period), was called a pin machine, for making single press point net in imitation of the Brussels ground. This machine, although lost here, is still used in France in manufacturing the net called tuile. This was the age of experiments; and workmen at their leisure hours employed themselves in forming new meshes on the hand, in the hope of perfecting a complete hexagon, which had hitherto eluded all their efforts to discover. In 1782, the warp frame was introduced, which is still in use for making warp lace; and in 1799 it was first attempted to make bobbin net by machinery; but this was not found to answer. During the succeeding 10 years many alterations were made in the construction of the machines, with no better success, until at length, in 1809, Mr. Heathcoat of Tiverton succeeded in discovering the correct principle of the bobbin-net frame, and obtained a patent for 14 years for his invention. Steam power was first introduced by Mr. John Lindley, in 1815-16; but did not come into active operation till 1820. It became general in 1822-23; and a great stimulus was at this period given to the trade, owing to the expiration of Mr. Heathcoat's patent, the increased application of power, and the perfection to which the different hand frames had by this time been brought. A temporary prosperity shone on the trade; and numerous individuals clergymen, lawyers, doctors, and others- readily embarked capital in so tempting a speculation. Prices fell in proportion as production increased; but the demand was immense; and the Nottingham lace frame became the organ of general supply, -rivalling and supplanting, in plain nets, the most finished productions of France and the Netherlands.

Bobbin Net Manufacture. In the last edition of this work, it was estimated that in 1843 there were employed in the production of machine lace, 4,000 hands, receiving 165,000 in wages that the trade was confined to about 15 houses in Nottingham and the neighbourhood, and that the "estimated total value of the bobbin net and warp lace trade amounted to 2,740,000/." A remarkable advance has taken place since that period, owing to the improvements which have been made in the machinery. In an admirable paper on the history of this manufacture, read by Mr. William Felkin, of Nottingham (a most competent authority), before the Society of Arts, and published in their Journal for May 1856, he says, "The æra of ornamenting lace upon the machine has certainly been ushered in the results are now startling and of incalculable importance. Every fancy article, from the narrow lace edging to the two-yard wide store curtain, requiring some thousands of yards to complete the design, are now as much familiarised to our mechanicians, designers and workpeople, as they were twenty years ago unthought of or unknown." Nothing can establish more conclusively the benefit which has resulted to the trade, owing to the improvements in the machinery, than the periodical reduction which has taken place in the price of the square yard. Mr. Felkin says "The second patented machine was a complex one; it required 60 motions to the formation of a mesh. A workman in one of these machines, 36 inches in width, could produce 1000 meshes a minute. The motions have gradually been reduced to siz, — and a machine 5 yards wide will turn off 40,000 meshes per minute with ease. first finished pieces were sold at 100s. the square yard; in 1813, 40s.; in 1815, 30s.; 1818, 20s.; 1821, 128.; 1824, 8s.; 1827, 48.; 1830, 2s.; 1833, 1s. 4d.; 1836, 10d.; 1842, 6d.; 1850, 4d; 1856, 6d.; the last is about a natural average price." These reductions, however, have been greatly promoted by the improvements simultaneously made in the spinning of fine yarns. In 1810, No. 220 doubled yarn was worth 100s. per lb. ; in 1856, only 10s. per lb.; and No. 240 in 1810 brought 140s., while in 1856 its selling price was 13s. only. Mr. Felkin adds:

The

In 1831 embroidering and finishing of lace employed wholly, or in part, about 150,000 hands. They received wages 1,500,0007. in the year. This fell, in 1833, to 550,000., and 55,000 hands; and, in 1836, to 350,000, and 35,000 hands. Including wages at the machines, as well as the subsequent processes, there has been paid to at least 130,000 hands in 1856, 2,200,0001. in wages alone, in this department of the Nottingham lace trade.

"In conclusion, the manufacture of bobbin-net lace by machinery is scarcely half a century old. The following will give an approximate idea of what in this brief interval it has become in this country: "At several periods an account of the machines has been taken. In 1815 there were 140; 1820, 1,008; 1826, 2,469; 1831, 4,500-making a return of 3,417,000l.; 1833, 5,000, returning 2,620,000.; 1836, 3,800, returning 2,212,000/.; in 1844, 3,200, returning 2,995,000. In 1851 Mr. Birkin, reporting to Section 19 of the Great Exhibition, found 3,200 (34.382 quarters width) at work, returning 2,300,000., employing about 2.965,945%. capital, and 133,015 hands. Capital in bobbin-net machinery alone was estimated at 1,329,4457

In 1856 the machinery is increased to 3,500 (full 40,000 quarters in width), and greater power in production in the new ones. Also a far larger proportion is employed upon silk materials, and the number of frames making fancy goods forms now far the largest proportion. These changes will serve to account for the very large increase in the returns of the trade this year beyond 1850. 1,350 machines at least are rotary circulars, making plain goods by power in factories. At least 1,050 making fancies are worked by power, probably many more. About 2,158 machines in all, partly "levers," partly circulars, some pushers, and some traverse warps, make fancy goods now. The materials are all imported, and cost on importation during the past year 920,000. The returns were 3,680,000., or thereabouts. This left for wages, interest and profits, 2,760,0001.

"It to these figures be added the coat of materials (all imported) in the warp-lace trade, 60,0001., and the ultimate returns, 360,0004., the result of the operations of the entire machine wrought English lace trade will be:- Raw materials used cost, 980,000l.; total returns, 4,040,000l.; paid in wages, interest, wear and tear, and profits, 3,060,000Z. The entire number of hands employed may be stated at 135,000.

"The trade was, until 1850 or thereabouts, cooped up in small unsightly workshops and warehouses for the most part, but has been transferred to a large extent into some of the noblest buildings of which any manufacturing town can boast. Factories, dressing-rooms, and warehouses are all becoming spacious, airy, and, I trust, healthy; at least 250,000. has been expended within the last seven years in this class of improvements.'

Since 1856, when the above account of the trade was written, the wholesale houses have increased from 115 to upwards of 200; and a great many patents have been taken out for improvements in machinery for making fancy lace, for fabrics to be produced from lace machines, for gloves, shirts, &c., and also for making gloves complete on the machines without seams. This class of machinery has gradually been increasing in Nottingham, Stoptford near Nottingham, and Melbourne in Derbyshire; and from the great variety of articles produced it is likely to go on increasing. At this time (1859) the machinery in Nottingham and its suburbs has increased by upwards of 300, making an additional amount of 4,200 quarters in width. This number would have been considerably greater, had not the panic in 1857 prevented it. At present very few machines are being built. The increase of machinery may be classed as follows viz. 200 for making fancy lace, and 100 for plain nets. A few have been exported to France and Barcelona in Spain. The population of Nottingham and its suburbs is now about 159,000, the majority of which is employed in the lace and hosiery trades, and it is believed that the number of hands employed, as well as the amount of capital, are increased beyond Mr. Felkin's est mate, in proportion to the additional number of machines which have since been introduced. Such has been the progress in the manufacture during the last few years, that some descriptions of lace, viz. Spanish, Maltese, and Plat, are produced by machinery in such perfection, that they can scarcely be recognised from cushion-made goods. Looking, however, at the competition which exists in the trade, the manufacturers very generally complain of the anomalous position in which they are placed with respect to the French machine-made lace, which is allowed to be imported at a nominal duty,

At this moment, a new combination, by four different machines, of an imitation of Maltese lace is produced, and sold at 7s. per yard, which in Paris is readily sold for 35 francs.

while the English manufacture is strictly prohibited from entering France. They complain also of the present mode of registering patents, as it prevents that easy investigation into the character of the machines, which is so essential towards their improvement.

The Embroidery branch of the lace trade gave employment to many thousands of females in Nottingham and London, and their neighbourhoods, and also at Coggeshall in Essex. In 1813 Mr. Felkin estimated that not less than 73,000 were employed. At the Great Exhibition in 1851 (Class XIX) a most interesting display of choice specimens of this industrial art was presented to the public, and a very able paper on the lace trade generally was contributed by the reporter of that Section (Richard Birkin, Esq., of Nottingham). There are, however, no statistics which furnish any accurate estimate of the number of persons (women and children) now engaged in that department. Owing to the great perfection to which machine-made lace has arrived, particularly since the successful introduction of the Jacquard mounting, it is understood that the embroidery branch of the trade has very greatly declined of late years, although in numerous articles of dress" Limerick lace" still continues to maintain its established character.

The remarkable improvements which have been gradually introduced into the manufacture of machine-made lace, have seriously interfered with the pillow lace trade- and many thousands of women and children in the counties of Bedford and Buckingham are now finding a better reward for their labour in straw plaiting. This applies, however, rather to the narrow hand-made lace than to the highest description of this industrial art, which continue in great favour with the fashionable classes. At the Great Exhibition in 1851 specimens of Honiton lace (the most tasteful and flourishing of the British pillow-lace production) were exhibited in flouncings, shawls, scarfs, handkerchiefs, berthes, and a variety of other articles, varying in price from 10 to 200 guineas each; and there is a strong feeling. from the refinement displayed in the production of elegant designs in this department, that it will continue to hold its ground notwithstanding the remarkable improvements in machinery, which from its low price brings it within the demand of the lower classes, -as, like works of high art, it is recognised by the higher classes as the work of a master. It is the original picture and not the copy, and is consequently held in highest estimation. But although on the whole the fabrication of pillow lace has unquestionably fallen off, a new department of a kindred nature has sprung up, which has given employment to many thousands of women and children in the United Kingdom, but especially in Ireland. A description of lace termed “crochet work," has been introduced to a great extent of late years, and has been taught very generally in the industrial schools, both in the south and north of Ireland. The famine of 1847 directed the attention of humane persons to the expediency of providing employment for the starving class in that country, and this new department of industrial art is now pursued there to a great extent. At the present time it is believed that not less than 250,000 women and children are engaged in that branch and in the embroidery of fine muslins, to meet the prevailing taste, not only required by our own female population, but for export to all parts of the world. The crisis in 1857, which was attended by the failure of several of the larger houses in Glasgow, engaged in the embroidered muslin trade, each of whom employed from 50,000 to 70,000 persons in the North of Ireland, led to great privations to those who were engaged in that branch, Lut they are now recovering from the depression which on that occasion befel the trade.

Foreign Lace Trade. The application of the Jacquard mounting to the bobbin-net machine has been attended with a great increase in the French manufacture, and in a very superior taste, in imitation of the most favoured "grounds," particularly at Calais, St. Pierre de Calais, Lyons, and Cambray. The Calais machines numbered in 1839, 705; 1844, 801; 1851, 603. Many have been replaced by wider and speedier machines. They had 3 pushers, 14 traverse warps, 124 common circulars, 141 Jacquard circulars, and 321 levers; 50,000 females are employed, besides the ordinary proportion of machine hards and attendants. There are 800 other machines at Boulogne, St. Omer, Douay, Lille, St. Quentin, Caen, and Lyons. More expensive goods are produced on French machines, than on ours; and English plain nets, which were formerly extensively smuggled into France, are now supplanted by their own. They have applied the Jacquard apparatus to their machinery with much success, and of late years have ceased to copy Nottingham patterns, turning their own taste in designs to good use and profit. There were at Brussels in 1850, 16; at Termonde, 8; at Malines, 5; at St. Josse, 4 in all 31 machines in Belgium, - chiefly making three-twist Brussels net, upon which cushion flowers are applied. In bobbin-net machinery there are probably in Switzerland, 80; in Saxony, 70; Austria, 100; Prussia and Russia, 30; in Spain and other countries, 80-altogether 360 (Felkin). Since 1856 these branches have been steadily increasing. Embroidery work has also considerably increased, and for some years past has extended to the departments of La Meurthe, La Moselle, La Meuse, and Des Vosges. In the latter, forming the ancient province of Lorraine, this beautiful branch of industry has arrived at great perfection. It is estimated to give employment to from 150,000 to 180,000 females, spread over more than twenty departments of France, who earn from 8d. to ls. per day, and double that sum in Paris. -(Birkin).

Hand-made Lace may give employment to upwards of 200,000 females of all ages, who earn from 6d. to Is. a day. It is principally carried on at Caen and Bayeux, Chantilly and neighbourhood, Lille, Arras, Mirecourt, Du Puy, Boilleul, and Alençon. The lace of Alençon is the only fabric not made on the pillow, being worked entirely with the needle. It was introduced by Colbert in 1660 from Venice and Genoa, is the only lace made with pure linen thread (handspun)-the thread is worth from 100l. to 1201. per pound (Birkin). Some beautiful specimens of hand-made lace were exhibited from Switzerland, and so great is now the demand for the article, that the manufacturers are forced to employ great numbers of females in the western provinces of Austria and the southern provinces of the Duchy of Baden. Perhaps 40,000 persons earn their living by the embroidery branch, first-class hands receiving Is. per day, and second class from 3d. to 8d. 100,000 pairs of curtains alone are estimated to be imported into Great Britain. But the Swiss also export largely to America. Germany, Italy, Spain, and other southern countries. Specimens of lace and embroidery were also exhibited from Saxony, Spain, Hamburg, Austria, and Malta." Belgium continues to sustain its high character in the production of that beautiful art, and (with the exception of Point d'Alençon, made in the north of France), Brussels produces the most valuable known lace. Mechlin laces are made at Malines, Antwerp, and the vicinity; Valenciennes, at Ypres, Menin, Courtrai, Bruges, Ghent, and Alost. The village of Grammont is remarkable for great improvements made in white thread lace, and also in Blackpoint trimming laces. Some beautiful specimens of hand-made lace are now also imported from Madeira. The cotton lace and patent net exported in 1857 was of the estimated value of 400,3367.

We are indebted for this learned and very excellent article to our friend Mr. Robert Slater, of Fore Street, London.

LACK, a word used in the East Indies to denote the sum of 100,000 rupees, which, supposing them standards, worth 28. each, amounts to 10,000l. sterling. LADING, BILL OF. See BILL OF LADING.

LAGAN. See FLOTSAM.

LA GUAYRA, the principal sea-port of the republic of Venezuela, in the province of Caraccas, on the Caribbean Sea, lat. 10° 36′ 19" N., lon. 67° 6′ 45′′ W. Population In 1810, the population is believed to have amounted to 13,000; the reduction being a consequence of the loss of life caused by the tremendous earthquake of 1812,

8,000?

The popula

and the massacres and proscriptions incident to the revolutionary war. tion of the city of Caraccas, of which La Guayra may be considered as the port, fell off, from the same causes, from 43,000 in 1810, to 23,000 in 1830; but they are now

both increasing.

Port. There is neither quay nor mole at La Guayra. Ships moor E. N. E. and W. S. W., with their heads to the north, at from to of a mile from the land, in from 9 to 18 fathoms. The holding ground is good; and notwithstanding the openness of the road, vessels properly found in anchors and cables run very little risk of being driven from their moorings.

Trade. The principal articles of export are coffee, cocoa, indigo, hides, sarsaparilla, &c. The principal imports are cotton, linen, woollen and silk stuffs, with hardware and cutlery, wines, haberdashery, &c. La Guayra shares the trade of Venezuela with the ports of Cumana, Puerto Cabello, Maracaybo, &c., having about a half of its entire amount, which, however, is insignificant. In 1857, the estimated values of our imports and exports from and to Venezuela amounted, the former to only 29,5057., and the latter to 377,7117.

Port Regulations. On casting anchor, a visit is paid by the collector of customs, or his agent, accompanied by other officers, who take from the master his register, manifest, and muster-roll, and an officer is left on board until the cargo is discharged. The master must swear to his manifest within 24 hours after his arrival, when the permit to discharge is granted, and within 3 days all invoices must be presented. The discharge completed, the same officers repair on board to examine the vessel, and all being found in order, the officer is withdrawn. The clearing of a vessel outwards (that has entered with cargo) in ballast is then completed by paying the port charges; proof whereof being produced, the permission to sail is signed by the governor and harbour master. If the vessel take cargo on board, then the same formality, as to visiting, is pursued, as on the entry of a vessel.

Credit. Goods imported are almost invariably sold upon credit; those exported are, on the other hand, always sold for ready money. The terms of credit vary from 2 to 6 months, or more. Bankruptcy is very rare.

Money, Weights, and Measures.-The currency of the country consists of silver money, known by the name of macuquena, divided into dollars of 8 reals, do. of 4 reals, besides reals, reals, and quartillas or reals. This money is of very unequal weight and purity, the coins issued since the commencement of the revolutionary war having been often a good deal defaced. The real should be worth 5d. sterling.

Weights and measures same as those of Spain.

Tares. Real tare is taken both at the custom-house and by the merchant.

Commercial Prospects. - The commerce and industry of Venezuela suffered severely from the revolu. tionary struggle of which she was the theatre. But the country has been for some time past compara tively tranquil. As the riches of Venezuela consist entirely of the products of her agriculture, the legislature has wisely exerted itself to give it encouragement, by abolishing tithes, the tobacco monopoly, &c. But the want of a supply of efficient labour, arising out of the measures in progress for the abolition of slavery, is the grand obstacle to the progress of industry. The English consul at Puerto Cabello, in adverting to the deficiency of labour, in a communication dated June, 1843, says that an able-bodied man can earn enough by a day's labour to keep himself for a week; and such being the case, can any one expect industry to flourish, unless some sort of system for the supply of compulsory labour be resorted to? Indeed, the consul, though a warm advocate for the abolition of slavery, is, though not very consistently, alive to the necessity of what he calls "a mild compulsory system!" The truth is, that in countries like this, freedom and idleness are synonymous.

We have derived these details partly from Consular Returns, and partly from private information. LAMAR, formerly COBIJA; a sea-port of the republic of Bolivia, the ci-devant Upper Peru, on the west coast of South America, lat. 22° 39′ 30 S., long. 70° 12′ W. Population, 5,000. ?

In 1833 Lamar was declared a free port, and in it centres almost the whole direct foreign trade of the republic. Its situation is, however, very unfavourable. It labours under a great want of fresh water; and is obliged to import all its provisions by sea, either from Valparaiso, on the one hand, or from Arica on the other. The desert of Atacama lies between it and the internal and populous part of the country, where the towns of Potosi, Cochabamba, Charcas, &c. are situated. The produce imported at Lamar is conveyed across the desert on the backs of mules to the interior; the gold and silver of the mines being brought in the same way to the port to be shipped. These, with copper, saltpetre, chinchilli, skins, and wool, form the principal articles of export. Saltpetre is found in large quantities in the desert; the copper is found near the coast, and, owing to the scarcity of fuel, most part of it is exported in the shape of ore.

Peru possesses a long narrow slip of land, stretching along the coast of the Pacific from Arequipa to the Bay of Pica, which ought naturally to belong to Bolivia, being, in fact, the littoral of the latter. The Bolivian government has set on foot various negotiations to obtain the cession of this tract, which, besides greatly improving the frontier of the republic, would, at the same time, render her mistress of Arica, which is, in all respects, much better fitted than Lamar for becoming the entrepôt of her trade. Hitherto, however, these negotiations have proved abortive, so that, as already stated, Lamar, at present, engrosses most part of the foreign trade of the state, which, however, is but inconsiderable.

We subjoin the decree constituting Lamar a free port :

1. From and after the 1st of July of this present year, 1833, Port Lamar shall be absolutely free and open.

2. Vessels of every nation may enter this port and remain as long as they please, without being subjected to any tax whatever, either on entrance, or during their stay, or on their departure.

3. They shall be free from all duties of anchorage, tonnage, shifting, unloading, or reloading of cargo, deposit, storage, or any other of whatever denomination.

4. Goods may be deposited in private warehouses, without any intervention on the part of the government.

5. The custom-house of Port Lamar is suppressed. In its stead will be a commissioner's office, for the purpose of dis tributing permits for the transportation of goods into the in

terior.

6. Whenever goods are to be sent into the interior, they must first be submitted to the commissioner, together with the invoice corresponding.

7. The commissioner will register them in a book, together with their valuation made by two merchants of the place, and the names of their owners, of the person to whom, and the place where they are to be sent. This is to be signed by the person entering the goods, who at the same time binds himself to have them transported direct to the custom house for which they are destined, without opening any of the cases, bags, or other envelopes, each of which shall be sealed, marked, and numbered before departure. These points are to be expressed in the permit.

8. The commissioner shall by the earliest post send a notice to the collector of the custom-house for which any merchandise is destined, specifying the numbers, characters, quantities, and qualities of the several articles.

9. The goods must not be carried by any unaccustomed roads, but only through Calama and the public thoroughfares: and whenever they pass through any place at which a guard or commissioner is stationed, the permits must be exhibited, in order that their arrival with their seals unbroken may be ascertained.

10. Merchants, either in person or by a representative, must produce to the commissioner of the port a certificate of the delivery of the goods at the custom-house for which they are destined within 6 months from the day of their entry; in case they do not, they must at the end of that period pay the whole of the duties on them.

11. From and after the 1st of July, 1833, all goods entered at Port Lamar shall pay a duty of only 5 per cent. over and above that of half per cent. to the consulado.

12. The duty of 5 per cent. shall be paid thus: at the port, 2 per cent. on the valuation made as aforesaid; and the other 3 at the custom house in the interior for which the goods are destined. In each case one half at the end of 3, the other half at the end of 5 months.

13. All goods carried from Port Lamar by land to any of the adjoining republics shall only pay a transit duty of 2 per

cent.

11. A duty of 2 per cent. shall be paid on three fourths of all

go'd and silver money entered at any of the custom-houses in the interior for exportation through Port Lamar.

15. It is absolutely prohibited to export gold or silver, in bullion or plate, except in small quantities for the use of the person carrying it out. It will be seized wherever it is found on this side the districts of San Antonio, San Vincente, Atoca, Agua, de Castilla, Lequepate, or the line of the canal.

public, and productions of Bolivia may be exported likewise free.

17. A premium of 2 per cent. on their value sha'l be allowed on the exportation through Port Lamar of cascarilla, wool, tin, cocoa, and coffee, in the shape of remission from duties to the amount on goods carried into the interior from the saine port. The remaining articles of the decree are of a purely local

nature.

16. All hardware for agriculture and mining, machinery, instruments of science or the arts, iron, steel, quicksilver, and moral books, may be introduced free of duty into the reLAMB-SKINS (Ger. Lammsfelle; Fr. Peaux d'agneaux; It. Pelli agnelline; Sp. Pielles de corderos). The value of lamb-skins varies according to the fineness, brilliancy, and colour of the wool. Black lamb-skins are more generally esteemed than those of any other colour. English lamb-skins are seldom to be met with perfectly black; but since the introduction of Merino sheep into this country, many of the white fleeces have, in point of quality, arrived at a pitch of perfection which justly entitles them to be ranked with some of the best fleeces in Spain. The importation of lamb-skins is immense. The great bulk are supplied by Italy. Thus of 1,600,308 undressed skins imported in 1857, no fewer than 1,303,185 were from Italy, and mostly from Tuscany. They are mostly used in the glove manufacture.

LAMP (Ger. Lampe; Fr. Lampe; It. Lucerna; Sp. Lampara; Rus. •Lampadu), an instrument used for the combustion of liquid inflammable bodies, for the purpose of producing artificial light.

It is unnecessary to give any description of instruments that are so well known. We may, however, remark that the discovery of Sir H. Davy, who, by covering the flame with wire gauze, succeeded in producing a lamp that may be securely used in coal mines charged with inflammable gas, is one of the most ingenious and valuable that has ever been made. The following extracts from a communication of the late Mr. Buddle, an able and well-informed coal engineer, evince the great importance of Sir Humphry Davy's invention.

"Besides the facilities afforded by this invention to the working of coal mines abounding in fire damp, it has enabled the directors and superintendents to ascertain, with the utmost precision and expedition, both the presence, the quantity, and correct situation of the gas. Instead of creeping inch by inch with a candle, as is usual, along the galleries of a mine suspected to contain fire damp, in order to ascertain its presence, we walk firmly on with the safe lamps, and, with the utmost confidence, prove the actual state of the mine. By observing attentively the several appearances upon the flame of the lamp, in an examination of this kind, the cause of accidents which happened to the most experienced and cautious miners is completely developed; and this has hitherto been in a great measure matter of mere conjecture.

"It is not necessary that I should enlarge upon the national advantages which must necessarily result from an invention calculated to prolong our supply of mineral coal, because I think them obvious to every reflecting mind; but I cannot conclude without expressing my highest sentiments of admiration for those talents which have developed the properties, and controlled the power, of one of the most dangerous elements which human enterprise has hitherto had to encounter."

LAMP-BLACK (Ger. Kienruss; Fr. Noir de fumée; Nero di fumo, Negrofumo; Negro de humo). "The finest lamp-black is produced by collecting the smoke from a lamp with a long wick, which supplies more oil than can be perfectly consumed, or by suffering the flame to play against a metallic cover, which impedes the combustion, not only by conducting off part of the heat, but by obstructing the current of air. Lamp-black, however, is prepared in a much cheaper way for the demands of trade. The dregs which remain after the eliquation of pitch, or else small pieces of fir wood, are burned in furnaces of a peculiar construction, the smoke of which is made to pass through a long horizontal flue, terminating in a close boarded chamber. The roof of this chamber is made of coarse cloth, through which the current of air escapes, while the soot remains." — (Ure's Dictionary of Chemistry.)

LAND-WAITER, an officer of the Custom-house, whose duty it is, upon landing any merchandise, to taste, weigh, measure, or otherwise examine the various articles, &c., and to take an account of the same. They are likewise styled searchers, and are to attend, and join with, the patent searchers, in execution of all cockets for the shipping of goods to be exported to foreign parts; and, in cases where drawbacks or bounties are to be paid to the merchant on the exportation of any goods, they, as well as the patent searchers, are to certify the shipping thereof on the debentures.

LAPIS LAZULI. See ULTRAMARINE.

LAST, an uncertain quantity, varying in different countries, and with respect to different articles. Generally, however, a last is estimated at 4,000 or 6,000 lbs.; but there are great discrepancies.

The following quantities of different articles make a last, viz. 14 barrels of pitch, tar, or ashes; 12 dozen of hides or skins; 12 barrels of cod-fish, potash, or meal; 20 cades, each of 1,000 herrings, every 1,000 ten hundred, and every 100 five score; 10 quarters of cole-seed; 10 quarters of corn or rape-seed. In some parts of England, 21 quarters of corn go to a last; 12 sacks of wool; 20 dickers (every dicker 12 skins) of leather; 18 barrels of unpacked herrings; 10,000 pilchards; 24 barrels (each barrel containing 100 lbs.) of gunpowder; 1,700 lbs. of feathers or flax.

Last is sometimes used to signify the burden of a ship.

LATH, LATHS (Du. Latten; Fr. Lattes; Ger. Latten; It. Correnti; Rus. Slegü), long, thin, and narrow slips of wood, nailed to the rafters of a roof or ceiling, in order to sustain the covering. Laths are distinguished into various sorts, according to the different kinds of wood of which they are made, and the different purposes to which they are to be applied. They are also distinguished according to their length, into 5, 4, and 3 feet laths. Their ordinary breadth is about an inch, and their thickness of an inch. Laths are sold by the bundle, which is generally called a hundred: but 7 score, or 140, are computed in the hundred for 3 feet laths; 6 score, or 120, in such as are 4 feet; and for those which are denominated 5 feet the common hundred, or 5

score.

LATTEN, a name sometimes given to tin plates; that is, to thin plates of iron, tinned over.-(See TIN.)

LAWN (Ger. and Fr. Linon; It. Linone, Rensa; Sp. Cambray clarin), a sort of clear or open worked cambric, which, till of late years, was exclusively manufactured in France and Flanders. At present, the lawn manufacture is established in Scotland, and in the north of Ireland, where articles of this kind are brought to such a degree of perfection as nearly to rival the productions of the French and Flemish manufactories. In the manufacture of lawns finer flaxen thread is used than in that of cambric. LAZARETTO. See QUARANTINE.

;

LEAD (Ger. Bley, Blei; Du. Lood, Loot; Fr. Plomb; It. Piombo; Sp. Plomo Rus. Swinetz; Pol. Olow; Lat. Plumbum; Arab. Anuk; Hind. Sisa; Pers. Surb), one of the most useful metals. It is of a bluish white colour, and when newly melted is very bright, but it soon becomes tarnished by exposure to the air. It has scarcely any taste, but emits, on friction, a peculiar smell. It stains paper or the fingers of a bluish colour. When taken internally it acts as a poison. It is one of the softest of the metals; its specific gravity is 11:35. It is very malleable, and may be reduced to thin plates by the hammer; it may also be drawn out into wire, but its ductility is not very great. Its tenacity is so small that a lead wire inch diameter is capable of supporting only 18-4 lbs. without breaking. It melts at 612°. —(Thomson's Chemistry.)

Lead is a metal of much importance in the arts. Its durability and malleability make it very suitable for the roofing of buildings, the construction of gutters and such like purposes. It used to be very extensively employed in the formation of waterpipes and cisterns. But though water has no direct action on lead, it facilitates the action of the external air; and hence the lead of cisterns and of pipes from which the air is not entirely excluded becomes oxidised, and is covered with a white crust at the point where the surface of the water comes into contact with the air. Inasmuch, however, as this oxide is extremely deleterious, lead pipes and cisterns are now very generally superseded by those of cast iron. At present, perhaps, lead is more extensively used in the manufacture of small shot than in any other way. Its salts, though poisonous, are used in medicine to form sedative external applications; and frequently not a little, by the disreputable wine merchant, to stop the progress of acetous fermentation. Wine thus poisoned may, however, be readily distinguished; a small quantity of the bicarbonate of potass producing a white precipitate, and sulphuretted hydrogen a black one. Pure wine will not be affected by either of these tests. "The oxide of lead enters into the composition of white glass, which it renders clearer and more fusible: it is also used in glazing common earthen vessels; hence the reason that pickles kept in common red pans become poisonous. Lead, with tin, and a small quantity of some of the other metals, forms pewter; with antimony, it forms the alloy of which printing types are made."—Joyce's Chem. (Mineralogy.)

Mines of this valuable mineral have been wrought in England from the æra of the Romans, It does not, however, appear that it was obtained anywhere except in Derbyshire, till 1289, when it was discovered in Wales; and the fact that silver was found intermixed with the Welsh ores having transpired, gave a new stimulus to the business; but in other respects the discovery of silver was of no use; the quantity obtained being insufficient to defray the cost of its separation from the lead. At present, the most productive English lead mines are situated in Allendale, and other western parts of Northumberland; at Aldstone Moor, &c., in Cumberland; in the western parts of Durham; in Swaledale, Arkendale, and other parts of Yorkshire; in the hundred of High Peak in Derbyshire, in Salop, and in Cornwall. The Welsh mines are principally situated in the counties of Flint, Cardigan, and Montgomery; those of Scotland in Ayr, Kirkcudbright, and Lanark; and those of Ireland, in Wicklow, Down, and Limerick. Lead mines are also wrought to considerable advantage in the Isle of Man. We subjoin an abstract deduced from the accounts furnished by the Museum of Practical Geology, of the