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bined with tonic and strengthening properties; that of the officinal rhubarb (R. palmatum) is considered the most efficacious, but there is no great difference in this respect. The officinal or true rhubarb grows wild along the frontiers of China, near the great wall, upon a chain of mountains which stretches from the Chinese town Sini to lake Kokonor, near Thibet. It is easily distinguished by having the leaves divided into acute lobes; the roots are very large, yellow and branching; the stem is of moderate height, cylindrical, smooth and striated, provided at base with a great number of large petiolate leaves; these are divided into five or seven lanceolate, acute segments, each of which is again subdivided, and are green and rough above, a little whitish and pubescent beneath, and traversed with large yellowish nerves; their leaf-stalks are very long, and grooved; the flowers are small, yellowish-white, and are disposed in numerous upright panicles; the seeds are blackish-brown and triangular. It is usual with the Chinese, when the roots have been taken from the ground, cleaned and pared, to cut them in slices and lay them upon long tables, taking care to turn them three or four times a day, experience having taught that if exposed to a free current of air, they become light, and lose a portion of their strength. After the fourth day, they are perforated and strung upon cords, in such a way as not to touch each other, and are suspended to dry in the shade, either upon trees or in tents. In about two months, the roots have lost seven eighths of their weight, and are fit for market. Winter is the proper season for taking up the roots. Formerly rhubarb was brought from China, through Tartary, to Ormuz and Aleppo, thence to Alexandria, and even to Vienna. This was called Turkey rhubarb. Now it is brought by sea from Canton and Ormuz. All the rhubarb of commerce is obtained from the chain of mountains above mentioned. It is only within a few years that the officinal rhubarb has been successfully cultivated on a large scale in Europe. It is most readily multiplied by planting pieces of the root containing eyes, thirty or more of which are afforded by a root four or five years old: half an inch of the root is sufficient to ensure the shooting of these eyes. They are planted a little before the opening of the spring, after leaving them exposed to the air for a day, in order that cicatrices may be formed: they should be placed in quincunx order, about six feet apart, as the leaves occupy a very great

space; but as, for the two first years, they do not fill this space, some other crop may be raised between them. It is an injudicious practice to cut away the leaves, and hinders the growth of the roots; but to cut or break the stems, about a foot from the ground, is very often advantageous. The plant may remain in the ground all winter, but during severe frosts should be covered with straw or dry leaves. A deep soil, and one where sand does not predominate, seems best adapted to its culture; but it succeeds in every soil that is not arid or watery; neither does it fear shade or a northern exposure; in dry weather, watering is advantageous, but long rains are very injurious. The roots are taken from the ground only after the fourth or fifth year, but sooner in a dry and warm soil than in a moist and cool one; when taken up too soon, their substance is soft, and will lose eleven twelfths of its weight in drying; on the other hand, if left too long in the earth, the roots become hollow, or even rot in the centre. The time for removing them is in the autumn, after the leaves are perfectly dry. The stocks live ten or twelve years in a good soil, and only half as long in one which is less adapted to them. The rhubarb of commerce is brownishyellow externally, saffron-yellow within, and variegated with white and reddish streaks. The odor is disagreeable, and the taste bitter, astringent, slightly acrid, and nauseous. Its properties are, at the same time, tonic and purgative. It is administered in powder, in mixtures, or formed into pills, or the root may be chewed in substance. The value of the annual import of this article into Great Britain is said to exceed $1,000,000. The bark of rhubarb has been used for tinctures, and is found, in every respect, as efficacious as the best part of the roots, and the seeds possess nearly the same qualities. The leaves impart an agreeable acidity, somewhat similar to that of sorrel; and a marmalade is made from the fresh stalks, by stripping off the bark, and boiling the pulp with an equal quantity of sugar. The common garden rhubarb (R. rhaponticum) has obtuse, smooth leaves, with hairy veins beneath. It was first brought into Europe about the year 1610, and is chiefly in request for the stalks of the leaves, which, when young, are used for pies and tarts. The root has occasionally been sold for the rhubarb of commerce, and for a long time was supposed to be identical with it. The rheum ribes is remarkable for having the seeds

enveloped in a succulent and reddish pulp. It grows on the mountains of Syria and Persia, and is, besides, cultivated on an extensive scale in those countries, on account of the agreeably acid flavor of the leaves, leaf-stalks and young stems. These are sold constantly in the markets, and are eaten either in a crude state, with salt or vinegar, or are preserved in wine, or with sugar.

RHUMB, in navigation; a vertical circle of any given place, or the intersection of such a circle with the horizon; in which last sense rhumb is the same as a point of the compass.

Rhumb-line; a line prolonged from any point of the compass, on a nautical chart, except from the four cardinal points.

RHUNKEN. (See Ruhnkenius.) RHUS. (See Sumac.) RHYME, in poetry; the correspondence of sounds in the terminating words or syllables of verses. The vowel and the final articulations or consonants should be the same, or nearly the same, in sound. The initial consonants may be different. Languages which have not, like the English, a great variety of shades between the Italian sounds of a, e, i, o, u, admit only pure rhymes; that is to say, the corresponding syllables must have exactly the same vowel sound. English verse is much less restrained; and we find in the best English poets rhymes which strike a foreign ear as very impure. In some instances, such as sky and liberty, hand and command, gone and alone, the correspondence in the letters makes what might be called a rhyme to the eye, which supplies, in some measure, the want of correspondence in sound. In other instances, however, this is not the case, as in revenge and change, remote and thought; and the liberty of making rhymes of syllables corresponding in sound, though different in spelling, is greater in English than in most other languages; as water and mortar, warm and storm. If the rhyme is only in the last syllables, as in forgave and behave, it is called a male rhyme; if in the two last syllables, as bitter and glitter, it is called a female rhyme. Sometimes the three last syllables rhyme, as callosity and reciprocity, or the Italian diacine and duracine, or tavola and favola (the verso sdrucciolo). This last sort of rhymes is principally used in pieces of a comic or conversational character. Rhymes which extend to more than three syllables are almost confined to the Arabians and Persians, in their short odes (gazelles), in which the same rhyme, carried through the whole

It

poem, extends sometimes to four and more syllables. Some languages incline more to the male rhyme, as the English, on account of its superabundance of monosyllables; others, as the Spanish and Italian, more to the female : the German and French possess an almost equal store of both; hence in these two languages we find them generally interchanged regularly; yet there are numerous poems in these languages, written exclusively in male or female rhymes. Of the four continental idioms just mentioned, the German, from its abundance of consonants, has the greatest variety of final syllables, and therefore the smallest collection of rhymes for any given termination. has, however, to compensate for this deficiency, a regular prosody, arising from the possession of long and short syllables. The modern use of rhyme was not known to the ancients. We meet, indeed, with some rhymed verses in Ovid, in which the rhyme was evidently intentional; but the object was not to distinguish the verses, but to give impressiveness to the sense, as Shakspeare often introduces a rhymed couplet, for the same purpose, in blank verse. In the Latin poems of the fathers of the church of the fourth century, rhymes are more frequently used. The rhyme is harmony, music, and therefore is addressed directly to the feelings, and thus partakes essentially of the character of modern art, whilst the metrical forms of antiquity are in the spirit of that plastic age. (See Classic, Plastic, and Romantic.) The Goths introduced rhyme from the East into the northern languages. The most ancient relics of Scandinavian poetry are not in rhyme, but are distinguished by alliteration (q. v.). These circumstances gave rise to the opinion that rhyme originated with the Arabians, who came into contact with the Europeans of the south as early as the eighth century. Schlegel, in his Observations sur la Literature Provençale, however, denies this. Joseph von Hammer, on the other hand, is a decided believer in the influence of the Arabians on the provençal poetry in respect to the structure of rhymed couplets and the forms of rhyme in the southern poetry; which seems undeniable, though it is not necessary to derive rhyme itself from the Arabians. The oldest forms of rhymed verse are the couplet and the continuation of one and the same rhyme through a whole piece. The Troubadours (q. v.) first attempted a variety of artificial combinations of rhyme in the sonnet, canzone, &c., and the Span

iards and Italians, with their musical languages and delicacy of ear, perfected the forms of involved rhyme. The Italians, however, at a later period, carried the artificial intricacies of rhyme to great excess. Rhyme, well managed, is one of the most pleasing of all inventions for entertaining the mind, constantly raising expectation, and as often satisfying it. The ear anticipates the sound, without knowing what the sound will express; and how various are the forms of grace and majesty of which it is susceptible! Yet it has misled many persons to think they were composing poetry, whilst they were only rhyming; and were it not for rhyme, we might have been saved from a flood of insipid verse, which has so long overspread the field of literature. (See Sonnet.)

RHYTHM. (See Appendix, end of this volume.)

RIAL, REAL; a Spanish coin. (For the real de plata (silver rial), see Coins.) The real de vellon (copper rial) is equal to 4cts.

RIALTO. (See Venice.)

RIB. The ribs are long curved bones, placed in an oblique direction at the sides of the chest. Their number is generally twelve on each side; but, in some subjects, it has been found to be thirteen, and in others, though more rarely, only eleven. They are distinguished into true and false ribs. The seven upper ribs, which are articulated to the sternum, are called true ribs, and the five lower ones, which are not immediately attached to that bone, are called false ribs. The use of the ribs is to give form to the thorax, and to cover and defend the lungs; also to assist in breathing; for they are joined to the vertebræ by regular hinges, which allow of short motions, and to the sternum by cartilages, which yield to the motion of the ribs, and return again when the muscles cease to act. (See Respiration.)

RIBERA, Giuseppe. (See Spagnoletto.) RICARDO, David, a celebrated writer on finance and statistics, was of a Jewish family, and was born in London in 1772. His father was a stock broker, and the son was intended for the same profession. His character for probity, industry and talent early procured him means of support; and, becoming a member of the stock exchange, he accumulated immense property. In 1810, he appeared as a writer in the Morning Chronicle, on the subject of the depreciation of the national currency; and he afterwards embodied his ideas in a distinct work, the reasonings of which were adopted in the Report of the Bullion

Committee of the house of commons. He next published an Essay on Rent, in which he advocated the principles of Malthus concerning population. His most important production is his treatise on Political Economy and Taxation, which affords a luminous exposition of the origin and fluctuations of national wealth and expenditure. In 1819, Mr. Ricardo obtained a seat in parliament for the Irish borough of Portarlington, and as a senator attracted the respect and esteem of all parties. He died in September, 1823. Mr. Ricardo is said to have been a Unitarian, though he usually attended the service of the established church after renouncing Judaism.

RICCI, Lorenzo, the last general of the Jesuits previously to their suppression by pope Clement XIII, was born at Florence in 1703, entered the order at the age of fifteen, and, after having been professor of rhetoric and philosophy at Sienna, he became spiritual director at the Roman college, and secretary of his order. In 1758, he succeeded to the office of general on the death of Centurioni. Resisting the suppression of the Jesuits, he was sent to the castle of St. Angelo, where he died in 1775. (See Jesuits.)-See his life, by Caraccioli.

RICCI, Scipio, bishop of Pistoia and Prato, nephew of the preceding, was born at Florence, in 1741. Being favored by the grand-duke of Tuscany, Leopold, he opened, at Pistoia, in 1786, a synod, with a view to the propagation of some new religious doctrines; by which he incurred the displeasure of the pope, and was obliged to resign his see. In 1799, he was imprisoned for declaring in favor of the decrees of the constituent assembly, which had been formed under the influence of the French. Being set at liberty, he signed, in 1805, a formula of adhesion to the bulls which he had objected to, and became reconciled to the holy see. died in 1810. In 1824, appeared the Vie et Mémoires de Scipion Ricci, by M. de Potter (translated into English by T. Roscoe, 2 vols., 1829).

He

RICCOBONI, Lodovico, born at Modena in 1677, manifested an early passion for the theatre; and, having become the director of a theatrical company at the age of twenty-two years, he endeavored to reform the Italian theatre, by substituting regular pieces for the miserable farces which then had possession of the stage in Italy. (See Drama, and Italian Theatre.) Wearied with the opposition made to his efforts by the perverse taste of his coun

trymen, he went to Paris with his company, and associated himself with Dominique and Romagnesi, with great success. In 1729, the duke of Parma appointed him inspector of the theatres in his dominions; but, in 1731, he returned to Paris, where he devoted his last years to literature, and died in 1753. He was the author of numerous comedies, and translated several pieces from the French. We have also by him an Histoire du Théatre Italien. His wife Helen (born 1686) distinguished herself on the stage, and by her poetical compositions, which procured her admission into several Italian academies. Their son Francesco, born at Mantua in 1707, died at Paris in 1772, was more successful as a dramatic writer than as an actor. Besides his comedies, which were very popular, he wrote a work entitled L'Art du Théâtre (Paris, 1750). His wife, born at Paris in 1714, is esteemed one of the best French novelists. She suffered much from the neglect of her husband, and died in poverty, in 1792. Her complete works have been several times published (best edition, Paris, 1818, 6 vols., 8vo.).

RICE (oryza sativa). This important article of food is now cultivated in all the warmer parts of the globe. It was long known in the East before it was introduced into Egypt and Creece. Pliny, Dioscorides and Theophrastus mention it as being brought from India; but it was little cultivated in their time upon the borders of the Mediterranean. It was introduced into Carolina about the year 1697, and is now cultivated extensively in many parts of the south of Europe. In Britain, the chief supply of rice is from Carolina; and this is considered far superior to the India rice, which is small, meagre, and the grains frequently broken. Immense districts of country would have remained desolate and irreclaimable, if nature had not granted to a simple grass the property of growing exclusively in inundated and marshy grounds. It has altered the face of the globe and the destiny of nations; for there can be no doubt that it is to this grain that the Chinese and Hindoos owe their early civilization. An immense population in those and the surrounding countries is now dependent on the rice crops; and when these fail, thousands perish of hunger. The culm of the rice is from one to six feet high, annual, erect, simple, round, and jointed; the leaves are large, firm, and pointed, arising from very long, cylindrical, and finely striated sheaths; the flowers are disposed in a large and

beautiful panicle, somewhat resembling that of the oat. The seeds are white and oblong, but vary in size and form in the numerous varieties. It is important to be acquainted with these varieties, in order to choose which are best suited to certain soils or localities; some are preferable on account of the size and excellence of the grains; others, from their great bearing, or the time of ripening; others, again, from their more or less delicacy with respect to cold, drought, &c. The Hindoos, Chinese, Malays, and the inhabitants of the neighboring islands have paid most attention to the cultivation of these varieties. One species only of rice is known. Rice can be profitably cultivated only in warm climates; and here it is said to yield six times as much as the same space of wheat lands. The Chinese obtain two crops a year from the same ground, and cultivate it in this way from generation to generation on the same soil, and without any other manure than the mud deposited by the water of the river used in overflowing it. After the waters of the inundation have withdrawn, a few days are allowed for the mud to become partially dry; then a small spot is enclosed by an embankment, lightly ploughed and harrowed, and the grain, previously steeped in dung diluted with animal water, is then sown very thickly on it. A thin sheet of water is immediately brought over it, either by a stream or the chainpump. In the mean time, other spaces are preparing for being planted in a similar manner. When the plants are six or seven inches high, they are transplanted in furrows made by the plough, so as to stand about a foot apart every way: water is then brought over them, and kept on till the crop begins to ripen, when it is withheld; so that when the harvest arrives the field is quite dry. It is reaped with a sickle, threshed with a flail, or the treading of cattle, and the husk is taken off by beating it in a stone mortar, or passing it between flat stones, as in a common meal mill. The first crop being cut in May, a second is immediately prepared for, by burning the stubble, and this second crop ripens in October or November. After removal, the stubble is ploughed in, which is the only vegetable manure such lands can be said to receive. In Japan, Ceylon, and Java, aquatic rice is cultivated nearly in the same manner. A rice plantation requires constant attention. The proprietor must make daily visits, in order to see that the various aqueducts, flood-gates and embankments of the different compart

ments are all in order, and that the water constantly remains at the same height. The maturity of the grain is ascertained by the yellowness of the straw, and it is harvested much in the same manner as other grains, with this difference, that in certain districts the tops only are cut. Rice, when stowed in the granary, is subject to the depredations of a small curculio; but it is found that this insect attacks it only when enveloped in the husks. Aquatic rice is cultivated by the Chinese, even in the midst of rivers and lakes, by means of rafts made of bamboo and covered with earth. Mountain rice is cultivated on the mountains of the eastern islands and of Cochin-China, much in the same way as our barley; but it is to be observed, that it is planted at the commencement of the rainy, and reaped at the beginning of the dry season, and also that these mountains receive from the atmosphere a much greater proportion of moisture than lower districts. There is a kind of rice hardy enough to grow on the edge of the Himalaya snows, and which may probably, at some future time, prove a valuable acquisition to the European cultivator. Rice is even cultivated in the south of Germany, and, from long culture in a comparatively cold country, has acquired a remarkable degree of hardiness and adaptation to the climate-a circumstance which has frequently been alluded to as an encouragement to the acclimating of exotics: it is found that rice seeds direct from India will not ripen in Germany at all, and even Italian or Spanish seeds are much less early and hardy than those ripened on the spot. A crop has been obtained in England, on the banks of the Thames. In some parts of the East, rice is freed from the husks by immersion in hot water, by which the grains are slightly swelled, and burst the envelopes. As an article of diet, rice has been extolled as superior to almost any other vegetable. Large quantities are annually imported into Europe, and it is highly esteemed in puddings and numerous other culinary preparations. On account of its being destitute of gluten, it cannot be made into bread, like wheat. Indeed, on account of its excellence and cheapness, it claims attention as a general article of sustenance for the poorer classes of society; as it is well known that a quarter of a pound of rice, slowly boiled, will yield more than a pound of solid and nutritive food. However, it has been found that, in Europe, the poor constantly reject the use of rice when potatoes are to be had; and, 3

VOL. XI.

in truth, it does not seem to be so well adapted to European constitutions as that root. The inhabitants of the East obtain from rice a vinous liquor, more intoxicating than the strongest wine; and an ardent spirit, called rak, or arrack, is also partly made from it. The latter is chiefly manufactured at Batavia, and at Goa, on the coast of Malabar, and is said to be distilled from a mixture of the infusion of rice and of the juice of the cocoa-nut tree. The general appellation of rice throughout the East Indies is paddy.

RICE-BUNTING, or BOB-O-LINK (icterus agripennis, Bonap.; emberiza oryzivora, Wilson); specific characters, tail-feathers very acute; adult male in spring dress, black; the hind head, yellowish-white; scapulars, rump and tail coverts, white, tinged with ash; female young, and male in early autumn and winter dress, varied with brownish-black and brownish-yellow, beneath dull yellow; the male with much more yellow. This bird migrates over the continent of America from Labrador to Mexico, and over the Great Antilles, appearing in the southern extremity of the U. States about the middle of March or beginning of April. About the first of May, the bob-o-links reach Massachusetts. The rearing of their young takes place north of the fortieth degree of latitude. Their food is insects and worms, and the seeds of the grassy meadows. In the autumn, they sometimes attack the crops of oats and barley. The song of the male continues, with little interruption, as long as the female is sitting, and is singular and pleasant; it consists of a jingling medley of short, variable notes, confused, rapid and continuous. The relish for song and merriment is confined to the male, and diminishes as the period of incubation advances. The male generally loses his musical talent about the end of the first week in July, from which time, or somewhat earlier, his plumage begins to lose its gay colors, and to assume the humble hue of that of the female. About the middle of August, they enter New York and Pennsylvania, in vast foraging parties, on their way to the south. There, along the shores of the large rivers lined with floating fields of wild rice, they find abundant subsistence, grow fat, and their flesh becomes little inferior in flavor to that of the European ortolan; on which account the reed or rice birds, as they are then called, are shot in great numbers. When the cool nights in October commence, they move still farther

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