Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/172

 166 LAPWING LARCENY slender, and straight, vaulted and curved at the end of both mandibles; wings very long and pointed, with the second and third quills equal and longest; tail moderate, broad, and even; tarsi longer than the middle toe, rather slen- der ; anterior toes united at the base, hind toe not reaching the ground; claws short and slightly curved. About half a dozen species are described in Europe, South America, and northern Africa. They live in pairs in marshy moors and in dry or open districts, collecting in winter into flocks on the downs and sea- shore; their flight is rapid, and accompanied by a fanning noise, which has given them their name, and is performed with numerous singu- lar evolutions and often repeated notes ; they run with great speed on the ground. The food consists of worms, slugs, and insects ; the nest is made of dried grass, and is placed in a slight hollow in the ground, generally containing four eggs ; they adopt various stratagems to divert Lapwing (Vanellus cristatus). attention from the nest and young. The Eu- ropean lapwing ( V. cristatus, Meyer) is a very handsome bird, of about the size of a pigeon ; the upper parts are deep glossy green ; the top of the head, crest, fore part of the neck, and breast black ; sides of the neck, abdomen, and base of the tail white; a long delicate crest falls gracefully over the back ; the tail feathers, except the outer, terminate in a large black space. The females and young have less me- tallic lustre, and their tints are less black. It is rather shy, but the males are very pugna- cious in the love season ; the eggs are greenish, spotted with black ; incubation lasts 24 days. The flesh, though generally lean and dry, is esteemed as food, and the eggs are said to be delicious. It is widely distributed throughout Europe, northern Asia, and northern Africa. Some of the foreign species, as the V. Gaya- nensis (Grmel.), have a spur at the fold of the wing, but in other respects resemble the Eu- ropean lapwing; they are very noisy, like most of the plovers. Other lapwings of allied genera have fleshy appendages and caruncles at the base of the bill, as well as spurs on the wings, and defend themselves bravely against birds of prey. For characters of the family, see PLOVEE. LAB, a town of Persia, capital of the prov- ince of Laristan, 175 m. S. S. E. of Shiraz, on the road to Beloochistan ; pop. about 12,000. It contains good houses and one of the finest bazaars in Persia. The palace of the governor has strong walls and towers, and on an adjoin- ing hill are the ruins of a castle. Cotton goods, firearms, and powder are manufactured to a limited extent. LARAMIE, an E. county of Wyoming territory, bounded IN. by Montana, E. by Dakota and Nebraska, and S. by Colorado ; area, about 14,000 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 2,957. It is in- tersected by the North Platte, and watered in the south by the South Platte and in the north, by the Big Cheyenne, a branch of the Missouri. The N. E. part is occupied by a portion of the Black Hills. The Union Pacific and Denver Pacific railroads traverse the S. part. In 1870 there were 2 manufactories of tin, copper, and sheet-iron ware, 1 of boots and shoes, 1 of jewelry, and 2 railroad repair shops. Capi- tal, Cheyenne, which is also the capital of the territory. LARAMIE, a city and the county seat of Al- bany co., Wyoming territory, on the Union Pacific railroad, 7,122 ft. above the level of the sea, 57 m. by rail and 40 m. in a direct line W. N. W. of Cheyenne; pop. in 1870, 828 ; in 1874, about 2,500. It is regularly laid out at right angles with the railroad. A stream of clear cold water, fed by a spring at the foot of the Black Hills a few miles E., runs through the principal streets. The railroad company has erected extensive machine shops, a depot, and a large hotel ; and there are also a court house and jail, a national bank with a capital of $50,000, two schools, five churches, and two daily newspapers. It was laid out in April, 1868, when the railroad reached this point. LARASH, or Larache. See EL-AEAISH. LARCE1VY (Fr. larcin, Lat. latrocinium, theft), the taking and removing, by trespass, of personal property, which the trespasser knows to belong either generally or specially to another, with the intent of depriving him of his general or special ownership therein. To this definition some authorities, but not all, add the further element that the act must be done for the sake of some advantage to the wrong doer. It cannot indeed be doubted that the crime of theft may be fully committed although the act be done without any thought of one's own advantage, and exclusively for the benefit of another; as if he should steal bread or clothing for a hungry or a naked man. Circumstances like these might affect the moral character of the action, and might mitigate the punishment inflicted by the court; but they could not change the legal character of the