DEE

dee, a river in the south of aberdeenshire, scotland, pursuing a generally easterly direction from its source in the extreme west of the county till it reaches the north sea at the city of aberdeen. it rises in the wells of dee, a spring on ben braeriach, one of the cairngorms, at a height of 4061 ft. above the sea. it descends rapidly from this altitude, and by the time that it receives the geusachan, on its right bank, about 6 m. from its source, it has fallen 2421 ft. from the mountains flanking its upper reaches it is fed by numerous burns named and unnamed. with its tributaries the river drains an area of 1000 sq. m. rapid and turbulent during the first half of its course of 90 m., it broadens appreciably below aboyne and the rate of flow is diminished. the channel towards its mouth was artificially altered in order to provide increased dock accommodation at aberdeen, but, above, the stream is navigable for only barges and small craft for a few miles. it runs through scenery of transcendent beauty, especially in braemar. about two miles above inverey it enters a narrow rocky gorge, 300 yds. long and only a few feet wide at one part, and forms the rapids and cascades of the famous linn of dee. one of the finest of scottish salmon streams, it retains its purity almost to the very end of its run. the principal places on the dee, apart from private residences, are castleton of braemar, ballater, aboyne, kincardine o'neil, banchory, culter and cults. deed (in o. eng. _dead_, from the stem of the verb "to do"), that which is done, an act, doing; particularly, in law, a contract in writing, sealed and delivered by the party bound to the party intended to benefit. contracts or obligations under seal are called in english law _specialties_, and down to 1869 they took precedence in payment over _simple_ contracts, whether written or not. writing, sealing and delivery are all essential to a deed. the signature of the party charged is not material, and the deed is not void for want of a date. delivery, it is held, may be complete without the actual handing over of the deed; it is sufficient if the act of sealing were accompanied by words or acts signifying that the deed was intended to be presently binding; and delivery to a third person for the use of the party benefited will be sufficient. on the other hand, the deed may be handed over to a third person as an _escrow_,[1] in which case it will not take effect as a deed until certain conditions are performed. such conditional delivery may be inferred from the circumstances attending the transaction, although the conditions be not expressed in words. a deed indented, or indenture (so called because written in counterparts on the same sheet of parchment, separated by cutting a wavy line between them so as to be identified by fitting the parts together), is between two or more parties who contract mutually. the actual indentation is not now necessary to an indenture. the _deed-poll_ (with a polled or smooth-cut edge, not indented) is a deed in which one party binds himself without reference to any corresponding obligations undertaken by another party. see contract. footnote: [1] an anglo-french law term meaning a "scroll" or strip of parchment, cognate with the english "shred." the modern french _ecroue_ is used for the entry of a name on a prison register.