RING SNAKE 



RIO DE JANEIRO 



throughout the mountainous re- 

 gions of Central Europe and Scan- 

 dinavia. See Bird ; Thrush. 



Ring Snake. Alternative name 

 for the common grass snake (q.v. ). 



Ringwood. Market town of 

 Hampshire, England. It stands 

 on the Avon, 24 m. from South- 

 ampton and 103 m. from London, 

 with a station on the L. & S.W. 

 Rly. At the end of the New 

 Forest, it is a tourist centre and is 

 noted for its ale. There are a few 

 manufactures, especially woollen 

 gloves. The chief building is the 

 church of SS. Peter and Paul, 

 largely rebuilt in the 19th century. 

 There is a town hall and a corn ex- 

 change. Ringwood is said to^have 

 been founded by the Romans as a 

 military post. Market day, Wed. 

 Pop. 5*000. 



Ringworm OK TINEA. Affection 

 of the skin due to the growth of a 

 fungus, several forms of which are 

 recognized. The common ring- 

 worm of Great Britain is most often 

 seen in children between the ages of 

 5 and 15. It occurs most frequently 

 on the scalp, starting as a small, 

 scaly spot, which gradually en- 

 larges and becomes almost denuded 

 of hair. The disease may last for 

 years if not treated. Various 

 ointments may be applied, but by 

 far the best treatment is the skilled 

 application of X-rays. Ringworm 

 is contagious, and children suffering 

 from it should be separated from 

 other children. 



Rink. Place where races are run 

 or games played, a variant of 

 ring. It has chiefly come to be used 

 for an artificially prepared sheet of 

 ice, where skating can be carried 

 on under cover. It refers also to a 

 floor of wood or asphalt whereon 

 roller skating is practised, and to 

 the building itself. In curling, the 

 rink is the stretch of ice marked 

 out for the game. See Curling ; 

 Roller Skating ; Skating. 



Rinuccini, GIOVANNI BATTISTA 

 (1592-1653). Italian prelate. 

 Born in Rome, Sept. 15, 1592, after 

 a course of universal study he 

 entered the Church, and being of 

 good family soon obtained pro- 

 motion. Gregory XV made him 

 his chamberlain, and in 1625 he 

 was elected archbishop of Fermo. 

 In 1645 Pope Innocent X sent him 

 to Ireland, where he was soon 

 mixed up in the intrigues of the 

 Civil War. Ormonde, the royalist 

 leader there, signed a treaty with 

 the English parliamentarians, but, 

 influenced by Rinuccini, many of 

 the Roman Catholics refused to 

 accept it, and warfare continued. 

 The plans of the papal envoy, how- 

 ever, did not work out well, and in 

 1649 he returned to Italy. He died 

 Dec. 5, 1653. 



Ringwood, Hants. Market Place and Town Hal 



Riobamba OR BOLIVAR. City of 

 Ecxiador, capital of the prov. of 

 Chimborazo. It stands near the 

 Riobamba river, 85 m. E.N.E. of 

 Guayaquil on the rly. between 

 that town and Quito. Situated 

 near the extinct volcano Chim- 

 borazo, at an alt. of 9,100 ft., it has 

 a ruined Inca palace, a cathedral, 

 a seminary, and national college. 

 One of the most ancient and his- 

 toric towns of the republic, it was 

 destroyed by an earthquake in 

 1797, and was entirely rebuilt on a 

 new site 3 m. away. Pop. 18,000. 



Rio Cuarto. Town of Argen- 

 tina, in the prov. of Cordoba. It 

 stands on the Rio Cuarto, on the 

 Trans- Andean Rly., 360m. W.N.W. 

 of Buenos Aires. A garrison town, 

 it has an arsenal, and is of military 

 importance. The centre of a fruit- 

 growing region, it is a market also 

 for the stock reared in the district. 

 Pop. 30,000. 



Rio de Janeiro. State of Brazil, 

 bounded on the S. and E. by the 

 Atlantic Ocean. Mountainous in 

 the interior, the surface slopes to- 

 wards the coast. The Serra do Mar 

 and the Organ Mts. are the domin- 

 ating ranges. The state is watered 

 by the Parahyba and smaller rivers, 

 and is served by several rlys. On 

 the coast the heat is oppressive, 

 and malarial fevers prevail. The 

 chief products are coffee, sugar, 

 cacao, rice, maize, fruit, manganese, 

 and indigo. The forests of the in- 

 terior yield valuable wood. Since 

 the Great War 

 numerous fac- 

 tories have sprung 

 up. The capital 

 is Nictheroy. 

 Area 49,560 sq. m. 

 Pop. 1,446,000. 



Rio de Janeiro 

 (Sao Sebastiao do 

 Rio de Janeiro). 

 Federal capital of 

 the United States 

 of Brazil. It lies 

 on the W. shore 

 just ' inside the 

 entrance of the 

 bay of Guanabara 



(commonly 

 known as the bay 

 of Rio de Janeiro ). 

 The name com- 

 memorates its 

 discovery on 

 Jan. 1, 1502. 

 There is, however, 

 no river of that 

 name, the bay 

 being a wide 

 lagoon fed by 

 small streams 

 from the sur- 

 rounding moun- 

 tains. At its 

 entrance, which 



is overshadowed by the famous 

 Sugar Loaf Mt., the channel is less 

 than a mile wide ; but at its widest 

 points the bay is 20-30 m. across. 

 The whole forms one of the finest 

 natural harbours in the world and 

 is an important port of call. 



The second city in importance 

 and population of S. America, 

 ranking next to Buenos Aires, it is 

 situated in the S.E. corner of the 

 Federal District, which has an 

 area of 431 sq. m. The old city, 

 which is now the business centre, 

 lies between the spurs of the sur- 

 rounding mountains. It was for- 

 merly very insanitary, but drain- 

 age improvements have made it 

 at least as healthy as most S. 

 American capitals. About 1905, 

 when Dr. Passos was prefect of the 

 Federal District, sweeping im- 

 provements were made in the con- 

 struction of the city. Numbers of 

 the small, narrow streets were 

 pulled down, and in their place 

 wide avenidas were constructed. 

 Notable among these was the 

 Avenida Central, now known as 

 the Avenida Rio Branco (renamed 

 after the famous minister for 

 foreign affairs), which is now the 

 main artery of the city. This 

 avenida, which is lined with 

 splendid modern buildings, is con- 

 tinued along the shore of the bay, 

 past the residential suburbs of 

 Botafogo and Gloria, by the 

 Avenida Beira Mar, which is con- 

 structed with a sea-wall of granite 



Bio de Janeiro. Map ot the environs of the city, 

 showing the area administered as the Federal District 



