More than one of these 7 encyclopedias carries each of the following subjects — but every one of them treats it in a sentence or two and then moves on. They are gathered here so the different accounts can sit side by side.
Damson
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a variety of the common domestic plum or prune. It is known also as the Damascus plum; in fact, damson is a contraction of the adjective damascene, meaning of Damascus. This plum is supposed to have been brought to western Europe by the Crusaders returning from the East. It was introduced from England into America. The fruit is a small, black, dark bluish, or purple plum. The damson is surpassed by other plums for table use; but it is prized by housewives for preserves. The fruit in its native state has a puckery taste; but when cooked, it makes jams, marmalades, and the richest of preserves. See Plum ; Damascus
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a variety of the common plum (Prunus domestica). The fruit is rather small and oval, and its numerous sub-varieties are of different colors: black, bluish, dark purple, yellow, etc. The damson (corruption of Damascene), as its name imports, is from Damascus.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Dark Ages
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a name given to the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth centuries. During the early part of this period the civilization of the Romans was overturned by invasions of Franks, Goths, and other tribes. Schools became almost extinct. Rulers cared little for learning; literature, save among the monks, was a forgotten subject. For centuries it seemed as though the western world forgot faster than it learned. Students in particular bewail the loss of many art treasures destroyed by the rude soldiers of the north rather through ignorance than through malice. See Charlemagne
Collier's New Encyclopedia: THE, a period supposed to extend from the fall of the Roman empire, A. D. 475, to the revival of literature on the discovery of the Pandects at Amalfi in 1137. Not to draw the limits too finely, say 700 years (450 to 1150). The Middle Ages may be extended to about 1550, covering from 10 to 11 centuries.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Date
Collier's New Encyclopedia: any given, fixed, or settled time; the time when any event happened; period; era; age; epoch; as, the date of the Christian Era, the date of a historical occurrence, etc. Also, that addition to a writing which specifies the year, month, and day when it was given or executed; the number which marks th the time when any writing, instrument, coin, picture, etc., was executed. A deed may be good, though it mentions no date, or has a false date, or even if it has an impossible date, as the 30th of February, provided the real day of its being dated or given, that is delivered, can be proved. See CHRON- OLOGY.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: . See Chronology
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Deccan
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a term, rather of historical interest than of actual use, applied sometimes to the whole peninsula of Hindustan to the S. of the Vindhya Mountains, which separate it from the basin of the Ganges; and sometimes restricted to that portion of the same which is rather vaguely bounded on the N. by the Nerbudda, which falls into the Gulf of Cambay, and on the S. by the Kistna or Krishna, a tributary of the Bay of Bengal.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: the peninsular portion of India lying between the Bay of Bengal on the east and the Arabian Sea on the west. The word is Hindu, meaning the south, i.e., the southern part of Hindustan.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
December
Aiton's Encyclopedia: the twelfth month of the year. In the Roman year, which began with March, December was the tenth month; whence the name. December 22d is the winter solstice-the period of shortest day in the northern hemisphere and of longest day in the southern. December 25th is the great holiday of the Christian world. Among the Romans the month was supposed to be under the special care of Vesta, the goddess of the hearth. The idea is a pretty one, symbolical of a season when the warm fireside and a bright flame are particularly acceptable. See Christmas ; Calendar DECEMBER BIRTHDAYS. December 3, 1826-George B. McClellan. December 4, 1795-Thomas Carlyle. December 5, 1782-Martin Van Buren. December 8, 1542-Marry, Queen of Scots. December 9, 1608-John Miller. December 16, 1714-George Whitefield. December 17, 1770-Ludwig Beethoven. December 17, 1835-Alexander Agassiz. December 17, 1807-John G. Whittier. December 25, 1642-Sir Isaac Newton. December 29, 1808-Andrew Johnson. December 29, 1809-William Ewart Gladstone.
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the last month of the year in the old Roman calendar, before the time of Julius Cæsar, the year began with March, and that which is now the 12th was then the 10th month; hence the name (decem "10"). Our Saxon ancesters called it Mindwinter - month and Yule-month.
Covered by Aiton's Encyclopedia and Collier's New Encyclopedia
Devilfish
Collier's New Encyclopedia: the popular name of various fishes, one of them being the angler. Among others the name is given to several large species of ray occasionally captured on the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of America, and much dreaded by divers, whom they are said to devour after enveloping them in their vast wings.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: . See Octopus
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Dewberry
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a plant distinguished from the common bramble by its weaker and more prostrate glaucous stem, with scattered prickles, but without bristles, also by the few large la drupes, which which make up its fruit, and characteristic dew-like which have a bloom, whence the name arises. The fruit is very sweet and agreeable, and makes an excellent wine. The dewberry of North America (R. procumbens), abundant in the forests of Canada, is a delicious fruit.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a kind of bramble. Three or four wild dewberries are found in the northeastern, the southern, and the western parts respectively, of the United States . Their general nature is that of the blackberry, which see. The dewberry has of late received attention in gardens on account of its ripening in advance of the blackberry.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia
Dill
Collier's New Encyclopedia: a genus of plants belonging to the order Umbelliferæ or Apiacea. The seeds, or rather fruits, which are imported from the middle or S. of Europe, are oval, flat, and about a line and a half in length, with a pale membranous margin. They are stimulant and carminative, and furnish a pale-yellow aromatic oil. Dill-water is used as a remedy in flatulence and gripes of children, and the fruit to flavor pickles. DILLENIACEÆ, an order of plants found chiefly in Australia, Asia, and the warm parts of America. They are nearly related to the Ranunculaceæ. The species are trees, shrubs, or under-shrubs. The Indian species are remarkable for their beauty, the grandeur of their foliage, and the magnificence of their flowers. They have astringent properties, and some of the species afford excellent timber. Lindley enumerated 26 genera, comprising 200 species.
Aiton's Encyclopedia: a common garden plant of the carrot family. Dill is a native of Spain, but is widely diffused throughout regions having temperate climates. It is an aromatic herb akin to caraway. The seed is much used in Germany to season pickles, and in England to impart a flavor to gin. It has also a medicinal value somewhat like that of peppermint, especially in case of colic.
Covered by Collier's New Encyclopedia and Aiton's Encyclopedia