Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 16.djvu/809

* RAT. 715 RATH. and chose to call it the 'Hanoverian rat.' It also received the name of 'Xorway rat,' from a belief that it was introduced from' Norway. The date of introduction into America is very doubtful, but the black or Alexandrine rat seems to have come first, and has been gradually driven west- ward by its large and more savage cousin. The brown rat is the larger and more powerful of the two, and has waged war against the other with such success as to cause its total, or almost total, disappearance from many districts where it was once abundant, yet in some places the black rat is still the more plentiful of the two. Both infest ships, and are thus conveyed to the most distant parts of the world, and both are 'm harf rats.' The black rat is nearly Tlo inches in length, exclusive of the long tail. The brown rat attains a length of more than 10 1^ inches. Besides its large size and comparative shortness of tail, it diflers from the black rat in its smaller ears and less acute muzzle, as well as in its lighter color and shorter hair. Both species are extremely prolific, breeding at a very early age, several times in a vear, and producing from 10 to 14 at a birth. Rats feed indiscriminately on almost any kind of animal or vegetable food ; they make depreda- tions in fields of grain and pulse, from which they often carry off large quantities to be stored in their holes, and thus have become a serious pest in the West Indian sugar plantations. They de- vour eggs: they kill poultry, partridges, and the like, and become a pest of ill-kept dwellings and . storehouses. Their strong rodent teeth enable them to gnaw very hard substances, such as wood and lead pipes, either for food or in order to make their way to food. They are creatures of Ai little intelligence, and many curious stories are told of the arts which they employ to attain desired objects, of the readiness with hich they detect the approach of danger, and the skill with which they avoid it. Under certain circumstances they undertake migrations in large companies. Their sense of smell is very acute, and the pro- fessional rat-catcher is very careful that the smell of his hands shall not be perceived on the trtip. They are capable of being tamed, and have in some instances proved interesting pets. The flesh of rats is seldom eaten. The skin is used for making a fine kind of glove-leather. During the prevalence of the bubonic plague in India, Australia, and Cape Colony, in the latter part of the nineteenth century, it was ascer- tained that there was a direct connection be- tween the prevalence of the disease and the abundance of rats, and it was shown that the rats were themselves liable to the plague, and myriads perished from it. Investigation showed that the fleas, with which rats are infested, are hosts for the plague germ, and that thus rats unwit- tingly served as an important means for spread- ing the disease. Measures were taken, in conse- quence, to kill them in the ports of India in large numbers. RATAFIA (Fr. ratafia, from Malay araq, from Ar. araq. arrack, from 'araqa, to sweat -- Malay tafia, spirits distilled from molasses, Eng. taffy). A cordial flavored with fruits or the kernels of fruits. The name is used generically to include several varieties of fruit liqueurs. Procope. the ancient master distiller of Paris, includes under this term liqueurs, or syrups as we Vol. XVI.— 46. should say, of cherries, strawberries, gooseber- ries, apricots, peaches, and other fruits. He it was who first proposed the pressure of the fruits without infusing them entire. Some years after- wards Breard, one of the chiefs of the fruitery of Louis XIV., gave these (white) liqueurs the name Hypoteques, to distinguish them from other ratafias. Consult Mew and Ashton, Drinks of the ^Vorld (Xew York, 1892). See Liqlelr. RATE (OF. rate, from ilL. rata, fem. sg. of Lat. ratus, fixed, settled, p.p. of reri, to think). In the United States Xavy the titles of petty officers are termed rates or ratings, which are synonymous with rank as applied to a commis- sioned or warrant officer. Ships of this nay are by law divided into classes called rates. Vessels of the first rate have a displacement tonnage in excess of 8000 tons; second rate, from 4000 to SOOO tons; third rate, from 1000 to 4000 tons; and fourth rate, of less than 1000 tons. Converted merchant vessels which are armed and equipped as cruisers are of the second rate if of over 6000 tons, and of the third rate if of over 1000 and less than 6000 tons. Auxiliary vessels such as colliers, supply vessels, repair ships, etc., if of over 4000 tons, are of the third rate. Auxiliary vessels of less than 4000 tons — except tugs, sail- ing ships, and receiving ships which are not rated — are of the fourth rate. Torpedo-boat destroyers, torpedo boats, and similar vessels are not rated. Ships of the first rate are commanded by captains; of the second rate, by captains or commanders; of the third rate, by eonmianders or lieutenant-commanders ; of the fourth rate, by lieutenant-connnanders or lieutenants. Ves- sels not rated are commanded by lieutenant- commanders, lieutenants, ensigns, or warrant of- ficers. RATE. The term applied to the taxes as- sessed and collected by local authorities in Eng- land. The objects subject to taxation being as- sessed, a 'rate' is fixed sufficient to bring in the needed income. The taxes being imposed by va- rious administrative bodies such as the counties, or poor law districts, we find frequent references to 'county rates,' 'poor rates,' etc. As the entire revenue of local bodies rests upon this basis, the term rate is frequently used by English writers as synonymous with direct taxation, other forms of taxation being designated customs, duties, im- posts, etc. The distinctions here noted are not in use in the practice of American communities or in the writings of American authors upon taxa- tion. • RATEL (Fr., diminutive of rat, rat), or HoEY B.^DGER. A badger-like animal of South Africa. See Badger. RATH, rat, Gerh.^rd vom (18.30-88). A Ger- man mineralogist, born at Duisburg and educated in Berlin. Bonn, and Geneva. In 1S63 he became professor of mineralogy at the University of Bonn, and a few years 'afterwards was made director of the Mineralogical JIuseum there. He made sci- entific researches in mineralogy, petrology, and especially the geology of the Rhine, Alps, and Italy. He published the results of his researches in Poggendorf's Annalen, in the Zeitschrift der deiitscheii (feologischen Gesellschaft. and in the Moniitsberichten of the Berlin .Academy, and in such publications of his own as Ein Ausfliig nach Kntabrien (1871), Durch Italien und Griechen-