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 DISCLAIMER, a renunciation, denial or refusal; a disavowal of claims. In law the term is used more particularly in the following senses:—(1) In the law of landlord and tenant, the direct repudiation of that relation by some act on the part of the tenant. A disclaimer may be verbal or written, but in such case it must be something more than a mere renunciation of the tenant’s title, or it may be an act which is wholly inconsistent with the existence of such relation, as the setting up by the tenant of a distinct title either in himself or some third party. (2) In the law of bankruptcy, where any part of the property of a bankrupt consists of land of any tenure burdened with onerous covenants, of stocks or shares in companies, of unprofitable contracts, or of any property that is unsaleable, or not readily saleable, by reason of its binding the possessor to the performance of any onerous act, the trustee, notwithstanding that he has endeavoured to sell or has taken possession of the property, or exercised any act of ownership in relation to it, may, subject to certain provisions, by writing signed by him, at any time within twelve months after the first appointment of a trustee, “disclaim” the property (see ). (3) In the law of trusts, disclaimer is the refusal or renunciation of the office or duties of a trustee. It is an undisputed rule that no one is compellable to undertake a trust, so that as soon as a person knows he has been appointed a trustee under some instrument, he should determine whether he will accept the office or not. Disclaimer of trust should be by deed, as admitting of no ambiguity, but it may be by conveyance to other accepting trustees, or orally, or by written declaration, or even by conduct. (4) In the law of patents, disclaimer is the renunciation, by amendment of specifications, of the portion of an inventor’s claim to protection.

 DISCOUNT. (1) A money-market term for the price paid in order to obtain immediate realization of a bill not yet due. If a bill for £100 due six months hence is discounted at the rate of 3% per annum, its holder will obtain £98, 10s. in cash for it. (2) A Stock-Exchange term applied to a security, not fully paid, which has fallen below its issue price, and so is said to stand at so much discount. See.

 DISCOVERY, in law, the revealing or disclosing of any matter. The English common law courts were originally unable to compel a litigant before a trial to disclose the facts and documents on which he relied. In equity, however, a different rule prevailed, there being an absolute right to discovery of all material facts on which a case was founded. Now the practice is regulated by the Rules of the Supreme Court, 1883, Order 31. Discovery is of two kinds, namely, by interrogatories and by affidavit of documents, provision being also made for the production and inspection of documents. Where a party to a suit can make an affidavit stating that in his belief certain specified documents are or have been in the possession of some other party, the court may make an order that such party state on affidavit whether he has or ever had any of those documents in his possession, or if he has parted with them or what has become of them. A further application may then be made by notice to the party who has admitted possession of the documents for production and inspection. Copies also may be taken of the more important documents. There is also discovery of facts obtained by means of interrogatories, i.e. written questions addressed on behalf of one party, before trial, to the other party, who is bound to answer them in writing upon oath. In order to prevent needless expense the party seeking discovery must first secure the cost of it by paying into court a sum of money, generally not less than five pounds. See also.

 DISCUS (Gr. , disk), a circular plate of stone, later of metal, which was used by the ancient Greeks for throwing to a distance as a gymnastic exercise. Judging from specimens found by excavators, the ancient discus was about 8 or 9 in. in diameter and weighed from 4 to 5 ℔, although one of bronze, preserved in the British Museum, weighs over 8 ℔. Sometimes a kind of quoit, spherical in form, was used, through a hole in which a thong was passed to assist the athlete in throwing it. The sport of throwing the discus was common in the time of Homer, who mentions it repeatedly. It formed a part of the pentathlon, or quintuple games, in the ancient Olympic Games. Statius, in Thebais, 646-721, fully describes the use of the discus. In the British Museum there is a restored copy of a statue by Myron (see, Plate IV. fig. 68) of a discus-thrower (discobolus) in the act of hurling the missile; but the investigations of N. E. Norman Gardiner show that a wrong attitude has been adopted by the restorer.

Throwing the discus was introduced as an event in modern athletics at the revived Olympic Games, first held at Athens in 1896, and since that time it has become a recognized event in the athletic championship meetings of several European nations, as well as in the United States, where it has become very popular. According to the American rules the discus must be of a smooth, hard-wood body without finger-holes, weighted in the centre with lead disks and capped with polished brass disks, with a steel ring on the outside. Its weight must be 4 ℔, its outside diameter 8 in. and its thickness at the centre 2 in. It must be thrown from a 7-ft. circle, which may not be overstepped in throwing, and the throw is measured from the spot where the discus first strikes the ground to the point in the circumference of the circle on a line between the centre and the point of striking.

 DISINFECTANTS, substances employed to neutralize the action of pathogenic organisms, and prevent the spread of contagious or infectious disease. The efficiency of any disinfectant is due to its power of destroying, or of rendering inert, specific poisons or disease germs. Therefore antiseptic substances generally are to this extent disinfectants. So also the deodorizers, which act by oxidizing or otherwise changing the chemical constitution of volatile substances disseminated in the air, or which prevent noxious exhalations from organic substances, are in virtue of these properties effective disinfectants in certain diseases. A knowledge of the value of disinfectants, and the use of some of the most valuable agents, can be traced to very remote times; and much of the Levitical law of cleansing, as well as the origin of numerous heathen ceremonial practices, are clearly based on a perception of the value of disinfection. The means of disinfection, and the substances employed, are very numerous, as are the classes and conditions of disease and contagion they are designed to meet. Nature, in the oxidizing influence of freely circulating atmospheric air, in the purifying effect of water, and in the powerful deodorizing properties of common earth, has provided the most potent ever-present and acting disinfecting media. Of the artificial disinfectants employed or available three classes may be recognized:—1st, volatile or vaporizable substances, which attack impurities in the air; 2nd, chemical agents, for acting on the diseased body or on the infectious discharges therefrom; and 3rd, the physical agencies of heat and cold. In some of these cases the destruction of the contagium is effected by the formation of new chemical compounds, by oxidation, deoxidation or other reaction, and in others the conditions favourable to life are removed or life is destroyed by high temperature. Among the first class, aerial or gaseous disinfectants, formic aldehyde has of late years taken foremost place. The vapour is a powerful disinfectant and deodorant, and for the surface disinfection of rooms, fulfils all requirements when used in sufficient amount. It acts more rapidly than equal quantities of sulphurous acid, and it does not affect colours. It is non-poisonous, though irritating to the eyes and throat. With the exception of iron and steel it does not attack metals. It can be obtained in paraform tabloids, and with a specially constructed spirit lamp disinfection can be carried out by any one. Twenty tabloids must be employed for every 1000 cubic ft. of space. Disinfection by sulphurous acid fumes is of great antiquity, and is still in very general use; for the purpose of destroying vermin it is more powerful than formic aldehyde. Camphor and some volatile oils have also been employed as air disinfectants, but their virtues lie chiefly in masking, not destroying, noxious effluvia. In the 2nd class—non-gaseous disinfecting compounds—all the numerous antiseptic substances may be reckoned; but the substances principally employed in practice are oxidizing agents, as potassium manganates and permanganates, “Condy’s fluid,” and solutions of the so-called “chlorides of lime,” soda and potash, with the chlorides of aluminium and zinc, soluble sulphates and sulphites, solutions of sulphurous acid, and the tar products—carbolic, cresylic and