watershed between the rivers flowing into the Pacific and those running
westward. It is situated at an average distance of 30 miles from the sea,
though in some places it recedes as much as 60 miles, and stretches from
Cape York on the north to Wilson's Promontory on the south. The culminating
point is Mount Townshend (7353 feet).
DIVI-DIVI, the pods of _Caesalpinia coriaria_, a tree which grows in
tropical America, and a member of the family which yields sapan, brazil,
and other red woods. The pods are about 1 inch broad and 3 inches long, but
are generally bent or curled up; are excessively astringent, containing a
large proportion of tannic and gallic acid, for which reason they are used
by tanners and dyers.
DIVINATION, the act of divining; a foretelling future events, or
discovering things secret or obscure, by the aid of superior beings, or by
other than human means. Cicero divided it into two kinds, _natural_ and
_artificial_, or _intuitive_ and _inductive_. _Natural_ divination was
supposed to be effected by a kind of inspiration or divine afflatus; this
method of divination is familiar as represented by oracles; _artificial_
divination was effected by certain rites, experiments, or observations, as
by sacrifices, observation of entrails and flight of birds (ornithomancy),
of the behaviour of fishes (ichthyomancy), lots, omens, and position of the
stars. Among modes of divination were: _axinomancy_, by axes; _belomancy_,
by arrows; _bibliomancy_, by the Bible; _oneiromancy_, by dreams;
_pyromancy_, by fire; _hydromancy_, by water; _coscinomancy_, by observing
the results of the turning of a sieve hung on a thread. Cf.
Bouch['e]-Leclercq, _Histoire de la divination dans l'antiquit['e]_.
DIVINE RIGHT, the claim set up by some sovereigns or their supporters to
the absolute obedience of subjects as ruling by appointment of God,
insomuch that, although they may themselves submit to restrictions on their
authority, yet subjects endeavouring to enforce those restrictions by
resistance to their sovereign's acts are considered guilty of a sin. This
doctrine, which came into general use in the seventeenth century, and is so
celebrated in English constitutional history, especially in the time of the
Stuarts, may now be considered to be exploded. Hobbes was one of the chief
supporters of the theory of Divine Right, whilst Milton was a strong
opponent. Cf. J. N. Figgis, _Theory of the Divine Right of Kings_.
DIVINE SERVICE, TENURE BY, a species of tenure, now obsolete, by which the
tenant held the land on condition of performing some divine service, such
as saying so many masses or distributing a certain amount in alms.
DIVING, the art or act of descending into the water to considerable depths,
and remaining there for a time. The uses of diving are important,
particularly in searching for pearls, corals, sponges, examining
foundations of bridges, salvage of wrecked ships, recovering valuables,
clearing propellers, valves, and cleaning bottoms of ships when no dry
docks are available. Without the aid of artificial appliances a skilful
diver may remain under water for two, or even three minutes; accounts of
longer periods are doubtful or absurd. Various methods have been proposed,
and engines contrived, to render diving more safe and easy. The great
object in all these is to furnish the diver with fresh air, without which
he must either make but a short stay under water or perish.
DIVING-BELL, a contrivance for the purpose of enabling persons to descend
and to remain below the surface of water for a length of time, for various
purposes, such as laying foundations of bridges, blasting rocks, and
recovering treasure from sunken ships. Diving-bells have been made of
various forms, more especially in that of a bell or hollow truncated cone,
with the smaller end closed, and the larger one, which is placed lowermost,
open. The air contained within these vessels prevents them from being
filled with water on submersion, so that the diver may descend in them and
breathe freely for a long time, provided he can be furnished with a new
supply of fresh air when the contained air becomes vitiated by respiration.
The diving-bell is usually made of cast iron, and weighted, and has several
strong convex lenses set in the sides or roof, to admit light to the
persons inside. It is suspended by chains from a barge or lighter, and can
be raised or lowered at pleasure upon signals being given by the persons
within, who are supplied with fresh air pumped into a flexible pipe by
means of force-pumps carried in the lighter, while the heated air escapes
by a cock in the upper part of the bell. Modern diving-bells are usually
rectangular in shape, and have a trunk or tube on top reaching to the
surface of the water, and fitted with an air-lock to enable men to go into
or out of the bell without moving it from the bottom; they are fitted with
telephones and electric lights. A constant flow of fresh air is kept up,
and all excess of air escapes from the lower part of the bell, the pressure
of the air being kept slightly above that of the water outside. The
diving-bell has long been found highly useful for carrying on work under
water, a steam-crane being usually employed for the movements required. A
form, called the _nautilus_, has been invented which enables the occupants,
and not the attendants above, to raise or lower the bell, move it about at
pleasure, or raise great weights with it and deposit them in any desired
spot.
[Illustration: Diving Dress
1. Ordinary diving-dress with (2) helmet. 3. Front view and (4) back view
of self-contained diving apparatus.
Reproduced by courtesy of Messrs. Siebe, Gorman, & Co]
DIVING-DRESS, a waterproof dress of india-rubber cloth used by professional
divers, and covering the entire body except the head. The dress has a
neck-piece or breastplate, fitted with a segmental screw bayonet joint, to
which the head-piece or helmet, the neck of which has a corresponding
screw, can be attached when wanted. The helmet has usually three eyeholes,
covered with strong glass, and protected with guards. Air is supplied by
means of a flexible air-pipe which screws on to a non-return valve on the
helmet, and is connected with an air-pump on the surface. To allow of the
escape of excess air a valve is fitted in the helmet, so constructed as to
prevent water getting in, though it lets the air out. It can be adjusted by
the diver to suit his convenience, no matter at what depth he may be.
Leaden weights are attached to the diver, and his boots are weighted, so
that he can descend a ladder and walk about on the bottom. Communication
can be carried on with those above by signals on the breast-rope between
the diver and his attendant, or he may converse with them through a
speaking-tube or by telephone, which is usually fitted in the breast-rope.
One form of diving-dress makes the diver independent of any connection with
persons above water except by breast-rope. It is elastic and hermetically
closed. A reservoir containing highly compressed air is fixed on the
diver's back. This supplies him with air by a self-regulating apparatus at
a pressure corresponding to his depth. When he wishes to ascend, he simply
inflates his dress from the reservoir. Another form, known as the Fleuss
dress, also makes the diver independent of exterior aid. The helmet
contains a supply of compressed oxygen, and the exhaled breath is passed
through a filter in the breast-piece which deprives it of its carbonic
acid, while the nitrogen goes back into the helmet to be mixed with the
oxygen, the supply of which is under the diver's own control, and to be
breathed over again. A diver has remained for an hour and a half under 35
feet of water in this dress. The safe limit for diving is 200 to 300 feet,
the deepest dive in this country being 210 feet; but great care must be
exercised in bringing the diver to the surface. Diving for pearls, sponges,
valuables, &c., is now to a great extent carried on by means of
diving-dresses.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: C. W. Domville-Fife, _Submarine Engineering
of To-day_; G. W. M. Boycott, _Compressed Air Work and Diving_.
DIVINING ROD, a rod, usually of hazel, with two forked branches, used by
persons who profess to discover minerals or water under ground. The rod, if
carried slowly along by the forked ends, dips and points downwards, it is
affirmed, when brought over the spot where the concealed mineral or water
is to be found. Divination by means of rods is of great antiquity, and has
been described by Cicero and Tacitus; their rods, however, were short bits
of stick, and the forked hazel twig does not seem to have come into use
before the early sixteenth century. Dr. H. Mayo gave a collection of
discoveries made by it in his work _On the Truth contained in Popular
Superstitions_ (1847-51). The use of the divining rod is still common in
many parts.--Cf. P. L. L. de Vallemont, _La Physique Occulte: ou Trait['e]
de la baguette divinatoire_.
DIVISIBIL'ITY, that general property of bodies by which their parts or
component particles are capable of separation. The study of radioactivity
has shown that larger atoms may be broken up into smaller ones, and the old
conception of the atom as an absolutely indivisible unit is no longer
entertained by physicists. (See _Matter_.) Numerous examples of the
division of matter to a degree almost exceeding belief may be easily
instanced. Thus glass test-plates for microscopes have been ruled so fine
as to have 225,000 spaces to the inch. Cotton yarn has been spun so fine
that one pound of it extended upwards of 1000 miles, and a Manchester
spinner is said to have attained such a marvellous fineness that one pound
would extend 4770 miles. One grain of gold has been beaten out to a surface
of 52 sq. inches, and leaves have been made 367,500 of which would go to
the inch of thickness. Iron has been reduced to wonderfully thin sheets.
Fine tissue paper is about the 1200th part of an inch in thickness, but
sheets of iron have been rolled much thinner than this, and as fine as the
4800th part of an inch in thickness. Wires of platinum have been drawn out
so fine as to be only the 30,000th part of an inch in diameter. Human hair
varies in thickness from the 250th to the 600th part of an inch. The fibre
of the coarsest wool is about the 500th part of an inch in diameter, and
that of the finest only the 1500th part. The silk line, as spun by the
worm, is about the 5000th part of an inch thick; but a spider's line is
only the 30,000th part of an inch in diameter; insomuch that a single pound
of this attenuated substance might be sufficient to encompass our globe.
The trituration and levigation of powders, and the perennial abrasion and
waste of the surface of solid bodies, occasion a disintegration of
particles almost exceeding the powers of computation. The solutions of
certain saline bodies, and of other coloured substances, also exhibit a
prodigious subdivision of matter. A single grain of sulphate of copper, or
blue vitriol, will communicate a fine azure tint to five gallons of water.
In this case the sulphate must be attenuated at least 10,000,000 times.
Odours are capable of a much wider diffusion. A single grain of musk has
been known to perfume a large room for the space of twenty years. At the
lowest computation the musk had been subdivided into 320 quadrillions of
particles, each of them capable of affecting the olfactory organs.
DIVISION, in arithmetic, the dividing of a number or quantity into any
parts assigned; one of the four fundamental rules, the object of which is
to find how often one number is contained in another. The number to be
divided is the _dividend_, the number which divides is the _divisor_, and
the result of the division is the _quotient_. Division is the converse of
multiplication.
DIVISION, in the army, the smallest formation of troops which is a mixed
force. A division, besides three brigades of infantry, includes artillery,
engineers, and administrative troops. It is commanded by a major-general,
and if at full strength consists of about 20,000 men.
DIVISION, in Parliament, the mode of determining a question at the end of a
debate. In the House of Commons the Speaker puts the question, and declares
whether in his opinion the 'Ayes' or the 'Noes' have it. Should his opinion
not be acquiesced in by the minority, the House is cleared, and the 'Ayes'
directed to go into the right lobby and the 'Noes' into the left, where
they are counted by two tellers appointed for each party. In the House of
Lords the two sides in a division are called 'Contents' and 'Not-contents'.
DIVISION OF LABOUR, a method employed in productive undertakings for the
simplifying of the work to be done by each of the workmen engaged therein.
The separation of the process of production into a series of simple
operations means that less ability on the part of the workman is required
in order that he may acquire the necessary skill in performing any
particular operation, and saves much time, partly because practice leads to
each operation being more quickly performed, and partly by avoiding the
waste which takes place in workmen moving from one operation to another.
Owing to both of these causes, the cost of producing complicated articles
may be immensely reduced. By standardizing operations division of labour
tends to the invention of machinery; increases the skill and dexterity of
the individual workman in the particular operation in which he is engaged;
enables semi-skilled or unskilled labour to replace skilled; makes a more
continuous and economical use of capital possible; and conduces to the more
economical distribution of labour by classing work-people according to
their capacity. It has, however, a deteriorating effect on the labourer's
usefulness as an all-round workman, and is liable to kill his interest in
his work, thereby reducing the incentive to industry. What is called
division of labour in English economics has been sometimes termed
_co-operation_ by foreign economists.
DIVORCE (Lat. _divortium_, from _divertere_, to turn apart, separate), a
separation, by law, of husband and wife, which is either a divorce _a
vinculo matrimonii_, that is, a complete dissolution of the marriage bonds,
or a divorce _a mens[^a] et thoro_ (from bed and board), whereby the
parties are legally separated, but not unmarried. The causes admitted by
different codes of laws as grounds for the modification or entire
dissolution of the marriage contract, as well as the description of
tribunal which has jurisdiction of the proceedings, and the form of the
proceedings, are various. Divorce was permitted by the law of Moses, but
forbidden in the New Testament, except for adultery. The early laws of Rome
permitted the husband to divorce his wife for adultery and many other
alleged offences. The facility of divorce continued, without restriction,
under the Roman emperors, but as the modern nations of Europe emerged from
the ruins of the Roman Empire, they adopted the doctrine of the New
Testament. Marriage, under the Roman Church, instead of a civil contract,
came to be considered a sacrament of the Church, which it was unlawful to
dissolve. The ecclesiastical courts could indeed annul a marriage, but only
for a cause that existed at the time the marriage was contracted, such as
prior contracts or impotency. For any cause arising after marriage they
could only pronounce a divorce _a mens[^a] et thoro_, which did not leave
either party free to marry again, except by Papal dispensation. A divorce
_a vinculo matrimonii_, for any cause arising subsequent to marriage, could
formerly be obtained in England only by an Act of Parliament, and the
ecclesiastical courts must have previously pronounced a divorce _a mens[^a]
et thoro_. The Act passed in 1857, however, established a new court for
trying divorce causes, called the Court for Divorce and Matrimonial Causes,
since absorbed into the Probate, Divorce, and Admiralty Division of the
High Court of Justice. According to present practice the husband may obtain
a divorce for simple adultery; but if the wife is the petitioner, she must
show that her husband has been guilty of certain kinds of adultery, or of
adultery coupled with desertion or gross cruelty. Either party may marry
again after divorce. A divorce cannot be obtained if it appear that the
petitioner has been guilty of the same offence, or has been accessory to or
has connived at the offence, or if there has been collusion between the
parties to obtain a divorce, or if they have condoned the offence by living
together as man and wife after discovery. The husband may claim damages
from the adulterer, and the court may also order the adulterer to pay the
costs of the proceedings, in whole or in part. The Act also abolished
divorces _a mens[^a] et thoro_, substituting, however, judicial
separations. (See _Judicial Separation_.) A decree for a divorce is always
in the first instance a _decree nisi_ (q.v.). A Matrimonial Causes Bill,
introduced in the House of Lords in 1920, proposes to abolish the legal
disabilities of a wife in this matter, and to grant divorce to husband or
wife on any of the following grounds: (_a_) adultery; (_b_) desertion for
at least three years; (_c_) cruelty; (_d_) incurable insanity coupled with
at least five years' confinement under the lunacy laws; (_e_) incurable
habitual drunkenness coupled with three years' separation under a temporary
separation order granted on the ground of habitual drunkenness; and (_f_)
imprisonment under a commuted death sentence. In Scotland, from the time of
the Reformation, divorce might be obtained by either party on the ground of
adultery, marriage being held to be only a civil contract, and as such
under the jurisdiction of the civil courts. Condonation, or connivance, or
collusion is sufficient to prevent a divorce from being obtained on the
ground of adultery, but not recrimination, that is, a counter charge of
adultery. Wilful desertion for at least four years is also held a valid
reason for divorce. The action is carried on before the Court of Session.
In other countries, including British colonies, the law relating to divorce
varies greatly. In the United States of America, marriage, though it may be
celebrated before clergymen as well as civil magistrates, is considered to
be a civil contract, and the laws as to divorce, and the facility or
difficulty of obtaining it, differ greatly in the several states. In France
divorce was legalized in 1884, with conditions, after having been
prohibited for many years.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: Lehr, _Le mariage, le divorce et
la s['e]paration de corps dans les principaux peuples civilis['e]s_;
Stephen, _Commentaries on the Laws of England_; Bryce, _Marriage and
Divorce_.
DIXMUDE, a town of Belgium, in Flanders. It was the scene of severe
fighting during the European War. Captured by the Germans, it was retaken
by the Belgians on 29th Sept., 1918. Pop. 4040 (1911); 450 (1919).
DIXON, William Hepworth, miscellaneous writer, born at Manchester, 1821,
died in London, 1879. In 1849 he published a memoir of Howard the
philanthropist, which was followed by the _Life of William Penn_ (1851),
and by a work on Admiral Blake (1852). In 1853, after having been a
contributor, he became chief editor of _The Athenaeum_, a post which he
retained till 1869. During this period he published several very popular
works, including the _Personal History of Lord Bacon, The Holy Land_, and
_New America_, the last being followed by _Spiritual Wives_. After his
retirement from _The Athenaeum_, and in the last ten years of his life, he
gave to the world about twenty-five volumes of history, travel, and
fiction, among others, _Free Russia; Her Majesty's Tower; The Switzers;
History of Two Queens, Catherine of Aragon and Anne Boleyn; Diana Lady
Lyle_, and _Ruby Grey_ (both novels); and his last work, _Royal Windsor_.
DIZFUL, a town of Persia, near the western boundary, on the River Dizful; a
place of great trade and manufactures. Pop. about 25,000.
DJAVID BEY, Hussein, a Turkish Jew, one of the leaders of the Committee of
Union and Progress, and Minister of Finance from 1914 to 1918. His advice
that Turkey should adhere to strict neutrality during the European War was,
unfortunately for his country, not followed by his colleagues, who decided
to join Germany.
DJEMAL PASHA, Turkish soldier and politician, and one of the leaders of the
Committee of Union and Progress. Minister of Marine in 1914, he commanded
the Turkish forces in Palestine from 1915 to 1917, and became notorious on
account of his oppression of and cruelties against the inhabitants of Syria
and Palestine, and by his hatred of Zionism. Accused in 1918 of various
crimes, such as misappropriation of funds, and compelled to flee from
Constantinople, he was condemned to death in his absence in 1919. He was
nevertheless one of the Turkish delegates who signed the Peace Treaty on
11th May, 1920.
DJOKDJOKARTA, a Dutch residency in the Island of Java, on the south coast,
with a capital of the same name. Its forests abound in teak. Its natural
fertility is great, and rice, coffee, and tobacco are extensively
cultivated. It is ruled by a sultan who is dependent on the Dutch. Pop.
441,800. The town is large and regular, and contains the sultan's
water-palace, and the seat of the Dutch Resident, which is a fort
commanding both the palace and the town. Pop. 97,058.
DNIEPER (n[=e]'p[.e]r; Russ. _Dnjepr_, dnyepr; anciently BORYSTH[)E]N[=E]S,
or DANAPRIS), a great river of Russia which rises in the government of
Smolensk, flows first south-west, then south-east, and again south-west to
the Black Sea. It begins to be navigable a little above Smolensk, and has a
total length, including windings, of 1230 miles. Among its tributaries are
the Beresina, the Pripet, the Desna, and the Psiol. In its lower course
there are important fisheries. The region watered by the river in its lower
course is famous for its great fertility, and is known as the _black-soil_.
Between Kiev and Alexandrovsk it forms a series of cataracts. Since 1838
there have been steamboats on the river, and the trade carried by it is
considerable. Through the Beresina Canal the Dnieper communicates with the
Baltic Sea.
DNIESTER (n[=e]s't[.e]r; Russ. _Dnjestr_; ancient TYRAS), a large river of
Europe (Poland, Roumania, and Ukraine), which has its source in the
Carpathian Mountains, in Austrian Galicia, enters Russia at Chotin, and
empties itself into the Black Sea, after a course of about 750 miles. Its
navigation is difficult on account of frequent shallows and rapids.
DOAB' (that is, _Two Waters_), a name in Hindustan applied indiscriminately
to any tract of country between two rivers, like the Greek _Mesopotamia_.
The tract between the Ganges and the Jumna is usually called _the_ Doab;
other similar tracts have their distinctive names, the Punjab being divided
into five districts of this kind.
DOBELL', Sydney, English poet and man of letters, born in 1824, died 22nd
Aug., 1874. His first poem, _The Roman_, appeared in 1850, and was
favourably received by the critics. Among his other works are: _Balder_,
_Sonnets on the War_, and _England in Time of War_.
D[:O]BELN (d_eu_'beln), a town of Saxony, about 40 miles south-east of
Leipzig, with a great trade in grain, and manufactures of cloth, yarn,
leather, and lacquered wares. Pop. 17,920.
D[:O]BEREINER'S LAMP, a contrivance for producing an instantaneous light,
invented by Professor D[:o]bereiner, of Jena, in 1824. The light is
produced by throwing a jet of hydrogen or a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen
gases upon recently prepared spongy platinum, when the metal instantly
becomes red-hot, and then sets fire to the gas. The action depends upon the
readiness with which spongy platinum absorbs both oxygen and hydrogen. The
intimate contact of the two gases leads to chemical combination with
evolution of heat. Coal-gas may be employed instead of hydrogen, and this
has led to the application of the principle to self-lighting devices for
igniting gas flames.