Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/293

* LIGNE. 265 LIGNXJM-VIT^. from a wealthy and powerful Belgian family. In 1752 he entered the Austrian Army, in which he served with distinction through the Seven Years' W ar. During the reign of Joseph 11. he held high military and diplomatic positions, and was par- ticularly a favorite at the Court of Saint Peters- burg. He commanded the Austrian artillery at the siege of Belgrade in 1789. When the French conquered Belgium he lost all his estates. lie was one of the well-known figures of his time, and corresponded with Rousseau, Voltaire. Fred- erick the Great, Wieland, Schlegel, and Goethe. Of his miscellaneous works in 34 volumes, which appeared in 1790-1811, Malte-Brun has given selections in two volumes {QSuvres choisies, 1809). His memoirs and letters have consider- able historic value. LIGNIFICATION (from Lat. lignum, wood -|- facere, to make.) A process in plants by which the more or less thickened cell-wall be- comes impregnated with lignin, a substance which makes the wall harder and more elastic. A lig- iiified wall is permeable to moisture, but cannot alisorb or retain much. Lignification occurs in the vessels and fibrous tissue, less often in par- enchyma, and reaches its highest expression in the flowering plants, where the lignified tis- sues constitute the wood. This tissue is also highly developed in the ferns and their allies, but in the mosses it is scanty or lacking alto- gether. LIGNIN. A substance from which the cell- walls of plants are formed. See Lignification. LIGNITE (from Lat. lignum, wood). A min- eral sulistance, which, like common coal, is of vegetable origin, but differs from it in often showing a distant fibrous or woody structure. The p.xternal form may also be preserved, and lignitized tree-trunks are not uncommon in many clay formations of recent geological age. Lignite has a brilliant lustre, conehoidal fracture, brown streak, and often open texture; in fact, it closely resembles charcoal. It contains from .55 to 65 per cent, of carbon, burns readily but with a smoky flame, and is inferior to true coal in its heating power. Owing to its open texture and the high percentage of moisture which it often contains, lignite disintegrates rapidly on exposure to the air. and hence it cannot be stored for a long period or transported to a great distance without danger of its crumbling to a powder. Lignite occurs in beds in the same manner as true coal, and forms large deposits in some for- mations, especially those of Cretaceous and Ter- tiary age. The following table gives the composition of some American lignites: 1 1 2 3 6 Fixed earbon Volatile carbon.. Ash % '• 34.235 42.15 ■ 10 00 ' ■% 33.82 34.15 14.55 2.99 14.47 % 31.56 35.94 12.20 % 45.57 37.15 3.R5 % 49.72 35.48 8.00 Moisture 13.015 20.30 13.43 6. 80 1. Monte Diablo, Cal. 2. Onachita Conntr, Ark. 3. Calvert, Tesas. 4. Golden, Colo. 5. Carbon, Wyo. Deposits of lignite are known to occur in many parts of the world, including Central and South America, India, and China. It also occurs in large quantities in Europe and Great Britain, that mined in Germany being an important do- mestic fuel. In the United States deposits of lignite are found in the Cretaceous and Tertiary formations of the West, but there are practically no deposits of commercial importance in the Fast. Those best known in tins country occur in Texas, Xew Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Wyo- ming, Montana, Xorth Dakota, Oregon, and Cali- fornia; but since good bituminous coals occur in most of the States just mentioned, the lignites are at the present time of little commercial value. The maikets for lignite are usually at no great distance from the mines. The i)resencc of lignite of fair quality in California is of indirect value, since it tends to e.xcrt a regulating influ- ence on the price of Australian coal imported into that State. As a fuel lignite may be used in the form in which it is mined, or ground and pres.sed into blocks or bricklets, a small amount of bitumi- nous matter being required to bind the material together. This is the form in which large quan- tities of lignite are used in Germany. Lignite can also be utilized in the manufacture of pro- ducer gas. Jet is a variety of lignite of coal-black color, and so dense that it can be easily carved into small ornaments. It is stated by Professor Phillips to be a coniferous wood, and was first found at Whitby and other localities in England, having been known since early British times. Brown coal is another name for lignite, which is chiefly used in Europe. Bovey coal is a local name used in Devonshire, where extensive beds occur. BiBLiOGEAPHT. Bell, "On the Occurrence of Lignite Around Hudson Bay," Canadian Mining Review, vol. xvi. (1895) ; ball, "Coal and Lig- nite in Alaska," Seventeenth Annual Report, United States Geological Survey, Part I. (Wash- ington, 1896) ; Dumble, "Brown Coals and Lig- nites of Texas," Texas Geological Survey Report (Austin, 1892) ; Hills, "The Coal Fields of Colo- rado," United States Geological Survey, Mineral Resources (Washington, 1892) ; Turner, "The Coal Deposits of California," United States Geo- logical Survey, Mineral Resources (Washington, 1892) : Vaughan. "Reconnaissance in the Rio Grande Coal Fields of Te.xas," Bullelin. United Slates Geological Survey (Washington, 1900). XIGNTTM: RHODIUM (Lat., Rhodian wood). The rose-scented wood of both root and stem of Convolvulus Scoparius and Convolvulus Flori- dus, exported from the Canary Islands. These are shrubs or .small trees with linear leaves and bell-shaped flowers. The wood is usually marketed in strong, thick, and rather heavy cylindrical but knotty pieces covered with a cracked gray bark, internally it is yellowish, and often reddish in the heart. It has an aro- matic bitterish taste, and when rubbed emits an agreeable rose -like odor. Its strong - smelling essential oil (oil of ligmim rhodium), obtained by distillation, is used for ointments, etc.. and also very frequently to adulterate attar of roses. A simil.ir article of commerce is obtained from Amyris balsaniifera. a native of .Jamaica, which vields an essential oil, closely resembling the former. The lignum rhodium of the Levant (Liquidamhar orientalel is now rarely seen in commerce. From it. however, the name has been transferred to the other kinds. LIGNTTM-VIT.a;. A tropical tree. See GlAIACUM.