some other animals, and considering what trifling causesliave led, in innumerable cases to important inferences, this factmay probably have given rise to the notion of the salamander be-ing'insuscept'ible of destruction, and even of injury, in the midstof tlames. Tile idea of its poisoning any large animal by its biteis equally exploded. The common lizard, however, is staled tohave been poisoned in consequence of the bite of the salamander,from some particular fluid contained in the skin of the latter. Thesalamander produces its young living, hutched from internal eggs,and frequently upwards of thirty in number.
I.ACHKN'ALIA, in botany, a genus of the hexandria mono*gynia class and order: natural order, Coronari*. Corolla six-parted ; the three outer petals diilorm; capsule three-winged ;cells many-seeded; seeds globular, affixed to the receptacle.There are twelve species, all bulbous-rooted plants, of the Cape ofCood Hope.
LACIIliS, [from lasclter , IT. i. c. to slacken; or laschc, idle,]in the English law, signifies slackness or negligence, as it appears, inLittleton, where laches of entry is a neglect of the heir to enter.
LACllEtSIS, [from Xtsyyiy, to measure out by lot,] in mytho-logy, one of the Kates. She presided over futurity, and was re-presented as spinning the thread of life; or, according to others,holding the spindle.
LACHNEA, in botany, a genus of the monogynia order, andoctaudria class of plants : natural order, Veprecuhe. Calyx none;corolla four-cleft; with the limb unequal; seed one; resemblinga berrv. it Iras two species, natives of the Cape of Good Hope .
LACHRYMAL, or LACHRY MAL1S, in anatomy, an ap-pellation given to several parts of the eye. See Anatomy.
LACHRYMATORY, in antiquity, a vessel wherein the tearsa deceased person’s friends were preserved along with the ashesand urn. They were small glass or earthen bottles, chiefly in tireform of phials. ’ At the Roman funerals, the friends of tire deceas-ed, or the pneficx, women hired for that purpose, used to tillfhem with their- tears, and deposit them very carefully with tireashes in testimony of their sorrow, imagining the manes of the de-ceased were thereby greatly comforted. Many specimens of*hem are preserved in tire cabinets of the curious, particularly ittdie British Museum .
LACHSA, or IIADSJAlt, a province of Arabia Eelix, bound-ed on the N. by Arabia Deserta, E. by the Persian Gulf , S. byCinan, ami W. by Nedsjed. Its camels and asses are much va-* l >ed, and some thousands annually sold into Svria. It lias also aPearl-fishery and some foreign trade. It is chiefly inhabited byll 'e Bedouins . _ * *
LACINIUM, in ancient geography, a promontory of the Bru-. in Italy, the S. boundary of the Sinus Tarentinus and theAdriatic. '
r cacis, a genus of the class and order polvandria digynia.
_alyx and corolla none; lilaments winged on botli sides below ;^-‘ceptaele girt with twelve spines; capsules ovate. There is onePecies, an aquatic of Guiana.
, CACISTIMA, a genus of tire monaudria digynia class and or-er - Calyx is the scale of the ament; corolla four-parted; lrla-*? en h bifid; berrv pedicelled, one-seeded. J t has one species, a
LAClZE, or LAZISF., a town and fort of Maritime Austria,? n fhe E. side of Lake Garda . Also a hilly district extending W.°] u A erona to Lake Garda .
HACK OF RUPEES, is 100,000 rupees; which, supposing'em siccas, or -..tandard, at 2#. lid. each, amount to 12,500/.sterling.
Racquers, are vimishes applied upon tin, brass, and oiliercol S * to preserve them from tarnishing, and to improve theirsta° ll! ' *f' e basis of lacquers is a solution of the resinous sub-^ uce called seed-lac in spirit of wine. The spirit ought to beI'pueh concentrated, in order to dissolve much of the lac.tl, f . . Purpose, some authors direct dry potass to be thrown intop e s P 1! 'it. Thu, alkali attracts tire water, with which it forms apud that subsides distinctly from the spirit at the bottom of theVoo.. U9-
essel. From this liquid the spirit may be separated by decanta-tion. By this method the spirit is much concentrated ; but, at tiie ■same time, it becomes impregnated with-part of the alkali, which ■depraves its colour, and communicates a property to the lacquerof imbibing moisture tVom the air. These imconvcnieiicos. maybe prevented by distilling the spirit; or, if the artist lias notan opportunity of performing that process, he may cleanse thespirit, in a great measure, from the alkali by adding to it somecalcined alum ; the acid of which uniting with the alkali remain-ing in the spirit, forms with it a vitriolatedTartar, which, not beingsoluble in spirit of wine, falls to the bottom together with theearth of the decomposed alum. To a pint of the purified spirit,about three ounces of powdered sheli-lac are to be added ; andtire mixture lobe digested during tire same day with a moderateheat. The liquor ought to ire poured olY, strained, and cleared, bysettling. This clear liquor is now fit to receive the required co-lour from certain resinous colouring substances, the principal ofwhich are gamboge and anotto ; tire former of which gives a yel-low, and the latter an orange, colour. In order to give a goldencolour, two parts of gamboge are added to one of anotto; butthese colouring substances may be separately dissolved in thetincture of lac, and the colour required may be adjusted by mix-ing tire two solutions in different proportions. When silver-leaf ortin is to he lacquered, a large quantity of the_ colouring materialsis requisite than when the lacquer is intended to be laid on brass.
LACONIA, or 1.ACON ICA, a country in the south of Pelo-ponnesus . The capital was called Sparta, or Lacedaemon. SeeLacedaemon. The brevity with which the Laconians always ex-pressed themselves became proverbial. See Laconic.
LACONICfSM. See Laconism. Laconicism is certainlypreferable, both in respect of sound and sense, as well as regularityof derivation.
LACONIC, [ laconicus , I,at.] short; brief; from Laconcs, theSpartans, whopsed few words.
LACONICUM, a short pithy sententious speech, such as tireLacedaemonians were remarkable for. See Laconia .
LACONISM, [laconisntus, Lat.l a concise style, called byPope laconicism.
LACTATES, tire compounds of lactic acid and alkalies. SeeLactic Acid .
LACTATIO, or LACTATION, among medical writers, de-notes nursing, or givingsuck. The mother’s breast, if possible,should be allowed the chilli, at least during the first month; forthus the child is more peculiarly benefited by what it sucks, andtire mother is preserved from more real inconveniencies than thefalsely delicate imagine they would suffer by compliance there-with ; but if by infirm constitution, or other causes, the mothercannot suckle her child, let dry-nursing under lire mother’s eyehe pursued. When women lose their appetite by giving suck,both the children and themselves are thereby injured ; wet nursesare to be preferred, who, during the time they give the breast,liave rather an increased appetite, and digest more (prickly ; tireformer are apt to waste away, and sometimes die consumptive.Those nurses with whom lactation may for a time agree, shouldwean the child as soon as their appetite lessens, their strengthseems to fail, or a tendency to hysteric symptoms are manifest.When tire new-born child is to ire brought up by the mother’sbreast, apply it thereto in ten or twelve hours after delivery; thus”*tiie milk is sooner and more easily supplied, and there is less ha-zard of a fever than when tire child is put to it before the milk be-gins to flow of itself. If the mother does not suckle her child, herbreasts should ire kept so warm with flannels, or a hare-skin, that aconstant perspiration may be supported, which will prevent muchinconvenience from the milk. The child,.notwithstanding all carein dry-nursing, sometimes pines if a breast is not allowed. In thiscase a wet-nurse should be provided, if possible, one that. Iras notbeen long delivered of a child. She should be young, of a healthyhabit, an active disposition, a mild temper, and whose breasts arewell tilled with milk. If tire milk be good, it is sweetish to tiretaste, and totally free from saltness; to the eye it appears thin, and.of a bluish cast.
LACTEALS. See Anatomy.
LACTIC ACID, an acid contained in milk. It war. first ex-amined by Scheele , and found by him to liave peculiar properties.In tiie whey of milk this acid is mixed with a little curd, some3 E phosphate