See C. V. Daremberg and E. Saglio,Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines(Paris, 1886, &c.),s.v.“Draco”; Pauly-Wissowa,Realencyclopädie,s.v.“Drakon”; Du Cange,Glossarium,s.v.“Draco”;La Grande Encyclopédies.v.“Dragon”; J. B. Panthot,Histoire des dragons et des escarboucles(Lyons, 1691). See also the articlesEgypt:Religion, andBabylonian and Assyrian Religion.
See C. V. Daremberg and E. Saglio,Dictionnaire des antiquités grecques et romaines(Paris, 1886, &c.),s.v.“Draco”; Pauly-Wissowa,Realencyclopädie,s.v.“Drakon”; Du Cange,Glossarium,s.v.“Draco”;La Grande Encyclopédies.v.“Dragon”; J. B. Panthot,Histoire des dragons et des escarboucles(Lyons, 1691). See also the articlesEgypt:Religion, andBabylonian and Assyrian Religion.
(W. A. P.)
In zoology the name “dragon” is now applied to a highly interesting, but very harmless, group of small flying lizards forming the genusDraco, belonging to theAgamidae, a family of Saurian reptiles. About 20 species of “flying dragons” inhabit the various Indo-Malayan countries; one,D. dussumieri, occurs in Madras. They are small creatures, measuring about 10 in. long, including the tail, which in some cases is more than half of the entire length. The head is small, and the throat is provided with three pouches which are spread out when they lie on the trunks of trees. They are, however, chiefly remarkable for the wing-like cutaneous processes with which their sides are provided, and which are extended and supported by greatly elongated ribs. These form a sort of parachute by which the animals are enabled to glide from branch to branch of the trees on which they live, but, being altogether independent of the fore limbs, they cannot be regarded as true wings, nor do they enable the lizard to fly, but merely to make extensive leaps. But they have the habit of opening and folding these prettily coloured organs, when resting upon a branch, which gives them the appearance of butterflies. When not in use they are folded by the side after the manner of a fan, and the dragon can then walk or run with considerable agility. Its food consists of insects.
DRAGONETTI, DOMENICO(1763-1846), Italian double-bass player, was born in Venice on the 7th of April 1763. Having become famous as a performer on his instrument, he went to London in 1794, where his playing created a furore. He was the friend of Haydn and of Beethoven, and a well-known character in his day. He died in London on the 16th of April 1846.
DRAGON-FLY(Ger.Wasserjungfer; Swed.trollslända; Dan.guldsmed; Dutch,scherpstekendevlieg; Fr.demoiselle), the popular English name applied to the members of a remarkable group of insects which formed the genusLibellulaof Linnaeus and the ancient authors. In some parts of the United States they appear to be known as “devil’s darning needles,” and in many parts of England are termed “horse-stingers.” It is almost needless to say that (excepting to other insects upon which they prey) they are perfectly innocuous, though some of the larger species can inflict a momentarily painful bite with their powerful jaws. Their true systematic position is still contested and somewhat uncertain. By most of the older systematists they were placed as forming part of the heterogeneous orderNeuroptera. J. C. Fabricius, however, elevated them to the rank of a distinct order, which he termedOdonata; and whatever may be the difference of opinion amongst authors at the present day, that term is almost universally employed for the group. W. F. Erichson transferred all the groups of so-calledNeuropterawith incomplete metamorphoses, hence including the dragon-flies, as a division ofOrthoptera, which he termedPseudo-Neuroptera. K. E. A. Gerstäcker more recently also retains them in theOrthoptera, terming those groups in which the earlier states are subaquaticOrthoptera amphibotica. All entomologists are agreed in maintaining the insects as forming a group marked by characters at once extraordinary and isolated in their nature, and in most modern classifications they are treated as a distinct order.
The groupOdonatais divided into three families, and each of these again into two subfamilies. The families are theAgrionidae,AeschnidaeandLibellulidae—the first including the subfamiliesCalopteryginaandAgrionina, the secondGomphinaandAeschnina, and the thirdCordulinaandLibellulina.
Anatomy.—The structure of a dragon-fly being so very remarkable, it is necessary to enter somewhat extensively into details. The head is comparatively small, and excavated posteriorly, connected very slightly with the prothorax, on which it turns almost as on a pivot. The eyes are, as a rule, enormous, often contiguous, and occupying nearly the whole of the upper surface of the head, but sometimes (AgrionidaeandGomphina) widely distant; occupied by innumerable facets, which are often larger on the upper portion. The antennae, which are smaller in proportion than in almost any other insects, consist only of two short swollen basal joints and a 5 or 6-jointed bristle-like thread. The large labrum conceals the jaws and inner mouth parts. The lower lip, or labium (formed by the conjoined second maxillae), is attached to a very small chin piece (or mentum), and is generally very large, often (Agrionidae) divided almost to its base into two portions, or more frequently entire or nearly so; on each side of it are two usually enormous hypertrophied pieces, which form the “palpi,” and which are often furnished at the tips with an articulated spine (or terminal joint), the whole structure serving to retain the prey. Considerable diversity of opinion exists with respect to the composition of the mouth parts, and by some authors the “palpi” have been termed the side pieces of the lower lip. The prothorax is extremely small, consisting of only a narrow ring. The rest of the thorax is very large, and consolidated into a single piece with oblique sutures on the sides beneath the wings.The abdomen varies excessively in form, the two extremes being the filiform structure observable in mostAgrionidae, and the very broad and depressed formation seen in the familiar BritishLibellula depressa. It consists of ten distinct segments, whereof the basal two and those at the apex are short, the others elongate, the first being excessively short. In a slit on the under side of the second in the male, accompanied by external protuberances, are concealed the genital organs: on the under side of the eighth in the female is a scale-like formation, indicating the entrance to the oviduct. The tenth is always provided in both sexes with prominent appendages, differing greatly in form, and often furnishing the best specific (and even generic) characters.The legs vary in length and stoutness, but may, as a rule, be termed long and slender. The anterior pair probably assist in capturing and holding insect prey, but the greatest service all the legs render is possibly in enabling the creature to rest lightly, so that it can quit a position of repose in chase of passing prey in the quickest possible manner. The coxa is short and stout, followed by a still shorter trochanter; the femora and tibiae long and slender, almost invariably furnished on their under surface with two series of strong spines, as also are the tarsi, which consist of three slender joints, the last having two long and slender claws.The wings are always elongate, and furnished with strong longitudinal neuration and dense transverse nervules strengthening the already strong (although typically transparent) membrane. In theAgrionidaeboth pairs are nearly equal, and are carried vertically and longitudinally in repose, and the neuration and membrane are less strong; hence the species of this family are not so powerful on the wing as are those of the other groups in which the wings are horizontally extended in a position ready for instant service. The neuration is peculiar, and in many respects without precise analogy in other groups of insects, but it is not necessary here to enter into more than some special points. The arrangement of the nervures at the base of the wing is very singular, and slight differences in it form useful aids to classification. In theAeschnidaeandLibellulidaethis arrangement results in the formation of a triangular space (known as the “triangle”), which is either open or traversed by nervules; but in manyAgrionidaethis space, instead of being triangular, is oblong or elongately quadrate, or with its upper edge partly straight and partly oblique. This fixitude of type in neuration is not one of the least important of the many peculiarities exhibited in these insects.The internal structure is comparatively simple. The existence of salivary glands, denied by L. Duprix, has been asserted by O. Poletajewa. The rest of the digestive apparatus consists of an elongate canal extending from mouth to anus, comprising the oesophagus, stomach and intestine, with certain dilatations and constrictions; the characteristic Malpighian vessels are stated to number about forty, placed round the posterior extremity of the stomach. Dragon-flies eat their prey completely, and do not content themselves by merely sucking its juices; the harder portions are rejected as elongate, nearly dry, pellets of excrement.Fig. 1—The anterior portion of the body ofAeschna cyneafreed from the nymph-cuticle.Fig. 2.—The tail being extricated.Fig. 3.—The whole body extricated.Pairing.—But the most extraordinary feature in the economy—one which has attracted the attention of naturalists from remote times—is the position of the genital organs, and the corresponding anomalous manner in which the pairing of the sexes and impregnation is effected. In the male the intromittent organ is situated in a slit on the under surface of the second abdominal segment; it is usually very crooked or sinuous in form, and is accompanied by sheaths, and by external hooks or secondary appendages, and also by seminal vessels. But the ducts of the vessels connected with the testes unite and open on the under surface of the ninth segment; hence, before copulation can take place, it is necessary that the vessels in the secondsegment be charged from this opening, and in the majority of cases this is done by the male previously to seeking the female. In the latter sex the entrance to the oviduct and genital organs is on the under surface of the eighth abdominal segment. The act of pairing may be briefly stated as follows. The male, when flying, seizes the prothorax of the female with the strong appendages at the extremity of the abdomen, and the abdomen of this latter sex is then curved upward so as to bring the under side of the eighth segment into contact with the organs of the second segment of the male. In the more powerfulLibellulidae, &c., the act is of short duration, and it is probable that polygamy and polyandry exist, for it possibly requires more than one almost momentary act to fertilize all the eggs in the ovaries of a female. But in manyAgrionidae, and in some others, the male keeps his hold of the prothorax of the female for a lengthened period, retaining himself in flight in an almost perpendicular manner, and it may be that the deposition of eggs and pairing goes on alternately. There is, however, much yet to be learned on these points. The gravid female usually lays her eggs in masses (but perhaps sometimes singly), and the operation may be witnessed by any one in localities frequented by these insects. She hovers for a considerable time over nearly the same spot, rapidly dipping the apex of her abdomen into the water, or at any rate touching it, and often in places where there are no water-weeds, so that in all probability the eggs fall at once to the bottom. But in some of theAgrionidaethe female has been often noticed by trustworthy observers to creep down the stems of aquatic plants several inches below the surface, emerging after the act of oviposition has been effected; and in the case ofLestes sponsa, K. T. E. von Siebold saw the male descend with the female. The same exact observer noticed also in this species that the female makes slight incisions in the stems or leaves of water plants with the double serrated apparatus (vulva) forming a prolongation of the ninth segment beneath, depositing an egg in each incision. He has seen two pairs thus occupied beneath the surface on one and the same stem.
Anatomy.—The structure of a dragon-fly being so very remarkable, it is necessary to enter somewhat extensively into details. The head is comparatively small, and excavated posteriorly, connected very slightly with the prothorax, on which it turns almost as on a pivot. The eyes are, as a rule, enormous, often contiguous, and occupying nearly the whole of the upper surface of the head, but sometimes (AgrionidaeandGomphina) widely distant; occupied by innumerable facets, which are often larger on the upper portion. The antennae, which are smaller in proportion than in almost any other insects, consist only of two short swollen basal joints and a 5 or 6-jointed bristle-like thread. The large labrum conceals the jaws and inner mouth parts. The lower lip, or labium (formed by the conjoined second maxillae), is attached to a very small chin piece (or mentum), and is generally very large, often (Agrionidae) divided almost to its base into two portions, or more frequently entire or nearly so; on each side of it are two usually enormous hypertrophied pieces, which form the “palpi,” and which are often furnished at the tips with an articulated spine (or terminal joint), the whole structure serving to retain the prey. Considerable diversity of opinion exists with respect to the composition of the mouth parts, and by some authors the “palpi” have been termed the side pieces of the lower lip. The prothorax is extremely small, consisting of only a narrow ring. The rest of the thorax is very large, and consolidated into a single piece with oblique sutures on the sides beneath the wings.
The abdomen varies excessively in form, the two extremes being the filiform structure observable in mostAgrionidae, and the very broad and depressed formation seen in the familiar BritishLibellula depressa. It consists of ten distinct segments, whereof the basal two and those at the apex are short, the others elongate, the first being excessively short. In a slit on the under side of the second in the male, accompanied by external protuberances, are concealed the genital organs: on the under side of the eighth in the female is a scale-like formation, indicating the entrance to the oviduct. The tenth is always provided in both sexes with prominent appendages, differing greatly in form, and often furnishing the best specific (and even generic) characters.
The legs vary in length and stoutness, but may, as a rule, be termed long and slender. The anterior pair probably assist in capturing and holding insect prey, but the greatest service all the legs render is possibly in enabling the creature to rest lightly, so that it can quit a position of repose in chase of passing prey in the quickest possible manner. The coxa is short and stout, followed by a still shorter trochanter; the femora and tibiae long and slender, almost invariably furnished on their under surface with two series of strong spines, as also are the tarsi, which consist of three slender joints, the last having two long and slender claws.
The wings are always elongate, and furnished with strong longitudinal neuration and dense transverse nervules strengthening the already strong (although typically transparent) membrane. In theAgrionidaeboth pairs are nearly equal, and are carried vertically and longitudinally in repose, and the neuration and membrane are less strong; hence the species of this family are not so powerful on the wing as are those of the other groups in which the wings are horizontally extended in a position ready for instant service. The neuration is peculiar, and in many respects without precise analogy in other groups of insects, but it is not necessary here to enter into more than some special points. The arrangement of the nervures at the base of the wing is very singular, and slight differences in it form useful aids to classification. In theAeschnidaeandLibellulidaethis arrangement results in the formation of a triangular space (known as the “triangle”), which is either open or traversed by nervules; but in manyAgrionidaethis space, instead of being triangular, is oblong or elongately quadrate, or with its upper edge partly straight and partly oblique. This fixitude of type in neuration is not one of the least important of the many peculiarities exhibited in these insects.
The internal structure is comparatively simple. The existence of salivary glands, denied by L. Duprix, has been asserted by O. Poletajewa. The rest of the digestive apparatus consists of an elongate canal extending from mouth to anus, comprising the oesophagus, stomach and intestine, with certain dilatations and constrictions; the characteristic Malpighian vessels are stated to number about forty, placed round the posterior extremity of the stomach. Dragon-flies eat their prey completely, and do not content themselves by merely sucking its juices; the harder portions are rejected as elongate, nearly dry, pellets of excrement.
Pairing.—But the most extraordinary feature in the economy—one which has attracted the attention of naturalists from remote times—is the position of the genital organs, and the corresponding anomalous manner in which the pairing of the sexes and impregnation is effected. In the male the intromittent organ is situated in a slit on the under surface of the second abdominal segment; it is usually very crooked or sinuous in form, and is accompanied by sheaths, and by external hooks or secondary appendages, and also by seminal vessels. But the ducts of the vessels connected with the testes unite and open on the under surface of the ninth segment; hence, before copulation can take place, it is necessary that the vessels in the secondsegment be charged from this opening, and in the majority of cases this is done by the male previously to seeking the female. In the latter sex the entrance to the oviduct and genital organs is on the under surface of the eighth abdominal segment. The act of pairing may be briefly stated as follows. The male, when flying, seizes the prothorax of the female with the strong appendages at the extremity of the abdomen, and the abdomen of this latter sex is then curved upward so as to bring the under side of the eighth segment into contact with the organs of the second segment of the male. In the more powerfulLibellulidae, &c., the act is of short duration, and it is probable that polygamy and polyandry exist, for it possibly requires more than one almost momentary act to fertilize all the eggs in the ovaries of a female. But in manyAgrionidae, and in some others, the male keeps his hold of the prothorax of the female for a lengthened period, retaining himself in flight in an almost perpendicular manner, and it may be that the deposition of eggs and pairing goes on alternately. There is, however, much yet to be learned on these points. The gravid female usually lays her eggs in masses (but perhaps sometimes singly), and the operation may be witnessed by any one in localities frequented by these insects. She hovers for a considerable time over nearly the same spot, rapidly dipping the apex of her abdomen into the water, or at any rate touching it, and often in places where there are no water-weeds, so that in all probability the eggs fall at once to the bottom. But in some of theAgrionidaethe female has been often noticed by trustworthy observers to creep down the stems of aquatic plants several inches below the surface, emerging after the act of oviposition has been effected; and in the case ofLestes sponsa, K. T. E. von Siebold saw the male descend with the female. The same exact observer noticed also in this species that the female makes slight incisions in the stems or leaves of water plants with the double serrated apparatus (vulva) forming a prolongation of the ninth segment beneath, depositing an egg in each incision. He has seen two pairs thus occupied beneath the surface on one and the same stem.
Larva and Nymph.—The duration of the subaquatic life of a dragon-fly is no doubt variable, according to the species. In the smaller forms it is probably less than a year, but precise evidence is wanting as to the occurrence of two broods in one year. On the other hand, it is certain that often a longer period is requisite to enable the creature to attain its full growth, and three years have been stated to be necessary for this in the large and powerfulAnax formosus.Like all insects with incomplete metamorphoses, there is no quiescent pupal condition, no sharp line of demarcation between the larval and so-called “nymph” or penultimate stage. The creature goes on eating and increasing in size from the moment it emerges from the egg to the time when it leaves the water to be transformed into the aerial perfect insect. The number of moults is uncertain, but they are without doubt numerous. At probably about the antepenultimate of these operations, the rudimentary wings begin to appear as thoracic buddings, and in the full-grown nymph these wings overlap about one-half of the dorsal surface of the abdomen. In structure there is a certain amount of resemblance to the perfect insect, but the body is always much stouter and shorter, in some cases most disproportionately so, and the eyes are always separated; even in those genera (e.g.Aeschna) in which the eyes of the imago are absolutely contiguous, the most that can be seen in the larva is a prolongation towards each other, and there are no ocelli. The legs are shorter and more fitted for crawling about water plants and on the bottom. In the mouth parts the mandibles and maxillae are similar in form to those of the adult, but there is an extraordinary and unique modification of the lower lip. This is attached to an elongate and slender mentum articulated to the posterior portion of the lower surface of the head, slightly widened at its extremity, to which is again articulated the labium proper, which is very large, flattened, and gradually dilated to its extremity; but its form differs according to group as in the perfect insect. Thus in theAgrionidaeit is deeply cleft, and with comparatively slender side-pieces (or palpi), and strongly developed articulated spines; in theAeschnidaeit is at the most notched, with narrow side-pieces and very strong spines; in theLibellulidaeit is entire, often triangular at its apex, and with enormously developed palpi without spines, but having the opposing inner edges furnished with interlocking serrations. The whole of this apparatus is commonly termed the mask. In a state of repose it is applied closely against the face, the elongated mentum directed backward and lying between the anterior pair of legs; but when an approaching victim is seen the whole apparatus is suddenly projected, and the prey caught by the raptorial palpi; in some large species it is capable of being projected fully half an inch in front of the head. The prey, once caught and held by this apparatus, is devoured in the usual manner. There are two pairs of thoracic spiracles, through which the nymph breathes during its later life by thrusting the anterior end of the body into the air; but respiration is mostly effected by a peculiar apparatus at the tail end, and there are two different methods. In theAgrionidaethere are three elongate flattened plates, or false gills, full of tracheal ramifications, which extract the air from the water, and convey it to the internal tracheae (inCalopteryxthese plates are excessively long, nearly equalling the abdomen), the plates also serving as means of locomotion. But in the other groups these external false gills are absent, and intheir place are five valves, which by their sudden opening and closing force in the water to the rectum, the walls of which are furnished with branchial lamellae. The alternate opening and closing of these valves enables the creature to make quick jerks or rushes (incorrectly termed “leaps”) through the water,1and, in conjunction with its mouth parts, to make sudden attacks upon prey from a considerable distance. Well-developed Aeschnid larvae have been observed to take atmospheric air into the rectum. The lateral angles of the terminal abdominal segments are sometimes produced into long curved spines. In colour these larvae are generally muddy, and they frequently have a coating of muddy particles, and hence are less likely to be observed by their victims. If among insects the perfect dragon-fly may be termed the tyrant of the air, so may its larva be styled that of the water. Aquatic insects and larvae form the principal food, but there can be no doubt that worms, the fry of fish, and even younger larvae of their own species, form part of the bill of fare. The “nymph” when arrived at its full growth sallies forth from the water, and often crawls a considerable distance (frequently many feet up the trunks of trees) before it fixes itself for the final change, which is effected by the thorax splitting longitudinally down the back, through which fissure the perfect insect gradually drags itself. The figures indicate this process as observed inAeschna cyanea.
The Complete Insect.-For a considerable time after its emergence a dragon-fly is without any of its characteristic colours, and is flaccid and weak, the wings (even in those groups in which they are afterwards horizontally extended) being held vertically in a line with the abdomen. By degrees the parts harden, and the insect essays its first flight, but even then the wings have little power and are semi-opaque in appearance, as if dipped in mucilage. In most species ofCalopterygina, and in some others, the prevailing colour of the body is a brilliant bronzy green, blue or black, but the colours in the other groups vary much, and often differ in the sexes. Thus inLibellula depressathe abdomen of the fully adult male is covered with a bluish bloom, whereas that of the female is yellow; but several days elapse before this pulverulent appearance is attained, and a comparatively young male is yellow like the female. The wings are typically hyaline and colourless, but in many species (especiallyCalopteryginaandLibellulina) they may be wholly or in part opaque and often black, due apparently to gradual oxydization of a pigment between the two membranes of which the wings are composed; the brilliant iridescence, or metallic lustre, so frequently found is no doubt due to interference—the effect of minute irregularities of the surface—and not produced by a pigment. A beautiful little genus (Chalcopteryx) ofCalopteryginafrom the Amazon is a gem in the world of insects, the posterior wings being of the most brilliant fiery metallic colour, whereas the anterior remain hyaline.
These insects are pre-eminently lovers of the hottest sunshine (a few are somewhat crepuscular), and the most powerful and daring on the wing in fine weather become inert and comparatively lifeless when at rest in dull weather, allowing themselves to be captured by the fingers without making any effort to escape. Many of the larger species (Aeschna, &c.) have a habit of affecting a particular twig or other resting place like a fly-catcher among birds, darting off after prey and making long excursions, but returning to the chosen spot. A. R. Wallace, in hisMalay Archipelago, states that the inhabitants of Lombok use the large species for food, and catch them by means of limed twigs.
They are distributed over the whole world excepting the polar regions, but are especially insects of the tropics. At the present day about 2200 species are known, dispersed unequally among the several subfamilies as follows: Agrionina, 700 species; Calopterygina, 280; Gomphina, 320; Aeschnina, 170; Corduliina, 130; Libellulina, 600. In Europe proper only 100 species have been observed, and about 46 of these occur in the British islands. New Zealand is excessively poor, and can only number 8 species, whereas they are very numerous in Australia. Some species are often seen at sea, far from land, in calm weather, in troops which are no doubt migratory; the commonLibellula quadrimaculata, which inhabits the cold and temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, has been frequently seen in immense migratory swarms. One species (Pantala flavescens) has about the widest range of any insect, occurring in the Old World from Kamtchatka to Australia, and in the New from the Southern States to Chili, also all over Africa and the Pacific islands, but is not found in Europe. The largest species occur in theAeschninaandAgrionina; a member of the former subfamily from Borneo expands to nearly 6½ in., and with a moderately strong body and powerful form; in the latter the Central American and BrazilianMegaloprepus caerulatusand species ofMecistogasterare very large, the former expanding to nearly 7 in., and the latter to nearly as much, but the abdomen is not thicker than an ordinary grass-stem and of extreme length (fully 5 in. inMecistogaster).
Fossils.—Among fossil insects dragon-flies hold a conspicuous position. Not only do they belong to what appears to have been a very ancient type, but in addition, the large wings and strong dense reticulation are extremely favourable for preservation in a fossil condition, and in many cases all the intricate details can be as readily followed as in a recent example. From the Carboniferous strata of Commentry, France, C. Brongniart has described several genera of gigantic insects allied to dragon-flies, but with less specialized thoracic segments and simpler wing-neuration. These form a special group—the Protodonata. TrueOdonatareferable to the existing families are plentiful in Mesozoic formations; in England they have been found more especially in the Purbeck beds of Swanage, and the vales of Wardour and Aylesbury, in the Stonesfield Slate series, and in the Lias and Rhaetic series of the west of England. But the richest strata appear to be those of the Upper Miocene at Oeningen, near Schaffhausen in the Rhine valley; the Middle Miocene at Radaboj, near Krapina in Croatia; the Eocene of Aix, in Provence; and more especially the celebrated Secondary rocks furnishing the lithographic stone of Solenhofen, in Bavaria. This latter deposit would appear to have been of marine origin, and it is significant that, although the remains of gigantic dragon-flies discovered in it are very numerous and perfect, no traces of their subaquatic conditions have been found, although these as a rule are numerous in most of the other strata, hence the insects may be regarded as having been drowned in the sea and washed on shore. Many of these Solenhofen species differ considerably in form from those now existing, so that Dr H. A. L. Hagen, who has especially studied them, says that for nearly all it is necessary to make new genera. It is of great interest, however, to find that a living Malayan genus (Euphaea) and another living genusUropetala, now confined to New Zealand, are represented in the Solenhofen deposits, while a species ofMegapodagrionnow entirely Neotropical, occurs in the Eocene beds of Wyoming.
A notice of fossil forms should not be concluded without the remark that indications of at least two species have been found in amber, a number disproportionately small if compared with other insects entombed therein; but it must be remembered that a dragon-fly is, as a rule, an insect of great power, and in all probability those then existing were able to extricate themselves if accidentally entangled in the resin.
See E. de Selys-Longchamps,Monographie des Libellulidées d’Europe(Brussels, 1840);Synopses des Agrionines, Caloptérygines, Gomphines, et Cordulines, with Supplements (Brussels, from 1853 to 1877); E. de Selys-Longchamps and H. A. L. Hagen,Revue des Odonates d’Europe(Brussels, 1850);Monographie des Caloptérygines et des Gomphines(Brussels, 1854 and 1858); Charpentier,Libellulinae europeae(Leipzig, 1840). For modern systematic work see various papers by R. M’Lachlan, P. P. Calvert, J. G. Needham, R. Martin, E. B. Williamson, F. Karsch, &c.; also H. Tumpel,Die Geradflugler Mitteleuropas(Eisenach, 1900); and W. F. Kirby,Catalogue of Neuroptera Odonata(London, 1890). For habits and details of transformation and larval life, see L. C. Miall,Natural History of Aquatic Insects(London, 1895); H. Dewitz,Zool. Anz.xiii. (1891); and J. G. Needham,Bull. New York Museum, lxviii. (1903). For geographical distribution, G. H. Carpenter,Sci. Proc. R. Dublin Soc.viii. (1897). For British species, W. J. Lucas,Handbook of BritishDragonflies(London, 1899). For wings and mechanism of flight, R. von Lendenfeld,S.B. Akad. Wien, lxxxiii. (1881), and J. G. Needham,Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus.xxvi. (1903). For general morphology, R. Heymons,Abhandl. k. preuss. Akad.(1896), andAnn. Hofmus. Wein, xix. (1904).
See E. de Selys-Longchamps,Monographie des Libellulidées d’Europe(Brussels, 1840);Synopses des Agrionines, Caloptérygines, Gomphines, et Cordulines, with Supplements (Brussels, from 1853 to 1877); E. de Selys-Longchamps and H. A. L. Hagen,Revue des Odonates d’Europe(Brussels, 1850);Monographie des Caloptérygines et des Gomphines(Brussels, 1854 and 1858); Charpentier,Libellulinae europeae(Leipzig, 1840). For modern systematic work see various papers by R. M’Lachlan, P. P. Calvert, J. G. Needham, R. Martin, E. B. Williamson, F. Karsch, &c.; also H. Tumpel,Die Geradflugler Mitteleuropas(Eisenach, 1900); and W. F. Kirby,Catalogue of Neuroptera Odonata(London, 1890). For habits and details of transformation and larval life, see L. C. Miall,Natural History of Aquatic Insects(London, 1895); H. Dewitz,Zool. Anz.xiii. (1891); and J. G. Needham,Bull. New York Museum, lxviii. (1903). For geographical distribution, G. H. Carpenter,Sci. Proc. R. Dublin Soc.viii. (1897). For British species, W. J. Lucas,Handbook of BritishDragonflies(London, 1899). For wings and mechanism of flight, R. von Lendenfeld,S.B. Akad. Wien, lxxxiii. (1881), and J. G. Needham,Proc. U.S. Nat. Mus.xxvi. (1903). For general morphology, R. Heymons,Abhandl. k. preuss. Akad.(1896), andAnn. Hofmus. Wein, xix. (1904).
(R. M‘L.; G. H. C.)
1A similar contrivance was suggested and (if the writer mistakes not) actually tried as a means of propelling steamships.
1A similar contrivance was suggested and (if the writer mistakes not) actually tried as a means of propelling steamships.
DRAGON’S BLOOD,a red-coloured resin obtained from several species of plants.Calamus draco(Willd.), one of the rotang or rattan palms, which produces much of the dragon’s blood of commerce, is a native of Further India and the Eastern Archipelago. The fruit is round, pointed, scaly, and the size of a large cherry, and when ripe is coated with the resinous exudation known as dragon’s blood. The finest dragon’s blood, calledjernangordjernangin the East Indies, is obtained by beating or shaking the gathered fruits, sifting out impurities, and melting by exposure to the heat of the sun or by placing in boiling water; the resin thus purified is then usually moulded into sticks or quills, and after being wrapped in reeds or palm-leaves, is ready for market. An impurer and inferior kind, sold in lumps of considerable size, is extracted from the fruits by boiling. Dragon’s blood is dark red-brown, nearly opaque and brittle, contains small shell-like flakes, and gives when ground a fine red powder; it is soluble in alcohol, ether, and fixed and volatile oils. If heated it gives off benzoic acid. In Europe it was once valued as a medicine on account of its astringent properties, and is now used for colouring varnishes and lacquers; in China, where it is mostly consumed, it is employed to give a red facing to writing paper. The drop dragon’s blood of commerce, calledcinnabarby Pliny (N.H.xxxiii. 39), andsangre de dragonby Barbosa was formerly and is still one of the products of Socotra, and is obtained fromDracaena cinnabari. The dragon’s blood of the Canary Islands is a resin procured from the surface of the leaves and from cracks in the trunk ofDracaena draco. The hardened juice of a euphorbiaceous tree,Croton draco, a resin resembling kino, is thesangre del dragoor dragon’s blood of the Mexicans, used by them as a vulnerary and astringent.
DRAGOON(Fr.dragon, Ger.Dragoner), originally a mounted soldier trained to fight on foot only (seeCavalry). This mounted infantryman of the late 16th and 17th centuries, like his comrades of the infantry who were styled “pike” and “shot,” took his name from his weapon, a species of carbine or short musket called the “dragon.” Dragoons were organized not in squadrons but in companies, like the foot, and their officers and non-commissioned officers bore infantry titles. The invariable tendency of the old-fashioned dragoon, who was always at a disadvantage when engaged against true cavalry, was to improve his horsemanship and armament to the cavalry standard. Thus “dragoon” came to mean medium cavalry, and this significance the word has retained since the early wars of Frederick the Great, save for a few local and temporary returns to the original meaning. The phrases “to dragoon” and “dragonnade” bear witness to the mounted infantry period, this arm being the most efficient and economical form of cavalry for police work and guerrilla warfare. The “Dragonnades,” properly so called, were the operations of the troops (chiefly mounted) engaged in enforcing Louis XIV.’s decrees against Protestants after the revocation of the edict of Nantes. In the British service the dragoons (1st Royals, 2nd Scots Greys, 6th Inniskillings) are heavy cavalry, the Dragoon Guards (seven regiments) are medium, as are the dragoons of other countries. The light cavalry of the British army in the 18th and early 19th century was for the most part called light dragoons.
DRAGUIGNAN,the chief town of the department of the Var in S.E. France; 51 m. N.E. of Toulon, and 28½ m. N.W. of Fréjus by rail; situated at a height of 679 ft. above the level of the sea, at the southern foot of the wooded heights of Malmont, and on the left bank of the Nartuby river; pop. (1906) 7766. It possesses no notable buildings, save a modern parish church, a prefecture, also modern, and a building wherein are housed the town library and a picture gallery, with some fair works of art. In modern times the ramparts have been demolished, and new wide streets pierced through the town.
DRAINAGE OF LAND.The verb “to drain,” with its substantives “drain” and “drainage,” represents the O. Eng.dreahnian, from the same root found in “dry,” and signifies generally the act of drawing off moisture or liquid from somewhere, and so drinking dry, and (figuratively) exhausting; the substantive “drain” being thus used not only in the direct sense of a channel for carrying off liquid, but also figuratively for a very small amount such as would be left as dregs. The term “drainage” is applied generally to all operations involving the drawing off of water or other liquid, but more particularly to those connected with the treatment of the soil in agriculture, or with the removal of water and refuse from streets and houses. For the last, seeSewerage; the following article being devoted to the agricultural aspects of this subject. See also the articlesReclamation of Land,Canal,Irrigation,River Engineering,Water Supplyand (law)Water Rights.
Agricultural or field drainage consists in the freeing of the soil from stagnant and superfluous water by means of surface or underground channels. It may be distinguished from the draining of land on a large scale which is exemplified in the reclamation of the English Fens (seeFens). Surface drainage is usually effected by ploughing the land into convex ridges off which the water runs into intervening furrows and is conveyed into ditches. For several reasons this method is ineffective, and, where possible, is now superseded by underground drainage by means of pipe-tiles. Land is not in a satisfactory condition with respect to drainage unless the rain that falls upon it can sink down to the minimum depth required for the healthy development of the roots of crops and thence find vent either through a naturally porous subsoil or by artificial channels.
A few of the evils inseparable from the presence of overmuch water in the soil may be enumerated. Wet land, if in grass, produces only the coarser grasses, and many subaquatic plants and mosses, which are of little or no value for pasturage; its herbage is late in spring, and fails early in autumn; the animals grazed upon it are unduly liable to disease, and sheep, especially, to foot-rot and liver-rot. In the case of arable land the crops are poor and moisture-loving weeds flourish. Tillage operations on such land are easily interrupted by rain, and the period always much limited in which they can be prosecuted at all; the compactness and toughness of the soil renders each operation more arduous, and its repetition more necessary than in the case of dry land. The surface must necessarily be thrown into ridges, and the furrows and cross-cuts cleared out after each process of tillage, and upon this surface-drainage as much labour is expended in twenty years as would suffice to make under-drains enough to lay it permanently dry. With all these precautions the best seed time is often missed, and this usually proves the prelude to a scanty crop, or to a late and disastrous harvest. The cultivation of the turnip and other root crops, which require the soil to be wrought to a deep and free tilth, either becomes altogether impracticable and must be abandoned for the safe but costly bare fallow, or is carried out with great labour and hazard; and the crop, when grown, can neither be removed from the ground, nor consumed upon it by sheep without damage by “poaching.”
The roots of plants require both air and warmth. A deep stratum through which water can percolate, but in which it can never stagnate, is therefore necessary. A waterlogged soil is impenetrable by air, and owing to the continuous process of evaporation and radiation, its temperature is much below that of drained soil. The surface of the water in the supersaturated soil is known as the “water-table” and is exemplified in water standing in a well. Water will rise in clay by capillarity to a height of 50 in., in sand to 22 in. Above the “water-table” the water is held by capillarity, and the percentage of water held decreases as we approach the surface where there may be perfect dryness. Draining reduces the “surface tension” of the capillary water by removal of the excess, but the “water-table” may be many feet below. Drains ordinarily remove only excess of capillary water, an excess of percolating water in wet weather.
In setting about the draining of a field, or farm, or estate, the first point is to secure a proper outfall. The lines of the receiving drains must next be determined, and then the direction of theparallel drains. The former must occupy the lowest part of the natural hollows, and the latter must run in the line of the greatest slope of the ground. In the case of flat land, where a fall is obtained chiefly by increasing the depth of the drains at their lower ends, these lines may be disposed in any direction that is found convenient; but in undulating ground a single field may require several distinct sets of drains lying at different angles, so as to suit its several slopes. When a field is ridged in the line of the greatest ascent of the ground, there is an obvious convenience in adopting the furrows as the site of the drains; but wherever this is not the case the drains must be laid off to suit the contour of the ground, irrespective of the furrows altogether. When parts of a field are flat, and other parts have a considerable acclivity, it is expedient to cut a receiving drain near to the bottom of the slopes, and to give the flat ground an independent set of drains. In laying off receiving drains it is essential to give hedgerows and trees a good offing, lest the conduit be obstructed by the roots.
When a main drain is so placed that parallel ones empty into it from both sides, care should be taken that the inlets of the latter are not made exactly opposite to each other. Much of the success of draining depends on the skilful planning of these main drains, and in making them large enough to discharge the greatest flow of water to which they may be exposed. Very long main drains are to be avoided. Numerous outlets are also objectionable, from their liability to obstruction. An outlet to an area of from 10 to 15 acres is a good arrangement. These outlets should be faced with mason work, and guarded with iron gratings.
The distance and depth apart of the parallel drains is determined chiefly by reference to the texture of the soil. In an impervious clay the flow of the water is much impeded and the water-table can be controlled only by frequent lines of pipes. On such land it is customary to lay them about 3 ft. from the surface and from 15 to 21 ft. apart. In lighter soils the depth, and proportionately the distance apart, is increased, but the drains are rarely more than 4 ft. 6 in. below the surface, though they may be 75 or 100 apart. A fall of at least 1 in 200 is desirable.
There are various forms of under-drainage, some of them alluded to in the historical section below, but by far the commonest is by means of cylindrical or oval pipes of burnt clay about 1 ft. in length, sometimes supplemented by collars, though nowadays the use of these is being abandoned. Pipes vary in bore from 2 in. for the parallel to 6 in. for the main drains.
In constructing a drain, it is of importance that the bottom be cut out just wide enough to admit the pipes and no more. Pipes, when accurately fitted in, are much less liable to derangement than when laid in the bottom of a trench several times their width, into which a mass of loose earth must necessarily be returned. This is easily effected in the case of soils tolerably free from stones by the use of draining spades and the tile-hook which are represented in the accompanying cut. The tile-hook is an implement by means of which the pipes may be lowered from the edge of the trench and laid at the bottom. An implement, sometimes propelled by steam, known as the draining plough, can be used for opening the trenches. Draining can be carried on at all seasons, but is usually best done in autumn or summer. A thoroughly trustworthy and experienced workman should be selected to lay the pipes, with instructions to set no pipes until he is satisfied that the depth of the drains and level of the bottoms are correct. The expense of tile-drainage may vary from about £2:10s. per acre on loose soils to £10 an acre on the most tenacious soils, the rate of wages and the cost of the pipes, the depth of the trenches and the ease with which they can be dug, all influencing the cost of the process.
Drainage is not a modern discovery. The Romans were careful to keep their arable lands dry by means of open trenches or covered drains filled with stones or twigs. It is at least several centuries since covered channels of various kinds were used by British husbandmen for drying their land. Walter Blith (seeAgriculture) about the middle of the 17th century wrote of the improvement which might be effected in barren land by freeing it from the excess of stagnant water on or near the surface by means of channels filled with faggots or stones, but his principles, never generally adopted, were ultimately forgotten. In the latter half of the 18th century, Joseph Elkington, a Warwickshire farmer, discovered a plan of laying dry sloping ground that is drowned by the outbursting of springs. When the higher-lying portion of such land is porous, rain falling upon it sinks down until it is arrested by clay or other impervious matter, which causes it again to issue at the surface and wet the lower-lying ground. Elkington showed that by cutting a deep drain through the clay, aided when necessary by wells or auger holes, the subjacent bed of sand or gravel in which a body of water is pent up by the clay, as in a vessel, might be tapped and the water conveyed harmlessly in the covered drain to the nearest ditch or stream. In the circumstances to which it is applicable, and in the hands of skilful drainers, Elkington’s plan, known as “sink-hole drainage,” by bringing into play the natural drainage furnished by porous strata, is often eminently successful.
During the subsequent thirty or forty years most of the draining that took place was on this system, and an immense capital was expended in such works with varying results. Things continued in this position until about 1823, when James Smith of Deanston, having discovered anew those principles of draining so long before indicated by Blith, proceeded to exemplify them in his own practice, and to expound them to the public in a way that speedily effected a complete revolution in the art of draining, and marked an era in agricultural progress. Instead of persisting in fruitless attempts to dry extensive areas by a few dexterous cuts, he insisted on the necessity of providing every field that needed draining at all with a complete system of parallel underground channels, running in the line of the greatest slope of the ground, and so near to each other that the whole rain falling at any time upon the surface should sink down and be carried off by the drains. A main receiving drain was to be carried along the lowest part of the ground, with sub-drains in every subordinate hollow that the ground presented. The distances between drains he showed must be regulated by the greater or less retentiveness of the ground operated upon, and gave 10 to 40 ft. as the limits of their distance apart. The depth which he prescribed for his parallel drains was 30 in., and these were to be filled with 12 in. of stones small enough to pass through a 3-in. ring—in short a new edition of Blith’s drain. Josiah Parkes, engineerto the Royal Agricultural Society, advocated a greater distance apart for the drains, and, in order that the subterranean water might be reached, a depth of at least 4 ft.
The cultivated lands of Britain being disposed in ridges which usually lie in the line of greatest ascent, it became customary to form the drains in each furrow, or in each alternate, or third or fourth one, as the case might require, or views of economy dictate and hence the system soon came to be popularly called “furrow draining.” From the number and arrangement of the drains, the terms “frequent” and “parallel” were also applied to it. Smith himself more appropriately named it, from its effects, “thorough draining.” The sound principles thus promulgated by him were speedily adopted and extensively carried into practice. The great labour and cost incurred in procuring stones in adequate quantities, and the difficulty of carting them in wet seasons, soon led to the substitution of “tiles,” and soles of burnt earthenware. The limited supply and high price of these tiles for a time impeded the progress of the new system of draining; but the invention of tile-making machines removed this impediment, and gave a stimulus to this fundamental agricultural improvement. The substitution of cylindrical pipes for the original horse-shoe tiles has still further lowered the cost and increased the efficiency and permanency of drainage works.
The system introduced by Smith of Deanston has now been virtually adopted by all drainers. Variations in matters of detail (having respect chiefly to the depth and distance apart of the parallel drains) have indeed been introduced; but the distinctive features of his system are recognized and acted upon.
A great stimulus was given to the improvement of land by the passing in England of a series of acts of parliament, which removed certain obstacles that effectually hindered tenants with limited interests from investing capital in works of drainage and kindred amelioration. The Public Money Drainage Acts 1846-1856 authorized the advance of public money to landowners to enable them to make improvements in their lands, not only by draining, but by irrigation, the making of permanent roads, clearing, erecting buildings, planting for shelter, &c. The rapid absorption of the funds provided by these acts led to further legislative measures by which private capital was rendered available for the improvement of land. A series of special improvement acts were passed, authorizing companies to execute or advance money for executing improvements in land. Finally, the Land Improvement Act 1864, amended and extended by the act of 1899, gave facilities for borrowing money by charging the cost of draining, &c., as a rent-charge upon the inheritance of the land. The instalments must be repaid with interest in equal amounts extending over a fixed term of years by the tenant for life during his lifetime, the tenant being bound to maintain the improvements.See C. G. Elliott,Engineering for Land Drainage(New York, 1903); F. H. King,Irrigation and Drainage(New York, 1899); G. S. Mitchell,Handbook of Land Drainage(London, 1898), with a good bibliography.
A great stimulus was given to the improvement of land by the passing in England of a series of acts of parliament, which removed certain obstacles that effectually hindered tenants with limited interests from investing capital in works of drainage and kindred amelioration. The Public Money Drainage Acts 1846-1856 authorized the advance of public money to landowners to enable them to make improvements in their lands, not only by draining, but by irrigation, the making of permanent roads, clearing, erecting buildings, planting for shelter, &c. The rapid absorption of the funds provided by these acts led to further legislative measures by which private capital was rendered available for the improvement of land. A series of special improvement acts were passed, authorizing companies to execute or advance money for executing improvements in land. Finally, the Land Improvement Act 1864, amended and extended by the act of 1899, gave facilities for borrowing money by charging the cost of draining, &c., as a rent-charge upon the inheritance of the land. The instalments must be repaid with interest in equal amounts extending over a fixed term of years by the tenant for life during his lifetime, the tenant being bound to maintain the improvements.
See C. G. Elliott,Engineering for Land Drainage(New York, 1903); F. H. King,Irrigation and Drainage(New York, 1899); G. S. Mitchell,Handbook of Land Drainage(London, 1898), with a good bibliography.
DRAKE, SIR FRANCIS(c. 1545-1595), English admiral, was born near Tavistock, Devonshire, about 1545 according to most early authorities, but possibly as early as 1539 (see Corbett, vol. i., Appendix A). His father, a yeoman and a zealous Protestant, was obliged to take refuge in Kent during the persecutions in the reign of Queen Mary. He obtained a naval chaplaincy from Queen Elizabeth, and is said to have been afterwards vicar of Upnor Church (evidently a misprint or slip of the pen for Upchurch) on the Medway. Young Drake was educated at the expense and under the care of Sir John Hawkins, who was his kinsman; and, after passing an apprenticeship on a coasting vessel, at the age of eighteen he had risen to be purser of a ship trading to Biscay. At twenty he made a voyage to Guinea; and at twenty-two he was made captain of the “Judith.” In that capacity he was in the harbour of San Juan de Ulloa, in the Gulf of Mexico, where he behaved most gallantly in the actions under Sir John Hawkins, and returned with him to England, having acquired great reputation, though with the loss of all the money which he had embarked in the expedition. In 1570 he obtained a regular privateering commission from Queen Elizabeth, the powers of which he immediately exercised in a cruise in the Spanish Main. Having next projected an attack against the Spaniards in the West Indies to indemnify himself for his former losses, he set sail in 1572, with two small ships named the “Pasha” and the “Swan.” He was afterwards joined by another vessel; and with this small squadron he took and plundered the Spanish town of Nombre de Dios. With his men he penetrated across the isthmus of Panama, and committed great havoc among the Spanish shipping. From the top of a tree which he climbed while on the isthmus he obtained his first view of the Pacific, and resolved “to sail an English ship in these seas.” In these expeditions he was much assisted by the Maroons, descendants of escaped negro slaves, who were then engaged in a desultory warfare with the Spaniards. Having embarked his men and filled his ships with plunder, he bore away for England, and arrived at Plymouth on the 9th of August 1573.
His success and honourable demeanour in this expedition gained him high reputation; and the use which he made of his riches served to raise him still higher in popular esteem. Having fitted out three frigates at his own expense, he sailed with them to Ireland, and rendered effective service as a volunteer, under Walter, earl of Essex, the father of the famous but unfortunate earl. After his patron’s death he returned to England, where he was introduced to Queen Elizabeth (whether by Sir Christopher Hatton is doubtful), and obtained a favourable reception. In this way he acquired the means of undertaking the expedition which has immortalized his name. The first proposal he made was to undertake a voyage into the South Seas through the Straits of Magellan, which no Englishman had hitherto ever attempted. This project having been well received at court, the queen furnished him with means; and his own fame quickly drew together a sufficient force. The fleet with which he sailed on this enterprise consisted of only five small vessels, and their united crews mustered only 166 men. Starting on the 13th of December 1577, his course lay by the west coast of Morocco and the Cape Verde Islands. He reached the coast of Brazil on the 6th of April, and entered the Rio de la Plata, where he parted company with two of his ships; but having met them again, and taken out their provisions, he turned them adrift. On the 19th of June he entered the port of St Julian’s, where he remained two months, partly to lay in provisions, and partly delayed by the trial and execution of Thomas Doughty, who had plotted against him. On the 21st of August he entered the Straits of Magellan. The passage of the straits took sixteen days, but then a storm carried the ships to the west; on the 7th of October, having made back for the mouth of the strait, Drake’s ship and the two vessels under his vice-admiral Captain Wynter were separated, and the latter, missing the rendezvous arranged, returned to England. Drake went on, and came to Mocha Island, off the coast of Chile, on the 25th of November. He thence continued his voyage along the coast of Chile and Peru, taking all opportunities of seizing Spanish ships, and attacking them on shore, till his men were satiated with plunder; and then coasted along the shores of America, as far as 48° N. lat., in an unsuccessful endeavour to discover a passage into the Atlantic. Having landed, however, he named the country New Albion, and took possession of it in the name of Queen Elizabeth. Having careened his ship, he sailed thence on the 26th of July 1579 for the Moluccas. On the 4th of November he got sight of those islands, and, arriving at Ternate, was extremely well received by the sultan. On the 10th of December he made the Celebes, where his ship unfortunately struck upon a rock, but was taken off without much damage. On the 11th of March he arrived at Java, whence he intended to have directed his course to Malacca; but he found himself obliged to alter his purpose, and to think of returning home. On the 26th of March 1580 he again set sail; and on the 15th of June he doubled the Cape of Good Hope, having then on board only fifty-seven men and three casks of water. He passed the line on the 12th of July, and on the 16th reached the coast of Guinea, where he watered. On the 11th of September he made the Island of Terceira, and on the 26th of September(?) he entered the harbour of Plymouth. This voyage round the world, the first accomplished by an Englishman, was thus performed in two years and about tenmonths. The queen hesitated for some time whether to recognize his achievements or not, on the ground that such recognition might lead to complications with Spain, but she finally decided in his favour. Accordingly, soon after his arrival she paid a visit to Deptford, went on board his ship, and there, after partaking of a banquet, conferred upon him the honour of knighthood, at the same time declaring her entire approbation of all that he had done. She likewise gave directions for the preservation of his ship, the “Golden Hind,” that it might remain a monument of his own and his country’s glory. After the lapse of a century it decayed and had to be broken up. Of the sound timber a chair was made, which was presented by Charles II. to the university of Oxford. In 1581 Drake became mayor of Plymouth; and in 1585 he married a second time, his first wife having died in 1583. In 1585, hostilities having commenced with Spain, he again went to sea, sailing with a fleet to the West Indies, and taking the cities of Santiago (in the Cape Verde Islands), San Domingo, Cartagena and St Augustine. In 1587 he went to Lisbon with a fleet of thirty sail; and having received intelligence of a great fleet being assembled in the bay of Cadiz, and destined to form part of the Armada, he with great courage entered the port on the 19th of April, and there burnt upwards of 10,000 tons of shipping—a feat which he afterwards jocosely called “singeing the king of Spain’s beard.” In 1588, when the Spanish Armada was approaching England, Sir Francis Drake was appointed vice-admiral under Lord Howard, and made prize of a very large galleon, commanded by Don Pedro de Valdez, who was reputed the projector of the invasion, and who struck at once on learning his adversary’s name.
It deserves to be noticed that Drake’s name is mentioned in the singular diplomatic communication from the king of Spain which preceded the Armada:—
“Te veto ne pergas bello defendere Belgas;Quae Dracus eripuit nunc restituantur oportet;Quas pater evertit jubeo te condere cellas:Religio Papae fac restituatur ad unguem.”
“Te veto ne pergas bello defendere Belgas;
Quae Dracus eripuit nunc restituantur oportet;
Quas pater evertit jubeo te condere cellas:
Religio Papae fac restituatur ad unguem.”
To these lines the queen made this extempore response:—
“Ad Graecas, bone rex, fiant mandata kalendas.”
“Ad Graecas, bone rex, fiant mandata kalendas.”
In 1589 Drake commanded the fleet sent to restore Dom Antonio, king of Portugal, the land forces being under the orders of Sir John Norreys; but they had hardly put to sea when the commanders differed, and thus the attempt proved abortive. But as the war with Spain continued, a more formidable expedition was fitted out, under Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake, against their settlements in the West Indies, than had hitherto been undertaken during the whole course of it. Here, however, the commanders again disagreed about the plan; and the result in like manner disappointed public expectation. These disasters were keenly felt by Drake, and were the principal cause of his death, which took place on board his own ship, near the town of Nombre de Dios, in the West Indies, on the 28th of January 1595.