RAT 
551 
RAT. .See Mus. 
RATAFIA, a spirituous liquor, prepared 
from the kernels, &c. of several kinds of 
fruit, particularly of cherries and apricots. 
Ratafia of cherries is prepared by bruising the 
cherries, and putting them into a vessel where- 
in brandy has been long kept; then adding to 
them the kernels of cherries, with strawber- 
ries, sugar, cinnamon, white pepper, nut- 
megs, cloves ; and to twenty pounds of cher- 
ries, ten quarts of brandy. The vessel is left 
open ten or twelve days, and then stopped 
close for two months before it is tapped. Ra- 
tafia of apricots is prepared two ways, viz. 
either by boiling the apricots in white wine, 
adding to the liquor an equal quantity of 
brandy with sugar, cinnamon, mace, and the 
kernels of apricots; infusing the whole for 
eight or ten days, then straining the liquor, 
and putting it up for use: or else by infusing 
the apricots cut in pieces in brandy, for a day 
or two, passing it through a straining bag, and 
then putting in the usual ingredients. 
RATCI1, or Rash, in clock-work, a sort j 
of wheel having twelve fangs, w hich serve to j 
lift up the detents every hour, and make the J 
clock strike. See Clock-work. 
RATCHETS, in a watch, are the small 
teeth at the bottom of the fusee, or barrel, i 
which stops it in winding up. 
RATES, in the navy, the orders or classes 
into which the ships of war are divided, ac- ! 
cording to their force and magnitude. The ; 
regulation which limits the rates of men of ; 
war to the smallest number possible, seems to 
have been dictated by considerations ot po- 
litical economy, or of the simplicity of 
the service in the royal dock-yards. The j 
British fleet is accordingly distributed into six 
rates, exclusive of the inferior vessels that 
usually attend on naval armaments; as sloops 
of war, armed ships, bomb-ketches, fire-ships ' 
and cutters, or schooners commanded by j 
lieutenants. Ships of the first rate mount j 
100 cannon, having 42 -pounders on the ; 
lower deck, 24-pounders on the middle deck, 
12-pounders on the upper deck, and g-pound- j 
erson the quarter-deck and forecastle. They • 
are manned with 850 men, including their i 
officers, seamen, marines, and servants. 
In general, the ships of every rate, besides ' 
the captains, have the master, the boatswain, | 
the gunner, the chaplain, the purser, the sur- 
geon, and the carpenter; all of whom, ex- 
cept the captain, have their mates or assist- 
ants, in which are comprehended the sail- 
maker, the master at arms, the armourer, the 
captain’s clerk, the gunsmith, &c. The 
number of other officers is always in propor- 
tion to the rate of the ship. Thus a first-rate 
has six lieutenants, six master’s mates, twenty- 
four midshipmen, and five surgeon’s mates, 
who are considered as gentlemen : besides 
the following petty officers; quarter-masters 
and their mates, fourteen ; boatswain’s mates 
and yeomen, eight; gunner’s mates and as- 
sistants, six; quarter-gunners, twenty-five; 
carpenter’s mates, two, besides fourteen as- 
sistants; with one steward, and stewards 
mate to the purser. 
If the dimensions of all ships of the same 
rate were equal, it would be the simplest and 
most perspicuous method to collect them 
into one point of view in a table : but as 
there is no invariable rule for the general di- 
mensions, we must content ourselves with but 
a few remarks on ships of each rate, so as to 
RAT 
give a general idea of the difference between 
them. 
The Victory, one of the last-built of our 
first-rates, and ever memorable for being 
commanded by lord Nelson in the glorious 
battle of Trafalgar, is 222 feet 6 inches in 
length, from the head to the stern ; the length 
ot her keel, 151 feet 3 inches; that of her 
gun-deck, or lower deck, 186 feet; her ex- 
treme breadth is 51 feet 10 inches; her depth 
in the hold, 21 feet 6 inches; her burthen 
2162 tons; and her poop reaches 6 feet be- 
fore the mizen-mast. 
Ships of the second rate carry 90 guns 
upon three decks, of which those on the 
lower battery are 32-pounders; those on the 
middle, 18-pounders; on the upper deck, 
12-pounders ; and those on the quarter-deck, 
6-pounders, which usually amount to four or 
six. Their complement of men is 750, in 
^vhich there are 6 lieutenants, four master’s- 
mates, 24 midshipmen, and four surgeon’s- 
mates, 14 quarter-masters and their mates, 
eight boatswain's mates and yeomen, six gun- 
ner’s mates and yeomen, with 22 quarter-gun- 
ners, two carpenter’s-mates with 10 assist- 
ants, and one steward and steward’s mate. 
Ships of the third rate carry from 64 to 80 
cannon, winch are 31, 18, and 9-pounders. 
The 80-gun ships, however, begin to grow 
out of repute, and to give way to ‘those of 
74, 70, &c. which have only two whole bat- 
teries; whereas the former have three, with 
28 guns planted on each, the cannon ol their 
upper deck being the same as those on the 
quarter-deck and forecastle of the latter, 
which are 9-pounders. The complement in a 
74 is 650, and in a 64, 500 men; having, in 
peace, four lieutenants, but in war, five ; and 
when an admiral is aboard, six. They have 
three master’s-mates, 16 midshipmen, three 
surgeon’s-mates, 10 quarter-masters and their 
mates, six boatswain’s-mates and yeomen, 
four gunner’ s-mates and yeomen, with 18 
quarter-gunners, one carpenter’s-mate with 
eight assistants, and one steward and stew- 
ard’s-mate under the purser. 
Ships of the fourth rate mount from 60 to 
50 guns, upon two decks, and the quarter- 
deck. The lower tier is composed of 24- 
pounders, the upper tier of 12-pounders, and 
the cannon on the quarter-deck and fore- 
castle are 6-pounders. The complement of 
a 50-gun ship is 350 men, in which there are 
three lieutenants, two master’s-mates, 10 
midshipmen, two surgeon’s-mates, eight 
quarter-masters and their mates, four boat- 
swain’s mates and yeomen, one gunner’s- 
mate and one yeoman, with 12 quarter-gun- 
ner’s, one carpenter’s-mate and six assistants, 
and a steward and steward’s-mate. 
Vessels of war under the fourth rate, and 
above the rate of sloops, are usually com- 
prehended under the general name of fri- 
gates, and never appear in the line of battle. 
They are divided into the fifth and sixth rates ; 
the former mounting from 50 to 32 guns, and 
the latter from 28 to 20. The largest of the 
fifth rate have two decks of cannon, the 
lower battery being of 18-pounders, and that 
of the upper-deck of 9-pounders ; but those of 
i 36 and 32 guns have one complete deck of 
■ guns, mounting 12-pounders, besides the 
quarter-deck and forecastle, which carry 
6-pounders. The complement of a ship of 
I 44 guns is 280 men; and that of a frigate of 
I 3 
R A T 
36 guns, 240 men. The first has three, and 
the second two lieutenants ; and both have 
two master’s-mates, six midshipmen, two 
surgeon’s-mates, six quarter-masters and their 
mates, two boatswain’s-mates and one yeo- 
man, one gunner’s mate and one yeoman, 
with 10 or 11 quarter-gunners, and one purs- 
er's steward. 
Frigates of the 6th rate carry 9-pounders 
those of 28 guns having 3-pounders on their 
quarter-deck, with 200 men for their con p'e- 
ment; and those ot 24, 160 men: the former 
have two lieutenants, the latter one ; and both 
have two master’s-mates, four midshipmen, 
one surgeon’ s-mate, four quarter-masters and 
their mates, one boatswain’s-mate and one 
yeoman, one gunner’ s-mate and one yeoman, 
with six or seven quarter-gunners, and one 
purser’ s-stesvard. 
The sloops, of war carry from 18 to 8 can- 
non : the largest have six-pounders ; and the 
smallest, viz. those of 8 or 10 guns, four- 
pounders. Their officers are generally the 
same as in the 6th ratea, with little variation ; 
and their complements of men axe from 120 
to 60, in proportion to their force or magni- 
tude. Bomb-vessels are on the same establish- 
ment as sloops ; but fire-ships and hospital- 
ships are on that of fifth rates. 
Nothing more evidently manifests the great 
improvement of the marine art, and the de- 
gree of perfection to which it lias arrived in 
Britain, than the facility of managing our first 
rates; which were formerly esteemed incapa- 
ble of government, unless in the most fa- 
vourable weather of the summer. Ships of 
the second rate, and those of the third, which 
have three decks, carry their sails remarka- 
bly well, and labour very little at sea. They 
are excellent in a general action, or in can- 
nonading a fortress. Those of the third 
rate, which have two tiers, are fit for the line 
of battle, to lead the convoys and squadrons 
of ships of war in action, and in general to 
suit the different exigencies of the naval ser- 
vice. The fourth-rates may be employed on 
t he same occasions as the third-rates, and may 
be also destined amongst the foreign colonics, 
or on expeditions ot great distance; since 
these vessels are usually excellent for keep- 
ing and sustaining the sea. Vessels of the 
fifth rate are too weak to suffer the shock of a 
line of battle ; but they may be destined to 
lead the convoys of merchant-ships, to pro- 
tect the commerce in the colonies, to cruize in 
different stations, to accompany squadrons, or 
be sent express with necessary intelligence 
and orders. The same may be observed of 
the sixth-rates. The frigates, which mount 
from 28 to 33 guns upon one deck, with tire 
quarter-deck, are extremely proper for cruiz- 
ing against privateers, or for short expedi- 
tions, "being light, long, and usually excellent 
sailers. 
RATEEN, in commerce, a thick woollen 
stuff, quilled, woven on a loom with four 
treadles, like serges, and other stuffs, that 
have the whale or quilling. There are some 
rateens dressed and prepared like cloths; 
others left simply in the hair, and others 
where the hair or knap is frized. 
RATIO, in arithmetic and geometry, is 
that relation of homogeneous things which 
determines the quantity cf one from the 
quantity of another, without the interven- 
tion of a third. 
Two numbers, lines, ©r quantities, A. and 
