the order or place assigned a person suitable to his quality or merit.

Rank is a straight-line made by the soldiers of a battalion or squadron, drawn up side by side; this order was established for the marches, and for regulating the different bodies of troops and officers which compose an army.

Ranks and Precedence, in the army and navy, are as follow:

Engineers Rank. Chief, as colonel; director, as lieutenant-colonel; sub-director, as major; engineer in ordinary, as captain; engineer extraordinary, as captain-lieutenant; sub-engineer, as lieutenant; practitioner-engineer, as ensign.

Navy Rank. Admiral, or commander in chief of his majesty's fleet, has the rank of a field-marshal; admirals, with their flags on the main-topmast head, rank with generals of horse and foot; vice-admirals, with lieutenant-generals; rear-admirals, as major-generals; commodores, with broad pendants, as brigadier-generals; captains of post-ships, after three years from the date of their first commission, as colonels; other captains, as commanding post-ships, as lieutenant-colonels; captains, not taking post, as majors; lieutenants, as captains. ### Rank between the Army, Navy, and Governors.

| Army | Navy | Governors | |---------------|-----------------------|------------------------------------------------| | General in chief | Admiral in chief | Commander in chief of the forces in America | | Generals of horse | Admiral with a flag at the main-top-mast | Captain-general of provinces | | Lieutenant-generals | Vice-admirals | Lieutenant-generals of provinces | | Major-generals | Rear-admirals | Lieutenant-governors and presidents | | Colonels | Post-captains of 3 years | Lieutenant-governors not commanding | | Lieutenant-colonels | Post-captains | Governors of charter colonies | | Majors | Captains | Deputy-governors | | Captains | Lieutenants | Established by the king, 1760 |

**Doubling of the Ranks**, is the placing two ranks in one, frequently used in the manoeuvres of a regiment.

**Ranks and Files**, are the horizontal and vertical lines of soldiers when drawn up for service.

**Ransom**, a sum of money paid for the redemption of a slave, or the liberty of a prisoner of war. In our law-books, ransom is also used for a sum paid for the pardon of some great offence, and to obtain the offender's liberty.

**Ranula**, a tumor under a child's tongue, which, like a ligature, hinders it from speaking or sucking.

**Ranunculus**, crowfoot: A genus of the polygamia order, belonging to the polyandria clas of plants; and in the natural method ranking under the 26th order, Multiflora. The calyx is pentaphyllous; there are five petals, each with a melliferous pore on the inside of the heel; the seeds naked.

**Species.** There are near 40 different species of this genus, six or eight of which claim general esteem as flowery plants for ornamenting the gardens, and a great number are common weeds in the fields, waters, and pasture ground, not having merit for garden culture. Of the garden kinds, the principal sort is the Asiatic or Turkey and Persian ranunculus, which comprises many hundred varieties of large, double, most beautiful flowers of various colours: but several other species having varieties with fine double flowers, make a good appearance in a collection, though as those of each species consist only of one colour, some white, others yellow, they are inferior to the Asiatic ranunculus, which is large, and diversified a thousand ways in rich colours, in different varieties. However, all the garden kinds in general effect a very agreeable diversity in assemblage in the flower compartments, &c., and they being all very hardy, succeed in any open beds and borders, &c.

**Culture.** The Asiatic species in all its varieties will succeed in any light, rich, garden earth; but the florists often prepare a particular compost for the fine varieties, consisting of good garden-mould or pasture-earth, sward and all, a fourth part of rotted cow-dung, and the like portion of sea-fish; and with this they prepare beds four feet wide and two deep: however, in default of such compost, use beds of any good light earth of your garden; or, if necessary, it may be made light and rich with a portion of drift-fish and rotten dung, cow-dung is most commonly recommended; but they will also thrive in beds of well-wrought kitchen-garden earth, and they often prosper well in the common flower-borders.

The season for planting the roots is both in autumn and spring; the autumn plantings generally flower stronger and sooner by a month at least, and are succeeded by the spring-planting in May and June. Perform the autumnal planting in October and early part of November, but some plant towards the latter end of September in order to have a very early bloom; but those planted in that month and beginning of October often come up with rank leaves soon after, in winter, so as to require protection in hard frosts; those, however, planted about the middle or latter end of October, and beginning of November, rarely shoot up strong till towards spring, and will not require so much care of covering during winter; and the spring-planting may be performed the end of January or beginning of February, or as soon as the weather is settled; they will not require any trouble of covering, and will succeed the autumnal plants regularly in bloom, and will flower in good perfection. Thus by two or three different plantings you may obtain a succession of these beautiful flowers in constant bloom from April till the middle of June; but the autumnal plants, for the general part, not only flower stronger, but the roots increase more in size, and furnish the best offsets for propagation; it is, however, proper to plant both in spring and autumn.

Prepare for the choicer sorts four-feet beds of light earth, and rake the surface smooth; then plant the roots in rows lengthwise the beds, either by drilling them in two inches deep, and six inches distance in the row, and the rows six or eight aunder; or you may plant them by bedding-in, or by dibble-planting, the same depth and distance.

Those designed for the borders should be planted generally