CHERSON. 



CHESHIRE. 



Thunder torm of trameodoo* i 



xw KBHtaam occur. The nighU 



aregenerallycooL The winter U very cold: mo*tof therivenfreeMOvw, 

 though but for a short time ; and not always *o much as to bear a man. 

 The ground, when by great Ubour it U cleared of the rooU of the 

 mm, and when the aaltpetre, which generally appear* when the *nr- 

 face i* bare of vegetation, U got rid of, will produce from ten to twenty 

 fold. But the inhabitant* dislike agriculture, and prefer the breeding 

 of cattle, ao that they new mix corn enough for their own consump- 

 tion. Almost every two year* warm, of locusU deaolate the country, 

 but they seldom come farther than Chenon, about seventy miles up 

 the Dnieper. Hemp and flax are grown for domestic consumption. 

 Tobacco, muitard, and saffron are articles of commerce. There are 

 several Tiriotio* of the Tine. The bank* of the river*, especially of 

 the Dnieper, are covered with strong reeds, which are used both for 

 thatch and for fuel Of tame animal* the most common is the sheep. 

 The wool of the native breed is rather coarse, but great number* of 

 Merino* have been lately imported. Oxen and buffaloes are numerous, 

 and used for draught ; the hone* (of which many are wild) are slight, 

 but very spirited and swift-footed. Wild animal* of all kind* abound, 

 specially wolves and wild-cats. The field* are covered with bustards, 

 gray partridge*, ortolan*, snipes, Ac. Beside* locust* the country is 

 infested by large rat*, which come from Taurida. There are great 

 number* of water and other snakes, acolopeudnc, whose bite is as 

 venomous a* that of the tarantula, incredible numbers of lizards, 

 and (warms of gnat*. The fisheries on the sea-coast and in rivers are 

 very important The minerals are fine potter's clay, freestone, slate, 

 chalk, talc, saltpetre, agates, and garnet*. The manufactures are of 

 little importance ; the chief are carried on at Odessa. The province 

 is happily situated for trade. The foreign commerce of the country, 

 which is very important and rapidly increasing, will be best described 

 under Odessa, which, though founded only in 1796 by the Duke of 

 Richelieu, is now the staple place for the commerce of all Southern 

 Ruwia. [ODBBA.] 



The other towns which require notice here are Nikolajeff, Eliza- 

 betgrad or Elizavetgrad, and Cherson. Nikolajtff, population about 

 12,000 exclusive of the suburbs, is situated near the confluence of 

 the rivers Bug and Ingul. These riven by their junction below the 

 town form a spacious awtuary, in which the Russian Black Sea fleet 

 usually rendezvous during winter. The town covers an extensive 

 area, the house* being in general only one story high, with large 

 plot* of ground attached to each dwelling, and the streets being 

 of great width. There are here extensive dockyards, with improved 

 ship-building machinery, nearly all of which is English ; an observa- 

 tory, the governor's house, and barracks for seamen. The Boulevard 

 near the river is covered with shrubbery to the river's brink. 

 Nikolajeff was founded in 1790, and is inclosed by walls. The chief 

 buildings in the town are the cathedral, the town-hall, the admiralty- 

 house, with museums and library, schools for pilots and for the 

 daughters of soldiers, and several hospitals. Eliiabetgrad, or Eliza- 

 rctgrad, population about 10,000, the chief town of the circle of the 

 same name, is situated in a beautiful plain on the banks of the river 

 Ingul, about 130 miles N. from Cherson. The town which was built 

 in 1754 is hexagonal in shape, and is defended by six bastions. 

 Besides a large arsenal within the walls of the town, there are four 

 suburbs. The whole is regularly built ; the streets are straight, and 

 of considerable width, and are planted with avenues of tree*. In 

 the town are five churches, a large hospital, and numerous maga- 

 zines. Many of the inhabitants are of Greek or Servian origin, but 

 the majority are Rostolnicks, who observe the rites of the primitive 

 Russo-Cireek Church. Much traffic is carried on in the produce of 

 the surrounding districts. There is considerable commercial inter- 

 course with Poland and Moldavia. An annual fair, the largest in 

 the province of Cherson, is held at Elizmbetgrad, and is attended by 

 many thousand dealer*. Upwards of 30 windmills are in the vicinity 

 of the town. Elizabetgrad is the head-quarters of the military 

 colonies on the east side of the river Bug, and has therefore the 

 constant pretence of numerous cavalry. Chenon, founded in 1778, is 

 on the right bank of the Li man, or scstuary of the Dnieper, which is 

 her* nearly four miles wide, when it* numerous shoals are covered 

 with water. The want of sufficient depth of water for the constant 

 passage of Urge ship* ha* frustrated the object contemplated in 

 founding this place. It is now a town of little importance, with a 

 comparatively small number of inhabitants. The cathedral contains 

 the tomb of Potemkin, the founder of the town. The small amount 

 of trade carried on in the town is in the hand* of the Greeks, who 

 inhal.it the Greek suburb. One of the adjacent village*, called 

 Dauphigny, contains a monument erected in honour of John Howard, 

 who died here in 1790. 



The inhabitant* of the province of Chenon consist of Great Russians, 



Little KuMiians (among whom are many Cowaks), Pole*, Moldavians, 

 , Bulgarian*, Tartar*, Greek*, Armenian*, 



., and Jew*, all settled; 



even the Co**ak* of the Bug have renounced their nomadic life, follow 

 i, and have fixed habitations. There are in this government 

 i oolonisU, chiefly German, dispersed in fifty or sixty 



colonies, and possessing in all about 00,000 acre* of land. There are 

 al*o a great many gipsies. The Greek Christians are under the arch 

 bishop of Ekaterinoslaf, Cbenon, and Taurida, who reside* at Eka- 

 torinoslaf, where hi* cathedral is. In Cbenon he has 307 parishes. 



CHERTSEY, Surrey, a market-town and the seat of a Poor-Law 

 Union, in the pariah of Chertaey and second division of Godley 

 hundred, is situated in 61' 24' N. lat, 0' 30' W. long. ; distant 

 13 mile* N. by E, from Ouildford, 20 mile* W.S.W. from London by 

 road, and 22 mile* by the South- Western railway. The population 

 of the town in 1861 was 2743. The living is a vicarage in the arch- 

 deaconry of Surrey and diocese of Winchester. CherUey Poor-Law 

 Union contains 9 pariahe* and township*, with an area of 44,400 

 acre*, and a population in 1851 of 16,118. 



CherUey stands on a slip of low land between the Thames and the 

 brook which issue* from Virginia Water, hence it* Anglo-Saxon name 

 3eorte*-Eye, or Ceort'i Isle. A monastery was founded here in 666 

 [>y Frithwalde, governor or ub-rogu)u* of Surrey, under Wulfherr, 

 king of Mercia. In 964 King Edgar refounded the monastery for 

 Benedictine monks. Subsequently it became a Tory wealthy and 

 powerful establishment. Of the abbey building* scarcely a fragment 

 i* now left 



The parish church, a brick building situated in the centre of the 

 town, was, with the exception of the chancel and tower, rebuilt in 

 1806. There are chapels for Wesleyan Methodists, Independents, and 

 Baptists. An educational foundation, producing about 400t per 

 annum, provides instruction for 130 boys and 130 girls, of whom 30 

 of each sex, belonging to the parish of CherUey, are clothed as well 

 a* educated. There are National schools for boys and girls, an Infant 

 school, a literary and scientific institution, with reading-room and 

 lecture-room, and a savings bank. An agricultural society is 

 maintained here. A county court is held in Chortsey. 



At Chertaey is a stone bridge of seven arches, built in 1785, 

 connecting the county of Surrey with that of Middlesex. The town 

 of Chertsey is irregularly built : the principal street runs east and 

 west ; the street* are paved, and ore lighted with gas. The market- 

 house is modern. The chief trade of the town is in malt and flour ; 

 vegetables are raised in considerable quantities in the vicinity for 

 the supply of the London markets ; bricks are made to some extent. 

 The market is on Wednesday for corn and provisions : it is a con- 

 siderable market for poultry. Fairs are held on the first Monday and 

 Tuesday ill Lent for cattle, on May 14th for sheep, and on August 6th 

 and September 25th. A branch of the South- Western railway, three 

 miles in length, goes to Chertsey from the main line at Weybridge. 

 The Porch House, in Guildford-street, Chertsey, was the residence of 

 the poet Cowley. On St Anne's Hill near the town wan the residence 

 of Charles James Fox. In the church is a tablet, erected by his 

 widow, with an inscription to his memory. 



(Manning, Surrey ; Brayley, Surrey ; Communication from 

 Chertiey.) 



rHKSAPEAKE BAY. [MARYLAND; VIRGINIA.] 



CHESHAM, Buckinghamshire, a market-town in the parish of 

 Chesham St Mary and hundred of Burnham, is situated to the right 

 of the road from London to Aylesbury, in 61 42' N. lat, 87' 

 W. long., distant 12 miles S.E. from Aylesbury, and 20 miles N.W. 

 from London by road. Berkhamstead, which is 5 miles from Chesham, 

 is 28 mile* from Ijondon by the North- Western railway. The popu- 

 lation of the town of Chesham was 2496 in 1851. The living is 

 a vicarage in the archdeaconry of Buckingham and diocese of 

 Oxford. 



Cbcaham ia situated in a pleasant and fertile valley whi.l, i. 

 watered by the river Chess, a branch of the Colne. The parish 

 church is a commodious cruciform building : the chancel, which is 

 the oldest part, is of the decorated style, the remainder is perpen- 

 dicular, of the close of the 14th century. There are chapels for 

 Independents and Baptists; National, British, and Infant schools; 

 and a mechanics institute. An almshouse for four poor person* was 

 endowed by Thomas Wedon, who died in 1624. A county court 

 is held in Chesham. Markets are held on Wednesday and Saturday, 

 and fairs on April 21st, July 22nd, and September 28th. Boots and 

 shoe* are manufactured to a great extent, chiefly for the London 

 market. Wooden ware in great variety is made. The manufacture 

 of straw plait employs a considerable number of females. There is a 

 silk-mill in the town ; and in the neighbourhood are paper-mills. 



(Lysons, Magna liritannia ; Lipscomb, JlucH-inyhaauhire ; Com- 

 munication from Ckukam.) 



CHESHIRE, a county palatine on the west side of England. The 

 name is formed from the ancient city of Chester, and is an abbre- 

 viation of Cheatenihire, formerly written, in Saxon, Centre scyre. 

 The boundary-line is very irregular. On the north-west a tract of 

 a peninsular form is included between the (estuaries of the Mersey 

 and the Dee ; and on the north-east a long narrow tract, containing 

 part of Featherbed Moss and Holme Moss, which belong to the 

 central highlands of England, is included between the Thame and 

 the Ktherow, which by their junction form the Mersey. The county 

 is said by some writers to be " like the wing of an eagle stretched 

 forth at length." (King's ' Vale Royal of Cheshire.') The whole 

 county received the name of Vale Royal of England, from the 

 magnificent abbey so called, which was founded by Edward I. on 

 the Weaver. Cheshire lies between 62 6G' and 53 34' N. hit., 

 1 47' and 8 11' W. long. It* northern boundary is chiefly formed 

 by Lancashire, and partly by Yorkshire and the Irish Sea. The 

 Mersey form* the boundary between Cheshire and Lancashire. On 



