Rodriguez
or RODRIGUES, a a hilly volcanic island (1,760 feet), 13 miles long by 7 broad, 370 miles E. by N. of Mauritius, of which it is a dependency.
Rodriguez is cable station. The soil is fertile, and agriculture is the chief occupation. Hurricanes often cause great damage to the island, which is encircled by a coral reef. It was discovered by the Portuguese in 1645, and has been a British colony since 1810. The chief port is Port Mathurin. Owing to its isolation this island is particularly interesting to the botanist and the zoölogist. Till near the close of the 17th century it was the home of the solitaire, now an extinct bird.
ROE (Capreolus caprea), a small species of deer inhabiting Europe and some parts of western Asia, chiefly in hilly or mountainous regions. It is seldom found in the higher and more naked mountain tracts, the haunt of the stag or red deer. It was once plentiful in Wales and in the hilly parts of England, as well as in the S. of Scotland, but is now very rare S. of Perthshire. The roe is about 2 feet 3 inches in height at the shoulder. Its weight is about 50 or 60 pounds. Its color is a shining tawnybrown in summer, more dull and grizzled in winter. The tail is very short, concealed among the hair. The antlers, which are peculiar to the male or roebuck, are eight or nine inches long, erect, round, very rough, longitudinally furrowed; having, in mature animals, two or three tines or branches, which, as well as the tip of the horn, are sharp-pointed, so that the antlers form very dangerous ROE weapons. The habits of the roe are somewhat like those of the goat, or even of ROE BUCK the chamois. Contrary to what is usual among deer, the male and female remain HEAD OF ROE BUCK attached during life. The voice of the roe-deer, resembling that of a sheep, but ROEBLING shorter and more barking, is often heard through the night. The venison is superior to that of the stag, but not equal to that of the fallow deer. The horns are used for handles of carving knives and similar articles .