to the irregularity of its shape. It is, in fact, composed of four main basins (with two side basins), which represent four different valleys, orographically distinct, and connected only by narrow and tortuous channels. There is, first, the most easterly basin, the Bay of Uri, extending from Flüelen on the south to Brunnen on the north. At Brunnen the great delta of the Muota forces the lake to the west, so that it forms the Bay of Gersau or the Gulf of Buochs, extending from the promontory of Seelisberg (E.) to that of the Bürgenstock (W.). Another narrow strait between the two “Noses” (Nasen) leads westwards to the Basin of Weggis, enclosed between the Rigi (N.) and the Bürgenstock promontory (S.). This last named bay forms the eastern arm of what is called the Cross of Lucerne, the western arm of which is formed by the Bay of Lucerne, while the northern arm is the Bay of Küssnacht and the southern that of Hergiswil, prolonged S.W. by the Bay of Alpnach, with which it is joined by a very narrow channel, spanned by the Acher iron bridge. The Bay of Uri offers the sternest scenery, but is the most interesting, by reason of its connexion with early Swiss history—at Brunnen the Everlasting League of 1315 was really made, while the legendary place of meeting of the founders of Swiss freedom was the meadow of the Rütli on the west (purchased by the Confederation in 1859), and the site of Tell’s leap is marked by the Chapel of Tell (E.). Nearly opposite Brunnen, close to the west shore, an isolated rock (the Schillerstein or Mythenstein) now bears an inscription in honour of Friedrich Schiller, the author of the famous play of William Tell (1804). In the Bay of Gersau the most interesting spot is the village of Gersau (N.), which formed an independent republic from 1390 to 1798, but in 1818 was finally united to the canton of Schwyz. In the next basin to the west is Weggis (N.), also for long in the middle ages a small independent state; to the S.E. of Weggis, on the north shore of the lake, is Vitznau, whence a rack railway (1871) leads up to the top of the Rigi (414 m.), while S.W. of Weggis, on the south shore of the lake, is Kehrsiten, whence an electric railway leads up to the great hotels on the Bürgenstock promontory (2854 ft.). The town of Lucerne is connected with Flüelen by the main line of the St Gotthard railway (32 m.), though only portions of this line (from Lucerne to Küssnacht, 1012 m., and from Brunnen to Flüelen, 7 m.) run along the shore; Brunnen is also connected with Flüelen by the splendid carriage road known as the Axenstrasse (714 m.) and is the starting-point of an electric line (1905) up to Morschach (S.E.) and the great hotels of Axenstein and Axenfels near it. On the promontory between Lucerne and Küssnacht stands the castle of New Habsburg (modern), while from Küssnacht a carriage road leads through the remains of the “Hollow Way” (Hohle Gasse), the scene of the legendary murder of Gessler by William Tell. The west shore of the southern arm, or the basin of Hergiswil and the Bay of Alpnach, is traversed from Horw to Alpnachstad by the Brünig railway (512 m.), which continues towards Sarnen (Obwalden) and the Bernese Oberland, S.W. from Alpnachstad, whence a rack railway leads N.W. up Pilatus (234 m.). Opposite Hergiswil, but on the east shore of the Basin of Hergiswil, is Stanstad, the port of Stans (Nidwalden), which is connected by an electric line with Engelberg (14 m.). The first steamer was placed on the lake in 1835. Lucerne is the only town of importance, but several spots serve as ports for neighbouring towns or large villages (Brunnen for Schwyz, Flüelen for Altdorf, Stanstad for Stans, Alpnachstad for Sarnen). Most of the villages on the shores are frequented in summer by visitors (Gersau also in winter), especially Hertenstein, Weggis, Gersau, Brunnen, Beckenried and Hergiswil, while great hotels, commanding magnificent views, have been built on heights above it, such as the Bürgenstock, Seelisberg, and near Morschach, above Brunnen, besides those on the Rigi, Pilatus and the Stanserhorn. The area of the lake is about 4412 sq. m., its length about 24 m., its greatest width only 2 m. and its greatest depth 702 ft., while the surface of the water is 1434 ft. above sea-level. Of the total area about 1512 sq. m. are in the Canton of Lucerne, 13 sq. m. in that of Nidwalden, 712 sq. m. in that of Uri, 712 sq. m. in that of Schwyz, and about 1 sq. m. in that of Obwalden. (W. A. B. C.)
LUCERNE, Purple Medick or Alfalfa, known botanically
as Medicago sativa, a plant of the natural order Leguminosae.
In England it is still commonly called “lucerne,” but in America
“alfalfa,” an Arabic term (“the best fodder”), which, owing to
its increasing cultivation in the western hemisphere, has come.jpg)
Lucerne (Medicago sativa), 12 nat. size.
1, Flower, enlarged.
2, Half-ripe fruit, 34 nat. size.
3, Fruit, enlarged.
into widening usage since the introduction of the plant by the
Spaniards. It is an erect perennial herb with a branched hollow
stem 1 to 2 ft. high, trifoliolate leaves, short dense racemes of
small yellow, blue or purple flowers, and downy pods coiled
two or three times in a loose
spiral. It has a characteristic
long tap-root, often extending 15
ft. or more into the soil. It is
a native of the eastern Mediterranean
region, but was introduced
into Italy in the 1st
century A.D., and has become
more widely naturalized in
Europe; it occurs wild in hedges
and fields in Britain, where it
was first cultivated about 1650.
It seems to have been taken
from Spain to Mexico and South
America in the 16th century,
but the extension of its cultivation
in the Western States of
the American Union practically
dates from the middle of the
19th century, and in Argentina
its development as a staple crop
is more recent. It is much cultivated
as a forage crop in France
and other parts of the continent
of Europe, but has not come
into such general use in Britain,
where, however, it is frequently
met with in small patches in
districts where the soil is very
light, with a dry subsoil. Its
thick tap-roots penetrate very
deeply into the soil; and, if a
good cover is once obtained, the
plants will yield abundant cuttings
of herbage for eight or ten years, provided they are properly
top-dressed and kept free from perennial weeds. The time to
cut it is, as with clover and sainfoin, when it is in early flower.
In the United States alfalfa has become the staple leguminous forage crop throughout the western half of the country. Some idea of the increase in its cultivation may be obtained from the figures for Kansas, where in 1891 alfalfa was cultivated over 34,384 acres, while in 1907 the number was 743,050. The progress of irrigation has been an important factor in many districts. The plant requires a well-drained soil (deep and permeable as possible), rich in lime and reasonably free from weeds.
See, for practical directions as to cultivation, Farmers’ Bulletin 339 of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, by J. M. Westgate (Washington, December 1908).
LUCHAIRE, DENIS JEAN ACHILLE (1846–1908), French historian, was born in Paris on the 24th of October 1846. In 1879 he became a professor at Bordeaux and in 1889 professor of medieval history at the Sorbonne; in 1895 he became a member of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques, where he obtained the Jean Reynaud prize just before his death on the 14th of November 1908. The most important of Achille Luchaire’s earlier works is his Histoire des institutions monarchiques de la France sous les premiers Capétiens (1883 and again 1891); he also wrote a Manuel des institutions françaises: période des Capétiens directs (1892); Louis VI. le Gros, annales de sa vie et de son règne (1890); and Étude sur les actes de Louis VII. (1885). His later writings deal mainly with the history of the papacy, and took the form of an elaborate work on Pope Innocent III. This is divided into six parts: (i.) Rome et Italie
