Page:LA2-NSRW-3-0014.jpg



LAMPBLACK

1024

LANCASTER

easily controlled and trimmed. In 1865 the Hinks of Birmingham introduced the double burner, having two parallel flat wicks and two flames, which soon became very popular. All efforts since have been directed toward the improvements in burners, to give perfect combustion and consequently a brighter and better light.

Lamp'black is the soot or carbon deposit obtained from burning substances, as resin, petroleum or tar, rich in carbon. Little oxygen is allowed to reach the flame, so that it becomes smoky, and the soot is caught upon something. For some purposes lampblack is purified by heating in closed vessels. It is used by artists both in oil and water-colors, and a coarser kind is used by housepainters. It is the carbon used on carbon paper that is the chief ingredient of india ink and, in combination with linseed oil, makes printer's ink.

Lam'prey, an eel-like fish belonging to the round-mouthed fishes (Cyclostomi). There are both fresh-water and sea-lampreys. They are lower in organization than true fishes, and have no jaws, paired fins or scales. Their skeleton is cartilaginous. They have a round mouth, which is used as a sucker and is armed with numerous horny teeth. They attach themselves to stones and to the bodies of other fishes by the sucking mouth. In the latter positions they scrape off the flesh with their teeth and rasp-like tongue, and feed on the flesh and blood. They cause considerable damage to the good fishes. They also eat worms, larvae and dead fish. Their gills are in pouches, and communicate with the water through seven round holes on each side of the neck. The sea-lampreys reach a length of three feet. They ascend rivers to spawn. The fresh-water lampreys are smaller. The brook-lampreys are six or eight inches long. The large lake-lampreys are supposed to be identical with the sea form. They have been eaten since the days of ancient Rome in some localities, but despised in others. See Gage's Lake and Brook Lampreys of New York.

Lams'dorf, Count Vladimir Nicolaivitch, was born at St. Petersburg in 1845, and died on March 19, 1907. He was one of the world's most distinguished diplomatists, yet fell short, perhaps, of some of the qualities of the true statesman. From 1900 to 1906 he was foreign minster for Russia; and it was said that if it had been desired to confer a new Russian order of distinction upon him, a new one would have had to be invented. He was the friend and adviser of Nicholas I, Alexander II and Alexander III.

Lancaster, House of, was founded as a duchy during the reign of Edward III ot England, and the duke was made county palatine. The heiress married John of Gaunt, and the duchy was settled on him

and his heirs by royal charter in 1362. The first English king from the house of Lancaster was Henry IV, the son of John of Gaunt. He was succeeded by his son, but the reign of the house ended with the death of Henry VI. See ENGLAND.

Lancaster, the capital of Lancashire, England, is situated on an elevation on the left bank of the Lune, seven miles from its mouth. The old castle, built on the site of a* Roman castle and restored by John of Gaunt, is used as a jail. The city contains St. Mary's Church (isth century) and Ripley Hospital. The Lune is crossed by a bridge built in 1788, but owing to shifting sands vessels must unload five miles below. Its chief manufactures are furniture, cotton, silk, oilcloth, tablecovers, machinery and a railway plant. In 1698 the town almost totally destroyed by fire. Population 40,000.

Lancaster, Ohio, a city and county-seat of Fairfield County, 32 miles from Columbus, is in the center of an agricultural region. Among its industries are railroad shops, carbon works and manufactories for glass, shoes, flour, agricultural implements and foundry products. It has excellent public schools, and is the seat of the state industrial school for boys. Lancaster is the birthplace of Senator John Sherman and General W. T. Sherman. The city owns its waterworks and gas-plants; is situated on the Hocking River and canal; and has the service of two railroads. Population

I3»°93-

Lancaster, the capital of Lancaster County, Pa., is situated on Conestoga River, 68 miles west of Philadelphia, with which it is connected by rail. It also is the terminus of four railroads. The city was founded in 1721, laid out in 1729, named after Lancashire in England, made a county-seat in 1730 and chartered as a borough by George II in 1742. It was the capital of the state from 1799 to 1812, when it was chartered as a city. It is unusually well-built, and has all the appointments and conveniences of a modern city. Its prominent public buildings include the United States internal revenue and postoffice, the court house, the Y. M. C. A. building and many handsome church edifices. The city is the center of one of the richest agricultural regions in the United States. Its chief export is tobacco, of which large quantities are made into cigars. Other manufactures are watches, umbrellas, cotton-cloth and iron. Lancaster especially abounds in small manufactories. Its charitable institutions comprise a children's home, several orphanages, two homes for aged women and two hospitals, besides the insane asylum and hospital. Educationally the city is greatly favored. Its public schools rank high; it is the seat of Franklin and Marshall College and Academy and of the theological