

RmJBARB RICASOLI. 



August. 'I -. though ordinarily rose-colored, 



in-tiiiir.- pure white. and always oeeur at tin- ex 

 tremitics nt' tin- branches in beautiful groups which 

 derive an added charm from the luxuriant foliage 

 which surrounds them. Tin' seeds are exceedingly 

 iiiinuto. and arc contained in ra|>sulcs which o|>rn in 

 niitunin lor their escape. This species occurs sparingly 

 from Loin: Island niirthward along the Huds4in to the 

 Highland-. but is rarely found as far north as Ma.-.-u 

 ehnsctts. It is very common in the mountain difttriota 

 lit' the Middle and Southern States, particularly those 

 of Georgia and the Carolinas, and is found almost ex- 

 clusively on the borders of streams, growing so abun- 

 dantly on the sides of the mountain torrents of the Al 

 lies as sometimes to form impenetrahle thiekets. 

 It prefers deeply shaded situations, near cool waters. 

 where the atmosphere is full of moisture. The wood 

 i~ li:<rd. compart, and fine-grained, but too small to be 

 of much use in the arts, and the almost entire use of 

 the Rhododendron is as an ornamental plant. A 

 variety of the species, K. m. piirptirfiim. the purple- 

 flowered rosebay tree, a native of Virginia and the 

 Carolina.", bears large purple flowers, and grows to a 

 height of 25 11. , with a stem occasionally as much as 

 18 ins. diameter. 



A second important American species, R. C<il<nr- 

 bientf, is a shrub from 3 to 6 ft. high, its flowers broadly 

 bell-shaped, and of lilac-purple hue. It is found on 

 the higher Alleghenies from Virginia to Georgia. Of 

 species of less importance may be nauied R. Lftpponi- 

 ' in. the Lapland Rhododendron, a dwarf species be- 

 longing to the Arctic flora of both continents ; R. 

 jmnctittum, a small species with rose-colored flowers, 

 on the mountains of North Carolina and .southward ; 

 and R. albiflorum, a Rocky Mountain species, with 

 drooping, cream-colored flowers. R. CUybrmfewN is 

 a plant of moderate size with very showy rose-colored 

 flowers. 



The Rhododendrons have for many years been cul- 

 tivated as garden flowers, particularly in England anil 

 Europe, very many highly beautiful varieties having 

 been produced. No other shrubs equal them for 

 beauty of form and foliage and profusion and variety 

 of flowers, while they are very manageable and not 

 easily injured. Their cultivation in this country is 

 rapidly on the increase, the principal incentive to.it 

 hiving been a magnificent English display made at the 

 Philadelphia .Centennial Exhibition. R. I'lintirinn. an 

 Asiatic species, is the basis of most of the Cultivated 

 varieties, but it and other delicate Eastern species 

 have been largely hybridized with the hardy R. Cataio- 

 biaue, greatly to their improvement in beauty and 

 vigor. From this hybridization has arisen most of the 

 fine ornamental forms now so extensively cultivated. 

 R. Maximum has proved less adapted to the produc- 

 tion of useful hybrids. 



The leaves of some species of Rhododendron are 

 said to be poisonous to cattle, yet they have been used 

 in moderate doses as remedies for rheumatism. This 

 poisonous quality is said to pertain to the nectar of 

 the flowers of R l'inti<-nm. In India the natives 

 eat the flowers of R. arboreum, and the English pre- 

 pare a conserve from them. The leaves of A'. <V;HI^;;I- 

 iilniiim are rjowdcred and used as snuff by the natives. 

 Some American Indians are said to employ the dust 

 which adheres to the petioles of Kalmias and lUiodo- 

 dendrons for a similar purpose. (<'. M.) 



KHCBARH. The riM>t and leafstalk of several 

 V TT ".E ec ' e8 ^ ^c K cnus Rh f um, order 

 J nkfffonaeea. the root being used as a 

 valuable medicine, and the leaf stalk 

 as an article of food. All the sp- 

 of Rhntm have purgative and astringent properties, 

 this being particularly the ease with the roots. It is 

 not certain which species yield the commercial 

 rhubarb, as they grow in regions ol'Thibet or \\ 

 China which have not been explored by naturalists. 

 It has been known as a drug from a remote period. 



too / 

 Am Hep ) ' 



[being long brought to the ports of the Levant, and 

 thence shipped, whence the name of Turki.-h Kliu- 

 harh was given to the beat qi alities. It is now shipp, d 

 directly from China. lihuharh has a peculiar smell, 

 and a disagreeable, hitter, astringent taste. In small 

 doses it acts as a stomach-hitter, hut in large ones as 

 :m active purgative. Numerous pharmaceutical prepa- 

 rations of it are in use. 



nil species, including R. RkaptmHatm, R. 

 Tartarian!, R. uniiulntiim, and others, all of Asiatic- 

 origin, are now largely cultivated for culinary purposes, 

 tlieir acidulous leafstalks and unexpandcd BowW mass 

 being largely used under the common name- of 1'ie 

 Plant. These stalks are from 1 to :! It. Inn.' and - io 3 

 ins in diameter in their widest part, of a pale green color 

 often tinged with red, and are very siie.-uient. with a 

 !>lra-antly acid taste. They arc' used us a Mih.-titute for 

 fruit in pies, tarts, etc., while the expressed iuice 

 forms a palatable wine. Rhubarb has Men n- 

 this purpose only since 1800. It is now largely raised 

 by market gardeners, the annual crop being very con- 

 siderable. It succeeds best in deep and somewhat re- 

 tentive soil, the richer its condition and the deeper 

 worked the better. It may be propagated by seeds 

 or by division of the roots, the latter being the usual 

 metnod. It is not usually plucked till the third year, 

 but a plantation not too greatly cut will bear from ten 

 to fifteen years. _ It lends itself well to the forcing 

 process, and this is practised extensively by gardeners 

 for earlv supply of the market. \t. ) 



RIBBECK. JOHANN KARL OTTO, a German phi- 

 lologist, was born July 23, 1827, at Erfurt, lie was 

 educated at Breslau, Berlin, and Bonn, enjoying at 

 the last the instruction of F. W. Ritschl, with whom 

 he held a life-long intimacy. In 1852 he visited 

 Italy and was afterwards engaged in teaching at Berlin 

 and Elberfcld. In 1856 he was made professor extra- 

 ordinary in the University of Berne, and in 1859 was 

 advanced to a full professorship, with the direction of 

 a philological seminary which he had himself founded. 

 2 he was made professor in the University at 

 Kiel, in 1S72 at Heidelberg, and in 1S77 succeeded 

 Ritschl at Leipsic. Ribbeck's chief works are 

 Scenicce. Rmnnnoruni por.iis r'rnrjnirntit (2 vols. , 1852- 

 53); DieRomixrlif Trr;od!ciii^ Zritnltfr <lrs RrpuMik 



SI875) ; his critical edition of Virgil with its Aju 

 5 vols., 185SM58), his labors on Juvenal and Horace, 

 le also published a memoir of his friend Hitachi (2 

 vols.. 1S7U-SI). 



RLCASOLI, BARON BETTINO (1809-1880), an Ital- 

 ian statesman, was born at Florence, March 9, 1809. 

 In March. IS47, with some companions he addressed 

 two memorials to the Tuscan government demand- 

 ing a constitution and a free press. During the 

 revolution following, Ricasoli established La I'ntrin. 

 He was then chosen gonfaJoniere or mayor of Mnr 

 ence, and in the next year entered the Tuscan Par- 

 liament. After the battle of Novara he favored 

 the recall of the Grand _Duke in the hope of effectual 

 resistance to the Austrian domination. But he was 

 disappointed, and soon abandoning political activity 

 In- devoted his energy to the improvement of a newly 

 purchased estate in the Maremna. He was induced 

 some years later to place himself at the head of the 

 National party, and was the chief founder of the 

 li;i,i;,,t,r:i craft <!!/' Itiiliiiiin. Ill 1859 the Grand 

 hiike fled and Kieasoli, who was minister of the in- 

 terior in the provisional government, contributed es- 

 sentially to effect the union with Sardinia, which was 

 formally declared March 22, 1800. He was then ap- 

 pointed governor-general of_ Tuscany and was also 

 to the enlarged Sardinian Parliament and to 

 the first Italian Parliament, which met in February. 

 1801. After the death of Cavour in June he formed 

 a new ministry, taking for himself the department of 

 foreign affairs. Though he was faithful to Cavour' s 

 policy he could not command his followers and in 

 March, 1862, he retired. He was still the represent*- 



