1013 



CHERLERIA. 



CHIMONANTHUS. 



1014 



by the people of the western parts of South America, and is very like 

 the Custard Apple of the West Indies. [ANONA.] It is a tree about 

 12 feet high ; the leaves are oval, pointed at both ends ; the flowers 

 solitary, very fragrant, of a greenish-white colour, and the fruit some- 

 what heart-shaped, with a scaly appearance on the outside : when 

 ripe it is grayish-brown, or black. The flesh is white and sweet, 

 mixed with several seeds of the colour of coffee. The Creoles think 

 this fruit the best of the country. Baron Humboldt speaks of it in 

 terms of high praise, and his account is completely confirmed by the 

 testimony of many officers who have been in the South American 

 service ; but Feuille'e says, one European pear or plum is worth all the 

 Cherimoyers of Peru. 



CHERLE'RIA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 CaryophyUaceoe. It hasa sepals, 5 petals (sometimes absent), 10 stamens, 

 the outer ones opposite to the sepals, springing from an oblong emargi- 

 nate glandular base, 3 styles, a 3-valved capsule. There is only one 

 species which is a native of Great Britain. It was called by Linnaeus 

 C. sedoides. The petals are very generally wanting, the flowers are 

 solitary on short stalks. The stems are numerous, forming a dense 

 mass close to the ground. The leaves are very numerous, linear- 

 subulate, and finely ciliated. It\ is found on the summits of the 

 mountains of Scotland. 



CHERRY, the fruit of the various species of Cerasus. [CERASUS.] 

 Like most of the fruits yielded by the natural order Amyydalacecc, it 

 is characterised by the hardness of its endocarp, hence this part is 

 often called the stone. This hard part is often used for ornamental 

 carving, specimens of which may be seen in the museum of the 

 Royal Gardens at Kew. For the varieties of Cherry, and the culture 

 of the tree, see CHERRY, in ARTS AND So. Div. 



CHERRY-LAURELS. [CERASCS.] 



CHERRY-TREES. [CERASUS.] 



CHER.SIANS. [CHELONIA.] 



CHERT, a variety of quartz being a kind of granular Chalcedony. 

 It i a transition from the smoother forms of Quartz to Hornstone. 

 [AGATE.] 



CHERVIL, a culinary vegetable, the Anthriicui Ctrefolium [Au- 

 THRISCCS] of botanists. It is an annual, and a native of the south of 

 Europe. Its leaves have a slight aromatic taste, and are used in soups 

 and salads. It is little cultivated. 



CHESTNUT, BUCK'S-EYE. [PAVIA.] 



CHESTNUT, HORSE. [^SCULPS.] 



CHESTNUT, SWEET. [CASTANEA.] 



CHIASTOLITE is a name given to a variety of Andalutite. [AsDA- 

 LITSITE.] It is also called Made. [MACLE.] 



CHICA. [BioxosiA.] 



CHICHA. [STERCULIA.] 



i HICK-PEA. [CICER.] 



CHICKRASSIA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Cedrelacae. C. tabularit is said to be a powerful astringent. 



CHICKWEED, a common annual, with soft light-green opposite 

 ovate leaves, a brittle stem, and minute white petals, almost split into 

 two parts. It and groundsel are two plants which are to be found in 

 flower on any day in the year. Botanists name it Slellaria media. 

 [STKI.I.ARIA.] 



CHICORY. [CICHORIUM.] 



CHIFF-CHAFF. [SYLVIA.] 



CHIGOE. [PuLEX.] 



CHILDREN ITE, a Mineral found in Derbyshire. It occurs in 

 minute yellowish-brown crystals, coating spathic iron. It is supposed 

 to consist of phosphoric acid, alumina, and iron. 



CHIblNA, a genus of Testaceous Mollusks, separated by Dr. J. E. 

 Gray from Auricula, and including Auricula Dombetana of Lamarck, 

 and Auricula Jluriatilit of Lesson. Locality, South America, in 

 fresh-water streams, with most of the habits of the Limntac. 



CHILLIES. [CAPSICUM.] 



CHILLINGHAM CATTLE. [Bovine] 



CHILO'GNATHA (Latreille), au order of Insects belonging to the 

 class Myriapoda. It has the following characters : Body generally 

 cylindrical, and consisting of numerous crustaceous rings or segments ; 

 the head is furnished with two short 7-jointed antennae, and two 

 mandibles ; the horny substance of the mandibles does not continue 

 uninterruptedly from the base to the apex, but is divided in the middle 

 no that the upper part is, as it were, hinged to the lower by a tough 

 membrane ; they are covered above by the fore part of the head, 

 which forms a kind of upper lip, and beneath by an under lip ; this 

 last part is divided externally into four portions by three sutures ; 

 the two central portions are narrower than the outer ones, and spring 

 from a plate of a semicircular shape ; the apex of the under lip is fur- 

 nished with several large tubercles. The first segment of the body, 

 or that next the head, is considerably larger than the following seg- 

 ments. The legs are short, very numerous, and. terminated by a 

 simple hook ; the anterior segments of the body are some of them 

 unprovided with legs, and others have a single pair each ; the remain- 

 ing segments (with the exception of the last two or three) commencing 

 from the fourth, fifth, or sixth from the head, are each furnished with 

 two pairs of legs. The sexual organs of the male are situated behind 

 the seventh pair of legs, and those of the female behind the second 

 pair. The respiratory orifices are situated on the sternal part of each 



segment of the body; they communicate internally with a double 

 series of pneumatic sacs which extend the whole length of the body, 

 and from which the tracheal branches spring and spread over the 

 other organs ; these sacs are not connected with each other, as is 

 usually the case, by a principal trachea. A series of pores on each 

 side of the body have been mistaken for the stigmata, but their 

 orifices give vent to an acid liquid secretion which has a very disa- 

 greeable odour, and probably serves as a means of defence. 



The Chilognathas crawl slowly, and appear to glide over the ground, 

 and when touched they will roll themselves up spirally. They feed 

 upon decaying animal and vegetable substances. The genus lulus of 

 Linnaeus [lULUs] included all the species of this order known in his 

 time. It now embraces several genera and upwards of seventy species. 

 [MYRIAPODA.] 



CHILO'PODA (Latreille), an order of Insects belonging to the 

 class Myriapoda. This family is synonymous with the order Syn- 

 gnatha (Leach), and the genus Scolopendra of Linnteus. The characters 

 are : Antennas thick at the base, and gradually growing slenderto wards 

 the apex, composed of fourteen or more joints ; the mouth consists of 

 two mandibles, which are furnished with a palpiform process, and 

 provided at the apex with numerous little denticulations ; covering 

 these is an upper lip and an under lip ; the latter is composed of four 

 distinct portions, of which the two outer parts are the largest, and 

 transversely jointed ; above this part (viewing the head from beneath) 

 are two palpi, which resemble legs in being terminated by a pointed 

 claw : covering this under lip, there is a second lip, an organ furnished 

 with two lateral processes, each of which is terminated by a large bent 

 claw, which is said to be perforated beneath by a hole through which 

 a poisonous liquid is ejected. 



The body is depressed, composed of numerous segments, which are 

 covered above and beneath with plates of a horny substance, and each 

 segment is generally furnished with a pair of legs ; the last pair are 

 thrown back. The sexual organs are placed at the posterior extre- 

 mity of the body. The organs of respiration consist wholly or partly 

 of tubular trachea;. The stigmata are placed on the sides of the 

 body. 



These insects are carnivorous, and crawl about by night. Most of 

 them are very active in their movements, and some emit a phosphoric 

 light. They conceal themselves under stones and fallen trees, and are 

 all found in rotten wood. In hot climates some of the species grow 

 to an immense size (especially those of the genus Scolopendra, as it is 

 now restricted), and, owing to their venomous bite, are much dreaded 

 by the inhabitants of those parts. 



The animals commonly known by the name of Centipedes belong 

 to this family. [SCOLOPENDRA.] 



The species of this order have been recently greatly increased. It 

 now embraces nearly a hundred species, [MYRIAPODA.] 



CHIMJE'RA, a genus of Cartilaginous Fishes allied to the Sturgeon 

 and Shark sections. [STORIONID^.] One species, C. monstrosa, inha- 

 bits the British seas, and is known by the names of the King of the 

 Herrings, the Rabbit-Fish, and Sea-Monster. 



CHIM^ERID^E, a family of Fishes between the Sharks and the 

 Sturgeons, to which is referred the anomalous genus Chimcera, 



CHIMA'PHILA, a genus of plants belonging to the natural order 

 Pyrolaceee. C. corymboia (Pursh), the Pyrola umbellata of Linnaeus, 

 the Corymbose Wintergreen, is a small evergreen woody plant, com- 

 mon in the pine-forests of the north of Europe, also found in Asia 

 and in North America, to the Indian inhabitants of which its virtues 

 have been long known. The leaves possess diuretic properties joined 

 to a tonic power, and they impart strength and comfort to the stomach 

 while they increase the action of the kidneys. Applied externally, 

 they cause redness and vesication of the skin. Chemical analysis 

 shows them to consist of tannin, resin, and an acrid extractive. The 

 taste is at first sweet, afterwards bitter. Their tonic and diuretic 

 properties render them valuable remedial agents in dropsies, espe- 

 cially such as follow acute diseases. They have also been given 

 advantageously in intermittent and even typhus fever. Dr. Chapman 

 ascribes a diaphoretic power to them. Infusion, decoction, and 

 extract are the fortes in which they have been given : decoction is 

 preferable, of which some ounces may be given repeatedly during 

 the day. 



CHIMONA'NTHUS, a genus of plants belonging to the natural 

 order Calycanthacece. The species or rather varieties of this genus 

 are called in the gardens Japan Allspice. They are deciduous plants, 

 with opposite pale-green sharp-pointed rather rough leaves, of an 

 ovate-lanceolate figure. About the end of November these fall from 

 the bushes, and are succeeded by the flowers, which appear at Christ- 

 mas-time upon the naked branches. They consist of an inferior calyx, 

 formed of a considerable number of roundish scale-like sepals, the 

 outermost of which are pale brown, the innermost semi-transparent, 

 with some tinge of yellow. The petals are yellowish ovate leaves, 

 stained with chocolate red veins, and surrounding a small number of 

 stamens. The fruit is a bright-brown leathery calyx-tube, inclosing 

 three or four oblong bright-brown polished nuts. There is probably 

 no plant more deliciously fragrant than this, orange flowers and violets 

 not excepted. The plant is quite hardy if protected a little by a wall 

 or by palings. The only species is C. fragran. Of this three varieties 



