Balkan War, the chief town in Bulgarian Dobrudja. It is situated on a small
tributary of the Danube, and is on the Cernavoda-Constanza railway. At one
time it was famous for its panair or great annual fair, but it is now no
longer an important centre. Pop. 10,000.
DOBRUDJA, or DOBRUD'SCHA, THE (anciently SCYTHIA MINOR), a territory
forming part of the kingdom of Roumania, included between the Danube, which
forms its boundary on the west and north, the Black Sea on the east, and
Bulgaria (to which it belonged before 1878) on the south. Its area,
formerly 6000 sq. miles, was increased by the Treaty of Bucharest of 10th
Aug., 1913, and is now 8969 sq. miles. During the European War the Dobrudja
was invaded in 1916 by an army of Germans, Bulgarians, and Turks, under
General von Mackensen. In 1918 Roumania was compelled by the Treaty of
Bucharest to cede the Dobrudja to Bulgaria, but it was restored to her in
1919. There are some fertile spots, but on the whole it is marshy and
unhealthy. The population is of various nationalities, Roumanians, Bulgars,
Greeks, Turks, and Jews. The inhabitants engage in tillage and
stock-rearing. The principal towns are Kustendje and Tultcha. See
_Roumania_. Pop. 381,306.
[Illustration: Curly or Yellow Dock (_Rumex crispus_)]
DOBSON, Henry Austin, poet, born at Plymouth in 1840. He was educated at
Beaumaris, Coventry, and Strasbourg; in 1856 obtained a clerkship under the
Board of Trade, where he rose to be one of the officials known as
principals. His earliest verses first appeared in book form under the title
_Vignettes in Rhyme and Vers de Soci['e]t['e]_ (1873). His other volumes of
verse include: _Proverbs in Porcelain_ (1877); _Old World Idylls_ (1883);
and _At the Sign of the Lyre_ (1885), which _The Athenaeum_ pronounced to
be "of its kind as nearly as possible perfect". Among his prose works may
be mentioned his lives of _Hogarth_, _Fielding_, _Steele_, _Goldsmith_,
_Horace Walpole_, _Richardson_, and _Fanny Burney_; _Thomas Bewick and his
Pupils_; _Four Frenchwomen_, a study on Charlotte Corday, the Princesse de
Lamballe, and Mesdames Roland and de Genlis; three series of _Eighteenth
Century Vignettes_; _A Paladin of Philanthropy_; _Sidewalk Studies_; _Old
Kensington Palace_; _At Prior Park_; _A Bookman's Budget_; and several
editions of standard works. His collected poems were published in one
volume in 1897. Many of Mr. Dobson's poems are written in various French
forms, such as the rondeau and ballade, and all are marked by gracefulness
and ease. He died in Sept., 1921.
DOCE'TAE (from Gr. _dokein_, to seem or appear), the name given, in the
earlier ages of the Church, to those who denied the reality of the human
form of Christ, maintaining it to be merely a phantom or shadow. In the
sense of regarding Christ's body as a heavenly and ethereal, instead of a
human one, docetism had its partisans even among the orthodox.
DOCK, a name applied to different plants of the genus Rumex, belonging to
the rhubarb family (Polygonaceae). These are large herbaceous plants, with
stout roots, alternate and often entire leaves, and bearing panicles of
small greenish flowers. They are very troublesome as weeds, but the roots
of some of them are used medicinally as astringents.
DOCKET, or DOCQUET (dok'et; from _dock_, to shorten; Icel. _dokr_, stumpy
tail), in law, a term variously used, as for a summary of a larger writing;
a small piece of paper or parchment containing the heads of a writing; an
alphabetical list of cases in a court, or a catalogue of the names of the
parties who have suits depending in a court.
DOCKS, are artificial enclosures for the reception of shipping, for the
purpose of loading, discharging, or repairs. They may be divided into four
types, viz. tidal docks or basins, wet docks, dry or graving docks, and
floating docks.
_Tidal Docks or Basins_ are open permanently to the main channel or river,
and the water-level therefore varies with the rise and fall of the tide.
This variation of level is a serious hindrance in the work of loading or
discharging cargo, unless the tidal range be small. It should be noted that
this form is more properly termed a tidal basin.
[Illustration: Dry Dock, Tilbury, Essex]
_Wet Docks_ have a water entrance normally closed by gates or caissons,
which permit the water-level of the enclosed area being maintained at
high-water level. This uniformity of level is of great service in dealing
with cargo, but this type has the disadvantage of only permitting traffic
in and out of the dock at high water. This disadvantage may be modified by
the provision of a lock at the dock entrance.
_Dry or Graving Docks_ are used for the purpose of examining and repairing
ships. The entrance is controlled by either gates or caissons. The ship
having entered, the gates are closed, and the water pumped out, allowing
the vessel to settle down gradually upon a row of keel blocks, running up
the centre line of the dock. The sides of the docks are built in the form
of large continuous steps or 'altars', which support the ends of the timber
shores which serve to keep the ship in an upright position. The floor is
graded to channels, leading to powerful pumps, usually of the centrifugal
type, and capable of emptying a large dock in one hour.
_Floating Docks_ fulfil the same functions as dry docks. In their modern
form, they consist of a hollow steel box or pontoon, carrying hollow
longitudinal walls at each side. These walls contain the pumps and
controlling machinery, the pontoon portion being capable of being filled
with or emptied of water, thus raising or sinking the dock. This lower
portion is subdivided into a great number of compartments, all of which may
be filled separately, so that errors of trim can be corrected. In making
use of this type the dock is lowered by flooding the lower compartments.
The ship is then floated into position and shored.
[Illustration: The Medway Floating Dock lifting H.M.S. _Lion_, 30,000 tons]
The initial cost of these two latter types is in favour of the floating
dock, the annual maintenance charges of which, however, may be five to ten
times those of an ordinary masonry dock. The mobility of a floating dock
may be considered an advantage, allowing it to be easily removed to another
locality to meet changing conditions, but this adaptability should not be
overvalued.
The average life of a steel dock may be assumed to be 40 years, whereas a
masonry dock may be said to last indefinitely, subject only to the fact
that it may outlive its usefulness.
The first wet docks constructed in England were those now called the
Commercial Docks, in London, which existed in a much less extensive form so
early as 1660. In 1800 the West India Docks were constructed, and were
followed by the East India Docks, Millwall Docks, London Docks, the St.
Katharine Docks, and the Victoria Docks, affording, together with those at
Tilbury, more than 600 acres of water accommodation, besides wharf and
warehouse grounds, where all kinds of appliances and machinery for the
speedy and convenient transfer of goods and cargoes are in use. Some of the
warehouses are extremely capacious, the tobacco warehouse of the London
Docks being itself nearly 5 acres in extent. Next after the London docks
come those of Liverpool, which extend more than 6 miles along the north
bank of the Mersey, and cover, together with the Birkenhead docks, nearly
as large a total acreage as those of London. The other important British
docks are those at Southampton, Bristol, Cardiff, Hull, Great Grimbsy,
Newcastle, Shields, Barrow, Leith, Glasgow, Dundee, &c. A floating dock at
Hamburg has a length of 728 feet, inside width of 123 feet, and a lifting
capacity of 46,000 tons.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Shields, _Principles and
Practice of Harbour Construction_; L. V. Harcourt, _Harbours and Docks_;
Kempe, _Engineer's Year Book_.
[Illustration: Plan of PRINCE'S DOCK, GLASGOW.]
DOCK-WARRANTS, orders for goods kept in the warehouses connected with a
dock. They are granted by the proper officer at the dock to the importer in
favour of any one that he may name. These warrants are held to be
negotiable, so that they may pass from one holder to another, the property
of them being always vested in the holder.
DOCK-YARDS, establishments supplied with all sorts of naval stores,
materials and conveniences for the construction, repairs, and equipment of
ships of war. In England the royal dock-yards are at Chatham, Sheerness,
Portsmouth, Devonport, and Pembroke, besides the Deptford and Woolwich
store-yards. There are also royal dock-yards or naval victualling yards at
Haulbowline in Cork Harbour, Rosyth, Invergordon, at the Cape of Good Hope,
Gibraltar, Malta, Bermuda, Bombay, Calcutta, Hong-Kong, Sydney, and
Wei-hai-wei. Others in the colonies have been given up. The dock-yards are
under the direct control of the Admiralty. The chief officer of the greater
or home dock-yards is generally an admiral, with a considerable staff of
officials under him, professional and other. Since the introduction of
steam the engineering department has become an important one in such
establishments.
DOCTOR, a term literally signifying teacher. In the Middle Ages, from the
twelfth century, it came into use as a title of honour for men of great
learning, such as Thomas Aquinas (Doctor Angelicus) and Duns Scotus (Doctor
Subtilis). It was first made an academical title by the University of
Bologna, and emperors and Popes soon afterwards assumed the right of
granting universities the power of conferring the degree in law. The
University of Paris followed in the footsteps of Bologna, and in 1145 the
title was bestowed on Peter Lombard. The faculties of theology and medicine
were soon included, but for a long time the faculty of arts retained the
older title of _Magister_, till the German universities substituted that of
Doctor. In England the Doctor's degree was introduced into the universities
during the reign of John or Henry III. The title of Doctor is in some cases
an honorary degree, and in other cases (as in medicine and science)
conferred after examination. The title of D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Law), for
example, at the Universities of Oxford and Durham, is frequently an
honorary degree, and so also are those of D.D. (Doctor of Divinity) and
LL.D. (Doctor of Laws) at various universities. The Popes and the
Archbishops of Canterbury exercise the right of conferring the degree of
Doctor both in law and divinity. Oxford and Cambridge, and many other
universities, create doctors of music (Mus.D.).
DOCTORS' COMMONS was a college founded in 1567 for the Doctors of the Civil
Law in London, and was at one time the seat of the Court of Arches, the
Archdeacon's Court, and the Court of Admiralty. The practitioners in these
courts were called advocates and proctors. In 1857 an Act was passed
empowering the college to sell its property and dissolve, and making the
privileges of the proctors common to all solicitors.
DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH, a name given to four of the Greek Fathers
(Athanasius, Basil, Gregory Nazianzen, and Chrysostom) and five of the
Latin Fathers (Hilary, Ambrose, Jerome, Augustine, and Gregory the Great).
The Roman Catholic Church, however, recognizes eighteen 'Doctors of the
Church', including, besides those already mentioned, Chrysologus, Leo,
Isidore, Peter Damian, Anselm, Bernard of Clairvaux, Thomas Aquinas,
Bonaventura, and Alphonsus of Liguori. The title is conferred only after
death.
DOCTRINAIRES, a section of French politicians, represented by the Duc de
Broglie, Royer-Collard, Guizot, and others, who became prominent after the
Restoration in 1815. They favoured a constitutional monarchy similar to
that which then existed in Britain. In the Chambers they thus occupied a
place between Radicals and ultra-Royalists. They received the name of
_doctrinaires_ because they were looked upon more as theoretical
constitution-makers than practical politicians, and the term is now used
with a wider application to political theorists generally.
[Illustration: Dodder
1, Pistil. 2, Corolla.]
DODDER, the common name of the plants of the genus Cusc[)u]ta, a group of
slender, branched, twining, leafless pink or white annual parasites, nat.
ord. Convolvulaceae. The seeds germinate on the ground, but the young plant
speedily attaches itself to some other plant, from which it derives all its
nourishment. Four species are common in England--_C. europaea_, found on
nettles and vetches; _C. Epithymum_, on furze, thyme, and heather (these
two being natives); _C. trifolii_, on clover; _C. Epil[=i]num_, on
cultivated flax (both introduced from abroad).
DODDRIDGE, Philip, D.D., an English Dissenting divine, born in London in
1702, died in 1751. He was an earnest pastor, and the author of many hymns
and devotional treatises. _The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul_
and _The Family Expositor_ are amongst his best known works. Many of his
hymns are still sung, such as _O God of Bethel, by whose hand_; and _O
happy day that fixed my choice_.
DODECANESE (Gr., twelve islands), a name applied since the Turko-Italian
War of 1912-3 to a group of islands lying off the south-west coast of Asia
Minor, the base of the Italian troops. The group, consisting of the
Southern Sporades, includes the Islands of Patmos, Cos, Lipsos, and others
near Rhodes. Italy agreed to restore the islands to Turkey, but was
prevented from carrying out the agreement by the breaking out of the Balkan
War. The Treaty of Peace with Turkey (11th May, 1920) allotted these
islands to Italy, who ceded them again to Greece (with the exception of
Rhodes).
DODGSON, Charles Lutwidge. See _Carroll, Lewis_.
[Illustration: Dodo, from painting in the Belvedere, Vienna]
DODO (_Didus ineptus_), an extinct genus of birds once abundant on the
Island of Mauritius, and assigned by naturalists to the ord. Columbae or
pigeons, though an extreme modification of the type. It was a massive
clumsy bird, larger than a swan, covered with down instead of feathers,
with short ill-shaped legs, a strong bulky hooked beak, and wings and tail
so short as to be useless for flight. Its extinction was due to its
organization not being adapted to the new conditions which colonization and
cultivation introduced. It probably became extinct soon after 1681.
DODO'NA, a celebrated locality of ancient Greece, in Epirus, where was one
of the most ancient Greek oracles. It was a seat of Zeus (surnamed the
Pelasgian), whose communications were announced to the priestesses in the
rustling of the leaves on its oak tree, and the murmuring of water which
gushed forth from the earth.
DODS, Marcus, theologian, born at Belford, Northumberland, in 1834, his
father being minister of the Scottish Church there, died in 1909. He was
educated in Edinburgh, where he took his M.A. degree at the age of twenty.
In 1858 he was licensed as a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and
eight years afterwards was ordained to Renfield Free Church, Glasgow, where
he remained until his appointment in 1889 to the chair of New Testament
Exegesis in New College, Edinburgh. Of his works some of the most important
are: _The Prayer that Teaches to Pray_ (1863, 6th edition, 1889); _Epistles
to the Seven Churches_ (1865); _Israel's Iron Age_ (1874); _Mohammed,
Buddha, and Christ_ (1877); _The Book of Genesis_ (1882); _Parables of Our
Lord_ (1883 and 1885); _How to become like Christ_ (1897); _Forerunners of
Dante_ (1903); _The Bible: its Origin and Nature_ (1905); and articles in
the _Encyclopaedia Britannica_.
DODSLEY, Robert, English poet, dramatist, and publisher, born in 1703, died
in 1764. His first volume of verses, _The Muse in Livery_, appeared in
1732. _The Toy Shop_ was performed at Covent Garden in 1735. In 1737 his
_King and the Miller of Mansfield_ was performed at Drury Lane, and met
with an enthusiastic reception. He also wrote a tragedy, entitled _Cleone_,
which had an extraordinary success on the stage. A selection of _Fables in
Prose_, with an _Essay on Fables_ prefixed, was one of his latest
productions. He planned the _Annual Register_ (commenced in 1758); the
_Collection of Old Plays_ (12 vols. 12mo), which now chiefly sustains his
name as a publisher; and the _Collection of Poems by Different Hands_ (6
vols. 12mo).
DOE, John, and Richard Roe, two fictitious personages of the English law
who formerly appeared in a suit of ejectment. This fictitious form of
procedure was abolished in 1852.
[Illustration: Jaws of Dog
_m_, Molars. _pm_, Premolars. _cl_, Carnassial. _can_, Canines. _i_,
Incisors.]
DOG (_Canis familiaris_), a digitigrade, carnivorous animal, forming the
type of the genus Canis, which includes also the wolf, the jackal, and the
fox. The origin of the dog is a much-debated question. The original stock
is unknown, but various species of wolf and jackal have been suggested as
ancestors. Probably a number of wild types were domesticated by prehistoric
man, and there has been a good deal of crossing between these different
stocks. It is generally agreed that no trace of the dog is to be found in a
primitive state, the dhole of India and dingo of Australia being believed
to be wild descendants from domesticated ancestors. Several attempts to
make a systematic classification of the varieties of dogs have been made,
but without much success, it being difficult in many cases to determine
what are to be regarded as types, and what as merely mongrels and
cross-breeds. Colonel Hamilton Smith divides dogs into six groups as
follows: (1) _Wolf-dogs_, including the Newfoundland, Esquimaux, St.
Bernard, shepherd's dog, &c.; (2) _Watch-dogs and Cattle-dogs_, including
the German boar-hound, the Danish dog, the matin dog, &c.; (3)
_Greyhounds_, the lurcher, Irish hound, &c.; (4) _Hounds_, the bloodhound,
staghound, foxhound, setter, pointer, spaniel, cocker, poodle, &c.; (5)
_Terriers_ and their allies; (6) _Mastiffs_, including the different kinds
of mastiffs, bull-dog, pug-dog, &c. (See the different articles.) On each
side of the upper jaw are three incisors, one canine, four premolars, and
three or two molars: on each side of the lower jaw the same number, except
that the molars are four or three. The fore-feet have five toes, the
hind-feet four or five; the claws are strong, blunt, and formed for
digging, and are not retractile. The tail is generally long, and is curled
upwards. The female has six to ten mammae; she goes with young nine weeks
as a rule. The young are born blind, their eyes opening in ten to twelve
days; their growth ceases at two years of age. The dog commonly lives about
ten or twelve years, at the most twenty. By English law it is prohibited to
use dogs for purposes of draught.--BIBLIOGRAPHY: W. Youatt, _Training and
Management of the Dog_; R. B. Lee, _A History and Description of Modern
Dogs_; F. T. Barton, _Our Dogs and All about Them_; J. S. Turner and V.
Nicolas, _The Kennel Encyclopaedia_.
[Illustration]
DOG-DAYS, the name applied by the ancients to a period of about forty days,
the hottest season of the year, at the time of the heliacal rising of
Sirius, the dog-star. The time of the rising is now, owing to the
precession of the equinoxes, different from what it was to the ancients
(1st July); and the dog-days are now counted from 3rd July to 11th Aug.,
that is, twenty days before and twenty days after the heliacal rising.
DOGE (d[=o]j: from Lat. _dux_, a leader, later a duke), formerly the title
of the first magistrates in the Italian Republics of Venice and Genoa. The
first doge of Venice elected for life was Paolo Anafesto, in 697; and in
Genoa, Simone Boccanera, in 1339. In 1437 the Doge of Venice obtained from
the emperor a diploma creating him 'Duke of Treviso, Feltre, Belluno,
Padua, Brescia, Bergamo, &c.'. In Venice the dignity was always held for
life; in Genoa, in later times, only for two years. In both cities the
office was abolished by the French in 1797. The title was re-established in
1802 for the Ligurian Republic, but was abolished in 1805.
[Illustration: Egg Capsule of Lesser Spotted Dog-fish]
DOG-FISH, a name given to several species of small shark, common around the
British Isles. The rough skin of one of the species (_Scyllium
canic[)u]la_), the lesser spotted dog-fish, is used by joiners and other
artificers in polishing various substances, particularly wood. This species
is rarely 3 feet long, _S. cat[)u]lus_, the greater spotted dog-fish, is in
length from 3 to 5 feet. It is blackish-brown in colour, marked with
numerous small dark spots. Both species are very voracious and destructive.
Their flesh is hard, dry, and unpalatable. The common or picked dog-fish
(_Acanthias vulg[=a]ris_) is common in British and N. American seas, and is
sometimes used as food. It is fierce and voracious. _S. profundorum_ has
been brought up from 816 fathoms in the North Atlantic. The tiger or
zebra-shark (_Stegostoma tigrinum_) is a handsome dog-fish native to the
Indian Ocean. It is marked with dark stripes on a yellow ground, and may
attain the length of 15 feet.
DOGGER, a Dutch vessel equipped with two masts and somewhat resembling a
ketch. It is used particularly in the North Sea for the cod and herring
fisheries.
DOGGER BANK, an extensive sand-bank, near the middle of the North Sea,
between Denmark on the east and England on the west, celebrated for its
cod-fishery. It commences about 36 miles east of Flamborough Head and
extends E.N.E. to within 60 miles of Jutland, in some places attaining a
breadth of about 60 miles, though it terminates merely in a point. Where
shallowest the water over it is 9 fathoms. In Oct., 1904, the Russian
Baltic Squadron fired upon a British fishing-fleet on the Dogger, killing
two men. The incident was settled by arbitration. During the European War a
naval battle was fought off the Dogger Bank on 24th Jan., 1915, in which
three powerful German cruisers were seriously injured by a British fleet
under Admiral Beatty, but made their escape to Heligoland.
DOGGETT'S COAT AND BADGE, the prize for a rowing-match which is held
annually on the 1st Aug., the course being on the Thames from London Bridge
to Chelsea. The match is open to six young watermen whose apprenticeship
ends the same year, and the prize is a waterman's red coat bearing a badge
which represents the white horse of Hanover. It was instituted--in
celebration of the accession of George I--by the actor Thomas Doggett, born
in Dublin; but though first rowed in 1716, its winners have only been
recorded since 1791. The match, like other events of the same kind,
suspended during the War, was held again on 3rd and 4th Aug., 1920, for the
years 1915 to 1920.
DOG-GODS. The dog was the first domesticated animal, and at an early period
was deified. In ancient Egypt the god Anubis, who guided souls to the
Otherworld, was dog-headed, as Herodotus says, or jackal-headed. Yama, the
Indian god of death, has a dog form, and in the _Mah['a]bh['a]rata_, as
Dh['a]rma, god of justice (one of his forms), leads the Pandava brothers to
Paradise as a dog. Indra had a dog form, and the custom still prevails
among Northern Indian hill tribes of pouring hot oil in a dog's ear to
bring rain; The Big Dog (Indra) is supposed to hear the howl of the
tortured dog. The dog of Hades figures in Greek, Scandinavian, Celtic, and
other mythologies. Cuchullin slew the dog of Hades, and was called 'Hound
(_cu_) of Culann'. The widespread belief that dogs howl when a sudden death
is about to take place has a long history. Dog ancestors figure in
American, Javan, and other myths. In Japanese temples are images of
'Ama-Inu' (Heavenly Dog). Red Indian myths refer to a Dog Creator and to
the eclipse-causing dog. Eskimos thrash dogs during an eclipse.