RATIONS 



6498 



RATNAGIRI 



Ratisbon, Bavaria. West front of the 13th century cathedral 



a system of distribution was set 

 up for this purpose with a clearing 

 house in London. 



Meat supplied from local mar- 

 kets, as well as from imported 

 supplies, presented a very difficult 

 problem. Eventually the country 

 was divided into areas, each cover- 

 ing a group of counties, rationed 

 according to home-killed supplies 

 and population. Deficiencies were 

 supplied by authorised wholesalers, 

 and surpluses in the meat-produc- 

 ing counties transferred to indus- 

 trial centres. Local divisions in an 

 area were again rationed, and the 

 butchers formed local committees 

 to apportion the meat allotted to 

 their town or district. Rationing 

 in this case involved an extremely 

 complex and a complete reorganiz- 

 ation of the trade, including official 

 supervision of markets and of 

 slaughter-houses. Rationing, on the 

 whole, made for equality and con- 

 tentment. See Food Control. 



Rations. Term employed to 

 designate the official food supply 

 for the personnel of the army. The 

 main ration in the British army 

 consists of the following daily 

 quantities per man : 1J Ib. of 



fresh or 1 Ib. of preserved or salt 

 meat, 1 J Ib. of bread or 1 Ib. of bis- 

 cuit or flour, -J Ib. of fresh vege- 

 tables or J Ib. of preserved fruit, 

 J Ib. jam, 2 oz. sugar, f oz. tea and 

 various condiments. Alternative 

 diets are stipulated in the case of 

 troops serving in India, or coun- 

 tries where the climatic conditions 

 make it desirable for different 

 foods to be supplied. At the dis- 

 cretion of the general officer in 

 command, troops on active service 

 may also be supplied with a rum 

 ration of gill per man per day and 

 2 oz. of tobacco per man per week. 

 In, addition to this normal supply 

 every man in the field is provided 

 with an iron ration. 

 , In the navy rations are termed 

 " victuals," and are on a similar 

 scale to those for the army. The 

 larger ships are provided with 

 suitable storage for fresh meat 

 and vegetables for long cruises. See 

 Field Kitchen ; Food ; Iron 

 Ration ; Victualling. ,\ 



Ratisbon OR REGENSBURO. City 

 of Bavaria, Germany. It stands at 

 the junction of the Danube and the 

 Regen, 85 m. from Munich. A 

 river port, it is connected with the 



Main by the Ludwig Canal, and is 

 the capital of the Upper Pala- 

 tinate. The chief building is the 

 cathedral, largely a 13th century 

 edifice, but with chapels of earlier 

 date and towers completed in the 

 19th century. It contains some 

 fine works of art. Other churches 

 are those of S. James and S. 

 Ulrich. The church, which has a 

 detached belfry, and the cloisters 

 remain of the abbey of S. Emmeran. 

 There is a town hall dating from the 

 14th century, a number of fine old 

 houses, including the Golden Cross 

 Inn, in the crooked streets, and, 

 more modern, a palace built by 

 the king of Bavaria, a public 

 library, and a picture gallery. 



The industries include a trade 

 along the river and the manufac- 

 ture of iron and steel goods, pot- 

 tery, etc. The town proper is on 

 the right bank of the Danube, but 

 there is a suburb on the left bank ; 

 a medieval bridge connects the 

 two. Owing to its position, Ratis- 

 bon was an important Roman 

 settlement and later a Frankish 

 centre, being the capital of Louis 

 the German. An abbey was 

 founded here and it was made a 

 bishopric. In the 13th century it 

 became a free city and was soon 

 one of the richest trading cities in 

 Germany. The emperors held 

 several diets here, and in 1663 it 

 was made the regular meeting 

 place of the diet. Pop. 53,000. 



Ratitae OR CURSORES (Lat. ratis, 

 raft ; currere, to run). Division of 

 the zoological class Aves. It in- 

 cludes a number of flightless birds, 

 such as the ostrich, rhea, emu, 

 cassowary, and apteryx. These all 

 lack the keel on the breast-bone 

 to which the flight muscles are 

 attached in the flying birds. 



Ratlam. Native state and town 

 of Central India. The state is ad- 

 jacent to Rajputana in the plateau 

 division of the agency, and is 

 drained by the Mahi river. Its area 

 is 643 sq. m. Pop. 75,000. The 

 town is a noted opium market, 

 48 m. W.N.W. of Ujjain, and is a 

 rly. junction for Baroda, Indore, 

 Agra, and Ajmer. Pop. 28,000. 



Ratnagiri. Dist. and town of 

 India, in the southern div., Bom- 

 bay Province. The dist. lies along 

 the Arabian Sea, and is comprised 

 mainly of the scarp slopes of the W. 

 Ghats. It is without rlys., but is 

 traversed by a N.-S. road. The 

 annual rainfall is 97 ins. Rice is the 

 chief crop. The town is on the 

 coast, almost midway between Goa 

 and Bombay city, and has a very 

 exposed harbour. Sardine fish- 

 ing is carried on during the early 

 months of the year. Area, 3,989 

 sq. m. Pop., dist., 1,204,000; 

 town, 15,900. 



