DOGFISH 



1830 



DOHERTY 



Genoa in the year 697 and for several centuries 

 the doge was the chief ruler. Amalfi soon 

 dropped this form of government; but up to 

 the twelfth century the doge, although elected 



THE DOGE'S PALACE 



In the center, at right of the campanile, or bell 

 tower. 



by the people, ruled with almost absolute 

 authority in Venice and Genoa. The word is 

 derived from the Latin word dux,, meaning 

 leader. The men chosen as doges were usually 

 from the powerful families, and they often 

 tried to have their sons succeed them. The 

 people resisted this succession until the twelfth 

 century, when a famous Great Council of 480 

 members was created. From this group the 

 members elected the doge, and his powers 

 were greatly restricted. In both republics the 

 office disappeared when the French conquered 

 them in 1797. 



Doge's Palace. On the banks of a canal in 

 Venice is a quaint three-story palace which 

 has been there since 1300. This was the home 

 of all the late doges, and it was the meeting 

 place of the Great Council. When it was first 

 built, prisoners were kept in dungeons beneath. 

 Later a prison was built on the other side of 

 the narrow canal, and a bridge known as the 

 "Bridge of Sighs" connected it with the pal- 

 ace (see page 925). The tragic fame of this 

 bridge arose from the shortness of the passage 

 from the palace of beauty and power to the 

 dark, dismal dungeons. Much of the building 

 has suffered from fire, but many beautiful 

 pieces of sculpture and painting still remain 

 in the halls. Ruskin in his Stones of Venice 

 gives an account of the atmosphere and gran- 

 deur of the palace, with its numerous historic 

 associations. 



DOG 'FISH, a name commonly given to sev- 

 eral small species of the shark family. They 

 are said to follow smaller fish, on which they 

 prey, in packs like hounds on the trail, and 

 from this fact the name was doubtless applied. 

 These fish are found in all parts of the North 

 Atlantic and are greatly detested by fishermen, 



as they break nets and even take fish from 

 hooks. None of the species can be consid- 

 ered as very palatable food, but in the north 

 of Scotland they are dried and kept for winter 

 use. Dogfish vary greatly in size, but the 

 largest seldom exceed three feet in length. 

 The dried skin of one species is used for pol- 

 ishing wood, and on the Pacific coast of North 

 America dogfish are captured in large numbers 

 for the oil which is extracted from the livers. 

 The small bowfin, or amia, found in the rivers 

 of the United States and Canada, is sometimes 

 called a dogfish. It deposits its eggs in a nest, 

 and bravely defends its young. 



DOG STAR. See SIBIUS. 



DOG-TOOTH VIOLET, or ADDER'S 

 TONGUE, is really not a violet, neither does 

 it resemble a dog's tooth nor a snake's tongue. 

 It is a plant of the lily family, is found in the 

 early spring along the cool, moist sides of trout 

 streams, and is sometimes more appropriately 

 called trout lily. It flowers from March 

 through May in north temperate regions. Two 

 smooth leaves, mottled with purple and white, 



DOG-TOOTH VIOLET 



spring from the bulb. And between them, on 

 a six- to twelve-inch stem, nods the yellow, 

 purplish or white bell-shaped flower, with its 

 tuliplike fragrance. It is one of the spring 

 flowers of the Northern states and Canada 

 which breaks through the ground early to 

 catch the sunshine before the leaves appear 

 on the trees to darken the ground. 

 DOHERTY, doher'ti, CHARLES JOSEPH (1855- 

 ), a Canadian jurist and legislator and 

 Dominion Minister of Justice after 1911. He 

 was born at Montreal, where he attended Saint 

 Mary's College and McGill University. He 

 was admitted to the bar in 1877; from 1891 to 

 1906 was judge of the superior court of the 



