the adoption of a new pattern, called the Dahlgren gun. It is a muzzle-loading, cast-iron, smooth-bore gun, with great thickness of metal at the breech. Many of these guns are still in the United States service. Dahlgren also invented a rifled cannon for naval warfare. He did good service in the Civil War, being appointed rear-admiral and having command of the South Atlantic squadron. In 1869 he took command of the Washington navy yard, which he had held before the war.
Dahlia (däl′yȧ). A genus of the composite family, containing some of the commonest garden-plants. All of the ordinary garden-forms are derived from a single variable species D. variabilis. The genus contains about ten species, which are mostly Mexican, a few occurring in Central and South America. As an illustration of the varieties which can be made from a single species, it may be said that over 3,000 different garden-varieties of D. variabilis have been named and published in catalogues.
Dahomey (dä-hō′mā), a French dependency since 1894 in western Africa on the upper Guinea coast, formerly a negro kingdom. It lies between the German colony of Togoland and the British territory of Lagos, and extends inland for about 130 miles. On the north it is bounded by the French military territory of the Niger. It is known to possess an area of 65,000 square miles, with 70 miles of seaboard. It is almost surrounded by hostile tribes, and the boundaries used to change with the king's changing fortunes in war. The main port is Whydah, from which a road extends to the capital, Abomey, a distance of 65 miles. Dense forests and dismal swamps cover about two thirds of this distance; then vast rolling plains rise for many miles in the direction of the Kong uplands. The Avon and Denham lagoons receive the rivers of the country, none of which, however, are important. Groves of oil-palms encircle each town, from which palm-oil is made in great quantities; while the rich soil yields all the wealth of tropical growth. Cotton-cloth is made, and weapons and tools are forged from native iron. The people are negroes, generally of small stature but robust and active. They are sociable, equally fond of dancing and of rum, but warlike and prone to theft. Fetish-worship prevails, the main gods being the snake-god, tree-gods, sea-gods and the thunder-gods. Human sacrifices are made to the sea-god. At Whydah is a temple to the snake-god, containing over a hundred sacred snakes. Annually, in October, are revived the grand “customs,” when as many as 500 victims are sometimes sacrificed. The king, before his defeat by the French, was the most absolute of despots. Of his army of 10,000 soldiers, the best part consisted of Amazons, mighty and blood-thirsty women. Monster slave-hunts formerly occurred, but the slave-trade is now ruined. The Dahoman kingdom dated from the beginning of the 18th century, and reached the height of its power under Gezo, who reigned from 1818 to 1858. The seat of government is Porto Novo (19,000 inhabitants). Abomey, the old capital, about eight miles in circumference, has 15,000 people, and Whydah about 12,000. The population is estimated at 1,000,000. The imports amounted to $7,139,655 in 1910, and the exports to $3,576,470. Cottons, machinery, drink and tobacco were the principal imports; palm-nuts and palm-oil the leading exports. Income and outgo balanced in 1910 at 3,235,000 francs. An iron pier marks the port of Kotonu, about 125 miles of railway on the projected line to Chaoru being completed from that point, with a branch 20 miles long to Segborué and Whydah. Ultimately the line will reach the Niger. Another railroad is building along the Lagos frontier. Kotonu is connected with Abomey, the Niger and the Senegal by telegraph, 1,725 miles altogether, with 120 miles of telephone lines.
Dairy. See Dairy-Factory, Milk and Butter.
Dairy-Factory. Dairying as a special business has been widely developed in America, during the latter half of the 19th century, through the use of the factory-system. The first factory was organized in New York in 1860; soon many others were started; and in 1866 in New York there were nearly 500 of them in operation, with a stock of cows worth over $10,000,000 and with farms covering about 1,000,000 acres. This industry soon spread over the country and into Canada, and was adopted in European countries as the American system of dairying. At first cheese alone was made, but soon butter was added; moreover, special factories for butter were introduced, called creameries. In the creamery the cream gathered from hundreds of cows is worked by one skillful butter-maker and commands a higher price than homemade butter. It is sent to great distances in cold-storage or refrigerator cars. Foreign buyers may have it on their tables within two weeks of churning. The dairy-interest has reached vast proportions in the United States and Canada; at least 1,500,000 farms, with 17,000,000 cows and 100,000,000 acres of land, are devoted to the various branches of the industry. In 1909 the milk-yield of the United States was 9,888 million pounds, while 311 million pounds of cheese and 627 million pounds of butter were produced.
Daisy, a familiar wild flower and member of the Composite family. Alice Dowd speaks of it as “one of the most successful flowers in, the most successful of flower
