Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/384

 RUE

the name of a country where the paler rubies are principally found. Under this name they exprefs a pale, ye; very bright ruby, with a (mailer admixture of the purple tinge than m the deeper coloured one, and fomething refcmbling the co- lour of the damafk rofe. This is of confiderable value, but lefs than the deeper, or as they call it the true ruby. Befide thefe, they know alfo two other {tones, under the general name rubies, calling them the rock ruby and the ru- bacelle. But thefe are not truly of the ruby kind ; the firft being a very beautiful fpecies of garnet, and having a tinp of blue with its red ; and the other a hyacinth, having manifeft caft of yellow.

We have the true rubies only from the Eait Indies. In Europe there are not unfrequently found cryftals tinged to the true colour of the ruby, but thefe ever want its luftre and nardnefs. In the Eaft Indies, the true rubles are often found almoft colourlefs, and not unfrequently variegated with fpots or (tains of a pure blue, evidently the fame with that of the fapphire. Doubtlefs alfo the ruby is fometimes found like the other gems, wholly deftitute of colour; but in this cafe, as the hardnefs of the ftone is the only thing that proves it to be of the gem clafs ; both this, and all the other co- lourlefs fpecimens of the gems, are confounded under the name of the colourlefs fapphire ; or, as our jewellers chufe to fpeak it, the white fapphire. Hill's Hift. of Fo(T. p. 590. feq.

Jrjhiical Ruby, rubinus arfenicalis, in chemiftry, a name gi ven to a fublirnation of a mixture of arfenic and common fulphur. Thefe two bodies mixed together in different pro- portions afford very different appearances. If arfenic, mixed with one tenth part of its weight of fulphur, be thrown into a crucible red hot upon the fire, and covered immediately with a tile, and finally poured out after two minutes fufion, it becomes a folid brittle mafs of a very pale yellow. If arfenic be melted in the fame manner, with a fifth part of fulphur, the mafs when cold will be of a red colour: and finally, if arfenic and fulphur be melted or fublimed toge- ther, in equal quantities, the product is a beautiful red tranfparent mafs, called rubinus arfenicalis.

Counterfeit Ruby. The way to give the true fine red of the ruby, with a fair tranfparence, to glaffes, is as follows. Cal- cine, in earthen veffels, gold diflblved in aqua regis till it become a red powder. The operation will require many

■ days in a hot furnace ; when the powder is of a proper co- lour, take it out ; and when it is to be ufed, melt the finefl cryftal glafs, and purify it by often cafting it into water \ finally add, by fmall quantities, enough of this red powder. to give it the true colour of a ruby, with an elegant and per- fect tranfparence. Neri's Art of Glafs, p. 192.

RUDD, in ichthyology, a name given by the Englifh to a fifh of the cyprinus kind ; it is called or/us and rutilus latus, or the broad roach by authors, and in fome parts of England the fin/cale. See Orfus, Rutilu^s and Cyprinus.

RUDDER (Cycl.) — Rudder-:V<?w, in a fhip, are the cheek: of that iron, whereof the pintle is part, which is fattened and nailed down about the rake of the rudder.

KuDDER-rope, in a fhip. See Rope, Cycl.

RUDDLE, rubrica, in natural hiftory. See Rubrica.

RUDDOCK, in zoology, an Englifh name for the rubecula, more commonly known by the name of the red breajl, or robin red breajl. Ray's Ornitholog. p. 160. See the arti- cle RubeculA.

RUDMAS day, in our old writers, the feaft of the holy crofs. There are two of thofe feafts, one on the third of May, being the invention of the crofs ; and the other the fourteenth of September, called holy rood-day, and is the exaltation of the crofs. Blount.

The word is compounded of the Saxon rode, i. e. crux, and mafs-day, i. e. feaft-day.

RUE, ruta, in botany, &c. See the article Ruta.

We have feveral forts of rue in the gardens of the curious, but the common kind only is propagated for medicinal ufe. All the kinds may be propagated, either by cuttings in the manner of rofemary, or clfe by feeds. Thefe mould be fown in the fpring on a bed of light earth ; and when the young plants come up, they fhould be removed at about two inches high to the places where they are to remain. Miller's Gardners Diet.

Goats Rue, in medicine. SccGalega.

IP'lld Rue. Seethe article Harmal a.

RUELLIA, in botany, the name of a genus of plants, de- fcribed by Linnseus, Plumier, and others, the characters of which are thefe. The cup is compofed of one leaf, and is divided into five erect narrow fegments. The flower con- fifts of one petal, the tube is of the length of the cup ; the neck broad and inclined, and the verge divided into five open fegments. Thefe are all obtufe at the points, and the two upper ones are longer than the reft, and are turned a little backwards. The iiamina are four filaments placed in the wide part of the tube in pairs. The germen of the piftil is roundifh, the ftyle is (lender, and of the length of the ftamina ; and the (tigma is bifid and acute, and the lower fegment of it is rolled back. The fruit Is a cylindric cap- fule rounded at each end ; it is of the length of the cup, com-

R U I

pofed of two valves and femibilocular : this contains fome roundifh, but compreffed feeds. Linnoi Gen. Pi, p. 2gy, Plumier Gen. 2. Dilkn. Hort. Elth. 248, 249.

RUFFE, in zoology, the Englifh name of the cermta or fmall gilded pearch, a fifh common in our rivers, and much refembling the pearch in figure. Ray's Ichthyol. p. 334. Seethe article Cernua.

The ruffe is called by the generality of authors cernua fiuviatilis ; and by fome chorus acerina and afpredo. It is called by Johnfon and Charleton alfo fcrollus. Willughby, as well as thefe authors, has mentioned the fcrollus as another fpe- cies of fifh ; but it is proved, by obfervation, that they are evidently the fame fpecies. Artedi makes this fifh a pearch,. or perca; and accurately diftinguifhes it from the other fifh of that genus by the name of the pearch, with only one fin on the back, and with a cavernous head. See the articles Cernua and Perca.

This fifh may be preferved alive in glafs jars with frefh wa- ter, and be made very tame. It mutt be fed, for it cannot fubfift on the animalcula of river water as fmall dace can. See Dace and Phil. Tranf. N° 478. p. 25. No fifh (hews the circulation of the blood in a finer manner than ruffs, whofe fins are exceeding tranfparent. Befides, it is a creature vaftly tenacious of life, and will live twenty or thirty minutes out of water, without receiv- ing much damage. Phil. Tranf. 1. c. p. 26.

Ruffe, in ornithology, the name of a male fpecies of bird, the female of which is called reeve, and the Latin name for which is aves pugnax, or the fighting bird. It is about five ounces in weight ; its head is of a greyifh brown with blackifh fpots, its neck is grey, and its back and (houlders variegated with black,white,andbrown. Itsbreaftand belly are white, and its throat of a greyifh white, and fome- thing mottled. Its wings are black and white. The fe- males are fomewhat fmaller than the males, and they feldom fight. The males have a very remarkable circle of long fea- thers, furrounding their necks in the form of a ruff, worn antiently by ladies, and from this the bird has its name ; the feathers of this are fometimes white, but more ufually black, yellow, grey, or of a very fhining blackifh blue; nor is the diverfity of colour peculiar to the feathers of the ruff alone ; but the whole body of the bird is fo variable, in this refpect, that at fome feafons it is fcarce poflible to find any two of the males which are exactly of the fame colour ; but about Midfummer, when they have newly moulted, they are all of the fame colours, and continue fo till toward the fucceeding fpring. The beak is ridged and triangular, and is blackifh, and the feet of a yellowifh red. They come over to us in vaft num- bers in fpring, and remain the fummer, building in fome parts of Lincolnfhire, particularly in the fenny country about Crowland. When they firft come over there are many more males than females among them ; but thefe are fo con- tinually fighting, that their number foon decreafes below an equality. They are fed up after they are taken with bread and milk, and become very fat, and a very delicate bird ; but they are obliged to be kept in the dark, for as foon as the leaft light is admitted they begin to fight. They are ufually taken with nets, while vaft numbers of them arc fighting together. Rays Ornitholog. p. 224, 225.

Ruffe is alfo the name of a particular fpecies of pigeon, called by Moore the columba cucullata ritdis.

It is in fhape very like that fpecies of pigeon called the jaco- bine, but is larger, and has a longer beak. The iris of the eye is fometimes red, fometimes pearl coloured. The fea- thers of the hood and chain are much longer than the jaco- bine, though they do not come down fo low to the (houl- ders of the wings, nor are they fo compact and clofe, but are apt to blow about with every little blaft of wind, and fall more backward off the head, and lie in a rough con- fufed manner.

It is a common thing to match the jacobine pigeon with this fpecies, with intent to improve its chain by the length of the ruff's feathers ; but the event is, that the pigeon is al- ways worfe inftead of better, being longer beaked, and loofer in its head and chain without any real advantage. .Moore's Columb. p. 48.

RUGGIOLA, a fort of Spanifh (late, ferving in many places in the room of tiles and bricks. It is a flaky (tone, of the nature of fome of our grey dates, and is cut out of a moun- tain near Cordova; a -plate of this being well heated on both fides, will retain its warmth for twenty-four hours. The people of Cornwal and fome parts of Yorkfhire ufe a ftone, which is of a talcky nature, to warm themfelves when in bed, applying it at the feet of the bed. This they call the warming ftone from its ufe, and it will retain a fenlible heat fix or eight hours, after once moderately warming. Plot's Oxfordfhire, p. 258.

RUGOSE leaf, among botanifts. See Leaf.

RUININE oil, a name given by fome authors to the oil of the palma chrijli, which is very common in the Weft- Indies, and is ufed by the common people in lamps. It is a deli- cate fweetand tranfparent oil, and has no peculiar operation in phyfic. They often give it in glyfters from one fpoonful to three at a time, and it has only the effect of common oil :

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