Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/860

* LARCENY. rs LARCH. owner has the legal possession of the property, as a result of his contract with the owner. The carrier, having possession of and a special prop- erty in the goods, cannot commit trespass. But if he tear the bundle open and steal goods con- tained in it he commits larceny: for by breaking open the bundle he terminates his contract with tile owner and loses his right to the ])nssession of the goods, the taking and conversion of which, added to his act of trespass, make him guilty of larceny. A servant who is intrusted by his master with the care of goods has no legal pos- session, and is chargeable with larceny of such goods. A special property with possession, such as that of a bailee, makes an ownership sufficient to charge with larceny any jjcrson taking and carrying away the jjcrsonal ])roperty over which such ownership extends. Thus, tlic finder of lost goods is answerable only to their rightful owner, and has a full title as against others; and one stealing stolen goods from a thief is chargeable with larceny. But a finder of stolen goods who subsequently converts them to his own use is not chargeable unless at the time of taking he had an intent permanently to deprive the owner of his property. The taking necessary to constitute larceny must be against the owner's consent, and if such consent be had. though fraudulently gained, there will be no larceny, but an obtaining of goods by false pretenses (q.v.). But it has been held that there is a distinction between the cases of an owner who by fraudulent representations is induced to transfer his goods, and who intends and expects to be divested of his rights of prop- erty in them, and the case of an owner who parts for a time, as he supposes, with his property, while at the same time the person who gets pos- session of the goods intends to convert them to his own use and to deprive the owner permanent- ly of them. It is held that the latter case may be larceny. The common-law rules on this topic have been materially changed by statute, both in Great Britain and in the United States. This legisla- tion should be examined in each jurisdiction. Consult: Clark and Marshall, The Late of Crimes (Saint Paul. 1000): Bishop, Commentaries on the Law of Statutory Crimes (Chicago, 1901). LABCH (OF. larege, larice, from Lat. larix, Gk. XiptI, larch), Larix. A genus of trees of the natural order Coniferse, differing from firs (Abies) in having the scales of the cones at- tenuated at the tip and not falling off from the axis of the cone when fully ri|u'. and the leaves deciduous and in clusters, except on shoots of the same year, on which they are single and scat- tered. The common larch (Larix Euro/xxa or Larix deeidua ) is a beautiful tree, growing wild on the mountains of the .south and middle of Europe, and found also in Asia, where it extends much farther north than in Europe, even to the limits of perpetual snow. Its perfectly erect and regularlv tapering stem, which rapidly attains a height of from CO to 100 feet, its small branches, its regular conical form, and its very numerous and very small leaves, make its aspect peculiar. It is extensively planted as an orna- mental tree, for windbreaks, etc., in the United States. It is useful even at an early ase. the thinnings of a plantation being employed for hop- poles, palings, etc. The older timber is used for a great variety of purposes. It is close-grained, very resinous, has great strength and durability, is not readily attacked by worms, and is much used in ship-i)uilding. It is, however, very apt to warp, and is therefore not well suited for planks. Larch-bark is used for tanning, although not nearly equal in value to oak-bark. In Siberia the scorciied stems yield a gum similar to gum arable, which is known as Orenburgh gum. In warm countries a kind of sweetish manna (q.v.), with a sliglit flavor of turpentine, exudes from the leaves of the larch in the hottest season of the year. In France it is kno«-n as Brian<:on manna. The larch woods have of late suffered greatly from a disease in which the centre of the stem decays. The trouble is attributed to the attack of Polypo- riis siilpliiirrus and I'olyporus Sclueeinitzii, two shelf fungi. The larch is subject to a canker that ilestroys many trees. The fungus causing it is known as Pe:i:a WiUkommii. It gains en- trance through wounds, destroying the bark. The canker-spots enlarge each year. A leaf- rust occurs on larch, due to the fimgus iletnmp- sora larieis, which forms yellow pustules on the leaves. The other stages of the fungus are passed on the poplar. In pure wood plantations or forests, the larch fropiently suffers severely from tlicse diseases as well as from the attacks of numerous insects. The larch does not dislike moisture, but stagnant water is very injurious to it, and thorough drainage is therefore neces- sar*-. The American larch, tamarack, or hackmatack (Larix Americana), distinguished by very small cones, is common in the northern parts of North AMERICIN- LABCB. America. It is a noble tree, which sometimes at- tains a height of 70 feet, nuich resembling the common larch, and its timber is highly valued in ship-building, for fence-posts, telegraph-poles, railway-ties. etc. It is found in Xnrth America from Virginia to Hudson Bay, and is called hack- matack in parts of Canada, but in the Middle and Western States tamarack. It is occasional- ly found on uplands, especially in its Northern habitats, but in the Middle States it grows in moist soils and shallow swamps, often where the muck or peat is quite deep. The American larch is inferior to the European tree for orna- mental purposes, the latter having more fully- leaved and pendulous branches, and cenes one- half larger. The Himalayan larch (Larix Grif-