Lacedaemon See Sparta
lacemaking Methods of producing lace. The popularity of handmade laces led to the invention of lacemaking machines in the 19th century (see John Heathcoat). Early models required intricate engineering mecha¬ nisms. Later improvements included Nottingham-lace machines, prima¬ rily for coarse lace, and Barmens machines. Schiffli lace, a type of embroidery, is made by modern machines, evolved from a hand version, using needles with points at each end. Many types of machine-made laces are produced, frequently with geometrically shaped nets forming their backgrounds. The high strength and comparatively low cost of man-made fibre yams have made sheer laces widely available.
lacewing Any of numerous species of insects in the order Neuroptera, especially those in the green lace¬ wing and brown lacewing families.
The green lacewing has long, deli¬ cate antennae, a slender greenish body, golden- or copper-coloured eyes, and two pairs of veined wings.
It is found worldwide and flies near grasses and shrubs. It is also known as a stinkfly because it emits a dis¬ agreeable odour. The larva, with prominent sucking mouthparts, drains body fluids from aphids and other soft-bodied insects. The brown lacewing resembles the green lacewing but is smaller and brown.
Lachaise Ma-'shezV, Gaston (b. March 19, 1882, Paris, Fr.—d. Oct. 18, 1935, New York, N.Y., U.S.) French-born U.S. sculptor. Son of a cabinetmaker, he was trained in the decorative arts and studied sculpture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts (1898-1904). He was a designer of Art Nou¬ veau decorative objects for Rene Lauque before immigrating to the U.S. in 1906. His most famous work, Standing Woman (1912-27), a female nude with ample breasts and thighs and sinuous, tapered limbs, typifies the image he worked and reworked throughout his career. He is also known for his portrait busts of John Marin, Marianne Moore, E.E. Cummings, and others. See photograph above.
Lachlan River Vla-kbn\ Chief tributary of the Murrumbidgee River, cen¬ tral New South Wales, Australia. Rising in the Great Dividing Range, it flows northwest and turns southwest joining the Murrumbidgee after a course of 930 mi (1,500 km). Though usually perennial, it may run dry in severe
drought years. It was explored in 1815 by George W. Evans and was named after Lachlan Macquarie, governor of New South Wales.
Lackland, John See John (England)
Laclos \la-'klo\, Pierre (-Ambroise-Francois) Cho- derlos de (b. Oct. 18, 1741, Amiens, France—d. Nov. 5, 1803, Taranto, Parthenopean Republic) French writer. He chose an army career but soon left it to become a writer. He is chiefly remembered for Dangerous Liasions (1782), one of the earliest psychological novels. The epistolary novel of a noble seducer and his female accomplice who take unscrupulous delight in their victims’ misery, it caused an immediate sensation and was banned for years. Laclos later returned to the army and ultimately rose to the rank of general under Napoleon. His book retained its popularity into the 21st century, by which time it had been adapted several times, for film and for television.
Laconia \b-'ko-ne-9\, Gulf of Inlet, southern Ionian Sea southern coast of the Peloponnese, Greece. Cape Malea, which divides the gulf from the Aegean Sea, was once feared by sailors for its treacherous winds and harborless coast. The major stream entering the gulf is the non-navigable Evrotas River.
Lacoste \la-'kost\, (Jean-) Rene (b. July 2, 1904, Paris, France—d. Oct. 12, 1996, Saint-Jean-de-Luz) French tennis player and sportswear entrepreneur. He was noted for a methodical game in which he tried to outlast his opponents. He won the Wimbledon (1925, 1928) and French (1925, 1927, 1929) singles titles and became the first foreigner to win the U.S. championship twice (1926, 1927), the second time beating Bill Til- den. He also won various doubles matches. Nicknamed “the Crocodile,” he retired in 1929 to form a sportswear company that featured a croco¬ dile (later an alligator) emblem on its clothes.
lacquerwork Any of a variety of decorative objects or surfaces, usu¬ ally of wood, to which a coloured, highly polished, and opaque type of varnish called lacquer has been applied. True lacquerwork is Chinese or Japanese in origin. The technique was copied in Europe, where it was known as “japanning,” but European lacquerwork lacks the hardness and brilliance of Asian lacquer. True lacquer is the purified and dehydrated sap of the Rhus vernicifera tree, native to China and cultivated in Japan. Lacquer becomes extremely hard but not brittle on exposure to air and takes a high polish. Many thin layers are applied, allowed to dry, and smoothed before the surface is ready for decoration by carving, engrav¬ ing, or inlay.
lacrosse (French: “the crosier”) Outdoor goal-scoring sport played with sticks called crosses. A crosse has a long handle and a triangular head with a mesh pouch for catching, carrying, and throwing a hard rubber ball. The object of the game is to sling the ball into an opponent’s goal (for one point). French settlers in Canada adapted the modem game from an ancient American Indian activity (baggataway) that was at once sport, combat training, and mystical ceremony. It became an organized sport in the late 19th century. Modern teams have 10 players. The game is divided into four periods of 15 minutes each. Lacrosse is especially popular as a collegiate sport and is played by both men and women. See illustration on following page.
lactation Production of milk by female mammals after giving birth. The milk is discharged by the mammary glands in the breasts. Hormones trig¬ gered by delivery of the placenta and by nursing stimulate milk produc¬ tion. Colostrum (milk that the mother produces in the first few days after giving birth) has more proteins, minerals, and antibodies and fewer calo-
Lacewing (Chrysopa)
A.E.MC.R. PEARCE-BRUCE COLEMAN LTD.
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Standing Woman, bronze sculpture by Gaston Lachaise, 1932; in the Museum of Modern Art, New York City.
COURTESY OF THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK, MRS. SIMON GUGGENHEIM FUND
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A typical men's lacrosse field. The women's game is often played on a larger field (120 x 82 yards), with the goals 100 yards apart, and usually without the outside boundary lines marked. The ball is put into play by a face-off at the m iddle of the field, and play is continuous except for goals, fouls, and time-outs. Players may kick the ball, but only the goalie may use his hands.
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ries and fats than the mature milk that develops later. Mature milk sup¬ plies nutrients, hormones, and substances that provide the infant with immunity against infectious agents. Most physicians recommend that babies be fed mother’s milk exclusively for the first six months and that nursing continue through the first year. As the child is weaned, lactation tapers off; while nursing continues, fertility is reduced. Problems with lactation may involve hormones, suckling pattern, physical difficulties, or emo¬ tional factors. Mothers taking certain drugs or with some diseases (e.g., AIDS) should not nurse, because of risks to the baby.
lactic acid Carboxylic acid found in certain plant juices, in blood and muscle, and in soil. In blood it occurs in the form of its salts (lactates) when glycogen is broken down in muscle; it can be reconverted to gly¬ cogen in the liver. Stiffness and soreness after prolonged heavy exercise are due to accumulated lactic acid in the muscles. The end product of bacterial fermentation, lactic acid is the most common acidic constituent of fermented milk products (e.g., sour milk and cream, cheese, butter¬ milk, yogurt). It is used in other foods as a flavouring or preservative and industrially in tanning leather and dyeing wool and as a raw material or catalyst in many chemical processes.