Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/205

 EAIN CROW EAISIN 189 affect the solar rays even more curiously than the spherical drops of water, causing the varied phenomena of parhelia, all of which are ex- plainable on principles not materially different from those that apply to the rainbow proper. RAIN CROW. See CUCKOO. RAIN GAUGE, an instrument for measuring the amount of rain which falls upon a given area during a certain space of time. For ap- proximate purposes a tub or bucket, with a thin-edged mouth, placed in a horizontal posi- tion for catching the rain, whose depth may afterward be measured by means of a graduated rod, .may be employed, and if well constructed and used with care may fulfil most of the re- quirements of exactness. It is more common,' however, to catch the fall in an accurately made funnel whence it flows into a holder, whose form is immaterial; it is subsequent- ly measured either by weighing or by means of a tall graduated cylinder, which gives the average depth of the rainfall. The holder should have a capacity abundantly sufficient to receive all the rain that may be caught. It is difficult to employ a rain gauge to measure a snowfall unless the air is perfectly still, as the wind interferes with the reception of the snow ; it is therefore generally preferable after a snow storm to take a cylindrical vessel of suffi- cient depth and with it cut out a section of the snow from some region which has an average depth of covering; the snow thus collected should be melted or dissolved in a known quantity of water and measured. For special studies different forms of gauges are employed, in which the opening of the mouth may be horizontal, inclined, or vertical; rain gauges are also attached to wind vanes so as always to be turned toward the wind. Very great discretion is required in the selection of the site of the instrument ; the standard position of the mouth of the gauge is 8 to 16 in. above the surface of a broad level lawn ; gauges in the neighborhood of trees and buildings or on the tops of isolated buildings are not allow- able except for the purpose of investigation. For the numerous details in reference to this important subject, see the annual vol- umes of Symons on " British Kainfall." RAINS, a K E. county of Texas, watered by Lake fork and other tributaries of the Sabine river; area, about 220 sq. m. It has been formed since the census of 1870. The surface is undulating and the soil fertile. There is considerable timber. Indian corn, wheat, cot- ton, tobacco, sweet potatoes, cattle, &c., are raised. Capital, Emory. RAINY LAKE, a body of water, 50 m. long and of irregular width, on the border of Minne- sota and British America, discharging through Eainy or Eainy Lake river (100 m. long) into the lake of the Woods. It receives the river La Seine, the outlet of Lac des Mille Lacs, from the northeast, and from the east the waters of a chain of lakes lying along the international frontier, and having their source in the height of land dividing the streams that flow into Lake Superior from those that flow into Lake Winnipeg. It contains numerous islands. Near its outlet are the falls of Fort Francis, 20 ft. high. The lake and Eainy river below the falls are navigable by steamers. RAISIN (Fr., a grape), the dried fruit of the European grape vine (vitis vinifera). None of our native grapes (see GRAPE) has yet afforded raisins suitable for commerce, though one or two varieties encourage the hope that some may yet be produced which will make good rai- sins. The European grape succeeds perfectly in California, and the production there is already sufficient to supply the home demand. The raisins of commerce are produced in the coun- tries around the Mediterranean. The varieties recognized in trade arise not merely from the original differences in the grapes, but also from the methods of drying. Among the best sorts are those known as the Malaga, muscatel, or " sun raisins ;" these are dried upon the vines, as, unlike most fruits, the grape does not drop when ripe ; the stem to each bunch when ripe is twisted or partly severed, and the grapes soon shrivel by the evaporation of the water they contain, and become sweeter by the con- sequent concentration of the pulp ; when dried the bunches are taken off and carefully placed in boxes with sheets of paper separating the layers. These raisins, better than any other sort, retain the freshness and bloom of the fruit, and when fresh have less of the saccharine ex- udation which is found upon most of the other varieties. The common kinds of raisins are pre- pared by drying the ripe grapes after they are picked, either in the sun or in heated rooms, and while they are drying dipping them in a lye of wood ashes and barilla, of specific grav- ity 1-110, to every four gallons of which is added a pint of oil and a handful of salt ; the effect of this is to cause a saccharine exudation to take place, which forms concretions upon the raisins and coats them with a thin varnish. The best raisins of this kind are hung on lines to dry in the sun, and as they begin to shrivel they are dipped in the lye once or twice and hung up again to complete the drying. The raisins known as sultana come from Smyrna; they are from a small grape without seeds, and come packed in drums. The black Smyj-na raisins are also small, but have very large seeds, and are generally free from sugary con- cretions. A very important variety of raisins are called currants, or Zante currants, and are popularly supposed to be common currants preserved in some manner ; they are, however, produced by a very small-sized grape, largely cultivated at Patras, in Zante, Ithaca, and Cephalonia, and in the Grecian archipelago. The grapes are no larger than peas, and the bunches are only about 3 in. long. After dry- ing in the sun, they are stored in large mass- es, which become so compact from the sugar which exudes from them, that they have to be forcibly dug apart for packing. For shipment