Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 07.djvu/497

RAINBIBD 419 BAINSFOBD direct action of rain, as distinguished from its indirect one in creating streams, rivers, etc., is a potent aqueous cause. In many places, however, its effect is much diminished by the protective influence ♦ver the soil exei*ted by the vegetation. Penetrating into crevices of rocks, it is frozen and splits them. Moreover, in passing through the atmosphere, it ab- sorbs a considerable amount of carbon dioxide, which enables it to transform the carbonate of lime in limestone rocks into the soluble bicarbonate, and ulti- mately waste them away; it acts also on feldspar, etc. RAINBIErD, a name given somewhat indiscriminately to two cuckoos in Ja- maica: (1) Saiirothera {Cuculus, Linn.) vetula, a large handsome bird, soft brown-gray on the back, dullish yellow ©n the under surface, and rusty-red on the wings, with the long tail showily barred with black and white. It feeds •n bugs, spiders, etc. It is sometimes also called tom fool, from its silly habit •f gratifying its curiosity instead of se- curing its safety. (2) Cucxdus pluvia- Us; head dark gray, merging on the neck into dark grayish-green, the hue of the back, rump, and wings, with metallic gloss. Tail feathers black, barred with white; throat and breast white; remain- ing under parts deep red-brovsm. RAINBOW. The rainbow is the best known of all optical meteorological phe- nomena, consisting of a colored arck formed opposite the sun on falling rain- drops, and visible whenever the neces- sary conditions of a passing shower on one side and a clear and not too high sun on the other occur. Two bows are fre- quently seen, each exhibiting the full spectrum of colors from red to violet: but in the inner or primary bow the red is the ^ outer edge and violet the inner, while in the outer or secondary bow the order is reversed; the red being inside and the violet on the exterior. The col- ors are always arranged in a definite or- der, that of the solar spectrum — viz., red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet, but shade imperceptibly into each other. The cause of this breaking up of the sunlight into its constituent colors is explained in most physical and meteoro- logical text-books. Intersecting rainbows have frequently been seen. When the sun is reflected from a surface of still water a bow is formed by the reflected image as well as by the sun itself. Lunar rainbows often occur, but the feebleness of the moon's light usually prevents any colors being observed. There are many popular weather prognostications connected vnth rainbows, all dependent on the fact that they imply local passing showers. "A rainbow in the morning is the shepherd's warning; a rainbow at night is the shep- herd's delight," is easily understood when we remember that the rainbow is formed opposite the sun, and that weather-changes generally pass from W. to E. RAINES LIQUOR LAW, an act passed in 1896 by the Legislature of New York. It abolished excise boards; license to anyone not a criminal ; raised cost of license from $250 to $800 in New York City; divided license fees b'^*-ween State and county in ratio of 1 to 2; per- mitted local option in towns but not in cities; no renewal within 200 feet of school or church without consent of two- thirds of owners; revoked license on in- dividual complaint; forfeited license not renewed within five years; interior of saloons exposed to view when closed on Sundays; no free lunches; restaurants not to serve drinks with meals on Sun- day; imposed penalty of six months to one year and twice license fee for selling without a license. RAIN GAUGE, an instrument or con- trivance for measuring the amount of rain which falls on a given surface. They are made of various forms. One simple form consists of a copper funnel five to seven inches in diameter, inserted in the neck of a bottle placed on a stand and protected from the sun's rays, to prevent evaporation. The rain collected in the bottle is measured in a glass jar having one-tenth the area of the funnel, and graduated so that a rainfall of one- tenth of an inch collected by the funnel is measured by one inch on the side of the vessel. The stand should be placed at a sufficient distance from any build- ings, etc., to prevent their affecting the amount falling into the funnel. RAINIER, MOUNT, a mountain of volcanic origin, the highe'^t in the State of Washington, 14,520 feet high. It is a part of the coast range near Puget Sound, E. of Tacoma, and is sometimes called by the name of the city. The first ascent was made in 1870. There are several glaciers on this mountain, and it has a well-defined crater, which induces the belief that it is an extinct volcano. RAIN PRINTS, indentations produced in geological times by raindrops on sedi- mentary strata when the latter were soft. RAINSFORD. WILLIAM STEPHEN, an American clergyman; born in Dublin, Ireland, Oct. 30, 1850; was graduated at St. John's College, Cambridge, Eng- land, in 1872; was curate of St. Giles' Church, Norwich, England, in 1873-