CHI 



L 86 J 



C H I 



Anoplotherium and the Peccaryv 

 Bucldand. 



The remains of the cheropota- 

 mus have been found in the 

 gypsum of Paris, and in the eocene 

 limestone of the Isle of Wight. 

 From an examination of these, 

 Cuvier considered that this genus 

 more nearly approximated to the 

 genus porous than the anoplo- 

 therium or palseotherium, and yet 

 did not resemble the living swine. 

 In no other part of Great Britain 

 but in the Isle of Wight, has any 

 portion of the cheropotamus been 

 found. 



CHEST. (Dr. Johnson deduces chert 

 from quartz.) A variety of horn- 

 stone. Chert is also, by some, 

 called horn-stone. A siliceous stone, 

 resembling flint, but less splintery 

 in the fracture, and fusible ; which 

 latter property is probably owing 

 to some admixture of calcareous 

 matter. A gradual passage from 

 chert to limestone is not uncommon. 

 Although the words flint and chert 

 are frequently used indiscriminate- 

 ly, they are not to be regarded as 

 synonymous. Chert is not gene- 

 rally to be found in distinct 

 globular masses as flint is, but 

 rather in continuous layers, sepa- 

 rating thicker strata of rocks. 



CHIA'STOLITE. (from ^taa^, decussa- 

 tionis for mam halens, and X/009.) 

 A mineral whose crystals are 

 arranged in four-sided nearly rec- 

 tangular prisms, presenting a black 

 cross in their transverse section : 

 it has obtained its name from being 

 marked with the form of an X, in 

 dark lines, visible on the summits 

 of the crystals. Its constituent 

 parts are, silica 60-49, alumina 

 30-17, magnesia 4-12, oxide of 

 iron 2-7, water 0.27. It is the 

 Holspath of Werner, and the Made 

 of Haiiy. It is found in Cumber- 

 land and Argyleshire, occurring in 

 clay-slate. 



CHIASTOLI'TIC. Composed of chias- 

 tolitej containing chiastolite. A 

 mass of chiastolitic and hornblendic 

 slates forms the base of the clay- 

 slate system of Cumberland. 

 CHILA'GNATHA. An order of the class 



Myriapoda, which see. 

 CHILO'PODA. An order of the class 

 Myriapoda, the centipede is an 

 example. 



CHIM^'EA. (from x^/>, Or.) A 

 genus of animals, placed in Cuvier's 

 arrangement in the order Sturiones, 

 or Chondropterygii Branchiis Libe- 

 ris, class Pisces. Professor Buck- 

 land observes, " The Chimaera is 

 one of the most remarkable among 

 living fishes, as a link in the 

 family of Chondropterygians ; and 

 the discovery of a similar link, in 

 the geological epochs of the oolitic 

 and cretaceous formations, shows 

 that the duration of this curious 

 genus has extended through a 

 greater range of geological epochs, 

 than that of any other genus of 

 fishes yet ascertained by Professor 

 Agassiz. The jaws of four extinct 

 species of fossil fishes of the genus 

 Chimeera have been discovered, and 

 Dr. Mantell states that the jaw, 

 or mandible, of a Chimera, has been 

 found in the Kentish Eag. The 

 only known species is the Chimsera 

 monstrosa, or Arctic chimera, two 

 or three feet in length, of a silvery 

 colour, and spotted with brown. 

 This species has the first ray of the 

 dorsal fin enlarged into a strong 

 bony spine, armed with sharp hooks, 

 and placed over the pectorals ; like 

 the Icthyodorulite of the earliest 

 fossil sharks. ' It produces large 

 coriaceous eggs with flattened and 

 hairy borders. 



CHINA CLAY. Called also porcelain 

 earth. The name given to disin- 

 tegrated protogine ; decomposed 

 granite. A clay found in some 

 parts of Cornwall, in pits of the 

 depth, sometimes, of twenty feet. 

 This clay when first raised from 



