Djokdjokarta, a Dutch residency in the Island of Java, on the south coast, with a capital of the same name. Its forests abound in teak. Its natural fertility is great, and rice, coffee, and tobacco are extensively cultivated. It is ruled by a sultan who is dependent on the Dutch. Pop. 441,800. The town is large and regular, and contains the sultan's water-palace, and the seat of the Dutch Resident, which is a fort commanding both the palace and the town. Pop. 97,058.
Dnieper (nē´pėr; Russ. Dnjepr, dnyepr;
anciently Borysthĕnēs, or Danapris), a great river of Russia which rises in the government of Smolensk, flows first south-west, then south-east, and again south-west to the Black Sea. It begins to be navigable a little above Smolensk, and has a total length, including windings, of 1230 miles. Among its tributaries are the Beresina, the Pripet, the Desna, and the Psiol. In its lower course there are important fisheries. The region watered by the river in its lower course is famous for its great fertility, and is known as the black-soil. Between Kiev and Alexandrovsk it forms a series of cataracts. Since 1838 there have been steamboats on the river, and the trade carried by it is considerable. Through the Beresina Canal the Dnieper communicates with the Baltic Sea.
Dniester (nēs´tėr; Russ. Dnjestr; ancient Tyras), a large river of Europe (Poland, Roumania, and Ukraine), which has its source in the Carpathian Mountains, in Austrian Galicia, enters Russia at Chotin, and empties itself into the Black Sea, after a course of about 750 miles. Its navigation is difficult on account of frequent shallows and rapids.
Doab´ (that is, Two Waters), a name in Hindustan applied indiscriminately to any tract of country between two rivers, like the Greek Mesopotamia. The tract between the Ganges and the Jumna is usually called the Doab; other similar tracts have their distinctive names, the Punjab being divided into five districts of this kind.
Dobell´, Sydney, English poet and man of letters, born in 1824, died 22nd Aug., 1874. His first poem, The Roman, appeared in 1850, and was favourably received by the critics. Among his other works are: Balder, Sonnets on the War, and England in Time of War.
Döbeln (deu´beln), a town of Saxony, about 40 miles south-east of Leipzig, with a great trade in grain, and manufactures of cloth, yarn, leather, and lacquered wares. Pop. 17,920.
Döbereiner's Lamp, a contrivance for producing an instantaneous light, invented by Professor Döbereiner, of Jena, in 1824. The light is produced by throwing a jet of hydrogen or a mixture of oxygen and hydrogen gases upon recently prepared spongy platinum, when the metal instantly becomes red-hot, and then sets fire to the gas. The action depends upon the readiness with which spongy platinum absorbs both oxygen and hydrogen. The intimate contact of the two gases leads to chemical combination with evolution of heat. Coal-gas may be employed instead of hydrogen, and this has led to the application of the principle to self-lighting devices for igniting gas flames.
Dobritch, or Bazarjik, a town in Roumania, was, till the end of the second Balkan War, the chief town in Bulgarian Dobrudja. It is situated on a small tributary of the Danube, and is on the Cernavoda-Constanza railway. At one time it was famous for its panair or great annual fair, but it is now no longer an important centre. Pop. 10,000.
Dobrudja, or Dobrud´scha, The (anciently Scythia Minor), a territory forming part of the kingdom of Roumania, included between the Danube, which forms its boundary on the west and north, the Black Sea on the east, and Bulgaria (to which it belonged before 1878) on the south. Its area, formerly 6000 sq. miles, was increased by the Treaty of Bucharest of 10th Aug., 1913, and is now 8969 sq. miles. During the European War the Dobrudja was invaded in 1916 by an army of Germans, Bulgarians, and Turks, under General von Mackensen. In 1918 Roumania was compelled by the Treaty of Bucharest to cede the Dobrudja to Bulgaria, but it was restored to her in 1919. There are some fertile spots, but on the whole it is marshy and unhealthy. The population is of various nationalities, Roumanians, Bulgars, Greeks, Turks, and Jews. The inhabitants engage in tillage and stock-rearing. The principal towns are Kustendje and Tultcha. See Roumania. Pop. 381,306.