24 DOR 
DO R AC, a town of Perfia, in the province of Chit- 
flftan : feventy-five miles fouth of Sufa. 
DORA'DO, f. in agronomy, a fouthern conftellation, 
not vifibie in our latitude ; it is alfo called xij>hias. The 
ftars of this conftellation, in Sharp’s catalogue, are fix. 
DORaE'NA, /. In botany, a genus of the clafs pen- 
tand.ria, order monogynia. The generic characters are-—■ 
Calyx : perianthium one-leafed, five-cleft, fhorter than 
the corolla ; divisions ovate, concave. Corolla : one- 
petalled, fubcylindric-wheel-fhaped ; border five-cleft, 
legmen is ovate, obtufe* eredt. Stamina: filaments very 
iliort, fo as to be fcarcely any ; infer ted into the tube of 
the corolla ; anthers oblong, fubquadrangular, included. 
Piltillum : germ conic, finooth, fuperior ; ftyle filiform, 
the length of the corolla ; ftigma truncate, emarginate. 
Pericarpium ; capfule ovate, acute, one-celled. Seeds: 
very many.— EJfential CkaraEler. Corolla, five-cleft; 
ftigma emarginate ; capfule one-celled. 
Doraena Japonica, or Japan dorena, the only fpecies 
known, is a tree of about a fathom in height; branches 
alternate, round, afii-coloured, fmooth, divaricate; 
flowers in racemes, white, minute ; racemes axillary, 
liparcely half an inch long; capfule the fize of a pepper¬ 
corn. Native of Japan. 
DO'RAN, an ancient city of Arabia, in the province 
of Yenian, fituate on the declivity of a mountain, not 
far from the junction of roads between Sana and Damar. 
It is the refidence of a fchieck, and of feveral imams or 
princes: twenty-eight miles fouth of Sana. Lat. 14. 55. 
N. Ion. 44. 4. E. Ferro. 
DO'R AT, a town of France, and principal place of a 
diftridt, in the department of the Upper Vienne : eight 
leagues north of Limoges. Lat. 46.13. N. Ion. 1S.45.E. 
Ferro. 
DO'R AT, or Daurat, John (Latin Auratus), a man 
fflf letters and poet, born of an ancient family in the Li- 
mofin, about the beginning of the fixteenth century. He 
finifhed his ftudies at Paris, where he acquired fitch a 
reputation for learning, that he was made royal profelfor 
in the Greek language. He was in confiderable favour 
with Charles IX. who took pleafure in converfing with 
him ; but it does not appear that he was much benefited 
by royal patronage, fince he pafled the latter part of life 
in great indigence. He poured forth a vaft number of 
verfes, Greek, Latin, and French ; and acquired the title 
of poet-royal. In the vigour of his powers he was thought 
inferior to none in lyric poetry. He alfo ranked high as 
a critic, and was accounted to excel in explaining the 
fenfe of obfcure ancient authors. He married a fecond 
time, in his old age, a handfome young woman; and 
when cenfured for the inequality of the connection, he 
replied, that he cliofe rather to die by a bright fword 
than a rally one. He furvived his eightieth year, and 
died in 1588. 
DOR'CAS, [Gr. a roebuck.] A proper name 
of women. 
DOR'CHESTER, the county town of Dorfetfiiire, 
diftant 122 miles weft of London, and eight from Wey¬ 
mouth. It is regularly built, on the elevated banks of 
the Frome, confiding of four ftreets, correfponding to the 
four cardinal points, and has the river on its north fide: 
it had originally four gates, one in the middle of each 
fide, and was encompafled with a ltrong wall and ditch. 
On the weft fide part of the old wall is ftill {landing, 
which is twelve feet thick. The foundation of the Ro¬ 
man wall appears quite round the town; but eaftward 
there is a ftreet built upon it, called the Walls. Here 
are three churches, among which that dedicated to St. 
Peter is a handfome ftruCture. Here is an area of an old 
caftle, out ofwhofe ruins the monafiery of the Grey Friars 
was built. The ftreets are neatly paved, and the houfes 
generally built with ftone. The corporation confifts of 
a mayor, recorder, two bailiffs, fix aldermen, fix capi¬ 
tal burgeffes, and twenty-four common-council men, by 
charter of 5 Charles I. Here are three alms-houfes, one 
x 
DOR 
of which is handfome and well endowed ; there is alfo a 
good free-fchool. In this town the county affizes are 
held, and the knights of the fibre chofen. The town has 
fent members to parliament ever fince 23 Edward I. Dor- 
chefter had two mints for coining money in the time of 
the Saxons. It extends five furlongs from eaft to weft, 
and within the walls covers about eight acres. Here was 
a dreadful fire, Augufl 6, 1613, which confumed two of 
the churches, fince rebuilt, and about 300 houfes, to the 
damage of 20o,oool. but not a foul perifhed in it. Dor- 
chefter has confiderable breweries, and carries on a great 
trade in beer, large quantities of which are fold in Lon¬ 
don, and other parts of the kingdom. It has almoft loft 
the manufacture of broad-cloth, for which it was once 
famous ; and its ferge trade is not very confiderable. It 
is computed that no lefs than 600,000 fheep are conflantly 
fed within fix miles of this place : the ewes generally 
bringing two lambs, which is imputed to the wild thyme 
and other aromatic herbage which here grow upon the 
downs in great abundance. It has a market Wednefdays 
and Saturdays; with four fairs, namely, on the 12th of 
February, for cattle and fheep ; on Trinity-Monday, and 
July 5, for fiieep, lambs, and all forts of cattle ; and on 
the 5th of Augufl, for cattle, fiieep, wool, and leather. 
The ancient mounds and circumvallation called Pond- 
bury, lie half a mile weft of Dorchefter; upon the fide 
of the river (lands an ancient fortification, of a fquare form, 
with a high rarnpart; but the ditch is inconfiderable, ex¬ 
cept at the angle by the river: the chief entrance was 
by the fouth fide. Is is fuppofed to have been originally 
a Roman camp. There is alfo on the down another Ro¬ 
man camp, called Maiden Caftle, which Dr. Stukely ima¬ 
gines was the .Tiftiva of the Dumovarian garrifon : it is 
of a vaft extent, prodigioufiy ftrong, and appears to have 
been formed in the inferior times of the empire. The 
amphitheatre is {till vifibie. Fordington is a large vil¬ 
lage near Dorchefter, to which it was formerly a fuburb, 
and had a market on Tuefdays, and a fair. It has ftill an 
officer chofen yearly called a reeve. This parifh abounds 
with antiquities, and Roman coins are frequently dug up 
here. In 1747, on digging chalk, above 200 fkeletons 
were difeovered four or five feet deep. The parifh church 
is large and ancient, {landing on a rifing ground, with a 
tower eighty feet high. 
DOR'CHESTER, a townfhip of the American States, 
in Grafton county, New Hampfhire, incorporated in 1761; 
feventeen miles from Dartmouth College. 
DOR'CHESTER, an ancient and thriving townfhip of 
the American States, in Norfolk county* MafFachufetts, 
fettled as early as 1630. A number of towns have been 
peopled from it fince its firft fettlement. It is fituated 
two miles fouth by eaft of Bofton, and is now about fix 
miles long and three and a half broad. The chief manu¬ 
factures are paper, chocolate, fnuff, leather, and fhoes of 
various forts. It has a handfome church; and, by the 
cenfus 1722 inhabitants. This town and its vicinity dif¬ 
fered much during the early part of the American war. 
DOR'CHESTER, a town of the American States, in 
Cumberland county, New Jerfey, fituated on the eaft fide 
of Morris river, about five miles from its mouth, in the 
bay, and feventeen eaftward of Fairfield. 
DOR'CHESTER, a county of the American States, 
in Maryland, on the eaft fide of Chefapeak bay, and the 
fouth fide of Choptank river, which feparates it from 
Talbot county. It has feveral i(lands on its coaft ; the 
chief of thefe, from the mouth of Hudfon river, are, 
James, Taylor’s, Barren, Hooper’s, and Goldfborough’s, 
which laft lies between Hungary-river and Fifhing-bay. 
The length in the county from eaft to weft is about thirty- 
three miles, and its breadth from north to fouth twenty- 
feven miles. The number of its inhabitants 15,875. The 
lands in the northern parts are fomewhat elevated, but 
in the fouthern parts low and marfiiy. The produce is 
chiefly wheat, corn, and lumber. Its chief town is 
Cambridge. 
DOR'CHESTER, 
