and became fellow of the College of State Medi- disappears or is greatly ri'iUucd by drying or cine. Kansome was lecturer on phthisis before healing. Some are reputed poisonous; some are the College of Physicians in 1890, and wrote: used in medicine; some have been used as food. Stethometry (1876) ; Prognosis in Lung Disease Many of the species produce beautiful flowers, (18S2); Causes of Consumption (1884); Trent- e.g. ranunculus, anemone, larkspur, peony, colum ment of Phthisis (1896) ; and Researclies on Tu- berculosis ( 1897, winning the Weber-Parkes Prize).
RANTERS. An alleged English sect of the
Commonwealth period of antinomian views. They
were charged with immoral practices and were
speedily suppressed. Thomas Fuller, in his
Church nistory, associates them with the Fami-
lists. Probably many of the stories about them
were idle gossip. The Primitive iletliodists were
also called Ranters because of the violent phj'sieal
phenomena which attended their worship.
RANTOUL, ran'tool, Robert, Jr. (1805-52).
An American lawyer and political leader. He
was born in Beverly, jMass., graduated at Har-
vard in 1826, was admitted to the bar in 1829,
and established himself in practice at Gloucester.
He rapidly won distinction in his profession, be-
came one of the leading supporters of Andrew
Jackson in the State, and from 1834 to 1838 was
a member of the Legislature. He was a member
of the first commission to revise the laws of
^Massachusetts, and in 1837 was appointed by
Governor Edward Everett a member of the first
State Board of Education. In 1838 he removed
to Boston, where his connection with several legal
cases of great importance added to his growing
reputation. In 1843 he was appointed Collector
of the Port of Boston, and from 1845 to 1849 was
United States District Attorney. In 1852 he
defended Thomas Sims, the first slave reclaimed
under the Fugitive Slave Act from New England.
In 1851 he was elected to the United States
Senate to fill out the remainder of the term of
Daniel Webster, and in November of the same
year was elected to Congress as the candidate of
Democrats and Free Soilers. His strong oppo-
sition to the Fugitive Slave Law and to the gen-
eral pro-slavery policy of the Democratic Party
led to his exclusion from the convention of 1852,
which nominated Franklin Pierce for the Presi-
dencj'.
RANULA (Lat., little frog; so called from a
fancied resemblance of the form of the swelling
to a frog). A cystic tumor on the floor of the
mouth due to obstruction and dilatation of one
of the several ducts of the salivary glands or
mucous follicles, opening under the tongue. The
tumor contains a glairy fluid, resembling mucus
or saliva, and as it increases in size pushes the
tongue to the opposite side. Ranula is not pain-
ful, and these tumors sometimes reach a consider-
able size before relief is sought. The iisual
method of treatment is by free incision, or by
removing a portion of the sac wall ; if this is not
efTective, and the sac refills, the interior is
touched with a caustic such as nitrate of silver
or pure carbolic acid, to produce an adhesive
inflammation of its walls.
RANUNCULACEÆ (Neo-Lat. nom. pi.,
from Lat. ranunculus, sort of medicinal plant,
diminutive of rana, frog), Crowfoot Family. A
natural order of about 700 widely distributed
species of dicotyledonous herbs or sometimes
shrubs, and, with few tropical exceptions, natives
of cold damp climates. Acridity is the pre-
vailing character of the order, a property which
bine, clematis (qq.v.). The classification and
chief genera according to Prantl are as follows:
PieonieiE — P?eonia ; Helleborea" — Caltha, Trolliiis,
Helleborus, Nigclla, Actsea, Aquilegia, Dcl]ibin-
ium, Aconitum; AnemonciP — Anemone, Clematis,
Ranunculus, and Thalictrum.
RANUNCULUS. A genus of about 250 spe-
cies of iiKJstly ]ierennial herbs of the natural
order Raiuineulacca-, some of them (crowfoots
and buttercups) common in pastures and gar-
dens, many (spearworts) in moist places, others
wholly aquatic. Ranunculus Asiaticus, Asiatic
ranunculus, or garden ranunculus, a native of
the Levant, has been cultivated by florists in
Europe for almost 300 years. From clusters of
small tubers develops an erect branched stem,
bearing bipartite leaves, and in the numerous
cultivated varieties, large single or double ter-
minal flowers, of various brilliant colors. The
ranunculus is propagated by seed, by offset tu-
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BUTTERCCP (ItanuDcuIus bull'OSUS).
bers, or by dividing the clusters of tubers, which may be taken up in summer, after the leaves die, and for greenhouse work planted in rich friable soil in late autumn or for outdoor use in early spring. Panuncnlus Fiearia, sometimes called pilewort and lesser celandine, a very common European species escaped from gardens in the vicinity of New York. Philadel|ihia, and else- where, is used as a pot-herb, and the small tubers are used for food, their acridity disappearing when they are boiled. Ranunculus acris, Ranunr
