Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 06.djvu/496

* DRAGONS BLOOD. .428 DRAINAGE. from the fruits is clfcutcd either by simply shak- ing the latter iu large bags or by boiling them with water. American dragon's blood is derived from the I'teroiarims draeo, and similar resins are pro- duced by the Draea-ua draeo, tiie Croton draco, and the Eucalyptus resinifera. True dragon's blood is a colorless and tasteless substance melting above 80° (.'. ; it is opaque, of a deep reddish-brown color, brittle, smooth, with a shining shell-like fracture, and when burned emits an odor resembling that of benzoin. It is nearly insoluble in water, but is soluble in alcohol, benzene, carbon disulphide. and many oils. It was formerly used in medicine: at pres- ent, however, it is employed exclusively in the preparation of varnishes and laci|uers. DRAGONS MOUTH (Sp. lioca (/<? Drayu). A shdit -tiiiit uM the coast of Venezuela, South America, which connects the Gulf of Paria with the -Mlantic, and separates the north end of the island of Trinidad, on the east, from the Paria jieninsula on the west (Map: West Indies, Q 9). DRAGON-TREE. See Drac.e.na Draco. DRAGOON'. See Cavalry and Mointed In- FAMHV. DRAGUIGNAN, dra'ge'nya.N'. The capital town of tlK? Department of Var, France, on a tributary of the Argens, 40 miles northeast of Toulon (Map: France, X S). It is situated in a valley surrounded by hills, the slopes of which are covered willi vineyards and olive plantations. Its principal buildings are the prefecture, the court-house, a hospital, and a museum containing pictures by Rembrandt, Teniers, and Panini. It has manufactures of coarse woolens, leather, hosiery, silks, soap, brandy, oil, and earthenware. Population, in 1901, 9071. The town was found- ed in the fifth century. During the Middle .Xges it was strongly fortified. The fortifications were destroyed in the civil wars, but were reconstruct- ed in l(il5. It replaced Toulon as the capital of the department in 179.3. DRAINAGE. In law. a right to discharge surface water from one's land upon the land of another. The civil law of Konie recogniz<>d a natural right of drainage as between adjacent lands of dillercnt elevations, the riglits of the owners of such lands being governed by the law of nature. By that law. which has been adopted in Pennsylvania, Illinois. California, and Louisiana, the lower proprietor is bound to receive the surface waters which naturalh' flow from the estate above, provided the servitmle has not been increased by the industry of man. No such right exists by the common law. and it is held in most of the United States, as well as in Fngland. that the lower proprietor may lawfully olislriKt the (low of surface water >ipon his land from that of his neighbor, though the latter is not liable for any damage which may ra-ult from the natural flow of *uch water upon the lands of the former. In both systems of law, however, a riparian proprietor may drain his land into a natural watercoiirse which flows over or by his l.Tnd. and no obstruction of the stream by the lower proprietor which prevents such drainage will be permitted. This is a natural, as distingiii<li<d from an acquired, right of the riparian proprietor, and is therefore strictly analogous to the natural sen'itude of drainage of the civil law above alluded to. It exists IS jurtc natura and is incapable of aliena- tion, of release, or of severance from the laud. See Barkley is. Wileox, »t» .Vtic York Itiporls, 140. .-part from this limited natural right of drainage, the common law recognizes aUo an easement of drainage, which may be acquired by grant or prescription over the land of another. This may exist with or without an artilicial construction, and may be superlicial or subter- ranean. The common-law right of eavesdrop- ping is one form of this easement, though its usual form is the right to construct and maintain an artificial drain and to discharge water through the same into and through the adjoin- ing premises. The familiar riglit of the house- holder in a city or village to discharge water into a public or numicipal drain is of this na- ture. The right is violated by any interference or obstruction caused by the owner of the lower or 'servient' estate, whether intentional or not, and may be enforced by an action for dam- ages or by injunction to prevent a threatened interference. The easement carries with it the right to enter on the premises alTcctcd by it in order to repair the drain and keep it open: but it is. like other easements, carefully restricted to the amount and kind of user included in the terms of the grant. See Easement: Servitide: Wateb- coi"RSE: and the authorities there referred to. DRAINAGE (from drain, AS. drchnian, Urcuhitiiui. (In'tiiaii. Icel. draijna, from AS.. Goth. driifioii, Icel. dni'/ii, (tllG. traijaii, Ger. tragcn, Engl, drau; drii(i). The removal of surplus wa- ter from the soil by means of canals, oix-n ditches, and drains, or other conduits which are either porous or else laiil with open joints. In its larger s^nse the term drainage ajiplies to the reclamation of extensive areas of land either under water or in the condition of marsh or swamp, and consequently unfit for habi- tation or cultivation. In agriculture drain- age implies the removal of surfai-e or sub- soil water from a more limited area which it is desired to put under specific cultivation, and generally is understood to involve the use of tile drains, as will be described below. The name drainage is also used to denote a system of sew- erage for the removal of liquid household wastes, as well as the surface and subsoil water of towns and cities. This aspect of the subject will be found treated fully under the head of Sewerage ANn Draixace. REri.AMATioN OF T.ANi). In reclaiming large tract* of land, often of great fertility, but which are at so slight an elevation above the sea or the neighboring streams that (hcv can be nndcred fit for ciiltivafion and habitation by artificial means only, dikes or embankments arc con- structed to keep out the Ibiod waters and a system of canals built to collect and carry off the superfluous water. In the case of marsh lands the method employed depends upon the ele- vation and conformation of the land to be drained, but all lands may he divided into two general classes — those that can be drained by gravitation and those in which the water must be pumped out. either all or a part of the time. Many mast lands are so low that (lie water will rin o(r only at low tide, and such lands are pro- tected from high tiile by embankments. The water is gathered by a network of subsidiary