LIMESTONE 486 LINCOLN LIMESTONE, a general name for all rocks the basis of which is carbonate of lime. It is not generally pure, but has in it alumina, silica, etc. In regions such as Auvergne and Tuscany, in which ex- tinct volcanoes exist, hundreds of springs, both cold and thermal, rise to the surface, bringing up from the sub- terranean depths carbonate of lime. The quantity thus transferred to the surface in the course of ages is enormous, and manifold streams and rivers carry it into the sea. Mollusks withdraw it for their shells, corals for their reefs, and in due time the upheaval of the sea bed con- verts it into a terrestrial limestone rock. Metamorphic action can destroy it, and there is little limestone in rocks which have undergone such a change. When what used to be called primitive, now crystalline or metamorphic, limestone is found in such beds, it is probably of organic origin. Modern limestones are often composed entirely of organic re- mains or are studded thickly with them. Thus crinoidal or encrinital limestone is composed chiefly of encrinites, chalk of foraminifers, nummulitic limestone of nummulites, and shells of Saccamina, or of spindle-shaped Fitsulina. Sometimes limestone may be brecciated, concretion- ary, compact, magnesian, etc. LIMITED MONARCHY, a monarchy in which the power of the sovereign is not absolute, but is constitutionally lim- ited, usually by assemblages of the no- bility, clergy, and elected representatives of the people. The sovereignty is a headship more or less real; it is not an autocracy. LIMOGES (le-mozh'), capital of the French department of Haute-Vienne, and of the former province of Limousin. The staple industry is the manufacture of porcelain, which employs more than 5,000 people. Pop. about 92,000. The enamel work for -vhich Limoges was formerly celebrated is now no longer carried on. LIMON, a port of Costa Rica, founded in 1861, on the Caribbean Sea, in the province of the same name. Pop. about 25,000. The railway begins here, and the place has a landing pier. There are considerable exports from this place of coffee, caoutchouc, cocoanuts, sarsapa- nlla, vegetables, wood, and hats. Pop about 8,000. LIMPET, a popular name for any of the prosobranchiate gasteropods of the tamily Patellidx and (more properly) of the genus Patella. The shell is usually oval and tent-shaped; interior smooth, but not nacreous. Limpets are world- wide in their distribution. They are vegetable feeders, and inhabit rocks be- tween tidemarks, returning to the same place after feeding. They are much used by fishermen for bait, and in times of scarcity for food. Vast quantities fall a prey to the sea and shore birds. The oyster catcher {Hsematopus ostralegus) is exceedingly dexterous in detaching these mollusks from the rocks, and scoop- ing the animals from their shells. LINCOLN, a city of England and a county in itself; capital of Lincolnshire; 120 miles N. of London; on the Witham, and at the junction of several railroads. It has been identified with the Roman Lindum Colonia, and at the time of William the Conqueror was a place of considerable strength and importance. The principal edifice is the cathedral, (dating from the 11th century), chiefly in the Early English with a tower over 260 feet high, in which is the famous bell known as "Great Tom of Lincoln." cast in 1610, cracked in 1827, and since recast into a new bell. The other most conspicuous buildings are the Guild-hall or Stone-bow (of the time of Richard III.), the remains of the castle which was founded by William the Conqueror, the old episcopal palace, and the fine old Roman arch spanning Hermin street, a theological college, and school of art, etc. The manufacture of agricultural imple- ments and machinery forms the chief branch of industry. Pop. (1917) 58,617. LINCOLN, a city and county-seat of Logan CO., 111.; on the Illinois Central, the Chicago and Alton, and the Peoria, Decatur and Evansville railroads; 28 miles N. E. of Springfield. It is in an agricultural, mining, and stock-raising region; and has four coal mines, grain elevators, planing mills, roller mills, and casket factories. It is the seat of Lin- coln University (Cumb. Presb.), the State Asylum for the Feeble Minded, and Odd Fellows' Home for Children; and has a high school, electric and street railroad plants, waterworks, National banks, daily and weekly papers. Pop. (1910) 10,892; (1920) 11,882. LINCOLN, a city, capital of the State of Nebraska, and county-seat of Lan- caster CO.; on the Burlington Route, the Union Pacific, the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Chicago and Northwest- ern and the Missouri Pacific railroads; midway between Chicago and Denver, and 55 miles S. W. of Omaha. It is a wholesale and jobbing center for parts of six States, and manufactures mattresses, upholstery and worked lumber. It is the seat of the State University, Ne- braska Wesleyan University, Cotner
