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UADICAT10N, a term used by some for the action wherebyplants take root, or shoot out roots.
KADICLE, that part of the seeds of all plants, which uponvegetating becomes its root, and is discoverable by the micro-scope.
RADISH, in botany. See Rafhanus.
Radish, Horse. See Cochlearjta.
RADIUS , in anatomy. See Anatomy.
Radius, in geometry, is a right line drawn from the centre tothe circumference. In trigonometry, -the radius is termed thewhole sine, or sine of 90°. See Sine.
RADIX, [Eat.] a root. See Botany .
RADNOR, the capital of Radnorshire, in South Wales , 150miles from London . Lon. 2. 45. W. Lai. 52. 10. N.
RADNORSHIRE, a county of South Whiles, is bounded onthe N. by Montgomeryshire; E. by Shropshire and Hereford-shire > ° n die S. and S. W. by Brecknockshire ; and W. by Car-diganshire ; extending 30 miles in length and 25 in breadth.
RADSTADT, or IIASTADT, a town of Germany, in Suabia ,4 miles N. ol Baden, and 24 S. W. of Philipsburg. Lon. 8. 14.E. Lat. 48.54. N.
RADUNPOUlf, a town of Ilindostan, in Agimere, on theEuddar; 175 miles N. of Surat . Lon. 71. 48. E. Lat. 2358. N.
RAFT, [probably from ratis, Lat.] a frame or float made bylaying pieces of timber cross each other.
RAT TERS, in building, pieces ol timber which, standing bypairs on the reason or railing-piece, meet in an angle at the top,and lorm the roof of a building. See Architecture.
RAGG, or ROW'LEY RAGG, a genus of stones, belongingto the siliceous class. It is of a dusky or dark grey colour, withmany shining crystals, having a granular texture, and acquiringan ochry crust by exposure to the air. The specific gravity is2-948. It becomes magnetic by being heated in the open fire.
RA-GOOGUR, a town of Hindostan, in Maluz, 111) milesN. E. of Oudein, and 256 S. of Delhi. Lon. 17. 30. E. Lat.24. 23. N.
RAGOUT, or RAGOO, is a sauce, or seasoning, intended torouse the appetite when lost or languishing. It is also used forany high-seasoned dish prepared of ilesh, fish, greens, or the like ;by stewing them with bacon, salt, pepper, cloves, and the like in-gredients. I here are ragouts of celery, of endive, asparagus,cock’s-combs, giblets, craw-fish, &c.
RAGULED, or RAGGED, in heraldry, jagged or knotted.This term is applied to a cross formed of the trunks of two treeswithout their branches, of which they shew only the stumps,Raguled differs from indented, in that the latter is regular, theformer not.
RAG USA, a city of Dalmatia , and capital of Ragusen, 60miles N. W. of Scutari, and 110 N. of Brindisi. Lon. 18. 10.'E.Lat. 42. 50. N.
Ragusa Vecchio, or Old Ragusa, the ancient Epidaurus , avillage of Maritime Austria, 6 miles from Ragusa, anciently a con-siderable town. Lon. 19. 0. E. Lat. 42. 20. N.
RAHNIS, or RANIS, a town of Upper Saxony, in Neustadt ,10 miles S. W. of Neustadt , and 55 S. S. VV. of Leipsic.
RAJA, or RAJAH, the title of the Indian black princes, theremains of those w ho ruled there before the Moguls. The Indianscall them rai ; the Persians , raian, in the plural; and our travel-lers -rajas, or ragias.
Raja, the Ray-Fish ; in ichthyology, a genus belonging tothe order of Chondropterygia. There are five spiracula below to-wards the peak ; the body compressed ; and the mouth is situatedunder the head. There are nineteen species, of which the R.aspera, R. batis, R. clavata, R. electrica, R. fullonica, R. fasti-Uot S, | ^ oxyrincl-ms, and R. squalicorina, are among the most
RAJANIA, in botany, a genus of the dioecia hexandria classand order ; natural order, Sarmenlacese. Calyx six-parted ; co-olla none : female, styles three ; germ inferior, three-celled, with
e
stem
wo. ol the cells obliterated ; seed one, with one wing. There areven species; these are climbing plants, by means of the slein..-n lu ^ to ."’ ar ds the lett; the root is tuberous; the flowers i
Indies 7 SP ‘ keS ° r raeemes
Fhey are all natives of the West
RAIL, in architecture, is used in different senses, as'for thosepieces of timber which lie horizontally between the pannels ofwainscot ; for those which lie over and under the balusters in bal-conies, staircases, and the like ; and also for those pieces of timberwhich lie horizontally from post to post in fences, either with polesor without.
RAIN, [ren, Sax.] the descent of water from the atmospherein the form of drops of a considerable size. By this circumstanceit is distinguished from dew and fog: in the former of which thedrops are so small that they are quite invisible ; and in the latter,though their size is larger, they seem to have very little more spe-cific gravity than the atmosphere itself, and may therefore bereckoned hollow 1 spherules rather than drops. It is universallyagreed, that rain is produced by the water previously absorbed bythe heat of the sun, or otherwise, from the terraqueous globe, intothe atmosphere ; but very great difficulties occur when we beginto explain why the water, once so closely united with the atmo-sphere, begins to separate irom it. For the philosophy of thiscontrivance of the Deity for the purpose of fertilizing the earth,see Meteorology.
Rain, in geography, a well-built and fortified town of UpperBavaria, 5 miles E. of Donawert, and 24 W. of Ingoldstadt . Lon.11. 12. E. Lat. 48. 51. N.
Rain, a town of Germany , in Lower Stiria, with a castle on theSave, near Carniola . Lon. 15. 20. E. Lat. 46. 12. N.
RAINBOW. See Optics.
Rainbow, Lunar. The moon sometimes exhibits the pheno-menon of an iris or rainbow by the refraction of her rays in dropsof rain. Tins phenomenon in the night-time is very rare. TheRev. Alexander Colvill of Ormiston, gives an account ot a com-plete one which he saw in September 1787, between eleven andtwelve at night, in Sir J. Sinclair’s Stat. Account, vol. iv. p. 172.An account of three seen in one year is inserted in the Philos.Trans, for 1783.
Rainbow, Marine, or Sea-Rainbow, is a phenomenonwhich may be frequently observed in a much agitated sea, and isoccasioned by the wind sweeping part of the waves, and carryingthem aloft; which when they fall down are refracted by the sun’srays, which paint the colours of the how just' as in a commonshower. These bows are often seen when a vessel is sailing withconsiderable force, and dashing the waves around her, which areraised partly by the action of the ship and partly by the force ofthe wind, and’ falling down, they form a rainbow ; and they arealso often occasioned by the dashing of the waves against therocks on shore.
RAISING PIECES, or REASON-PIECES, in architec-ture, are pieces that lie under the beams, and over the posts orpuncheons.
RAISINS, grapes prepared by suffering them to remain on thevine till they are perfectly ripe, and then drying them in the sun,or by the heat of an oven.
RAKE OF A SHIP, is ail that part of her hull which hangsover both ends of her keel. That which is before is called thefore rake, or rake forward, and that part which is at the setting onof the stern-post is called the rake-aft, or afterward.
1IAKESBURG, or RAKESPURG, a town of Silesia, on anisland in the Muelir, 36 miles S. E. of Graz , and 90 S.'ofVienna .
RALEIGH , Sir W alter, was bora at Hayes, in the parish ofBudley, in Devonshire, of an ancient family, in 1552. After aproper education he was sent to Oriel College, Oxford, hut didnot long remain there, for having an enterprising turn lie enteredinto the troop of gentlemen-volunteers, who went to the assistanceof the Protestants in France , where he continued about five or sixyears. In 1576 he was a student in the Middle Temple , but theyear following lie served under General Norris in the Nether-lands . Soon after his return he engaged with his brother-in-law,Sir Humphry Gilbert, in a voyage to America , from whence iheyreturned in 1579. The next year lie was in Ireland , where liedistinguished himself against the rebels in Munster. Ou his re-turn to England he introduced himself to the noticeof QueenElizabeth by a piece of gallantry. Her majesty was taking theair in a walk, when stopping at a dirty place, she hesitated whetherto proceed or not; on which Raleigh took off his new plush-cloak, and spread it on the ground, The queen trod gently over