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Dis – Dividing Engine

Dis

the Roman equivalent of the Greek Pluto. It is akin to divus, and originally denoted merely godhead or deity.

Disco

an island on the W. coast of Greenland, under the parallel of 70° N.

It is mountainous, reaching a height of 3,000 feet; has a total length of about 90 miles; and contains much excellent coal.

The harbor of Godhavn is on the S. coast.

D'Isly

DUKE, real name T. R. Bugeaud, a marshal of France; born 1784.

Dismal Swamp

a large tract of marshy land, beginning a little S. of Norfolk, Va., and extending into North Carolina; containing 150,000 acres; 30 miles long, from N. to S., and 10 broad.

Dismas

ST., the name of the penitent thief according to mediæval legends.

Dispersion

the decomposition of light, passing through a prism or anything similar, into the rainbow colors; or the angle of separation of two se- DISTAFF lected rays, say the red and the violet produced by a prism.

Disraeli

BENJAMIN. See BEA- CONSFIELD.

Disruption

the name commonly applied in Scotland to the act by which, in 1843, 474 ministers and professors of the Established Church gave up their livings to vindicate principles which they held to be essential to the purity of the Church, and in harmony with its earlier history.

Dissenters

the common name by which in Great Britain all Christian denominations, excepting that of the Established Churches, are usually rches are usually designated, though in acts of Parliament it generally includes only Protestant dissenters, Roman Catholics being referred to under their specific name.

The Nonconformists were dissenters from the English Church.

Ditch

in agriculture, trench 35,000 usually made along the sides of fields, so that all the drains may be led into it, or along the top of a field to divert surface water. In arable lands, since the general use of small and large pipes, ditches have in many cases been converted into underground drains. 47,700 70,680 93,425 127,381

Diuretin

theobromine sodio-salicylate, Na2C14H12N4O5. A whitish, amorphous powder, odorless, and possessing a sweet taste. Soluble in water and alcohol, insoluble in ether or chloroform. Used in medicine as a diuretic in cardiac dropsy and Bright's disease. Often administered in conjunction with digitalis, which prolongs its diuretic action. N. lati-

Dividing Engine

a machine for marking the divisions on the scales of scientific, mathematical, or other instruments. an