Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/354

* LIQUEUR. 314 LIQUIDATED DAMAGES. baugh. vermouth. Most of these arc elsewhere de- scril)ed under their rospeetive names. The eouiposi- tion of some of the well-known liqueurs, as given by Kijnig, is shown in the accompanying table : LIQUIDATED DAMAGES. The sum agreed upon liy the iiarlios to a contract, to be paid by cither in case of his default to the other, as tin- measure of compensation for the loss occasioned CoMPosiTio.N OF Various Liqueurs Absiuche B^n^diotiue Ginger Crfime de menthe Anisette of Bordeaux.. Cura<;oa KiiniDiel Peppermint Swedish puncli Specific gravity 0.9116 1.0709 1.04S1 1.0447 1.0847 1.0300 1.0830 1.1429 1.1030 Alcoliol by volume .58.93 52.00 47.5 48.0 42.0 55. U 33.9 34.5 26.3 Alcohol by weight 44.4 40.2 40.7 35.2 47.3 28.0 28.6 21.6 Extract 0.18 36.00 27.79 28.28 34.82 26.60 32.02 48.25 36.61 Cane- sugar 32.57 25.92 27.63 34.44 28.60 31.18 47.35 Other ex- tractions 0.32 3.43 1.87 0.65 0.38 0.10 0.84 0.90 0.043 0.141 O.OOH 0.040 0.040 0.0.58 0.068 Consult also Mew and Asliton, Drinks of the World (New Vork, 1892); and Sadtler. Jndiis- trial Organic Chemistry (Fhihulelphia. 1901). LIQUID (Lat. litjuidus). A consonant pro- nounced by the closure of the vocal organs greater tlian is required in the utterance of the closer vowels, but less than is demanded by the mute consonants. The liquid consonants are 1, r, «', y, all sulijcot to whispered aspiration. LIQUID AIR, LiQiiu Hydrogen, etc. See LiQUEF.VCTlO-N 1)1' G.SE.S. LIQUIDAMBAR (XeoLat.. from Lat. liqui- dus, liquid + ML. ainhar. nnihrn, amber, from Ar. 'anhar, ambergris). A genus of moniEcious trees of the natural order Hamamelidea?. of which there are but three or four species, all in Asia and North America. The fruit, which is a globular head of two-celled capsules, contains many winged seeds only a few of which are fer- tile. The trees are tall and remarkable for their fragrant balsamic pniducts. I,i(/uid(iml)rir styra- ciflua, the American liquidambar, capatum. or sweet gum, a beautiful tree with deeply five to LIQOinAMR.dt. seven lobed leaves, is found from Connecticut south to Florida and west to Texas and Mexico. In the South, where the tree is eommon. it at- tains a height of 100 feet or more. The timber, which is often called satin walnut in the markets, is valuable. A resinous gum exudes from the tree similar in its quality to the storax of the Orient. The best-known species of the Eastern Hemisphere is Liqiiidamhar orientali.t. a native of Asia Minor. It is very similar to the Ameri- can species. by the breach. The law on this subject is in- fluenced by the attitude of the courts toward 'penalties' provided for under similar circum- stances, which are held void on the same prin- ciples that usury is generally prohibited. How- ever, the right of the parties to a contract to anticipate that there may be a breach by one of them, either with or without good cause, and to estimate and determine in advance what will !«> a fair and reasonable compensation to the injured party, is recognized and protected by the courts. The chief concern of the courts in the interpre- tation of agreements is to determine whether the sum thus named is, in fact, the result of an hon- est elTort to fix a sum which will approximately make good the loss which may be suffered in case of breach, or whether it is out of all ])ro- portion to the probable amount of damages sus- tained, and therefore in the nature of a penalty, and accordingly illegal and void. The courts will give great weight to the intent of the contracting parties, as far as it can be ascertained by con sidering the language employed by them, and llio surrounding circumstances which induced them to insert such a provision. It is common to fix the amount of damages for delay in case of building operations, and it is in this class of cases that the courts have been most lenient in the construction of these stipulations. For ex- ample, if A contracts to build a factory for B, who now occupies premises the lease on which will expire in one year, and A agrees to complete (he factory within that time, it is legally com- petent for them to provide that A shall pay B a certain sum for everj' day the building re- mains unfinished after the expiration of the time agreed upon, as B may lie compelled to move from the premises he then occupies and thereby suflfer great damage, and in any event the damages occasioned by the loss of the opportunity to do business in the factory planned to suit his peculiar requirements would be hard for a jury to estimate, and the determination of the parlies is a safer guide. The advantage of tlius fixing the dam- ages in advance is that the aggrieved party is spared the trouble and possible expense of offering proof of the items of his damages at the trial, and that the uncertainty as to what a jury might consider adequate is avoided. Generally speaking, when damages can he easily ascertained by computation merely, and the amount named as liquidated damages is greatly in excess of that amount, or where the contract is for the payment of money only, and a sum in excess of what would be the highest rate of legal interest is fixed, the