RADISH, THE HORSE. 



RAIN. 



approach of evening, and mats or other co- ' 

 vering put on in proportion to the severity of 

 the season. When the mould appears at all 

 dry, a light watering must be given during | 

 noon. The plants must not stand nearer than j 

 two* inches to each other The temperature j 

 required is from 50 to 70; and it must be 

 kept to this heat by moderate coatings as 

 required. 



If there is a deficiency of frames, hoops and 

 mats may be employed, a frame of boards 

 being formed round the bed, light and air being 

 admitted as freely and as often as possible. If 

 seed is sown within a frame without any bot- 

 tom heat, the plants will be two or three weeks 

 forwarder than if sown in the open ground. 



RADISH, THE HORSE. See HORSE-RADISH. 



RADISH, THE GREAT WATER. See 

 CRESS. 



RADISH-MAGGOT. Radishes, while grow- 

 ing, are very apt to be attacked by maggots, 

 and rendered unfit to be eaten. These maggots 

 are finally transformed to small, ash-coloured 

 flies, with a silvery-gray face, copper-coloured 

 eyes, and a brown spot on the forehead of the 

 females ; they have some faint brownish lines 

 on the thorax, and a longitudinal black line on 

 the hind-body, crossed by narrower black lines 

 on the edges of the rings. They vary in size, 

 but usually measure rather more than one-fifth 

 of an inch in length. They finish their trans- 

 formations, and appear above ground, towards 

 the end of June. The radish-fly is called An- 

 thomyia Raphani, in my " Catalogue," from the 

 botanical name of the radish, on the root of 

 which its larvae feed. It closely resembles the 

 root-fly (jlnthomyia radicum) of Europe. (Dr. 

 Harris.) 



RADISH, WILD (Raphanus Raphanisticum'). 

 A troublesome weed found in arable lands. 

 See CHARLOCK. 



RAG. A torn piece of cloth of any sort: 

 when of the woollen kind, they are used as 

 manure. Woollen rags are almost entirely 

 composed of animal matter: they are found to 

 contain a very large proportion of albumen, (a 

 substance similar in appearance to boiled white 

 of egg), minute portions of lime and silica, and 

 traces of various salts. They form, therefore, 

 an excellent manure, by slowly decomposing in 

 the soil ; and are found to remain dissolving in 

 it, and forming soluble and elastic matters for 

 the service of plants, when applied at the rate 

 of 1200 weight per acre, for periods varying 

 from two years on the heavy clays, such as 

 those of the hop-grounds of the Weald of Kent, 

 to three or four on the light, chalky soils of the 

 valley of the Kennet, in Berkshire. The light- 

 ness of carriage, and its readiness, as well as 

 cleanliness of application, render it peculiarly 

 eligible as a fertilizer ; it keeps, too, for any 

 lengjh of time, until the farmer is ready to 

 apply it to his ground, and is much more slowly 

 decomposed and consumed than either blubber, 

 rape-cake, train-oil, or bone dust. 



The consumption of these rags by the Berk- 

 shire and Oxfordshire farmers, and especially 

 in Kent for the hop grounds, is very consider- 

 able. I am informed by an extensive dealer in 

 these rags, that at least 20,000 tons are annu 

 ally consumed by the farmers of the south of 

 838 



England. My informant himself has a sale of 

 more than 500 tons per annum, which he de- 

 livers free on board a vessel, at any of the Lon- 

 don wharves, for 5 guineas per ton. The cus- 

 tom of the farmer is, to cut the woollen rags, by 

 means of a chopper and block, into shreds 

 about the size of a crown-piece, and then 

 spread them on their fields by hand, out of a 

 common seed-basket, as evenly as they can ; 

 they find that this manure is admirably adapted 

 for hops, wheat, turnips, &c., and that the bene- 

 ficial effect is as great the second year as the 

 first. It appears that one farmer in Kent, Mr. 

 Ellis, of Barming, purchases annually 4 or 500 

 tons of these rags, almost exclusively for his 

 hop grounds. The farmers of Kent think the 

 application of the rags "warms" the ground, as 

 they slowly putrefy in the soil ; they certainly 

 afford nourishment to the crop, for wool is com- 

 posed almost entirely of a peculiar animal sub- 

 stance, with a slight portion of phosphate of 

 lime, or earthy matter of bones. 



RAGWEED (Ambrosia elatior). See HOG- 

 WEED. 



RAGWORT (Senecio). A portion of the 

 species of this extensive genus has already 

 been noticed under the head GROUNDSEL ; but 

 there are in England four or five species of 

 ragwort, properly so called. These belong to 

 that section of the genus which have flowers 

 with spreading rays and pinnatifid leaves ; the 

 others to that with undivided leaves and radiant 

 flowers. 



RAIN (Ger. regen}. In meteorology, water 

 falling from the clouds. 



As the effects of rain upon vegetation are 

 so highly important, it will be useful to ascer- 

 tain the quantity or depth of rain that falls 

 annually in various places, and the difference 

 in the effects which are produced by it, more 

 especially for the formation of reservoirs for 

 agricultural purposes. To use the words of 

 Mr. G. Tatem: Although "fully aware, that 

 little reliance can be placed upon any theory 

 founded on data so uncertain as the quantities 

 of rain that fall in different years, I am con- 

 vinced that something might be done towards 

 establishing rules for the guidance of agricul- 

 turists and botanists, if observations were made 

 at the same place for a series of years, and the 

 results recorded." The average quantity of 

 rain which falls in a year at any given place, 

 materially affects the productiveness of the 

 soil, and is necessarily influenced equally with 

 the climate by a variety of general circum- 

 stances and local causes ; such as latitude, 

 proximity to the sea, elevation of the region, 

 configuration of the country and of the moun- 

 tain ranges, exposure to the prevailing winds, 

 &c. 



Near the foot of high hills a greater quantity 

 commonly falls than over a level country; the 

 currents of the atmosphere in their course 

 meeting with a hill, are forced to ascend, and 

 gaining a higher, and of course colder situa- 

 tion, the vapour is condensed into clouds, and 

 even into rain, so that a deposition in showers 

 very frequently follows. Hence the reason 

 why clouds are so often observed on the sides 

 and tops of mountains, which have been in- 

 i correctly supposed to attract them. The quaa- 



