3. _Fractional Distillation._--By fractional distillation is meant the
separation of a mixture having components which boil at neighbouring
temperatures. The distilling flask has an elongated neck so that the
less volatile vapours are condensed and return to the flask, while the
more volatile component passes over. The success of the operation
depends upon two factors: (1) that the heating be careful, slow and
steady, and (2) that the column attached to the flask be efficient to
sort out, as it were, the most volatile vapour. Three types of columns
are employed: (1) the elongation is simply a straight or bulb tube;
(2) the column, properly termed a "dephlegmator," is so constructed
that the vapours have to traverse a column of previously condensed
vapour; (3) the column is encircled by a jacket through which a liquid
circulates at the same temperature as the boiling-point of the most
volatile component. To the first type belongs the simple straight
tube, and the Wurtz tube (see fig. 3), which is simply a series of
bulbs blown on a tube. These forms are not of much value. Several
forms of the second type are in use. In the Linnemann column the
condensed vapours temporarily collect on platinum gauzes (a) placed at
the constrictions of a bulbed tube. In the Le Bel-Henninger form a
series of bulbs are connected consecutively by means of syphon tubes
(b) and having platinum gauzes (a) at the constrictions, so that when
a certain amount of liquid collects in any one bulb it syphons over
into the next lower bulb. The Glynsky form is simpler, having only one
syphon tube; at the constrictions it is usual to have a glass bead.
The "rod-and-disk" form of Sidney Young is a series of disks mounted
on a central spindle and surrounded by a slightly wider tube. The
"pear-shaped" form of the same author consists of a series of
pear-shaped bulbs, the narrow end of one adjoining the wider end of
the next lower one. In this class may also be placed the Hempel tube,
which is simply a straight tube filled with glass beads. Of the third
type is the Warren column consisting of a spiral kept at a constant
temperature by a liquid bath. Improved forms were devised by F. D.
Brown. Kreusler's form is easily made and manipulated. A tube closed
at the bottom is traversed by an open narrower tube, and the
arrangement is fitted in the neck of the distilling flask. Water is
led in by the inner tube, and leaves by a side tube fused on the wider
tube. Many comparisons of the effectiveness of dephlegmating columns
have been made (see Sidney Young, _Fractional Distillation_, 1903).
The pear-shaped form is the most effective, second in order is the Le
Bel-Henninger, which, in turn, is better than the Glynsky. The main
objection to the Hempel is the retention of liquid in the beads, and
the consequent inapplicability to the distillation of small
quantities.
4. _Distillation with Steam._--In this process a current of steam,
which is generated in a separate boiler and superheated, if necessary,
by circulation through a heated copper worm, is led into the
distilling vessel, and the mixed vapours condensed as in the ordinary
processes. This method is particularly successful in the case of
substances which cannot be distilled at their ordinary boiling-points
(it will be seen in the following section that distilling with steam
implies a lowering of boiling-point), and which can be readily
separated from water. Instances of its application are found in the
separation of ortho- and para-nitrophenol, the o-compound distilling
and the p- remaining behind; in the separation of aniline from the
mixture obtained by reducing nitrobenzene; of the naphthols from the
melts produced by fusing the naphthalene monosulphonic acids with
potash; and of quinoline from the reaction between aniline,
nitrobenzene, glycerin, and sulphuric acid (the product being first
steam distilled to remove any aniline, nitrobenzene, or glycerin, then
treated with alkali, and again steam distilled when quinoline comes
over). With substances prone to discolorization, as, for example,
certain amino compounds, the operation may be conducted in an
atmosphere of carbon dioxide, or the water may be saturated with
sulphuretted hydrogen. Liquids other than water may be used: thus
alcohol separates [alpha]-pipecoline and ether nitropropylene.
5. _Theory of Distillation._--The general observation that under a
constant pressure a pure substance boils at a constant temperature
leads to the conclusion that the distillate which comes over while the
thermometer records only a small variation is of practically constant
composition. On this fact depends "rectification or purification by
distillation." A liquid boils when its vapour pressure equals the
superincumbent pressure (see VAPORIZATION); consequently any process
which diminishes the external pressure must also lower the
boiling-point. In this we have the theory of "distillation under
reduced pressure." The theory of fractional distillation, or the
behaviour of liquid mixtures when heated to their boiling-points, is
more complex. For simplicity we confine ourselves to mixtures of two
components, in which experience shows that three cases are to be
recognized according as the components are (1) completely immiscible,
(2) partially miscible, (3) miscible in all proportions.
When the components are completely immiscible, the vapour pressure of
the one is not influenced by the presence of the other. The mixture
consequently distils at the temperature at which the sum of the
partial pressures equals that of the atmosphere. Both components come
over in a constant proportion until one disappears; it is then
necessary to raise the temperature in order to distil the residue. The
composition of the distillate is determinate (by Avogadro's law) if
the molecular weights and vapour pressure of the components at the
temperature of distillation be known. If M1, M2, and P1, P2 be the
molecular weights and vapour pressures of the components A and B, then
the ratio of A to B in the distillate is M1P1/M2P2. Although, as is
generally the case, one liquid (say A) is more volatile than the other
(say B), i.e. P1 greater than P2, if the molecular weight of A be much
less than that of B, then it is obvious that the ratio M1P1/M2P2 need
not be very great, and hence the less volatile liquid B would come
over in fair amount. These conditions pertain in cases where
distillation with steam is successfully practised, the relatively high
volatility of water being counterbalanced by the relatively high
molecular weight of the other component; for example, in the case of
nitrobenzene and water the ratio is 1 to 5. In general, when the
substance to be distilled has a vapour pressure of only 10 mm. at 100
deg. C., distillation with steam can be adopted, if the product can be
subsequently separated from the water.
When distilling a mixture of partially miscible components a
distillate of constant composition is obtained so long as two layers
are present, i.e. A dissolved in B and B dissolved in A, since both of
these solutions emit vapours of the same composition (this follows
since the same vapour must be in equilibrium with both solutions, for
if it were not so a cyclic system contradicting the second law of
thermodynamics would be realizable). The composition of the vapour,
however, would not be the same as that of either layer. As the
distillation proceeded one layer would diminish more rapidly than the
other until only the latter would remain; this would then distil as a
completely miscible mixture.
The distillation of completely miscible mixtures is the most common
practically and the most complex theoretically. A coordination of the
results obtained on the distillation of mixtures of this nature with
the introduction of certain theoretical considerations led to the
formation of three groups distinguished by the relative solubilities
of the vapours in the liquid components.
(i.) If the vapour of A be readily soluble in the liquid B, and the
vapour of B readily soluble in the liquid A, there will exist a
mixture of A and B which will have a lower vapour pressure than any
other mixture. The vapour pressure composition curve will be convex to
the axis of compositions, the maximum vapour pressures corresponding
to pure A and pure B, and the minimum to some mixture of A and B. On
distilling such a mixture under constant pressure, a mixture of the
two components (of variable composition) will come over until there
remains in the distilling flask the mixture of minimum vapour
pressure. This will then distil at a constant temperature. Thus nitric
acid, boiling-point 68 deg., forms a mixture with water, boiling point
100 deg., which boils at a constant temperature of 126 deg., and
contains 68% of acid. Hydrochloric acid forms a similar mixture which
boils at 110 deg. and contains 20.2% of acid. Another mixture of this
type is formic acid and water.
(ii.) If the vapours be sparingly soluble in the liquids there will
exist a mixture having a greater vapour pressure than that of any
other mixture. The vapour pressure-composition curve will now be
concave to the axis of composition, the minima corresponding to the
pure components. On distilling such a mixture, a mixture of constant
composition will distil first, leaving in the distilling flask one or
other of the components according to the composition of the mixture.
An example is propyl alcohol and water. At one time it was thought
that these mixtures of constant boiling-point (an extended list is
given in Young's _Fractional Distillation_) were definite compounds.
The above theory, coupled with such facts as the variation of the
composition of the constant boiling-point fraction with the pressure
under which the mixture is distilled, the proportionality of the
density of all mixtures to their composition, &c., shows this to be
erroneous.
(iii.) If the vapour of A be readily soluble in liquid B, and the
vapour of B sparingly soluble in liquid A, and if the vapour pressure
of A be greater than that of B, then the vapour pressures of mixtures
of A and B will continually diminish as one passes from 100% A to 100%
B. The vapour tension may approximate to a linear function of the
composition, and the curve will then be practically a straight line.
On distilling such a mixture pure A will come over first, followed by
mixtures in which the quantity of B continually increases;
consequently by a sufficient number of distillations A and B can be
completely separated. Examples are water and methyl or ethyl alcohol.
[Illustration: FIG. 4.]
Van't Hoff (_Theoretical and Physical Chemistry_, vol. i. p. 51)
illustrates the five cases on one diagram. In fig. 4 let AB be the
axis of composition, AP be the vapour pressure of pure A, BQ the
vapour pressure of pure B. For immiscible liquids the vapour pressure
curve is the horizontal line ab, described so that aP = QB and bQ =
AP. For partially miscible liquids the curve is Pa1b1Q. The horizontal
line a1b1 corresponds to the two layers of liquid, and the inclined
lines Pa1Qb1 to solutions of B in A and of A in B. The curves Pa4Q,
having a minimum at a4, Pa3Q, having a maximum at a3, and Pa5Q, with
neither a maximum nor minimum, correspond to the types i., ii., iii.
of completely miscible mixtures.
6. _Dry Distillation._--In this process the substance operated upon is
invariably a solid, the vapours being condensed and collected as in
the other methods. When the substance operated upon is of uncertain
composition, as, for example, coal, wood, coal-tar, &c., the term
destructive distillation is employed. A more general designation is
"pyrogenic processes," which also includes such operations as leading
vapours through red-hot tubes and condensing the products. We may also
consider here cases of sublimation wherein a solid vaporizes and the
vapour condenses without the occurrence of the liquid phase.
Dry distillation is extremely wasteful even when definite substances
or mixtures, such as calcium acetate which yields acetone, are dealt
with, valueless by-products being obtained and the condensate usually
requiring much purification. Prior to 1830, little was known of the
process other than that organic compounds generally yielded tarry and
solid matters, but the discoveries of Liebig and Dumas (of acetone
from acetates), of Mitscherlich (of benzene from benzoates) and of
Persoz (of methane from acetates and lime) brought the operation into
common laboratory practice. For efficiency the operation must be
conducted with small quantities; caking may be prevented by mixing the
substance with sand or powdered pumice, or, better, with iron filings,
which also renders the decomposition more regular by increasing the
conductivity of the mass. The most favourable retort is a shallow iron
pan heated in a sand bath, and provided with a screwed-down lid
bearing the delivery tube. Sidney Young has suggested conducting the
operation in a current of carbon dioxide which sweeps out the vapours
as they are evolved, and also heating in a vapour bath, e.g. of
sulphur.
One of the earliest red-hot tube syntheses of importance was the
formation of naphthalene from a mixture of alcohol and ether vapours.
Such condensations were especially studied by M. P. E. Berthelot, and
shown to be very fruitful in forming hydrocarbons. Sometimes reagents
are placed in the combustion tube, for example lead oxide (litharge),
which takes up bromine and sulphur. In its simplest form the apparatus
consists of a straight tube, made of glass, porcelain or iron
according to the temperature required and the nature of the reacting
substances, heated in an ordinary combustion furnace, the mixture
entering at one end and the vapours being condensed at the other.
Apparatus can also be constructed in which the unchanged vapours are
continually circulated through the tube. Operating in a current of
carbon dioxide facilitates the process by preventing overheating.
7. _Distillation in Chemical Technology._--In laboratory practice use
is made of a fairly constant type of apparatus, only trifling
modifications being generally necessary to adapt the apparatus for any
distillation or fractionation; in technology, on the other hand, many
questions have to be considered which generally demand the adoption of
special constructions for the economic distillation of different
substances. The modes of distillation enumerated above all occur in
manufacturing practice. Distillation in a vacuum is practised in two
forms:--if the pump draws off steam as well as air it is termed a
"wet" air-pump; if it only draws off air, it is a "dry" air-pump. In
the glycerin industry the lyes obtained by saponifying the fats are
first evaporated with "wet vacuum" and finally distilled with closed
and live steam and a "dry vacuum." Two forms of steam distillation may
be distinguished:--in one the still is simply heated by a steam coil
wound inside or outside the still--this is termed heating by dry
steam; in the other steam is injected into the mass within the
still--this is the distillation with live steam of laboratory
practice. The details of the plant--the material and fittings of the
still, the manner of heating, the form of the condensing plant,
receivers, &c.--have to be determined for each substance to be
distilled in order to work with the maximum economy.
For the distillation of liquids the retort is usually a cylindrical
pot placed vertically; cast iron is generally employed, in which case
the bottom is frequently incurved and thicker than the sides in order
to take up the additional wear and tear. Sometimes linings of
enamelled iron or other material are employed, which when worn can be
replaced at a far lower cost than that of a new still. Glass stills
heated by a sand bath are sometimes employed in the final distillation
of sulphuric acid; platinum, and an alloy of platinum and iridium with
a lining of gold rolled on (a discovery due to Heraeus), are used for
the same purpose. Cast iron stills are provided with a hemispherical
head or dome, generally attached to the body of the still by bolts,
and of sufficient size to allow for any frothing. It is invariably
provided with an opening to carry off the vapours produced. In its
more complete form a still has in addition the following
fittings:--The dome is provided with openings to admit (1) the axis of
the stirring gear (in some stills the stirring gear rotates on a
horizontal axis which traverses the side and not the head of the
still), (2) the inlet and outlet tubes of a closed steam coil, (3) a
tube reaching to nearly the bottom of the still to carry live steam,
(4) a tube to carry a thermometer, (5) one or more manholes for
charging purposes, (6) sight-holes through which the operation can be
watched, and (7) a safety valve. The body of the still is provided
with one or more openings at different heights to serve for the
discharge of the residue in the still, and sometimes with a glass
gauge to record the quantity of matter in the still. For dry
distillations the retorts are generally horizontal cylinders, the
bottom or lower surface being sometimes flattened. Iron and fireclay
are the materials commonly employed; wrought iron is used in the
manufacture of wood-spirit, fireclay for coal-gas (see GAS:
_Manufacture_), phosphorus, zinc, &c. The vertical type, however, is
employed in the manufacture of acetone and of iodine.
Several modes of heating are adopted. In some cases, especially in dry
distillations, the furnace flames play directly on the retorts, in
others, such as in the case of nitric acid, the whole still comes
under the action of the furnace gases to prevent condensation on the
upper part of the still, while in others the furnace gases do not play
directly on the base or upper portion of the still but are conducted
around it by a system of flues (see COAL-TAR). Steam heating, dry or
live, is employed alone and also as an auxiliary to direct firing.
The condensing plant varies with the volatility of the distillate. Air
cooling is adopted whenever possible. For example, in the less modern
methods for manufacturing nitric acid the vapours were conducted
directly into double-necked bottles (_bombonnes_) immersed in water. A
more efficient arrangement consists of a stack of vertical pipes
standing up from a main or collecting trough and connected at the top
in consecutive pairs by a cross tube. By an arrangement of diaphragms
in the lower trough the vapours are circulated through the system. As
an auxiliary to air cooling the stack may be cooled by a slow stream
of water trickling down the outside of the pipes, or, in certain
cases, cold water may be injected into the condenser in the form of a
spray, where it meets the ascending vapours. Horizontal air-cooling
arrangements are also employed. A common type of condenser consists of
a copper worm placed in a water bath; but more generally straight
tubes of copper or cast iron which cross and recross a rectangular
tank are employed, since this form is more readily repaired and
cleansed. Wood-spirit, petroleum and coal-tar distillates are
condensed in plant of the latter type. In cases where the condenser is
likely to become plugged there is a pipe by means of which live steam
can be injected into the condenser. The supply of water to the
condenser is regulated according to the volatility of the condensate.
When the vapours readily condense to a solid form the condensing plant
may take the form of large chambers; such conditions prevail in the
manufacture of arsenic, sulphur and lampblack: in the latter case
(which, however, is not properly one of distillation) the chamber is
hung with sheets on which the pigment collects. Large chambers are
also used in the condensation of mercury.
Dephlegmation of the vapours arising from such mixtures as coal-tar
fractions, petroleum and the "wash" of the spirit industry, is very
important, and many types of apparatus are employed in order to effect
a separation of the vapours. The earliest form, invented by C. B.
Mansfield to facilitate the fractionation of paraffin and coal-tar
distillates, consisted in having a pipe leading from the inclined
delivery tube of the still to the still again, so that any vapour
which condensed in the delivery tube was returned to the still. Of
really effective columns Coupier's was one of the earliest. The
vapours rising from the still traverse a tall vertical column, and are
then conveyed through a series of bulbs placed in a bath kept at the
boiling-point of the most volatile constituent. The more volatile
vapours pass over to the condensing plant, while the less volatile
ones condense in the bulbs and are returned to the column at varying
heights by means of connecting tubes. The French column is similar in
action. The Coffey still is one of the most effective and is employed
in the spirit, ammonia, coal-tar and other industries. It consists of
a vertical column divided into a number of sections by horizontal
plates, which are perforated so that the ascending vapours have to
traverse a layer of liquid. Above this "separator" is a reflux
condenser, termed the "cooler," maintained at the correct temperature
so that only the more volatile component passes to the receiver. The
success of the operation chiefly depends upon the proper management of
the cooler.
8. _Commercial Distillation of Water._--Distilled water, i.e. water
free from salts and to some extent of the dissolved gases which are
always present in natural waters, is of indispensable value in many
operations both of scientific and industrial chemistry. The apparatus
and process for distilling ordinary water are very simple. The body of
the still is made of copper, with a head and worm, or condensing
apparatus, either of copper or tin. The still is usually fed
continuously by the heated water from the condenser. The first portion
of the distillate brings over the gases dissolved in the water,
ammonia and other volatile impurities, and is consequently rejected;
scarcely two-fifths of the entire quantity of water can be safely used
as pure distilled water.
Apparatus for the economic production of a potable water from
sea-water is of vital importance in the equipment of ships. The simple
distillation of sea-water, and the production thereby of a certain
proportion of chemically fresh water, is a very simple problem; but it
is found that water which is merely evaporated and recondensed has a
very disagreeable flat taste, and it is only after long exposure to
pure atmospheric air, with continued agitation, or repeated pouring
from one vessel to another, that it becomes sufficiently aerated to
lose its unpleasant taste and smell and become drinkable. The water,
moreover, till it is saturated with gases, readily absorbs noxious
vapours to which it may be exposed. For the successful preparation of
potable water from sea-water, the following conditions are
essential:--1st, aeration of the distilled product so that it may be
immediately available for drinking purposes; 2nd, economy of coal to
obtain the maximum of water with the minimum expenditure of fuel; and
3rd, simplicity of working parts, to secure the apparatus from
breaking down, and enable unskilled attendants to work it with safety.
The problem is a comparatively old one, for we find that R. Fitzgerald
patented a process in 1683 having for its purpose the "sweetening of
sea-water." A history of early attempts is given in S. Hales's
_Philosophical Experiments_, published in 1739. Among the earlier of
the modern forms of apparatus which came into practical adoption are
the inventions of Dr Normandy and of Chaplin of Glasgow, the apparatus
of Rocher of Nantes, and that patented by Galle and Mazeline of Havre.
Normandy's apparatus, although economical and producing water of good
quality, is very complex in its structure, consisting of very numerous
working parts, with elaborate arrangements of pipes, cocks and other
fittings. It is consequently expensive and requires careful attention
for its working. It was extensively adopted in the British navy, the
Cunard line and many other important emigrant and mercantile lines.
Chaplin's apparatus, which was invented and patented later, has also
since 1865 been sanctioned for use on emigrant, troop and passenger
vessels. The apparatus possesses the great merit of simplicity and
compactness, in consequence of which it is comparatively cheap and not
liable to derangement. It was adopted by many important British and
continental shipping companies, among others by the Peninsular &
Oriental, the Inman, the North German Lloyd and the Hamburg American
companies.
The modern distilling plant consists of two main parts termed the
evaporator and condenser; in addition there must be a boiler
(sometimes steam is run off the main boilers, but this practice has
several disadvantages), pumps for circulating cold water in the
condenser and for supplying salt water to the evaporator, and a filter
through which the aerated water passes. The evaporator consists of a
cylindrical vessel having in its lower half a horizontal copper coil
connected to the steam supply. The cylindrical vessel is filled to a
certain level with salt water and the steam turned on. The water
vaporizes and is led from the dome of the evaporator to the head of
the condenser. The water level is maintained in the evaporator until
it contains a certain amount of salt. It is then run off, and replaced
by fresh sea-water. The condenser consists of a vertical cylinder
having manifolds at the head and foot and through which a number of
tubes pass. In some types, e.g. the Weir, the condensing water
circulates upwards through the tubes; in others, e.g. the Quiggins,
the water circulates around the tubes. Various forms of the tubes have
been adopted. In the Pape-Henneberg condenser, which has been adopted
in the German navy, they are oval in section and tend to become
circular under the pressure of the steam; this alteration in shape
makes the tubes self-scaling. In the Quiggins condenser, which has
been widely adopted, e.g. in the "Lusitania," the steam traverses
vertical copper coils tinned inside and outside; the coils are
crescent-shaped, a form which gives a greater condensing surface and
makes the coils self-scaling. The aeration of the water is effected by
blowing air into the steam before it is condensed; as an auxiliary,
the storage tanks have a false bottom perforated by fine holes so that
if air be injected below it, the water is efficiently aerated by the
air which traverses it in fine streams. After condensation the water
is filtered through charcoal. The filter is either a separate piece of
plant, or, as in the Quiggins form, it may be placed below the coils
in the same outer vessel. In this plant the aeration is conducted by
blowing in air at the base of the condenser. After filtration the
water is pumped to the storage tanks. Many types of distilling plant
are in use in addition to those mentioned above, for example the
Rayner, Kirkaldy, Merlees, Normand; the United States navy has adopted
a form designed by the Bureau of Engineering.
BIBLIOGRAPHY.--The general practice of laboratory distillation is
discussed in all treatises on practical organic chemistry; reference
may be made to Lassar-Cohn, _Manual of Organic Chemistry_ (1896), and
_Arbeitsmethoden fur organisch-chemische Laboratorien_ (1901); Hans
Meyer, _Analyse und Konstitutionermittlung organischer Verbindungen_
(1909). The theory of distillation finds a place in all treatises on
physical chemistry. Of especial importance is Sidney Young,
_Fractional Distillation_ (1903). The history of distillation is to be
studied in E. Gildemeister and F. Hoffmann, _Die atherischen Ole_
(Berlin, 1899; Eng. tr. by E. Kremers, Milwaukee Press, 1900). The
technology of distillation is best studied in relation to the several
industries in which it is employed; reference should be made to the
articles COAL-TAR, GAS, PETROLEUM, SPIRITS, NITRIC ACID, &c.
(C. E.*)
DISTRACTION (from Lat. _distrahere_, to pull asunder), a drawing away or
apart; a word now used generally of a state of mind, to mean a diversion
of attention, or a violent emotion amounting almost to madness.
DISTRESS (from the O. Fr. _destrece_, _destresse_, from the past
participle of the Lat. _distringere_, to pull apart, used in Late Lat.
in the sense of to punish, hence to distrain), pressure, especially of
sorrow, pain or ill-fortune. As a legal term, the action of distraining
or distraint, the right which a landlord has of seizing the personal
chattels of his tenant for non-payment of rent. Cattle _damage feasant_
(doing damage or trespassing upon a neighbour's land) may also be
_distrained_, i.e. may be detained until satisfaction be rendered for
injury they have done. The cattle or other animals thus distrained are a
mere pledge in the hands of the injured person, who has only power to
retain them until the owner appear to make satisfaction for the mischief
they have done. "Distress damage feasant" is also applicable to
inanimate things on the land if doing damage thereto or to its produce;
things in actual use, however, are exempt. Such distress must be made
during the actual trespass, and by whoever is aggrieved by the damage.
Distress for rent was also at one time regarded as a mere pledge or
security; but the remedy, having been found to be speedy and
efficacious, was rendered more perfect by enactments allowing the thing
taken to be sold. Blackstone notes that the law of distresses in this
respect "has been greatly altered within a few years last past." The
legislature, in fact, converted an ancient right of personal redress
into a powerful remedy for the exclusive benefit of a single class of
creditors, viz. landlords. Now that the relation of landlord and tenant
in England has come to be regarded as purely a matter of contract, the
language of the law-books seems to be singularly inappropriate. The
defaulting tenant is a "wrong-doer," the landlord is the "injured
party,"; any attempt to defeat the landlord's remedy by carrying off
distrainable goods is denounced as "fraudulent and knavish." The
operation of the law has, as we shall point out, been mitigated in some
important respects, but it still remains an almost unique specimen of
one-sided legislation.
At common law distress was said to be incident to _rent service_, and by
particular reservation to rent charges; but by 4 Geo. II. c. 28 it was
extended to _rent seck_, _rents of assize_ and chief rents (see RENT).
It is therefore a general remedy for rent certain in arrear. All
personal chattels are distrainable with the following exceptions:--(1)
things in which there can be no property, as animals _ferae naturae_;
(2) ledgers, daybooks, title-deeds, &c.; (3) things delivered to a
person following a public trade, as a horse sent to be shod, &c.; (4)
things already in the custody of the law; (5) things which cannot be
restored in as good a plight as when distrained, that is, perishable
articles; (6) fixtures; (7) beasts of the plough and instruments of
husbandry while there is other sufficient distress to be found; (8)
instruments of a man's trade or profession in actual use at the time the
distress is made. If not in actual use they are only privileged in case
there is other sufficient distress upon the premises. These exceptions,
it will be seen, imply that the thing distrained is to be held as a
pledge merely--not to be sold. They also imply that in general any
chattels found on the land in question are to be available for the
benefit of the landlord, whether they belong to the tenant or not. This
principle worked with peculiar harshness in the case of lodgers, whose
goods might be seized and sold for the payment of the rent due by their
landlord to his superior landlord. By the Lodgers' Goods Protection Act
1871, however, where a lodger's goods have been seized by the superior
landlord the lodger may serve him with a notice stating that the
intermediate landlord has no interest in the property seized, but that
it is the property or in the lawful possession of the lodger, and
setting forth the amount of the rent due by the lodger to his immediate
landlord. On payment or tender of such rent the landlord cannot proceed
with the distress against the goods in question. By the Law of Distress
Amendment Act 1908 this protection was extended to under tenants liable
to pay rent by equal quarterly instalments, as well as to any person
whatsoever who is not a tenant of the premises or any part thereof nor
has any beneficial interest therein. The act, however, excludes certain
goods, particularly goods belonging to the husband or wife of the tenant
whose rent is in arrear, goods comprised in any bill of sale, hire
purchase agreement or settlement made by the tenant, goods in the
possession or disposition of a tenant by the consent and permission of
the true owner under such circumstances as to make the tenant reputed
owner, goods of the partner of an immediate tenant, and goods (not being
goods of a lodger) upon premises where any trade or business is carried
on in which both the immediate tenant and the under tenant have an
interest. The act does not apply where an under tenancy has been created
in breach of a covenant or agreement between the landlord and his
immediate tenant. The Law of Distress Amendment Act 1888 also absolutely
exempted from distress the tools and implements of trade and wearing
apparel and bedding of a tenant and his family to the value of five
pounds, and the Law of Distress Amendment Act 1895 gave power to a court
of summary jurisdiction to direct that such goods, when distrained upon,
should be restored if not sold, or, if sold, to order their value to be
paid by the persons who levied the distress or directed it to be levied.
Originally the landlord could only seize things actually on the
premises, so that the remedy might be defeated by the things being taken
away. But by an act of 1710, and by the Distress for Rent Act 1737, he
may follow things fraudulently or clandestinely removed off the premises
within thirty days after their removal, unless they have been in the
meantime bona fide sold for a valuable consideration. The sixth
exception mentioned above was held to extend to sheaves of corn; but by
an act of 1690 corn, when reaped, as well as hay, was made subject to
distress. That act was modified by the Landlord and Tenant Act 1851,
under which growing crops seized by the sheriff and sold under an
execution are liable to distress for rent which becomes due after the
seizure and sale, if there is no other sufficient distress on the
premises.
Excessive or disproportionate distress exposes the distrainer to an
action, and any irregularity formerly made the proceedings void _ab
initio_, so that the remedy was attended with considerable risk. The
Distress for Rent Act 1737, before alluded to, in the interests of
landlords, protected distresses for _rent_ from the consequences of
irregularity. In all cases of distress for rent, if the owner do not
within five days (by the Law of Distress Amendment Act 1888, fifteen
days, if the tenant make a request in writing to the person levying the
distress and also give security for any additional cost that may be
occasioned by such extension of time) replevy the same with sufficient
security, the thing distrained may be sold towards satisfaction of the
rent and charges, and the surplus, if any, must be returned to the
owner. To "replevy" is when the person distrained upon applies to the
proper authority (the registrar of the county court) to have the thing
returned to his own possession, on giving security to try the right of
taking it in an action of replevin.
Duties and penalties imposed by act of parliament (e.g. payment of rates
and taxes) are sometimes enforced by distress.
DISTRIBUTION (Lat, _distribuere_, to deal out), a term used in various
connexions with the general meaning of spreading out. In law, the word
is used for the division of the personal estate of an intestate among
the next-of-kin (see INTESTACY). The important scientific question as to
the distribution of plants and animals on the earth is treated under
PLANTS: _Distribution_, and ZOOLOGICAL DISTRIBUTION. In economics the
word is used generally for the transference of commodities from person
to person or from place to place, or the dividing up of large quantities
of commodities into smaller quantities; and in a more technical sense,
for the division of the product of industry amongst the various members
or classes of the community. The theory of economic distribution, i.e.
the causes which determine rent, wages, profits and interest, forms an
important subject-matter in all text-books. Among recent works, see E.
Cannan's _History of Theories of Production and Distribution, 1776-1848_
(1893), J. R. Common's _Distribution of Wealth_ (1893), and H. J.
Davenport's _Value and Distribution_ (Chicago, 1908).
DISTRICT, a word denoting in its more general sense, a tract or extent
of a country, town, &c., marked off for administrative or other
purposes, or having some special and distinguishing characteristics. The
medieval Latin _districtus_ (from _distringere_, to distrain) is defined
by Du Cange as _Territorium feudi, seu tractus, in quo Dominus vassallos
et tenentes suos distringere potest_; and as _justitiae exercendae in eo
tractu facultas_. It was also used of the territory over which the
feudal lord exercised his jurisdiction generally. It may be noted that
_distringere_ had a wider significance than "to distrain" in the English
legal sense (see DISTRESS). It is defined by Du Cange as _compellere ad
aliquid faciendum per mulctam, poenam, vel capto pignore_. In English
usage, apart from its general application in such forms as postal
district, registration district and the like, "district" has specific
usages for ecclesiastical and local government purposes. It is thus
applied to a division of a parish under the Church Building Acts,
originally called a "perpetual curacy," and the church serving such a
division is properly a "district chapel." Under the Local Government Act
of 1894 counties are divided for the purposes of the act into urban and
rural districts. In British India the word is used to represent the
_zillah_, an administrative subdivision of a province or presidency. In
the United States of America the word has many administrative, judicial
and other applications. In South Carolina it was used instead of
"county" for the chief division of the state other than in the coast
region. In the Virginias, Tennessee, Georgia, Kentucky and Maryland it
answers to "township" or precinct, elsewhere the principal subdivision
of a county. It is used for an electoral "division," each state being
divided into Congressional and senatorial districts; and also for a
political subdivision ranking between an unorganized and an organized
Territory--e.g., the District of Columbia and Alaska.
DISTYLE (from Gr. [Greek: di-], two, and [Greek: stylos], column), the
architectural term given to a portico which has two columns between
antae, known as _distyle-in-antis_ (see TEMPLE).
DITHMARSCHEN, or DITMARSH (in the oldest form of the name
_Thiatmaresgaho_, Dietmar's Gau), a territory between the Eider, the Elbe
and the North Sea, forming the western part of the old duchy of Holstein,
and now included in the Prussian province of Schleswig-Holstein. It
contains about 550 sq. m. with 90,000 inhabitants. The territory consists
to the extent of one half of good pasture land, which is preserved from
inroads of the sea by banks and dams, the other half being mostly waste.
It was originally colonized mainly from Friesland and Saxony. The district
was subjugated and Christianized by Charlemagne in 804, and ranked as a
separate _Gau_, included perhaps in the countship of Stade, or _Comitalus
utriusque ripae_. From the same century, according to one opinion, or from
the year 1182, when the countship was incorporated with their see,
according to another, the archbishops of Bremen claimed supremacy over the
land; but the inhabitants, who had developed and consolidated a systematic
organism for self-government, made obstinate resistance, and rather
attached themselves to the bishop of Schleswig. Ditmarsken, to use the
Scandinavian form of the name, continued part of the Danish dominions till
the disastrous battle of Bornhoved in 1227, when its former independence
was regained. The claims of the archbishop of Bremen were now so far
recognized that he exercised the royal rights of _Heerbann_ and
_Blutbann_,[1] enjoyed the consequent emoluments, and was represented
first by a single _advocatus_, or _Vogt_, and afterwards by one for each
of the five Doffts, or marks, into which the land was divided after the
establishment of Meldorf. The community was governed by a _Landrath_ of
forty-eight elective consuls, or twelve from each of the four marks; and
even in the 14th century the power of the episcopal _advocati_ was so
slight that a chronicler quoted by Conrad von Maurer says, _De Ditmarschen
leven sunder Heren und Hovedt unde dohn wadt se willen_, "the Ditmarschen
live without lord and head, and do what they will." In 1319 and in 1404
they succeeded in defeating the invasions of the Holstein nobles; and
though in 1474 the land was nominally incorporated with the duchy by the
emperor Frederick III., the attempt of the Danish king Hans and the duke
of Gottorp to enforce the decree in 1500 resulted only in their complete
rout in the marshes of the Dussend-Duwels-Warf. During the early part of
the century which began with such prestige for Ditmarsh, it was the scene
of violent internal conflict in regard to the religious questions of the
time; and, thus weakened, it was obliged in 1559 to submit to partition
among its three conquerors--King Frederick II. of Denmark and Dukes John
and Adolphus. A new division took place on Duke John's death in 1581, by
which Frederick obtained South Ditmarsh, with its chief town of Meldorf,
and Adolphus obtained North Ditmarsh, with its chief town of Heide; and
this arrangement continued till 1773, when all the Gottorp possessions
were incorporated with the Danish crown.
See Dahlmann's edition of Neocorus, _Chronik von Dithmarschen_ (Kiel,
1827), and _Geschichte Danemarks_ (1840-1844); Michelsen,
_Urkundenbuch zur Geschichte des Landes Dithmarschen_ (1834),
_Sammlung altdithmarscher Rechtsquellen_ (1842), and _Dithmarschen im
Verhaltniss zum bremischen Erzstift_; Kolster, _Geschichte
Dithmarschens, nach F. R. Dahlmanns Vorlesungen_ (1873).