Dorking, a town of England, county of Surrey, 22 miles S.S.W. of London, largely consisting of villa residences. Large numbers of fowls, known as Dorkings, of an excellent breed, having five claws on the foot, are reared here, and sent to the London markets. The breed was introduced both into Gaul and Britain when those countries were subject to the Roman power. Pop. (urban district), 7850.
Dormant State, a state of torpidity in which certain animals pass a portion of the year. In cold and temperate climates this period of long sleep takes place during the winter months, and is properly called hibernation. It commences when the food of the animal begins to get scarce, continues for a longer or shorter period, and is deeper or lighter according to the habits and constitution of the animal. Bats, bears, some
animals of the rodent order, such as the porcupine, the dormouse, and the squirrel, all the animals belonging to the classes of Amphibia and Reptilia, such as tortoises, lizards, and snakes (frogs, &c.), also many species of molluscs and insects, hibernate more or less completely, retiring to suitable places of concealment—the bat to dark caves, the hedgehog to fern-brakes, and snakes to holes in trees. During hibernation there is a great decrease of heat in the bodies of the animals, the temperature sometimes sinking to 40° or even 20°F., or in general to a point a little above that of the surrounding atmosphere. The respiration as well as the pulsation of the heart is exceedingly slow, and the irritability of the animal often so low that in some cases it can be awakened only by strong electric shocks. With frogs and other amphibia the dormant state is very common, and if the temperature is kept low by artificial means, they may remain dormant for years. The term æstivation has been used to describe a similar condition into which certain animals, such as serpents and crocodiles, in tropical countries pass during the hottest months of the year. Plants also present many interesting examples of the dormant state, by which unfavourable periods or conditions are tided over. A seed, for instance, contains a dormant embryo or plantlet, which resumes growth (i.e. germinates) when the temperature rises above a certain level, provided sufficient moisture and air are present. Many lower forms, notably bacteria, are able to form thick-walled cells (spores) that can retain their vitality for a considerable time.
Dormer Windows (Fr. dormir, to sleep), are windows inserted in the inclined plane of a sloping roof, on a frame rising vertically above the rafters. They are named dormer windows because they are found chiefly in attic bedrooms.
Dormouse, the popular name of small rodent mammals constituting a special family (Gliridæ or Myoxidæ) allied to rats and mice. They inhabit temperate and warm countries, and subsist entirely on vegetable food. Their pace is a kind of leap, but they have not the activity of squirrels. Whilst feeding they sit upright and carry the food to their mouths with their paws. Dormice pass the winter in a lethargic or torpid state, reviving only for a short time on a warm sunny day, when they take a little of their hoarded stores and then relapse into the dormant state. The squirrel-tailed or 'fat' dormouse (Myoxus glis) of the continent was esteemed as an article of diet by the ancient Romans. The common British dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) is a graceful little creature about 3 inches in length, with a tail 2½ inches long. It feeds on hazel-nuts, eggs, and insects, and constructs a spherical nest. It is not known to occur in Scotland or Ireland.
Dorn´birn, a manufacturing town in Tyrol, about 6 miles from the Lake of Constance. Pop. 28,550.
Dornick, a kind of stout figured linen fabric used for table-cloths, and generally chequered. It derives its name from Doornik, or Tournai, in the Netherlands. The manufacture was brought into Norfolk by the Dutch.
Dornoch (-noh), a seaport and royal burgh of Scotland, county of Sutherland, at the entrance of the Dornoch Firth, the seat of the extinct bishopric of Caithness. It is one of the Wick district of parliamentary burghs. Pop. 740.—The Firth runs inland for about 16 miles between Ross-shire and Sutherlandshire.