Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/501

473&#93; HAS kiT other receptacles for stall-fed tattle. ■ Rash-bekkies. SeeGreatEiL- BEKKY. RASPBERRY, the Common, BfwVmble, Feamboise Hind- Berry, orRASPis ; Riibus Idaeus, L. .an indigenous plant growing in damp woods and hedges ; in t: ickets, and gravelly places near rivulets : it flowers in die months of May and June. — The fruit of this shrub, in a natural state, is fragrant., sub-acid, cooling, and ver)' grateful : when used as an ingredient in sweet- meats, or fer- mented v.ith sugar, and converted into wine, or vinegar, its flavour is greatly improved. — The white berries are sweeter tlian the red, but they are generally n:iore conta- minated by insects. — When eaten in any quantity, and occasionally held in the moutli, this fruit is said to dissolve tartarous concre- tions formed on the teeth ; though, for such purpose, it is supposed to be inferior to Straivl-erries. — The young and fresh leaves of tlie Com- mon Raspberry ai^e eagerly eaten by kids. By cultivating this shrub for espaliers, the size and flavour of its fruit is suscepuble of great im- provement, Bechstein, there- fore, prefers the rearing of it from seed, which affords nner berries than may be obtained, either by setting divided roots, or cuttings. With such intention, we can, from experience, state the following exotic species, as being eminently adapted to the purpose : 1. TiheRul-us occidentalls, L. or Virginian Raspberry-bush, with a prickl)'^ stem : its fruit is white, black, sometimes dark-red, nn- commonly delicious, but smaller than that of the indigenous spe- RAT [473 cies : it thrives in the open air of our climate. 2. The Rul'us odoratus, L. or Sweet-scented Raspberry, with a plain stalk, bearing many rose- coloured flowers, and numerous palmated leaves. It attains the height of eight feet, and forms a spreading shrub, wiih close foliage. Its bright-red berries are of a pecu- liar flat shape, and have an agreea- ble sub- acid, vinous ta.':Le. 3. The Rubus arciicus, or Northern Raspberry, a native of the damp regions of Sweden, Rus- sia, and Canada. The beiTy of this remarkable shrub is dark-red : it excels in taste and flavour all the indigenous fruit of Europe. From its rich, saccharine juice, the na- tives of those countries prepare a most delicious wine: the berries are also preserved in sugar, or dried, and in that state exported to distant climates. RAT, or Mus, L. a genus of quadrupeds, comprising 00 spe- cies, of which the following are the principal : 1. The decumanus. Brown or Water Rat, which is a native of the East Indies ; whence it has, within the last century, been intro- duced into Europe by the ships re- turning from that countr)^ The head and body are about nine inches in length, the upper parts being of a light-brown cast, inter- mixed with a tawny or ash-colour : its naked scaly tail consists of 200 rings, and measures from seven to eight inches in length. Water-rats inhabit holes which they burrow near the banks of rivers "and pools, and which are provided witt) two apertures ; one being above ground among the grass, while the other is concealed be- neatli the surface of the water. As thej