Lincoln Red - A large breed of uniformly deepred coloured cattle developed in Lincolnshire, and closely related to the shorthorn, with short, forward and downward curling horns and a short, broad head and with a long muscular body and short stocky legs. Formerly regarded as a dual-purpose breed, it is now popularly crossed with dairy breeds to produce beef calves.

Line Breeding - The mating of related animals, but not those closely related such. as cousins or parents, with off-spring.

Liner - A synthetic rubber tube which lines the teat cup of a milking machine.

Linkage - The association of two or more Genes, usually near each other on the same chromosome, so that they tend to be inherited together. The characteristics passed on by such genes are said to be linked.

Linnaen System - A binomial system of naming plants and animals developed by the Swedish naturalist, Carl Linnaeus, in which the first name represents the Genus and the second the Species, e.g., Hordeum sativum (barley).

Linseed - Varieties of the plant Linum usitatissimum, selected and grown for their oil-rich seeds, which are sometimes fed after crushing, or after scalding or cooking, particularly to young calves and sick animals, but more usually as linseed cake which puts a 'bloom' on fattening cattle.

Lipase - An Enzyme which splits fatty acids into alcohol and acid. It is present in Intestinal Juice and Pancreatic Juice.

Liquid Manure - The urine of farm animals, Dung Liquor and drainings from farm buildings containing valuable Nitrogen and Potash, at one time mostly collected in tanks and distributed on fields or over solid dung heaps. Nowadays urine and faeces are commonly mixed with litter to produce Farmyard Manure, slurry is another type of liquid manure.

Liquid Nitrogen Fertilizers - Various nitrogen fertilizers applied in liquid form, usually less concentrated than the granulated, powder and crystal forms, e.g., a solution of urea and ammonium nitrate containing 25-30% nitrogen, and often applied as a top dressing, particularly to grassland and winter cereals. Other nitrogenous fertilizers used in liquid form include gas liquor and pressurised anhydrous ammonia.

Litter - 1. Bedding for livestock, e.g., straw, shavings, sawdust, etc. 2. All the young animals born to a female at one time, particularly applied to pigs. The average litter size is 11 piglets, but can be as many as 20 or more, and over 10% die in their first few days due to cold or crushing. Wel managed breeding sows produce between 2.0 and about 2.6 litters per year depending on the age of weaning of piglets.

Liver Fluke, Liver Rot - A parasitic flatworm (Fasciola hepatica), the common fluke, which infests the liver of various animals, particularly' sheep and cattle, causing bile duct inflammation, diarrhoea, wasting, and reduced milk yield in dairy cows. Eggs pass out with the faeces, hatching to produce larvae which infect various species of mud-snails (the alternative Host), and after multiplication they leave the snails to form cysts on grass, to infect grazing animals. A very widespread disease of cattle and sheep. Also called bane and cord.

Live Stock - Domesticated anima Is such as cattle, horses, pigs, poultry and sheep, etc. Defined in the Agriculture Act 1947 as including 'any creature kept for the production of food, wool, skins or fur, or for the purpose of its use in the fanning of the land'.

Liveweight - The weight of a live animal as distinct from the weight of the Dressed Carcase of the animal.

Loam - A soil with a balanced soil particle mixture (approximately 25% Clay, 40% Sand and 35% Silt), having most of the advantages of Clay Soils and Sandy Soils and few of their disadvantages. Loams are easily cultivated, but can be sticky when wet, and are usually drained.

Local Lesion - Localized leaf spot appearing as a result of mechanical inoculation with a virus.

Locks - A type of wool oddment purchased by the British Wool, Marketing Board comprising small pieces of wool detached from a fleece during shearing.

Load - An open Ditch or Drain in the Fens.

Lodged - Laid Corp.

Long Dung - Farmyard Manure.

Longhorn - A hardy breed of beef cattle, characterised by its long, forward and downward curving horns. Coat colour is variable including roan, red and dark plum, and many intermediate shades. There is usually a white ridge along the spine and tail, and white is also normally found on the face and thighs. A long bodied, short legged breed, producing a lean carcase, and milk high in buttterfat, at one time much used for cheese making.

Long Manure - Another term for long dung..

Loose-box - A stable or part of a stable in which animals are kept united with no other fittings other than a hay-rack, manager, water bowl, and tying ring(s). Often several are grouped together in a row with two halved doors, and insulated concrete floors with a slight drainage slope. Conveniently used for isolating diseased animals.

Lop Ears - Ears which hang loosely and often cover the eyes.

Louping III - A paralytic virus disease of sheep carried by a Tick (Ixodes ricinus), common on mountain pastures, particularly in northern England and Scotland. The sheep are caused to twitch, quiver, and stagger, and eventually to leap erratically before paralysis occurs. Also called staggers.

Louse - A wingless, flat bodied, parasitic insect, with short legs, found on the skins of livestock, mostly sucking blood, e.g., Ked (sheep louse).

Lowland - Low-lying land in a region or district as distinct from hill areas and mountains.

Low Loader - A trailer with its bed near to the ground facilitating easy loading.

Lucerne - A perennial leguminous plant (Medicago sativa) grown for both Fodder and Forage. Characterised by deep roots (with Nodules) giving it drought resistance, trifoliate leaves, distinct purple flowers, and twisted pods containing kidney-shaped seeds. It is intolerant of acid or poorly drained soils. Also called alfalfa.

Luing - An early-maturing, hardy breed of beef cattle, recently developed from crosses between the Beef Shorthorn and Highland breeds. Red coloured with some roan, gold or white.

Lupins - A leguminous plant (Lupin sp.) sometimes grown as a green manure crop for ploughing in, particularly on poor light land in the eastern countries deficient in lime and humus. White, yellow and blue flowered varieties exist. The sweet lupin has been used for forage, being the only nontoxic variety.

Lymph - A watery colourless liquid derived from blood filtering through tissues from capillaries and collected in lymph vessels to be returned to the bloodstream. It carries nutrients to the body's tissues.

Lynchet - A boundary ridge or unploughed strip. Also a terrace or bank formed on a slope due to continuous contour ploughing. Also called linch.

Lysimeter - A device which is used to measure the quantity or rate of downward water movement through a soil usually undisturbed, or to collect such percolated water for analysis as to quality.

Lysolfecithin - One of the substances in the venom of bees and wasps: a very toxic substance which breaks down the cells of its victim al1 sets free histamine.

Lysozyme - Ezsyme that catalyses the destruction of the cell walls of many bacteria by hydrolysing the mucopeptide.

Lytic - Pertains to the dissolving of a substance e.g., the dissolving of certain bacteria by lysozyme.