RAJA, the ray fish, in ichthyology, a genus belonging to the order of chondropterygia. There are five spiracula below towards the peak; the body compressed; and the mouth is situated under the head. The most remarkable species

are:

1. R. aspera, the rough ray, is found in Loch Broom in Scotland. The length from the nose to the tip of the tail is two feet nine inches. The tail is almost of the same length with the body. The nose is very short. Before each eye is a large hooked spine; and behind each another, beset with lesser. The upper part of the body is of a cinereous brown mixed with white, and spotted with black; and entirely covered with small spines. On the tail are three rows of great spines; all the rest of the tail is irregularly beset with lesser. The fins and under side of the body are equally rough with the upper. The teeth are flat and rhomboidal.

2. R. batis, the skate. This species is the thinnest in proportion to its bulk of any of the genus, and also the largest, some weighing nearly 200 pounds. The nose, though not long, is sharp pointed; above the eyes is a set of short spines; the upper part is of a pale brown, sometimes streaked with black: the lower part is white, marked with great numbers of minute black spots. The jaws are covered with small granulated but sharp-pointed teeth. The tail is of a moderate length; near the end are two fins; along the top of it is one row of spines, and on the edges are irregularly dispersed a few others. It is remarked that in the males of this species the fins are full of spines. Skates generate in March and April; at which time they swim near the surface of the water, several of the males pursuing one female. They adhere so fast together in coition that the fishermen frequently draw up both together, though only one has taken the bait. The females begin to cast their purses, as the fishermen call them (the bags in which the young are included), in May, and continue doing it till September. In October they are exceedingly poor and thin; but in November they begin to improve, and grow gradually fatter till May, when they are in the highest perfection. The males go sooner out of season than the females.

3. R. clavata, the thornback, is easily distinguished from the others by the rows of strong sharp spines disposed along the back and tail. In a large one seen by Mr. Pennant were three rows on the back, and five on the tail, all inclining towards its end. On the nose, and on the inner side of the forehead, near the eyes, were a few spines, and the others were scattered without order on the upper part of the pectoral fins. The mouth was small, and filled with teeth; the upper part of the body was of a pale ash color, marked with short streaks of black, and the skin rough, with small tubercles like shagreen. The belly white, crossed with a strong semilunar cartilage beneath the skin in general the lower part was smooth, having only a few spines on each side. The young fish have very few spines on them; their backs are often spotted with white, and each spot is encircled with black. This species frequent our sandy shores; they

are very voracious, and feed on all sorts of flat fish; are particularly fond of herrings and sand eels; and sometimes eat crustaceous animals, such as crabs. These sometimes weigh fourteen or fifteen pounds, but with us seldom exceed that weight. They begin to generate in June, and bring forth their young in July and August, which (as well as those of the skate), before they are old enough to breed, are called maids. The thornback begins to be in season in November, and continues so later than the skate: but the young of both are good at all times of the year. 4. R. electrica, the torpedo, cramp fish, or electric ray, is frequently taken in Torbay; has been once caught off Pembroke, and sometimes near Waterford in Ireland. It is generally taken, like other flat fish, with the trawl; but there is an instance of its taking the bait. It commonly lies in water of about forty fathoms depth; and in company with the congenerous rays. A gentleman of La Rochelle, on dissecting certain females of this species, on the 10th September, found in the matrices several of the fœtuses quite formed, and nine eggs in no state of forward. ness: superfotation seems therefore to be a pro perty of this fish. The food of the torpedo is fish, such as plaice, surmullets, &c. They will live twenty-four hours out of the sea, and but very little longer, even if placed in fresh water. They inhabit sandy places, and will bury themselves superficially in it, by flinging the sand over, by a quick flapping of all the extremities. In this situation the torpedo gives his most forcible snock, which throws down the astonished passenger who inadvertently treads upon him. In our seas it grows to a great size, and weighs above eighty pounds. The tail is thick and round; the caudal fin broad and abrupt. The head and body, which are indistinct, are nearly round; attenuating to extreme thinness on the edges; below the body he ventral fins form on each side a quarter of a circle. The two dorsal fins are placed on a trunk of the tail. The eyes are small, placed near each other; behind each is a round spiracle, with six small cutaneous rags on their inner circumference. Mouth small; teeth minute, spicular; five openings to the gills, as in others of this genus; the skin every where smooth; cinereous brown above, white beneath.

5. R. fullonica, the fuller, derives its Latin name from the instruments fullers make use of in smoothing cloth, the back being rough and spiny. The nose is short and sharp. At the corner of each eye are a few spines. The membrane of nictitation is fringed; teeth small and sharp. On the upper part of the pectoral fins are three rows of spines pointing towards the back, crooked like those on a fuller's instrument. On the tail are three rows or strong spines; the middle row reaches up part of the back. The tail is slender, and rather longer than the body. The color of the upper part of the body is cinereous, marked usually with numerous black spots; the lower part is white. This, as well as most other species of rays, vary a little in color according to age. It grows to a size equal to the skate. It is common at Scarborough, where it is called the white hans or gullet.

6. R. pastinaca, the sting ray, does not grow to the bulk of the others; the body is quite smooth, of shape almost round, and is of a much greater thickness and more elevated form in the middle than any other ray, but grows thin towards the edges. The nose is very sharp-pointed, but short; the mouth small, and filled with granulated teeth. The irides are of a gold color; behind each eye the orifice is very large. The tail is very thick at the beginning; the spine is placed about a third the length of tail from the body; is about five inches long, flat on the top and bottom, very hard, sharp-pointed, and the two sides thin, and closely and sharply bearded the whole way. The tail extends four inches beyond the end of the spine, and grows very slender at the extremity. These fishes shed their spines, and renew them annually; sometimes the new spine appears before the old one drops off; and the Cornish call this species cardinal trilost, or three-tailed, when so circumstanced. The color of the upper part of the body is a dirty yellow, the middle part of an obscure blue; the lower side white, the tail and spine dusky. The weapon with which nature has armed this fish has supplied the ancients with many tremendous fables relating to it, which the reader may find in the works of Pliny, Ælian, and Oppian.

7. R. oxyrinchus, the sharp-nosed ray, nearly seven feet long, and five feet two inches broad. When just brought on shore it makes a remarkable snorting noise. The nose is very long, narrow, and sharp-pointed, not unlike the end of a spontoon. The body is smooth, and very thin in proportion to the size; the upper part ashcolored, spotted with numerous white spots, and a few black ones. The tail is thick; towards the end are two small fins; on each side is a row of small spines, with another row in the middle, which runs some way up the back. The lower part of the fish is quite white. The mouth is very large, and furnished with numbers of small sharp teeth bending inwards.

8. R. squalicornia, the shagreen ray, increases to the size of the skate; is fond of launces or sand eels, which it takes generally as a bait. The form is narrower than that of the common kinds; the nose long and very sharp; pupil of the eye sapphirine, on the nose are two short rows of spines; on the corner of the eyes another of a semicircular form; on the tail are two rows, continued a little up the back, small, slender, and very sharp; along the sides of the tail is a row of minute spines, intermixed with innumerable little spicule. The upper part of the body is of a cinereous brown, covered closely with shagreen-like tubercles, resembling the skin of a dog-fish; the under side of the body is white; from the nose to the beginning of the pectoral fins is a tuberculated space. The teeth slender, and sharp as needles.

9. R. Banksiana, found often in the West Indian Seas, Sir Joseph Banks informs us, is sometimes so large that it requires seven pairs of oxen to drag it along the ground. A species of ray, probably the Banksiana, was killed on the coast of America, the capture of which is thus

described by Mr. Mitchell of New York, in a letter to the president of the New York Lyceum of Natural History :

On the 9th day of September 1823 returned from a cruise off Delaware Bay the fishing smack Una. She had sailed about three weeks before from New York for the express purpose of catching an enormous fish, which had been reported to frequent the ocean a few leagues beyond cape Henlopen. The adventurers of this bold enterprise have been successful. The creature is one of the huge individuals of the family of raia, or, perhaps, may be erected, from its novelty and peculiarity, into a new genus, between the squalus and the acipenser. Its strength was such that, after the body had been penetrated by two strong and well formed gigs of the best tempered iron, the shank of one of them was broken off, and the other singularly bent. The boat containing the fishermen was connected, after the deadly instrument had taken hold, with the wounded inhabitant of the deep, by a strong warp or line. The celerity with which the fish swam could only be compared to that of the harpooned whale, dragging the boat after it with such speed as to cause a wave to rise on each side of the furrow in which he moved several feet higher than the boat itself. The weight of the fish after death was such that three pair of oxen, one horse, and twenty-two men, all pulling together, with the surge of the Atlantic wave to help, could not convey it far to the dry beach. It was estimated from this (a probable estimate) to equal four tons and a half, or perhaps five tons. The size was enormous; for the distance from the extremity of one wing or pectoral fin to the other, expanded like the wing of an eagle, measures eighteen feet; over the extremity of the back and on the right line of the belly sixteen feet; the distance from the snout to the end of the tail fourteen feet; length of the tail four feet; width of the mouth two feet nine inches. The operation of combat and killing lasted nine hours. The achievement was witnessed by crowds of citizens on the shores of New Jersey and Delaware, and by the persons on board the flotilla of vessels in the bay and offing. During the scuffle, the wings, side-flaps, or vast alated fins of the monster lashed the sea with such vehemence that the spray rained around to the distance of fifty feet.'

The following interesting account of the capture of the colossal skate or ray is by lieutenant Lamont of the ninety-first regiment :

'The first appearance of an animal of this species,' says the lieutenant, since I have been here (about eighteen months) was about two months ago, when I was called out to the beach by some of the inhabitants, whom I found, on going there, to be assembled in great numbers, to see what they called the sea devil. I confess my curiosity was not less excited than theirs, when I saw floating close to the surface of the water, about twenty yards from me, a large mass of living substance, of a dark color, but of the shape and size of which I could not, at the time, form any proper idea, it being so very differer from any thing I had ever before seen or heard

of, farther than that I supposed it to have been many times the size of what I now believe it was. No time was lost in setting out in pursuit of him, with harpoons, &c.; and it was not long before he was come up with, and struck with one of the harpoons; when he made off with great velocity, towing the boat after him. As he seemed to incline chiefly to the surface of the water, six or seven more harpoons were, with the assistance of several canoes that had come up, successively plunged into him, and all the boats made fast to each other, which he was obliged to pull after him, with several people in each. Such, however, was the great strength of this animal, that, after being fast in the manner I have described for upwards of four hours, and taking the boats out to sea attached to him, to a distance of about ten miles from the harbour, and having been pierced with so many wounds, he was still able to defy every effort to bring him in. It had now got late, and was dark, and an attempt was made to force him up near enough to get another large harpoon into him: this was no sooner done than he darted off; and, by an almost unaccountable and seemingly convulsive effort, in a moment broke loose from all his fetters, carrying away with him eight or ten harpoons and pikes, and leaving every one staring at his neighbour in speechless astonishment, confounded at the power of an animal which could thus snatch himself from them at a time when they conceived him completely in their power.

Since then some of these animals have occasionally been heard of at a distance from the harbour; and a few days ago, in coming over from fort Augusta with another gentleman, we fell in with one of them, which allowed us to get so near him that it was determined to set out the next morning to look for him. We did so; and took with us several large harpoons, muskets, pikes, &c., determined, if it were possible, to bring him in. He was descried, about eight o'clock, towards the top of the harbour, as usual floating near the surface, and moving slowly about. Having allowed the boat to get very close to him, he was struck with a harpoon, which was thrown at him in a most dexterous manner by lieutenant St. John, of the royal artillery. He immediately set out towards the mouth of the harbour, towing the boat after him with such velocity that it could not be overtaken by any of the others; after going in this way for nearly an hour he turned back, which enabled the other boats to lay hold; and four of themwere tied, one after the other, to the one in which he was harpooned, with four or five people in each of them. By this means we hoped to tire him out the sooner. In about an hour and a half after he was first struck, a favorable opportunity offering, a large five-pointed harpoon, made fast to a very heavy staff, was thrown at him with such an elevation that it should fall upon him with the whole weight of the weapon. This, having been as well directed as the first, was lodged nearly in the middle of his back. The struggle he made at this time to get away was truly tremendous, plunging in the midst of the boats, darting from the bottom to the surface alternately,-dashing the water and foam on every side

of him,-and rolling round and round to extrcate himself from the pole. This might be considered as having given him the coup de grace, although, at short intervals afterwards, he was struck with two more harpoons, and several musket-balls were fired into him. Still he was able to set out again, taking the four boats after him, which he carried along with the greatest ease. Having gone in this way for some time, he came to a stop, and laid himself to the bottom, when, with all the lines that were attached to him, it was quite impossible to move him. All expedients were nearly beginning to fail, when it was proposed to slacken the lines, which being done, had the desired effect, and he again set out. Having thus got him from the ground, inch by inch was gained upon him, till he was got near the surface, when he was struck with two large pikes. He now got rather faint; and, the boats closing on him on every side, the combat became general with pikes, muskets, and every weapon we had. In fact, to such a pitch were all excited on the occasion, that, had a cool spectator seen the affray, he would undoubtedly have imagined that it was his sable majesty himself that we had got amongst us. He was now towed ashore, being about five hours since he was first struck. This it required all the boats to do, and then but very slowly. His appearance now showed the extraordinary tenacity of life of which this animal must be possessed, as his whole body was literally a heap of wounds, many of which were through and through, and he was not yet quite dead. This circumstance, with his great strength, is the cause of the name which has been given him by the fishermen here, as they have never been able to succeed in taking one of them, and were firmly of opinion that it was impossible to do so.

This monster is of the flat fish kind. On measurement it was found to be in length and breadth nearly the same, about fifteen feet, and in depth from three to four feet. It had the appearance of having no head, as there was no prominence at its mouth; on the contrary, its exterior margin formed, as it were, the segment of a circle, with its arc towards the animal's body, and opening into a large cavity of about two feet and a half in width, without teeth, into which a man went with so much ease, that I do not exaggerate when I say that another might have done so at the same time. On each side of the mouth projected a mass of cartilaginous substance like horns, about a foot and a half long and capable of meeting before the mouth. These feelers moved about a great deal in swimming, and are probably of use in feeding. On looking on this animal as it lay on the ground with its back upwards, it might be said to be nearly of equal dimensions on every side, with the exception of the two lateral extremities, extending to a point about four feet from the body, and a tail about five feet long, four inches and a half in diameter at the root, and tapering to the point. Above the root of the tail was the dorsal fin, and on each side of it a flat and flabby substance lying close to the body, of the appearance of fins. There were no other distinct fins, and its sole propelling power seemed to be its two late

ral extremities, which became very flat and thin towards the point. As it shows these much in swimming, it gives the spectator an extraordinary idea of its size, as, when imperfectly seen, the conclusion naturally is, if the breadth is so great, how much greater must the length be. This animal was a female, and viviparous. On opening it a young one, about twenty pounds weight, was taken out, perfectly formed, and which has been preserved. Wishing to know what it fed upon, I saw the stomach opened, which was round, about eight inches in diameter, and quite empty. It was closely studded over with circular spots of a muscular substance. Under the stomach was a long bag, with transverse muscular layers from end to end, and which contained nothing but some slime and gravel. This muscular appearance of the digestive organs would lead one to suppose that it fed upon other fish, as is the general opinion here, though its having no teeth does not support that idea. Its weight was so great that it was impossible to ascertain it at the time; but some idea may be formed of it, when I assure you that it was with difficulty that forty men, with two lines attached to it, could drag it along the ground. Its bones were soft, and, with the exception of the jaw bones, could be cut with a knife. One ridge of bone ran from the mouth to the middle of the back, where it was met by another running transversely, from the extremities of which there were two larger ones converging towards the tail.'

RAJABARY, a considerable trading town of Bengal, district of Dacca, on the western bank of the majestic river Megna. Long. 96° 21′ E., lat. 23° 25′ N. There are innumerable towns in Hindostan to which Rajah (a prince) is the præ

nomen.

RAJAMUNDROOG, a town and fortress of Hindostan, province of Bejapore, commands the entrance into the navigable river Mirjee. It was taken by the British troops under general Matthews in 1783, but afterwards ceded to Tippoo. Long. 73° 30′ E., lat. 14° 30′ N.

RAJAMUNDRY, an extensive district of Hindostan, province of the Circars, bounded on the north by Cicacole, on the south by Ellore, on the west by the territories of the Nizam, and on the east by the bay of Bengal. It is fertilised by the Godavery, which partly forms its southern boundary. At the distance of thirty-five miles from the sea it divides itself into two great branches, within which it forms the island of Nagur, comprehending a triangular space of 500 square miles. This district is celebrated for its sugar. The mountains also abound with teak timber. It contains a number of towns, the chief of which is Rajamundry; but the principal sea-port is Coringa. This district was ceded by the Nizam Salabut Jung in 1753 to the French; but was taken from them by the British in 1765, and now constitutes one of the five collectorships of the province. The rajahs of this country are mentioned in the Mahometan histories as early as the thirteenth century.

RAJAMUNDRY, the capital of the above-mentioned district, and residence of the British civil establishment, is situated on the north side of the Godavery, and formerly possessed a good brick

2. R. hastata, and 3. R. quinquefolia.

RAJ CHOHAN,an extensive uncultivated district of Hindostan, province of Gundwaneh, situated between 23 and 24° N. lat. It produces little but rice and vegetables, but abounds with game. The greater part belongs to the rajah of Corair, a tributary of the Mahrattas. The chief town is Sonehut.

RAJEMAL, or RAJEMAHAL, an unproductive district of Bengal, situated on the western side of the river Ganges, about 25° N. lat. It is inhabited by a race of small people, probably the aborigines, who speak a distinct language, and, although idolaters, cannot be esteemed Hindoos. They have never been conquered; but about the year 1780 Mr. Cleveland subdued them by gentle measures. He formed a battalion of them, consisting of 300 men, who have proved exceedingly useful. It was in this district that the experiment was first tried of granting lands to the native invalid officers and soldiers; and the traveller now passes with as much safety from human foes in this district as in any other part of India. It still, however, shelters a vast number of tigers, bears, and wild beasts.

RAJEMAHAL, the royal residence, an ancient city of Bengal, on the western bank of the Ganges. The modern town consists only of one street, at the foot of a range of hills, and composed of stone houses, generally two stories in height, and the ruins of a palace. It carries on a small trade with the inhabitants of the hills, and quarries supply the neighbourhood with flags and millstones. An inundation of the Ganges formerly swept away a considerable part of it; a conflagration destroyed another portion; and the transfer of the seat of government to Decca completed its ruin.

Nothing can exceed the romantic prospect of Rajemahal, with the mountains at the back of the town, when a person, emerging from the Cossimbazar River and the flat country of Bengal, enters the Ganges at Sooty, and sails up that river. There is a tradition that this place was in very ancient times the seat of a Hindoo government, and was then called Raje Girhi, or Ghur. It was first noticed by the Mahometan historians, in the year 1576, under the name of Agmahel (the house of fire), probably in allusion to an early conflagration. In 1592 rajah Man Sing, governor of Bahar and Bengal, on the part of the emperor Akbar, fixed upon this place as the capital of the two provinces, and named it in compliment to his sovereign, Akbarnagur Rajemahal. He in consequence erected a palace and a stone wall here, having bastions at the angles and gates; and, having drawn hither all the public offices, the city soon rose in

splendor. In 1608 the Mogul governor, Islam Khan, was induced, in consequence of the invasion of the south-east of Bengal by the Portuguese, to transfer the seat of authority to Dacca. But in 1639 Shujaa, the son of Shah Jehan, again restored Rajemahal to its former dignity, and built an elegant palace here, some of the rooms of which are standing. He also strengthened the fortifications, and spent large sums of money in rendering the city worthy of the royal residence: in the following year, however, nearly the whole was destroyed by a dreadful conflagration, in which many lives were lost, and the family of the prince with difficulty escaped. About the same time the Ganges changed its bed, and, pouring its torrents against the walls, washed away many of the edifices. In 1659 Aurungzebe took it after a short siege. After the expulsion of Shuja, the Mogul governor, Meer Joomla, fixed his residence at Dacca, since which period Rajemahal has steadily declined.

RAIKES (Robert), a printer and philanthropist of Gloucestershire, born in 1735. His father was proprietor of the Gloucester Journal, and the son succeeded him. Having realised a property, he employed it in relieving such objects as stood in need of his assistance; but is best known for his institution of Sunday schools, which he planned conjointly with the Rev. Mr. Stock in 1781. See EDUCATION. Mr. Raikes died at Gloucester in 1811.

RAIL, n. s. Belg. ragle. A kind of bird. Of wild birds Corrwall hath quail, rail, partridge and pheasant.

Carew's Survey of Cornwall. RAIL, v. n. Fr. railler; Belg. rallen; RAILER, n. s. Swed. ralla. To use reproachRAIL'LERY. Sful language; accuse; speak to or mention in opprobrious terms; formerly taking on now at: a railer is he who insultingly accuses or defames: raillery, a diminutive of railing; slight satirical speech or manner.

Angels bring not railing accusation against them.

What a monstrous fellow art thou! one that is neither known of thee, nor

2 Peter ii.

thus to rail on knows thee. Shakspeare.

Till thou canst rail the seals from off my bone, Thou but offendest thy lungs to speak so loud. Id. The plain the forests doth disdain : The forests rail upon the plain. Drayton. Let raillery be without malice or heat.

RAIL, n. s. & v. n. Teut. regel; Swed. regel. A cross beam fixed at the ends in posts; a series of rails; to enclose with rails; confine.

A man upon a high place without rails, is ready to fall. Bacon.

They were brought to London all railed in ropes, like a team of horses in a cart, and were executed some at London, and the rest at divers places. Id.

The hand is square, with four rounds at the corners; this should first have been planched over, and railed about with ballisters.

Care.

A large square table for the commissioners, ne side being sufficient for those of either party, and a ruil for others which went round.

Clarendon,

If you make another square, and also a tennant, on each untennanted end of the stiles, and another mortess on the top and bottom rails, you may put them together. Mozon.

As the churchyard ought to be divided from other profane places, so it ought to be fenced in and railed. Ayliffe. Sir Roger has given a handsome pulpit-cloth, and railed in the communion table. Addison.

RAIL ROADS. These useful appendages to mining and various other works have been in use in the neighbourhood of Newcastle since the middle of the seventeenth century. They were first solely employed for transporting coals to a moderate distance from the pits, to the places where they could be shipped, being universally made of wood. And long,' says Dr. Anderson, 'had they been applied to this use, without any idea having been entertained that they could be employed for more general purposes.' By degrees they were, however, carried to a farther extent; the scarcity of wood, and the expense of their repairs, suggested the idea of employing iron for the purpose of improving these roads. At the first, flat rods of bar-iron were nailed upon the original wooden rails, or, as they were technically called, sleepers; and this, though an expensive process, was found to be a great improvement. But, the wood on which these rested being liable to rot and give way, some imperfect attempts were made to make them of cast-iron, but these were found to be liable to many objections, until Mr, Outram, engineer, at Butterly Hall, Derbyshire, devoted his attention to this object. He contrived at the same time so far to diminish the expense, and improve the strength of the road, as to bring it to a degree of perfection that no one else had conceived possible. Having been carried into

execution in a few cases, and found to answer, his plan has been improved upon and simplified by practice, till it is now evident that it admits of being carried much beyond even its present

limits.

We cannot particularize the numerous existing rail-roads but the chief lines that have been laid down are found in the neighbourhood of the river Wear, near Newcastle, in the coal and mining districts of Yorkshire and Lancashire, in in the great mining districts along the vale of Derbyshire, Staffordshire, and Shropshire; and the Severn. Here it was that the inclined plane was first brought in aid of inland navigation. In Surrey there is a railway of considerable extent, that presents one of the few attempts that have been made to adapt rail-roads to general use. It