DAP 
DAS 
superior even (.0 that of the mezereon; but 
they are seldom succeeded by seeds in Eng- 
land. 
4. Tartonraira, the oval-leaved daphne or 
tartonraire, a very low deciduous shrub, is a 
native of France and Italy. This rises with ! 
a woody stalk to the height of about two feet. 
The branches are numerous, irregular, tough, 
and covered with a light-brown-eo’oured 
bark. The leaves are oval, very small, soft | 
to the touch, and shining. The flowers are 
produced in clusters from the sides of the 
stalks : they are white, come out in June, and 
are succeeded by roundish berries, which 
seldom ripen in England. 
5. Alpina, the alpine daphne or chamelaea, 
is a low deciduous shrub ; native of the Alps, 
Geneva, Italy, and Austria. This will grow 
to the height of about a yard. The leaves 
are spear-shaped, obtuse, and hoary under- 
neath. The flowers come out in clusters 
from the sides of the branches, and are very 
fragrant: they appear in March, and are suc- 
ceeded by red berries, that ripen in September. 
6. Thymeiaea, the milkwort-leaved dapline, 
or the thymeiaea, a low deciduous shrub, na- 
tive of Spain and the south of France. The 
thymeiaea will grow to the height of a yard. 
The stalks of this species are upright, branch- 
ed, and covered with a light-brown bark. 
The leaves are spear-shaped, smooth, and in 
some respect resemble those of milkwort. 
The flowers are produced in clusters from 
the sides of the stalks: they are of a greenish 
colour, ha\ e 110 footstalks, appear in March, 
and are succeeded bv small yellowish berries, 
which will be ripe in August. This and the 
two former sorts require a dry soil, and a 
warm situation. 
7. Villosa, the hairy-leaved daphne, a very 
low deciduous shrub, native of Spain and 
Portugal. The stalks are. ligneous, about 
two feet high. The flowers have very nar- 
row tubes, are small, and make no great 
show: they come out in June, and are not 
succeeded by ripe seeds in England. This 
shrub, in some situations, retains its leaves 
all winter in such beauty, as to cause it to be 
ranked among the low-growing evergreens; 
but as in others it is sometimes shattered 
with the first bleak winds, it is left to the 
gardener whether to place this shrub among 
the deciduous trees or evergreens. 
. 8. Laureola, the spurge-laurel or ever- 
green daphne, a low evergreen shrub, common 
in some parts of this kingdom, also in Switzer- 
land and France. This shrub seldom grows 
more than a yard or four feet high ; and is also 
valuable on account of its flowers ; not because 
they make any great show, but from their 
fragrance, and the time they appear ; for it 
will ba in flower the beginning of January, 
and w ill continue so until the middle or end 
of April before the flowers fall off, 
9. The odora is a charming shrub, which 
has its specific name from the -delightful fra- 
grance of its flowers. I 11 appearance it much 
resembles the common spurge-laurel, but 
must be treated as a greenhouse plant. 
The root of the mezereon was long used in 
the Lisbon diet-drink, a remedy said to lie 
good for several complaints, particularly 
nodes and other symptoms resisting the use 
of mercury. The composition of this diet- 
drink is described in the Edinburgh Physical 
.Essays, by Dr. Donald Monro of London. 
On chewing the root of the mezereon, it 
VOL. I. 
DAS 
proves very pungent, and its acrimony is ac- 
cumulated about the fauces, and is very du- 
rable. it is employed chiefly under tiie form 
of decoction, and it enters the decoctum 
sarsaparilla: compos ilum of the London col- 
lege ; but it has also been used in powder 
combined with some inactive one, as that of 
liquoricc-root. It is apt to occasion vomit- 
ing and purging ; so must be begun in grain- 
doses, and gradually increased. It is often 
usefully combined with mercury. The bark 
of the root, which is the most acrimonious 
part, is recommended in the Pharmacopoeia 
Chirurgica, to be steeped in vinegar, and 
applied to promote the discharge' ot issues. 
Mezereon has also been of use in tumours 
and cutaneous eruptions not venereal. The 
whole plant is very corrosive ; and six of the 
berries, it is said, will kill a wolf. A woman 
gave 12 grains of the berries to her daughter, 
who had a quartan ague: she vomited blood, 
and died immediately. 
DABAPTI, among logicians, one of the 
inodes of syllogisms of the third figure, whose 
premises are universal affirmatives, and the 
conclusion is a particular affirmative : thus, 
Dar- Every body is divisible : 
ap- Every body is a substance ; 
Tr, Therefore some substance is divi- 
sible. 
DARIC, in antiquity, a famous piece of 
gold, first coined by Darius tire Mede about 
538 years before Christ ; probably during his 
stay at Babylon, out of the vast quantity of 
gold which had been accumulated in the 
treasury. It was dispersed over the East, and 
also into Greece ; so that the Persian daric, 
which was also called stater, was the gold 
coin best known in Athens in antient times. 
According to Dr. Bernard, it weighed two 
grains more than one of our guineas ; but as 
it was very line, and contained little alloy, 
it may be reckoned worth about 25 s. of our 
money. 
DAB II, in logic, one of the modes of syl- 
logisms of the first figure, in which the major 
proposition is an universal affirmative, and 
the minor and conclusion particular affirma- 
tives: thus, 
Da- Every thing that is moved, is moved 
' by another : 
ri- Some body is moved ; 
1 . Therefore, some body is moved by 
another. 
DA1UUEN, in law, a corruption of the 
French word dernier, last, is used in this 
sense in our law, as darritn continuance, &x. 
Darjukx presentment, the last presenta- 
tion to a church, on which an assize lies. 
DASYPUS, armadillo, a genus of quadru- 
peds of the bruta order. The generic cha- 
racter is: grinders several, without either 
cutting or canine teeth; body coated with a 
shelly armour, divided into zones. 
The armadillos are natives of South Ame- 
rica, and are readily distinguished from ail 
other quadrupeds by the singular covering 
with which nature has ornamented them ; 
and which forms a complete suit of armour, 
divided into bands or shelly zones, in such a 
manner as to accommodate itself to the va- 
rious postures of the body ; and exhibiting a | 
most beautiful example of deviation from the j 
general structure and appearance in quadru- 1 
peds. The armadillos are innoxious animals, j 
and inhabit subterraneous retreats or bur- j 
rows, which they readily excavate by means 1 
48y 
of their large and strong claws, They wan- 
der about chiefly by night, and devour va- 
rious roots and grain ; and are therefore con- 
sidered as injurious to plantations. They 
also occasionally prey on the smaller animals 
of different kinds ; as worms, insects, &c. In 
a state of captivity, they readily eat animal 
food, and that in considerable quantity. 
They are themselves considered as excel- 
lent food, and are therefore dug out of their 
subterraneous cavities, and sold for the table. 
When old, however, their flesh acquires a 
strong musky scent, and becomes unfit for 
use. When attacked, the armadillos roll 
themselves up into the form of a ball, and 
thus become, in a great degree, invulnerable. 
Nothing can exceed the curious mechanism 
by which this is performed ; nor is it pos- 
sible to view without admiration the appear- 
ance of the animal thus coiled up, and se- 
cured from common contingencies. 
Armadillos are said to drink frequently, 
ami they often grow extremely fat. They 
are very prolific animals; and are said to 
breed three or four times a year, and to bring 
several young at a birth. The species are, 
determined by the number of shelly zones 
on the body. In enumerating these, how- 
ever, it is remarkable that most authors vary ; 
and the exact discrimination of all the spe- 
cies seems yet a desideratum in natural his- 
tory. This, perhaps, arises partly from the 
inattention of draughtsmen and engravers, 
when representing the animals, and partly 
from different authors counting differently 
the bands on some of the species; which are 
so placed as to make it difficult in some in- 
stances to distinguish the ultimate or bound- 
ing zones of the body, from the scaly divi- 
sions on the fore and hind parts of the ani- 
mal ; and which, like the hands, are disposed 
into a kind off zones, though less strongly 
marked. Some species, however, are so 
clearly defined by this mode of distinction, 
as to be at ail times readily ascertained. 
1. Dasypus tricinctus, or three-handed 
armadillo, may be considered, perhaps, as 
the most elegant of the whole, species ; the 
pattern of the armour being peculiarly neat 
and well defined,- and the colour of the ani- 
mal more pleasing than in most other spe* 
t ies, viz. a clear yellowish-white. The head, 
shoulders, and hind part of the body, are 
coated with regular hexagonal divisions, cu- 
riously studded or tuberculated on the sur- 
face; and the zones of the body are extreme- 
ly distinct, and only three in number. The 
ears are rather large, and the claws smaller 
than in most other species. It is a native of 
Brazil. 
2. Dasypus sexcincttis, or six-banded artna- 
madillo, ts also a species of great elegance ; 
and much resembles the former, but' is fur- 
nished with six bands instead of three, 1 he 
tail is very thick at the base, and is short in 
proportion to the animal ; the daws are very 
large and strong. The bands are marked 
into oblong squares, as in the former. 
3. Dasypus septemcinctus, or seven-band- 
ed armadillo. It is impossible to consider 
this in any other light than as a mere variety 
of the nine-handed armadillo, in which the 
pattern of the armour, and the relative pro- 
portions of tlie parts, are sufficient to ascer- 
tain the species, whatever may happen to be 
the number .of the zones. ' ... 
4. Dasypus novemcinctus, or nine-banded 
