DIP 
with two wings only; such as flies, gnats, 
and a variety of other insects. Under each 
wing is a clavate poiser or balancer, with 
its appropriate scale. There are tno sec- 
tions, 1. A. with a proboscis and sucker, 
containing the following genera, viz, 
Conops Miisca 
Diopsis Tabanus 
Empis Tipiila 
and B. with a sucker, but no proboscis : of 
this there are also six genera, viz. 
Asilus Hippobosca 
Eombylius Oestrus 
Culex Stomoxys. 
UIPTERYX, in botany, a genus of the 
Diadeiphia Decandria class and order. 
Natural order of Papilionaceae, or Legumi- 
nosae. Essential character : calyx two up- 
per segments winged ; legume ovate, com- 
pressed, one-seeded. There are two spe- 
cies, viz. D. odorata, Coumarouiia, and 
I), oppositifolia, Taralea. These are both 
tall trees; about sixty feet high ; very much 
branched at top ; the leaves are large, al- 
ternate, and pinnate ; the leaflets are per- 
fectly entire, two or three on each side, af- 
fixed alternately on the mid-rib ; the flow- 
ers are borne in racemes, which are axil- 
lary and terminal ; their colour is purple, 
streaked with violet. The almonds are 
fragrant, and'are put by the Creoles into 
chests, in order to drive away insects, as 
well as for the sake of their smell. They 
are both natives of South America. 
DIPUS, the jerboa, in natural history, 
a genus of Mammalia, of the order Glires. 
Generic character : two front teeth in the 
upper and in the under jaw; fore legs very 
short, hind legs very long ; clavicles in the 
skeleton ; tail long and tufted at the tip. 
Shaw enumerates six species, and Gmelin 
ten. 
D. sagitta, or the Egyptian jerboa of 
Pennant, is about the size of a rat, and 
was known to the ancients by the name of 
the two-footed mouse. It is to be met with 
in various parts of Africa, and in the east- 
ern provinces of Siberia. In its posture and 
movement it greatly resembles a bird. It 
stands on its hind feet, and rarely applies 
its fore feet to the ground, employing them 
almost exclusively in applying food to its 
mouth, in the same manner as the kangu- 
roo. It inhabits subterraneous apartments 
prepared by itself, or found accommodated 
for its purpose, and reposes in them during 
the greater part of the day, choosing the 
night for excursion and food. It is, in the 
DIP 
tropical climates, susceptible of cold, feeds 
upon various vegetables, such as it can pro- 
cure amidst the barren and sandy wilds 
which it prefers for its habitation, and bur- 
rows with such extreme facility, that, in a 
state of confinement it will, in no tong time, 
work a passage tlirough a wall of brick. 
M. Sonnini considers the jerboa as consti- 
tuting a link between quadrupeds and 
birds. The beginning of the connection 
between the former and the latter is con- 
sidered by Shaw as formed by the jerboa, 
and the last link as completed in the bat. 
In tire sand and ruins about Alexandria the 
jerboa is very frequently to be found. It 
is, however, extremely shy, retiring on the 
slightest alarjn to its habitation, and the 
common mode of destroying them among 
the Arabs, as related by Sonnini, is by 
stopping up all the accesses to their resi- 
dence but one, and watching their egress 
at that. In Egypt they are used as food. 
M. Sonnini kept several in a cage for a con- 
siderable time, feeding them on walnuts 
and other fruits. They appeared extremely 
fond of basking in the sun, and indeed, in 
the sun-shine, were often extremely alert 
and playful. They were mild in their dis- 
positions even in feeding, shewing no ten- 
dency to quarrelsomeness, or ferocity ; 
but, on the other hand, they exiiibited little 
or no susceptibility of gratitude or attach- 
ment, of joy or fear, and their manner were 
characterized by a cold and stupid indiffer- 
ence. See Mammalia, Plate IX. fig. 5. 
D. Canadensis, or the Canada rat. This 
is the smallest species of the jerboa, being 
about the size of a mouse. General Davies 
had several specimens in his possession, and 
his account of this curious animal is to be 
found in the fourth volume of the transac- 
tions of the Linnaean Society. In company 
with several other gentlemen, the General 
caught one of these jerboas in a large field, 
after an hour’s chase, during which the little 
creature took the extraordinary leaps of 
from three to five yards in almost uninter- 
rupted successions, sinking, however, at 
length, under fatigue from such wonderful 
exertions. Its food could not be ascer- 
tained by the General, who offered it a 
great variety, no article of which it ap- 
peared at all disposed to touch, and the day 
after its seizure it died, overwhelmed, pro- 
bably, by its extreme efforts to escape from 
its pursuers. It is sometimes found dor- 
mant, and in this state, probably, passes 
the winter in the rigorous climate of Ca- 
nada. A specimen of it in this state was 
