CHI 
afford a treat, as it opens a new field for 
the display of skill, and teems with tlie 
most ample and interesting varieties. 
CHEVRON, or Ciieveron, in heral- 
dry, one of the honourable ordinaries of a 
shield, representing two rafters of an house, 
joined together as they ought to stand ; it 
was anciently the form of the priestesses’ 
head attire: some say it is a symbol of pro- 
tection ; others, of constancy; others, that 
it represents knights’ spears, &c. It con- 
tains the fifth part of the field. 
A chevron is said to be abased, when its 
point does not approach the head of the 
chief, nor reach farther than the middle of 
the coat ; mutilated, when it does not 
touch the extremes of the coat; cloven, 
when the upper pieces are taken off, so 
that the pieces only touch at one of the 
angles ; broken, when one branch is sepa- 
rated into two pieces ; couched, when the 
point is turned towards one side of the 
escutcheon ; divided, when the branches are 
of several metals, or when metal is opposed 
to colour; inverted, when the point is 
turned towards the point of the coat, and 
its branches towards the chief. 
CHIEF, in heraldry, is that which takes 
up all the upper part of the escutcheon from 
side to side, and represents the ornaments 
used on a man’s head. 
CHILIAD, denotes a thousand of any 
things, ranged in several divisions, each of 
which contains that number. 
CHILIAGON, in geometry, a regular 
plane figure of a thousand sides. 
CHIMdERA, in natural history, a genus 
of fishes of the Linnaean order Chondropte- 
rigious, and, according to Shaw, of the order 
Cartilagenei. Generic character : head 
pointed on the upper part ; mouth placed 
beneath, with the upper lip five-cleft; 
cutting teeth two in front, both above and 
below. There are two species, viz. C. mon- 
strosa or borealis, and C. callorynchus or 
australis. The former is remarkable for 
the singularity of its appeai’ance ; is a na- 
tive of the northern seas, where it inhabits 
the deepest recesses, and preys on the 
smaller kind of fishes, as well as on various 
sorts of the mpllusca and testacea tribes. It 
is about tiiree or four feet long. Notwith- 
standing the Linnaean name of monstrosa, 
its appearance is not at alt formidable, and 
its colours highly elegant. See Plate II. 
Pisces, fig. 5. The C. australis is a native 
of the southern seas, and its manner of 
life similar to that of the northern ocean. 
CHIM'ARRHIS, in botany, a genus of 
CHI 
the Pentandria Monogynia class and or- 
der. Essential character : corolla funnel- 
form, with a very short tube ; capsule infe- 
rior, obtuse, two-celled, two-valved, the 
valves bifid at the tip ; seed one in each 
cell. There is but one species, viz, C. 
cyniosa, a lofty tree, with a handsome head, 
the boughs spreading out horizontally. 
Flowers numerous, small, with white corol- 
las, without scent ; capsules small. The 
wood is white, and used for beams, rafters, 
Ac. It is called in Mavtinico, where it is 
common, bois de reviere. 
CHIMES a clock, a kiiid of periodical 
music, produced at equal intervals of time, 
by means of a particular apparatus added to 
a clock. 
CHIMNEY is that part of a house which 
serves to conduct the smoke of the fires to 
the exterior. This will not, however, be 
effected, unless the draught of air be de- 
cidedly from the bottom to the top. To 
insure this, the fire-place should be rather 
vvide than narrow in the front, and gradu- 
ally taper backwards, so as to proceed all 
the way up in rather a conical form, caus- 
ing the smbke to rush forth w'ith velocity. 
This is the great secret, the want of which, 
added to angular instead of curved lines, 
w'here bends are requisite in any part of 
tlie flue, and the being overtopped by ad- 
joining buildings, trees, banks, &:c. has 
caused much inconvenience. Some per- 
sons are so very particular in listing their 
doors, and in making apartments complete- 
ly wind-tight, that the want of draught has 
occasioned the best constructed chimnies tp 
smoke intolerably : a few holes made with 
a gimlet in the sashes have remedied the 
defect. When a chimney is veiy foul, so 
as to be choked in a certain degree, the 
soot will generally check the draught. Short 
flues are subject to repel the smoke, be- 
cause the wind from above can so easily 
roach all the way down, which in long flues 
it cannot do. If it could be applied to ge- 
neral use, the form of a tile-kiln should be 
generally adopted for that of the chimney. 
Chimney sweeping. Smoke in its pas- 
sage through a chimney deposits a great 
part of the soot, with which it is loaded, 
upon the sides of the flue, which causes 
danger from fire, and is besides apt to fall 
back into the room. It is therefore fre- 
quently necessary to have the flues cleaned. 
To eftect this, various expedients have 
been resorted to, but that most commonly 
adopted is the use of climbing boys, who 
ascend within the chimney and sweep down 
