R I N 



are fuppofed to be thicker on that fide of the trunk of 

 the tree which has a fouthern afpett than on the con- 

 trary, and thicker in thofe fummers moil favourable to 

 vegetation than in others. It is added, that thefe rings, 

 as they lofe their vegetable life, and at the fame time a part 

 of their moifture, by evaporation or absorption, gradually 

 become harder and of a darker colour, infomuch, that by 

 counting their number, it is faid, that not only the age of 

 the tree, but the mildnefs or moifture of each fummer, 

 during the time of its growth, may be eftimated by the re- 

 fpeftive thicknefs of the rings of timber. 



Ring, Bafe. See Base. 



Ring-5o//, in a Ship, is an iron bolt with an eye at one 

 end, in which is fitted a circular ring, and ufed for various 

 purpofes ; particularly for hooking the tackles, by which 

 the cannon of a (hip is managed and fecured. They are 

 driven by the fides of the gun-ports in (hips for fecuring 

 the guns ; and in the deck for flopping the cable, and are 

 therefore called ilopper-bolts. The rings are fometimes 

 made angular, to receive many turns of lafhing ; fuch are 

 the ring-bolts driven through the (hip's fide along the waiil 

 for lafhing the booms and fpare anchors. 



RlSG-Bone, among Farriers, Sec. a hard callous fubftance, 

 growing in the hollow circle of the little paftern of a horfe, 

 above the coronet. 



It fometimes goes quite round, like a ring, whence its 

 name ; fometimes it is hereditary, derived from the ftallion 

 or mare ; but it oftener comes by accident, as from a ftrain, 

 a blow of a horfe, &c. 



Ring, Cornicbe. See Corniche. 



Rise-Dial. See Dial. 



Rikg-Dovc. See Dove, and Columba Palumbus. 



Ring, Fairy. See Fairy. 



RiSG-Head, an engine ufed in ftretching of cloth. 



Ring, Natal. See Natal. 



Ring Ouzel or Amfel. See Ouzel, and Turdus tor- 

 quatus. 



Ring, Reinforce. See Reinforce. 



RlUG-Ropcs, in a Ship, fhort pieces of rope, tied oci 

 ally to the ring-bolts of the deck, to fallen the cable n 

 fecurely, when the (hip rides in a temped, or turbulent fea, 

 or rapid current. They are ufed more particularly in 

 veering away the cable gradually in thofe circumttances, in 

 order to frefhen the hauie. 



RlKG-Sca/pel. We have a defcription and a figure cf a 

 ring-fcalpel, for aflilling the delivery of women in child- 

 birth, by Dr. Thomas Simfon, in the Medical Eflays of 

 Edinburgh, vol. v. art. 39. 



RlSG-Tail, in Ornithology, the Englilh name for the ful- 

 buteo, or pygargus accipittr ; which has been generally fuppofed 

 to be the female of the hen-harrier ; but males have lately 

 been found of this fpeeies. See Falco Pygargus. 



The ring-tail is a moderately large bird. It has a fort of 

 ring, or chain of feathers, round the back part of its head, 

 reaching to its chin on each lide, which (land erett, and are 

 brown in the middle, and of a reddifh-white at the edges, 

 and make a fort of crown, which furrounds the head ; on 

 the top of the head and cheeks the feathers are dufky, 

 bordered with rufl-colour ; under each eye is a white fpot ; 

 the back is dufky, the rump white, with oblong yellowifh 

 fpots on each (haft ; the tail is long, and its tip white ; the 

 bread and belly are of a yellowilh-brown, marked with 

 oblong dufky fpots ; its legs are yellow, and the iufide of 

 its mouth is black ; it feeds on fmall birds, and its eggs are 

 of a reddifh hue, with very little clear white appearing in 

 them. Thefe birds fly higher than the hen-harrier, and 

 fometimes frch on trees. 



It I N 



Rise-Tail Eagle. See White-tailed Eagle, and Falco 

 Albicilla. 



Ring-TW//, in a Ship, is a quadrilateral fail, occafionally 

 hoilled abaft the after-leech of the boom-mainfails, to which 

 the fore-leech is made to correfpond. The head is bent to 

 a fmall yard at the outer end of the gaft, and the foot is 

 fpread on the boom, which is prolonged by a piece lafhed 

 to the outer end. A triangular (ail of this fort is ufed in 

 light favourable winds, extended on a fmall mall, occafi- 

 onally erected for that purpoie on the taflarel of fmall 

 vedels. 



Ring, Trunnion. See Trunnion. 



Risa-Walh, among Hunters, around walk. See Hunt- 

 ing. 



Ring -Worm, in Medicine. See Ringworm. 



Ring I/land, in Geography, a fmall idand off the coaft 

 of Maffachufetts, oppoiite to Newbury port, to the eall- 

 ward. 



RINGAN, a town of Germany, in the principality of 

 Culmbach ; 14 miles S. of Culmbach. 



R1NGANDEE, a town of Bengal ; 30 miles W. of 

 Rogonatpour. 



RINGELBERGIUS, Joachim-Fortius, in Biogra- 

 phy, vernacularly Sterck, an eminent Flemifh philofopher 

 and mathematician, who flourifhed in the 16th century, was 

 born at Antwerp. He was patronized by the emperor 

 Maximilian I., in whofe palace he had an apartment, and 

 he there received his firfl inftrucTtions 111 the rudiments of 

 learning. When he was feventeen years of age, he was fent 

 to the univerfity of Louvain, where he dudied the learned 

 languages, philofophy, and the mathematical fcienccs. He 

 became a public profeflbr in that univerfity, and taught rhe- 

 toric, colmography, the mathematics, and the Greek 

 language, with very high reputation. So numerous were 

 the clafles which attended his lectures, that they frequently 

 i ipied his attention twelve hours everyday, for a month 

 together. In the year 1528 he went into Germany, and 

 taught the mathematical fciences and the Greek tongue in 

 various feminaries of that country. From Germany he 

 went to France, where he filled the profeflor's chair at 

 Paris, Orleans, Bourdeaux, and other places. He died 

 about the year 1536. He wrote a number of eiteemed 

 works, which were publilhed at Bafil, Antwerp, and other 

 places, and reflected honour on his learning and judgment. 

 The titles of fome of them are, " De Ratione Studii ;" 

 " De Ufu et Differentiis vocum quarundam apud Latinos ;" 

 " De Uiu Vocum qure non fle&untur ;" " Grammaticrr 

 Grsecse Elementa ;" " Dialectics, et Tabula? Dialectics ;" 

 " De conlcribendis Epillolis Lib.;" " Rhetorics?, et qu;e ad 

 earn fpeftant ;" " Sententis ;" " De Formis dicendi, 

 Lib.;" " De Periodis ;" " Synonyma ;" " Sphsra, five 

 Inititutionum Adronomicarum, Lib. iii.;" " Cofmogra- 

 phia ;" " Optica ;" " Chaos Mathematicum 5" " Arith- 

 metica." The whole of his works were collected and pub- 

 lilhed at Leyden, in 1531. 



RINGELSLOFF, in Geography, a town of Auftria ; 

 4 miles E.N.E. of Zifterfdorff. 



RINGEN, a town of Ruffia, in the government of 

 Riga ; the birth-place of the emprefs Catharine I., near 

 Dorpat. 



RINGENDORF, a town of France, in the depart- 

 ment of the Lower Rhine ; 7 miles W. of Haguenau. 



RINGENT Corolla, in Botany and Vegetable Physio- 

 logy, named from its refemblance to the mouth and fnout of 

 fome animal ; fee Corolla. Certain Englifh authors, li- 

 terally tranflating the original word (ringens), ufe the ludi- 

 crous term of a grinning corolla, 



RIN- 



