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LOAM 501 LOCKE of munitions, Lloyd-George was ap- pointed and made in 1915 Minister of Munitions. He at once re-organized the industries of the country with marvelous efficiency and within a short time the army in France was abundantly supplied with its necessities. On the formation of the Coalition Ministry in December, 1916, Lloyd-George became Prime Min- ister. During this time he was practical dictator. On the conclusion of the war and the assemblying of the Peace Con- ference at Paris, Lloyd-George took a conspicuous and leading part. He and President Wilson were the chief figures of the Conference, and with remarkable skill, he obtained practically all the points at issue desired by Great Britain. During 1920 he put through the House of Parliament the deferred Irish Home Rule Bill and the measures neces- sary for financial and economic recon- struction. LOAM, alluvial soil, consisting of sand iand clay soil in considerable quantity. If one or the other largely predominates, the soil ceases to be loam. In founding, a mixture which essentially consists of sand and clay, the former largely pre- dominating, with a certain quantity of horse-dung added, or some equivalent for the same, such as chopped straw, saw- dust, cow-hair, etc. Beds of loam are sometimes found of nearly suitable com- position, but it is more commonly made up by blending different sorts of sand, clay, etc., in a mill resembling a pug- mill. In molding, it is always used quite wet, like plaster, but is dried perfectly before pouring. It is employed for large work in both brass and iron, obviating the use of a pattern. LOAN AND TRUST COMPANY, a chartered institution, in the United States, which has the authority to exe- cute trusts, to lend money on security, at legal rates of interest, and to issue obligations for money or other property on deposit with it. These institutions are not allowed to issue bills to circulate as money, or to loan money to their of- ficers, and are not required to keep law- ful money reserves. LOANDA, SAINT PAUL BE. chief town of the Portugiiese possessions on the W. coast of Africa; on a small bay, 210 miles S. of the mouth of the Bango. It has broad, tree-shaded but dirty streets, several churches, forts (1578), and the residences of the governor and bishop. The harbor is grradually sand- ing up, so that vessels lie 1 % mile from shore to load and unload. Pop. about 16.000. LOBBYISTS, a term applied to men who make a business of corruptly influ- encing legislatures by means of money paid to the members, or by any other method that is considered feasible. Many women engage in this woi'k as well as men. LOBOS ISLANDS, two small groups of rocky islands, about 12 miles off the coast of Peru, famous for the great quantity of guano which they produced. LOBSTER, a well-known decapod, macrurous marine crustacean, of the family Astacidae. It has five pairs of ambulatory legs, the first pair being the chelae or great claws, the next two pairs also chelate but smaller, the last two pairs monodactyle. Color dull, pale red- dish-yellow, spotted with bluish-black; the spots coalescent on the upper parts. Lobsters do not stray from their haunts, and each situation is found to impress its owTi shade of color upon the shell. LOCAL OPTION, the right of each locality of a State, such as each county, township, or city, to determine for itself whether or not some particular measure of leg^islation shall be enforced therein, applied more especially as to whether the liquor traffic shall be licensed and carried on. Its utility ceased on the passage of the Prohibition Amendment in 1919. LOCHLEVEN, a beautiful oval lake of Kinross-shire, Scotland, 23 miles N, N. W. of Edinburgh. Lying 353 feet above sea-level, and engirt by Ben- arty (1,167 feet), the West Lomond (1,713), and other hills, it measures 3% miles by 2; discharges by the Leven, flowing 16 miles E. to the Firth of Forth; is 10 to 90 feet deep; and has an area of 3,406 acres, drainage operations hav- ing reduced its size by one-foui-th in 1826-1836. Of seven islands, the largest are sandy, treeless St. Serf's Inch, an early seat of the Culdees, and Castle Is- land, with the 14th-century keep of a castle which in 1567-1568 was for 10 months the prison of Mary, Queen of Scots. Since 1633 and earlier the loch has been famous for its delicate pink- fleshed trout, and since 1856 for its fly- fishing. LOCKE, DAVID ROSS, pseudonym Petroleum V. Nasby, an American hu- morist; born in Vestal, Broome co., N. Y., Sept. 20, 1833. He learned the trade of printer. He took charge of the Toledo "Blade" in 1865, and at once became popular as a humorous writer and later as a lecturer. He began his "Nasby" letters in 1860 and continued them throughout the war. They were col-