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RAWSON 442 RAY erick Roberts, Commander-in-chief in India. He served with the Mounted In- fantry, Burma campaign (medal and clasp). He returned to England in 1889 and exchanged into Coldstream Guards in 1892. He served in the Sou- dan campaign in 1898 and was present at the battles of Atbara and Khartoum. He served in the South African War at Ladysmith in 1900 and commanded a mobile column 1901-1902. In the World War he was mentioned in dispatches twice in 1914-1915, and was promoted major-general in 1917, serving in Monte- negro. He has published "The Officers* Note-Book." B,AWSON, EDWABD KIRK, an American educator; born in Albany, N. Y., Feb. 21, 1846; was graduated at Yale University in 1868 and at the Andover Theological Seminary in 1872; Vv^as ordained in the Congregational Church and served as a chaplain in the United States navy in 1871-1890; was placed in charge of the Department of Ethics and English Studies at the United States Naval Academy in 1888 and was made superintendent of "Naval War Records," March 31, 1897. His publications include "Twenty Famous Naval Battles"; "Salamis to Santiago" (1899) ; and essays including "Anarchic Socialism"; "New Englander" (1884) ; "The Naval Chaplaincy" (1892) ; "The Rationale of Russian Socialism"; (1888) ; "Twenty Famous Battles" (1899) ; etc. RAY, of a composite flower, the outer or circumferential whorl of florets, as distinguished from those of the disk. In many composites the former are ligulate and the latter tubular. Medullary rays are vertical plates radiating from the pith to the bark through the wood of exogenous stems. In the cross section, the medullary rays constitute fine radi- ating lines; in a longitudinal section, they impart to the wood a satiny luster, which in the plane, the sycamore, etc., is so marked as to be highly beautiful. The medullary rays maintain a connec- tion between the bark and the central part of a stem. Carpenters call medul- lary rays the silver grain. In ichthyology, one of the radiating, bony rods serving to support the fins. They are of three kinds; (1) Simple; (2) Articulated (showing more or less numerous joints) ; and (3) Branched (dichotomically split, the joints increas- ing in number toward the extremity). The differences in the character of the rays in the dorsal fin are an important factor in classification. In optics, etc., a line of light proceeding from a radiant point, or a point of reflection, A collec- tion of rays is called a pencil. An inci- dent ray entering a doubly-refracting crystal is resolved into two, called from their properties an ordinary and an extraordinary ray. The term ray is used also of one of the component ele- ments of light, as the violet rays of the spectrum; or the luminous, actinic, or heat rays: Visual ray, in perspective, a straight line drawn through the eye. RAY, in ichthyology, any individual of the genus Raja; but the family Raji- dse, and even the section Batoidei, are often spoken of as rays. Their flattened shape indicates that they live on level sandy bottoms, generally at no great dis- tance from the coast and in moderate depths. They are carnivorous, but by no means active, swimming like the flat- fishes by the undulating motion of the pectoral fins, the thin flagelliform tail having entirely lost its locomotive func- tion, and serving merely as a rudder. They may be divided into two groups: (1) rays proper, vnth a short snout, and (2) skates (attaining a much larger size) with a long, pointed snout. In species armed with bucklers or asper- ities it is the female which has these dermal developments, the male being en- tirely or nearly smooth. The color also frequently varies in the sexes. The My- liohatidss are popularly known as eagle rays, the Torpeainidse as electric rays, and the Trygonidse as sting rays. RAY, or WRAY, JOHN, an English naturalist; born in Black Notley, Essex, England, Nov. 29, 1628. From Brain, tree free school he went to Cambridge^ where he was fellow, Greek lecturer, mathematical tutor, and junior dean in Trinity College, but after a time began to devote himself entirely to the study of natural history. At the Restoration he accepted Episcopal ordination, but was ejected by the "Black Bartholomew" (1662), Thereupon, accompanied by a kindred spirit, Francis Willughby, Ray traveled over most of the United King- dom, collecting and investigating botan- ical and zoological specimens; and in 1663 they started on a tour through the Low Countries, Germany, lialy, and France, with a similar object. In 1667 Ray was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society. After several changes of resi- dence, in 1679 Ray settled down in his native village. As a botanist and zoologist he ranks very high, the classifi- cation of plants which he proposed being practically in the main the foundation of what is now known as the "Natural Sys- tem" of classification. Ray's zoological works are considered by Cuvier as the foundation of modern zoology. The chief of his works on botany are "New Method