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tiie branches of a tree named Papyrus, or Biblum rKg\ ptiacum,and which were pasted one over the other with the slime of theNile , and were pressed and polished with a pumice-stone. Thispaper was very scarce ; and it was of various qualities, forms, and

f trices, which they distinguished by the names of charta hierat:ta,uria, augusta, amphitheatrica, saitica, lanirica, emporetica, &c.They cut this paper into square leaves, which they pasted one tothe other, in order to make rolls of them : from whence an entirebook was called volumen, from volendo : and the leaves of whichit consisted, pagina\ Sometimes, also, they pasted the leaves alltogether by one of the extremities, as is now practised in binding:by this method they formed the back of a book, and these thelearned call codices. They rolled the volume round a stick,which they named umbilicus : and the two ends that came out be-yond the paper, cornua. The title, wrote on parchment, in pur-ple characters, was joined to the last sheet, and served it as a co-ver. They made use of all sorts of strings or ribbands, and evensometimes of locks, to close the book ; and sometimes also it wasput into a case. But there is not now to be found, in any libraryor cabinet whatever, any one of these volumes. We have beenassured, however by a traveller, that lie had seen several of themin the ruins of Herculaneum ; but so much damaged, the paper sostill’and brittle, by the length of time, that it was impossible to un-rol them, and consequently to make any use of them ; for on thefirst touch the} fell into shatters. We know not the precise limewhen our modern paper was invented : and when they began tomake use of pens in writing, instead of the stalks of reeds. Theink tlr.it the ancients used was not made of vitriol and galls, like themodern, but of soot. Sometimes also they w rote with red ink made ofVermillion; or in letters of gold, on purple or violet parchment.It is easy for those who apply themselves to this study, to distin-guish the parchment of the ancients from that of the moderns, aswell as their ink and various exterior characters; but that whichbert distinguisnes the original from the counterfeit is, the writingor character itself; winch is so distinctly different from one cen-tury to another, tiiat we mav tell with certainty within about fortyor fifty tears, when any diploma was written. There are twoworks which furnish the clearest lights on this matter, and whichmay serve as sure guides in judging of what are called ; ncient di-plomas. The one is tiie celebrated tr.at.se on the Diplomatic ,by F. Mabillon; and the other, the first volume o: the ChroniconGotvicense. We there ftntl specimens of all tiie characters, theflourishes, and different methods of writing, of every age. Forthese matters, therefore, we must refer our leaders to those w orks ;and shall here only add, that all the diplomas are wrote in Latin ,and consequently the letters and characters have a resemblance toeach other: but there are certain strokes of the pen which distin-guish not only the ages, but also the different nations; as the writ-ings of the Lombards, French , Saxon, &c. The letters in the di-plomas are also usually longer, and not so strong as those of MSS.There has also been introduced a kind of court hand, of a verydisproportionate length, and the letters of which are called ExilesliUeraria-, crispie, ac pretractiores. The fir-t line of the diploma,the signature of the sovereign, that of the chancellor, notary, Ac.are usually wrote in this character. The signature of a diplomaconsists either of the sign of the cross, or of a monogram or cipher,composed of the letter of the names of those who subscribed it.’File initial letters of the name, and sometimes also the titles, wereplaced about this cross. By degrees the custom changed, andthey invented other marks. They exhibited, added also the dateand epoch of the signature, the feasts of the church, the days oftiie kaleudar, &c. The successive corruption of the Latin lan-guage, the style ami orthography of each age, as well as their dif-ferent titles and forms ; abbreviations, accentuation, and punctua-tion, and the various methods of writing the diphthongs; all thesematters united, form so many characters and marks by which theauthenticity of a diploma is to he known. The seal annexed toa diploma was anciently of white wax, and artfully imprinted onthe parchment itself. It was afterward pendent from the paper,and inclosed in a box or place, which they called bulla. Thereare some also that are stamped on metal, and even on pure gold.When a diploma bears all the characters that are requidte to thedine and place where it is supposed to be written, its authenticityis net to he doubted: but, at the same time, we cannot examinethem too scrupulously, seeing that the monks and priests of formera fjes have been very adroit in making counterfeits ; and the more

so, as they enjoyed the confidence of princes and statesmen, andwere even sometimes in possession of their rings or seals. As toMSS. that were wrote before the invention of printing, see Ma-nuscript .

DIPPING, among miners, signifies the interruption or break-ing off tiie veins of ore; an accident that gives them a great dealof trouble before they can discover the ore again. A great dealof the skill of the miners consists in the understanding of this dippingof the veins, and knowledge how to manage it. In Cornwall theyhave this general rule to guide them in this respect; most of theirtin loads, which run from E. to W. constantly dip towards thenorth. Sometimes they underlie, that is, they slope down to-wards tiie N. three feet in height perpendicular.

Dipping Needle, or Inclinatoky Needle, a magneticalneedle, so hung, as that, instead of playing horizontally, arid point-ing out N. and S. one end dips, or inclines to the horizon, and theother points to a certain degree of elevation above it. It is usedfor observing the quantity of inclination towards the earth, assum-ed by the magnetic needle. The general method of constructingdipping needles is, to pass an axis quite through the needle itself,and to iet the extremities of the axis rest upon two supports, likethe beam of a pair of scales, that the needle may move verticallyround.; and hence, when placed in the magnetic meridian, it willnaturally assume tiiat position which is called the magnetic line,viz. the two ends nearly north and south, and one of them inclinedconsiderably to the horizon. The degrees of this inclination arcshewn upon a graduated circle; and when the instrument is madeuse of at land, it has a stand, but at sea a ring is necessary to sus-pend it. When furnished with a stand, it has also a spirit-level;and the stand has three screws, by which the whole is adjusted insuch a manner as to let the centre of motion in the needle, and themark of 90° on the lower part of the divided circle, be exactly inthe same line perpendicular to the horizon. The greatest imper-fections attending this instrument are the balancing of the needleitself, and the difficulty of knowing whether, after being mademagnetic, it be properly balanced or not. The inaccuracy hereindeed can be but very small, as arising only from dust or mois-ture. The method recommended by Mr. Cavallo, to obviatediese inconveniences, is first to observe tiie dip of the needle;then to preserve its magnetism by the application of magnets, so ‘that the end of it which before was elevated above the horizon,may now be below it; and, lastly, to observe its dip again; for amean of the two observations will be pretty near the truth, thoughthe needle mav not be perfectly balanced. See Magnetism, anilMagnetical Needle.

DIPSACUS, Teazel, a genus of the monogynia order, andtetrandia class of plants; natural order, Aggregate. Common ca-lyx polyphyllous, proper above; receptacle paleaceous. Thereare tour species ; the most remarkable is the

D. Carduus Fullonum, which grows wild in many parts ofEngland. It is of singular use in raising the knap upon woollencloth. For this purpose, the heads are fixed round the circum-ference of a large broad wheel, which is made to turn round, andthe cloth is held against them. In the west of England, greatquantities of the plant are cultivated for this use. It is propagatedby sowing the seeds in March, upon a well prepared soil. Aboutone peek of seed is sufficient for an acre, as the plants must haveroom to grow ; otherwise the heads will not be large enough, norin great quantity.

DIPTEHA, [from It;, and ott^ov, ttn/ig,] in entomology, anorder of insects, which have only two wings, and under each winga style or oblong body, terminated by a protuberance, and calleda balancer.

DIPTYCH, or DIPTYCIIA, in antiquity, was a public re-gister, wherein were written the names of the consuls, and othermagistrates, among the heathens; and of bishops, and living aswill as dead brethren, among the Christians. The word isGreek.

the plural ot Sixrv%m, q. d. a book folded in two leaves;though there were some in three, and others in four, or five leaves. .

DIPTERYX, in botany, a genus of the diadelphia decandriaclass and order; natural order, Papilionaceae , or Leguminosse.Calyx two, upper segments winged; legume ovate, compressed,one-seeded, j here are two species, viz. D. odorata, Coumarou-na, and D. oppositifolia, Taralea, both tall trees; about sixty feethigh ; very much branched at top; f he leaves are large, alternate,and pinnate, natives of South America . w '

DIPUS,