Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 12.djvu/311

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LIMOGES. 279 LIMPET. the porcelain industry was introduced, and, favored by the discovery of flue clays in the vicinity, it developed very rapidly. It is now one of the chief centres of the porcelain industry in Europe. About 6000 men are employed in the porcelain factories of the town, and considerable quantities of kaolin are exported to other Euro- pean countries and even America. A printing eslablishnient was founded at l>imoges as early as 1496 and the printing of books is among the chief industries of the town. Other prominent industries of Limoges are distilling, brewing, tanning, and the manufacturing of nails, knives, hats, gloves, paper, etc. The textile industry, once extensive, is now in a state of decline. Limoges is advantageovisly situated for com- mercial purposes, and carries on a considerable trade between Paris and the south of France. Population, in 1801, 72,607; in 1001, 84.121. At the Roman conquest Limoges was the capital of the Gallic tribe Lemovices, and a place of consid- erable strength and importance. It-suffered great- ly from the Vandals, and during the Himdred Years' War, as well as from frequent conflagra- tions. Christianity was introduced in the third century by Saint ^lartial, the first Bishop of Limoges. In 1630-31 the town was ravaged by a terrible pestilence, in which over 20,000 people |)erished. LIMON", le-raon'. The principal seaport of Costa Rica, situated on the eastern (Caribbean) coast, at the eastern terminus of the interoceanic railroad to Puntarenas (Jlap: Central America, V .5). It has a good harbor, well provided with wliarfage facilities, is regularly visited by five lines of steamers going to American and Euro- pean ports, and is the station of a LTnited States consular agent. It exports most of tlie coffee pro- duced in Costa Rica, besides tropical fruits, rub- bers, and dyewoods. Population. 4000. LIMONITE (from Gk. ^etfuiv, leimon, marshy, meadow), or Browx Hematite. The hydra ted sesquioxide of iron (2Fe.033H-0) , con- taining .50.89 per cent, of metal. When pure or nearly so, it occurs in com])aet masses with a silky or submetallic lustre, brown or brownish- jellow, in color, and a hardness of 5-5.5 on the mineral scale; but when mixed with clay, as it often is, it is found in the form of a loose ochreous eartli, colored various shades of yellow or brown. Limonite is a commercial source of iron, but by no means the most inqiortant one. Large de- posits are found in Alabama and Virginia, and it is known in other States, especially those of file Appalachian region. It is mined to some extent in Europe. The ore occurs frequently in .superficial deposits found by the weathering of pyritiferous and other ores, or else as nodular masses scattered through beds of ferruginous clay, and formed perhaps by deposition from waters which have circulated through and leached the adjacent rocks. A form of ore called "bog-ore' is found in the beds of lakes, ponds, and marshes, where it has been precipi- tated from the water by the oxidizing action of the air. In some countries, notably Sweden, the bog ore accumulates to a thiclcncss of half a meter every fifteen to thirty years, and is peri- odically dredged out. Owing to the admixture of so much clay, limonite rarely forms a high-grade ore. The production of limonite in the United States in 1001 amounted to 3.016,715 long tons. BiBLiOGBAPHT. Penrose, "The Chemical Rela- tion of Iron and ilangane.se in Sedimentary Rocks," Journal of Geology, vol. i. (Chicago, 1803) ; Pechin, "Virginia Oriskany Iron Ores," Engineering and fining Journal, vol. liv. (New York, 1892) ; McCalley, "The Limonites of Ala- bama Geologically Considered," Engineering and Mining Journal, vol. Ixii. (Kew York, 1890); Hopkins, "Limonite Ores of Pennsylvania," Bui- k'lin (leological Society of Anieriea, vol. xi. (Rochester, 1000). See Irok; Bog Ibo.N" Oke; OCIIBE; MiN-EBAL PaINTS. LIMOtrSIN, le'moo'zax'. An ancient prov- ince of France, now comprised in the departments of Haule-Vienne and C'orr6ze (q.v. ). The land of (he ancient Lemovices, it was part of the dowry of Eleanor of Aquitaine when she married Henry II. of England in 1152. In the thirteenth cen- tury it passed to Brittany, and subsequently to the House of Albret, and was united with the French Crown by Henry IV. The capital was Limoges. LIMOUSIN, or LIMOSIN, l^'m.Vz.ix', Leon- ard (C.1505-C.I575). A French painter, enamel- er, and engraver, born at Limoges. lie worked at Fontainebleau, and became director of the manufactory at Limoges under Francis I. His portraits in enamel are particularly celebrated, and there are some fine examjiles of these in the Louvre. Other members of his family, known as workeis in enamel, lived in Limoges, Avhicli was famed for this especial kind of art for several centuries. LIMPET (probably from AS. lempedu.vnriixnt of lamprcfle, lamprey, from ilL. lampreda, lam- prey, from Lat. lambere, to lick + pctra. rock; hardly connected with Lat. lepas, Gk. Xordt, limpet, from X^ttos, bare rock, from X^ireiv. le- pein, to strip, to peel). A gastropod mollusk of the prosobranchiate family Patellida?, in which the shell is nearly conical, not spiral, and with a wide mouth and the apex turned forward. The animal has a large round or oval nuiscular foot by which it adheres to rocks, the power of creating a vacuum being aided by a viscous secretion. Limpets live on rockj' coasts, between tidemarks, and re- main fixed when the tide is out, as their fringed gills cannot bear exposure to the air, but move about when the water covers them; many of them, however, it would seem, remain long on the same spot, which in soft cal- careous rocks is found hol- bnvpd to their exact form '" '** natural posi loweu to lutir txaci louii, tion; l>. under elilf. on The power of adherence is „ laik'.T scale, sliovv- verv great, so that, unless iiiK the broad •toot.' surprised by sudden seizure ~lZi i^^L^l they are not easily removed without violence suflicient to break the shell. Curious cases of the 'homing instinct' of lim- pets are reported by Jlorgan, If removed from theii; station or •home' on a rock they will find their way back, even if carried away as far as three feet. They feed on algic. The sexes are distinct. The species are numerous and exhibit many varieties of form and color. The American species is Acmaa testudinalis, and A LIMPET (Patella), a, Outline of shell,