Chapter XVI: Part 16

Under the common law larceny was a felony. It was affected by numerous
statutes, the main object of legislation being to bring within the law
of larceny offences which were not larcenies at common law, either
because they were thefts of things of which there could be no larceny
at common law, e.g. beasts _ferae naturae_, title deeds or choses in
action, or because the common law regarded them merely as delicts for
which the remedy was by civil action, e.g. fraudulent breaches of
trust. The earliest act in the statutes of the realm dealing with
larceny appears to be the _Carta Forestae_ of 1225, by which fine or
imprisonment was inflicted for stealing the king's deer. The next act
appears to be the statute of Westminster the First (1275), dealing
again with stealing deer. It seems as though the beginning of
legislation on the subject was for the purpose of protecting the
chases and parks of the king and the nobility. A very large number of
the old acts are named in the repealing act of 1827. An act of the
same date removed the old distinction between grand and petit
larceny.[2] The former was theft of goods above the value of twelve
pence, in the house of the owner, not from the person, or by night,
and was a capital crime. It was petit larceny where the value was
twelve pence or under, the punishment being imprisonment or whipping.
The gradual depreciation in the value of money afforded good ground
for Sir Henry Spelman's sarcasm that, while everything else became
dearer, the life of man became continually cheaper. The distinction
between grand and petit larceny first appears in statute law in the
Statute of Westminster the First, c. 15, but it was not created for
the first time by that statute. It is found in some of the
pre-Conquest codes, as that of Æthelstan, and it is recognized in the
_Leges Henrici Primi_. A distinction between simple and compound
larceny is still found in the books. The latter is larceny accompanied
by circumstances of aggravation, as that it is in a dwelling-house or
from the person. The law of larceny is now contained chiefly in the
Larceny Act 1861 (which extends to England and Ireland), a
comprehensive enactment including larceny, embezzlement, fraud by
bailees, agents, bankers, factors, and trustees, sacrilege, burglary,
housebreaking, robbery, obtaining money by threats or by false
pretences, and receiving stolen goods, and prescribing procedure, both
civil and criminal. There are, however, other acts in force dealing
with special cases of larceny, such as an act of Henry VIII. as to
stealing the goods of the king, and the Game, Post-Office and Merchant
Shipping Acts. There are separate acts providing for larceny by a
partner of partnership property, and by a husband or wife of the
property of the other (Married Women's Property Act 1882). Proceedings
against persons subject to naval or military law depend upon the Naval
Discipline Act 1866 and the Army Act 1881. There are several acts,
both before and after 1861, directing how the property is to be laid
in indictments for stealing the goods of counties, friendly societies,
trades unions, &c. The principal conditions which must exist in order
to constitute larceny are these: (1) there must be an actual taking
into the possession of the thief, though the smallest removal is
sufficient; (2) there must be an intent to deprive the owner of his
property for an indefinite period, and to assume the entire dominion
over it, an intent often described in Bracton's words as _animus
furandi_; (3) this intent must exist at the time of taking; (4) the
thing taken must be one capable of larceny either at common law or by
statute. One or two cases falling under the law of larceny are of
special interest. It was held more than once that a servant taking
corn to feed his master's horses, but without any intention of
applying it for his own benefit, was guilty of larceny. To remedy this
hardship, the Misappropriation of Servants Act 1863 was passed to
declare such an act not to be felony. The case of appropriation of
goods which have been found has led to some difficulty. It now seems
to be the law that in order to constitute a larceny of lost goods
there must be a felonious intent at the time of finding, that is, an
intent to deprive the owner of them, coupled with reasonable means at
the same time of knowing the owner. The mere retention of the goods
when the owner has become known to the finder does not make the
retention criminal. Larceny of money may be committed when the money
is paid by mistake, if the prisoner took it _animo furandi_. In two
noteworthy cases the question was argued before a very full court for
crown cases reserved, and in each case there was a striking difference
of opinion. In _R._ v. _Middleton_, 1873, L.R. 2 C.C.R., 38, the
prisoner, a depositor in a post-office savings bank, received by the
mistake of the clerk a larger sum that he was entitled to. The jury
found that he had the _animus furandi_ at the time of taking the
money, and that he knew it to be the money of the postmaster-general.
The majority of the court held it to be larceny. In a case in 1885
(_R._ v. _Ashwell_, L.R. 16 Q.B.D. 190), where the prosecutor gave the
prisoner a sovereign believing it to be a shilling, and the prisoner
took it under that belief, but afterwards discovered its value and
retained it, the court was equally divided as to whether the prisoner
was guilty of larceny at common law, but held that he was not guilty
of larceny as a bailee. Legislation has considerably affected the
procedure in prosecutions for larceny. The inconveniences of the
common law rules of interpretation of indictments led to certain
amendments of the law, now contained in the Larceny Act, for the
purpose of avoiding the frequent failures of justice owing to the
strictness with which indictments were construed. Three larcenies of
property of the same person within six months may now be charged in
one indictment. On an indictment for larceny the prisoner may be found
guilty of embezzlement, and _vice versa_; and if the prisoner be
indicted for obtaining goods by false pretences, and the offence turn
out to be larceny, he is not entitled to be acquitted of the
misdemeanour. A count for receiving may be joined with the count for
stealing. In many cases it is unnecessary to allege or prove ownership
of the property the subject of the indictment. The act also contains
numerous provisions as to venue and the apprehension of offenders. In
another direction the powers of courts of Summary Jurisdiction (q.v.)
have been extended, in the case of charges of larceny, embezzlement
and receiving stolen goods, against children and young persons and
against adults pleading guilty or waiving their right to trial by
jury. The maximum punishment for larceny is fourteen years' penal
servitude, but this can only be inflicted in certain exceptional
cases, such as horse or cattle stealing and larceny by a servant or a
person in the service of the crown or the police. The extreme
punishment for simple larceny after a previous conviction for felony
is ten years' penal servitude. Whipping may be part of the sentence on
boys under sixteen.

_Scotland._--A vast number of acts of the Scottish parliament dealt with larceny. The general policy of the acts was to make larceny what was not larceny at common law, e.g. stealing fruit, dogs, hawks or deer, and to extend the remedies, e.g. by giving the justiciar authority throughout the kingdom, by making the master in the case of theft by the servant liable to give the latter up to justice, or by allowing the use of firearms against thieves. The general result of legislation in England and Scotland has been to assimilate the law of larceny in both kingdoms. As a rule, what would be larceny in one would be larceny in the other.

_United Stales._--The law depends almost entirely upon state legislation, and is in general accordance with that of England. The only acts of Congress bearing on the subject deal with larceny in the army and navy, and with larceny and receiving on the high seas or in any place under the exclusive jurisdiction of the United States, e.g. Alaska.

_Alaska._--Stealing any goods, chattels, government note, bank note,
or other thing in action, books of account, &c., is larceny:
punishment, imprisonment for not less than one nor more than ten years
if the property stolen is in value over $35. Larceny in any
dwelling-house, warehouse, steamship, church, &c., is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than seven years. Larceny
of a horse, mule, ass, bull, steer, cow or reindeer is punishable by
imprisonment for not less than one nor more than fifteen years.
Wilfully altering or defacing marks or brands on such animals is
larceny (Pen. Code Alaska, § 45, 1899).

_Arizona._--Appropriating property found without due inquiry for the
owner is larceny (Penal Code, § 442). "Dogs are property and of the
value of _one dollar each_ within the meaning of the terms 'property'
and 'value' as used in this chapter" (_id._ § 448). Property includes
a passage ticket though never issued. Persons stealing property in
another state or county, or who receive it knowing it to be stolen and
bring it into Arizona, may be convicted and punished as if the offence
was committed there (_id._ § 454). Stealing gas or water from a main
is a misdemeanour.

_Iowa._--It is larceny to steal electricity, gas or water from wires,
meters or mains (L. 1903, ch. 132).

_New York._--Larceny as defined by § 528 of the Penal Code includes
also embezzlement, obtaining property by false pretences, and
felonious breach of trust (_People_ v. _Dumar_, 106 N.Y. 508), but the
method of proof required to establish these offences has not been
changed. Grand larceny in the _first degree_ is (a) stealing property
of any value in the night time; (b) of $25 in value or more at night
from a dwelling house, vessel or railway car; (c) of the value of more
than $500 in any manner; in the _second degree_ (a) stealing in any
manner property of the value of over $25 and under $500; (b) taking
from the person property of any value; (c) stealing any record of a
court or other record filed with any public officer. Every other
larceny is petit larceny. "Value" of any stock, bond or security
having a market value is the amount of money due thereon or what, in
any contingency, might be collected thereon; of any passenger ticket
the price it is usually sold at. The value of anything else not fixed
by statute is its market value. Grand larceny, in the first degree, is
punishable by imprisonment not exceeding ten years; in the second
degree, not exceeding five years. Petit larceny is a misdemeanour
(Penal Code, §§ 530-535). Bringing stolen goods into the state knowing
them to be stolen is punishable as larceny within the state (_id._ §
540). A "pay ticket" for removing a load of snow may be the subject of
larceny and its value the amount to be paid on it. (_People_ v.
_Fletcher_ [1906] 110 App. D. 231).

_Kansas._--The owner of goods who takes them from a railroad company
with intent to defeat its lien for transportation charges is guilty of
larceny. (_Atchison Co._ v. _Hinsdell_ [1907] 90 Pac. Rep. 800).

_Massachusetts._--Larceny includes embezzlement and obtaining money by
false pretences. (Rev. L. 1902, ch. 218, § 40.) The failing to restore
to or to notify the owner of property removed from premises on fire is
larceny (_id._ ch. 208, § 22). It is larceny to purchase property
(payment for which is to be made on or before delivery) by means of a
false pretence as to means or ability to pay, provided such pretence
is signed by the person to be charged. Indictment for stealing a will
need not contain an allegation of value (_id._ § 29). A person
convicted either as accessory or principal of three distinct larcenies
shall be adjudged "a common and notorious thief" and may be imprisoned
for not more than twenty years (_id._ 31). On second conviction for
larceny of a bicycle, the thief may be imprisoned for not more than
five years. Larceny of things annexed to realty is punishable as if it
were a larceny of personal property (_id._ §§ 33, 35).

_Ohio._--Stealing "anything of value" is larceny (Bates Stats. §
6856). Tapping gas pipes is punishable by fine or imprisonment for not
more than thirty days. Stealing timber having "timber dealers'" trade
mark, or removing it from a stream, is punishable by a fine of not
less than $20.

_Utah._--It is grand larceny to alter the mark or brand on an animal
(L. 1905, ch. 38).

_Wyoming._--For branding or altering or defacing the brand on cattle
with intent to steal, the penalty is imprisonment for not more than
five years. It is larceny for a bailee to convert with intent to steal
goods left with or found by him (Rev. Stats. §§ 4986, 4989).

_Washington._--A horse not branded, but under Code § 6861 an "outlaw,"
the owner being unknown, can be the subject of a larceny, having been
held to be property of the state. (_State_ v. _Eddy_ [1907], 90 Pac.
Rep. 641). For the third offence of such a larceny the penalty is
imprisonment for _life_ (L. 1903, ch. 86).

See also EMBEZZLEMENT; CHEATING; FALSE PRETENCES; ROBBERY; STOLEN
GOODS.

FOOTNOTES:

[1] Thus destruction of a letter by a servant, with a view of
suppressing inquiries into his or her character, makes the servant
guilty of larceny in English law.

[2] This provision was most unnecessarily repeated in the Larceny Act
of 1861.

LARCH (from the Ger. _Lärche_, M.H.G. _Lerche_, Lat. _larix_), a name applied to a small group of coniferous trees, of which the common larch of Europe is taken as the type. The members of the genus _Larix_ are distinguished from the firs, with which they were formerly placed, by their deciduous leaves, scattered singly, as in _Abies_, on the young shoots of the season, but on all older branchlets growing in whorl-like tufts, each surrounding the extremity of a rudimentary or abortive branch; they differ from cedars (_Cedrus_), which also have the fascicles of leaves on arrested branchlets, not only in the deciduous leaves, but in the cones, the scales of which are thinner towards the apex, and are persistent, remaining attached long after the seeds are discharged. The trees of the genus are closely allied in botanic features, as well as in general appearance, so that it is sometimes difficult to assign to them determinate specific characters, and the limit between species and variety is not always very accurately defined. Nearly all are natives of Europe, or the northern plains and mountain ranges of Asia and North America, though one (_Larix Griffithii_) occurs only on the Himalayas.

The common larch (_L. europaea_) is, when grown in perfection, a stately tree with tall erect trunk, gradually tapering from root to summit, and horizontal branches springing at irregular intervals from the stem, and in old trees often becoming more or less drooping, but rising again towards the extremities; the branchlets or side shoots, very slender and pendulous, are pretty thickly studded with the spurs each bearing a fascicle of thirty or more narrow linear leaves, of a peculiar bright light green when they first appear in the spring, but becoming of a deeper hue when mature. The yellow stamen-bearing flowers are in sessile, nearly spherical catkins; the fertile ones vary in colour, from red or purple to greenish-white, in different varieties; the erect cones, which remain long on the branches, are above an inch in length and oblong-ovate in shape, with reddish-brown scales somewhat waved on the edges, the lower bracts usually rather longer than the scales. The tree flowers in April or May, and the winged seeds are shed the following autumn. When standing in an open space, the larch grows of a nearly conical shape, with the lower branches almost reaching the ground, while those above gradually diminish in length towards the top of the trunk, presenting a very symmetrical form; but in dense woods the lower parts become bare of foliage, as with the firs under similar circumstances. When springing up among rocks or on ledges, the stem sometimes becomes much curved, and, with its spreading boughs and pendent branchlets, often forms a striking and picturesque object in alpine passes and steep ravines. In the prevalent European varieties the bark is reddish-grey, and rather rough and scarred in old trees, which are often much lichen-covered. The trunk attains a height of from 80 to 140 ft., with a diameter of from 3 to 5 ft. near the ground, but in close woods is comparatively slender in proportion to its altitude. The larch abounds on the Alps of Switzerland, on which it flourishes at an elevation of 5000 ft., and also on those of Tirol and Savoy, on the Carpathians, and in most of the hill regions of central Europe; it is not wild on the Apennine chain, or the Pyrenees, and in the wild state is unknown in the Spanish peninsula. It forms extensive woods in Russia, but does not extend to Scandinavia, where its absence is somewhat remarkable, as the tree grows freely in Norway and Sweden where planted, and even multiplies itself by self-sown seed, according to F. C. Schübeler, in the neighbourhood of Trondhjem. In the north-eastern parts of Russia, in the country towards the Petchora river, and on the Ural, a peculiar variety prevails, regarded by some as a distinct species (_L. sibirica_); this form is abundant nearly throughout Siberia, extending to the Pacific coast of Kamchatka and the hills of the Amur region. The Siberian larch has smooth grey bark and smaller cones, approaching in shape somewhat to those of the American hackmatack; it seems even hardier than the Alpine tree, growing up to latitude 68°, but, as the inclement climate of the polar shores is neared, dwindling down to a dwarf and even trailing bush.

The larch, from its lofty straight trunk and the high quality of its wood, is one of the most important of coniferous trees; its growth is extremely rapid, the stem attaining a large size in from sixty to eighty years, while the tree yields good useful timber at forty or fifty; it forms firm heartwood at an early age, and the sapwood is less perishable than that of the firs, rendering it more valuable in the young state.

The wood of large trees is compact in texture, in the best varieties
of a deep reddish colour varying to brownish-yellow, but apt to be
lighter in tint, and less hard in grain, when grown in rich soils or
in low sheltered situations. It is remarkably tough, resisting a
rending strain better than any of the fir or pine woods in common use,
though not as elastic as some; properly seasoned, it is as little
liable to shrink as to split; the boughs being small compared to the
trunk, the timber is more free from large knots, and the small knots
remain firm and undecayed. The only drawback to these good qualities
is a certain liability to warp and bend, unless very carefully
seasoned; for this purpose it is recommended to be left floating in
water for a year after felling, and then allowed some months to dry
slowly and completely before sawing up the logs; barking the trunk in
winter while the tree is standing, and leaving it in that state till
the next year, has been often advised with the larch as with other
timber, but the practical inconveniences of the plan have prevented
its adoption on any large scale. When well prepared for use, larch is
one of the most durable of coniferous woods. Its strength and
toughness render it valuable for naval purposes, to which it is
largely applied; its freedom from any tendency to split adapts it for
clinker-built boats. It is much employed for house-building; most of
the picturesque log-houses in Vaud and the adjacent cantons are built
of squared larch trunks, and derive their fine brown tint from the
hardened resin that slowly exudes from the wood after long exposure to
the summer sun; the wooden shingles, that in Switzerland supply the
place of tiles, are also frequently of larch. In Germany it is much
used by the cooper as well as the carpenter, while the form of the
trunk admirably adapts it for all purposes for which long straight
timber is needed. It answers well for fence-posts and river piles;
many of the foundations of Venice rest upon larch, the lasting
qualities of which were well known and appreciated, not only in
medieval times, but in the days of Vitruvius and Pliny. The harder and
darker varieties are used in the construction of cheap solid
furniture, being fine in grain and taking polish better than many more
costly woods. A peculiarity of larch wood is the difficulty with which
it is ignited, although so resinous; and, coated with a thin layer of
plaster, beams and pillars of larch might probably be found to justify
Caesar's epithet "igni impenetrabile lignum"; even the small branches
are not easily kept alight, and a larch fire in the open needs
considerable care. Yet the forests of larch in Siberia often suffer
from conflagration. When these fires occur while the trees are full of
sap, a curious mucilaginous matter is exuded from the half-burnt
stems; when dry it is of pale reddish colour, like some of the coarser
kinds of gum-arabic, and is soluble in water, the solution resembling
gum-water, in place of which it is sometimes used; considerable
quantities are collected and sold as "Orenburg gum"; in Siberia and
Russia it is occasionally employed as a semi-medicinal food, being
esteemed an antiscorbutic. For burning in close stoves and furnaces,
larch makes tolerably good fuel, its value being estimated by Hartig
as only one-fifth less than that of beech; the charcoal is compact,
and is in demand for iron-smelting and other metallurgic uses in some
parts of Europe.

In the trunk of the larch, especially when growing in climates where
the sun is powerful in summer, a fine clear turpentine exists in great
abundance; in Savoy and the south of Switzerland, it is collected for
sale, though not in such quantity as formerly, when, being taken to
Venice for shipment, it was known in commerce as "Venice turpentine."
Old trees are selected, from the bark of which it is observed to ooze
in the early summer; holes are bored in the trunk, somewhat inclined
upward towards the centre of the stem, in which, between the layers of
wood, the turpentine is said to collect in small lacunae; wooden
gutters placed in these holes convey the viscous fluid into little
wooden pails hung on the end of each gutter; the secretion flows
slowly all through the summer months, and a tree in proper condition
yields from 6 to 8 lb. a year, and will continue to give an annual
supply for thirty or forty years, being, however, rendered quite
useless for timber by subjection to this process. In Tirol, a single
hole is made near the root of the tree in the spring; this is stopped
with a plug, and the turpentine is removed by a scoop in the autumn;
but each tree yields only from a few ounces to ½ lb. by this process.
Real larch turpentine is a thick tenacious fluid, of a deep yellow
colour, and nearly transparent; it does not harden by time; it
contains 15% of the essential oil of turpentine, also resin, succinic,
pinic and sylvic acids, and a bitter extractive matter. According to
Pereira, much sold under the name of Venice turpentine is a mixture of
common resin and oil of turpentine. On the French Alps a sweet
exudation is found on the small branchlets of young larches in June
and July, resembling manna in taste and laxative properties, and known
as _Manna de Briançon_ or _Manna Brigantina_; it occurs in small
whitish irregular granular masses, which are removed in the morning
before they are too much dried by the sun; this manna seems to differ
little in composition from the sap of the tree, which also contains
_mannite_; its cathartic powers are weaker than those of the manna of
the manna ash (_Fraximus ornus_), but it is employed in France for the
same purposes.

The bark of the larch is largely used in some countries for tanning;
it is taken from the trunk only, being stripped from the trees when
felled; its value is about equal to that of birch bark; but, according
to the experience of British tanners, it is scarcely half as strong as
that of the oak. The soft inner bark is occasionally used in Siberia
as a ferment, by hunters and others, being boiled and mixed with
rye-meal, and buried in the snow for a short time, when it is employed
as a substitute for other leaven, and in making the sour liquor called
"quass." In Germany a fungus (_Polyporus Laricis_) grows on the roots
and stems of decaying larches, which was formerly in esteem as a
drastic purgative. The young shoots of the larch are sometimes given
in Switzerland as fodder to cattle.

The larch, though mentioned by Parkinson in 1629 as "nursed up" by a few "lovers of variety" as a rare exotic, does not seem to have been much grown in England till early in the 18th century. In Scotland the date of its introduction is a disputed point, but it seems to have been planted at Dunkeld by the 2nd duke of Athole in 1727, and about thirteen or fourteen years later considerable plantations were made at that place, the commencement of one of the largest planting experiments on record; it is estimated that 14 million larches were planted on the Athole estates between that date and 1826. The cultivation of the tree rapidly spread, and the larch has become a conspicuous feature of the scenery in many parts of Scotland. It grows as rapidly and attains as large a size in British habitats suited to it as in its home on the Alps, and often produces equally good timber. The larch of Europe is essentially a mountain tree, and requires not only free air above, but a certain moderate amount of moisture in the soil beneath, with, at the same time, perfect drainage, to bring the timber to perfection. Where there is complete freedom from stagnant water in the ground, and abundant room for the spread of its branches to light and air, the larch will flourish in a great variety of soils, stiff clays, wet or mossy peat, and moist alluvium being the chief exceptions; in its native localities it seems partial to the debris of primitive and metamorphic rocks, but is occasionally found growing luxuriantly on calcareous subsoils; in Switzerland it attains the largest size, and forms the best timber, on the northern declivities of the mountains; but in Scotland a southern aspect appears most favourable.

The best variety for culture in Britain is that with red female
flowers; the light-flowered kinds are said to produce inferior wood,
and the Siberian larch does not grow in Scotland nearly as fast as the
Alpine tree. The larch is raised from seed in immense numbers in
British nurseries; that obtained from Germany is preferred, being more
perfectly ripened than the cones of home growth usually are. The seeds
are sown in April, on rich ground, which should not be too highly
manured; the young larches are planted out when two years old, or
sometimes transferred to a nursery bed to attain a larger size; but,
like all conifers, they succeed best when planted young; on the
mountains, the seedlings are usually put into a mere slit made in the
ground by a spade with a triangular blade, the place being first
cleared of any heath, bracken, or tall herbage that might smother the
young tree; the plants should be from 3 to 4 ft. apart, or even more,
according to the growth intended before thinning, which should be
begun as soon as the boughs begin to overspread much; little or no
pruning is needed beyond the careful removal of dead branches. The
larch is said not to succeed on arable land, especially where corn has
been grown, but experience does not seem to support this view; that
against the previous occupation of the ground by Scotch fir or Norway
spruce is probably better founded, and, where timber is the object, it
should not be planted with other conifers. On the Grampians and
neighbouring hills the larch will flourish at a greater elevation than
the pine, and will grow up to an altitude of 1700 or even 1800 ft.;
but it attains its full size on lower slopes. In very dry and bleak
localities, the Scotch fir will probably be more successful up to 900
ft. above the sea, the limit of the luxuriant growth of that hardy
conifer in Britain; and in moist valleys or on imperfectly drained
acclivities Norway spruce is more suitable. The growth of the larch
while young is exceedingly rapid; in the south of England it will
often attain a height of 25 ft. in the first ten years, while in
favourable localities it will grow upwards of 80 ft. in half a century
or less; one at Dunkeld felled sixty years after planting was 110 ft.
high; but usually the tree does not increase so rapidly after the
first thirty of forty years. Some larches in Scotland rival in size
the most gigantic specimens standing in their native woods; a tree at
Dalwick, Peeblesshire, attained 5 ft. in diameter; one at Glenarbuck,
near the Clyde, grew above 140 ft. high, with a circumference of 13
ft. The annual increase in girth is often considerable even in large
trees; the fine larch near the abbey of Dunkeld figured by Strutt in
his _Sylva Britannica_ increased 2½ ft. between 1796 and 1825, its
measurement at the latter date being 13 ft., with a height of 97½ ft.

In the south of England, the larch is much planted for the supply of
hop-poles, though in parts of Kent and Sussex poles formed of Spanish
chestnut are regarded as still more lasting. In plantations made with
this object, the seedlings are placed very close (from 1½ to 2 ft.
apart), and either cut down all at once, when the required height is
attained or thinned out, leaving the remainder to gain a greater
length; the land is always well trenched before planting. The best
month for larch planting, whether for poles or timber, is November;
larches are sometimes planted in the spring, but the practice cannot
be commended, as the sap flows early, and, if a dry period follows,
the growth is sure to be checked. The thinnings of the larch woods in
the Highlands are in demand for railway sleepers, scaffold poles, and
mining timber, and are applied to a variety of agricultural purposes.
The tree generally succeeds on the Welsh hills.

The young seedlings are sometimes nibbled by the hare and rabbit; and
on parts of the highland hills both bark and shoots are eaten in the
winter by the roe-deer; larch woods should always be fenced in to keep
out the hill-cattle, which will browse upon the shoots in spring. The
"woolly aphis," "American blight," or "larch blight" (_Eriosoma
laricis_) often attacks the trees in close valleys, but rarely spreads
much unless other unhealthy conditions are present. The larch suffers
from several diseases caused by fungi; the most important is the
larch-canker caused by the parasitism of _Peziza Willkommii_. The
spores germinate on a damp surface and enter the cortex through small
cracks or wounds in the protecting layer. The fungus-mycelium will go
on growing indefinitely in the cambium layer, thus killing and
destroying a larger area year by year. The most effective method of
treatment is to cut out the diseased branch or patch as early as
possible. Another disease which is sometimes confused with that caused
by the _Peziza_ is "heart-rot"; it occasionally attacks larches only
ten years old or less, but is more common when the trees have acquired
a considerable size, sometimes spreading in a short time through a
whole plantation. The trees for a considerable period show little sign
of unhealthiness, but eventually the stem begins to swell somewhat
near the root, and the whole tree gradually goes off as the disease
advances; when cut down, the trunk is found to be decayed at the
centre, the "rot" usually commencing near the ground. Trees of good
size are thus rendered nearly worthless, often showing little sign of
unhealthiness till felled. Great difference of opinion exists among
foresters as to the cause of this destructive malady; but it is
probably the direct result of unsuitable soil, especially soil
containing insufficient nourishment.

Considerable quantities of larch timber are imported into Britain for
use in the dockyards, in addition to the large home supply. The
quality varies much, as well as the colour and density; an Italian
sample in the museum at Kew (of a very dark red tint) weighs about 24½
lb. to the cub. ft., while a Polish specimen, of equally deep hue, is
44 lb. 1 oz. to the same measurement.

For the landscape gardener, the larch is a valuable aid in the
formation of park and pleasure ground; but it is never seen to such
advantage as when hanging over some tumbling burn or rocky pass among
the mountains. A variety with very pendent boughs, known as the
"drooping" larch var. _pendula_, is occasionally met with in gardens.

The bark of the larch has been introduced into pharmacy, being given,
generally in the form of an alcoholic tincture, in chronic bronchitic
affections and internal haemorrhages. It contains, in addition to
tannin, a peculiar principle called _larixin_, which may be obtained
in a pure state by distillation from a concentrated infusion of the
bark; it is a colourless substance in long crystals, with a bitter and
astringent taste, and a faint acid reaction; hence some term it
_larixinic acid_.

The European larch has long been introduced into the United States, where, in suitable localities, it flourishes as luxuriantly as in Britain. Plantations have been made in America with an economic view, the tree growing much faster, and producing good timber at an earlier age than the native hackmatack (or tamarack), while the wood is less ponderous, and therefore more generally applicable.

The genus is represented in the eastern parts of North America by the hackmatack (_L. americana_), of which there are several varieties, two so well marked that they are by some botanists considered specifically distinct. In one (_L. microcarpa_) the cones are very small, rarely exceeding ½ in. in length, of a roundish-oblong shape; the scales are very few in number, crimson in the young state, reddish-brown when ripe; the tree much resembles the European larch in general appearance but is of more slender growth; its trunk is seldom more than 2 ft. in diameter and rarely above 80 ft. high; this form is the red larch, the _épinette rouge_ of the French Canadians. The black larch (_L. pendula_) has rather larger cones, of an oblong shape, about ¾ in. long, purplish or green in the immature state, and dark brown when ripe, the scales somewhat more numerous, the bracts all shorter than the scales. The bark is dark bluish-grey, smoother than in the red larch, on the trunk and lower boughs often glossy; the branches are more or less pendulous and very slender.

The red larch grows usually on higher and drier ground, ranging from
the Virginian mountains to the shores of Hudson Bay; the black larch
is found often on moist land, and even in swamps. The hackmatack is
one of the most valuable timber trees of America; it is in great
demand in the ports of the St Lawrence for shipbuilding. It is far
more durable than any of the oaks of that region, is heavy and
close-grained, and much stronger, as well as more lasting, than that
of the pines and firs of Canada. In many parts all the finer trees
have been cut down, but large woods of it still exist in the less
accessible districts; it abounds especially near Lake St John, Quebec,
and in Newfoundland is the prevalent tree in some of the forest
tracts; it is likewise common in Maine and Vermont. In the timber and
building yards the "red" hackmatack is the kind preferred, the
produce, probably, of _L. microcarpa_; the "grey" is less esteemed;
but the varieties from which these woods are obtained cannot always be
traced with certainty. Several fine specimens of the red larch exist
in English parks, but its growth is much slower than that of _L.
europaea_; the more pendulous forms of _L. pendula_ are elegant trees
for the garden. The hackmatacks might perhaps be grown with advantage
in places too wet for the common larch.

In western America a larch (_L. occidentalis_) occurs more nearly
resembling _L. europaea_. The leaves are short, thicker and more rigid
than in any of the other larches; the cones are much larger than those
of the hackmatacks, egg-shaped or oval in outline; the scales are of a
fine red in the immature state, the bracts green and extending far
beyond the scales in a rigid leaf-like point. The bark of the trunk
has the same reddish tint as that of the common larch of Europe. It is
the largest of all larches and one of the most useful timber trees of
North America. Some of the trees are 250 ft. high and 6 to 8 ft. in
diameter. The wood is the hardest and strongest of all the American
conifers; it is durable and adapted for construction work or household
furniture.

LARCHER, PIERRE HENRI (1726-1812), French classical scholar and archaeologist, was born at Dijon on the 12th of October 1726. Originally intended for the law, he abandoned it for the classics. His (anonymous) translation of Chariton's _Chaereas and Callirrhoë_ (1763) marked him as an excellent Greek scholar. His attack upon Voltaire's _Philosophie de l'historie_ (published under the name of l'Abbé Bazin) created considerable interest at the time. His archaeological and mythological _Mémoire sur Vénus_ (1775), which has been ranked with similar works of Heyne and Winckelmann, gained him admission to the Académie des Inscriptions (1778). After the imperial university was founded, he was appointed professor of Greek literature (1809) with Boissonade as his assistant. He died on the 22nd of December 1812. Larcher's best work was his translation of Herodotus (1786, new ed. by L. Humbert, 1880) on the preparation of which he had spent fifteen years. The translation itself, though correct, is dull, but the commentary (translated into English, London, 1829, new ed. 1844, by W. D. Cooley) dealing with historical, geographical and chronological questions, and enriched by a wealth of illustration from ancient and modern authors, is not without value.

See J. F. Boissonade, _Notice sur la vie et les écrits de P. L._
(1813); F. A. Wolf, _Literarische Analecten_, i. 205; D. A.
Wyttenbach, _Philomathia_, iii. (1817).

LARCIUS (less accurately LARTIUS), TITUS, probably surnamed FLAVUS, a member of an Etruscan family (cf. Lars Tolumnius, Lars Porsena) early settled in Rome. When consul in 501 B.C. he was chosen dictator (the title and office being then introduced for the first time) to command against the thirty Latin cities, which had sworn to reinstate Tarquin in Rome. Other authorities put the appointment three years later, when the plebeians refused to serve against the Latins until they had been released from the burden of their debts. He opposed harsh measures against the Latins, and also interested himself in the improvement of the lot of the plebeians. His brother, Spurius, is associated with Horatius Cocles in the defence of the Sublician bridge against the Etruscans.

See Livy ii. 10, 18, 21, 29; Dion. Halic. v. 50-77, vi. 37; Cicero,
_De Re Publica_, ii. 32.

LARD (Fr. _lard_, from Lat. _laridum_, bacon fat, related to Gr. [Greek: larinos] fat, [Greek: laros] dainty or sweet), the melted and strained fat of the common hog. Properly it is prepared from the "leaf" or fat of the bowel and kidneys, but in commerce the term as applied to products which include fat obtained from other parts of the animal and sometimes containing no "leaf" at all. Lard of various grades is made in enormous quantities by the great pork-packing houses at Chicago and elsewhere in America. "Neutral lard" is prepared at a temperature of 40°-50° C. from freshly killed hogs; the finest quality, used for making oleomargarine, is got from the leaf, while the second, employed by biscuit and pastry bakers, is obtained from the fat of the back. Steam heat is utilized in extracting inferior qualities, such as "choice lard" and "prime steam lard," the source of the latter being any fat portion of the animal. Lard is a pure white fat of a butter-like consistence; its specific gravity is about 0.93, its solidifying point about 27°-30° C., and its melting point 35°-45° C. It contains about 60% of olein and 40% of palmitin and stearin. Adulteration is common, the substances used including "stearin" both of beef and of mutton, and vegetable oils such as cotton seed oil: indeed, mixtures have been sold as lard that contain nothing but such adulterants. In the pharmacopoeia lard figures as _adeps_ and is employed as a basis for ointments. Benzoated lard, used for the same purpose, is prepared by heating lard with 3% of powdered benzoin for two hours; it keeps better than ordinary lard, but has slightly irritant properties.

Lard oil is the limpid, clear, colourless oil expressed by hydraulic pressure and gentle heat from lard; it is employed for burning and for lubrication. Of the solid residue, lard "stearine," the best qualities are utilized for making oleomargarine, the inferior ones in the manufacture of candles.

See J. Lewkowitsch, _Oils, Fats and Waxes_ (London, 1909).

LARDNER, DIONYSIUS (1793-1859), Irish scientific writer, was born at Dublin on the 3rd of April 1793. His father, a solicitor, wished his son to follow the same calling. After some years of uncongenial desk work, Lardner entered Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated B.A. in 1817. In 1828 he became professor of natural philosophy and astronomy at University College, London, a position he held till 1840, when he eloped with a married lady, and had to leave the country. After a lecturing tour through the principal cities of the United States, which realized £40,000, he returned to Europe in 1845. He settled at Paris, and resided there till within a few months of his death, which took place at Naples on the 29th of April 1859.

Though lacking in originality or brilliancy, Lardner showed himself to
be a successful popularizer of science. He was the author of numerous
mathematical and physical treatises on such subjects as algebraic
geometry (1823), the differential and integral calculus (1825), the
steam engine (1828), besides hand-books on various departments of
natural philosophy (1854-1856); but it is as the editor of _Lardner's
Cabinet Cyclopaedia_ (1830-1844) that he is best remembered. To this
scientific library of 134 volumes many of the ablest savants of the
day contributed, Lardner himself being the author of the treatises on
arithmetic, geometry, heat, hydrostatics and pneumatics, mechanics (in
conjunction with Henry Kater) and electricity (in conjunction with C.
V. Walker). The _Cabinet Library_ (12 vols., 1830-1832) and the
_Museum of Science and Art_ (12 vols., 1854-1856) are his other chief
undertakings. A few original papers appear in the Royal Irish
Academy's _Transactions_ (1824), in the Royal Society's _Proceedings_
(1831-1836) and in the Astronomical Society's _Monthly Notices_
(1852-1853); and two _Reports_ to the British Association on railway
constants (1838, 1841) are from his pen.

LARDNER, NATHANIEL (1684-1768), English theologian, was born at Hawkhurst, Kent. After studying for the Presbyterian ministry in London, and also at Utrecht and Leiden, he took licence as a preacher in 1709, but was not successful. In 1713 he entered the family of a lady of rank as tutor and domestic chaplain, where he remained until 1721. In 1724 he was appointed to deliver the Tuesday evening lecture in the Presbyterian chapel, Old Jewry, London, and in 1729 he became assistant minister to the Presbyterian congregation in Crutched Friars. He was given the degree of D.D. by Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1745. He died at Hawkhurst on the 24th of July 1768.

An anonymous volume of _Memoirs_ appeared in 1769; and a life by
Andrew Kippis is prefixed to the edition of the _Works_ of Lardner,
published in 11 vols., 8vo in 1788, in 4 vols. 4to in 1817, and 10
vols. 8vo in 1827. The full title of his principal work--a work which,
though now out of date, entitles its author to be regarded as the
founder of modern critical research in the field of early Christian
literature--is _The Credibility of the Gospel History; or the
Principal Facts of the New Testament confirmed by Passages of Ancient
Authors, who were contemporary with our Saviour or his Apostles, or
lived near their time_. Part i., in 2 vols. 8vo, appeared in 1727; the
publication of part ii., in 12 vols. 8vo, began in 1733 and ended in
1755. In 1730 there was a second edition of part i., and the
_Additions and Alterations_ were also published separately. A
_Supplement_, otherwise entitled _A History of the Apostles and
Evangelists, Writers of the New Testament_, was added in 3 vols.
(1756-1757), and reprinted in 1760. Other works by Lardner are _A
Large Collection of Ancient Jewish and Heathen Testimonies to the
Truth of the Christian Revelation, with Notes and Observations_ (4
vols., 4to, 1764-1767); _The History of the Heretics of the two first
Centuries after Christ_, published posthumously in 1780 and a
considerable number of occasional sermons.

LAREDO, a city and the county-seat of Webb county, Texas, U.S.A., and a sub-port of entry, on the Rio Grande opposite Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and 150 m. S. of San Antonio. Pop. (1900) 13,429, of whom 6882 were foreign-born (mostly Mexicans) and 82 negroes; (1910 census) 14,855. It is served by the International & Great Northern, the National of Mexico, the Texas Mexican and the Rio Grande & Eagle Pass railways, and is connected by bridges with Nuevo Laredo. Among the principal buildings are the U.S. Government Building, the City Hall and the County Court House; and the city's institutions include the Laredo Seminary (1882) for boys and girls, the Mercy Hospital, the National Railroad of Mexico Hospital and an Ursuline Convent. Loma Vista Park (65 acres) is a pleasure resort, and immediately W. of Laredo on the Rio Grande is Fort McIntosh (formerly Camp Crawford), a United States military post. Laredo is a jobbing centre for trade between the United States and Mexico, and is a sub-port of entry in the Corpus Christi Customs District. It is situated in a good farming and cattle-raising region, irrigated by water from the Rio Grande. The principal crop is Bermuda onions; in 1909 it was estimated that 1500 acres in the vicinity were devoted to this crop, the average yield per acre being about 20,000 lb. There are coal mines about 25 m. above Laredo on the Rio Grande, and natural gas was discovered about 28 m. E. in 1908. The manufacture of bricks is an important industry. Laredo was named from the seaport in Spain, and was founded in 1767 as a Mexican town; it originally included what is now Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and was long the only Mexican town on the left bank of the river. It was captured in 1846 by a force of Texas Rangers, and in 1847 was occupied by U.S. troops under General Lamar. In 1852 it was chartered as a city of Texas.

LA RÉOLE, a town of south-western France, capital of an arrondissement in the department of Gironde, on the right bank of the Gironde, 38 m. S.E. of Bordeaux by rail. Pop. (1906) 3469. La Réole grew up round a monastery founded in the 7th or 8th century, which was reformed in the 11th century and took the name of _Regula_, whence that of the town. A church of the end of the 12th century and some of the buildings (18th century) are left. There is also a town hall of the 12th and 14th centuries. The town fortifications were dismantled by order of Richelieu, but remains dating from the 12th and 14th centuries are to be seen, as well as a ruined château built by Henry II. of England. La Réole has a sub-prefecture, a tribunal of first instance, a communal college and an agricultural school. The town is the centre of the district in which the well-known breed of Bazadais cattle is reared. It is an agricultural market and carries on trade in the wine of the region together with liqueur distillery and the manufacture of casks, rope, brooms, &c.

LARES (older form _Lases_), Roman tutelary deities. The word is generally supposed to mean "lords," and identified with Etruscan _larth_, _lar_; but this is by no means certain. The attempt to harmonize the Stoic demonology with Roman religion led to the Lares being compared with the Greek "heroes" during the period of Greco-Roman culture, and the word is frequently translated [Greek: hêrôes]. In the later period of the republic they are confounded with the Penates (and other deities), though the distinction between them was probably more sharply marked in earlier times. They were originally gods of the cultivated fields, worshipped by each household where its allotment joined those of others (see below). The distinction between public and private Lares existed from early times. The latter were worshipped in the house by the family alone, and the household Lar (_familiaris_) was conceived of as the centre-point of the family and of the family cult. The word itself (in the singular) came to be used in the general sense of "home." It is certain that originally each household had only one Lar; the plural was at first only used to include other classes of Lares, and only gradually, after the time of Cicero, ousted the singular. The image of the Lar, made of wood, stone or metal, sometimes even of silver, stood in its special shrine (_lararium_), which in early times was in the atrium, but was afterwards transferred to other parts of the house, when the family hearth was removed from the atrium. In some of the Pompeian houses the _lararium_ was represented by a niche only, containing the image of the lar. It was usually a youthful figure, dressed in a short, high-girt tunic, holding in one hand a _rhyton_ (drinking-horn), in the other a _patera_ (cup). Under the Empire we find usually two of these, one on each side of the central figure of the Genius of the head of the household, sometimes of Vesta the hearth-deity. The whole group was called indifferently Lares or Penates. A prayer was said to the Lar every morning, and at each meal offerings of food and drink were set before him; a portion of these was placed on the hearth and afterwards shaken into the fire. Special sacrifices were offered on the kalends, nones, and ides of every month, and on the occasion of important family events. Such events were the birthday of the head of the household; the assumption of the _toga virilis_ by a son; the festival of the Caristia in memory of deceased members of the household; recovery from illness; the entry of a young bride into the house for the first time; return home after a long absence. On these occasions the Lares were crowned with garlands, and offerings of cakes and honey, wine and incense, but especially swine, were laid before them. Their worship persisted throughout the pagan period, although its character changed considerably in later times. The emperor Alexander Severus had images of Abraham, Christ and Alexander the Great among his household Lares.

The public Lares belonged to the state religion. Amongst these must be included, at least after the time of Augustus, the _Lares compitales_. Originally two in number, mythologically the sons of Mercurius and Lara (or Larunda), they were the presiding deities of the cross-roads (_compita_), where they had their special chapels. It has been maintained by some that they are the twin brothers so frequent in early religions, the Romulus and Remus of the Roman foundation legends. Their sphere of influence included not only the cross-roads, but the whole neighbouring district of the town and country in which they were situated. They had a special annual festival, called Compitalia, to which public games were added some time during the republican period. When the colleges of freedmen and slaves, who assisted the presidents of the festival, were abolished by Julius Caesar, it fell into disuse. Its importance was revived by Augustus, who added to these Lares his own Genius, the religious personification of the empire.