KNOWLE 



AND 



STORY 

 PICTURE 



Rr 



R is the eighteenth letter of the English alpha- 

 bet. The Phoenician letter from which it is de- 

 rived was called resh, which means head; in form 

 it probably originally represented a head in profile. 

 It was more like a P than an R, but was turned 

 around with the projection to the left, and this 



upper part was angular instead of curved. The Greeks adopted the letter and made it 

 precisely like a modern capital P, but the Romans added the extra line to distinguish it 

 from the P, which with them assumed its present form. 



In sound r has always been practically what it is in English. It is a consonant, but has 

 much of the character of a vowel and is therefore classed with the semivowels. It closely 

 resembles /, from which some peoples find it impossible to distinguish it; and the two have 

 been frequently interchanged in the history of words. Theoretically, r is pronounced with 

 a slight trilling sound; in reality, it is rarely so used in English. Ma\iy persons never pro- 

 nounce an r unless it is followed by a vowel, sounding jar almost as if it were spelled jah; 

 but it always serves to modify somewhat the vowel sound which precedes it. 



RABBI, rob' eye, a name of respect which 

 the Jews applied to a doctor or teacher of the 

 law. Another form of the word, and one de- 

 noting even greater respect, was rabbom. 

 Neither of the words was used in Old Testa- 

 ment times, but they seem to have been in 

 very general use at the time of Christ, for His 

 disciples often addressed Him by one of the 

 two terms. In John I, 38, the word rabbi is 

 translated master. Rabbi is now the title of 

 the minister or preacher in a Jewish synagogue. 



RABBIT, rab' it, an interesting representa- 

 tive of the rodent group (the gnawing animals). 

 The wild rabbit 



is a native of Eu- 

 rope, but domes- 

 ticated species are 

 found in most 

 parts of the world. 

 Rabbits belong to 

 the same family 

 as the hare, and 

 in America the 



THE RABBIT 



two names are often used interchangeably (see 

 HARE). The "jack rabbit" has no right to its 

 name, as it is a hare. 



Rabbits differ from hares in appearance, 

 in that they are smaller and have shorter 

 ears and legs; they differ in habits, in being 

 less fleet, in living in colonies in underground 

 burrows, called warrens, and in giving birth 

 to blind, almost hairless young. Like hares, 

 they multiply rapidly, breeding several times 

 a year. They begin breeding at the age of 

 six months, and produce five to eight young 

 at a birth. Tender grass, clover, lettuce, cab- 

 bage and bark of young trees are favorite foods. 

 Great damage is often wrought by hungry rab- 

 bits, and in Australia and New Zealand they 

 have increased so rapidly as to become pests. 

 There the farmers protect their crops with 

 specially-made wire fences. The favorite 

 haunts of the rabbit are hillsides and sandy 

 heaths. It is well protected by its keen scent 

 and hearing. 



Native rabbit fur is soft and fine, and of a 

 nearly uniform brown color which turns white 

 in winter. In its white state it is used in imi- 

 tation of ermine and chinchilla. The skin, 

 cleared of hair, is used with other skins to 

 make glue and size. Rabbit flesh, cooked in 

 stews or fried, is a palatable food. 



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