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which run along the line over the fpine, and are much more elevated and dittinguifhable, both to the eye and touch, than thofe of the reft of the body. It is a well tafted fifh, and much firmer in its flelh than the foal, but is very fcarce, and is of little value, becaufe of its thinnefs. It is caught in the Mediterranean. Gefner. p. 786.
LINGULACA, in zoology, a name by which feveral au- thors, particularly fome of the older naturalifts, have called the foal fijb. mllughby, Hift. Fife. p. 100.
LINIFICUS lapis, a name given by fome authors to a ftonc which was faid to cure the epilepfy when taken internally It feems to have been a name given by fome fanciful writer; to the alumm plumofum.
L1NIMENTUM album, a form of medicine differing in no* thing from the unguentum album, but in that it is a little fofter : they are both prefcribed in the late London Phar- macopoeia, and both made of the fame ingredients, The prefcription for this is as follows. Take oil olive three ounces, fperma ceti fix drams, white wax two drams ; melt all together over a gentle fire, ftirring it till it is perfectly cold. Pembertoris London Difp. p. 372.
LimMZtaTUM fapmaceum, the foap liniment, a form of me- dicine prefcribed in the late London Pharmacopceia, and meant to fupply the place of the ointment well known by the name of opodeld-.ch. It is made thus. Take fpirit or rofemary a pint, hard Spanifti foap three ounces, camphor one ounce ; digeft the foap with the rofemary fpirit till it is diffolved, and then add the camphor. When this is melted, the whole is finiihed. Pemberton's London Difp, p. 372.
Linimektum wW, a form of medicine prefcribed in the late London Difpenfatory, and ordered to be made of oil of almonds an ounce, fpirit of fal armoniac, made without lime, two drams ; thefe are to be fhook together in a wide mouthed vial, till they are perfectly mixed. Pembertonh London Difp. p. 374.
LINRIO, in botany, a kind of water plant among the Chi nefe, the fruit of which is of a triangular pyramidical form, prominent every way with a green thick rind, that grows reddifh towards the apex, and, when the fruit is dried, grows black. The internal fubftance is exceeding white, its tafte like that of a chefnut, three or four of which it equals in bulk. The plant is found in Handing waters.
■ and has very flender leaves, that fpread themfelves over a large extent on the furface of the water, and the fruit lies concealed under water in great numbers. Vid. Hofm, Univ. Lex. invoc.
LlNN/EA, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, given by Gronovius in honour to his friend Linnseus, the cha-
- rafters of which are thefe. The cup is a double perianthium.
The perianthium of the fruit confifts of four leaves, two of thefe which ftand oppofite to one. another are fmall and acute, and the other two are elliptic, hollow, acute, and hairy : thefe embrace the germen, and remain after the flower is fallen. The perianthium of the flower ftands upon the ger- men, and is narrow, erect, and acute, and compofed of one leaf divided into five fegments. The flower is monopeta- lous, of a turbinated form; it is twice as large as the cup, and is lightly divided into five fegments at the edge. The ffamina are four fubtilated filaments, inferted in the bafe of the flower ; two of thefe are very fhort, but the two longer are not fo long as the flower. The anthers are of a com- prefled figure, and can turn round upon the ftamina. The germen of the piftil is roundifh, and is placed within the cup. The ftyle is ftrait and flender, and is of the length of the flower; it always bends toward one fide, and is ter- minated by a globofe ftigma. The fruit is a dry oval berry of two cells, and is covered with the hairy and glutinous cup of the flower. The feeds are fingJe and roundi/h. Lirmai Gen. PI. p. 299.
LINNET, linaria, in zoology. See Linaria.
It is remarkable of this bird, that when it builds in hedges, and when in furz bufhes on heaths, in both which places the nefts are very common, they are made of different materials. When they build in hedges, they ufc the flender filaments of the roots of trees, and the down of feathers and thirties ; but when they build in heaths, they ufe mofs, principally, for the outer part, finifhing it within with fuch things as the place will afford. Thefe birds will have young ones three or four times a year, efpccially if they are taken awav before they are able to leave the nefts. When they are intended to be taught to whiftle tunes, or to imitate the notes of any other bird, they are to be taken from k the old one when they are not more than four days old ; for at this time they have no idea of the note of the old ones, and will readily be taught to modulate their voice like any thing that is moft familiar to their ears, and within the compafs of their throats. There requires more care in the feeding them when they are taken thus young, than when they are left in the neft till nearly fledged, but they will be reared very we'll upon a food half bread, and half rape- feed, boiled and bruifed : this muff be given them feveral times a day. It muft be made frefh every day, and given them fufficiently raoift, but not in the extreme. If it be
LIN.
in the leaft four, it gripes and kills them; and if too ftifF, it is as mifchievous by binding them up. They muft be hung up as foon as taken from the neft, un- der the bird whofe note they are intended to learn; or if they are to be taught to whiftle tunes, it muft be done by giving them leflbns at the time of feeding, for they will pro- fit more while young in a few days, thaa in a long time afterwards, and will take in the whole method of their notes before they arc able to crack hard feeds. Some have at- tempted to learn them to fpeak, in the manner of the parrot or other birds, and they will arrive at fome fort of perfection in it with great pains.
LINOZOSTIS, in botany, a name given by the antient Greek writers to two plants very different from one an- other; the one is the nurcurialis, or Engiiih mercury, a plant common in uncultivated places, and eaten by many boiled in the manner of afparagus ; the other the fpilinum, or dodder, growing upon the plants of flax. Theophraffus, Diofcoridds, and the antient Greeks, ufe the word in the firft fenfe, and the modern Greeks in the latter. The Latin authors call this Unozojtis, or epilinum t fome- times angina lini, and podagra lini, looking on it as a difcafe which choaks the plant it grows on, and caufes gouty tu- mors on the ftalks.
Dodder, or cv.Jcuta, is a parafitical plant never taking root in the ground, but always growing upon the ftalk of fome other herb. When it grows on thyme it is called epithy- mutn ; when on the nettle epurtica ; and fo on of all the other plants. Avifenna calls it knfutb, or keflutb, and Theo- phraftus cafuta. It feems indeed that Diofcorides confound- ed the cufcuta, or dodder growing upon the thyme, with the thyme itfelf ; for he compares the feed of alypum to that of epithymum, and it is found to be very like that of thyme.
LINSEED (CycL)-Lhfecd, from which the oil has been expreffed, boiled in milk, and applied warm in a cloth to hernia?, is much recommended in the Satyr. Silefiac. Spe- cim. 4. Obf. 4.
LINSPINS, are fmall pins of iron which keep the wheel of a cannon, or waggon, on the axletree ; for when the end of the axletree is put through the nave, the linfpin is put in to keep the wheel from falling off".
LINT, in furgery, is the feraping of fine linnen ufed by fur- geons in drefling wounds. It is made into various forms, which acquire different names according to the difference of their figures.
Lint made up in an oval, or orbicular form, is called a pledgit ; if in a cylindrical form, or in the fhape of a date or olive ftone, it is called a dojjil. See Dossil. Thefe different forms of lint are required for many pur- pofes, as i D . to flop blood in frefh wounds, by filling them up with dry lint before the application of a bandage : though if fcraped lint be not at hand, a piece of fine linnen may be torn into fmall rags, and applied in the fame manner. la very large hemorrhages the lint, or rags, fhould be firft dipt in. fome ftyptic liquor, alcohol, or oil of turpentine, or fprinkled with a ftyptic powder. 2°. To agglutinate and heal wounds; to which end lint is very ferviceable, if fpread with fome digeftive ointment, or balfam, or dipt in fome vulnerary liquor. 3 . In drying up wounds and ulcers, and forwarding the formation of a cicatrix. 4 . In keeping the lips of wounds at a proper diftance, that they may not haftily unite, before the bottom is well digefted and healed. 5 . They are highly neceffary to preferve wounds from the injuries of the air.
Small portions of lint tied round with a thread are chiefly ufed in drefling wounds and ulcers of the deeper kind. They are always applied to the bottom of fuch wounds, the remaining cavity being filled up with other portions of lint. By this means, the immediate removal of the drefiings is not only provided for, but the poflibflity of leaving any part of them in the bottom of the wound is prevented. In very large wounds, and efpecially in amputations of the limbs, which operations are frequently required in the army and navy, at times when lint is very fcarce, it will be fufK- cient to drefs the bare bone and face of the wound with fcraped lint, filling up the cavity with tow, and covering all with a large comprefs.
Surgeons of former ages formed compreffes of fponge, fea- thers, wool, or cotton, linnen being fcarce; but lint is far preferable to all thefe, and is at prefent univerfally ufed. Heijl. Surg. Introd. Sect. 54.
Incombujiible Lint . See the article Incombustible.
LINUM, flax, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, the characters of which are thefe. The flower is of the caryo- phylleous kind, being compofed of a number of petals ar«- ranged into a circular form, and arifing out of a' many leaved cup of a tubular form. The piftil arifes from the fame cup, and finally becomes a fruit of a fom'ewhat globular form, but pointed at the end, and compofed of a number of capfules, which open inwards, and contain feeds of a flatifli fhape, and oval figure, rounded at one end, and pointed at the other. See Tab. 1. of Botany, Clafs 8.
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