Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 05.djvu/484

LEFT LANCE 408 LANDES LANCE, a weapon consisting of a long shaft with a sharp point, much used, particularly before the invention of firearms. It is a thrusting weapon used on foot, but chiefly on horseback. In the Middle Ages the lance was held in the highest repute by knights and men- at-arms who formed the main strength of European armies; it was gradually superseded by the invention of gun- powder. The lances now in use among the European cavalry have a shaft of ash or beech -wood from 8 to 16 feet long, with a steel point 8 or 10 inches long, and, to prevent this from being cut off by a saber stroke, the shaft is guarded by a strip of iron on each side from 1% feet to 2 feet long. The other end has an iron cap to prevent splitting. The point has a small pennon, intended to frighten the enemy's horses. Free lance: Formerly a mercenary soldier, owing allegiance to no one per- manently; hence a person who is free to assail any party or principle and is not pledged to any one more than tempo- rarily. Stink-fire lance : A fuse which, when ignited, emits a suffocating odor, and is used in military mining operations to dislodge counter-miners. In carpentry, a pointed blade, usually employed to sever the grain on each side of the intended path of a chipping-bit or router. It is used in crozes, planes, and gauges of certain kinds. In the Greek ritual, a small knife used in the early part of the present Greek liturgy to di- vide the Host from the holy loaf. The action commemorates the piercing of our Lord's side. The priest makes four cuts in the loaf, and stabs it more than once, accompanying each action with appropri- ate texts of Scripture. In pyrotechnics, lances are small paper cases, filled with composition, and attached to light frames of wood, to mark the outlines of the fig- ures in pyrotechnical devices. Various chemicals give the desired color to the flame. LANCELET, Amphioxus lanceolatus, a transparent and iridescent fish about three inches long, with a fin extending nearly from the snout to the hinder ex- tremity. The skeleton is imperfectly de- veloped, the blood colorless; no proper skull or brain. It has afl[inities to the Ascidian.^ Its movements are active. It IS found in temperate and tropical seas. .CANCER, a cavalry soldier armed With a lance. Lancers were introduced into European armies by Napoleon I., after the pattern of those in the Polish service. After the campaign of 1815, four regiments of English lancers were formed, and are classed to-day as me- dium cavalry. They are valuable in open country fighting, but were not employed to any great extent in the World War. The Uhlans in the German service are armed and used as in England, and are "medium cavalry." In dancing, the "lancers" are a certain set of quadrilles. LANCEWOOD, a wood valuable for its great strength and elasticity. It is produced by the small tree Guatteria virgata (natural order Anonacese). An- other species, G. laurifolia, yields the wood called white lancewood, which, how- ever, is not much used. Lancewood is of great value to coach-builders, by whom it is used for shafts and carriage poles. The part used is the main trunk of the tree. It comes in small quantities from the West Indies, chiefly from Jamaica. LANCIANI, RODOLFO AMEDEO (lan-cha'-ne), an Italian archseologist; born in Rome, Jan. 1, 1847. He attained celebrity by investigating the ruins of classical Rome. Among his works are: "Ancient Rome in tl.e Light of Recent Discoveries" (1888); "Pagan and Chris- tian Rome" (1892) ; and "The Ruins and Excavations of Ancient Rome" (1897), "New Tales of Old Rome" (1901); "Wanderings in the Roman Campagna" (1909). LANCINAO, a city in Italy, the resi- dence of a bishop of the Catholic church. Located near the city of Chieti and about 9 miles from the Adriatic. Situated on three hills connected by large stone bridges which date from Roman times. It is in the center of an important fruit and oil district. Pop. about 20,000. LANDAU (lan'dou), a town of the Bavarian Palatinate, 11 miles W. of the Rhine and 17 S. W. of Spires. Founded and made an imperial city in the 13th century, it has some interesting old churches and was prominent in his- tory as a fortress. During the Thirty Years' War it was taken eight times; in 1688 it was fortified by Vauban for Louis XIV., but surrendered four times during the war of the Austrian Succes- sion. In 1816 Bavaria captured it; and in 1870-1871 its fortifications were razed. Pop. about 18,000. LANDES, a province of southwest France bordering on the Bay of Biscay. The southern part is very fertile while the northern section affords pasture for sheep. The industries are not numerous or extensive, and are connected for the most part with the forests and their products. Area 3,615 square miles. Pop. about 290,000.