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compote the original whole again. Thia is extremely diffi- cult to effect univeifally, but in fome cafes it may be done, and that fo perfectly, that the recompojcd body fhall not be diftinguiftiable by the fenfes from that which never had been fcparatcd by the fire. If the art of chemiftry were perfect, we mould thus be able, at lcaft in fome degree, to recompofe all the bodies wc divide ; but this is far from . being the cafe at prefent. We can by no means do this in vegetable and animal bodies, where there is a vafcular ftructure, and therefore we are carefully to diftinguifh be- tween the regeneration of organized, and that of unorga- nized bodies. Shaiv's Lectures, p. 168.

RECONCILIATION of penitents, in church hiftory. See Penitents, Cyd.

RECRUITS, in the military art, new men raifed to fupply the places of fuch as have loft their lives in the fervice, or are rendered unferviccable by age or wounds.

Recruit horfes, are the horfes brought up for compleating the regiments of horfe or dragoons every year.

RECTIFICATION {Cyd.)-- That the Testification of fpirits may, in all cafes, proceed with the greateft exactnefs, a due regard to it muff be had even from the firft fermenting the fitbftance from which they are to be made, and con- tinued through all the ftages of difUIlation, the low wines, proof fpirit, and alcohol. The management of the fer- mented liquor, to this purpofe, is principally the letting it ftand to fubfide after the fermentation is over, and the drawing it off clear and thin, not too rich for the ftill. The ftiJl is not to be overfilled with this. Great care muft be taken to prevent its burning, and the faints that run laft muft be kept feparate, not mixed with the reft of the liquor diftillcd, which is now called the low wines. In the rectifying thefe into proof fpirit, great caution muft be ufed that the fire be kept regular, not raifed by fudden fpirits, which always throw up the oil in large quantities, which is to be left behind. In the fucceeding rectification of the proof fpirit into alcohol, the fame cautious management of the fire is neceflary ; and, in both this and the laft, the faints are not to be fuffered to run in among the fpirit, but to be faved feparate. They may be all mixed together at laft, and reduced to a fpirit fit for burning in lamps ; but the keeping out of the rectified liquor will keep away the coarfeft and moft ftinking part of the oil of the ingredients. By thefe eafy means, without any additional trouble o. charge, we might be furnifhed with a fpirit greatly ex- ceeding what we commonly meet with. And in general, the art and myftery of our fellers of the feveral forts of Englifh brandies, feem to confift in this prudent manage- ment, and in the adding a little of the oleum vini, or oil of wine lees, to the fpirits thus procured pure : this gives the flavour of foreign brandies, and is fo extenfive in its ufe, that half an ounce of it is fufficicnt for a hogfhead of pure fpirits.

Malt fpirit is that which principally requires all this care in the verification, becaufe its oil is more naufeous and of- fenfive than that of any other fpirit ; but all others will be greatly the better for being treated in the fame manner, and it is indeed necefiary that they mould for fome particular ufes.

It is remarkable, that no one method of combinatory Testi- fication \ that is, of the rectification performed by means of falts, and other additions, is fuited to all the feveral kinds of fpirits, fcarce indeed will any one way ferve for any two fpirits; but this method, by fimple and careful diftiJlation, is equally fuited to all. Melafles fpirit, cyder fpirit, wine fpirit, or brandy, rum, and arrack, are all improved by it, and all of them are then known to be perfectly rectified. When in the ftate of alcohol, they not only prove totally inflammable in a little veflel floating upon cold water, but when poured into the pureft fpring water, they have not the leaft power of making any change in it, nor leave any marks of oilynefs, or that unctuofity, which, on the mix- ture of the lefs pure fpirits, floats on the top, and in certain lights gives the rainbow colours. Shaw 's Eflay on Diftillery.

RECTIFYER, (Cyd.) in the diftillery, the perfon whofe employment it is to take the coarfe malt fpirit of the malt ffiller, and re-deftill it to a finer and better liquor. The art of the rectifyer might be entirely fet afide, if the malt ftiller could make his fpirit perfect at a fecond ope- ration ; which feems very practicable, if the malt ftillers could be got to forfake their old track. The great things to be recommended for the improvement of their art, would be firft the brewing in perfection, and fecondly the keeping their wafh after the manner of ftale beer, till it has entirely loft its malt flavour, and required a pungent acid vinofity ; and then thirdly leaving out the lees, to°dif- til with a well regulated fire. It is fcarce to be thought how pure a fpirit is to be obtained from malt this way; but the great art would be, the finding a way to make malt li- quors artificially ftale, bright, and flavourlefs, though other- wife vinous. Shaiu's Lectures, p. 223. RECTUS (Cyd.)— R-ect 1 abdominis. Thefe are long narrow

- mufcles, thicker than the oblique ; they lie near each other, like two large bands from the lower part of the thorax to the

os pubis, the linea alba coming between them. Tluir breadth diminifhes, and their thicknefs increafes gradually from above downward. The fuperior extremity of each of thefe muf- cles is fixed to a part of the lower extremity of the ft cr - num, to the three loweft true ribs, and to the firft falfe rib by the fame number of digitations, of which that which m fartheft from the fternum is the broadeft. The body of the mufcle lies in the vagina formed by the aponeurofis of the broad mufcles of the abdomen : exteriorly it is divided into feveral portions, refemblinp- diftinct mul- cles placed end-wife, by tranfverfe tendons termed enerva- tions, which commonly are all above the umbilicus, veiy. feldom below it, and adhere very clofely to the vao-ina. Thefe infertions are pretty irregular : they do not always penetrate the whole thicknefs of the mufcle ; and, in that cafe, they do not at all appear, or but very little, on the in- ner furface. Sometimes thofe which are fcen on the furface do not run quite crofs the whole breadth of the mufcle. The lower extremity of this mufcle ends in a thin tendon, fixed in the internal labium of the upper edge of the os pubis near the fymphyfis, and there it touches the tendon of the other rectus. Above the umbilicus, thefe mufcles are at fome diftance from each other, according to the breadth of the linea alba, but below it they come nearer the linea alba, being there narrower, and near their lower extremity, that line is almoft entirely hid by their thick edges. Win/low's Anatomy, p. 168.

Rectus anterior, a mufcle called alfo gracilis ayitcricr, as long as the os femoris, and lying directly along the forefide of the thigh. The greateft part of it is flefhy, and its middle is broader than the two extremities. It has its name rectus from the ftrait diameter in which it lies, and its other gracilis from its thinnefs and flatnefs. It terminates above by a pretty ftrong tendon, which is di- vided into two branches, one fhort and ftrait, the other long and bent ; the fhort branch running up in a ftrait line, is inferted in the anterior inferior-fpine of the os ilium. The long branch is inflected backward over the fupercilium of the acetabulum, and runs in the direction of it from the fpine, toward the great ifchiatic finus: it is ftrong and flat, adhering very clofely to the bone, and covered by the orbi- cular ligament and the glutasus minimus; and, according to the common method of difiecting, is therefore ufually cut off, and the fmall branch of the tendon only left obfervable. From hence the mufcle runs down wholly flefhy, and partly penniform, fome of its fibres meeting above and feparating below. It is narrow at the upper extremity, and grows gra- dually broader towards the middle, afterwards contracting in the fame manner, and at the lower extremity of the os femoris, ending in a flat tendon. Through its whole courib it lies between the two vafti, and covers the crureus ; and its inferior tendon is inferted in the upper edge of the patella, from whence it fends down a fmall plane of tendinous fibres, which adhere very clofely to the convex fide of that bone, and having reached the great ligament fecm to be loft therein. I'Finfiozv's Anatomy, p. 212.

Rectus mufculus, in anatomy, a name given by Fabri- cius, in his treatife of the eyes, to the mufcle, which ferves to elevate the upper eye-lid, called by Cowper and others aperiens palpebram, and by Albinus levator pal- pebra: fuperior'is.

Rectus internus major, in anatomy, a name given by Win- ilow to one of the mufcles of the head, defcribed by Fallo- pius, under the name of the ?mf cuius -nanus capitis; and by Winflow, the mufculus rectus anterior kr.gus.

Rectus capitis major, a fmall, flat, fhort mufcle, broad at the upper part, and narrow at the lower, and fituated obliquely between the occiput and fecond vertebra of the neck. It is fixed below the branch of the bifurcated fpine of the fecond. vertebra of the neck, at a tuberofity, which is often found at the upper part of the branch ; from thence it afcends a little obliquely outward, and is inferted in the poftcrior part of the inferior tranfverfe line of the os occipitis, at a fmall diftance from the crifta, being a little covered by the obli- quus fuperior. Winfiow'% Anatomy, p. 236.

Rectus minor capitis, this mufcle has a fmall infertion below in the pofterior eminence of the firft: vertebra ; from thence it afcends laterally,. and is inferted immediately under the pofterior part of the inferior tranfverfe line of the os occipi- tis, in a fuperficial foflula on one fide of the crifta occipitalis. Ibid. p. 237.

Rectus capitis anticus brews, a fmall flat mufcle, about the breadth of one finger, fituated laterally on the part of the body of the firft vertebra. It is fixed below to the bafis or root of the tranfverfe apophyfis of that vertebra, near the anterior eminence ; from thence it runs obliquely upward, and inward, to a tranfverfe impreffion in the lower iide of the apophyfis bafilaris of the occipital bone immediately before the condyle on the fame fide, being covered by the anticus longus. Ibid.

Rectus capitis anticus longus, a mufcle in fome decree of a pyramidal figure, lying along the anterior and lateral p;.r;s of the vertebra of the neck, all the way up to the bafis cranii. It is fixed to the anterior parts of the tranfverfe

apophyfis,