Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume VI.djvu/161

DIVI in various parts of the United States from Maine to Maryland, according to Audubon ; and Dr. Kichardsou says it is found breeding as far N". as 70. The nest is built near the water, in marshes, on the ground, and of rushes and grasses growing in the vicinity. The eggs are generally three, about 3 in. long by 2^ broad, elongated, with a narrow point ; their color is dull greenish ochry, with indistinct spots of dark umber, most numerous toward the larger end. The loon is found also in Europe and northern Asia. The black-throated diver (0. arcticus), next in size to the loon, is 29 in. long to the end of tail, with an extent of wings of about 40 in. The upper parts are glossy black, with a greenish tinge anteriorly and brownish behind, the head and hind neck be- ing hoary ; on the fore part of the back are two longitudinal bands of white bars, the feathers tipped with white ; the scapulars and wing coverts with white spots ; the quills are blackish brown, with a gray tinge externally ; on the front of the neck for about six inches is a purplish black patch, ending angularly be- low, with a band of white spots above; the sides of the neck are blackish brown, with longitudinal white streaks ; the lower parts are pure white, except a dusky band under the wings. The female is smaller than the male, but similarly colored. This species breeds in the far north, where the old birds principally remain, and whence the young wander over North America and northern and eastern Eu- rope. Birds in full plumage are rarely obtained in the United States, and, according to Audu- bon, never further south than Delaware ; along the eastern shores they are seen from autumn til spring. Their flight is rapid and well sus- ed, and performed with the neck and feet tched out at full length. The red-throated diver (0. septentrionalis) is about 26 in. long, with an extent of wing of 43 in., and a weight of 4 Ibs. It resembles the preceding species except in the rich brownish red color of the anterior neck, and the lines of black and white on the hind head and neck ; in the young males the fore neck is merely dotted with red. They begin to fly north to breed from early spring to the middle of May ; they are found on the coast from Maryland to Maine, from autumn to spring ; the younger the birds, the further south they go, and it is rare to find an old one south of Boston; they abound in the bay of Fundy. They are very shy, and always ap- proach their nests from the water. Both sexes incubate. The full beauty of the plumage is mot attained until the fourth year. They are rarely seen inland, and hardly ever out of the breeding season. Along the New England coast and in the bay of Fundy they are com- monly called "cape racer" and "scapegrace." DIVI, or Divi-Divi, the pod of a leguminous shrub, Ccesalpinia coriaria, a native of the northern parts of South America and the West India islands, used for tanning, for which pur- pose it is exported to Europe and other coun- DIVINATION 153 tries. The plant grows to the height of 20 or 30 ft., and the pods, which are dark brown, and curl up in drying, attain a length of 3 in. The rind has a strongly astringent and bitter taste from the tannin contained between the outer layer and the husk that encloses the seed. The leather prepared with it is very porous and acquires a deep brownish red color. Al- most the only ports of shipment are Maracaibo, Rio Hacha, and Savanilla. DIVIDING ENGINE. See GEADUATION. DIVINATION (Lat. divinatio, from dwinw, divinely or prophetically inspired), a general term for the various pretended arts of discov- ering secret or future things by preternatural means. These arts appear in the remotest antiquity, intimately connected with religion, furnished with rules, founded on mysterious principles, and fortified by the pretences of a science. Both as a learned doctrine and a popular faith, divination has always existed in the East, and was common in Europe through- out classical antiquity and during the middle ages. It was distinguished by the Greeks as natural or artificial; the former being a pres- age of future events by a sort of inspiration which was possible only to persons specially favored by the deity ; the latter being founded on careful observation of certain natural phe- nomena which were believed to have mysterious relations with future events. Astrologers, au- gurs, sorcerers, fortune tellers, and second- sighted persons are eminent examples of divi- ners. The following are among the principal of the numerous forms of artificial divination practised in antiquity : Alectryomancy was practised by drawing a circle and dividing it into 24 equal parts, into each of which were put a letter of the alphabet and a grain of wheat ; a cock was then placed in the centre, and the letters, being put together in the order that the grains were eaten by it, made a word which solved the question of the diviner. Arithmomancy depended upon the secret ope- ration of numbers and magical squares, and the numerical value of letters ; it was practised by the Chaldeans, and formed a part of the doctrine of the Pythagoreans, Neo-Platonists, and cabalists. Axinomancy consisted in sus- pending an axe from an upright stick, and the names of suspected persons being pronounced it was supposed to indicate the guilty by its motion. Belomancy consisted in the choice of arrows by chance from a bag containing many of them inscribed with various respon- ses ; it was in use especially among the Ara- bians. Capnomancy consisted either in ob- serving the direction taken by smoke, or in inhaling the smoke of victims, which was believed to produce prophetic inspiration. Dactylomancy was practised by enchanted rings, or rings that were made in harmony with the position of the celestial bodies. Its ori- gin is attributed to Helen, the wife of Mene- laus. It is by one of these rings that Gygea is said to have rendered himself invisible". A