Lunar Caustic, Or Nitrate Of Silver

See Nitrates.

Luneburg

Luneburg, a town of Prussia, in the province of Hanover, on the Ilmenau, 68 m. N. N. E. of Hanover; pop. in 1871, 16,284. It has an air of antiquity, and contains a town hall (Rathhaus\ noted for its fine relics and works of art, and containing a library of more than 30,000 volumes. The principal church is the Johanniskirche, a structure in pure Gothic style, with a spire 380 ft. high; it was restored in 1857. There are manufactories of sugar, salt, tobacco, etc. Vast numbers of horses are annually brought to the market. From 1267 to 1369 the town was the residence of the dukes of Luneburg. It was a member of the Hanse union. The extensive heaths between it and Celle and Verden are known as the Luneburger Heide.

Lunel

Lunel, a town of Languedoc, France, in the department of Herault, on the canal of Lu-nel, which brings it into connection with the Rhone and the Mediterranean, 14 m. N. E. of Montpellier; pop. in 1866, 6,989. It has a communal college and numerous distilleries. The trade in Muscat wines and raisins is very brisk. In the middle ages a large portion of the inhabitants were Jews, who had flourishing schools.

Luneville

Luneville, a city of Lorraine, France, in the department of Meurthe-et-Moselle, on the right bank of the Meurthe, near its junction with the Vezouze, 16 m. S. E. of Nancy; pop. in 1866, 15,184. It contains the largest cavalry barracks (accommodating over 6,000 horses) and the finest riding school in France. Vast bodies of cavalry are frequently collected there in the autumn, when military exercises are practised. Under Louis XIII. it was taken from the house of Lorraine by the French. A treaty of peace was signed there Feb. 9, 1801, between the German empire and France.

Lurcher

See Greyhound.

Luristan

Luristan, a province of Persia, bordering on Irak-Ajemi, Fars, and Khuzistan; area, about 20,000 sq. in.; pop. unknown. It is extremely mountainous, being bordered by the Elwend, A was, and Luristan ranges, and having the Bakhtiyari running through it, parallel with these, from N. W. to S. E. It is watered by the upper courses of the Kerkha and Ka-run rivers. Many of the valleys are luxuriant and fruitful; but the inhabitants are entirely nomadic, and there is no agriculture. Several tribes, dwelling in tents, wander about here, owning no allegiance but to their immediate chiefs, and waging continual war upon one another. The most ferocious of these are the Bakhtiyari. The only town is Khorremabad, 90 m. S. of Hamadan, which contains about 1,000 huts, a fortress, and a palace.

Lute

Lute, a musical stringed instrument of the guitar species, formerly in general use, but long superseded by the harp and guitar. In shape it is not unlike the section of a pear. It is played like the guitar, and the music was written in tablature, but in so complex a manner that it is difficult to translate it into modern notation. It is supposed to be of eastern origin, and its invention has been ascribed to the Arabs.