REED. 



RESINS. 



causing a plentiful discharge of urine. Diu- 

 retics and astringents combined seem only of 

 service when the bowels are open, and their 

 improper administration often causes inflam- 

 mation of the bowels and kidneys. If, after 

 purgation, the bowels are kept open by laxa- 

 tives, such as linseed infusion, the disease will 

 gradually disappear without their use. In the 

 last stage of the disease, when the urine as- I 

 sumes a dark-brown or black colour, no remedy 

 seems to have any efficacy ; the animal is sunk 

 beyond recovery, the bowels lose their ac- 1 

 tion, suppression of urine follows, the animal 

 stretches itself out and dies, as if perfectly 

 exhausted. 



"There are two diseases which in their 

 symptoms bear some resemblance to red-water 

 in cattle, viz., inflammation of the kidneys, and 

 inflammation of the mucous membrane of the 

 bladder or the urethra, which often happens at 

 calving. In these cases the urine, which is 

 discharged with pain, is mixed with blood, but 

 not so intimately so as the coloured urine in 

 red-water, and it has generally more or less 

 mucus mixed with it. Inflammation of the kid- 

 neys in cattle is comparatively rare. I have 

 seen only one well-marked case, which termi- 

 nated fatally. The animal experienced con- 

 siderable pain upon pressure being applied to 

 the region of the kidneys. The urine was 

 small in quantity, and nearly as thick as blood ; 

 and pulse ninety and very hard. As the dis- 

 ease advanced, the urine became black and 

 fetid. The animal all along exhibited symp- 

 toms of excruciating pain, until death termi- 

 nated its sufferings. Post-mortem examination 

 disclosed extensive inflammation of the perito- 

 naeum. The abdominal cavity contained a 

 large quantity of dark-coloured, fetid fluid ; the 

 fat surrounding the kidneys, as well as the 

 kidneys themselves, was in part gangrenous ; 

 and the fat generally exhibited a yellow colour, 

 as is usual in cases where death terminates in- 

 flammatory diseases." (Tram. High. Soc.' vol. 

 ix. p. 9.) 



REED (Arundo). A genus of aquatic plants, 

 in most instances mere weeds, infesting boggy 

 low lands or meadows on the sides of rivers. 



The best method of destroying reeds, is by 

 draining the land; for if the drains be cut 

 deeper than their roots, it will take away their 

 nourishment, and consequently destroy them. 

 Common salt, ashes, or soot, will likewise 

 sometimes kill Them ; and so will ploughing 

 up the land, and laying it in high ridges. 

 Reeds always indicate a deep, good, moist soil, 

 as a bad one will not nourish or support them. 

 See ARUNDO, AROMATIC REED, and BENT or 

 STARR. 



The term reed is sometimes provincially ap- 

 plied to the straw of wheat, rye, &c., that has 

 not been bruised. 



REED-GRASS. See CA^ARF-GRASS. 



RENNET, or RUNNET. The prepared 

 inner membrane of the calf's stomach, which 

 has the property of coagulating the albumen 

 of milk, and converting it into curd and whey. 

 The maw is cleaned, salted, and suspended in 

 paper bags. Previously to its use, the salt is 

 extracted by washing the rennet ; which is then 

 soaked in hot water during the night ; and in 



the morning the infusion is poured into the 

 milk to coagulate it. This is the result of the 

 gastric juice, which is acid; and acts upon 

 the caseous part of the milk, in the same man- 

 ner as other acids. It sometimes happens that 

 no rennet sufficiently good for curdling milk 

 can be procured; hence various plants have 

 been advantageously substituted for this pur- 

 pose. The principal of these are the flowers 

 of the yellow ladies' bedstraw (Galiiun rcn</n'), 

 used in England, and the cardoon (Cy tiara car- 

 (liinrit/us'), in Spain. A strong infusion is made 

 of the down of the latter vegetable in the 

 evening, and on the succeeding morning ^ a 

 pint is poured among 14 gallons of new milk, 

 which is thus effectually coagulated, and in 

 consequence produces a delicious cheese. See 

 CIIEKSK and CIIKKSE RENNET. 



RENT (ReiMitus; from rafeunrfo). The sum 

 of money or other consideration issuing yearly 

 out of lands and tenements paid by the oc- 

 cupier to the owner. This, in Britain, has 

 gradually taken the present form of payment 

 in money, from a very different original tenure; 

 for, in former days, the land was generally held 

 of the superior lord, by certain services ren- 

 dered, of either a military or servile nature, 

 such as carrying out the lord's manure on to 

 his land; certain days of ploughing, digging, 

 or cutting the corn, &c. of the landlord; the 

 general adoption of a fixed rent or money pay- 

 ment in lieu of these arbitrary and vexatious 

 tenures, was an advance of modern days. 



RESERVOIR. A conservatory of water. 

 The husbanding of water is now becoming a 

 subject of peculiar interest to the English ag- 

 riculturist. This arises from its scarcity in 

 many districts, in consequence of the improved 

 drainage of the land, and from the many uses 

 to which machinery maybe applied in farming 

 operations by the agency of water power. The 

 construction of reservoirs must resolve itself 

 into the following heads : 



First, where a sufficient quantity of water 

 can be diverted directly from the channel of a 

 stream or river. 



Second, where the supply is to be obtained 

 from drainage, which maintains a stream dur- 

 ing part of the year, but which stream fails 

 during the summer months. 



Third, where there are grounds affording a 

 favourable situation for the construction of a 

 reservoir, but through which there is no natural 

 stream passing. See PONDS and TANKS. 



RESINS. Peculiar vegetable substances of 

 allied properties, composed of carbon, hydro- 

 gen, and oxygen; the most common of which 

 is the rosin of commerce, or residue after the 

 distillation of turpentines, in order to obtain 

 the volatile oil. When no water is used in this 

 process, an empyreumatic, brownish-yellow, 

 semi-transparent substance remains, namely, 

 colophony or fidler's rosin; when water is used, 

 the residue is the opaque yellow substance 

 called yellow rosin. When every particle of 

 water is evaporated from the last, and it is 

 kept in a state of fusion at a moderate tempe- 

 rature, and then allowed to cool slowly, the best 

 resin is procured. It is translucent, brittle, 

 fusible at a moderate heat, inflammable, and 

 soluble in spirits of wine, volatile oils, and 



947 



