RAN 
amputation of several of their organs, and 
«f consequence must possess a strong princi- 
ple of vitality. They are fond of basking in 
the sun, cannot well dispense with water 
for any considerable time, and are incapable 
of sustaining rigorous cold. See Amphibia 
Plate II. fig. 1. 
R. esculenfa, 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 annoy- 
ance. They are extremely voracious, and 
will occasionally seize small birds, and 
chickens and ducks when very young, 
sw'allowing them entire. They are in some 
places much used for food, particularly in 
France, , and thought fittest for the table in 
the month of June. 
R. catesbeiana, or the bull frog, is found 
in many regions of North America, and 
grows to the length of eighteen inches from 
the nose to the hind feet. Its sounds re- 
semble the lowing of a bull. In Virginia 
these frogs are supposed to be great puri- 
fiers of the water, and a pair of them may 
generally be seen by any person approach- 
ing the public fountains common in that 
country ; but on being thus surprised by the 
traveller, they make two or three leaps, 
and plunge into the mouth of the spring, 
•where they are secure from molestation. 
They are highly rapacious, often commit 
great depredations on the poultry, swallow- 
ing even young geese without considerable 
difficulty. 
R. paradoxa, or the paradoxical frog, is 
of the size of the common frog of Europe, 
and is found chiefly in America, and par- 
ticularly in Surinam. It is remarkable for 
the circumstance of the tadpole, bearing a 
greater proportion to the size of the parent 
animal than in any other species. This pro- 
portion, indeed, is truly extraordinary 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 beautifully 
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 various 
other parts of Europe, and in elegance 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 
RAN 
same manner as a cat to a mouse, and at 
length seizes with an elastic and instanta- 
neous spring. It is particularly noisy on 
the approach of rain. In winter it takes 
up its abode in the bottoms of the w'aters, 
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 bo- 
dies 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 al- 
ways retain less or more of a similar princi- 
ple. 
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 mouuted 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 hori- 
zon, it is called the right or level range : if 
it be mounted to forty-five degrees, it is 
said to have the utmost range, all others 
between 00 and 45" are called the interme- 
diate ranges. 
RANK, the order or place allotted a per- 
son, suitable to bis quality or merit. See 
Precedence. 
Rank, in war, is a row of soldiers, 
placed side by side. To double the ranks, 
is to put two ranks into one. To close^the 
ranks, is to bring the men nearer ; and to 
open them, is to set them further apart. 
RANSOM, was the sum formerly given 
by captains or passengers for the redemp- 
tion of a vessel captured by pirates. This 
is now prohibited by statute. 
RANUNCULUS, in botany, crowfoot, 
a genus of the Polyandria Polygynia class 
and order. Natural order of Multisilique, 
Linnaeus. Ranunculaceae, Jussieu. Essen- 
tial character : calyx five-leaved ; petals 
five to eight, with a honied pore at the 
