LOQUAT l6'kwat, or JAPAN PLUM, a shrub or small tree (Eriobotrya japonica) of the family Malacea.. It attains heights of about 20 feet, bears thick evergreen leaves near the ends of the branches, and fragrant, woolly, whitish flowers in terminal panicles in late sum mer and autumn, followed by downy, yellow, oval or pyriform fruits (pomes) which ripen in very early spring. The fruits, which in favorable climates are borne in profusion, are highly esteemed for their sub-acid flesh and their pleasantly flavored seeds, the former being used as a dessert, the latter for flavoring cook ery. The tree is a native of Japan and China, whence it has been taken to subtropical climates throughout the world. In the Gulf States and in California it is widely popular as a home fruit, though it appears in Northern markets. In California several highly improved varieties were produced during the closing decade of the last century. In the North it is often grown in conservatories.
LORAIN, 16-ran', Ohio, city, in Lorain County, on the south shore of Lake Erie. at the mouth of the Black River, and on the New York, Chicago and Saint Louis (Nickel Plate), Baltimore and Ohio and other railroads, about 26 miles west of Cleveland. The first
permanent settlement was made in 1822 by Barney Meeker. It was incorporated as a vil lage in 1873 and as a city in 1895. It is situ ated in an agricultural and natural-gas region, and is a shipping port for farm products, for the output of the central Ohio coal fields, and for the lumber and iron ore of a large section of the State. The chief industries of the city are ship-building, coal shipping, manufacturing steel, automatic shovels, stove works, general manufacturing and fishing. The city has ex cellent public and parish schools, a public li brary, 22 churches and Saint Joseph's Hospi tal. About 75 per cent of the inhabitants are American born. The government is vested in a mayor, elected biennially, a unicameral coun cil and administrative boards. The water works are owned and operated by the city. Pop. 34,360.