RABIES RACHEL 161 ters of Rabelais were published in 1651. See Ginguene, De Vautorite de Rabelais dans la revolution presente et dans la constitution ci- vile du clerge, ou Institutions royales, politiques et ecclesiastic ues tirees de Gargantua et de Pantagruel (Paris, 1791). BABIES. See HYDROPHOBIA. RABI.V, the N. E. county of Georgia, bor- dering N. on North Carolina and E. on South Carolina, from which it is separated by the Chattooga river ; area, about 320 sq. m. ; pop. in 1870, 3,256, of whom 119 were colored. The surface is mountainous ; the Blue Ridge forms the W. boundary and then curves through the N. portion of the county. The chief pro- ductions in 1870 were 4,080 bushels of rye, 71,376 of Indian corn, 2,704 of Irish potatoes, '3,915 of sweet potatoes, 4,208 Ibs. of tobacco, 5,541 of wool, and 19,868 of butter. There were 481 horses, 470 mules and asses, 1,170 milch cows, 453 working oxen, 1,855 other cattle, 4,086 sheep, and 6,672 swine. Capital, Clayton. RACCOON (procyon, Storr), a genus of Amer- ican plantigrade mammals of the bear family, of the section subursince. In this genus the size is comparatively small, the body stout, and the tail moderately long, bushy, and not prehensile ; the muzzle is pointed, and the end very movable and slightly projecting ; the teeth are : incisors |_f, canines ~, premo- lars c|-, and molars fzf, in all 40, there being one upper true molar on each side less than in the bears. The shape is not unlike that of the badger, though the legs are longer ; ears moderate, erect, and covered with hair; head broad behind and flat, with naked and large muffle ; whiskers in four principal horizontal series, five or six bristles in each ; feet five toed, with naked soles and no indication of webs ; claws curved, not retractile, and sharp; though Raccoon (Procyon lotor). I plantigrade when standing, the gait is rather digitigrade. The common raccoon (P. lotor, Storr) is 22 or 23 in. long, with the tail about a foot additional ; the general color is grayish white, the tips of the long hairs black and giv- ing this tint to the back; under surface dark brown ; an oblique black patch on the cheeks, continuous with a paler one beneath the jaw, and another behind the ears ; the end of muz- zle, ears, and posterior part of cheek patch whitish; tail bushy, with the tips and five rings black, and the nearly equal interspaces rusty white ; hind feet 4 in. long, dirty white above, the fore feet 2f in. ; mamma3 six, ven- tral ; there are anal glands which secrete a somewhat offensive fluid. Some varieties oc- cur nearly black, others are nearly white. The raccoon is found generally over the United States, as far north as lat. 60 in the interior, as high as Newfoundland on the Atlantic, and further north on the Pacific; it is most abun- dant in the southern states, frequenting re- tired swamps covered with high trees a"nd well watered. It is an excellent climber, in this way obtaining eggs and young birds ; watching the soft-shelled turtle lay her eggs in the sand, it uncovers and devours them ; it seizes ducks as they come to the water, and is extremely fond of ripe and juicy corn, as well as of frogs and shell fish. It is not entirely nocturnal, and sometimes visits the corn fields and the poultry yard at midday ; it feeds much on an inferior oyster in the southern states, hence called the raccoon oyster ; it also eats rabbits, squirrels, and other rodents, fish, nuts, and honey. It has been generally supposed to dip its food in water before eating it, hence its spe- cific name of lotor or washer ; but this, which it does not generally do in captivity, according to Bachman, is probably only an occasional habit. It hibernates during the coldest weather in the northern states. It is shy, and has an acute sense of smell ; it brings forth about the month of May, in a nest in a hollow tree, four to six at a time, about the size of half-grown rats, which utter a plaintive infant-like cry. It is a favorite sport of the southern negroes in winter to hunt " coons," driving them to a tree, and then climbing up and shaking them off, or felling the tree to bring them within reach of the dogs ; they sell the skin to the hatters, and eat the flesh, which is generally very fat and tender, with a flavor of pig. Many are caught also in traps, and are hunted by torchlight. In captivity it makes a very cunning and interesting pet, being easily tamed so as to follow its master even into the crowd- ed street, ambling along in the manner of a bear, and adroitly picking his pockets of dain- ties. The crab-eating raccoon (P. cancrivo- rus, Illig.), from Brazil and the northern parts of South America, is longer and more slender than the common species, grayish above shaded with brown and black, and yellowish below ; the face is whitish, with a black band sur- rounding each eye ; tail less distinctly annu- lated. Its habits are nearly the same as in the other species, but it is more arboreal ; it is equally omnivorous ; its flesh is also used as food. It is found on the seacoast and in the interior, and as far south as Paraguay. RACHEL, in Biblical history. See JACOB.
