DIA 
DIANTHUS, in botany, a genus of the 
Decandi ia Digynia class and order. Natural 
order of Caryophyllei. Essential charac- 
ter : calyx cylindric, one-leafed, with four 
scales at the base ; petals five, with claws ; 
capsule cylindric, one-celled. There are 
thirty species. These beautiful plants are 
chiefly herbaceous ; some few however are 
sulfruticose. Most of them are hardy, and 
perennial or biennial ; some of the smaller 
wild sorts only are annual ; stalks annual, 
from one to three feet in height ; leaves op- 
posite, narrow, entire ; flowers terminating, 
many aggregate, some solitary, or several 
together, but distinct. This numerous ge- 
nus includes the sweet -williams, carnations, 
and pinks, with their several varieties j for 
a full and complete account of which we re- 
fer the reader to Martyn's edition of Mil- 
lar’s botany. 
DIAPASON, in music, a musical inter- 
val, by which most authors who have wrote 
upon the theory of music, use to express the 
octave of the Greeks. See Octave. 
The diapason is the first and most perfect 
of the concords ; if considered simply, it is 
but one harmonical interval, though if con- 
sidered diatonically, by tones and semi- 
tones, it contains seven degrees, viz. the 
three greater tones, two lesser tones, and 
two greater semi-tones. 
The interval of a diapason, that is the 
proportion of its grave sounds to its acute 
is duplicate, i. e. as 2 : 1. 
DIAPENSIA, in botany, a genus of the 
Pentandria Monogynia class and order. 
Natural order of Precias. Convolvuli, Jus- 
sieu. Essential eharacter : corolla salver- 
shaped; calyx five-leaved, imbricate, with 
three other leaflets ; stamens placed on the 
tube of the corolla; capsule three-celled. 
There is but one species, viz. D. lapponica, 
a native of the mountains of Lapland, 
among stones covered with moss, also in 
Norway. 
DIAPERED, or Diapre, in heraldry, 
the dividing of a field in planes, like fret- 
work, and filling the same with variety of 
figures. This chiefly obtains on bordures 
which are diapered or fretted over, and the 
fret charged with things proper for bor- 
dures. Baron renders it variatus, which is 
not sufficient to express the several things 
of which it is variated. 
DIAPHANOUS, an appellation given to 
all transparent bodies, or such as transmit 
the rays of light. 
DIAPHORETICS, among physicians, 
all medicines which promote perspiration. 
Die 
DIAPHRAGM, in anatomy, a large, r«- 
bust, muscnlous membrane or skin, placed 
transversely in the trunk, and dividing the 
thorax from the abdomen. See Anatomy. 
DIARRHOEA, in medicine, is a fre- 
quent and copious evacuation of liquid ex- 
crement by stool. See Medicine. 
DIASTOLE, among physicians, signifies 
the dilatation of the heart, auricles, and ar- 
teries; and stands opposed to the systole, 
or contraction of the same parts. 
Diastole, in grammar, a figure of pro- 
sody, whereby a syllable naturally short is 
made long : such is the first syllable of Pria- 
mides'in the following verse of Virgil. 
Atque hie Priamides : nihil 8 tibi, amice, 
relictum. 
This figure is used either out of mere 
poetic license, without any necessity for so 
doing, or through necessity, for the sake of 
the verse; as when three or more short 
syllables follow each other in hexameter 
verse. 
DIATESSARON, among ancient musi- 
cians, a concord or harmonical interval, 
composed of a greater tone, a less tone, and 
one greater semi-tone; its proportion in 
numbers is as 4 : 3. The word diatessaron 
has been of late used by several authors for 
a harmony of the four gospels. 
DIBBLING, in agriculture, a mode of 
setting corn, or other seeds, practised with 
advantage in places where labour is cheap ; 
it is chiefly used for putting wheat crops 
into the ground. The practice of dibbling 
was first introduced into Norfolk, about 25 
years ago. The method of dibbling is tliis : 
when the land is ploughed and rolled, a 
man with an iron dibble of about three 
feet long in each hand, walking backwards, 
makes two rows of holes in each furrow, at 
about four inches distant from each other, 
and an inch or two deep. The dibbler is 
followed by two or three women, or chil- 
dren, who drop two or three grains into 
each hole. The field is afterwards bush- 
harrowed. The usual quantity of seed is 
from a bushel and. a half to two bushels per 
acre, and the expense of labour about ten 
shillings. An experienced dibbler, with 
three active attendants, will plant half an 
acre a day, making six holes in every foot 
length. 
DICE, among gamesters, certain cubical 
pieces of bone or ivory, marked with dots 
on each of their faces; from one to six, ac- 
cording to the number of faces. 
Sharpers have several ways of falsifying 
