Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 11.djvu/866

* LABK-BUNTING. 783 LA ROCHE. from Kansas to L'tali. It curiously combines the features of a grosbeak witb the liubils of a lark, being eminently a terrestrial bird in all its rela- tions. It has a remarkably varied and brilliant bong, which it often utters while soaring, much after the manner of the skylark. The plumage of the male, in the height of the breeding season, is uiiiforni black, with a large conspicuous white patch on the upper ])art of the wing; the female is a streaked brownish gray, with a smaller wing- patch. At the close of the breeding season the males lose their black color and assume the col- ors of the females and young, very much as does the bobolink. Kxccllcnt accounts of the habits and singing of this bird may be found in Coucs, Birds of the yorlliiccst (Washington, 1874), and Keyscr, liinis of the Rochies (Chicago, 1902). LARK-FINCH, or Lark-Si-.vkiiow. A small, pale-culnrcd s|>arrnv (Choiulrslcs (jrummdcus) , very niiincrous on Uic ])rairics and jilains of the ^'cstcrn f'nited States. Its song is animated and larklikc. and is very pleasing. It is not wholly terrestrial, and is found in wooded and hilly places as well as on open lands. LARKSPUR (so called from the sjiur-like formation of the calyx and petals), Dcliihinium. A genus of plants of the natural order Kanuneu- laceip, annual and perennial hcvbaieous plants, Datives of the temperate and cold regions of the LARKSPCB. Northern Hemisphere. The species, of wliieh about 100 have been described, have five sepals, the upper spurred; four petals, distinct or united into one, the two upper having spurs inserted into the sepaline spur; and one to five many- seeded follicles. Many species are cultivated as ornamentals, .nmnng which the annuals Delphin- ium ajacis and Delphinium Connolida. natives of Europe, and the ])erennials Delphinium f/rnndi- florum. Delphinium hiibiidum, and Delphinium formosum. all natives of Asia, and their many varieties are the most popular. Among the more common American species are Delphinium tri- come and DelpluiUum cxallatunt, found from Pennsylvania to Minnesota, and southward; and Delphinium Vcnziesii, Delphinium nudicuulc, and Delphinium scopuloruni of the Western States and Pacific Coast. Delphinium Uluphisuyiia, called stavesacre, cultivated in Kurope, is used in medicine. Jt contains a nuniln'r of alkaloids, having in general the .same action as aconite. Xumerous cases of stock-poisoning due to eating larkspur are reported from the Western ranges. LARMES, larm (Fr., tears). A charge in heraldry l<|.v. ). When tlie field is bestrewed with an indefinite number of drops of a blue color, it is said to be i/utte dc Uirmcs, a nomen- clature prculi.ir to liritish lieraldy. LAR'NACA, or LARNAKA (Lat. Cilium, Gk. Khiov, Kition). A town of Cvprus, in latitude 34° 55' N., and longitude .'Ja" 38' E., 4 miles from the south coast of the island. It has a good roadstead, but the town is not attractive, though it has imjirovcd since the English occupa- tion. The chief imblic buildings in Larnaca are the (ircek Church of Saint Lazarus, a Homan Catholic church, and a Franciscan monastery. Larnaca is the cliief seat of the conunerce of the island, and the residence of European merchants and consuls, whose homes are for the most part in the Marina, or part of the city situated on the shore and a short distance from Larnaca proper. At the JIarina are also the public oflices. The facilities for landing have l)een improved by the erection of two iron piers, though large vessels are still obliged to anchor in the road- stead. Population, in 1891, 7593. The ancient Citiuni was probably a Phcenician settlement, and many scholars hold that it gave its name to the island, which is identified with the land of Kittim mentioned in the Hible. The city seems to have long kept its Phcenician char- acter, as a number of inscrii)tions in that lan- guage have been found on the site, though later the ]iopulation w'as largely Greek. It was the native place of Zeno, the fomider of the Stoic school of jiliilosophy. LARNAU'DIAN EPOCH. The name ap- plied to an epoch in European prehistoric ar- cha>ology at the close of the Bronze Age. and so called from the station of Larnaml. in the .Jura ^fountains. LARNE, liirn. A seaport town and summer resort of Ireland, in County Antrim, on Lough Lame (Map: Ireland. F 2). A mail-steamer sails daily bi'twcen Lame and Stranraer in Scot- land, SD'i; miles distant, the shortest sea passage Jietwecn (!reat Tiritain and Ireland. The project of a tunnel to Portpatrick. Scotland, has long been nnotcil. Population, 4,500. LAR'NED. A city and the county-seat of Pawnee County, Kan., 240 miles west by south of Topeka ; at the confluence of the Arkansas and Pawnee rivers, and on the ^lissouri Pacific and the Atchison. Topeka and Santa Fe railroads (Map: Kansas, C 3). It is the shipping centre of the adjacent farming and stock-raising coun- trv. and has some manufactures, principallv of flmir. Population, in 1890. 1801: in 1900, l.'5S3. LAR'NICA. ■ A town in Cyprus. See L.R- X.OA. LA ROCHE, la r'.-^h. K.Ri, (1794-1884). An Austrian actor, born in Berlin. Thanks to If- fland's influence, he went on the stage, making