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DIGESTION essential for the manufacture of a good grating is the manufacture and adjustment of a perfect screw. The reader who desires to learn how such a screw is made should consult Professor Rowland's article on the in the Encyc. Britannica. For a thorough discussion of the diffraction-grating see Preston's Theory of Light, Chap. 9.  Diges′tion in plants is essentially the same process as in animals. It consists in producing such chemical changes in insoluble foods that they become soluble in water, and consequently fit for absorption or transfer; or, when already soluble, in reducing them to simpler forms. There are no special digestive organs in plants comparable to the alimentary canal of animals, with its connected glands; and likening the leaves to the stomach is misleading. Digestion is usually accomplished by the action of (which see) or ferments secreted by the living protoplasm. (See .) In some cases these enzymes are produced in special glands; in others they are formed by the same cells that have other functions. Digestion often occurs outside the plant-body as when the embryo secretes diastase (see ) to digest the starch stored around it; or when a fungus digests the cellulose of a cell-wall which it is penetrating. Or digestion may occur within the plant-body, as when the starch stored in a potato-tuber is digested in order to be transferred to the growing regions, or the starch-granules formed in a leaf are digested to be carried away to places of use or storage.  Dijon, the former capital of the old duchy of Burgundy and the chief city of the French department of Côte-d' Or, is situated on a plain at the foot of Mt. Afrique, 1,916 feet in height. It is an important place as a part of the inner line of French defenses, and the neighboring hills are crowned with strong forts. It is a well-built town, with broad streets and open squares, boulevards and beautiful surroundings. The Gothic cathedral, which dates from the 13th century, has a spire 301 feet high. Dijon, known to the Romans as Dibio, passed in the 5th century from Burgundy to France. In the 9th century it was ruled by its own counts. In 1007 it was united to the duchy of Burgundy and made its capital. It became French territory in 1479. It yielded to a German army in 1870. Population, 76,847.  Dike. See.  Dilke, '''Rt. Hon. Sir Charles''' Wentworth, an English statesman and author, was born at Chelsea, Sept. 4, 1843. He graduated at Cambridge, and was soon after called to the bar. He published in 1868 a description of his travels in the United States, Australia and New Zealand under the title, Greater Britain. He was elected to

Parliament in 1868, was under-secretary for foreign affairs and also president of the SIR CHARLES DILKE local-government board under Gladstone. In 1886 his connection with a divorce case prevented his reëlection to Parliament, but his influence was still felt through his writings. His essays, collected under the title of The Present Position of European Politics, were first published in the Fortnightly Review. He has also published works on the British army, army-reform, imperial defense and the British empire and a work entitled Problems of Greater Britain. In 1892 he was again returned to Parliament.  Dillon, John, Irish Nationalist member of Parliament and leader of what is known JOHN DILLON, M. P. as the Plan of Campaign, was born at Dublin in 1851, and entered the British Parliament in 1880 as member for Tipperary and since 1885 has sat for East Mayo. He has suffered imprisonment twice (in 1881 and in 1891) for treasonable offenses. He at one time was a close ally of Parnell, and later actively opposed him. He succeeded Mr. Justin McCarthy in 1896 as leader of the Nationalists, and is known “for his intense religious fervor and his transparent sincerity,” though neither political party in the House of Commons has cared to endorse his attitude as an Irish agitator.  Dinwid′die, Robert, governor of Virginia from 1752 to 1758, was born in Scotland about 1690. His rule as governor was not successful, his ill-temper and avarice making him very disagreeable to his subjects. He was the first to suggest the taxing of the colonies to the British board of trade. He discerned Washington's military ability, and made him adjutant-general of one of the four military districts of Virginia. He died in England in 1770. 