Palaearctic, Ethiopian and Indian regions; but only one genus,
Mirafra, inhabits Australia, where it is represented by, so
far as is ascertained, a single species, M. horsfieldi; and there
is no true lark indigenous to New Zealand. In the New World
there is also only one genus, Otocorys, where it is represented
by many races, some of which closely approach the Old World
shore-lark, O. alpestris. The shore-lark is in Europe a native
of only the extreme north, but is very common near the shores
of the Varanger Fjord, and likewise breeds on mountain-tops
farther south-west, though still well within the Arctic circle.
The mellow tone of its call-note has obtained for it in Lapland
Fig. 5.—A, Alauda arborea; B, Certhilauda;
C, Melanocorypha calandra.
a name signifying “bell-bird,” and the song of the cock is
lively, though not very loud. The bird trustfully resorts to
the neighbourhood of houses, and even
enters the villages of East Finmark in search of its food. It produces at least
two broods in the season, and towards autumn migrates to
lower latitudes in large flocks. These have been observed
in winter on the east coast of Great Britain, and the
species instead of being regarded, as it once was, in the light
of an accidental visitor to the United Kingdom, must now be deemed an almost
regular visitor, though in very varying numbers. The observations
on its habits made by Audubon in Labrador have long
been known, and often reprinted. Other congeners of this
bird are the O. penicillata of south-eastern Europe, Palestine
and central Asia—to which are referred by H. E. Dresser
(B. Europe, iv. 401) several other forms originally described
as distinct. All these birds, which have been termed horned
larks, from the tuft of elongated black feathers growing on each
side of the head, form a little group easily recognized by their
peculiar coloration, which calls to mind some of the ringed
plovers, Aegialitis.
The name of lark is also frequently applied to many birds which do not belong to the Alaudidae as now understood. The mud-lark, rock-lark, tit-lark and tree-lark are pipits (q.v.). The grasshopper-lark is one of the aquatic warblers (q.v.), while the so-called meadow-lark of America is an Icterus (q.v.). Sand-lark and sea-lark are likewise names often given to some of the smaller members of the Limicolae. Of the true larks, Alaudidae, there may be perhaps about one hundred species, and it is believed to be a physiological character of the family that they moult but once in the year, while the pipits, which in general appearance much resemble them, undergo a double moult, as do others of the Motacillidae, to which they are most nearly allied. (A. N.)
LARKHALL, a mining and manufacturing town of Lanarkshire,
Scotland, near the left bank of the Clyde, 1 m. S.E. of
Glasgow by the Caledonian railway. Pop. (1901) 11,879. The
highest bridge in Scotland has been thrown across the river
Avon, which flows close by. Brick-making is carried on at
several of the adjoining collieries. Other industries include bleaching,
silk-weaving, fire-clay and enamelling works, and a sanitary
appliances factory. The town has a public hall and baths.
LARKHANA, a town and district of British India, in Sind,
Bombay. The town is on a canal not far from the Indus, and
has a station on the North-Western railway, 281 m. N. by E.
of Karachi. It is pleasantly situated in a fertile locality, and
is well laid out with wide streets and spacious gardens. It
is a centre of trade, with manufactures of cotton, silk, leather,
metal-ware and paper. Pop. (1901) 14,543.
The District of Larkhana, lying along the right bank of the Indus, was formed out of portions of Sukkur and Karachi districts in 1901, and has an area of 5091 sq. m.; pop. (1901) 656,083, showing an increase of 10% in the decade. Its western part is mountainous, but the remainder is a plain of alluvium watered by canals and well cultivated, being the most fertile part of Sind. The staple grain-crops are rice, wheat and millets, which are exported, together with wool, cotton and other agricultural produce. Cotton cloth, carpets, salt and leather goods are manufactured, and dyeing is an important industry. The district is served by the North-Western railway.
LARKSPUR, in botany, the popular name for species of
Delphinium, a genus of hardy herbaceous plants belonging
to the natural order Ranunculaceae (q.v.). They are of erect
branching habit, with the flowers in terminal racemes, often
of considerable length. Blue is the predominating colour,
but purple, pink, yellow (D. Zalil or sulphureum), scarlet (D.
cardinale) and white also occur; the “spur” is produced
by the elongation of the upper sepal. The field or rocket larkspur
(D. Ajacis), the branching larkspur (D. consolida), D. cardiopetalum
and their varieties, are charming annuals; height
about 18 in. The spotted larkspur (D. requienii) and a few
others are biennials. The perennial larkspurs, however, are the
most gorgeous of the family. There are numerous species of
this group, natives of the old and new worlds, and a great number
of varieties, raised chiefly from D. exaltatum, D. formosum
and D. grandiflorum. Members of this group vary from 2 ft.
to 6 ft. in height.
The larkspurs are of easy cultivation, either in beds or herbaceous borders; the soil should be deeply dug and manured. The annual varieties are best sown early in April, where they are intended to flower, and suitably thinned out as growth is made. The perennial kinds are increased by the division of existing plants in spring, or by cuttings taken in spring or autumn and rooted in pots in cold frames. The varieties cannot be perpetuated with certainty by seed. Seed is the most popular means, however, of raising larkspurs in the majority of gardens, and is suitable for all ordinary purposes; it should be sown as soon as gathered, preferably in rows in nursery beds, and the young plants transplanted when ready. They should be fit for the borders in the spring of the following year, and if strong, should be planted in groups about 3 ft. apart. Delphiniums require exposure to light and air. Given plenty of space in a rich soil, the plants rarely require to be staked except in windy localities.
LARNACA, Larnica or Larneca (anc. Citium, Turk.
Tuzla), a town of the island of Cyprus, at the head of a bay
on the south coast, 23 m. S.S.E. from Nicosia. Pop. (1901)
7964. It is the principal port of the island, exporting barley,
wheat, cotton, raisins, oranges, lemons and gypsum. There
is an iron pier 450 ft. long, but vessels anchor in the bay in
from 16 to 70 ft. of water. Larnaca occupies the site of the ancient
Citium, but the citadel of the ancient city was used to fill up
the ancient harbour in 1879. The modern and principal residential
part of the town is called Scala. Mycenaean tombs
and other antiquities have been found (see Cyprus).
LA ROCHE, a small town in the Belgian Ardennes, noticeable
for its antiquity and its picturesque situation. Pop. (1904)
2065. Its name is derived from its position on a rock commanding
the river Ourthe, which meanders round the little place,
and skirts the rock on which are the interesting ruins of the old
castle of the 11th century. This is supposed to have been
the site of a hunting box of Pippin, and certainly the counts
of La Roche held it in fief from his descendants, the Carolingian
rulers. In the 12th century they sold it to the counts of Luxemburg.
In the 16th and 17th centuries the French and Imperialists
frequently fought in its neighbourhood, and at Tenneville,
not far distant, is shown the tomb of an English officer named
Barnewall killed in one of these encounters in 1692. La Roche
is famous as a tourist centre on account of its fine sylvan scenery.
Among the local curiosities is the Diable-Château, a freak of
nature, being the apparent replica of a medieval castle. La
