Page:EB1911 - Volume 16.djvu/628

Rh A distinctively American life-boat extensively used is the Beebe-McLellan self-bailing boat (fig. 11), which for all round life-saving work is held in the highest esteem. It possesses all the qualities of the self-righting and self-bailing life-boats in use in all life-saving institutions, except that of self-righting; and the sacrifice of this quality is largely counteracted by the ease with which it can be righted by its crew when capsized. For accomplishing this the crews are thoroughly drilled. In drill a trained crew can upset and right the boat and resume their places at the oars in twenty seconds. The boat is built of cedar, weighs about 1200 ℔, and can be used at all stations and launched by the crew directly off the beach from the boat-wagon especially made for it. The self-bailing quality is secured by a water-tight deck at a level a little above the load water line with relieving tubes fitted with valves through which any water shipped runs back into the sea by gravity. Air cases along the sides under the thwarts, inclining towards the middle of the boat, minimize the quantity of water taken in, and the water-ballast tank in the bottom increases the stability by the weight of the water which can be admitted by opening the valve. When transported along the land it is empty. The Beebe-McLellan boat is 25 ft. long, 7 ft. beam, and will carry 12 to 15 persons in addition to its crew. Some of these boats, intended for use in localities where the temperature of the water will not permit of frequent upsetting and righting drills, are built with end air cases which render them self-righting.

In addition to the principal appliances described, a number of minor importance are included in the equipment of every life-saving station, such as launching carriages for life-boats, roller boat-skids, heaving sticks and all necessary tools. Members of all life-saving crews are required on all occasions of boat practice or duty at wrecks to wear life-belts of the prescribed pattern.

Life-boat Service in other Countries.—Good work is done by the life-boat service in other countries, most of these institutions having been formed on the lines of the Royal National Life-boat Institution of Great Britain. The services are operating in the following countries:—

Belgium.—Established in 1838. Supported entirely by government.

Denmark.—Established in 1848. Government service.

Sweden.—Established in 1856. Government service.

France.—Established in 1865. Voluntary association, but assisted by the government.

Germany.—Established in 1885. Supported entirely by voluntary contributions.

Turkey (Black Sea).—Established in 1868. Supported by dues.

Russia.—Established in 1872. Voluntary association, but receiving an annual grant from the government.

Italy.—Established in 1879. Voluntary association.

Spain.—Established in 1880. Voluntary association, but receiving annually a grant of £1440 from government.

Canada.—Established in 1880. Government service.

Holland.—Established in 1884. Voluntary association, but assisted by a government subsidy.

Norway.—Established in 1891. Voluntary association, but receiving a small annual grant from government.

Portugal.—Established in 1898. Voluntary society.

India (East Coast).—Voluntary association.

Australia (South).—Voluntary association.

New Zealand.—Voluntary association.

Japan.—The National Life-boat Institution of Japan was founded in 1889. It is a voluntary society, assisted by government. Its affairs are managed by a president and a vice-president, supported by a very influential council. The head office is at Tôkyô; there are numerous branches with local committees. The Imperial government contributes an annual subsidy of 20,000 yen (£2000). The members of the Institution consist of three classes—honorary, ordinary and sub-ordinary, the amount contributed by the member determining the class in which he is placed. The chairman and council are not, as in Great Britain, appointed by the subscribers, but by the president, who must always be a member of the imperial family. The Institution bestows three medals: (a) the medal of merit, to be awarded to persons rendering distinguished service to the Institution; (b) the medal of membership, to be held by honorary and ordinary members or subscribers; and (c) the medal of praise, which is bestowed on those distinguishing themselves by special service in the work of rescue.

LIFFORD, the county town of Co. Donegal, Ireland, on the left bank of the Foyle. Pop. (1901) 446. The county gaol, court house and infirmary are here, but the town is practically a suburb of Strabane, across the river, in Co. Londonderry. Lifford, formerly called Ballyduff, was a chief stronghold of the O’Donnells of Tyrconnell. It was incorporated as a borough (under the name of Liffer) in the reign of James I. It returned two members to the Irish parliament until the union in 1800.

LIGAMENT (Lat. ligamentum, from ligare, to bind), anything which binds or connects two or more parts; in anatomy a piece of tissue connecting different parts of an organism (see and ).

LIGAO, a town near the centre of the province of Albay, Luzon, Philippine Islands, close to the left bank of a tributary of the Bicol river, and on the main road through the valley. Pop. (1903) 17,687. East of the town rises Mayón, an active volcano, and the rich volcanic soil in this region produces hemp, rice and coco-nuts. Agriculture is the sole occupation of the inhabitants. Their language is Bicol.

LIGHT. Introduction.—§ 1. “Light” may be defined subjectively as the sense-impression formed by the eye. This is the most familiar connotation of the term, and suffices for the discussion of optical subjects which do not require an objective definition, and, in particular, for the treatment of physiological optics and vision. The objective definition, or the “nature of light,” is the ultima Thule of optical research. “Emission theories,” based on the supposition that light was a stream of corpuscles, were at first accepted. These gave place during the opening decades of the 19th century to the “undulatory or wave theory,” which may be regarded as culminating in the “elastic solid theory”—so named from the lines along which the mathematical investigation proceeded—and according to which light is a transverse vibratory motion propagated longitudinally though the aether. The mathematical researches of James Clerk Maxwell have led to the rejection of this theory, and it is now held that light is identical with electromagnetic disturbances, such as are generated by oscillating electric currents or moving magnets. Beyond this point we cannot go at present. To quote Arthur Schuster (Theory of Optics, 1904), “So long as the character of the displacements which constitute the waves remains undefined we cannot pretend to have established a theory of