Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 7.djvu/586

564 sutures of the carpels, where the spines arch a little, it is fouud to contain five oval cells, each filled with a cream- coloured, glutinous, smooth pulp, in which are imbedded from one to five seeds about the size of chestnuts. The pulp and the seeds, which latter are eaten roasted, are the edible parts of the fruit. With regard to the taste of the pulp Mr Wallace remarks, &quot; A rich butter-like custard, highly flavoured with almonds, gives the best idea of it, but intermingled with it come wafts of flavour that call to mind cream-cheese, onion-sauce, brown sherry, and other incon gruities ;. . . . it is neither acid, nor sweet, nor juicy, yet one feels the want of none of these qualities, for it is perfect as it is.&quot; The fruit, especially when not fresh from the tree, has, notwithstanding, a most offensive smell, which has been compared to that of rotten onions or of putrid animal matter. The Dyaks of the Sarawak river in Borneo esteem the durian above all other fruit, eat it unripe both cooked and raw, and salt the pulp for use as a relish with rice.

1em  DURKHEIM, a town in the Palatinate of the Rhine, near the foot of the Hardt Mountain, and at the entrance of the valley of the Isenach, 15 miles north-west of Spire, on the railway between Monsheim and Neustadt. Besides being the seat of various administrative offices, it possesses three churches and a synagogue, a town-hall occupying the site of the castle of the princes of Leiningen-Hartenburg, an antiquarian and a scientific society, a public library, and a high school. It is well known as a resort for invalids, who may either indulge in the grape-cure or have recourse to the salt-springs of Philippshall in the neighbourhood, which not only supply the bathing establishment, but produce annually about 8000 cwt. of marketable salt. The inhabitants have a&quot; good trade in wine, and manufacture oil, tobacco, glass, and paper.

1em  DURLACH, a town of Baden, in the circle of Carlsruhe, 2/ miles by rail from the city of that name, with which it is connected by a canal and an avenue of poplars. It lies on the left bank of the Pfinz, at the foot of the vineyard- covered Thurniberg, which is crowned by a watch-tower ; and it possesses a castle erected in and now used as barracks, an ancient Rathhaus, a church with an excellent organ, an upper Biirgerschule, an orphan asylum, and in the market-place a statue of the margrave Charles II. Its in habitants manufacture tobacco, beer, vinegar, and chicory, and engage in agriculture and gardening. A chalybeate spring is utilized at the bathing establishment of Auialienbad.

1em  DURRA, or, Sorghum vulgare, is a species of grass of the tribe Andropogonece, The terms durra and zurrut are applied to the plant in Arabia ; in India it is known asjawari (Hindustani), jmvari (Bengali), cholum (Tamil), and jonna (Telugu), and in the West Indies as Negro or Guinea Corn. It is a strong grass, growing to a height of from 4 to 8 or even 1 6 feet ; the leaves are sheathing, solitary, and about 2 inches broad and 2i feet in length ; the panicles are contracted, dense, and hermaphrodite ; and the seeds, which are inclosed in husks, and protected by awns, are round, hard, smooth, shining, brownish-red, and somewhat larger than mustard seeds. The plant is cultivated in various parts of India and other countries of Asia, in the United States, and in the south of Europe. Its culms and leaves afford excellent fodder for cattle ; and the grain, of which the yield in favourable situations is upwards of a hundredfold, is used for the same purposes as maize, rice, corn, and other cereals. Allied species are S. licolor, much valued in India as a forage- plant, and S. saccharatum, commonly called sorghum or Chinese sugar cane, which is extensively cultivated in China, North India, and Africa. The latter species is grown in America chiefly for the manufacture of molasses from its juice, and in France as a source of alcohol. The total quantity of sorghum molasses made in the United States in has been estimated at 10,050,089 gallons.  DUSSEK, (–), pianist and composer, was born at Czaslau, in Bohemia, on the 9th February. His father, Johann Joseph Dussek, a musician of high reputation, was organist and choir-master in the collegiate church of Czaslau, and several other members of the family were distinguished as organists. He had thus the most favourable opportunity for the development of the musical talent which he displayed almost from infancy. Under the careful instruction of his father he made such rapid progress that he appeared in public as a pianist at the age of six. A year or two later he was placed as a choir boy at the convent of Iglau, and he obtained his first instruction in counterpoint from Spenar, the choir-master. When his voice broke he entered on a course of general study, first at the Jesuits college, and then at the university of Prague, where ho took his bachelor s degree in philosophy. During his curriculum of two and a half years he had paid unremitting attention to the practice and study of his art, and had received farther instruction in composition from a Benedictine monk. In he was for a short time organist in the church of St Rombaut at Mechlin. At the close of this engagement he proceeded to Holland, where he attained great distinction as a pianist, and was employed by the stadtholder as musical instructor to his family. While at the Hague he published his first works in the form of several sonatas and concertos for the piano. He had already composed at the age of thirteen a solemn mass and several small oratorios, which still exist in manuscript. In he visted Hamburg, and placed himself under the instruction of Emmanuel Bach. Though he believed himself to have derived great benefit from this, it may be questioned whether his genius was not fettered rather than stimulated by the enthusiastic veneration with which he regarded his model. From Hamburg he proceeded to Berlin, where his powers as a pianist met with their accustomed recognition. After spending two years in Lithuania in the service of Prince Radziwill, he went in to Paris, where he remained, with the exception of a short period spent at Milan, until the outbreak of the Revolution, enjoying the special patronage of Marie Antoinette and great popularity with the public. Towards the close of he removed to London, where  he married a daughter of Dominico Corri, who was 