Dainty

[W. dantaeth, from dant, a tooth; Lith. dant is; Lat. dens, dent is; Gr. odono, odontos; Goth. tunthus; O. Ger. zant, zand; Sansk. dal a, a tooth, from ad, to eat.] Toothsome; pleasing to the palate; delicious to the taste; as, a dainty dish. -Nice; delicate; of acute sensibility; fine and elegant in form or manner; luxurious. "This is the slowest, yet the daintiest sense."-Davies. -Ceremonious; squeamish; over-nice; scrupulous; as, a dainty speaker. "Let us not be dainty of leave-taking."-Shaks. -n. Something nice or delicate to the taste; that which is exquisitely pleasing to the palate; a delicacy; a tit-bit. Be not desirous of his dainties , for they are deceitful meat." Prov . xxiii. 3. Dair el Ka'mar, a town of Syria, and capital of a community of Druses, 12 m. from Beyrout; pop . 30,000. Dairy, ( da're ,) n. [L. Lat. dayeria , a place for keeping milk; O. Eng. dey , a milk-maid; Swed. and Goth. dag gia, to suckle an infant; Goth. daddjan .] The occupation or department of farming industry pertaining to the making of butter and cheese; as, dairy -produce. -The place, room, or building where milk is set for cream, managed, and converted into butter or cheese. -In the succe ful management of the dairy very much depends upon the quality of the cows, and the food with which they are supplied. The construction of the house where the milk is stored, . is of the highest importance. It should be situated on a dry spot, somewhat elevated, having, if po ible, a northern exposure. A high roof and free ventilation are nece ary; and the proximity to pig-sties, sewers, or offensive smells, must be avoided. Coolne is e ential during the summer, and an equable temperature in the winter. As the milk suffers from being agitated or too much cooled before it is set for the cream to rise, the cow-house should be as near as po ible to the dairy. The milk should be brought direct from the cows, without being exposed to the outer air, if po ible No substances except milk, butter, and newly-made cheese, should ever be allowed to come into a D. The floor and shelves, which are generally of stone or slate, should be carefully washed mediately. Scrupulous cleanline , indeed, is the first rule in all dairies. After being brought into the D. the milk is run into shallow dishes, made of earthenware, tin, or wood. The layer of milk run into each ve el should be shallow, in order to promote the formation of cream. The cream removed at the first skimming is the richest and best. For the methods employed in the D. for converting milk into cheese and butter, see the articles under those heads. Nearly all the manipu- lations of the D. are now done with the aid of machinery. Dai'ry, Dai'ry-farm, n. A farm devoted to the production of dairy produce; gra -land or pasturage for feeding cows. Dairy Grove, in low a , a post-office of Jasper co. Dai'ry-house, n. A house or out-building in which dairy operations are carried on. Dai'rying, n. Operations performed in a dairy. Dairy land, in New York , a post-office of Ulster co. Dai'ry-maid, n. A female servant who manages, or a ists in, a dairy. called respectively North Dakota and South Dakota (q.v.). Dakota, in Ill . , a township of Stephen son county. Dakota, or Dakotah, in Iowa , a post-village, the capital of Humboldt co. Pop . (1897) about 400. Dakota, in Minnesota , an E.S.E. co., area about 550 sq. m. The Mi i ippi river bounds it on the N., as does the St. Peter's, or Minnesota, on the N.W., and the Cannon on the S.E. It is also drained by the Vermillion river. Surface undulating; soil fertile. Cap . Hastings. Pop . (1895) 21,345. -A village of Dakota co., on the Vermillion river, about 24 m. S. of St Paul. -A village of Fill more co., on the Mi i ippi river, about 143 m. S. E. of St. Paul. -A village of Winona co., on the Mi i ippi river, 11 m. above La Cro e, Wisconsin. Dakota, in Nebraska , an extreme N.E. co., bordering on Iowa. Area , about 400 sq. m. The Mi ouri river bounds it on the N. and N.E., and it is also drained by Elk creek. The surface presents a variety of rolling prairie, bottom-lands, and groves of hard timber. Soil, excellent. Cap . Dakota City. Pop . (1890) 5,386. -A post-village, cap. of the above co., on the Mi ouri river, about 95 m. N. by W. of Omaha, generally called DAKOTA CITY. Pop . (1897) abt 500. Da'is, n. [O. Fr. do is ; Fr. dais ; from Lat. discus , a quoit, a dish, so called because shaped like a quoit; L. Lat., a table.) In the common acceptation of the word, D. means the raised flooring at the upper end of a hall, on which the high table stands, and where the most distinguished guests are seated; or the platform on which a throne, or chair of honor, is placed. This also seems to be the meaning of the term when it occurs in the works of old English poets and prose-writers. In France it means the canopy erected over a raised plating ton county. form occupied by the sovereign at any reception or pub- lic ceremonial, as well as the platform itself; and the canopy carried over the sacred wafer when the priests are bearing it to the bedside of a dying man, is so called. Daisied, ( da'zid ,) a. Full of daisies; decked with daisies; as, "the daisied sward;" and, "the prettiest daisied plot." Shaks . Daisy, (da'ze,) n. [A. S. dæges-ege.] ( Bot .) The common name of the genus Bellis , order A ste race a . The common D. , Bellis perennis, native of Europe, but nearly naturalized in some parts of N. England in cultivated grounds, gives flowers almost all the year. In the days of chivalry, it was the emblem of fidelity in love, and was frequently borne at tournaments both by knights and ladies. What are called double varieties, with flowers of various and often brilliant colors, are very commonly cultivated in gardens, the flowers consisting entirely of florets of the ray. A variety called the Hen and-chickens D. , frequent in cottage-gardens, has the flower (head of flowers) surrounded by smaller ones, the short stems of which grow from the summit of the scape or leafle stem.