RAISINS. 



ItAMADHAX. 



ttt 



Sir Isaac Newton also ascribes the halo to refraction in floating hail 

 or mow ; but it appear* that Mariotte (in 1880) wac the first who 

 eonodered it to be produced by refraction in the mnall equilateral 

 prisms of ioe which abound in the air in a separata state before they 

 unite together and form the flakes which deioend during severe frosts ; 

 and Dr. Young, without being aware of Mariotte'* hjrpotheeU, enter- 

 tained and developed the same idea. 



According to this philoaopher, there may be in the air an immense 

 number of prismatic particles whose transverse sections are equilateral 

 triangles, or equiangular hexagons, the planes of the sections deviating 

 but little from one passing through the sun or moon and the spectator. 

 Now by the laws of refraction in water, when a pencil consisting of 

 parallel rays of light, as 8 1 (fy. 4) is incident on a face of such prisms 



and makes the angle of incidence SIP equal to about 41 50,' the axis 

 K K of the emergent pencil will make an equal angle E K Q on the other 

 face, and the angle of deviation s A F, or the angle between the incident 

 and emergent ray, will be 23 40'. Therefore if the line r E produced 

 to the spectator's eye were to revolve conically about a line joining 

 the sun and spectator as an axis (which line, since the sun is very 

 remote, may be considered as parallel to 8 A), all the prisms similarly 

 situated on such conical surface would transmit to the eye pencils of 

 parallel rays, if the light were of one colour, and thus there would be 

 produced the perception of a bright circle in the heavens, having the 

 sun for its centre ; its radius subtending at the eye an angle of about 

 28 40". The angle s A F varies very slowly, the variation amounting 

 only to about 3, when the angle SIP varies as much as 30, con- 

 sequently there may be innumerable prisms in the air in such positions 

 that the angle SIP, for pencils incident upon them, does not vary 

 more than 15 on either side of that which has been above supposed ; 

 and these will transmit to the eye light in such abundance as to pro- 

 duce the appearance of an annulus about 3 broad. This is the 

 appearance of the common halo, the slight excess of the calculated 

 radius over that observed being accounted for by the fact that water 

 is a little more refractive than ice. 



The larger halo is accounted for in a similar manner, by refraction 

 through ice prisms of 90, this angle being contained between the 

 plane ends and side faces of hexagonal prisms of ice. The radius, 

 calculated with 1*310 for the refractive index of ice, is about 45 46', 

 which agrees very well with the angle observed. 



The horizontal parhelia which are seen at the same altitude as 

 the sun, a little outside the smaller halo, are accounted for by re- 

 fraction through prisms of ice of 60, which, instead of being placed 

 on the average alike in all directions, have their axes vertical, in con- 

 sequence of the resistance of the air as they fall under the influence 

 of gravity. As the incident and emergent rays make with the axis 

 of the prism an angle equal to the zenith distance of the sun, the 

 minimum deviation is greater than what corresponds to refraction in 

 a plane perpendicular to the axis of the prism, which accounts for 

 the parhelia being situated a little outside the halo. This is the 

 commonest example of that curious class of halo phenomena, where 

 the appearance is no longer the same (except as to interruptions in 

 the icy clouds) all round the line joining the eye and the sun, but 

 has reference to the vertical. The reader who desires further infor- 

 mation on this point is referred to an elaborate memoir by M. Bravais 

 in the 81st cafiier of the ' Journal de 1'ficole Poly technique,' where 

 the subject is almost exhausted. 



RAISINS. The dried fruits of several varieties of the vine are 

 called raisins, a term derived from the French : raisin in that language 

 being a general name for grapes, the dried fruit being distinguished as 

 Rain** tea ou pout*. 



Raisins are named after the countries where they are produced, or 

 the places -whence they are imported ; as Malaga, Valencia, and Smyrna. 

 The peculiar small and generally seedless grapes, formerly called 

 Carinthi, are now better known as the dried or Zante currants of the 

 shops. Other denominations by which different kinds of raisins are 

 distinguished, arise from the variety of grape employed, or from the 

 mode of preparation; as muscatels, blooms, sultanas, raisins of the 

 sun, and lexUs. 



The most simple, and, when circumstances are favourable, the best 

 mode of preparation, is to dry the grapes, after being cut when fully 

 ripe, by exposure to the heat of the sun on a floor of hard earth or of 

 stone. Another method is to cut the stalk half-way through \vln-n 

 the grapes are nearly ripe, and leave them suspended till the watery 

 part is evaporated ; the flow of sap is in a great measure prevented 

 from entering the fruit, in consequence of the incision, and whilst 

 evaporation continues to go on undiminished, desiccation must take 



place. Some sorts are prepared by dipping the grapes in a l.-\ 

 afterwards drying them in the sun. This ley is formes! . i 

 wood-ashen, and a small portion of olive oil. The ashes of \ im- 

 branches and tendrils are preferred. In V il.-u>ii. in additimi to the 

 ashes of rosemary and vine branches, a little slaked lime is used. 

 Raisins so prepared are called lexias ; whilst those prepared entirely by 

 sun-heat are denominated raisins of the sun A fourth tni'iln'il. , inly 

 used for raisin* of inferior quality, is to dry the grapes in on 



The currant-grapes are gathered in the end of August and beginning 

 of September. Rains often spoil the crop when they occur at the 

 time of gathering or drying. The fruit, when sufficiently dry, is sepa- 

 rated from the stalks by small rakes, and afterwards stored in maga- 

 zines, teraylie, constructed somewhat like a lime-kiln, having an open- 

 ing at top, where the fruit is put in, and a door at bottom, opened 

 only at the time of sale. The fruit is rendered so compact by its own 

 weight, that considerable force is requisite to break it up for the pur- 

 pose of being packed in the large casks in which it is exported. 



Of all the known varieties of grapes, the white muscat of Alexan.li i,i 

 is that which furnishes raisins of the finest description. The berries 

 are Urge, oval, white, rather firm-fleshed, with a rich muscat flavour. 



From the synonym* which it has obtained, its extensive cultiva- 

 tion and use as a raisin grape may be inferred; for example, it 

 is called the muscat of Jerusalem, Malaga, Passe-Musquce, Passe'- 

 Longue Musquee, Muscat d'Espagne, Ac. There is also a black muscat 

 of Alexandria, and a red muscatel, both of which have a firmness of 

 pulp which renders them fit for drying ; for grapes, however rich they 

 may be, and excellent in a fresh state, yet if they do not possess a 

 certain degree of firmness, are unfit for drying, inasmuch as their sub- 

 stance would be too much dissipated in the process. 



The variety of grape-vine that bears the small and generally seedless 

 bunches of grapes, which, when dried, become the Varinlla or . 

 cwrnmtt of the shops, belongs to i*Ui* rinifera. The berries of 

 those grown in this country have the same size and character as 

 those imported, being small and seedless, except occasionally one 

 that acquires a somewhat larger si^e and contains a seed; such 

 are even found amongst imported fruit. The first grapes of this 

 variety that appeared in the great marts of Europe were brought 

 at the beginning of the 17th century from the Gulf of Corinth, 

 and hence were called Corinthian raisins. Latterly however the culti- 

 vation has become chiefly confined to the western territories of the 

 Morea and the Ionian Islands, particularly those of Zante, Cephalonia. 

 and Ithaca. The fertile island of Zante is the place where this variety 

 of grape is produced in greatest abundance. 



Nearly all the raisins imported into this country come from Spain and 

 Turkey. A small supply is received from Portugal, Italy, and the 

 Cape of Good Hope. Malaga and Valencia are the two great Spanish 

 ports of shipment. Nearly the whole of the supply from Turkey is 

 shipped at Chesmd and Vourla, small ports near Smyrna, the only 

 raisins shipped at Smyrna being the small fine species called sultanas. 

 Chesm4 owes its prosperity entirely to this trade ; and the Franks go 

 down there in the month of October merely to ship the fruit wluVh is 

 produced in great abundance in the vicinity. 



Raisins are imported in drums of 24 Ib. each, in boxes of 22 Ib. and 

 56 Ib., and in casks of 1 cwt. and 24 ewt. The import duty was 

 fixed in 1860 at 7. per cwt. In 1859 the imports were 558,000 cwt. 

 of currants, and 429,000 cwt. of raisins. A small per centage of the 

 imports, however, is re-exported, with a drawback of duty. 



RAJA is a Sanscrit word, signifying king or ruler, and is the same 

 word as the Latin rex, rtg-a. In the ancient writings of the Hindus 

 the word is applied to all the different kings or princes of Hindustan, 

 and the title is still given to native princes. 



RAMA. [VISHNU.] 



RAMADHA'N, the ninth month in the Arabian calendar, and a sort 

 of Lent observed by the Mohammedans, in obedience to the express 

 command of the Koran. During this month every good Moslem is 

 bound to fast from the first appearance of day-break until sunset. He 

 must abstain from eating, drinking, smoking, smelling perfumes, and 

 all other unnecessary indulgences or pleasures of a worldly nature ; 

 even from intentionally swallowing his spittle. He is allowed to bathe 

 himself, but it is on condition that he is not to plunge his head under 

 water, lest some drops should enter his mouth or ears. Some even 

 are so scrupulous that they will not open their mouths to speak, for 

 fear of breathing the air too freely. To make amends for this extreme 

 rigour, Moslems generally feast all night till day-break, though the 

 more rigid begin the fast again at midnight. As the Ramadhiin 

 happens at different seasons of the year, the fast is very severe when 

 it falls in summer ; the abstinence from drinking being most painfully 

 felt. Persons who are sick, or on a journey, and soldiers in time of 

 war, are not obliged to observe the fast during this month, but then 

 they should fast an equal number of days at a future time. Fasting i* 

 also dispensed with in the case of nurses and pregnant women. The 

 prophet even disapproved of any persons keeping the fast of Itaunx 1 h.ii i . 

 if not perfectly able ; and he desired no man to observe it so strictly 

 as to injure his health or disqualify himself for necessary lalxnir, 

 which is frequently the case among the lower classes of people. The 

 reason given by the Mohammedan theologians for the month of 

 Ramadhitn having been fixed upon for this purpose is, that the prophet 

 received bis first revelation in that month ; others pretend that it was 



