2 
D O D 
D O D 
Clark of Birmingham, the fon of the doctor's earlieft 
benefactor, and at the time of his death his afiiftant in 
the academy. In 1794, a new and improved edition of 
it, in two volumes oCtavo, was publifhed by the late 
Dr. Kippis, who had been a pupil under Dr. Doddridge. 
On th decline of his health he was advifed to take a 
voyage to I.ilbon, where he met with every friendly at- 
tention and medical aid. But his cafe was hopelefs; and 
he died on the 26th of October, 1751. The character of 
this great and good man, is thus drawn by his biographer 
Dr. Kippis: “ The prime and leading feature of his 
foul, was that of devotion. The greateft pains were 
taken by hint to keep up an habitual fenfe of the Su¬ 
preme Being ; to maintain and increafe the ardour of re¬ 
ligion in his heart; and to furnifh himfelf, by devout 
exercifes, for the important labours of his ftation. Nor 
was it-to his fecret retirements that his piety was limited : 
it was manifefted in every part of the day, and appeared 
in his ufual intercourfe with men. In the little vacan¬ 
cies of time which occur to the bufteft of mankind, he 
was frequently lifting up his foul to God. When he lec¬ 
tured on philofophy, hiftory, anatomy, or other fubjeCts 
not immediately theological, he would endeavour to graft 
forne religious inftruftions upon them, that he might raife 
the minds of his pupils to devotion, as well as to know¬ 
ledge ; and in his vilits to his people, the Chriltian friend 
and minifter were united.” 
DODECADAC'TYLUS, /. [from hhkcc, twelve, 
and SxxtvKo;, a finger.] The duodenum, a gut often fo 
named, becaufe its length is about the breadth of twelve 
fingers. At the time this name was given, anatomy con¬ 
fided in the diffechion of brutes ; and the length was 
therefore probably adjudged from the gut of fome ani¬ 
mal, and not of man. 
DODE'CAGON,/! [of oe.y.a , twelve, and yuna, Gr. 
a corner.] In geometry, a regular polygon, confiding of 
twelve equal fides and angles. 
DODECAHE'DRON, J'. [of Gr.] A geo¬ 
metrical folid, bounded by twelve equal and equilateral 
pentagons. It is one of the five Platonic regular bodies. 
Its etymology fignifies “ that which has twelve feats, or 
bottoms.” 
DODECAN'DRIA, f. [Jw$ex«, twelve, and a 
hufoamf.] In botany, the name of the eleventh clafs in 
Linnaeus’s artificial fydent; comprehending all thofe 
plants which have hermaphrodite flowers with from 
twelve to nineteen damens inclufive. See Botany - . 
DODECAPHAR'MACUM, /. [from Mera, twelve, 
and (pa.(>fjLa.y.'jv, a medicine.] An ointment confiding of 
twelve’ingredients, for which reafon it is called the oint¬ 
ment of the apodles. 
DODE'CAS, J. [fo called from the number twelve 
prevailing in the damens.] In botany, a genus of the 
clafs dodecandria, order monogynia, natural order caly- 
cauthemae. The generic characters are—Calyx : peri- 
anthium one-leafdd, turbinate, permanent, half-four-cleft, 
fuperior; divifions ovate, fpreading. Corolla: petals 
roundifh, feflile, inferted into the calyx. Stamina: fila¬ 
ments twelve, capillary, (horter than the calyx, inferted 
into the receptacle ; antherae oblong. Pidillum : germ 
half-fuperior ; dyle filiform, longer than the damens; 
ftigma Ample. Pericarpium ^capfule ovate, one-celled, 
inferior, growdng to a patulous calyx, within which the 
apex is naked and four-valved. Seeds : numerous, ob¬ 
long, minute.— EJfential CharaEler. Corolla, five-petalled ; 
calyx, half-four-cleft, bearing the corolla, fuperior ; cap- 
fule, one-celled, connate with the calyx. 
Dodecas Surinamenfis, or Surinam dodecas, the only 
fpecies known : a dirub, having the appearance of lyci- 
um barbarum, even fomewhat four-cornered ; the branches 
oppofite, diort; leaves oppofite, obovate-oblong, or 
wedge-fhaped, fubpeiioled, even, obtufe, quite entire. 
Native of Surinam. Linn. Suppl. 
DODECATEMO'RION, or Dodecatemor y,J [of 
» tu&Kccf twelve, and puafa, Gr. a divilion.] The twelfth 
part of a circle ; the twmrve figns of the zodiac, fo called 
becaufe every one of them is a twelfth part of tlte zodiac : 
5 1 is dodecatemorion thus aefcribed : 
Thrice ten degrees which every fign contains, 
Let twelve exhaud that not one part remains; 
It follows ftraight that every twelfth confines 
Two whole and one half portion of the ligns. Creech. 
DODECATIIE'ON,/. [from S'aoixa, twelve, and (hoi, - 
gods.] In botany, a genus of the clafs pentandria, order 
monogynia, natural order precise, (lyfimachise, J’Jf.) 
The generic charadlers are—Calyx : involucre many¬ 
leaved, many-flowered, very fmall ; perianthium one- 
leafed, half five-cleft, permanent: divifions reflex, fi¬ 
nally longer, permanent. Corolla: one petalled, five- 
parted ; tube (horter than the calyx, naked at the throat; 
border reflex: divifions very long, lanceolate. Stamina: 
filaments five, very fhort, obtule, feated on the tube; 
antherse lagittate, converging into a beak. Piftillum : 
germ conic ; dyle filiform, longer than the damens ; flig- 
ma obtufe. Pericarpium: capfule oblong, one-celled, 
gaping at the tip, (fubcylindric, opening into five parts. 
Gartner.) Seeds: very many, fmall; receptacle free, 
fmall.— EJfential CharaEler . Corolla, rotate, reflex; fta- 
mina, placed on the tube ; capfule, one-celied, oblong. 
Dodecatheon Meadia, Virginian cowfiip, or Meadia, is 
the only known fpecies. Meadia has a yellow perennial 
root, from which come out in the fpring feveral long 
fmooth leaves, near fix inches long, and two and a half 
broad ; at firft handing ereft, but afterwards fpreading 
on the ground, efpecially if it be much expofed to the 
fun : from among thefe leaves arife two, three, or four, 
flower-dalks, in proportion to the drength of the roots, 
which rife eight or nine inches high; they are fmooth, 
-naked, and terminated by an umbel of flowers, which are 
purple, inclining to a peach-bloffom colour. Thefe ap¬ 
pear at the end of April or the beginning of May; and 
the feeds ripen in July ; foon after which the dalles and 
leaves decay, and the roots remain inactive till the fol¬ 
lowing fpring. Each flower has a long (lender peduncle, 
which is recurved, fo that the flowers hang down. It is 
a native of Virginia, and other parts of North America, 
whence it was Cent by Banider to bifliop Compton, in 
whole curious garden at Fulham Mr. Miller fird faw it. 
growing in the year 1709 ; after which this plant was loft 
for feveral years in England, till it was again obtained 
from America by Mr. Catelby, and cultivated in 1744, 
by Peter Collinfon, efquire, fince which it has been pro¬ 
pagated in great plenty. Mark Catefoy named it Meadia, 
in honour of Dr. Richard Mead, who was a generous 
encourager of every branch of fcience. 
Propagation and Culture. This plant is propagated by 
offfets, which the roots put out pretty freely when they 
are in a loofe moift foil and a (hady fituation; the belt 
time to remove the roots, and take away the offlets, is in 
Auguft, after the leaves and dalks are decayed, that they 
may be fixed well in their new fituation before the froft 
comes on. It may alfo be propagated by feeds, which 
the plants generally produce in plenty; thefe (hould be 
fown in the autumn foon after they are ripe, either in a 
(hady moift border, or in pots, which (hould be placed in 
the (hade ; in the fpring the plants will come up, and 
muft then be kept clean from weeds, and if the feafon 
proves dry, they muft be frequently refrelhed with water; 
nor (hould they be expofed to the fun, for while the 
plants are young, they are very impatient of heat. The 
young plants lhould not be tranfplanted till their leaves 
are decayed, then they may be carefully taken up and 
planted in a (hady border, where the foil is loofe and 
moift, at about eight inches diftance from each other, 
which will be room enough for them to grow one year, 
by which time they will be ftrong enough to produce 
flowers, and may then be tranfplanted into fome (hady 
borders ih the flower garden, where they will appear very 
ornamental during the continuance of their flowers. At 
