St. Jerome, are generally more remarkable for theological vigor than literary grace. Maternus wrote on mathematics, Frontinus and Vegetius on strategetics, Palladius on rural economy, Solinus, Publius Victor, and Vibius Sequester on geography and cosmography. The perpetual edict of Hadrian was drawn up by Salvius Julianus; the jurist Ulpian flourished under Septimius Severus; and the Theodosian code collected the civil, public, and ecclesiastical law. The work of codification was completed under Justinian by Tribonian, Theophilus, and Dorotheus, and his 4 legislative works, the Institutiones, Digesta or Pandecta, Codex, and Novella, under the general name of Corpus Juris Civilis, form the Roman law as received in Europe. The literature had ceased, through the decline of genius and the corruption of taste; but compilers and grammarians, as Sulpicius Apollinarius, Aulus Gellius, author of the Noctes Attica, Nonius Marcellus, Festus Donatus, Macrobius, Servius, Priscianus, Cæsariensis, and Isidore of Seville, continued to cherish its traditions by criticisms, analyses, and inferior reproductions. -See Dunlop, "History of Roman Literature from the Earliest Period to the Augustan Age” (3 vols., London, 1823-'8); Bähr, Geschichte der Römischen Literatur (3d ed., 2 vols., 1844-5); and Bernhardy, Grundriss der Römischen Literatur (2d ed., 1850).

LATINUS, a king of Latium, and father of Lavinia, whom he gave in marriage to Eneas. (See ENEAS.)

LATITUDE. The latitude of a place on the surface of the earth is its distance north or south from the equator, and is equal to the angle which a plumb line at that place makes with the plane of the earth's equator; or the angle which the horizon plane of the place makes with the earth's axis. Hence it may be measured by measuring the altitude of the pole of the heavens above the horizon, or by measuring the distance on the meridian of the equator from the zenith. (See DEGREE.)-The latitude of a heavenly body is its distance from the ecliptic, and is measured by the arc of a great circle perpendicular to the latter, intercepted between the ecliptic and the body. The heliocentric latitude of a planet is its distance from the ecliptic, such as it would appear from the sun.

LATITUDINARIANS, the name given specially to certain theologians of the Anglican church, in the latter part of the 17th century, who were generally low churchmen of Arminian principles, aiming to give a philosophical tone to theological discussions, and admitting a greater latitude of doctrine than was allowed either by the Presbyterians and Independents or by the stricter Episcopalians. Most of them were connected with the university of Cambridge. Among the more distinguished of them were Henry More, Cudworth, Chillingworth, Hales, Wilkins, Gale, and Tillotson.-See the Principles and Practices of Certain Modern Divines of the Church of England, abusively called Latitudinarians, truly Represented and

Defended by Way of Dialogue," by Fowler, bishop of Gloucester (London, 1670).

LATIUM, one of the principal divisions of ancient Italy. The name is variously derived from Latinus, who more probably owed his to that of the region; from latere, to be hidden; from latus, broad, &c.; but hardly any of the derivations are satisfactory. The boundaries of Latium varied in different periods of Roman history. In the earliest times the name designated a small tract of land S. of the Tiber, inhabited by the Latins; it subsequently extended as far S. as the promontory of Circeii and Anxur or Terracina; and in its latest and widest acceptation it included the lower valley of the Liris, and embraced all the land between the Tiber, the territories of the Sabines and Samnites, Campania, and the Tyrrhenian sea. Pliny calls the southernmost part Latium Adjec tum, in contradistinction to Latium Antiquum. The greater part of the whole territory is an undulating plain, gradually rising from the sea shore to the Apennines, with an isolated range of mountains, Mt. Albanus, of which Mt. Algidus and the Tusculan hills are branches. A part of the coast land between Antium and Terracina was gradually converted into the Pontine marshes by the waters of various streams which found no outlet; all other parts of Latium were renowned for fertility. In the vicinity of Campania some of the choicest wines of Italy were produced. Among the towns of Latium conspicuous in the history of Rome we find, beside the eternal city itself, Alba Longa, Lavinium, Antium, Corioli, Ardea, and Tusculum. The most ancient inhabitants of Latium, the Siculi, were expelled by a people of Pelasgic descent, who there became known as Latins, or Prisci Latini, in contradistinction to the later Latin subjects of Rome. They formed a league of 30 cities, of which Alba was subsequently the head. Alba succumbed to Rome, one of its colonies, under Tullus Hostilius, and other Latin towns soon after. Rome entered the league under its 6th king, and became its head under the next and last. On the fall of the Tarquins the Latins regained their independence, and struggled long against the republic to maintain it; but it was finally overthrown by the great victory of the Romans near Mt. Vesuvius (340 B. C.). Several of their towns received the Roman franchise, and others were converted into allied towns, under the general name of Nomen Latinum. During their independence, the Latin towns, mostly built on the top of steep and fortified hills, were governed by dictators elected annually, senates, and popular assemblies. Their common meetings, in which federal questions were discussed, were held in a sacred grove at the foot of Mt. Albanus, on the top of which stood a temple of Jupiter Latiaris. An ancient festival celebrated there in honor of that divinity was adopted by the Romans, retaining its name of Feria Latina.

LATONA (Gr. AnTw), in Grecian mythology, a daughter of the Titan Conus and Phoebe, and

mother of Apollo and Diana by Jupiter, to whom she was married before he wedded Juno. It is only by later writers that she is described not as the wife but concubine of Jupiter. According to the fable, Latona, when pregnant, and persecuted by the jealous Juno, could find no rest, the earth being afraid to receive her, while she was constantly pursued by the serpent Pytho. Finally she came to the floating isle of Delos, which gave her refuge, or which, as some accounts state, was created for her after all other parts of the earth had been cursed should they afford her rest. Symbolically Latona seems to have signified the primitive darkness whence sprung Apollo, or the light. She was only worshipped in connection with her children.

LATOUR D'AUVERGNE, THEOPHILE MALO CORRET DE, a French officer, born in Carhaix, Brittany, Nov. 23, 1743, fell in action at Oberhausen, near Neuburg in Bavaria, June 27, 1800. He was educated at the college of Quimper and at the military school. In 1767 he entered the army, and in 1781 served under the duke de Crillon at the siege of Port Mahon. After the French revolution broke out he distinguished himsef in Chambéry and in the Pyré nées. He refused the promotion frequently offered him, saying that he was only fit to command a company of grenadiers. All the grenadier companies being however united in one, Latour d'Auvergne found himself, while still retaining the simple title of captain, at the head of 8,000 men, who as a part of the vanguard of the army soon became the terror of the enemy under the name of "the infernal column." His exploits were numerous and desperate, and he had a high character in the council of war as well as on the battle field. After the peace of Basel he made a sea voyage for his health, but was taken prisoner by an English privateer. In 1797 he returned through exchange of prisoners to France. He reëntered the army as substitute for the son of a friend, fought under Masséna in Switzerland, rejoined his own company in Germany in 1800, and fell by the lance of a Hulan, exclaiming that it was in this manner he wished to die. Many rewards of bravery were offered him, which he declined. Napoleon at one time, by order of the directory, sent him a sword with an inscription declaring him to be the first grenadier of France, which he refused to accept, saying: "Among us soldiers there is neither first nor last." A monument was erected on the spot where he fell, and his heart, embalmed and kept in a silver vase, was carried by his company. His name continued until 1814 to be called at roll, when the oldest sergeant answered: "Died on the field of honor." He was the author of a work entitled Nouvelles recherches sur la langue, l'origine et les antiquités des Bretons (12mo., Bayonne, 1792; 3d ed., 8vo., Hamburg, 1802).

LATREILLE, PIERRE ANDRÉ, a French naturalist, born in Brives, Nov. 29, 1762, died in Paris, Feb. 6, 1833. He belonged to a poor

though distinguished family, and owed his education to friends, one of whom, a merchant, by lending him works on natural history, awoke in him a love for that study. In 1778 the baron d'Espagnac, governor of the Hôtel des Invalides, invited him to Paris and placed him in the college of Cardinal Lemoine. He studied theology, and was ordained priest in 1786, after which he retired to Brives, where he passed his leisure in the study of entomology. In 1788 he returned to Paris, where he became intimate with Fabricius, Olivier, and Bosc, and brought to the notice of De Lamarck several rare and curious plants. He published at this time a treatise on the mutillida (a family of hymenopterous insects) of France, and contributed articles on the subject of entomology to the Encyclopédie méthodique. The revolution drove him from Paris, but he was arrested at Brives, whither he had fled, and taken to Bordeaux, where he was sentenced to transportation. Becoming acquainted with the naturalists Bory de St. Vincent and Dargelas through his discovery of a new insect, they obtained for him his freedom. He resumed his studies with ardor, and in 1796 published at Brives his celebrated Précis des caractères génériques des insectes, disposés dans un ordre naturel. He was again arrested in 1797 as an émigré, but was once more saved by influential friends. In 1798 he was placed in charge of the entomological department of the museum of natural history. In 1814 he was elected a member of the academy of sciences. When De Lamarck lost his sight, Latreille was appointed assistant professor, and continued his lectures on the invertebrate animals until the death of De Lamarck in 1829, when he succeeded to the chair. He is said to have remarked on attaining this post that bread had been given him after losing his teeth. Latreille was unquestionably the first man of his time in his particular department of science. His writings are very voluminous.

LATUDE, HENRI MASERS DE, a French prisoner of state, born in the château of Craisich, near Montagnac, March 23, 1725, died in Paris, Jan. 1, 1805. He entered the army while young, but in 1748 went to Paris to study mathematics. Being ambitious, he had recourse to a trick to make himself known at court, and obtaining an interview with Mme. de Pompadour, informed her that he had seen a box placed for her in the post, probably for no good purpose. The box came, filled with a harmless powder; and ascertaining that Latude himself had sent it, the marchioness had him cast into the Bastile, May 1, 1749, whence he was transferred to the prison of Vincennes. On June 25, 1750, he escaped by stratagem, but 6 days afterward voluntarily gave himself up to the king, who sent him again to the Bastile. The marchioness, piqued that he had not applied to her for mercy, procured his confinement for 18 months in a dungeon, after which he was placed in an ordinary room of the prison. From this place he made a remarkable escape, Feb. 25, 1756, and fled to

Amsterdam, where he was again arrested on June 1, and reconducted to the Bastile. He was now confined in a dungeon, chained hand and foot, and obliged to sleep upon straw without any covering. While in this condition he submitted to the government some projects of public utility, one of which was adopted, but procured him no better treatment; but in 1762, his dungeon becoming untenantable, he was removed to an upper room. In 1764 Mme. de Pomapdour died, and Latude, having learned the fact, petitioned Sartine, lieutenant general of police, for his liberty. Sartine demanded the name of the person who had given him the information, and as Latude refused to betray the secret he was doubly ironed and kept on bread and water. Having been removed to Vincennes he again escaped, was again arrested, and finally, after the death of Louis XV., was liberated through the influence of Malesherbes, June 5, 1777. But he was soon after rearrested and thrown into a dungeon at the Bicêtre, where he remained for many years. A noblehearted woman, Mme. Legros of Paris, having by a remarkable accident learned his history, determined to obtain his liberty. She was unwearied in her efforts, and at last, having interested the cardinal de Rohan and Mme. Necker in the subject, obtained the release of the prisoner, March 18, 1784, with the allowance of a small pension, and took him into her house. The French academy decreed a prize. to Mme. Legros, in the same year, for her efforts in behalf of the sufferer. The day after the taking of the Bastile, Latude reclaimed his papers and other memorials of his first imprisonment. The whole were publicly exhibited with his portrait in the court of the Louvre, and were instrumental in exciting the populace. In 1793 he brought suit for damages against the heirs of Mme. de Pompadour, and was awarded the sum of 60,000 livres, of which he received only 10,000. He published a Mémoire de M. de Latude, ingénieur (8vo., Paris, 1784), and several essays.

LAUD, WILLIAM, an English prelate, archbishop of Canterbury, born in Reading, Berkshire, Oct. 7, 1573, executed on Tower hill, London, Jan. 10, 1645. The son of a wealthy clothier, he was educated in the grammar school of his native town, till in his 16th year he entered St. John's college, Oxford, where he obtained a scholarship in 1590 and a fellowship in 1593. Heylin relates that even at the university he was so "popishly inclined" that it was almost a heresy for any one to be seen in his company, and a misprision of heresy to give him a civil salutation in the streets. He received clerical orders in 1601, became chaplain to Charles Lord Mountjoy, earl of Devonshire, in 1605, and, though holding marriage to be an indissoluble sacrament, performed the rites of matrimony between that nobleman and Lady Rich, whose first husband was still living. For this act, which proved a barrier to his rapid preferment, he read a penitential service every year. He was appointed chaplain to Bishop

Neile in 1608, and had held several minor livings when in 1611 he was elected president of St. John's college, Oxford, and became one of the royal chaplains. In 1616 he was presented to the deanery of Gloucester, accompanied King James to Scotland in 1617, became prebendary of Westminster in 1620, and was raised to the see of St. David's in 1621, when he resigned his presidentship. In 1622 took place his famous conference with the Jesuit Fisher, in presence of the duke of Buckingham, in which more than at any other time he gave proof of intellectual power. The result was that, according to his diary, he became "C." to Buckingham. The initial is usually believed to stand for confessor. Under the patronage of this nobleman his rise was rapid. In 1624 he was made a member of the court of high commission, in 1626 bishop of Bath and Wells, in 1627 a privy councillor, and in 1628 bishop of London. He became the confidential adviser of Charles I. in ecclesiastical affairs, succeeded Buckingham in the royal favor, and began to play a foremost part in politics. His first object was to force the Puritans and other dissenters to conformity. "Under his direction," says Macaulay, "every corner of the realm was subjected to a constant and minute inspection. Every little congregation of separatists was tracked out and broken up. Even the devotions of private families could not escape the vigilance of his spies. Such fear did his rigor inspire, that the deadly hatred of the church, which festered in innumerable bosoms, was generally disguised under an outward show of conformity." His zeal for the exaltation of the prelatical character, his passion for a ceremonious worship, and his reverence for holidays, vigils, and sacred places, prompted his other measures. In 1628 Dr. Leighton, a Scotchman, published a book entitled "Sion's Plea against the Prelacy." At the instigation of Laud he was brought before the star chamber in 1630, was condemned to pay a fine of £10,000, was twice publicly whipped and pilloried in Cheapside, had his ears cut off, his nostrils slit open, and his cheeks branded with the letters S. S. (sower of sedition), and was imprisoned 11 years in the Fleet. Laud was now intimately associated with the earl of Strafford, of whose principle of "thorough" he approved. He became chancellor of Oxford in 1630, of which university he was a liberal benefactor, and was present in 1633 at the coronation of the king in Scotland, urging the forced establishment of episcopacy and uniformity in that country, which resulted in a revolt in 1637 and the adoption of the national covenant. On his return he was promoted to the see of Canterbury, began his administration by the repub. lication of the "Lawful Sunday Sports," enforced an exact observance of the rubric and a uniform discipline in the cathedral churches, and made the service approximate in several respects to the Roman Catholic ritual. He indicated his preference in the bestowment of benefices for single over married men. Ilis tendency to

Catholicism appears from a record in his "Diary" that a cardinal's hat was offered to him, which he declined with the answer that "something dwelt within me which would not suffer that till Rome was other than it is." He became one of the committee of trade and the king's revenue in 1634, a commissioner of the treasury soon after, and a censor of the press under a decree of the star chamber in 1637. The clergy at that time held probably a larger share in the government of England than at any subsequent period. The public odium against Laud caused by his principles and his overbearing temper was greatly increased when the star chamber sentenced Prynne, Burton, and Bastwick to be fined and maimed for libels "against the hierarchy of the church." Immediately after the meeting of the long parliament in 1640 he was impeached for high treason and committed to the tower. After an imprisonment of more than 3 years, he was brought to trial, defended himself with ability and often with success through a long and wearisome process, and was condemned and executed by a sentence that is now admitted to have been unjust and illegal. The single aim of his life was to produce church uniformity, in the pursuit of which a narrow understanding and a nature devoid of deep benevolent feeling gave him a relentless zeal. The first edition of his complete works is in the "Library of Anglo-Catholic Theology" (6 vols., Oxford, 1847-'9). His principal biographers are Prynne (1644), Heylin (1671), Law son (1829), Le Bas (1836), and Baines (1855).

LAUDANUM, tincture of opium, prepared by macerating 2 oz. of powdered opium in 2 wine measure pints of diluted alcohol for 14 days, then expressing and filtering through paper; or 3 oz. of the drug in 2 imperial pints of proof spirit. About 25 drops of the tincture are equivalent to one grain of opium. The strength may be increased by exposure to evaporation; and when after standing some time it becomes thick, it should be administered with caution, especially to infants. (See OPIUM.)

LAUDER, ROBERT SCOTT, a Scottish artist, born at Silver Mills, near Edinburgh, in 1803. Showing a taste for art in his youth, he was enabled by Sir Walter Scott to pursue his studies in the trustees' academy, Edinburgh. Subsequently he passed 5 years on the continent, and in 1838 established himself in London. His best pictures have been suggested by scenes in Scott's novels, and comprise "The Trial of Effie Deans," well known by the engraving of it, "Meg Merrilies,' Claverhouse ordering Morton to be Shot," &c. He has also produced large Scriptural compositions, one of which, "Christ teaching Humility," was purchased by the Scottish association for the encouragement of art as the commencement of a Scottish national gallery. Since 1849 he has resided in Edinburgh.

99 66

LAUDER, WILLIAM, a Scottish literary adventurer, born in the early part of the 18th century, died in Barbados in 1771. He was educated at the university of Edinburgh, and

subsequently made several attempts to procure a professorship in that institution, which, notwithstanding a high reputation for scholarship, were unsuccessful, his disposition and character being much disliked. In 1739 he published an elegant edition of sacred Latin poems by Arthur Johnston and others. A few years later he established himself in London as a teacher of the Latin tongue, and proposed to publish by subscription an edition of the Latin poetry of Grotius, Masenius, and others, of which only 2 vols. appeared (1752-3). In Jan. 1747, he began to publish in the "Gentleman's Magazine" a series of papers, the object of which was to show that Milton, in composing his "Paradise Lost," had borrowed largely from Masenius, Staphorstius, Grotius, and other writers. The substance of these appeared in his "Essay on Milton's Use and Imitation of the Moderns in his 'Paradise Lost'" (1750), the preface and postscript of which were written by Dr. Johnson. A pamphlet by John Douglas, afterward bishop of Salisbury, in vindication of Milton from the accusation of plagiarism, showed that many of the passages cited as plagiarisms had been interpolated from Alexander Hog's Latin translation of "Paradise Lost." Lauder, unable to meet the charge of forgery and imposition thus brought against him, signed a confession of his offence, in the form of a letter to Dr. Douglas, dictated by Dr. Johnson; but he nevertheless published in 1754 another work impugning the fame of Milton, entitled "The Grand Impostor, or Milton detected of Forgery against King Charles the First ;" an answer to which, supposed to be from the hand of Johnson, appeared in the "Gentleman's Magazine" of the same year. He subsequently emigrated to Barbados, where he kept a school.

LAUDERDALE. I. A N. W. co. of Ala., bordering on Tenn, and Miss., and bounded W. and S. by the Tennessee river; area, 672 sq.m.; pop. in 1850, 17,172, of whom 6,015 were slaves. It has a hilly surface, underlying which are iron ore and limestone in large quantities. The soil is fertile and well watered. The productions in 1850 were 785,145 bushels of Indian corn, 80,529 of oats, 52,159 of sweet potatoes, and 10,606 bales of cotton. There were 6 grist mills, 12 saw mills, 1 newspaper office, 35 churches, and 909 pupils attending public schools. The Tennessee and Alabama railroad will pass through the W. part of the county, and a branch of the Memphis and Charleston railroad extends from Tuscumbia to Florence, the capital. II. An E. co. of Miss., bordering on Ala., and drained by branches of Chickasawha river; area, 700 sq. m.; pop. in 1850, 8,717, of whom 2,661 were slaves. The productions in 1850 were 324,459 bushels of Indian corn, 111,444 of sweet potatoes, 102,203 lbs. of rice, and 4,195 bales of cotton. There were 9 saw mills, 9 grist mills, 1 newspaper office, 28 churches, and 521 pupils attending public schools. The Mobile and Ohio railroad passes through the county. Capital, Marion. III. A W. co. of Tenn., bounded N.

by Forked Deer river, S. by the Hatchie, and W. by the Mississippi, separating it from Ark.; area, 375 sq. m.; pop. in 1850, 5,169, of whom 1,766 were slaves. It has a level or undulating surface and a rich soil. The productions in 1850 were 216,896 bushels of Indian corn, 18,833 of sweet potatoes, 13,516 of oats, 157,440 lbs. of tobacco, 31,258 of butter, and 1,604 bales of cotton. There were 14 grist mills, 2 saw mills, and 11 churches. Capital, Ripley.

LAUDON, BARON. See LOUDON. LAUMONITE (called by Werner efflorescing zeolite, from its property of crumbling to powder by exposure to the air), a mineral found in cavities in amygdaloidal rocks, and also in sienite and porphyry in different countries; named from Laumont the mineralogist, who first observed it in the lead mines in Brittany. It occurs in crystals of the form of oblique rhomboidal prisms, and also in lamellar masses. The color is yellowish or grayish white; hardness 3.5-4; specific gravity 2.3-2.4. In composition it is a hydrated silicate of alumina and lime, a specimen from Phippsburg, Me., giving the following proportions of its ingredients: silica 51.98, alumina 21.12, lime 11.71, and water 15.05 99.86. Some varieties are so liable to effloresce and fall to fine powder, that they can be preserved only by a coating of gum Arabic, which must be frequently renewed. The mineral is found at many of the copper mines of Lake Superior.

LAUNAY, EMMANUEL LOUIS HENRI DE. See ANTRAIGUES.

LA UNION, a seaport of San Salvador, situated on a bay of the same name, which is a part of the great bay of Fonseca; pop. 2,500. It is the principal port of the republic. Under the crown it was called San Carlos. It is hot and unhealthy, and the shoaling of the water in the bay before the town has been so great within the past few years that it is now proposed to remove the establishment to a point 6 m. further down the bay, called Punta de Chiquirin. La Union is in fact the port of the large commercial city of San Miguel.

LAUREL, a name applied to a great variety of plants found in nearly all parts of the world, from some real or fancied resemblance to the genus laurus (Linn.). Formerly many kinds of valuable trees and shrubs were considered species of this genus, which are now placed under distinct genera in the natural order of lauracea by those botanists who have carefully studied them. Such are the camphor tree (L. camphorifera, Kämpfer), the cinnamon tree of the East, and in this country the sassafras tree (L. sassafras, Linn.) and the benzoin (L. benzoin, Linn.) of our northern flora, with the red bay (L. Caroliniensis, Catesby) of the southern states. The only genuine species now allowed is the sweet bay, or L. nobilis (Linn.). This is an evergreen tree, or rather shrub, sometimes growing to the height of 60 feet, yet always displaying a tendency to throw up suckers from the roots. Usually it is from 20 to 30 feet high,

and in Europe is cultivated in gardens as an elegant plant, its foliage being sempervirent, its leaves lanceolate, wavy at the margin, and quite smooth, and possessing an agreeable fragrance. The flowers, however, are small, 4 or 5 clustered together in the axils of the leaves, of a yellowish white color and dotted. The fruit is an ovate fleshy berry of a very dark purple approaching to black, endowed with the same aromatic properties as the leaves, whence both have been used as stimulants and carminatives. Several varieties are given, depending upon the character of the foliage, such as broader, narrower, more crisped, undulate, or variegated, and the like; and one sort is mentioned as possessing double flowers. The laurel (Gr. dapin) is represented in Greek mythology as having been created by the goddess Gæa (Terra) to console Apollo for the loss of the nymph Daphne, whom she had rescued from his pursuit. In the days of Roman greatness it was considered an emblem of victory and likewise of clemency, crowning the victor, and being borne in the hands of the returning soldiery. It is honorably mentioned by Chaucer as the crown of the knights of the round table. The laurel cannot bear much cold, and requires good soil. It is usually propagated by layers, but can also be raised from seeds, the layers being employed for increasing the rarer varieties. It is found to be very tenacious of life, and suckers have been known to spring up from a stump supposed for two years previous to be dead.— A species of evergreen cherry known as the Portugal laurel (cerasus Lusitanica, Loisel), supposed to be a native of Portugal or the Azores, is a handsome shrub 20 feet high, with leaves of a lucid green and long bunches of flowers, succeeded by oval berries of a dark purple when ripe. It has been used in Britain for hedges. In the neighborhood of London it has proved hardy, flowering and ripening its seeds. There is another cherry called in England the common laurel (C. lauro-cerasus, Loisel; prunus lauro-cerasus, Linn.). (See CHERRY LAUREL.) The Carolina laurel (C. Caroliniana, Michaux) and the holly-leaved laurel of this section of evergreen cherries (C. ilicifolius, Nuttall) are American species of the laurocerasi. The former is an evergreen tree from 30 to 50 feet high, growing upon river banks from South Carolina to Florida, Louisiana, and Arkansas, with leaves so poisonous as often to destroy cattle. The latter is a small-branched tree with large, bitter, and astringent fruit, found on the mountains of Santa Barbara, California. There are several other species, wrongly considered as North American but really European.-The term laurel is attached to many plants wholly diverse, of which the ground laurel (epigaa repens, Linn.), the spurge laurel (daphne laureola, Willd.), and the big laurel (magnolia grandiflora) are familiar examples. The so called American laurel, including the mountain laurel, sheep laurel, &c., is the genus Kalmia (Linn.). (See KALMIA.)