Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 06.djvu/63

LEFT LUNGCHOW 37 LUSITANIA have a lung whieh is a simple cavity in the back communicating directly with the air, and covered with minute blood- vessels; in bivalve moUusks again, as in the oyster, it is the internal surface of the mantle or skin-lining w^hich is the special organ, with the same essen- tial structure as gills. In the Articulata, as tapeworm, marine worms, Crustacea, as the crab tribe, we find a somewhat similar arrangement to that of the Mol- lusca, but in insects, and other proper air-breathing Articulata, we have a reg- ular series of air-sacs along each side of the body, opening by pores, called spira- cles or stigmata, so in the spider-tribe, but in a more concentrated form, and more resembling the lung of the Verte- brata. The gills of fishes come next in the scale, accompanied in many cases with an air bladder, especially in those approaching the Reptilia in their organ- ization, and in some of these it is a double sac, the analogue of the double lung. The lungs of the reptiles are, for the most part, capacious sacs occupying a good deal of the trunk cavity, but not filled, like those of the Mammalia, by an act of inspiration, but chiefly by the process of swallowing. In birds we have the connecting link between the types of structure in the two classes. Pathology. — There are various dis- eases of the lungs; two of the most important are tubercular phthisis and pneumonia. LUNGCHOW, a city of China, in the province of Kwangsi, China, a short dis- tance from the border of Tongking. It is an important military station. Pop. 13,000. LUPINE, a very extensive genus of hardy annual, perennial, and half-shrub- by plants, some of which are cultivated in gardens for the sake of their gaily- colored flowers. They belong to the natural order Leguminosos. LUPUS, in zoology: (1) a genus estab- lished by Buffon. to include the true wolves and the jackals, now generally considered as forming part of the genus Canis. (2) The first section of Hamil- ton Smith's subgenus Chaon. In this nomenclature Lupus vulgaris is the com- mon wolf, L. lycaon the black wolf, L. nubilus the dusky wolf, and L. mexi- canus the Mexican wolf. In pathology: A spreading tuberculous inflammation of the skin, generally of the face, tend- ing to great destructive ulceration, often from syphilis. There are two forms, chronic lupus and lupus exedens, the latter characterized by the rapid eating away of the parts affected. In astron- omy: The Wolf; one of the 15 ancient southern constellations. It is situated between Centaurus and Ara, just under Scorpio. It contains no stars larger than the third magnitude. LURAY CAVERN, a cave, not large, but remarkable for the vast number and extraordinary shapes of its stalactites, close to Luray village, Va., 90 miles N. W. of Richmond. Many of these won- derful columns exceed 50 feet in length; numbers of them are hollow, giving out bell-like notes when struck; and the colors range from waxy white to yellow, brown, or rosy red. The cavern, which is lit with electric light, attracts thou- sands of visitors every year. LUEISTAN (lo-ris-tan'), a mountain- ous province in the W. of Persia; area 15,600 square miles; pop. about 300,000. It corresponds roughly to the ancient Susiana, was the seat of the ancient Elamite empire, and is now occupied by numerous minor tribes. LUSHWANKAN. See PORT ARTHUR. LUSITANIA, a British steamship of the Cunard line, 32,000 tons, built on the Clyde in 1908. From 1908 to 1915 she was in the transatlantic service be- tween New York and Liverpool, in which service she made the record time of five days. When the World War broke out in 1914 the "Lusitania" carried in ad- dition to passengers large cargoes for the British Government. On May 1, 1915, she sailed from New York for Liverpool, in spite of the warnings of the German Government, printed in the New York newspapers, that British ves- sels sailing in the "war zone," viz., the waters surrounding the British Isles, were liable to be sunk without warning. When the steamship was ten miles off the coast of Old Head of Kinsale, Ire- land, on May 7, 1915, a torpedo fired by a German submarine struck the vessel and about twenty minutes later she sank with all on board. Eleven hundred and fifty individuals, including many women and children, lost their lives, among which were over a hundred American citizens. The ship and cargo were valued at eleven million dollars. The vessel was not armed and received no warning from the submarine, nor did the German com- mander attempt to aid in the rescue of the passengers and crew. President Wilson of the United States on May 13 addressed a note to the Ger- man Government demanding a disavowal of the act of the German commander, reparation for the injuries, and a promise to avoid such acts in the future. He further stated that the German Govern- ment must not expect the United States