Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/203

* LIANAS. 185 LIBBEY. LIANAS, li-a'naz (Fr. liatie, creeper, from Her. to bind, from Lat. Ugare. to bind). Plants which climb, whether by twining or by means of tendrils or other structures. 'hile climbing plants are found in all parts of the world to a greater or less degree, their peculiar home is in the rich tropical forests. There thej' form dense jungles among the trees, in some eases making passage almost impossible. The various metliods by which plants climb may be briefly mentioned. Some foiins twine about the stem of the host plant, as the morning-glory and the bittersweet; others climb by means of tendrils, as the grape and the pea : still others by means of rootlets, as various ivies. Some plants which have one or more of these means for climbing also have thorns which in a measure help to secure attachment to the branches of the host ; various greenbriers well illustrate this. AYhatever may have been the original cause of the liana habit, their advantage is somewhat clear, inasmuch as they are able to grow up to the light in a comparatively short time and at a comparatively slight cost. Lianas often show structures which seem to adapt them well to their life conditions. Among these per- haps the most conspicuous are the mechanical tissues and the conducting tissues, both of which attain a very high degree of development. LIAO-TUNG. le-ou'tung' (Chin., River-east). A name originally applied to that portion of Southern Manchuria which lies to the east of the river Liao — that on which the port of Niu- chwang is situated, the portion to the west being known as Liao-si. The name now includes both, and is nearly synonymous with Shing-king. The term has sometimes been restricted, wrongly, to the peninsula on which Port Arthur is situated, sometimes called the 'Regent's Sword.' LIAB, The. A farce by Foote. founded on Corneille's Le menteur. It was produced in 1761. LIAS'SIC SERIES (Fr. lias, OF. liais. Hois, from Bret. liitcH. leoch. Welsh llech, Gael., Ir. lean, stone). The lower division of the Jurassic system. The formation is of special importance in Western Europe; in the United States Liassic rocks occur only in California and Oregon. In England the rocks comprise clays, sands, and limestones, aggregating more than 1000 feet in thickness, and divisible into three stages: Lower, Aliddle, and Upper Lias. Fossil remains are abundant, and include among the higher forms Ichthyosaurus, Plesiosaurus, Dimorphodon (qij.v. ). and other reptiles. See Jvbassic Sv.stem. LIBAinilS (Lat.. from Gk. Ai^dnos. a.d. 314-39.3). One of the latest and most eminent of the Greek sophists or rhetoricians. He was born at Antioch. in Syria, studied at Athens un- der various teachers, and first set up a school in Constantinople, where his prelections were so attractive that he emptied the benches of the other teachers of rhetoric, who had him brought before the prefect of the city on a charge of 'magic' and expelled. He then proceeded to Nicomedia. but after a residence of five years was forced by intrigues to leave it, and returned to Constantinople. Here, however, his adversa- ries were in the ascendent ; and after several vi- cissitudes, the sophist. broken in health and spirit, settled down in his native city of Antioch in 3.54. where, after a long career as a teacher, he died. Libanius was the instructor of Saint Chrysostom and Saint Basil, who always re- mained his friends, though Libanius was him- self a pagan. He was a warm friend of the Em- peror Julian, who corresponded with him. His works are numerous and mostly extant, con- sisting of orations, declamations, "narratives, let- ters, etc. The most complete edition of the ora- tions and declamations is that by Reiske (4 vols., Altenburg. 1784-07), and of the" letters by Wolf (Amsterdam, 1738). Xo complete English trans- lation of the works of Libanius exists, but sixteen of his letters to -luliau have been translated by Buncombe, The Works, of the Emperor Julian, i.. pp. 303-332 (3d ed., London, 1798) : and the monodies On Nicomedia and On the Temple of Apollo at Daphne are published by the same author (ii., pp. 227-251). Libaniu's's Funeral Oration on the Emperor Julian is translated by King, Julian, the Emperor (London, 1888). Consult: Petit, Essai sur la i:ie el la corrrspon- dance du sophisie Libanius (Paris, 1800) : and Sievers, Das Leben des Libaiiius (Berlin, 1868). LIB'ANUS, Mount. See Lebanon, Mount. LIBATION (Lat. libatio, from libare. Gk. Xeiptiv, leibein. to pour out; the commoner Latin noun, however, is libamen). Anything poured out for the gods, as an act of homage or wor- ship; a drink-offering. Such a libation was usual among the ancient Romans as a part of the sacrifice at an altar, and at home, at the begin- ning of meals or banquets, in homage to the lares or household gods. The term "libation' has often also a wider significance, including not only the wine poured upon the altar, but often the little sacrificial cake, libum, that was placed there. LIB ATT, le'bou (Russ. Libava): A fortified seaport in the Province of Courland, Russia, on the Baltic. It is situated on the end of a sandy tongue of land which separates Lake Libau from the sea (Map: Russia, B 3). Libau is well built, and consists of the old and the new town ; in the latter are the large factories, the grain elevators, mills, etc. Libau has a number of churches, two gymnasia, a high school for women, a naval school, a public library, a hospi- tal, and a number of other educational and charitable institutions. It has also a large public garden. The industries, formerly unim- portant, have greatly increased, the principal articles of manufacture being farm machinery, flour, timber, sails, ropes, and furniture. There is an extensive export trade in eggs, flovir, flax, spirits, petroleum, and notably grain. Libau is connected directly by rail with the wheat regions of the Empire. Its artificial har- bor, which is but seldom frozen, is visited an- nually by about 2000 vessels, including about 13.50 from foreign ports. Important harbor im- provements were undertaken in 1893. and their completion in 1904 will make Libau both an important naval station and a great commer- cial port. Population, in 1897, 04,500, 25 per cent, being Jewish. Libau is a popular bath- ing resort. As a seaport it is first mentioned in 1263 under the name of Portas Liva. It was fortified by the Livonian Rnights in 1301, and passed to Russia in 1795. LIB'BEY, William (1855—). An American scientist, born at .Jersey City, N. J. He was educated at Princeton, where he graduated in 1877, and in 1880 was made professor of physical geography there. He also became fellow of the Geographical and Geological societies of London