papular 20tctt0nar of &m'mat?)r 



579 



timorous, seeking for safety in lofty flight, 

 the moment they see you approach. They 

 become quite silent towards the last week 

 in October, and their notes are reduced to 

 half their number for some days before they 

 cease to coo entirely. At this period they 

 discontinue those graceful risings and sink- 

 ings in the air, in which they appear to so 

 much advantage during the whole of the 

 breeding season. * * * As yet, all attempts 

 to reclaim this Pigeon have been of no avail. 

 I should suppose it is not in the power of 

 man to make it breed within the walls of a 

 dovecot." 



RINGLET [BUTTERFLY]. A name 

 given by collectors to the species Hipparchia 

 Hyperanthus. 



RIVULET [MOTHS]. A name given by 

 collectors to species of Moths of the genus 

 Emmdesia. 



ROACH. (Cypi'imis rutilus.) This fish 

 inhabits deep, still, and clear rivers ; is con- 

 sidered coarse rather than delicate ; and in 

 general weighs from about a pound to a 

 pound and a half, though it is occasionally 

 larger. In shape it is deep, but rather thin ; 

 the back much arched ; the scales large and 



easily deciduous ; and the lateral line is 

 considerably incurvated towards the abdo- 

 men. Its general colour is silvery, with a 

 cast of dull yellow, growing more dusky on 

 the upper parts : fins red ; dorsal fin rather 

 small, and situated on the middle of the 

 back : tail slightly forked. The Roach is 

 a gregarious fish, always swimming in large 

 shoals, and feeding on worms and herbs. 

 It generally spawns about the middle of 

 May, and is very prolific. Although in no 

 great esteem in this country, it is considered 

 in many parts of Europe as an excellent fish 

 for the table, its flesh being white and firm. 



ROBIN. The REDBREAST [which see]. 

 Also the name given in America to the 

 Turdiis miyratoriua. Nearly every country 

 has its " Robin ; " colonists assigning the 

 name to the most familiar Red-breasted bird 

 which occurs in the land of their adoption. 

 Thus the Robins of Great Britain, America, 

 New Holland, or other countries, belong to 

 very different genera. 



RODENTIA. RODENT or GNAWING 

 ANIMALS. This name is given to an Order 

 of mammiferous quadrupeds, occupying, in 

 many respects, an intermediate place be- 

 tween the purely carnivorous and purely 

 herbivorous Mammalia, and so forming the 

 connecting link between them. Like the 

 Carnivora, they are unguiculated, or fur- 



nished with claws ; but the chief peculiarity 

 of this order is seen in the remarkable con- 

 formation of the teeth. They have two long 

 chisel-shaped incisors in each jaw, by some 

 zoologists said to be canines, and a vacant 

 space between the incisors and the molars. 

 The conformation of the gnawing teeth is 

 beautifully adapted to the purpose they have 

 to fulfil : they are required to have a sharp 

 edge, in order to make their way through 

 tough vegetable substances, and they must 

 at the same time be very strong and firm ; 

 this is effected by the principal substance of 

 the tcoth being composed of very tough 

 ivory, with a plate of hard enamel in front 

 only, which latter, wearing most slowly, is 

 always left as a sharp projecting edge. The 

 molar teeth, which are separated from the 

 canines by a wide interval, are composed of 

 alternate plates of enamel and ivory, which, 

 wearing unequally, stand up in ridges, and 

 give them. a rasp-like surface. The ridges 

 are always transverse, or in a direction from 

 side to side of the head ; and as the lower 

 jaw has considerable facility of moving 

 backwards and forwards, it greatly increases 

 the power of trituration. In the ffugivorous 

 species of the Order, however, the surface 

 of the molar teeth is raised into rounded 

 tubercles, as is the case with the Squirrel, 

 for instance ; whilst in those animals which 

 have any carnivorous tendency, as in the 

 Rat, they are raised into sharp points, thus 

 bearing some resemblance to those quadru- 

 peds which are wholly carnivorous. At the 

 same time, it should not be forgotten that 

 there are some animals belonging to the i 

 Order Jlodentia, whose propensities to devour 

 almost anything that falls in their way, are 

 such as to be entitled to the term omnivorous. 

 The animals composing this order are mostly 

 of small size ; some are docile and gentle, 

 whilst others are savage and un tameable; 

 their instinctive powers are great, but they 

 possess not much sagacity. In form they may 

 be said to be disproportionate, the posterior 

 limbs being generally much larger than the 

 anterior ; they rather leap than walk ; and 

 most of them have the habit of sitting upon 

 their haunches, and of using their fore paws 

 for the prehension of food, &c. The brain 

 of the Rodents is, as Cuvier remarks, nearly 

 smooth and without convolutions ; the orbits 

 are not separated from the temporal fossa?, 

 which have but little depth ; the eyes are 

 entirely directed laterally ; the zygomatic 

 arches, delicate and curved below, plainly 

 indicate the weakness of their jaws ; the 

 anterior limbs have scarcely any rotary mo- 

 tion, and their two bones are nearly united ; 

 in short, the inferiority of these animals 

 shows itself in the greater part of the details 

 of their organisation. Nevertheless, the ge- 

 nera which have the strongest clavicles enjoy 

 a certain dexterity, and use their fore feet 

 for carrying their food to their mouth ; while 

 others (the squirrels for instance) climb trees 

 with the utmost facility. 



ROEBUCK, or ROE DEER. (Ccrvus 

 Caprealus.) Although there are very few, 

 if any, of this light and agile species of the 

 Deer tribe in England, they are still to be 



