DIS 



mv 



limited degree of heat is required in dis* 

 tillation, recourse is had to a bath of some 

 liquid, whose boiling point will give the 

 degree of heat required, such as water, 

 oil, or mercury. If, for instance, it were 

 required to separate any substance from 

 water more volatile than that liquid, it 

 would be necessary to employ a water- 

 bath, in which to place the retort, keep- 

 ing the water in the bath below its boil- 

 ing point. 



The laws of distillation, however, are 

 so modified by other circumstances, as to 

 render some of the preceding rules in 

 some measure exceptionable. If the 

 different bodies subjected to distillation 

 had no chemical affinity for each othej^ it 

 is probable that each substance would 

 put on its elastic form only at that tem- 

 perature, at which it would, in a separate 

 state, be converted into vapour. But we 

 frequently find, that one volatile substance 

 will carry along with it other bodies of 

 considerable fixity. From the affinity 

 which water has to air, we observe the 

 evaporation of the farmer to take place at 

 all temperatures below its boiling point ; 

 and though it has been thought that water 

 might be freed from saline matter by dis- 

 tillation, it is found, by experiment, that 

 several salts are carried over along with 

 the vapour of the water, which, in their 

 dry state, would undergo decomposition 

 before they would be induced to assume 

 the elastic form. Hence water, by the 

 common mode of distillation, cannot be 

 rendered pure. From the circumstance, 

 that the air is capable of raising water 

 and other liquids at a low temperature, 

 we are enabled to perform the distillation 

 of such liquids, by making the slightest 

 degree of difference of temperature be- 

 tween the retort and the receiver. Wa- 

 ter and alcohol may be obtained perfect- 

 ly pure, by placing the retort in the tem- 

 perature of 100, and the receiver in that 

 of 50 of Farenheit's scale. 



The salts most liable to rise with wa- 

 ter in distillation are, carbonate ammo- 

 pia, muriates of lime and magnesia, and 

 nitrate of soda. ; Indeed, this tendency 

 appears to be directly as the solubility of 

 the salt, or rather as its deliquescent pro- 

 perty, which is as its affinity for water. 



DISTRESS, in law, is the taking of a 

 personal chattel out of the possession of 

 the wrong doer, into the custody of the 

 person who is injured, to procure a sa- 

 tisfaction for the wrong committed. It is 

 of two kinds ; cattle for trespassing and 

 doing damage, or for non-payment of 



rent or other duties. But the most usual 

 injury, for which a distress may be taken, 

 is that of non-payment of rent. 



DISTRIBUTION of intestate's effects, 

 after payment of the debts of the deceas- 

 ed, is to be made according to the man- 

 ner following : one-third shall go to the 

 widow of the intestate, and the residue 

 in equal proportions to his children ; or, 

 if dead, to their representatives, that is, 

 their lineal descendants : if there be no 

 children, or legal representatives, then a 

 moiety shall go to the wido^v, and a moi- 

 ety to the next kindred in equal degree, 

 or their representatives : if no widow, the 

 whole shall go to the children : if neither 

 widow nor child, the whole shall be dis- 

 tributed amongst the next kindred iu 

 equal degree, and their representatives ; 

 but no representatives are admitted 

 among collaterals, farther than the chil- 

 dren of the intestate's brothers and sisters, 

 The father succeeds to the whole perso- 

 nal effects of his children, if they die in- 

 testate and without issue ; but if the fa- 

 ther be dead, and the mother survive, 

 she shall only come in for a share equally 

 with each of the remaining children. 



DITTO, usually written D, in books 

 of accounts, an Italian word, signifying 

 the aforementioned. 



DIVAN, a council chamber, or court 

 of justice, among the eastern nations, per- 

 ticularly the Turks. 



DIVARICATE, a term used in natural 

 history, signifies spreading out widely. 



DIVER. See COLYMBUS. 



DIVERGENT rays, in optics, are those 

 which, going from a point of the visible 

 object, are dispersed, and continually de- 

 part one from another, in proportion as 

 they are removed from the object : in 

 which sense it is opposed to convergent. 

 Concave glasses render the rays diver- 

 gent, and convex ones convergent. Con- 

 cave mirrors make the rays converge, 

 and convex ones make them diverge. 



. DIVERSION, in military affairs, is when 

 an enemy is attacked in one place where 

 they are weak and unprovided, in order 

 to draw off their forces from another 

 place where they have made, or intend 

 to make,, an eruption. Thus the Romans 

 had no other way in their power of driv- 

 ing Hannibal out of Italy, but by making 

 a diversion in attacking Carthage. 



DIVIDEND. See Arithmetic. 



DIVIDEND, in commerce, the propor- 

 tion of profits which the members of a 

 society, or public company, receive at 

 stated periods, according to the share 



