RAMIE 



Ramie fibres, from which incan- 

 descent gas mantles are made 



Motnijled about 10 limes 



Ramie. Bast fibre of a stingless 

 nettle, the Bochmeria tenacissima 

 or B. nivea, also known as rhea and 

 China grass. The latter name is 

 given to fibre hand-cleaned from 

 the bark in China, and fine native 

 cloth hand-made from long unspun 

 fibres thus derived is sold as grass 

 cloth. The fibre comes to Europe 

 from China, Malaya, and India in 

 the form of dried ribbons with the 

 bark adherent, stripped from the 

 stem and containing a strong in- 

 soluble gum or resin. This last 

 having been decomposed, ramie 

 can be carded or combed and spun 

 upon worsted or flax machinery. 

 The yarn has great tensile strength, 

 but is so brittle as to snap easily at 

 a knot. The fibre is heavy but 

 very inflammable, does not con- 

 tract when wetted, and is short of 

 elasticity. Almost all incandescent 

 gas mantles are made from ramie, 

 as the ash of the fabric does not 

 shrink like cotton upon burning. 

 An artificial straw for hats is made 

 by agglutinating parallel fibres into 

 a ribbon. The fibre is extensively 

 used in the making of cordage, nets, 

 and in paper for banknotes. 



Ramillies, BATTLE OF. British 

 and Dutch victory over the French, 

 May 23, 1706. The War of the 

 Spanish Succession was raging, 

 and, prevented by the Dutch from 

 marching into Italy, Marlborough 

 turned against the French, who 

 had one army under Villeroi on 

 the borders of the Netherlands, 

 and behind it another under Marsin. 

 These proposed to unite, but, be- 

 fore they had done so, Marlborough, 

 having divined the plan, reached 

 Ramillies, 12 m. N. of Namur, 

 and offered battle. Villeroi did 

 not wait for Marsin's main army. 



The French army was arranged 

 with the artillery in the centre, 

 where was Ramillies, protected by 

 infantry with cavalry on the wings. 

 Marshy ground was on their left, 

 where flowed the Little Gheet river, 

 while their right was protected by 

 two small villages which they held. 



6482 



They were faced by the English 

 and Dutch, infantry in the centre 

 and cavalry on the flanks. The en- 

 counter opened with an attack by 

 the English and Dutch on the 

 French left, the troops wading 

 rather than marching to the as- 

 sault. Ramillies itself was also 

 assailed, but in vain, and the reply 

 was the rout of some Dutch cavalry. 

 Further encounters between the 

 horsemen, a contingent of Danes 

 being on the English side, ended 

 in the discomfiture of the French. 



Meanwhile Marlborough had 

 made movements that decided the 

 day. Having assaulted Franquenay 

 the Dutch infantry stormed Taviers, 

 the other village held by the 

 French, but the decisive stroke 

 was effected when the English 

 centre was strengthened. Charging 

 forward, the infantry there broke 

 through the French line about 

 Ramillies. The Dutch had turned 

 the right, so the enemy broke and 

 fled. Nearly all the French artil- 

 lery was captured, and they lost 

 about 15,000 in killed, wounded, 

 and prisoners. The losses of Eng- 

 lish and Dutch were under 4.000. 



Ramleh. Town of Palestine. It 

 is 22 m. W.N.W. of Jerusalem, and 

 is situated on the main road from 

 Jerusalem to Jaffa, with a branch 

 to Ludd, and on the rly. from 

 Jerusalem to Ludd and Jaffa. The 

 chief mosque was originally a 

 church built by the Crusaders. 

 It was occupied by the British, 

 Nov., 1917. Pop. 7,000. 



Ramnad. Dist. and town of 

 Madras Presidency, India. The 

 dist. lies inland from Palk Bay and 

 the Gulf of Manaar, and is drained 

 by the Vaigai river, alongside 

 which runs the rly. from Madura to 

 Rameswaram Island. The chief 

 crops are rice, native food grains, 

 pulses, and cotton. The town 

 contains the palace of the raja of 

 Ramnad, who bears the title of Lord 

 of the Bridge, i.e. Adam's Bridge. 

 Area, 4,834 sq. m. Pop., dist , 

 1,658,000 , town, 16,500. 



Ramnagar. Town of the United 

 Provinces, India, in Benares dist. 

 It is situated on the right bank of 

 the Ganges, almost opposite Ben- 

 ares. It contains the palace of the 

 maharaja of Benares. Pop. 1 1,600 



Ramnicul-Sarat OR RIMNIK 

 SARAT. Town of Rumania. It is 

 on the Ramnicu river, 65 m. N.E. 

 of Bukarest, on the main rly. from 

 the capital, through Buzeu to 

 Czernowitz (Cernauti). The town 

 is the headquarters of a dist. of the 

 same name, and is the seat of a 

 bishop. In 1789 Russian forces 

 defeated the Turks here. The 

 battle fought here, Dec., 1916, 

 between the Rumanians and 

 Russians and the Germans, is 



RAMPION 



now usually known as Rimnio or 

 Rimnik Sarat (q.v.). Pop. 13,000. 

 Ramon y Cajal. SANTIAGO (b. 

 1852). Spanish scientist. Gradu- 

 ating from Saragossa in 1873, 

 eight years later he became pro- 

 fessor of anatomy at Valencia, and 

 in 1886 professor of histology at 

 Barcelona. Transferring thence to 

 Madrid in 1892, he earned a world- 

 wide reputation by his researches, 

 receiving half the Nobel prize for 

 medicine in 1906. He wrote ex- 

 tensively in French and Spanish. 



Ramoth-Gilead. Name sig- 

 nifying the heights of Gilead (q.v.), 

 where Ahab was slain ; also of 

 one of the cities of refuge (q.v.). 



Rampant. In heraldry, a four- 

 footed beast or monster, repre- 

 sented as standing on its hind legs, 

 pawing the air, 

 and with jaws 

 open. It is then 

 said to.be ram- 

 pant. But a 

 horse in this 

 position is often 

 described as/or- 



cene, or efrene, 

 Rampant m heraldry fche noa ( rijs 



being dilated, and the eyes of a 

 different tincture from that of the 

 body, and so said to be anime. 

 See Heraldry. 



Rampart. Wall of defence used 

 either in permanent or in field forti- 

 fication. Ancient and medieval 

 forts had a wall of masonry strong 

 enough to resist a battering ram 

 for a long time, and broad enough 

 to form a platform for the defend- 

 ers, from which they could dis- 

 charge their missiles. In field 

 works a rampart is usually a bank 

 of earth, sometimes supported by 

 masonry, and protected in modern 

 warfare by sandbags. See Castle : 

 Fortification ; Givet. 



Rampion (Campanula rapun- 

 culus). Perennial herb of the 

 natural order Campanulaceae It 



Rampion. Lett, flower spray; right 

 root and leaves 



is a native of Europe, W. Siberia, 

 and N. Africa. It has a thick, 

 fleshy root. The lower leaves are 



