Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 2.djvu/385

 R U M

but the leaves of the plant are one of the grand medicines of the negroes, bruifed and applied to the head ; they are thought to be an almoft infallible remedy for the head-ach, of what- ever kind, or from whatever cauie.

RUKKAIA, in zoology, a name given by fome to a peculiar kind of fquirrcl, found in the ifland of Ceylon. See the article Sciuitus.

RUM [Cycl.)— Rum differs from what we limply call fugar fpirit, in that it contains more of the natural flavour or ef- fential oil of the fugar cane; a great deal of raw juice and parts of the cane itfelf being often fermented in the liquor, or folution of which the rum is prepared. The unctuous or oily flavour of ruin is often fuppofed to proceed from the large quantity of fat ufed in boiling the fu- gar ; which fat, indeed, ifcoarfe, will ufually give a {fink- ing flavour to the fpirit, in our diftillations of the fugar li- quor, or wafh, from our refining fugar houfes ; but this is nothing of kin to the flavour of the rum, which is really the effect of the natural flavour of the cane. The method of making rum is this :

When a fufficient ftock of the materials is got together, they add water to them, and ferment them in the common me- thod, though the fermentation is always carried on very flowiy atfirftj becaufe, at the beginning of the feafon for making rum in the iflands, they want yeaft, or fome other ferment to make it work ; but by degrees, after this, they procure a fufficient quantity of the ferment, which rifes up as a head to the liquor in the operation, and thus they are able after- wards to ferment and make their rum with a great deal of expedition, and in large quantities. When the warn is fully fermented, or to a due degree of acidity, the diftillation is carried on in the common way, and the fpirit is made up proof: though fometimes it is re- duced to a much greater ftrength, nearly approaching to that of alcohol or fpirit of wine, and it is then called double diftilled rum. It might be eafy to rectify the fpirit, and bring it to much greater purity than we ufually find it to be of; for it brings over in the diftillation a very large quantity of the oil ; and this is often fo difagreeable, that the rum muff be fuffered to lie by a long time to mellow before it can be ufed ; whereas, if well rectified, it would grow mel- low much fooner, and would have a much lefs potent flavour. The belt ffatc to keep rum in both for exportation, and other ufes, is doubtlefs that of alcohol, or rectified fpirit. In this manner it would be tranfported in one half the bulk it ufually is, and might be let down to the common proof ftrength with water when neceffary : for the common ufe of making punch, it would likewife ferve much better in the ftate of alcohol ; as the tafte would be cleaner, and the ftrength might always be regulated to a much greater exact- nefs than in the ordinary way.

The only ufe to which it would not fo well ferve in this ftate, would be the common practice of adulteration among our diftillers ; for when they want to mix a large portion of cheaper fpirit with the rum, their bufmefs is to have it of the proof ftrength, and as full of the flavouring oil as they can, that it may drown the flavour of the fpirits they mix with it and extend its own. If the bufmefs of rectifying rum was more nicely managed, it feems a very practicable fcheme to throw out fo much of the oil, as to have it in the fine light ftate of a clear fpirit, but lightly impregnated with it ; in this cafe it would very nearly referable arrae, as is proved by the mix- ing a very fmall quantity of it with a taftelefs fpirit, in which cafe the whole bears a very near refemblance to arrac in flavour.

Rum is ufually very much adulterated in England, fome are fo barefaced as to do it with malt fpirit ; but when it is done with molaffes fpirit, the taftes of both are fo nearly allied that it is not cafily difcovered. The beft method of judeing of it is, byfetting fire to a little of it; and when it has burnt away all the inflammable part, examining the phlegm both by the tafte and fmell. Shaw's Effay on Diftillery.

■KUfVlI, in the materia medica, a name given by Avifenna and aerapio to maftic of the finer kind. They diftinguifhed this drug into two forts ; the one called by this name rumi, which was white and pure ; the other called cupti, which was foul and blackifli ; the former came from the ifland of Chios, the latter from fome part of .cEgypt.

RUMOUR, in law. Spreading falfe rumours is criminal and purafhable at common law. i Hawk. P. C. 234.

RUMPHIA, in the Linmean fyftem of botany, the name of a plant which makes a diftincT: genus. The characters of which are, that the cup is a one leaved perianfhium, divided by three notches at the extremity, and is placed ereft, and are all oblong, obtufe, and equal in use. The ftamina are three pointed filaments of the length of the flower. The antherse are very fmall. The piftil has a roundifh ger- ">en The ftyle is pointed, and of the fame length with tne Itamina, and the ftigma is three cornered. The fruit is a lkinny drupe of a turbinated form, and furrowed in three p . ces. The feed is a whole nut of an oval figure, contain- ing three cells, the nuts in each of thci'e are three cornered inihapc. LimxiGea.fi p. 9.
 * s plain. The flower is compofed of three petals, which

RUN

RUN (Ck/.J-s-Run, in the manege. To run a horfe is to put him to his utmeft fpeed. Some ufe the word rnnnhm for any kind of gallop.

RUNCARIA, in our old writers, flgnifies land full of bram- bles and briars, i Inft. 5. The word comes from the Latin runca, a weed. Blount.

RUNCATION, a term ufed in the anticnt hufbandry, to ex- prefs the clearing away the weeds from among the corn and other fown plants.

They ufed when the corn or other plants were an inch or two high, to draw a fort of rake or harrow over the ground indifcriminately over the corn and weeds, and when this was done a perfon followed over all the field, and picked up all the weeds with the hand ; the treading down the young corn, however, by this perfon's feet, and the injury done to it by the rake, were fo great, that the crop always fuffered greatly by it ; and many of the Romans chofe to omit the ufe of the rake or harrow, as a thing that did as much in- jury to the corn as to the weeds, and contented themfelves with the fending a perfon to pick up the weeds with- out it.

This was a fort of firit hint to the horfehoing hufbandry of the moderns, though fo injudicioufly managed, that it was " of very little, if any, ufe in this its infancy. But had thefe farmers been inftrudted to fow their corn in rows, and then to ufe the rake or harrow as we do the hoe, only between thofe rows, they would then have had all the advantage of deftroying weeds by it, and of ftirring the earth, and no in- jury would be done to the crop. Tull's Hufbandry. See the article Husbandry.

RUNGS, in a fhip, the fame with the floor or ground timbers, being the timbers which conftitute her floor," and are bolted to the keel, whofe ends are rung-heads.

Rung-Wj, in a fhip, are made a little bending to direct the fwip or mold of the futtocks and naval timbers : for here the lines, which make the compafs and bearing of a fhip, do begin.

RUNIC (Cycl.) — In feveral parts of Sweden, frones maybe met with which were formerly fet up as obehfks in memory of the dead ; and thefe monuments are marked with the an- tient northern letters called runor, or the runic characters. In fome places, the characters vary from the runic, particu- larly in free ftones found in Helfignland, of which Mr. Celfius has given us a defcription, with an explanation. See Phil. Tranf. N° 445. Se&. 3.

From thefe Helfingland inferiptions an alphabet of fixteen letters may be derived, which is very fmgular. In other alphabets different founds are generally denoted by different figures; but here the fame character, according to the diver- fity of its place and altitude between two parallels, denotes different founds.

But thefe characters, however different they may appear at the firft fight from the runic, may eafily be derived from them ; or vice verfa, the runic may be derived from the bel- fingic, if thefe be fuppofed the moft antient. The fubtrac- tion of a perpendicular line in the nrfr. cafe, or its addition in the latter, brings the two characters to a near refem- blance. • The infeription, which Mr. Celfius confiders, was publifhed in Monf. de la Motraye's travels, but erroneously. See Phil. Tranf. loc. cit.

RUNNING, in antiquity, made one of the exerdfes per- formed in the pentathlon or quinquertium. See the article Pentathlon, Cycl.

This exercife was in fo great efteem among the antient Greeks ; that fuch as prepared themfelves for it, thought it worth their while to burn, or parch their fpleen, becaufe it was believed to be an hindrance to them. Indeed, all thofe exercifes, that conduced to fit men for war, were more efpecially valued ; and that fwiftnefs was efteemed fuch in an eminent degree, appears from Homer's giving his hero the epithet of wo^ bku? a^Mh;?. Pott. Arch. Grsec. 1. 2. c. 21.

Running of the eyes y in infants. See Infant*

RvxNiNG-Jigbts, at fea. See Fights.

RuNNiNG-ro^fj, in a fhip, are thofe which run on blocks and fhivers.

RUNOR. See the article Runic.

RUNT, the name ufed with the diftinction of places for feve- ral fpecies of pigeons. Thefe are the Leghorn, the Spa- nifh, and the Friefland runt, &c. The columba domeflka Pi/arum, Hifpania & Frijia: of Moore. The Leghorn runt is a ftately large pigeon, feven inches or better in the legs, clofe feathered and fair, flefhed, extremely broad breaded, and very fhort in the back. He carries his tail, when he walks, fomewhat turned up like a duck's ; his neck is longer than any other pigeons, and he carries it bending like a goofe or fwan. He is goofe headed, and his eye lies hollow in his head, with a thin fkin round it, like that of the Dutch tumbler. His beak is very fhort for fo large a bird, and has a fmall wattle on it, and the upper chap falls a little over. It is a very valuable pigeon, but is ten- der, and requires care.

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