702 



DOG-BANEDOGMAS. 



sacrificed them to the gods, as the most acceptable 

 oHering. Viril h;is not thought the praise of ilos 

 a subject unworthy of his pen. 1 1*- recommends it to 

 liir husbandmen of Italy to pay piirticular attention 

 to the rearing and training of dogs.* 



The dog is born with its eyes closed ; they do not 

 become Oftftd until the tenth or twelfth day; its teeth 

 liejjin to change jilxmi the fourtli month, and its 

 growth is perfected in two years. The female gene- 

 rally has a litter of from six to twelve pups. The 

 dog seldom lives beyond fifteen years. See BJood- 

 huund, Bull dog, Ureyhound, Hound, Mastiff, I'mn- 

 ter, Span iff. S/opherd's Dog. 



DOG-BANE (upocynum androsamifolmm, Lin.), 

 a perennial American plant found from Canada to 

 Carolina, lias an erect smooth stem from three to five 

 Itct high, and leaves acute, entire, and two or three 

 inches long. The whole plant is lactescent : the root 

 is intensely bitter and nauseous. It is considered as 

 containing a bitter extractive principle, soluble in 

 water ami alcohol, a colouring principle soluble in 

 water only, a very large quantity of caoutchouc, and 

 a volatile oil. It is a very active plant, highly valued 

 by the southern Indians. The root is the most power- 

 ful part, and is much employed by the American coun- 

 try physicians instead of ipecacuanha. Thirty grains of 

 the recently powdered root evacuate the stomach as 

 effectually as two-thirds of this quantity of ipecacu- 

 anha, by which name it is known in various parts ot 

 the Eastern States. Its power is diminished by keep- 

 ing, and destroyed by age. Doctor Bigelow remarks, 

 that we have very few indigenous vegetables which ex- 

 ceed this apocynum in bitterness, and thinks the sen- 

 sible and chemical properties of the root promise a good 

 effect, when given in small doses as a tonic medicine. 



DOG-DAYS. This name is applied to the period 

 Itetween the 24th July and 24th August, because the 

 dog-star (Sirius), during this period, rises with the 

 sun. The heat, which is usually most oppressive at 

 Uus season, was formerly ascribed to the conjunction 

 of this star with the sun. 



DOGE ; formerly the title of the first magistrates 

 in the Italian republics of Venice and Genoa. He 

 was chosen from the nobility, who governed the state, 

 and formed a tyrannical aristocracy. In Venice, he 

 held his dignity for life ; in Genoa, for two years. 

 His power became, by degrees, very limited. In rank 

 he was considered only equal to a duke, though the 

 republic of Venice was in dignity equal to a kingdom. 

 See Ceremonial. 



DOG-FISH ; the popular name of several species 

 of the genus syualus, or shark, which are arranged 

 by Cuvier under his sulvgenus scyllium. S. canicula 

 and S. catulus are the two most common species, and 

 those in particular to which the trivial name is given. 

 In their general anatomy, they differ but little from 

 the other sub-genera of the great shark family, so 

 well known for their ferocious and savage habits. 

 The dog-fishes, though among the smallest of the 

 tribe, manifest propensities equally cruel with those 

 which have rendered the white shark and others so 

 justly dreaded. Although seldom or never injurious 

 to man, they commit great ravages in the fisheries, 

 and, where they abound, constitute one of the great- 

 est nuisances of the fishermen. Exceedingly voraci- 

 ous, and devouring almost everything they encounter, 

 the mischief they occasion by taking the baits, and 

 very often the hooks, of the deep sea lines, is very 

 considerable, and not at all compensated for by the 

 flesh of those which are captured. The sub-genus is 

 characterized by having a short, obtuse snout ; the 



Nee tibi cura canum fuerit postrema ; *ed una 

 Velocis Spartte catulox, acremque molossum, 

 Parce aero ping.ii, &c. Georg. lib. iii. v. 404. 



nostrils situated near the mouth, ; nd in a sinus, or 

 groove, which runs along the edge of the upper lip, 

 partially covered by two lobes or productions of the 

 skin ; teeth with a large triangular point, and a 

 smaller one on each side. 



The larger species, S. canicula, is distinguished by 

 the fodowing characters: blackish brown, marked with 

 numerous small blackish spots ; length three to five 

 feet ; inliabits the seas of almost every portion of the 

 globe; swift, voracious, and very powerful ; follows 

 ships to feed upon the refuse which is thrown over- 

 board ; feeds on small fish and mollusca, and destroys 

 great numbers of the young of its own species ; breeds 

 several times a-year, and brings forth numerous indi- 

 viduals at a birth. The yoiuig are hatched from tin- 

 egg, in the complicated oviducts of the female, and 

 are born alive. The eggs are similar to others of the 

 family, and covered by a tough membranaceous in- 

 tegument. The skill of these fish is beset with numer- 

 ous small asperities, which render it, when dried, well 

 calculated for polishing wood, and for other mechani- 

 cal purposes. U'hen alive it has a strong musky smell. 



S. catulus, the lesser dog-lish, or rock shark, re- 

 sembles the former in its general appearance and 

 habits, but the spots with which it is marked are 

 larger and more scattered. It has very frequently 

 been confounded with it, and by some authors de- 

 scribed as the male ; colour gray-brown, spots black- 

 ish, unequal, rounded ; dorsal fins equal, nostrils 1)5- 

 lobate ; inhabits rocky bottoms, and preys principally 

 on Crustacea and shell-fish ; produces eighteen or 

 twenty at a time. The young evince their ferocious 

 propensities very soon after birth, and are destroyed 

 by the larger individuals of their own species. 



The flesh, of all the species is hard, dry, and unpa- 

 latable, requiring to be well soaked before it is eaten. 

 Oil, in considerable quantity, is obtained from the 

 liver. Poisonous effects are, at certain times, ob- 

 served in consequence of eating the livers of dog-fish 

 and some cases are recorded, in which the most dis- 

 tressing illness has been occasioned, followed by a 

 heavy, torpid stupor of two or three days. The pa- 

 tients were afterwards affected by an erythrematous 

 eruption, which extended all over the body, and which 

 was terminated by a general peeling off of the skin. 



M. Cuvier has divided the genus squalus into nu- 

 merous sub-genera, which include many new and ex- 

 traordinary species. The sub-genus scyllium is now 

 divided into two sections : Sect. 1. anal fin situated 

 under the interval between the two dorsals ; sect. 2. 

 anal fin placed posterior to the second dorsal. The 

 tir.-t division includes S. canicula, S. catulus, &c. ; the 

 second, S. africanum, S. tuberculatum, &c. 



DOGGER ; a Dutch vessel navigated in the Ger- 

 man ocean ; it is equipped with two masts, a main 

 and a mizzen mast, and somewhat resembles a ketch. 

 It is principally used for fishing on the Dogger bank. 



DOG-GRASS (radix graminis ; gramen caninum ; 

 triticum repens, Lin.);. a perennial plant, very com- 

 mon in uncultivated grounds ; root repent ; stems 

 straight, about two feet high ; leaves soft and green ; 

 spike elongate, compressed; spikelets distichous, un- 

 armed, and formed of from four to five flowers. Dog- 

 grass root is long, cylindrical, thin, knotty, white in- 

 ternally, yellowish and skinny externally, inodorous, 

 of a farinaceous and sweet taste. This root is used 

 in medicine. Among the demulcent substances, dog- 

 grass is one of the most frequently employed in France. 

 It is used in most of the inflammatory and febrile dis- 

 eases, and especially in those of the urinary passages. 

 It was formerly recommended as a powerful diuretic ; 

 and was employed as such in dropsies ; but we know, 

 at present, this opinion to be erroneous. 



DOGMAS, HISTORY OF; a branch of theology, 

 wore attended to in the universities of the north ot 



