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In my view, the Christian religion is the most important and one of the first things in which all children, under a free government ought to be instructed... No truth is more evident to my mind than that the Christian religion must be the basis of any government intended to secure the rights and privileges of a free people. Preface to 1828 Dictionary
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RAT'TLESNAKE, n. A snake that has rattles at the tail, of the genus Crotalus. The rattles consist of articulated horny cells, which the animal vibrates in such a manner as to make a rattling sound. The poison of the rattlesnake is deadly.
Any one of several
species of venomous American snakes belonging to the genera
Crotalus and Caudisona, or Sistrurus. They have a
series of horny interlocking joints at the end of the tail which make
a sharp rattling sound when shaken. The common rattlesnake of the
Northern United States (Crotalus horridus), and the diamond
rattlesnake of the South (C. adamanteus), are the best known.
See Illust. of Fang.
Ground rattlesnake (Zoöl.), a
small rattlesnake (Caudisona, or Sistrurus, miliaria) of the
Southern United States, having a small rattle. It has nine large
scales on its head. -- Rattlesnake fern
(Bot.), a common American fern (Botrychium
Virginianum) having a triangular decompound frond and a long-
stalked panicle of spore cases rising from the middle of the
frond. -- Rattlesnake grass (Bot.),
a handsome American grass (Glyceria Canadensis) with an
ample panicle of rather large ovate spikelets, each one composed of
imbricated parts and slightly resembling the rattle of the
rattlesnake. Sometimes called quaking grass. --
Rattlesnake plantain. (Bot.) See under
Plantain. -- Rattlesnake root
(Bot.), a name given to certain American species of the
composite genus Prenanthes (P. alba and P.
serpentaria), formerly asserted to cure the bite of the
rattlesnake. Called also lion's foot, gall of the earth,
and white lettuce. -- Rattlesnake's
master. (Bot.) | ||||||||