Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/343

 LEMON called, is removed by rasping and afterward subjected to pressure ; -after resting to deposit its coarse impurities, it is filtered and put into copper cans of about six gallons capacity, in which it is exported ; the supply comes from the south of Europe. This oil has the same composition (Oi H 8 ) as the oil of turpentine, ^and when kept for a long while it loses its proper flavor and has that of turpentine. The oil is largely used by confectioners and pastry cooks for flavoring ; the extract of lemon sold for domestic use is a more or less concentrated solution of the oil in alcohol ; when mixed with alcohol the oil retains its purity of flavor much longer than when kept by itself, and perfumers preserve this and other essential oils from deterioration by mixing them with alcohol as soon as received. LEMON, Mark, an English journalist and au- thor, born in London, Nov. 30, 1809, died at Crawley, Sussex, May 23, 18TO. He was edu- cated at a grammar school, and wrote for the press at an early age. He afterward wrote for the stage, and sometimes appeared as an ama- teur actor. Upon the establishment of the comic periodical " Punch," in 1841, he became its as- sistant editor, and from 1843 till his death he was its chief editor. He also contributed large- ly to other periodicals, and, either singly or in conjunction with others, produced some scores of plays, farces, and melodramas, the best known of which is " The Serious Family." His prin- cipal published works are: "The Enchanted Doll" (1849); "A Christmas Hamper, a Col- lection of Stories in Prose and Verse " (1859) ; "Wait for the End" (1863); "Legends of Number Nip," and " Loved at Last " (1864); "Falkner Lyle: Story of Two Wives," and " Leighton Hall " (1866). LEMON GRASS. Under the name of oil of lemon grass there is imported from Ceylon and other parts of the East an oil much used in perfumery. The source of this oil is according to some authorities andropogon schcenanthus, and according to others A. citratum. A very similar oil is imported from the same locali- ties as the oil of citronelle ; it is said by some that these oils differ only in name, and by others that they are distinct and furnished by different species of andropogon. Andropogon is a large genus among grasses, nearly 500 species being enumerated ; our native rep- resentatives of the genus, known as beard grass, have nothing remarkable about them, but several of the tropical species possess de- cided aromatic properties in their leaves or roots. In India the roots of one species are woven into mats, which at the same time ex- clude the sun from apartments and give an agreeable perfume to the air as it passes through them. The plant known in our green- houses as lemon grass is A, schcenanthus ; it has leaves which in appearance are not dis- tinguishable from those of any other coarse grass, but when bruised they give off a most agreeable odor, almost precisely like that of LE MOYNE 337 the well known sweet-scented or lemon ver- bena (Lippia [Aloysia] citriodora). The oil of lemon grass is used to make the perfume known as extract of verbena, and it is used in combination in other favorite perfumes, in- cluding the finer kinds of cologne water. An- other species, A. calamus-aromaticus, furnishes an oil with a strong rose scent ; the roots of another are known to perfumers as vetiver; and the pungent roots of another are called ginger grass. LE MOMIEB, Pierre Charles, a French astron- omer, born in Paris, Nov. 23, 1715, died at He"ric, near Bayeux, May 31, 1799. The son of a noted savant, he made astronomical obser- vations at the age of 16, and before he was 21 he w^as received into the academy of sciences, having already presented to that body an elab- orate map of the moon. In 1736 he accom- panied Maupertuis to Tornea for the measure- ment of a degree in Lapland ; and on his re- turn, by introducing superior instruments and the methods of Flamsteed, he caused great im- provements in practical astronomy. In 1742 the king gave him apartments at the Capuchins, rue St. Honore", which he occupied till the revo- lution. In 1748 he went to Scotland to observe the solar eclipse, which was there almost annu- lar, and succeeded in measuring the diameter of the moon on the disk of the sun. The results of his observations are contained in the me- moirs of the academy, to nearly every volume of which he furnished one or more papers for more than 50 years. He also produced various independent works on astronomical subjects. LE MOINE, a Canadian family, several of whose members performed important parts in the history of American colonization. The family arose with CHAELES LE MOYNE, born in Normandy in 1626, died in Montreal, Canada, in 1683. He came to Canada in 1641, and after spending several years with the Hurons, set- tled at Montreal, where he obtained several land grants. He soon distinguished himself as an Indian fighter in a series of actions with the Iroquois, and was appointed commissary and procureur du roi. He was captured by the Iroquois in 1665, and held a prisoner for three months. After serving with distinction in Courcelles's and Tracy's expeditions, he was in 1668 ennobled, by Louis XIV., and became seigneur of Longueil. To this the title Cha- teauguay was added some years after, on his acquiring that fief. He was for a long time captain of Montreal, and was recommended by De la Barre for governor of the city. He had eleven sons, of whom, besides the two most celebrated (see BIENVILLE, and IBEEVILLE), the following acquired distinction. I. diaries, baron de Longueil, born in Montreal, Dec. 10, 1656, died there, June 8, 1729. He first served in the French army in Flanders, under Marshal d'Humieres, and was made a lieutenant in the regulars; returning to Canada, he developed colonization and settled his concessions, build- ing churches and a stone fort at Longueil. He