Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/293

* DIGNE. 249 DIKE. mentioned by Pliny, notliinj; remains. It is known that it embraced Christianity at an early period, and has given title to a bishop sinee the year 340. In 1029 a plague reduoed the popula- tion of Uignc from 10.000 to 1500. Population, in 18SH, 7201 ; in inoi, 7238. DIGNITY. In English law, a title of honor or nobility. .Such titles are regarded as a species of projjerly, and are classified by Blackstone as incorporeal hereditaments, which, on the death of the owner, pass, like the rest of his real estate, to his heir and not to his personal repre- sentative. Like lands, also, dignities are held of the Crown, to which they revert by escheat on the failure of heirs, whereupon they may be granted, like escheated lands, to another. The English law recognizes also a species of inferior dignity, as knight, sergeant-at-law, and esquire, which are not generally inheritable. A sui^erior dignity, or title of nobility, may be employed in legal proceedings without the surname of the bearer, and in early English law the omission of the title or "addition' of a party in a suit was sufficient ground for the abatement of the action. See Nobility : Titles of Hoxor. DIGNITY AND IMPUDENCE. A well- known painting by Landseer. in the Xational <;allery, London, representing two dogs, a grave hound and an impertinent terrier. DI'GONEU'TISM. This phenomenon has been ob-ervcd in Inittfrllics by Scuddcr. It is, stated brielly. the result of summer dormancy in the larva or of prolonged life in the pupa. Owing to this i)rolongation of life in their preparatory stages, all the butterflies of one and the same brood do not appear in the same season, but a portion of the brood Hies the next year. Thus the butterflies belated one year fly and inter- breed with their nephews and nieces instead of their brothers and sisters. This is advantageous to the species, since it prevents too close in-and- in breeding. DIHEDRAL ANGLE. See Angle. DIJKSTRA, dik'slra, Walixg (1821—). A Frisian poet, born at Vrouwen Parish (Prov- ince of Friesland). By his poetic works, in which he shows some similarity to Fritz Keuter, he has greatly contributed to the extension of the Fri- sian language and literature. These include: Doaitse mei de noardscc haUcc f3d ed. 1875) ; J)e sihcren rinlelhel (3d ed. 1887); In doaze fol aide srii/psnaren (in collaboration with van der Meulen, 2d ed. 1882) ; Friske irhilerjoune- nocht (5 vols.. 1861-70). Perhaps his greatest work is lit Frieslands lolkslcicn van vroeger en latir I Lccuwarden, 1892). DIJON, d^'zhoN' (Lat. Cnstrum D'nioncnsc). A town and seat of a bishopric, capital of the De- partment of Cote d'Or. France, formcrlj' capital of the old Duchy of Biirgundy (Jlap: France, L 4). Dijon occupies .a delightful situation in a fertile plain on the right bank of the Ouche, and at the base of the vine-dad hills which produce the famous Burgundy wines, 211 miles southeast of Paris by rail. The environs are exceedingly beautiful. Dijon is surrounded by old walls, originally having five gates ; the ramparts, plant- ed with trees, have been converted into fine boule- vards and promenades. The town is for the most part well and regularly built of freestone, and the streets are spacious and clean. Among the public buildings, which are numerous and impos- ing, the chief are the cathedral, a massive Gothic structure, dating from the thirteenth century, with a tall wooden spire, above 300 feet high; the Church of Notre Dame, a noble specimen of tiothic architecture; the Church of Saint Michel, with a splendid Kenaissance front; the theatre, a handsome building with a fine Corinthian por- tico; and the palace of the dukes of Burgundy, now used as the town hall. This last-mentioned edifice is exceedingly interesting, and, modernized as it is on the exterior, its internal decorations still survive in their pristine beauty. The mu- seum is rich in monuments of the iliddle Ages, and contains a library of 70,000 volumes and 900 manuscripts. Dijon is the seat of a university with three faculties — law, science, and letters — and i)ossesses, in addition, a royal college, a theo- logical seminary, a botanic garden, and an acad- emy of art. The manufactures consist of woolen cloth, blankets, hosiery, leather, vinegar, chemical products, etc.; and there are salt refineries, distil- leries, and breweries, but the town is mainly de- pendent on its trade in the wines of Burgundy. Population, in 1901, 70,428. Dijon dates from Koman times. It came into the possession of the Burgundians in the fifth centurj-, and from them passed to the Franks. In the ninth century it was ruled by counts of its own, under the suzerainty of the bishops of Langres. In the eleventh century it was united to the Duchy of Burgundy, of which it became the capital, and the usual residence of the dukes, who rebuilt and greatly enlarged and improved it. On the death of Charles the Bold, 1477, it was annexed to the Crown of France by Louis XI. Dijon is the birthplace of Bossuet, the elder Cr^billon, and Jouflfroy, the sculptor. DIKE, or DYKE (AS. die, Icel. dft, MHG. ilrh. Ger. Tcich, jiool ; probably connected ulti- mately with Cik. Tcrxos, teichos, wall). In geol- ogy, a relatively thin body of igneous rock occur- ring between the separated walls of a fissure. It ditfers from vein, which it resembles in form, in having originated by the intrusion and con- solidation of molten material, and not by the deposition of minerals from solution. Dikes are usually inclined at considerable angles from the horizontal, and, when the adjacent rock has de- cayed, they project above the surface like walls of masonry. They vary in width from a few inches to hundreds of feet, the larger dikes some- times extending a distance of many miles; they reach downward t*) unknown depths. Proof of their igneous origin is found in the great changes which the strata forming their walls have suf- fered by the intense heat. Limestone in contact with dikes is changed to crystalline marble; shale is hardened to slate, or bj' the development of new minerals becomes schist; ami bituminous coal assumes the character of anthracite. While of wide occurrence, dikes are especially frequent in regions of crustal folding and volcanic dis- turbance. They are often found traversing the sides of volcanoes, where they originate during eruptions by Assuring of the cone and filling of the cracks with lava. The consolidation of igne- ous rocks in the form of dikes develops peculiar features of structure, and this fact has been used by some authorities as the basis of a rock class known as 'dike rocks.' See Geology; Igneous Rocks; Volcano.