REG 



REG 



fey the greater breadth or depth of the 

 other ; tbr, as the side A is one-fourth 

 longer th in C, so B is one-fourth longer 

 than D, and the rec* angles of course 

 equal ; that is, A X D = B X C, or 

 12 X * = 4 X 9 = 36. This is the 

 foundation of that capital theorem, viz. 

 that the rectangle of the extremes is al- 

 ways equal to that of the means ; and, 

 consequently, the reason of the rule of 

 three. Hence it follows, that if any two 

 triangles, parallelograms, prisms, paral- 

 lelepipeds, pyramids, cones, or cylinders, 

 have their bases and altitudes reciprocal- 

 ly proportional, those two figures or so- 

 lids are equal to each other ; and vice 

 versa, if they are equal, then their bases 

 and altitudes are reciprocally propor- 

 tional. 



RECIPROCAL proportion, in arithmetic, 

 is when, in four numbers, the fourth is 

 less than the second, by so much as the 

 third is greater than the first ; and vice 

 versa. This is the foundation of the in- 

 verse, or indirect rule of three ; thus, 

 4 : 10 : : 8 : 5. See RULE. Reciprocal 

 proportion is of great use in determining 

 the laws of motion. 



RECIPROCALLY, one quantity is reci- 

 procally as another, when the one is 

 greater in proportion as the other is less ; 

 or when the one is proportional to the 

 reciprocal of the other. Thus a is reci- 

 procally as b when a is always propor- 

 tional toy- So also in mechanics, to per- 

 form any given effect, the less the power 

 is, the greater must be the time in per- 

 forming it, or as we have formerly ob- 

 served, what is gained in power is lost in 

 time. If p denote any power or agent, 

 and t the time of performing a given 



work, then p is as , and t is as , that 



is, p and t are reciprocally proportional to 

 each other. 



RECITAL, in law, is the rehearsal o r 

 making mention, in a deed or writing, of 

 Something which has been done before. 



RECKONING, or a Ship's Reckoning, 

 in navigation, is that account, whereby 

 at any time it may be known where the 

 ship is, and on what course or courses 

 she is to steer, in order to gain her port ; 

 and that account, taken from the log- 

 board, is called the dead-reckoning. 



RECOGNIZANCE, in law, is an obli- 

 gation of record, which a man enters 

 into before some court of record, or ma- 

 gistrate duly authorized, with condition 

 to the same particular act ; as to appear 



at the assizes or quarter sessions, to keep 

 the peace, 8tc. If the party does not 

 comply with it, the recognizance is es- 

 treated into the Exchequer. In some 

 cases, the court will upon motion respite, 

 and in some discharge the recognizam e ; 

 but all parties should be careful to apply 

 in good time to the court, where the re- 

 cognizance is to be returned. 



RECOIL, or REBOUND, the starting 1 

 backward of a fire-arm, after an explo- 

 sion. 



This term is particularly applicable to 

 pieces of ordnance, which are always sub- 

 ject to a recoil, according to the sizes and 

 the charges which they contain. To 

 lessen the recoil of a gun, the platforms 

 are generally made sloping towards the 

 embrasures of the battery. 



RECONNOITRE, in military affairs, 

 implies to view and examine the state of 

 things, in order to make a report thereof. 

 Reconnoitring parties are those sent to 

 observe the country, and the enemy, to 

 remark the routes, conveniences, and in- 

 conveniences of the first ; the position, 

 march, or forces of the second. 



RECORD, an act committed to writing 

 in any of the King's courts ; during the 

 term wherein it is written, it is alterable, 

 being no record; but that term once 

 ended, and the act duly inrolled, it is a 

 record, and of that credit, which admits 

 of no alteration on proof to the contrary. 

 RECORDARE, or Recordari Facias, in 

 law, a writ directed to the sheriff, to re- 

 move a cause depending in an inferior 

 court, or court of ancient demesne, hun- 

 dred, or county, to the King's Bench or 

 Common Pleas. 



RECOVERY, in law, the name of a 

 species of conveyance of great effect and 

 much utility. Common recoveries were 

 invented by the ecclesiastics, to elude the 

 statutes of mortmain ; and afterwards en- 

 couraged by the courts at law, in order- 

 to put an end to all fettered inheritances, 

 and bar not only all estates tail, but also 

 all remainders and reversions expectant 

 thereon. A common recovery is so far 

 like a fine, that it is a suit or action, 

 either actual or fictitious ; and in it, the 

 lands are recovered against the tenant of 

 the freehold ; which recovery, by a sup- 

 posed adjudication of the right, binds all 

 persons, and vests a free and absolute 

 fee simple in the recoverer. And a com- 

 mon recovery is now looked upon as the 

 best assurance, except an act of parlia- 

 ment, tiiat purchasers can have. 



There must be three persons at least 

 te make a common recovery, a recoverer, 



