LARCH. 7 fithii) abounds in the Himalayas, but is gen- erally a small tree of 20 to 40 feet high. Its cones are larger than those of the common larch. One of the marked differences between these conifers and the pines and firs is their deciduous character. See Plate of Tamarack and Larch. LARCHEY, lar'-sha', Etie.n.ne Lob£dax ( 1831 — ). A French author and antiquary, born at Mctz, son of an arlillery general. He was edu- cated at the College 8aiut Louis and at the Ecole des Chartes. In 1832 he was first em- Ijiuyed in the ilazarin Library; and after he had become its librarian went to the library of the arsenal as adjunct curator, of which he was a])])ointcd curator in 1880, and where he spe- cialized in historical research and in linguistic study. He edited much correspondence and his- torical matter, and wrote: Vn mois a Coiisliiiiti- }iople (1855); Oritjines de VartiUerie frangaise (1802); and I'lunches aulograpkiies d'apris les monuments dii Xn'f-me ct du XVime siecles (180.3); and the linguistic studies: Lcs cxccn- iricitex du hinijatjc (1800), reprinted in 18S3, with the title. Divtionnuirv hisiorique, vtymolo- ffiqtie et anecdotif/uc de I'argot franeais; as well as much miscellaneous matter. LARCH'MONT. A village of Xew York. See JNlAMAIiONECK. XARCH SAW-FLY. A saw-fly {Xematus Ui'lchsmiii I wbo.^e larvu:' are very destructive to larch forests in the United States and Canada, especially in Northern New England. It also occurs in Northern Europe. The eggs are laid in a row upon and within the young larch-shoots in June or .Jul,v. and the larv;p feed upon the leaves until August, sometimes defoliating all of the trees over a large area of hackmatack swamps. LAR'COM, Lucy (1820-93). An American poetess, born at Beverlv. Mass. She passed most of her childhood at the seaside, and worked as a yoiuig woman in the mills at Lowell, Ma.ss. Here she contributed to the Lowell Offcrinij. a periodical which exi.sted about 1840-45 as a lit- erary journal for the mill operatives. Her work attracted the notice of Whittier, with whom she afterwards com])iled Child-Life and .S'ohi/.s of Three Criiturief-. Later she became a student in the Monticellii Female Seminarv in Illinois, and after that a teacher in the Wheaton Female Seminarv, at Norton. Mass. In 1805 she became assistant editor (and from 1806 to 1874 editor) of Our Younp Fo//,s, since merged in the l?aint Tficholas. Before this she published ffimililudes (1S54); ,S'7i!>.5 in the Mist, and Other fitories (1850); The ftun-Jteam, and Other fltories (1800) : and Leila Amonrj the Mountains (1861). Her later years were passed chieflv at Beverly Farms, Mass. She died in Boston. .April 17, 1803. Her Poetieal Wnrhs were collceteil in 1885. Consult Addison. Life. Letters and Diary of l.nrii l.arcom (Boston, 1804). LARD (OF.. Fr.. Inrd. from Lat. lardum. hiridum. Inrida. fat of bacon; perhaps connected with Gk. Xdpifos, larinon. fat, Xapis, 7nro.<!. pleas- ant). The fat of the hog. lentil after the first quarter of the nineteenth century, lard was only used for culinary purposes, and as the base of va- rious ointments. Owing to the enormous extent, however, to which pork was produced in America, numerous other uses for lard were discovered, and large quantities were pressed Vol. XI —50. rS LAREDO. at low temperature to separate the stearine and oleine — of which it is composed in the proportion of 02 parts of oleine to 38 parts of stearine and palmatine. The stearine was uried for candle-making; and the oleine soon be- came a very important article of commerce, under the name of 'lard oil,' which was found to be a valuable lubricant for machinery. Ordi- nary lard is extracted from the fat of the entire animal; leaf lard is taken only from the fat that surrounds the kidneys. It is exported from the United States in large quantities, much going to France, where it is used as an adulterant of olive oil. Commercial lard itself is also often adulterated with such cheaper products, as cot- tonseed oil, tallow, and even water. See Di- gesters; P.CKIXG IXDUSTRV. LARDER-BEETLE. See Bacon-Beetle ; DEBiiE.sTiD Beetle. LARD'NER, DioxYSius (1703-1859). A bril- liant Irish i^opularizer of natural philosophy. He was born in Duldin, graduated at Trinity Col- lege there in 1817, and took holy orders, but de- voted himself almost entirely to scientific work. He first became known by his Treatise on Algc- hraieal (leometry (1S23|, and by a work on the Differential and Inteiiral Cnleu'lus (1825). In 1827 he was appointed professor of natural phi- losophy and astronomy in London University, now University College. He published several original memoirs, but devoted himself mainly to the popular exposition of science, and published a number of excellent 'hand-books' of the various branches of natural philosophy: also a book, in 12 volumes, entitled Museum of Scie)iee and Art. He is best remembered, however, for his Cabinet C;:ehipa-dia, for which he secured the collabo- ration of the best scientists and authors of the time. In 1840 he eloped with a ]Mrs. Heaviside, and found himself compelled to leave England. He spent five .vears (1840-45) in the United States, delivering courses of popular .scientific lectures in all the principal cities. In 1845 he settled in Paris. His last months were spent at Naples. LAREAU, la'r.y. Eomoxd (1848-90). A French Canadian politician and author, bom at Saint Oregoire il'Iberville. Quebec. After complet- ing his eiiuiation ,: Snulte Marie de Mannoir, Victoria College, and McGill University. ^lon- treal. be was admitted to the bar (1870), and six years afterwards was appointed law professor at McGill. In 1886 he was elected to the Legis- lature of Quebec Province as Liberal member for Rouvillc Count.v. and retained his seat until his death. Besides editorial work, he wrote: Histoire du droit canadien (1872): L'hisfoire de la lit- teraturc eanadirnnrClSTi) ; MflangeS' historiques ct litteraires (1877). LAREDO, li'i-r-i'dA. A cit.v and the county- seat of Webb County. Texas. 153 miles southwest of San Antonio: on the Kio Grande, opposite Nuevo Laredo, with which it is connected by bridges, and on the International and Great Northern, the Mexican National, and other rail- roads (Alap: Texas, E 6). Among the features of the city are the market, a convent, Mercy Hos- pital, a fine court-house and jail, Laredo Semi- nnry fMethndist Episcopal, South), established in 1SS2. and a city park of about 65 acres. Laredo is in a fertile agricultural and stoek- rnising district which has also valuable mineral
