LAGOSTOMUS 398 LA HOGUE LAGOSTOMUS, or LAGOSTOMYS (-gos'-), a genus of rodent mammalia, in which the forefeet are furnished with four toes, the hinder with three only, as in the cavies, all of them armed with stout claws adapted for digging. The ears are of moderate size, and the tail comparatively short. Their three ante- rior molars of the upper jaw consist each of two double layers, and the last of three. The only known species, L. tri- ehodactylus, is about the size of a hare, and inhabits Chile and Brazil; its gen- eral color is grayish; the fur of two sorts, one entirely white, and the other, which is coarser, black, except at the base; the under parts white. Its mo- tions are quick and resemble those of a rabbit; and it seeks its food by night, subsisting wholly on vegetables ; it in- habits the level country, and is not esteemed as food. It has very generally obtained the name of viscacha. LAGOTHRIX (lag'-), a genus of South American monkeys, characterized by their round head, a thumb on the an- terior hand, and the tail partly naked. The Grison, or silver-haired monkey is a species of this genus. LA GRANGE, a city of Georgia, in Troup CO. It is on the Atlanta and West Point, the Atlanta, Birmingham, and Atlantic, and the Macon and Bir- mingham railroads. Its industries in- clude cotton and cotton-seed oil mills, and a creamery. It is the seat of two women's colleges. Pop. (1910) 5,587; (1920) 7,038. LAGRANGE, JOSEPH LOUIS (la- growfl'zh'), a French mathematician; born in Turin, Jan. 25, 1736. While still a youth he solved for Euler the "isoperi- metrical problem"; when Euler died, he succeeded him as director of the Berlin Academy (1766), and held that office till 1787. After the death of Frederick the Great he removed to Paris; there he was lodged in the Louvre, and a pension was settled on him equal to that granted by Frederick. He remained in France during the Revolution, safeguarded by the respect felt for his learning. His greatest work is "Analytical Mechanics." He died in Paris, April 10, 1813. LA GRIT A, a town in Venezuela, beautifully located in a valley 6,000 feet above the sea level. The country about it is fertile, the principal crops being wheat, sugar cane, and tobacco. It is in a zone troubled by frequent earth- quakes. Pop. about 26,000. LA GUAIRA (la gwl'ra), a city in Venezuela, on the Caribbean Sea. It was founded in 1588 and is now the most important place in the republic, commercially. A British-German fleet blockaded the town in 1912, to enforce claims on the government. Pop. about 18,000. LAGUNA (la-go'na), a tribe of North American Indians numbering about a thousand, and living in a collection of small pueblos, or villages, in New Mexico on the Rio San Jose. LAGURUS (-gur'-), hare's-tail grass, a genus of Graminaceae, tribe Avenex. L. ovatus is a soft, hairy, annual, tufted grass, with short, flat leaves, a short ligule and long awns. Found in Guern- sey and naturalized near Saffron Wal- den. It is more common in southern Europe and in parts of Asia. LA HAGUE (la hag), the N. W. extremity of the peninsula of Cotentin, in the N. of France, over against Alder- ney of the Channel Islands. It is crowned by a lighthouse, 158 feet high. This must not be confounded with La HOGUE {q. v.). LA HARPE, JEAN FRANQOIS DE (la arp), a French writer; born in Paris, France, Nov. 20, 1739. He first attracted attention in 1763 by a success- ful tragedy, "Warwick." His fame was further enhanced by a series of eloquent "Eulogies," and the plays "Melanie," "Philoctetes," and "Coriolanus." His best known works are, however, his critical lectures, published in 12 vols. (1799-1805) as "Lycseum, or Course in Literature." His "Literary Correspond- ence," published in 1801, caused fierce controversies. The Revolution at first aroused his enthusiasm; but after five months' imprisonment for refusing to countenance the methods of the extrem- sts he became a firm supporter of Church and crown. A posthumous work, "Ca- zotte's Vision," must be ranked among the best achievements of his pen. He died in Paris, Feb. 11, 1803. LAHN, a river of central Germany, which, after a W. course of 100 miles, empties into the Rhine near Lower Lahn- stein. LA HOGUE (la hog), a roadstead on the E. side of the peninsula of Coten- tin, in the N. of France; not to be con- founded with Cape La Hague. On May 19, 1692, the French fleet of 44 sail under Tourville, which Louis XIV. had col- lected for the purpose of invading Eng- land in support of James II., was de- feated here by the combined English and Dutch fleets of 90 vessels under the Jacobite Admiral Russell. Twelve large
