BAYNOUAUD 444 REACTION bora in St. Geniez, France, April 12, 1713. He acquired a European reputa- tion "by his "Philosophical History of the Two Indies." He died in Paris, March 6, 1796. RAYNOTJARD, FRANgOIS JUSTE MARIE, a French poet and philologist; born in Brignolles, Provence, France, Sept. 18, 1761. He studied at Aix, and became a prosperous advocate, and in 1791 was sent to the Legislative Assem- bly, where he joined the Girondins. Flung into prison, he was fortunately forgotten till the fall of Robespierre brought release. His poems and trage- dies were successful, and in 1807 he was elected to the Academy, of which he became perpetual secretary in 1817. A member of the imperial legislative body from 1806, he continued to produce dramas, but toward the fall of the empire turned his attention to linguistic and particularly Provencal studies. Ray- nouard died in Passy, near Paris, Oct. 27, 1836. RAZOR, a keen-edged steel instrument for shaving off the beard or hair. The great center of the razor manufacture is Sheffield, England. The savages of Polynesia still use two pieces of flint of the same size, or pieces of shells or sharks' teeth ground to a fine edge for shaving. RAZORBACK, one of the largest species of the whale tribe, the Balasnop- tera or Rorqualus borealis, the great rorqual (see Rorqual). Also a name given to a kind of hog, especially in the S. part of the United States. RAZORBILL, in ornithology, the Alca torda, the sole species of the genus Alca impennis, the great auk, being extinct. It is about a foot and a half long, plum- age of head, neck, and upper surface brilliant black, under surface pure white. They make no nest, but lay a single white or yellowish egg blotched and streaked with dark-brown, on the bare rock. Called also the black-billed auk and murre. RAZOR FISH, a species of fish with a compressed body, much prized for the table. It is the Coryphsena novacula. RAZOR SHELL, a genus of lamelli- branchiate mollusca, forming the type of the family Solenidge. They are common on both sides of the Atlantic; the shells are sub-cylindrical in shape; the hinge- teeth number two on each valve; and the ligament for opening the shells is long and external in position. The mantle is open in front, to give exit to the powerful muscular "foot," used by these mollusks for burrowing swiftly into the sandy coasts which they inhabit. These curious mollusks always live buried in the sand in an upright position, leaving only an opening shaped like a keyhole, which corresponds with the two siphon tubes. They are generally found at a depth of one or two feet, and when they make their burrows, as they are often in the habit of doing, among the rocks, not even the hooked iron can draw them from their retreat. The familiar species are the Solen siliqua, S. ensis, S. vagina, S. vmrginatus, and S. pellucidus. RE, ILE DE, a small, low-lying island off the coast of the French department of Charente-Inferieure, opposite the city of La Rochelle, from which it is separated by the Pertuis Breton. It is about 18 miles long and 3 broad, measures 28 square miles, and its inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the preparation of salt. Oyster farming has of late become an important branch of industry. Wine is made and exported. Pop. about 15,000. REA, GEORGE BRONSON, an Amer- ican electrical engineer; born in Brook- lyn, N. Y., Aug. 28, 1869. He practiced his profession in Cuba till the beginning of the revolution ; accompanied the insur- gent forces of Gomez and Maceo as spe- cial correspondent of the "New York Herald"; was present at 80 engage- ments between Cubans and Spaniards, and was wounded in the action at La Por- tela. He was present at the bombard- ment of San Juan, Porto Rico, and in the operation before Santiago. In the early part of the Porto Rico campaign he traveled through the island as an agent in the secret service of the United States Government. He is the author of "Facts and Fancies about Cuba." REA, SAMUEL, president of the Pennsylvania Railroad; born at Holli- daysburg, Pa., in 1855. At an early age he entered the engineering department of the Pennsylvania railroad. Some years later he directed the work of construct- ing the tunnels for the Baltimore and Ohio under the city of Baltimore. In 1892 he became assistant to the presi- dent of the Pennsylvania, and in 1809 his first assistant. Appointed in that year fourth vice-president of the road he rose continually until in 1913 he was chosen president. Perhaps his greatest engineering exploit was the construction of the tunnels under the Hudson and East rivers. REACTION, in chemistry, the chemi- cal change or effect produced by bringing at least two elements or compounds to- gether whereby one or more new bodies are formed, which may consist either of
