(Lat. dux), a sovereign prince, without the title or quality of king. Some sovereigns have the title of grand duke, as the Grand Duke of Tuscany and the Grand Duke of Muscovy. The title of grand duke belongs to the heir-apparent of Russia; and the title of archduke is given to all the sons of the house of Austria, and that of archduchess to all the daughters.

Duke is also a title of honour or nobility, the next below that of prince.

The word dux is derived, a ducendo, from leading or commanding. The first Roman duces were the dotores exercituum, leaders or commanders of armies. Under the later emperors, the governors of provinces in time of war were entitled duces. The same denomination was afterwards also given to the governors of provinces in time of peace. The Goths and Vandals, upon their overrunning the provinces of the Western empire, abolished the Roman dignities wherever they settled; but the Franks, in order to humour the Gauls, who had long been used to that form of government, made it a point of policy not to make any change in these matters; and accordingly they divided all Gaul into duchies and counties, giving to the governors of these sometimes the names of dukes, and sometimes that of counts, or comites.

In England, during the Saxon times, Camden observes, the officers and commanders of armies were designated in the ancient Roman manner, without any addition; but after the Norman Conquest the title was disused. The order of duke in England is not of older date than the eleventh year (1335) of the reign of Edward III., who created his son Edward the Black Prince first Duke of Cornwall; a title which has ever since been the peculiar inheritance of the king's eldest son during the lifetime of his father, so that he is dux natu, non creatu. Subsequently several more dukes were created. In the reign of Queen Elizabeth, however, that is, in 1572, the order became utterly extinct; but it was revived in 1627 by her successor in the person of George Villiers, duke of Buckingham.

Though the French retained the names and forms of the ducal government, yet under their second race of kings there was scarcely any such dignity as that of duke. All the great lords were called counts, peers, or barons; excepting, however, the Dukes of Burgundy and Aquitaine, and the Duke of France, which was a dignity held by Hugh Capet himself, and corresponded to the modern dignity of DUMFRIESSHIRE

Dumfries, the county town, is situated on the river Nith, about 15 miles from the sea-coast. It is a market-town, and has a population of about 4000. The chief industry is the manufacture of woollens.

DUMFRIES AND GALLOWAY

Dumfries and Galloway is a county in Scotland, situated between N. Lat. 55° 53' and 56° 25', and between W. Long. 3° 55' and 4° 53'. It consists of two districts, which are six miles distant from each other, and are separated by part of Lanarkshire. The western and larger district is about 35 miles long from N.W. to S.E., and 15 broad. It is bounded N. by Perthshire; W. by Argyllshire, from which it is separated by Loch Long; S. and S.W. by the river Clyde and Lanarkshire; and E. by Stirlingshire. The eastern district, which is about 12 miles in length from E. to W., and 4 in breadth from N. to S., is completely inclosed by the counties of Stirling and Lanark. The whole county contains 297 square miles, or 189,844 statute acres. It is divided into twelve parishes, of which there are only two in the eastern district, viz., Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld. This last belonged to Stirlingshire, till the Earl of Wigton, whose property it was, became heritable sheriff of Dumbartonshire, and annexed it to this county.

The climate is on the whole salubrious, but much more humid than in many parts of Scotland. The prevailing winds are from the west and south-west, but easterly winds are frequent in the spring months. Frosts are seldom severe, and, except on the mountains, snow never lies long. The soils of the lower grounds are schistose clay mixed with small stones, rich black loam on the banks of the Clyde, and gravelly soil on the river Leven. About two-thirds of the county are hilly or mountainous. The most elevated portions are in the W. and N.W.; while in the S.E. is a generally flat district, watered by the Kelvin. Benvoitch, in the N., attains an elevation of 3330 feet, and several other hills rise to a height of 3000 feet.

Coal, iron-ore, limestone, freestone, and slate, are its most valuable mineral productions. There are pits for working coals at Langfauld and Lawmuir in East Kilpatrick; and at Dunrachter in West Kilpatrick, where great quantities are raised for the consumption of the cotton factories at Dunrachter, and for calcining lime at the neighbouring lime works. Ironstone is found in considerable quantities in connection with limestone in the parishes of Kirkintilloch and Cumbernauld.

Limestone is found in the higher grounds at Kilpatrick, Dumbarton, and Row. It is wrought, in connection with coal, at Langfauld, Lawmuir, and Dunrachter; and also at Row, Netherwood, and Cumbernauld.

Several slate quarries have been wrought with success at Luss, Camstradden, and Roseneath.

The only river of any note which can be said to belong to this county is the Leven, the outlet of Loch Lomond, which, flowing for about five miles through a fine valley, joins the Clyde at Dumbarton Castle. Its waters, which are singularly pure and soft, are well adapted for bleaching and printing cottons, branches of trade which are established to a great extent along its course. The other streams are the Falloch, Inveruglas, and Douglas. The Clyde, Endrick, and Kelvin, flow along its borders. Loch Long and Gare Loch are arms of the sea, the first of which separates this county from Argyllshire; and the other, penetrating the land for about seven miles, nearly detaches the peninsula of Rosemuth from the mainland. Additional water-carriage is provided by the Forth and Clyde Canal, which passes through the county for more than 16 miles. This canal is carried over the valley of the Kelvin by an aqueduct. The only remarkable lake is Loch Lomond, which is about 21 miles long, and in its greatest breadth towards the south above 7. It narrows to about one mile at its north end. About two-thirds of the shore, and most of its islands (thirty in all), are in Dumbartonshire; the rest belong to Stirlingshire. It is probably not to be equalled by any lake in Britain for the variety and magnificence of its scenery; the picturesque beauty of its wooded banks and islands affording a striking contrast to the rugged and lofty mountains that rise in its vicinity. It has an area of about 40 square miles.

The valued rent of the county in 1674 was £3,327 Scots. The annual value of real property, as assessed in 1815, was £71,587; and in 1849 was £150,122. The principal gentlemen's seats are—Rossdun, Sir James Colquhoun; Rosemuth and Ardincaple, Duke of Argyle; Buchanan, Duke of Montrose; Gartcubre, Sir James Campbell.

The county sends one member to parliament. The parliamentary constituency in 1853 was 1297.

The arable lands of Dumbartonshire are divided into farms ranging in extent from 30 to 300 acres, and some of them comprise as many as 700 or 800 acres. Of late years great improvements have been made in agriculture, and in the breed of all kinds of stock. The rotation of crops is almost universally practised. Wheat, oats, potatoes, and barley, constitute the principal crops. Leases are held generally for nineteen years. The dairy stock is principally of the Ayrshire breed, and much progress has of late been made in this department. Great improvements have also been introduced in the construction of farm-buildings, and in the fences of the land.

There are in this county many excellent tracts of pasture land. Sheep of the black-faced breed, and a limited number of black cattle, are reared with great success. The sheep are disposed of in Glasgow, where there is a weekly sale; and great numbers of cattle are sold at the Carman market, for the purpose of being fattened on the rich pastures of the south. In the highland district, farms for grazing are necessarily of great extent. But it is not uncommon for fishermen and mechanics to hold pendicles, or "poles," as they are called, below £12 of rent; and the cottars, who are usually employed as labourers on the larger farms, rent small patches of arable ground for raising potatoes, with hill pasture for a cow.

The woods and plantations of this county are extensive and valuable, and yield to the proprietors a yearly income almost equal to the rent of the arable lands. On spots unfavourable to oak, the coppice woods consist of ash, yew, holly, mountain-ash, birch, hazel, aspen, alder, crab, thorn, and willow. The soil and climate of this county are particularly favourable to plantations, which begin to make a return to their owner in ten or twelve years, and in thirty years afford supplies to the carpenter. The most extensive plantations are on the estates of Luss and Bonhill. There is a very fine ash in Bonhill churchyard, the branches of which cover an area 100 feet in diameter. Its trunk is about 9 feet high, the smallest diameter is 6 feet, and its three principal branches are from 10 to 12 feet in circumference. On the banks and islands of Loch Lomond there is a considerable number of yew trees, some of them of great size.

The manufactures of this county are various and extensive. There are extensive cotton factories at Duntocher; there are paper-mills at Dalnair; two extensive ship-building yards and two glass manufactories at Dumbarton; and along the course of the Leven are numerous print-works and bleach-fields. Throughout the county the number of persons engaged in the cotton manufacture in 1851 was 4071; in calico-printing, 2581; in the manufacture of paper, 165; in the coal mines, 549; while the number of persons engaged in agriculture amounted to about 4000. The census returns since 1801 give the following results in regard to the population:

| Year | Males | Females | Total | |------|-------|---------|-------| | 1801 | 9,756 | 10,914 | 20,710| | 1811 | 11,359| 12,829 | 24,189| | 1821 | 13,046| 14,271 | 27,317| | 1831 | 16,321| 16,890 | 33,211| | 1841 | 22,542| 21,754 | 44,296| | 1851 | 22,400| 22,763 | 45,163|