156 



CHENOPODIACE^l 



CHEBASCO 



It passed into the hands of the Condes, and after- 

 wards of Madame Dupin, widow of a fermier 

 general, who here was visited by Montesquieu, 

 Bolingbroke, Voltaire, Rousseau, Buffon, and 

 others. The castle is in excellent preservation ; 

 it possesses a fine chapel, a theatre, and memorials 

 of its former occupants in furniture, personal relics, 

 ciphers, and a collection of portraits. 



ChenopOdiaeea3, an order of apetalous dicoty- 

 ledons usually regarded as reduced types of Cary- 

 ophyllaceae, and closely related to Amaranthacese, 

 with which some include them as Oleracese. They 

 are herbaceous or half-shrubby plants, with simple, 

 alternate, exstipulate leaves, and inconspicuous 

 flowers, hermaphrodite or unisexual, usually wind- 

 fertilised. There are about 500 species, mostly 

 wood-like, and growing in waste places. They are 

 widely diffused over the world, particularly northern 

 Europe and Asia. Beet and spinach are among the 

 best known and most useful plants of the order, 

 but many others are occasionally used as pot-herbs, 

 as some species of Chenopodium, Orache (q.v. ), &c. 

 The fruit of Strawberry Elite (Blitum capitatutn 

 and B. virgatum), a common weed in the south of 

 Europe and the colder parts of North America, 

 has a sweetish, insipid taste, and some resem- 

 blance to a strawberry, from the coherence of 

 the fleshy perianths or a whole head of flowers. 

 The seed of Quinoa (q.v.) is used for food as a kind 

 of grain. Some are aromatic ( see CHENOPODIUM ). 

 Some inhabit salt-marshes, and abound in soda. 

 See SALTWORT. 



Chenopodium, a genus of Chenopodiacese, of 

 which some of the common species are well known 

 by the name of Goosefoot, as weeds growing in 

 gardens, on heaps of rubbish, and in waste places. 

 The species are mostly annuals, with entire or 

 toothed leaves, often with a sort of mealy hoari- 

 ness, and are widely distributed, or becoming 

 naturalised in all climates. The leaves of many 

 species are used as a substitute for spinach, particu- 

 larly those of the Good Harry, Wild Spinach, All- 

 good, or English Mercury (C. bonus-Henricus), a 

 common wayside perennial, which is still some- 

 times cultivated ; the young shoots are also used 

 as asparagus. C. intermedium, C. album, &c., 

 annuals, common in waste places, are also excellent 

 substitutes for spinach. C. Vulvaria (Stinking 

 Goosefoot), an annual with an odour compared to 

 that of stale salt fish, growing in waste places, 

 especially near the sea, was formerly in popular 

 repute as an antispasmodic and emmenagogue. 

 C. purpurascens (Atriplex) is a handsome annual 

 introduced from China. C. Botrys, a native of the 

 south of Europe, with pinnatifid leaves resembling 

 those of the oak, and hence called Jerusalem Oak, 

 is in use as an expectorant and anthelmintic. It is 

 agreeably fragrant. C. ambrosioides has a strong 

 aromatic odour, is used in Mexico instead of tea, 

 and is occasionally cultivated in France, an infusion 

 of it being deemed useful in nervous disorders. The 

 closely allied C. anthelminticum, the Wormseed 

 of the United States, has a strong and somewhat 

 aromatic odour, and a high reputation as a vermi- 

 fuge, due to the presence of an essential oil. More 

 important than any of the species, as affording a 

 principal article of food in the countries of which 

 it is a native, is Quinoa ( q. v. ). 



Cheops ( a Grecised form of Khufu ) was a king 

 of Memphis in Egypt, belonging to the fourth 

 dynasty, famous as the builder of the largest of the 

 existing pyramids. The date usually assigned to 

 him is about 3000 B.C. His successor was his 

 brother Chephren (Khafra), who built the next 

 largest pyramid. See EGYPT, PYRAMID. 



Chepstow, a river-port of Monmouthshire, a 

 sub-port to Gloucester, on the right bank of the 



Wye, 2J miles from its influx to the Severn 

 estuary, and 17 ENE. of Newport. It lies- 

 between bold cliffs, on a slope rising from the 

 river, in the midst of exquisite scenery. Its 

 noble ruined castle, later chiefly than the 12th 

 century, stood two sieges during the great Re- 

 bellion, and has been held successively by Fitz- 

 Osbornes, Clares, Bigods, Herberts, and Somersets. 

 The railway crosses the Wye by Brunei's tubular 

 suspension bridge (1852), 600 feet long, and 50 

 above high-water, the principal span being 300 feet 

 long. Here occurs the highest tide in the British 

 Islands ; though the accounts of it have been fre- 

 quently exaggerated. In January 1846 it rose 47 

 feet above low- water mark, but this level, though 

 often approached, is not known to have been 

 exceeded. Pop. (1851) 4295; (1891) 3378. See 

 Fitchett Marsh, Annals of Chepstow Castle ( 1883). 



Cheque is a money order on a banker, payable 

 on demand. It is really a Bill of Exchange (q.v.), 

 and is subject to the provisions of the Act of 1882, 

 which contains special clauses relating to cheques. 

 If it is not presented within a reasonable time, the 

 drawer is discharged should the banker fail, but the 

 holder can claim against the banker's estate. The 

 banker bears the risk of the forgery of the drawer'^ 

 signature, but is not responsible for a forged 

 indorsement. A cheque is held as payment of a 

 debt until dishonoured on presentation ; it is not 

 payable after the drawer's death or bankruptcy. 



A crossed cheque is an ordinary cheque with two 

 transverse lines drawn across it, which have the 

 effect of making it payable only through a banker. 

 When a particular banker's name is written be- 

 tween the lines, the cheque is said to be specially 

 crossed, and is only payable to the banker whose 

 name it bears. Wanting a particular name, or 

 with the words '& Co.,' it is said to be generally 

 crossed, and is payable through any banker. An 

 ordinary cheque may be crossed either generally 

 or specially by the holder. The crossing is a. 

 material part of the cheque, and may not be 

 obliterated or altered, except as provided by the 

 Bills of Exchange Act, 1882. 



In the United States a cheque is not a bill of 

 exchange, though it has many of its properties. 

 It is not a legal tender, nor is it a payment of 

 debt till honoured at the bank. It has no days of 

 grace, and is due only after presentation. The 

 bank is responsible for paving a forged cheque, 

 and is liable for wrongfully dishonouring it. 



Cher, a French river, flowing 200 miles north- 

 ward and north-westward till it falls into the 

 Loire below Tours. It is navigable from Vierzon. 

 CHER, to which the river gives its name, is the 

 central department of France. The surface con- 

 sists of plain and well-wooded hills (1600 feet), 

 and produces corn, fruits, wine, hemp, flax, &c. 

 The climate is mild and pleasant, except in the 

 swampy district in the north, which has, however, 

 been largely drained in late years. Agriculture, 

 sheep and cattle rearing, and bee-keeping, give 

 employment to many. The rivers abound in fish, 

 and wolves are still sometimes seen. Education 

 is backward, nearly two-thirds of the people being 

 unable to read or write. Area, 2770 sq. m. ; pop. 

 (1872) 335,392; (1886) 355,349; (1891) 359,276. 

 Bourges is the chief town. 



CherasCO, a walled town in the province of 

 Cuneo, North Italy, 37 miles SSE. of Turin by 

 rail. Pop. 3341. In the middle ages Cherasco was 

 one of the chief fortresses of North Italy, but 

 its works were destroyed by the French in 1801. 

 A peace was concluded here between Louis XIII. of 

 France and the Duke of Savoy in 1631, and another 

 between the Sardinian commissioners and Napoleon 

 in 1796. 



