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LEFT LIU-KIU 407 LIVEBPOOL LIU-KITJ (lyo-kyo') ISLANDS, a group of 55 (mostly small) islands which form an integral part of the empire of Japan, extending at irregular intervals S. W. from Kyushu in Japan toward Formosa, and constituting the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa; length 80 miles, average breadth 12 to IB miles; area, 1,863 square miles; pop. about 502,000. The only two islands of considerable size are Oshima and Okinawa. The people closely resemble the Japanese and are evidently of the same descent. Sugar is largely grown, the sago palm is cultivated, and rice, millet, cotton, tobacco, indigo and tea are raised, with a variety of fruits. The food of the peo- ple is largely sweet potatoes, fish and pork. Capital of province, Naba; pop. about 48,000. These islands were con- quered by the Prince of Satsuma in 1609, and long paid him an annual tribute. LIVADIA, a town of Greece, on the little stream Hercyno. Here are the famous cave and oracle of Trophonius, and the fountains of Lethe and Mnemo- syne. LIVER, the largest gland in the body, weighing about four pounds, and measur- ing in its greatest length nearly 12 inches. It is placed obliquely in the ab- domen, on the right side, with its convex surface upward, and the concave down- ward. It is in relation as to its position with the diaphragm above, the stomach and intestines below, and the right kid- ney, sometimes extending almost over to the spleen on the left side. It corre- sponds by its free edge with the lower margin of the ribs. It is divided by fissures into five lobes, two on the upper surface, right and left lobes, and with them three minor lobes on the under sur- face. The liver consists of lobules, a connecting structure, Glisson's capsule, ramifications of the portal vein, hepatic duct, hepatic artery and veins, lym- phatics, and nerves, and is inclosed and kept m situ by the peritoneum. The functions of the liver are tvvof old : The separation of impurities from the venous blood of the chylo-poietic viscera pre- viously to its return to the general ven- ous circulation, and the secretion of bile, the fluid necessary to chylification; thence it passes into the duodenum and the gall bladder by means of the ducts of the liver, after mingling with the mucous secretion from the follicles in the duct walls. LIVERMORE, MARY ASHTON (RICE), an American reformer and lecturer; born in Boston, Mass., Dec. 19, 1821. In 1862 she was appointed agent of the Northwestern branch of the United States Sanitary Commission. After the war she was conspicuous in her efforts to promote the woman suf- frage and temperance movements. Among her popular lectures are: "What Shall We Do With Our Daughters?"; "The Moral Heroism of the Temperance Reform." She was the author of "Pen Pictures" (1865); "Thirty Years Too Late" (1878) ; etc. She died May 23, 1905. LIVERPOOL, a city of England, county of Lancashire, on the estuary of the Mersey; 202 miles N. W. of Lon- don, and 31 miles W. of Manchester. It is also a county by itself for some pur- poses. Among the noteworthy buildings are the Town Hall, rebuilt in 1745, occu- pying one side of the square; the Ex- change Buildings, Custom House, Post- office, Dock Office, St. George's Hall (a magnificent structure of the Corinthian order, covering over three acres), the Free Public Library and Museum (hav- ing over 100,000 volumes), Walker Art Gallery, Picton Reading and Lecture Rooms. The University College, Liver- pool College, and Nautical College are the principal educational institutions. There are many charitable establish- ments and hospitals. A superb new sys- tem of waterworks was completed in 1893, by means of which water is con- veyed from Lake Vyrnwy, in Wales. Sefton Park, of 250 acres in the S. part, is elaborately landscaped. The other principal parks are Stanley, Shiel, New- sham, Edgehill, and Wavertree. The docks of Liverpool are among the great- est of the world's engineering works. They are formed for the most part by excavating the river bed, by dredging inside a sea-wall built in the river. The protecting wall is 11 feet thick, and 40 feet high from its foundations. There are nearly 40 of these inclosed docks, with a total water area of 381 acres and 35 miles of quays. A great landing stage for passengers, covering four acres, extends along the river above the docks. It is floated on boiler-plate pontoons, having hinged bridges connecting it with the sea-wall. Liverpool has lines of steamships to all important foreign ports. The construction of large merchant and war vessels is carried on extensively, and there are large engine, cable, and anchor manufactories, brass foundries, sugar refineries, breweries, glass-staining works, and numerous manufacturing in- dustries. There are about 100 Anglican and 44 Roman Catholic Churches, with 170 churches of the various Protestant sects. The Church of St. Peter is the diocesan cathedral. Pop. (1918) 753,353.