Drôme, a south-east department of France, covered almost throughout by ramifications of the Alps, the average height of which, however, does not exceed 4000 feet; area, 2508 sq. miles, of which about one-fourth is waste, one-third under wood, and a great part of the remainder under tillage and pasture. A considerable extent of the area is occupied by vineyards, and several of the wines produced have a high reputation, especially Hermitage. Olives, chestnuts, and silks are staple productions. Valence is the capital. Pop. 263,509.
Dromedary. See Camel.
Dromore´, an episcopal city, Ireland, County Down, on the Lagan, here crossed by two bridges, 16 miles south-west of Belfast. Its cathedral contains the tomb of Jeremy Taylor. Pop. 2307.
Dropsy (Œdema) is a condition usually marked by enlargement and swelling of the affected parts, and due to an accumulation of serous fluid in the tissue spaces and cavities of the body. Different names are given to such
accumulations in particular areas, thus anasarca refers to accumulations in the limbs and body generally; ascites to an accumulation of fluid in the peritoneal cavity (abdomen); hydrothorax to an accumulation in the pleural cavity (lungs); hydrocephalus to an accumulation in the brain. The commonest cause of dropsy is heart disease, where first the lower limbs, and then the trunk, are affected. It also appears in diseases of the kidneys and liver, and it may be produced in a limb by any obstruction of the veins of the part.
a, Cluster of florets. b, Single floret.
Drop-wort (from the small tubers on the fibrous roots), Spiræa filipendŭla, nat. ord. Rosaceæ, a British plant of the same genus as queen-of-the-meadow, found in dry pastures. The hemlock drop-wort, or water drop-wort, is Œnanthe fistulōsa.
Drosera´ceæ, a nat. ord. of polypetalous Dicotyledons, consisting of insectivorous marsh herbs, whose leaves are usually covered with glands or glandular hairs. It contains six genera, including the sundew (Drosĕra), and Venus's fly-trap (Dionæa). (See Sundew and Dionæa.) They have no known qualities except that they are slightly bitter. The leaves are generally circinate in the bud, as in ferns.
