Page:Willich, A. F. M. - The Domestic Encyclopædia (Vol. 3, 1802).djvu/495

RAD and a long time must elapse before other rabbits can be induced to e'lifer the holes, such fetid ingre- dients ought never to be employed. The rabbit is one of the most useful quadrupeds reared by man- kind : its flesh is tender, and nu- tritious, and consequently well calculated for the food of conv^a- lescents ; but they ought to be killed by a large wound in the neck, so that the blood may be speedily discharged ; an operation which renders their ile.->h whiter and more delicate. — Theiry}^?- con- stitutes a principal article, in Jiat- manufa torics ; and such part as is unfit for this purpose, may with advantage be employed in the stuff- ing of beds and bolsters, being lit- tle inferior to feathers. Hack. See Arrack, RADISH, or Rapltanus, I-. a genus of plants comprehending eight species, of which the follow- ing are the principal : 1. The Rnphanisirum, AVmite- tLowERED or Jointed Char- lock, or Wild Radish, an indi- genous annual plant, whicii abounds in corn-fields, and flowers in the months of June and July. — It is eaten by horses, but refused by cows. — ^This species is a trouble- some weed, and should be care- fully extirpated, before it runs to seed : it vegetates with great luxu- riance, during wet seasons, amongst barley ; and has, in Sweden, oc- casioned violent convulsive afl'ec- tions in those who ate bread made of that grain. 2. The sativus, Common, or Garden Radish, is an exotic upecies, originally from China, and M hich is cultivated for the table. Tiitre are several varieties of it, known under tlie names of the juiall-topped, deep -red, pale-red, RAG [467. or salmon, and the long-topped' striped Radishes ; a'l of which are annual plants ; but the svtull-top' ped is generally preferred in the vicinity of London, on account of the little room which it occupies in the ground. All these varieties are propagated from seed, which is sown at vari- ous times, from Christmas till May, to ensure a succession of radishes* for the table ; because they attain to perfection in the course of three- months. The earlier crops ought to be sown in warm borders, shel- tered from the severity of the win- ter ; but, for the later ones, a moist soil, and an open situation, should be seleijied. Radishes are esteemed aperient, attenuating, and anti-scorbutic : — • when eaten in nioderate quantities^ they are in a certain measure salu- brious to persons of strong habits ; but are, in general, apt to produce a considerable degree of flatulency in those, whose stomaciis are re- laxed. I'he small-topped salad- radishes are greatly superior to the large root ; as thty are more easy of digestion, and tend to improve the appetite. No radishes, how- ever, ought to be eaten when uld^ or after having been kept for some time ; as they are then utterly in- digestible, and render the breath extremely oft'ensive. Radish, the Horse. See Horse- radish. Rags. Sre Manure, p. 12Q of this volume. ■RAG- STONE, a genus of sili- ceous fossils, discovered in various parts of Britain. It is of a greyish colour J contains a large proportion of particles resembling talc ; and splits easily into thin scales. It ef- fervesces with acids ; and, though vers' soft, emits fire, when stricken H h 2 a^ains?;