Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume XIV.djvu/229

 KATAZZI RATISBON 213 large field mouse ; the body is stout, the hair long, the muzzle blunt and hairy except on the septum ; the upper lip slightly notched ; thumb rudimentary ; soles naked, with six granular tubercles ; incisors stout, the upper much rounded ; ears and tail moderate ; mo- lars rooted, with a plane surface, the last two lower with the enamel in the form of an S, whence the name. The genus is confined to the southern parts of the United States. The best known species is the cotton rat (S. hispi- dus, Say and Ord), about 5 in. long with a tail of 4 in. ; the color above is reddish brown, brightest on the sides, lined with dark brown, and under parts grayish white ; the hair is long and coarse, and the claws very strong. It is more abundant in the southern states than the meadow mice in the north, living in hedges, ditches, and deserted fields, and consequently doing but little damage to the planter. It is gregarious, feeding on seeds of grasses and Cotton Bat (Sigmodon hispidus). leguminous plants, and also on flesh ; it picks up wounded birds and small mammals, craw- fish, and crabs ; it is very fierce and pugnacious, the stronger killing and devouring the weak- er, and the males often eating the young ; it is also very fond of sucking eggs. Nocturnal in habit, it is seen by day in retired places ; it digs very extensive galleries not far from the surface, a family in each hole ; it breeds sev- eral times a year, having four to eight in a lit- ter ; it swims and dives well. It received its name from its lining the nest with cotton. It is preyed upon by foxes, wild cats, hawks, and owls. It is not found north of Virginia. RATAZZI. See RATTAZZI. RATIBOR, a town of Prussian Silesia, on the Oder, which is here navigable, 90 m. S. E. of Breslau; pop. in 1871, 15,323, chiefly Roman Catholics. It has one Protestant and several Catholic churches, and a Protestant gymna- sium attended by about 500 students. The principal trade is in grain and timber; tobacco is manufactured. It was formerly the capital of a principality, which belonged to the house of Hapsburg from 1532 to 1742, when it was taken by the Prussians. From 1822 to 1834 it belonged with its castle (burned in 1858) and domains to the landgrave Victor Amadeus of Hesse-Rothenburg, and it is now held as a dukedom by Prince Victor of Hohenlohe-Wal- denburg-Schillingsfurst. RATISBON (Ger. Regensburg ; anc. Reginum; mediasval Lat. Ratisbona), a city of Bavaria, capital of the united district of the Upper Palatinate and Ratisbon, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite its junction with the Regen, 65 m. N. N. E. of Munich ; pop. in 1871, 29,224, including about 6,000 Protestants, the rest being chiefly Catholics. It is a city of great antiquity, having crooked streets and tall, quaint houses with gable roofs, and in- tervening lofty towers. The restoration of the cathedral, founded about 1275, was completed in 1875 ; it has a richly sculptured portal, and is one of the grandest Gothic structures in Ger- many. The abbey of Emmeran, dating from 652, and improved by Charlemagne, consists of a vast pile of buildings, including the half ruined church with the shrine of St. Emme- ran, the patron saint of the city; the cloisters have been embellished and enlarged by their present owner, Prince Thurn and Taxis. The Bischofshof, once the residence of German em- perors, and where Maximilian II. died, is now a brewery. The city has a town hall with interesting historical associations, an observa- tory, a lyceum, a gymnasium, an ecclesiastical seminary, an institution for the deaf and dumb, a public library, a well endowed hospital, and a fine promenade (Furstengarteri) at the rear of the Thurn and Taxis palace, with a monu- ment of Kepler, who is buried in the Protes- tant cemetery. The most celebrated building in the vicinity of Ratisbon is the Walhalla, the Bavarian pantheon, at Donaustauf ; it consists of a Doric marble temple after the model of the Parthenon of Athens, begun in 1816 by Klenze for the crown prince, afterward King Louis I., and opened in 1841. The Danube is spanned in Ratisbon by a stone bridge nearly 1,500 ft. long. The shipping trade chiefly con- sists of timber, grain, and salt, of which Ratis- bon is the principal depot. Gold, silver, steel, tin, and other wares are made, and there are many breweries and distilleries. Under the Romans Ratisbon was an important frontier fortress of Vindelicia. Subsequently it became a commercial centre, and in the 6th century the capital of Bavarian dukes. The important bishopric of Ratisbon was established in the 8th century. In the 12th century it was made a free imperial city. In 1633-'4 it was succes- sively taken by Maximilian of Bavaria, Bernard of Weimar, and the imperial troops. From 1663 to 1806 it was almost continually the seat of the German imperial diet. Under Charles Dalberg, elector of Mentz, the city and the see of Ratisbon formed together a principality from 1803 to 1810, when both were incorpo- rated with the kingdom of Bavaria.