RICE n.
forms a large portion of the food of the inhabitants. In America it grows chiefly on low, moist land, which can be overflowed. Ant rice. (Bot.) See under Ant. -- French rice. (Bot.) See Amelcorn. -- Indian rice., a tall reedlike water grass (Zizania aquatica), bearing panicles of a long, slender grain, much used for…
ROOT n.
without buds, and having for its offices to fix the plant in the earth, to supply it with moisture and soluble matters, and sometimes to serve as a reservoir of nutriment for future growth. A true root, however, may never reach the ground, but may be attached to a wall, etc., as in the ivy, or may hang loosely in the a…
SEASON n.
by alternations in the length of day and night, or by distinct conditions of temperature, moisture, etc., caused mainly by the relative position of the earth with respect to the sun. In the north temperate zone, four seasons, namely, spring, summer, autumn, and winter, are generally recognized. Some parts of the world…
SHAGREEN n.
aracteristic surface is produced by pressing small seeds into the grain or hair side when moist, and afterward, when dry, scraping off the roughness left between them, and then, by soaking, causing the portions of the skin which had been compressed or indented by the seeds to swell up into relief. It is used for coveri…