&@ mate. 
RAVEN. 
to utter when in a sportive mood; for, although 
ordinarily grave, the raven sometimes indulges 
in a frolic, performing somersets and various evo- 
lutions in the air, much in the manner of the rook. 
The character of this bird accords well with 
the desolate aspect of the rugged glens of the 
Hebridian moors. He and the eagle are the fit 
inhabitants of those grim rocks; the red grouse, 
the plover, and its page, of those brown and 
scarred heaths; the ptarmigan of those craggy 
and tempest-beaten summits. This species is 
also very abundant in the Orkney and Shetland 
islands. In Sutherland, Ross-shire, and. many 
parts of the county of Inverness, it is also not 
uncommon. In most of the Highland districts 
we have met with it here and there. In the 
lower parts of the middle division of Scotland it 
is of much rarer occurrence; nor is it plentiful 
even in the higher and more central portions of 
the southern division, although we have seen it 
in many places there. In England it is much 
less frequently met with than in Scotland, al- 
though it seems to be generally distributed there 
also. If we take the whole range of the island 
as its residence, we must add to its bill of fare 
many articles not mentioned above, so as to in- 
clude young hares and rabbits; other small 
quadrupeds, as rats, moles, and mice, young 
poultry, and the young of other birds, as phea- 
sants, grouse, ducks, and geese; eggs of all kinds, 
echini, mollusca, fruit, barley, wheat, and oats; 
insects, crustacea, grubs, worms, and probably 
many other articles, besides fish and carrion of 
all sorts. In the northern parts of Scotland the 
raven constructs its nest on high cliffs, especially 
those on the sea-shore ; but in the southern parts 
of the island, where rocks are not so common as 
tall trees, it is said frequently to nestle in the 
latter. According to the locality, it begins to 
repair its nest, or collect materials for forming a 
new one, as early as from the beginning to the 
end of February. In the maritime districts, it 
is generally composed of twigs of heath, dry sea- 
weeds, grass, wool, and feathers. It is of irre- 
gular construction, and very bulky. The eggs 
are from four to seven, pale-green, with small 
spots and blotches of greenish-brown and grey, 
and are about two inches in length. The young 
are at first of a blackish colour scantily covered 
with soft, loose, greyish-black down. They are 
generally abroad by the middle of May. It has 
been remarked, that when, during incubation, 
or even when the young have left the nest, one 
of the old birds is killed, the survivor soon finds 
Ravens, if unmolested, breed in the 
Same spot year after year. 
Few birds are possessed of more estimable 
qualities than the raven. His constitution is 
such as to enable him to brave the fury of the 
most violent tempests, and to subsist amidst the 
Most intense cold; he is strong enough to repel 
any bird of his own size, and his spirit is such as 
to induce him to attack even the eagle; his 
REAPING. 25 
affection towards his mate and young is great, 
although not superior to that manifested by 
many other birds; in sagacity he is not excelled 
by any other species; and his power of vision is 
at least equal to that of most others, not except- 
ing the birds of prey, for he is generally the first 
to discover a carcass. lo man, however, he 
seems to be more injurious than useful, as he is 
accused of killing weakly sheep, sometimes de- 
stroys lambs, and frequently carries off the young 
and eggs of domestic poultry. For this reason 
he is generally proscribed, and in many districts 
a price is set upon his head; but his instinct 
and reason suffice to keep his race from materially | 
diminishing. He seems to have fewer feathered 
enemies than most other birds, for although he 
may often be seen pursuing gulls, hawks, and 
eagles, we have never seen any species attacking. 
him with the exception of the domestic cock. 
It has been alleged, however, that rooks assail 
him in defence of their young, and there is 
nothing incredible in this, for the weakest bird 
will often in such a case attack the most power- 
ful and rapacious. 
The species is very widely distributed over the 
globe, being more or less common in Europe, 
Asia, and America, but more abundant towards 
the arctic regions. 
RAY. See Scas. 
RAYGRASS. See Ryzarass. 
REAPING. The cutting down of ripe corn or 
pulse with a sickle, a scythe, or a reaping machine 
Most subjects connected with this operation are 
discussed in the articles Sicknn, ScyrHn, H ain- 
AuLT-ScyvtHE, Reapine-Macuinu, Baaaine, Mow- 
Inc, Banps, SHEAVES, GATING, Riper, Harvest, 
FarmM-Serrvants, Oat, Bartey, WuHeat, Ryz, 
Buran, Pea, and some others; so that the chief 
topics which fall to be noticed in the present 
article are ordinary reaping with the sickle, and 
the comparative merits of this practice and reap- 
ing with the scythe. 
Reaping with the sickle, in so far as it is per- 
formed by specially hired reapers, is done by the 
season, or by the day, or by the acre, or by the 
bulk or amount of produce cut. In some districts 
or circumstances, each reaper cuts across the 
whole ridge, and makes bands and binds for him- 
self; in others, a pair of reapers of unequal 
strength, often a man and a woman, have joint 
charge of a ridge, the stronger making bands 
for both himself and his fellow-labourer; in 
others, three or four or five reapers, of indiscrimi- 
nate selection, or of nearly equal strength, have 
common charge of a ridge, each cutting along a 
narrow stripe of it, and all making bands and 
binding for themselves ; in others, similar methods 
to the two preceding are practised, with the dif- 
ference that one comparatively feeble worker, 
generally a female, makes bands and binds for 
every two reapers; and in others, one man and 
two women have joint charge of a ridge, the 
man cutting along the central portion and mak- 
1] 
