576 



RICE-ROLLER. 



and red.~ The black is highly esteemed by the con- 

 fectioner ; and one of the best gooseberries is the 

 Warrington red. 



RICE is the Oryza saliva of Linnaeus, a tropical 

 aquatic cereal, extensively cultivated, and of the 

 greatest importance to the inhabitants of those warm 

 countries where it succeeds. 



RICHARDIA(Kunth). A genus of plants nearly 

 related to Dracantium, and formerly called Calla 

 cethiopica. It belongs to the natural order Aroidece, 

 and is a common plant in every greenhouse. 



RICINUS (Linnaeus). A genus of shrubs and 

 annual herbs, natives of the tropics. The flowers 

 are monoecious, and the genus belongs to Euphor- 

 biaceae. The R. communis is commonly called palmo- 

 christi, from the hand-like form of the leaves. It is 

 from the seeds of this plant the castor oil is expressed, 

 and for which the plant is cultivated in the West 

 Indies. In this country, the palmo-christi is treated as 

 a tender annual, and planted as an ornament in the 

 flower-border. 



RICINUS (De Geer; NIRMUS, Hermann). A 

 genus of bird-lice. See the article NIRMID.S. 



R1EDLEIA (Ventenat). A genus of tropical 

 undershrubs, formerly called Mclochia. The species 

 have monadelphous flowers, and belong to Byttner- 

 iacets. ' They grow freely in our stoves, and are 

 easily propagated by cuttings. 



RIPOGONUM (Forster). A genus of Austra- 

 lian climbers, bearing white flowers, and belong- 

 ing to the natural order SmilacecB. They are 

 greenhouse plants, and are propagated by division or 

 or by cuttings. 



ROBINIA (Linnaeus). A fine genus of trees and 

 shrubs, almost all natives of America. The flowers 

 are papilionaceous, and the genus is associated with 

 the LeguminoscE. The R. pseudacacia is an elegant 

 ornamental tree, producing very durable timber, and 

 is the celebrated locust-tree of the United States, 

 of which so much was written by the late Mr. Cobbett. 

 The R. hispida, R. rosea, and R. viscosa, are all fine 

 flowering plants. Most of the species ripen seeds 

 from which they are raised, or the more choice 

 sorts may be grafted on the common R. pseudacacia. 



ROCAMBOLE is the Allium ophioscorodon of 

 G. Don, a culinary species of onion, now but rarely 

 cultivated. A peculiarity of its manner of growth is 

 that of its seeds vegetating before they drop from 

 the capsule. Rocambole is in no respect superior to 

 the common onion. 



ROCKET. This is the vulgar name of a genus 

 belonging to CrucifercE, called, by Tournefort, Eruca 

 sativa. A majority of the species are cultivated in 

 various parts of the continent as greens, and the 

 double varieties are admitted into flower-gardens. 

 The Hesperis matronalis of Linnaeus, a favourite bor- 

 der flower, is also called Dame's Rocket. 



ROCK ROSE is the Cistus purpureus of Tourne- 

 fort. The genus Cistus contains many species, all 

 natives of Europe, and favourite plants in our shrub- 

 beries. 



ROELLA (LinnsBus). A genus of under-shrubs 

 and annuals, natives of the Cape of Good Hope. The 

 flowers are pentandrous and are arranged among the 

 CampanulacecB. The species are pretty, and easily 

 managed in the greenhouse. 



ROLLER (CoraciusGalgulus). A genus of coni- 

 rostral birds, in Cuvier's great order Passeres, 

 omnivorous in their feeding, as most of the conirostral 



family are, and arranged by Cuvier as intermediate 

 between the more coloured and woodland members 

 of the ocean tribe, and the birds of paradise. They 

 are generally speaking handsome in their forms, and 

 gay in their plunwge, generally with more or less of 

 metallic lustre. But they have a suspicious and 

 magpye-like look, which almost convinces us that 

 they cannot be altogether honest. Yet, notwith- 

 standing this, the purity and the brightness of their 

 colours entitle them to rank among the most beauti- 

 ful of birds. They have, however, little to recom- 

 mend them but the beauty of their colours ; for their 

 voices are harsh and disagreeable, and their manners 

 are gloomy rather than lively. 



They are all natives of the eastern continent, 

 where they inhabit the depths of the forests, so that 

 little opportunity of studying their manners can be 

 obtained. They probably can subsist upon farina- 

 ceous or pulpy vegetable matters ; but these are 

 understood to form but a small portion of their food, 

 and that only occasionally. Their principal food 

 consists of worms, mollusca, and other small animals ; 

 and the living subject, and dead bodies in a state of 

 carrion, are nearly the same to them. It is also 

 probable, that they eat the eggs of other birds ; but 

 the fact as to this has not been clearly brought home 

 to them in a sufficient number of instances, for 

 enabling us to say that it is a general habit. 



The generic characters are : the bill of mean length, 

 higher than broad, straight in the greater part of 

 the length, covered at the tip of the upper mandible, 

 and with the tomia, or margins of both mandible?, 

 sharp, hard, and adapted for cutting. The nostrils 

 are basal and lateral, half covered by a membrane 

 furnished with stiff bristles, like feathers. The tarsus 

 shorter than the middle front toe ; the toes four, three 

 to the front and one to the rear, all completely free 

 to their articulations, so that the foot is either a 

 walking foot, or a hopping one, aided by the wings, 

 as the particular action which the bird has to perform 

 may require. The wings are rather pointed, the 

 first quill is shorter than the second, which is the 

 largest in the wing. The tail is generally speaking 

 long, capable of spreading, and composed of firm 

 feathers. The whole plumage indeed is firm and 

 compact, and not liable to be injured by the motions 

 of the bird among the thick branches in the woods. 

 There are a good many species in the genus ; but 

 they have been increased much beyond the proper 

 number, by including tarragons, pyes, and other birds, 

 some of which do not belong to the same family, in 

 the natural arrangement. 



EUROPEAN ROLLER (C. garrula). Though this bird 

 is called European, and appears in the south and east 

 parts in considerable numbers, it is doubtful whether 

 it is permanent for the year in any part of Europe. 

 They appear to be summer migrants from Africa; for 

 they appear in considerable numbers in Malta in the 

 spring on their passage northward, and again in au- 

 tumn on their way southward. They of course 

 breed in those parts of Europe which they frequent ; 

 and thus they are natives, although they do not con- 

 tinue all the year round. They occasionally, but 

 very rarely, make their appearance in Britain, though 

 only as single individuals, which appear to have 

 trayed out of the line of their ordinary migration. 

 But still they keep so much in the cover of the thick 

 woods, that a stray bird may occasionally breed in 

 Britain without being observed. On the continent 



