RAN 



RAN 





exercise, and in winter it remains imbed- 

 ded in the muddy bottoms of pools, or 

 lodges in deep recesses in their banks, in a 

 stale of torpor, from which it is revived 

 by the influence of spring. In March it 

 deposits an accumulation of transparent 

 ova, from which, within about a month 

 are hatched tadpoles, every egg in the 

 mean time advancing daily in size, so that 

 before the expiration of this period, these 

 tadpoles may be clearly seen struggling 

 in the viscous fluid which surrounds them. 

 When first hatched they subsist on the 

 remainder of this glutinous fluid. These 

 animals appear to possess little more than 

 head and tail, and exhibit a singular con- 

 trast to the form of the animal which they 

 are destined perfectly to resemble. The 

 internal structure of the old and young is 

 little less different than their external ap- 

 pearance. These animals live to the age 

 of twelve or fifteen years, and do not at- 

 tain their maturity before their fifth year. 

 They will survive the amputation of sever- 

 al of their organs, and of consequence 

 must possess a strong principle of vitality. 

 They are fond of basking in the sun, can- 

 not well dispense with water for any con- 

 siderable time, and are incapable of sus- 

 taining rigorous cold. See Amphibia, 

 Plate II. fig. 1. 



II. esculenta, or green frog, is much 

 larger than the last species, and abounds 

 in many countries of Europe, though but 

 rarely to be found in England. These ani- 

 mals croak so loudly as to be heard at a 

 very great distance, and to produce great 

 annoyance. They are extremely voraci- 

 ous, and will occasionally seize small 

 birds, and chickens and ducks when very 

 young, swallowing them entire. They are 

 in some places much used for food, par- 

 ticularly in France, and thought fittest for 

 the table in the month of June. 



R. catesbeiana, or the bull-frog, is found 

 in North America, and grows to the length 

 of eighteen inches from the nose to the 

 hind feet. Its sounds resemble the low- 

 ing of a bull. In Virginia these frogs are 

 supposed to be great purifiers of the 

 water. On being surprised by the travel- 

 ler, they make two or three leaps, and 

 plunge into the water, where they are se- 

 cure from molestation. They are highly 

 rapacious, often committing great depre- 

 dations on the poultry. 



R. paradoxa, or the paradoxical frog, 

 is of the size of the frog of Europe, and 

 is found chiefly in America, and particu- 

 larly in Surinam. It is remarkable for the 

 circumstance, of the tadpole bearing a 

 greater proportion to the size of the pa- 



rent animal than in any other species. 

 This proportion, indeed, is truly extraor- 

 dinary and curious. 



R. zebra, or the zebra frog, is a native 

 of Carolina and Virginia, and is by far 

 the largest of the slender bodied frogs. 

 It is of a pale reddish brown, and beauti- 

 fully marked, transversely, on the back 

 and limbs, with bars of a chesnut colour. 

 R. arborea, or tree frog, is not found 

 in Great Britain, but is met with in vari- 

 ous other parts of Europe, and in ele- 

 gance and activity is superior to every 

 other European species. In summer it 

 resides in the woods, and haunts the trees 

 in quest of insects, which it approaches 

 on its belly, in the same manner as a cat 

 to a mouse, and at length seizes with an 

 elastic and instantaneous spring. It is par- 

 ticularly noisy on the approach of rain. 

 In winter it takes up its abode in the bot- 

 toms of the waters, remaining till the 

 spring'in a state of torpor. 



RANCIDITY, in chemistry ; fixed oils 

 are liable, by keeping, to undergo a change 

 well known by the name of rancidity. 

 They become thick ; acquire a brown 

 colour, an acrid taste, and a disagreeable 

 smell. The oil thus altered converts 

 vegetable blues into red, and of course 

 contains an acid. It is believed that this 

 change is owing to the alteration of the 

 foreign substances present in oils, or to 

 the action of those foreign bodies upon 

 the oily matter itself. Several of the 

 fixed oils, when newly extracted, let fall, 

 on standing, a quantity of mucilaginous 

 matter ; and from the experiments of 

 Scheele, it appears probable that they 

 always retain less or more of a similar 

 principle. 



RANDOM shot, in gunnery, is a shot 

 made when the muzzle of a gun is raised 

 above the horizontal line, and is not de- 

 signed to shoot directly, or point blank. 

 The utmost random of any piece is about 

 ten times as far as the bullet will go point 

 blank. The bullet will go furthest when 

 the piece is mounted to about forty-five 

 degrees above the level range. 



RANGE, in gunnery, the path of a bul- 

 let, or the line it describes from the 

 mouth of the piece to the point where it 

 lodges. If the piece lie in a line parallel to 

 the" horizon, it is called the right or level 

 range : if it be mounted to forty-five de- 

 grees, it is said to have the utmost range, 

 all others between 00 and 45 are called 

 the intermediate ranges. 



RANK, the order or place allotted a 

 person, suitable to his quality or merit. 

 See PRECEDENCE. 



