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DBACUNCULT, in medicine, small long 
worms, which breed in the muscular parts of 
the arms and legs, called Guinea-worms. 
This distemper is very common in Guinea, 
and principally among the natives: Kempfer 
found it so also at Ormuz, upon the Persian 
Gulph,. and likewise in Tartary. Dr. Tawne, 
in his Treatise on the Diseases of the West 
Indies, informs us, that this distemper is not 
so frequent any where as on the gold-coast, 
at Anamaboe, and Cortnantyn. The worm is 
white, round, and uniform, very much re- 
sembling white round tape, or bobbin. It 
is lodged between the interstices and mem- 
branes of the muscles, where it insinuates it- 
self, sometimes exceeding live ells in length. 
It occasions no great pain at the beginning ; 
but at such times as it is ready to make its 
exit, the part adjoining to the extremity of 
the worm, where it attempts its exclusion, 
begins to swell, throb, and be inflamed : this 
generally happens about the ancle, leg, or 
thigh, and rarely higher. 
The countries where this distemper is ob- 
served, are very hot and sultry, liable to great 
droughts, and the inhabitants make use of 
stagnating and corrupted water, in which it 
is very probable that the ova of these aniinal- 
cula may be contained; for the white people 
who drink this water are obnoxious to the 
disease as well as the negroes. 
The surgeons seldom attempt to extract 
this worm by making an incision ; but as soon 
as they perceive the tumour rise to a compe- 
tent bulk, they endeavour to bring it to a 
suppuration, with all convenient expedition ; 
and then the head of the worm discovers it- 
self, which they secure, by tying it to a bit of 
stick or cotton, that it may not draw itself up 
again : thus they continue to roll it round the 
stick, sometimes one inch, sometimes two 
or more, each day, taking great care not to 
break the worm, else it will be very difficult 
to recover the end of it again ; and an ab- 
scess will be formed, not only at the suppu- 
rated part, but likewise through the whole 
winding of the muscles, where the dead pu- 
trifying worm remains, which generally occa- 
sions very obstinate ulcers. During the ex- 
traction of the worm, the patient should be 
plied with hitter aloetic and other anthelmin- 
tic medicines, in order to dislodge the worm 
the sooner from his tenement. When the 
worm is totally extracted, the remaining ul- 
cer may be treated in the same manner as 
other common ulcers ; nor does any farther 
inconvenience remain in the parts of which 
It had possession. This disease, simply con- 
sidered, very rarely, if ever, proves mortal. 
DRAG, in sea language, is a machine con- 
sisting of a sharp, square, iron ring, encircled 
with a net, and commonly used to take the 
■wheel off from the platform or bottom of the 
decks. 
DRAGOMAN, or Drogmav, a term of 
general use through the East, for an interpret- 
er whose office is to facilitate commerce be- 
tween the orientals and occidentals. These 
are kept by the ambassadors of Christian na- 
tions residing at the Porte for this purpose. 
The word is formed from the Arabic targe- 
man or largiman, of the verb taragem, he 
has interpreted. From dragoman the Ita- 
lians formed dragomano, and, with a nearer 
relation to its Arabic etymology, turcimanno ; 
whence the French and our truchcmun, as 
well as dragoman and drogmau. 
DRAGON’S head and tail, are the nodes 
of the planets, or the two points wherein the 
ecliptic is intersected by the orbits of the pla- 
nets, and particularly that of the moon ; mak- 
ing with it angles of five degrees and eighteen 
minutes. One of these points looks north- 
ward, the moon beginning then to have north- 
ward latitude ; and the other southward, where 
she commences south. Thus her deviation 
from the ecliptic seems (according to the 
fancy of some) to make a figure like that 
of a dragon, whose belly is where she has the 
greatest latitude ; the intersection represent- 
ing the head and tail, from which resemblance 
the denomination arises. But it must be ob- 
served that these points abide not always in 
one place, but have a motion of their own in 
the zodiac and retrogradewise, three minutes 
eleven seconds per day, completing their 
circle in 18 years 225 days : so that the moon 
can be but twice in the ecliptic during her 
monthly period, but at all other times she 
will have a latitude or declination from the 
ecliptic. It is about these points of intersec- 
tion that all eclipses happen. They are usu- 
ally denoted by these characters. Si dragon’s 
head, and £3 dragon’s tail. 
Dragon, in zoology. See Draco. 
Dragon’s blood, a gummy resinous sub- 
stance so called, which is brought from the 
East Indies, either in oval drops wrapped up 
in flag leaves, or in large masses composed of 
smaller tears. It is said to be obtained from 
the palmijuncus draco, the calamus rotang, 
the dracena draco, the pterocarpus draco, 
and several other vegetables. In the pre- 
sent practice of medicine, it is very little if at 
all used, either externally or internally. A 
solution of dragon’s-blood in spirit of wine is 
used for staining marble, to which it gives a 
red tinge, which penetrates more or less 
deeply according to the heat of the marble dur- 
ing the time of application. But as it spreads 
at the same time that it sinks deep, lor fine 
designs the marble should be cold. M. du 
Fay says, that by adding pitch to this solu- 
tion the colour may be rendered deeper. 
Dragon-fly. See Libellula. 
Dragon-shell, in natural history, a 
name given by people curious in shells to a 
species of concamerated patella or limpet. 
This has a top very much bent, and is of an 
ash-colour on the outside, but of an elegant 
and bright flesh-colour within. It has been 
found sticking on the back of a tortoise, as 
the common limpets do on the sides of rocks, 
and some have been found affixed to large 
shells of the pinna marina. 
DRAGONNE'E, in heraldry : a lion dra- 
gonnee is where the upper half resembles a 
lion, the other half going off like the hinder 
part of a dragon. The same may be said of 
any other beast as well as a lion. 
DRAGOON, in military affairs, a mus- 
queteer mounted on horseback, who some- 
times lights or marches on foot, as occasion 
requires. Menage derives the word dragoon 
from the Latin draconurius, which in Yege- 
tius is used to signify soldier. But it is more 
probably derived from the German targen 
or dr a gen, which signifies to carry, as being 
infantry carried on horseback. Dragoons are 
divided into brigades as the cavalry, and each 
regiment into troops, each troop having a 
captain, lieutenant, cornet, quarter-master, 
two serjeants, three corporals, and two drum- 
mers : some regiments have hautboys. They 
are very useful on any expedition that re- 
quires dispatch ; for they can keep pace with 
the cavalry, and do the duty of infantry. 
They encamp generally on the wings of the 
aniiy, or at the passes leading to the camp ; 
and sometimes they are brought to cover the 
general’s quarters: they march in the front 
and rear of the army. The first regiment of 
dragoons raised in England was in 1681, and 
called the regiment of dragoons* of North 
Britain. In battle or attacks they generally 
fight sword in hand after the first lire. 
DRAGOONING, one of the methods 
used by papists for convertirfg refractory he- 
retics, and bringing them within the pale of 
the Romish church. The following method 
of dragooning the French protestants after the 
revocation of the edict of Nantes, under 
Louis XIV. is taken from a French work, 
translated in 1686. The troopers, soldiers, 
and dragoons, went into the protestants.*! 
houses, where they marred and defaced their 
household-stuff, broke their looking-glasses 
and other utensils and ornaments, let their 
wine run about their cellars, and threw about 
their corn and spoiled it. And as to tho ;e 
things which they could not destroy in this! 
manner, such as furniture of beds, linen,! 
wearing-apparel, plate, &c. they carried! 
them to the market-place, and sold them to the! 
Jesuits and other Roman-catholics. By these! 
means the protestants in Montaubon alone! 
were stripped of above a million of money.! 
But this was not the worst. They turned* 
the dining-rooms of gentlemen into stables! 
for their horses ; and treated the owners off 
the houses where they quartered with the! 
highest indignity and cruelty, lashing thenM 
about from one to another, day and nighilj 
without intermission, not suffering them to! 
eat or drink; and when they began to sink! 
under the fatigue anti pains they had under- 
gone, they laid them on a bed; and when 
they thought them somewhat recovered, 
made them rise, and repeated the same tor-j 
hires. When they saw the blood and sweat] 
run down their faces and other parts of thein 
bodies, they sluiced them with water; and! 
putting over their heads kettle-drums turned! 
upside down, they made a continual din up ml 
them, till these unhappy creatures lost theiri 
senses. To recount all the ingenious cruel! 
ties exercised in the practice of dragooning 
by these religious savages, would curdle the* 
blood of even the most insensible. 
DRAGS, in the sea language, are \vhat-{ 
ever hangs over the ship in the sea, as shirts! 
coats, or the like ; and boats when towed, oil 
whatever else after this manner may hinder! 
the ship’s way when she sails, are called! 
drags. 
DRAINING, the art of clearing wet anc* 
boggy lands of their superfluous moisture, aJ 
art of the highest importance not only to the* 
agriculture, but to the health of a country! 
It is only in modern times that the principles 
of this art have been well understood, and ia 
seems yet susceptible of great improvement, fl 
Land becomes charged with moisture fronf 
two causes: 1. from water collected in thq 
higher grounds, and filtrating among the dill 
ferent beds of gravel and other porous mate! 
rials, forming springs below, and flowing ovea 
the surface, or stagnating underneath it. 2M 
[ From rain or water lodging and becoming! 
