17 years inclusive), of whom 10,494 were colored, 14,971 were males, and 16,700 females. The following statements embody the statistics of the colored schools of Washington city and Georgetown for the year ending June 30, 1872, and of the other schools for the year ending Aug. 31, 1872: the number of school houses owned by the District was 42; value of school property, $816,005; number of schools, 233, including 1 preparatory high school (colored), 16 grammar, 36 intermediate, 51 secondary, 111 primary, and 18 ungraded schools (county of Washington); number of teachers, 264, of whom 27 were males; pupils enrolled, 15,555, of whom 5,435 were colored; average attendance, 10,688, of whom 3,639 were colored. The school tax in Washington city was 60 cents on $100, in Georgetown 25 cents, and in the county of Washington 40 cents. The receipts were $3,398 64 from fines, &c., and $352,241 43 from taxation; total, $355,640 07. The total expenditures were $479,995 94, including $129,654 51 for teachers' wages, $79,409 76 for incidental expenses, and $140,577 51 for sites, buildings, &c. The separate expenditures (included in the total) of the colored schools of Washington and Georgetown were $49,855 59 for teachers' wages, $18,747 04 for incidental expenses, and $60,403 68 for sites, buildings, &c.; total, $129,006 31. The school tax for the year ending June 30, 1873, was 33 cents on $100 in Washington city, 53 cents in Georgetown, and 50 cents in the county of Washington. According to the census of 1870, there were 87 schools not public, viz.: 1 classical academy, 2 commercial, 61 day and boarding, and 23 parochial and charity schools. The number of teachers was 256; pupils, 7,010; annual income, $199,313. The number of private schools in 1872, as appears by the report of the United States commissioner of education, was 123 (including 31 institutions for secondary instruction), having 6,217 pupils. The census returns of 1870 include 696 libraries, containing 793,702 volumes, of which 569, with 383,766 volumes, were private. The others were classified as follows: 1 congressional, 190,000 volumes; 14 departmental (United States government), 115,185; 4 court and law, 32,348; 95 Sabbath school, 39,853; 6 church, 2,850; 7 circulating, 29,700; total libraries not private, 127, with 409,936 volumes. The number of newspapers and periodicals was 22, viz.: 3 daily, 1 tri-weekly, 12 weekly, and 6 monthly. There were 111 church organizations and 112 houses of worship; number of sittings, 63,655; value of property, $3,393,100. The church edifices were: Baptist, 16; Christian, 1; Congregational, 1; Episcopal, 16; Evangelical Association, 1; Friends', 1; Jewish, 1; Lutheran, 10; Methodist, 36; New Jerusalem, 1; Presbyterian, 15; Reformed, 1; Roman Catholic, 11; Unitarian, 1.—After the adoption of the articles of confederation by the United States, the question of fixing upon a seat of government

for the Union called forth much sectional rivalry. During the period between the conclusion of the revolutionary war and the adoption of the present constitution, congress met at Princeton, Annapolis, Trenton, and New York. After the organization of the government under the constitution, March 4, 1789, warm discussions took place in congress on the location of the capital, which were finally settled by the passage, June 28, 1790, of an act containing the following clause: "That a district of territory on the river Potomac, at some place between the mouths of the Eastern branch and the Connogacheague, be and the same is hereby accepted for the permanent seat of the government of the United States." The same act provided that congress should hold its sessions at Philadelphia until the first Monday in November, 1800, when the government should remove to the district selected on the Potomac. The area fixed upon for the district was a square of 10 miles, or 100 square miles. It embraced 64 square miles of Maryland, constituting the county of Washington, which was ceded by that state to the United States in 1788, and 36 square miles of Virginia, constituting the county of Alexandria, ceded in 1789. The portion on the Virginia side of the Potomac was retroceded to that state in 1846. In 1814 Washington was taken by the British, who burned the capitol, presidential mansion, and congressional library. In the early part of the civil war strong fortifications were erected for the protection of the capital, which was several times threatened; but no fighting occurred within the District until July 12, 1864, when Gen. Early with a considerable force attacked Fort Stevens, an isolated work about 6 m. N. of Washington. At this time the garrison had been much weakened by the withdrawal of troops to strengthen the army before Richmond, but reënforcements arrived the same day, and the confederates were repulsed. Slavery was abolished by the act of congress of April 16, 1862, and the right of suffrage was extended to colored citizens by the act of Jan. 8, 1867. The constitution of the United States confers upon congress the exclusive legislative control over the District, but does not allow the inhabitants any vote for presidential electors. Previous to the act of 1871 the legislative power had been exercised directly by congress, in which, however, the people had no representation; but upon the establishment of a territorial form of government by that act the right of electing a delegate to congress, with the same privileges as delegates of other territories, was granted. The act repealed the charters of the citics of Washington (pop. in 1870, 109,199) and Georgetown (pop. 11,384), which had been incorporated May 3, 1802, and Dec. 25, 1789, respectively, on and after June 1, 1871; but provided that the portions of the District included within the then limits of those cities should continue to be known as the city of Washington and the

DITHYRAMBUS, in Grecian antiquity, a song sung in the vintage season in honor of Bacchus. The origin of these songs is traced to the earliest ages of Greek civilization, and the most famed of the early composers of them was Arion of Methymna. But few fragments of ancient dithyrambic poetry remain, and it is only by tradition that we know the successes of Melanippides, Pindar, and Philoxenus in this style of composition. The dithyrambus was primitively religious; it was lively, rapid, brilliant, and disordered, like the joy and intoxication of a Bacchanalian festival. In the heat of improvisation, the poets often united several words into one, from which resulted expressions so voluminous and sonorous that they wearied alike the ear and the imagination. In the age of Pericles this kind of poetry was the object of raillery.

DITMARSH (Germ. Dithmarschen, or Ditmarsen, i. e., the German marshes), the westernmost portion of Holstein, Prussia, comprising the coast land on the North sea, between the Eider and the Elbe; area, 500 sq. m.; pop. about 75,000. The surface is a low flat, protected against inundation by strong embankments. Excepting in the marshy districts, it has a rich alluvial soil, bearing heavy crops of wheat, beans, and hay. The inhabitants are a sturdy people of the primitive Teutonic type, and during the middle ages maintained a considerable degree of autonomy and equality, bravely defending their rights against the encroachments of their various rulers, German and Danish. After severe struggles Ditmarsh became part of Holstein, under Danish rule, in 1559, but continued to be governed by its own code. In 1866 it was with the rest of Holstein annexed to Prussia.

DITTON, Humphrey, an English mathematician, born in Salisbury, May 29, 1675, died Oct. 15, 1715. He studied theology, and was for some years a dissenting clergyman, but subsequently devoted himself to mathematics. He was encouraged by Sir Isaac Newton, through whose influence he was elected professor in the newly created mathematical school of Christ's hospital, a position which he retained till his death. In 1714 he published with Whiston an advertisement of a new method of finding the longitude at sea. The plan was approved by Newton, but rejected by the board of longitude; and it is said that the chagrin cansed by this disappointment, and by some obscene verses of Swift, occasioned his death. He was the author of numerous mathematical treatises, among which are the following: "Of the Tangents of Curves;" "General Laws of Nature and of Motion;" "An Institution of Fluxions;" and "The New Law of

DIU, a Portuguese island and town of India, separated by a narrow channel from the S. extremity of Guzerat, in lat. 20° 43' N., lon. 70° 45' E., 160 m. N. W. of Bombay; area, 12 sq. m.; pop. about 10,000. The soil is unfit for cultivation and the water is brackish, but provisions are plentifully supplied from the mainland, with which the inhabitants carry on a lively trade. The town is situated on the E. end of the island, is well fortified, and has an excellent harbor. It was renowned in ancient times for a magnificent temple of Mahadeva, which was destroyed by Shah Mahmoud of Ghuzni about 1025. The island was taken in 1515 by the Portuguese, and was pillaged in 1670 by the Arabs of Muscat. It is at present one of the most flourishing of the Portuguese settlements.

DIURETICS, drugs used to increase the amount of the urinary excretion or of some of its constituents. They may be divided into several groups: 1, those which increase the water of the urine with but little effect on its solid constituents; 2, those which increase both the water and the solids; 3. those which increase the solid rather than the watery constituents; 4, those which alter the quality without augmenting the quantity. To the first class belong squills, juniper, taraxicum, horseradish, parsley, broom, carrot seed, spirits of nitrous ether, pure water, cantharides, and turpentine. Cantharides and turpentine may be given in such doses as to produce congestion of the kidneys and bloody urine. If their action is carried far enough, a suppression instead of an increase of the urine may result. Many salines, such as acetates, citrates, tartrates, and carbonates of soda and potassa, nitrate of potassa, and sulphate and citrate of magnesia, belong to the second class. Some of these salts may be given so as to pass off by the bowels, and exert but little effect upon the kidneys. In general, it is necessary to give this class of drugs in small doses, frequently repeated, when it is desired that they should pass through the kidneys and act as diuretics, and in one or two large doses when they are intended to act upon the bowels. Colchicum is the principal agent of the third class. According to Dr. Hammond's experiments, it has a powerful effect in augmenting the amount of solid urinary constituents, while the water is comparatively little affected. The salts formed by the alkalies with carbonic and vegetable acids render the urine alkaline when given in sufficient doses, and are consequently examples of the fourth group of diuretics. Uva ursi and chimaphila umbellata or wintergreen act as diuretics in virtue of the volatile oils and tannic acid which they contain, and which pass into the urine, imparting to it a dark color and peculiar odor. Buchu, copaiba, cubebs, and similar substances act by virtue of

their resins and volatile oil. Their therapeutic effect is due rather to the alterative action of the urine bearing these constituents on the mucous membranes by which it is excreted and over which it passes, than to any increase in its amount. Benzoic acid passes into the urine in the form of hippuric acid, and may be used when it is desirable to increase the acidity of that fluid. Digitalis, although frequently used as a diuretic, is probably only secondarily so. It increases the flow of urine by virtue of its action upon the arterial tension of the kidneys, promoting thereby a more rapid flow and even distribution of the blood through them. Digitalis is frequently combined with squill.-Diuretics are used in various stages of kidney diseases (where they should be very cautiously managed), in gout, rheumatism, dropsy, and affections of the urinary passages. Although very useful and efficient in many cases, they cannot always be relied upon, and consequently are not regarded as among the most certain of medicines. It is well known that many wines, especially hocks and acid wines, are apt to run off by the kidneys. Ardent spirits, especially gin and whiskey, will also increase the urine. but neither wines nor ardent spirits are often prescribed as diuretics.

DIVER (colymbus, Linn.), a bird of the order natatores and family colymbida, the latter containing the divers and the grebes. The bill in this genus is long, strong, straight, curved slightly at the tip, which is sharp, with compressed sides; the nostrils are in a membranous groove; the wings are moderate and pointed, the first and second quills the longest; the tail is very short and rounded; the tarsi rather short, compressed, and covered with reticulated scales; the toes long, the three anterior united by an entire web, and the inner side of the internal toe margined with membrane; the hind toe short, with a small membranous margin; the claws moderate, depressed, and broad. Only three species are well ascertained, the C. glacialis, C. arcticus, and C. septentrionalis (Linn.), which belong to the arctic circle, migrating to the northern temperate regions of America and Europe. The great northern diver, generally called loon in the United States (C. glacialis), is a large, powerful, and handsome bird; the largest males measure about 3 ft. to the end of the tail, with an extent of wings of nearly 5 ft., and a weight of from 8 to 10 lbs. The head is moderate, narrowed in front; the neck thick and long; the body elongated and depressed; the feet very far back; the plumage short and dense. The bill is black, iris deep bright red, feet grayish blue, with the webs brownish black; the head and neck are dark greenish blue, with purple reflections; on the throat there is a transverse white patch, with longitudinal dusky streaks; in the middle of the neck are two white patches, continuous behind, but separated an inch in front; the sides of the neck at the lower part are streaked longi

1. The Great Northern Diver (Colymbus glacialis). 2. The Red-throated Diver (C. septentrionalis).

the convexity backward, the spots being rounded and small toward the neck, sides, and tail coverts, larger and quadrangular on the middle of the back, largest on the scapulars; the lower parts are white, except on the sides under the wings, which are black with elliptical white spots, a faint dusky band across the vent, and the lower tail coverts, which are blackish, tipped with white; the tail is brownish black, with a paler tip. The female resembles the male in colors, but is smaller. The young in winter are dark grayish brown above, white underneath, with the sides dusky; toward spring the white spots begin to appear, and the plumage is that of the adult at the end of summer; they go further south than the adults. The flight is rapid, long sustained, and at a considerable elevation. The gait of the bird on land is generally slow and awkward; on the water, when at ease, it swims lightly, but when alarmed it sinks the body so deeply that not more than inch of its back can be seen. As a diver it is unsurpassed except by the darter and the auk, disappearing quickly, flying rapidly beneath the surface, remaining under water a long time, and coming up again at a great distance from the spot of its disappearance. Loons are occasionally found drowned in fishermen's nets, and are sometimes caught on hooks. The curiosity of the loon is often taken advantage of to draw them within shot, as the bird will almost always approach any bright-colored object waved by a concealed gunner; hence the phrase "stupid as a loon." Its notes are so loud and plaintive that to be "as noisy as a loon" has become a proverb. Its food consists of fish, lizards, frogs, aquatic insects, and the roots of fresh-water plants; it fishes in both salt and fresh water, and usually swallows its food beneath the surface. The flesh is tough and rank. The loon breeds

in various parts of the United States from Maine to Maryland, according to Audubon; and Dr. Richardson says it is found breeding as far N. as 70°. The nest is built near the water, in marshes, on the ground, and of rushes and grasses growing in the vicinity. The eggs are generally three, about 3 in. long by 24 broad, elongated, with a narrow point; their color is dull greenish ochry, with indistinct spots of dark umber, most numerous toward the larger end. The loon is found also in Europe and northern Asia.-The black-throated diver (C. arcticus), next in size to the loon, is 29 in. long to the end of tail, with an extent of wings of about 40 in. The upper parts are glossy black, with a greenish tinge anteriorly and brownish behind, the head and hind neck being hoary; on the fore part of the back are two longitudinal bands of white bars, the feathers tipped with white; the scapulars and wing coverts with white spots; the quills are blackish brown, with a gray tinge externally; on the front of the neck for about six inches is a purplish black patch, ending angularly below, with a band of white spots above; the sides of the neck are blackish brown, with longitudinal white streaks; the lower parts are pure white, except a dusky band under the wings. The female is smaller than the male, but similarly colored. This species breeds in the far north, where the old birds principally remain, and whence the young wander over North America and northern and eastern Europe. Birds in full plumage are rarely obtained in the United States, and, according to Audubon, never further south than Delaware; along the eastern shores they are seen from autumn until spring. Their flight is rapid and well sustained, and performed with the neck and feet stretched out at full length.-The red-throated diver (C. septentrionalis) is about 26 in. long, with an extent of wing of 43 in., and a weight of 4 lbs. It resembles the preceding species except in the rich brownish red color of the anterior neck, and the lines of black and white on the hind head and neck; in the young males the fore neck is merely dotted with red. They begin to fly north to breed from early spring to the middle of May; they are found on the coast from Maryland to Maine, from autumn to spring; the younger the birds, the further south they go, and it is rare to find an old one south of Boston; they abound in the bay of Fundy. They are very shy, and always approach their nests from the water. Both sexes incubate. The full beauty of the plumage is not attained until the fourth year. They are rarely seen inland, and hardly ever out of the breeding season. Along the New England coast and in the bay of Fundy they are commonly called "cape racer" and "scapegrace." DIVI, or Divi-Divi, the pod of a leguminous shrub, Casalpinia coriaria, a native of the northern parts of South America and the West India islands, used for tanning, for which purpose it is exported to Europe and other coun

tries. The plant grows to the height of 20 or 30 ft., and the pods, which are dark brown, and curl up in drying, attain a length of 3 in. The rind has a strongly astringent and bitter taste from the tannin contained between the outer layer and the husk that encloses the seed. The leather prepared with it is very porous and acquires a deep brownish red color. Almost the only ports of shipment are Maracaibo, Rio Hacha, and Savanilla.

DIVIDING ENGINE. See GRADUATION.

DIVINATION (Lat. divinatio, from divinus, divinely or prophetically inspired), a general term for the various pretended arts of discovering secret or future things by preternatural means. These arts appear in the remotest antiquity, intimately connected with religion, furnished with rules, founded on mysterious principles, and fortified by the pretences of a science. Both as a learned doctrine and a popular faith, divination has always existed in the East, and was common in Europe throughout classical antiquity and during the middle ages. It was distinguished by the Greeks as natural or artificial; the former being a presage of future events by a sort of inspiration which was possible only to persons specially favored by the deity; the latter being founded on careful observation of certain natural phenomena which were believed to have mysterious relations with future events. Astrologers, augurs, sorcerers, fortune tellers, and secondsighted persons are eminent examples of diviners. The following are among the principal of the numerous forms of artificial divination practised in antiquity: Alectryomancy was practised by drawing a circle and dividing it into 24 equal parts, into each of which were put a letter of the alphabet and a grain of wheat; a cock was then placed in the centre, and the letters, being put together in the order that the grains were eaten by it, made a word which solved the question of the diviner. Arithmomancy depended upon the secret operation of numbers and magical squares, and the numerical value of letters; it was practised by the Chaldeans, and formed a part of the doctrine of the Pythagoreans, Neo-Platonists, and cabalists. Axinomancy consisted in suspending an axe from an upright stick, and the names of suspected persons being pronounced it was supposed to indicate the guilty by its motion. Belomancy consisted in the choice of arrows by chance from a bag containing many of them inscribed with various responses; it was in use especially among the Arabians. Capnomancy consisted either in observing the direction taken by smoke, or in inhaling the smoke of victims, which was believed to produce prophetic inspiration. Dactylomancy was practised by enchanted rings, or rings that were made in harmony with the position of the celestial bodies. Its origin is attributed to Helen, the wife of Menelaus. It is by one of these rings that Gyges is said to have rendered himself invisible. A