Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/354

LEFT DEERGRASS 302 DEFLUXION •miles N. of Springfield. It is principally engaged in agriculture and the manu- facture of pocket-books, and has a high school and public library. The town con- tains the village of South Deerfield, and was the scene of several contests with the Indians in colonial times. Among them were the "Bloody Brook Massacre" (1675) and the burning of the village by the French and Indians under De Rou- ville (1703). Old Deerfield has a beau- tiful Soldiers' Monument, and there is at South Deerfield a marble monument commemorative of the Bloody Brook disaster. Pop. (1920) 2,803. DEERGRASS, or MEADOW BEAU- TY, a genus of an Asiatic plant of the order Melastomaceae, found chiefly in New England. It is noted for the beauty of its flowers, which have bright purple petals, and thrives best on meadow land. It is said that there are but eight species of the order in the United States. DEERMOUSE, a small rodent belong- ing to the family Muridse, which is found in abundance in this counti'y. Its fur shows various brownish or grayish tints above, while the lower surface and feet, up to the wrists and ankles, are snow- •yvhite. The length of the head and body is about three inches. Its habits are noc- turnal, and it feeds on corn, of which, with acorns and nuts, it lays up stores for winter use. DEFAMATION, the act of defaming or slandering; the false and malicious uttering of slanderous words with a view to damage the character, reputation, or business of another; slander, calumny, libel. Defamation of character is action- able either by indictment or by action; but to support an action it is necessary that the plaintiflf should aver some par- ticular damage to have happened to him. DEFAULT, a failure to appear in any court on the day assigned; especially ap- plied to a defendant when he fails or neglects to plead or put in his answer in the time limited. In such cases the plaintiff is entitled to sign judgment against him, which is called judgment by default, and the defendant is said to suffer judgment by default. DEFENDANT, in law, the party against whom a complaint, demand, or charge is brought; one who is summoned into court, and defends, denies, or opposes the demand or charge, and maintains his own right. The term is applied even if the party admits the claim. DEFENDER OF THE FAITH {Fidei Def elisor), a title belonging to the King of England, as Catholicus to the King of Spain, Christianissimus to the King of France, etc. Leo X. bestowed the title of Defender of the Faith on Henry VIII. in 1521, on account of his book against Luther, and the title has been used by the sovereigns of England ever since. DEFENDERS, a Catholic association in Ireland (1784-1798), the opponents of the Peep o' Day Boys. DEFIANCE, a city and county-seat of Defiance co., 0.; on the Maumee river, the Wabash and the Baltimore and Ohio railroads, and the Miami and Erie canal; 50 miles S. of Toledo. It is a trade center and has woolen mills, flour mills, ma- chine and carriage shops, 2 National banks, and daily and weekly newspapers. Pop. (1910) 7,327; (1920) 8,876. DEFIANCE COLLEGE, a coeduca- tional (non-sect.) institution in Defiance, 0.; founded in 1884; reported at the end of 1919 : Professors and instructors, 25^ students, 497; president A. G. Caris. DEFILADING, that branch of the science of fortification, the object of which is to determine, when the intended work would be commanded by eminences within range, the directions or heights of the lines of rampart or parapet, so that the interior of the work may not be in- commoded by a fire directed to it from such heights. DEFINITE PROPORTIONS, LAWS OF. See Atomic Theory. DEFINITION, the process by which we determine the common qualities of the objects belonging to any given class, so as to distinguish effectively that class from other classes. Regarding the class as a species, we give the proximate genus and the difference; genus here denoting the distinctive qualities belonging to all of the genus, while the difference marks out the part of the genus in question. DEFLAGRATION, the term applied to the rapid combustion of ignited char- coal when a nitrate (such as nitrate of potash) or a chlorate (such as chlorate of potash) is thrown thereon. As chlo- rates do not occur naturally, it follows that deflagration with a natural salt indicates a nitrate; and if the deflagi-a- tion be accompanied by a violent flame, it is characteristic of nitrate of potash (or- dinary niter or saltpeter) ; and if by a strong yellow flame, it is indicative of nitrate of soda (cubical niter). DEFLECTION, in navigation, the de- parture of a ship from her true course; in optics, a deviation of the rays of light toward the surface of an opaque body. DEFLUXION, a discharge from a mu- cous membrane, especially of the air-paa- sages. a*" '.n catarrh.