Page:Collier's New Encyclopedia v. 03.djvu/419

LEFT DILKE 365 DILLON protects more than 170,000 acres of land. The dike at the delta of the Vistula pro- tects 134,000 acres of land. On the lower Rhine, between the Wesel and Holland are 115,000 acres protected by dikes. Along the Loire river are 280 miles pro- tecting 230,000 acres. Along the Po there are 310 miles protecting 850,000 acres. In England there are 1,750,000 acres protected by dikes. In the United States the term dike is almost wholly restricted to the structures of more or less permanence built in va- rious ways in the bed of a stream to regulate its flow, narrow the low water cross section, concentrate the current, in- crease its local scouring effect and there- by deepen the river channel. The earthen embankments designed to restrain the flood waters are called levees. The most notable examples are found along the Mississippi river where it winds its way through the alluvial plain which it has built up below the mouth of the Ohio river. These levees are placed some lit- tle distance back from the river, and according to the local conditions vary in height from two or three feet to over 20 feet. In 1850 the General Government granted to some of the States certain public swamp lands, the revenue from which was to be used in levee building. With the exception of this aid from the United States, all levees up to 1882 were built by funds raised by local taxation of the lands to be benefited and adminis- tered by levee boards organized under State laws. Since 1882 the General Gov- ernment has pursued the policy of aid- ing the local levee boards in raising and strengthening their levees. DILKE, SIR CHAHLES WENT- WORTH, an English publicist and criti- cal and political writer; born in London, Sept. 4, 1843. A brilliant but checkered political career has been varied by liter- ary work: "Greater Britain" (1868), a record of travel in the English colonies; "Problems of Greater Britain" (1890), political and economic studies; and vari- ous essays on current topics, worthy in conception and charming in style. He died in 1911. DILL {Anethum graveolens), a genus of plants belonging to the order Umbel- liferse or Apiacex. The seeds, or rather fruits, which are imported from the mid- dle or S. of Europe, are oval, flat, and about a line and a half in length, with a pale membranous margin. They are stimulant and carminative, and furnish a pale-yellow aromatic oil. Dill-water is used as a remedy in flatulence and gripes of children, and the fruit to flavor pickles. DILLENIACE^, an order of plants found chiefly in Australia, Asia, and the warm parts of America. They are nearly related to the Ranunctdaceiv. The species are trees, shrubs, or under-shrubs. The Indian species are remarkable for their beauty, the grandeur of their foliage, and the magnificence of their flowers. They have astringent properties, and some of the species aff^ord excellent timber. Lind- ley enumerated 26 genera, comprising 200 species. DILLON, JOHN, an Irish politician; son of John Blake Dillon (1816-1866), who was a prominent member of the Young Ireland party, and member of the JOHN DILLON British Parliament for County Tipperary in 1865-1866; born in New York, in 1851; was educated at the Catholic University of Dublin, after which he became a doc- tor. He early identified himself with the Parnellite movement, and in 1880 was elected to Parliament for County Tip- perary. In the House of Commons Dil- lon soon became prominent for the violence of his language, while speeches delivered by him in Ireland led to his imprisonment in 1881, 1881-1882. and 1888. From 1883 to 1885 he was absent 24 — Vol. Ill— Cyc