DRA 
hair, and. sometimes wool : it is of two sorts, 
that called tlie fine is used by hatters in the 
manufacture of common hats, while the 
coarse is used for making list for white 
cloth. 
DOXOLOGY, an hymn used in praise 
of the Almighty, distinguished by the title 
of greater and lesser. 
DRABA, in botany, English whitlow 
grass, a genus of the Tetradynamia Silicu- 
losa class and order. Natural order of Sili- 
quos®, or Cruciformes. Cruciferae, Jussieu. 
Essential character : silicle entire, oval ob- 
long ; valves flattish, parallel to the disse- 
piment; style none. There are nine species, 
of which one is D. aizoides, hairy-leaved 
Alpine whitlow grass. It has a perennial root ; 
the stem is three inches high : petals entire, 
silicle, hairy, rough, ovate, sharp at both 
ends; ending in a long style. This is a 
pretty plant, well adapted to rock work, 
having a sweet smell. It is a native of the 
mountains of France, Switzerland, Savoy, 
Austria, and Silesia. 
DRACHM, a Grecian coin of the value 
of seven pence three farthings. This was 
also the name of a kind of weight, consist- 
ing of three scruples, and each scruple of 
two oboli. As to the proportion that the 
drachm of the Greeks bore with the ounce 
of the Romans, Q. Remnius, in his poem 
of weights and measures, makes the drachm 
the eighth part of an ounce, not much difler- 
ent from the crown of the Arabians, which 
weighs something more than the dr achm. 
Drachm is also a weight used at present 
by physicians, ^-ontaining sixty grains, or 
the eighth part of an ounce. 
DRACO, the dragon, in natural liistory, 
a genus of Amphibia of the. order Reptiles. 
Generic character: body four-footed, and 
tailed, and supplied on each side .with an 
expansile membrane, sti’engthened by radii 
or bony processes. Of these animals thei-e 
is only one species, D. volans, or tire flying 
dragon. This is about four inches in lengfli, 
exclusively of the tail, which is generally 
six or seven. Its colour is a beautiful pale 
blue. It abounds in various parts of Africa 
and Asia, and resembles the genus of lizards 
(to which it has by some naturalists been 
attached) in ranging along the boughs, 
feeding on the insects which are, in those 
situations, amply supplied for its subsistence. 
It is perfectly gentle and inoffensive. It is 
distinguished from lizards by being accom- 
modated with large expansile, cutaneous 
processes, supported by ribs which reach to 
the extremity of this membrane, and by 
DRA 
which the animal contracts or extends 
This representation of the flying dragou 
is totally different from what must be ex- 
pected by those who are unacquainted with 
natural history, and whose ideas of the dra- 
gon are formed on the monstrous creations 
of poetry and romance. Though little 
adapted to excite terror, however, the fly- 
ing dragon is well calculated to gratify cu- 
riosity. See Amphibia, Plate I. fig. 1. 
Draco, a constellation of the northern 
hemisphere. See Astronomy. 
DRACOCEPHALUM, in botany, a ge- 
nus of the Didynamia Gymnospermia class 
and order. Natural order of Verticillatse. 
Scrophularias, Jussieu. Essential character: 
corolla throat inflated, upper lip concave. 
There are fifteen species. These are mostly 
herbaceous. The stalks are square, the 
leaves opposite in pairs. The flowers are 
either in works, forming altogether a spike 
at the end of the stalk, or asillaiy on one- 
flowered or many-flowered peduncles ; they 
are supported by bractes, wdiich are gene- 
rally broad, and sometimes ciliate. 
DRACiENA, in botany, a genus of the 
Hexandria Monogynia class and order. Na- 
tural order of Sarmentacese. Asparagi, 
Jussieu. Essential character: corolla six- 
parted, erect; filaments somewhat thicker 
in the middle; berry three-celled, one- 
seeded. There ai'e fourteen species, mostly 
natives of the East Indies and Cochin China. 
DRACONTIUM, in botany, a genus of 
the Gynandria Polyandria class and order 
Natural order of Piperit®. Aroide®, Jus- 
sieu. Essential character: spathe boat- 
form ; spadix covered ; calyx none ; petals 
five ; berries many-seeded. There are five 
species, of which D. polyphillum has a large, 
knobbed, irregular root, covered with a 
rugged brown skin. The stalk rises about 
a foot in height, it is smooth, and of a 
purple colour, full of sharp protuberances 
of various shades, shining like the skin of 
a serpent ; it is naked to the top, where it 
has a tuft of leaves, divided into many parts. 
The flower-stalk rises immediately from the 
root, and is seldom more than three inches 
high, having an oblong swelling hood at 
top, which opens lengthwise, showing the 
short, thick, pointed style within, upon 
which the flowers are closely ranged. 
This plant grows naturally in several islands 
of America. 
DRAGON. See Draco. 
Dragon’s blood. See Pharmacy. 
DR.4INING. See AcKrcui-TURE. 
