treats of the nature of plants and soils, and the laws of production. Sir Humphrey Davy first gave it the character of a science. It treats, 1. of the general powers of matter which have any influence on vegetation, of gravity, cohesion, chemical affinity, heat, light, eléctricity, the elements of matter, especially such as are found in vegetables, and the laws of their composition and arrangement; 2. of the organization of plants, their structure, the chemical composition of their organs, and the substances found in them, &c.; 3. of soils; 4. of the nature of manure.-Chemistry, finally, exerts an influence on the routine of domestic life, and on the arts. It simplifies and regulates the daily offices of the housekeeper; renders our dwellings healthy, warm, light; assists us in preparing clothing, food, drink, &c.: it teaches the best way of making bread; preparing and purifying oils; of constructing bakehouses, ovens and hearths; of bleaching and washing all kinds of stuff; of producing artificial cold, &c. The application of chemistry to the arts and manufactures is, however, still more important and extensive. Here its aim is to discover, improve, extend, perfect and simplify the processes by which the objects to be prepared may be adapted to our wants. We close our remarks with the observation, that a knowledge of chemistry may frequently be useful in judicial proceedings, in exposing crime; e. g., in cases of poisoning, counterfeiting coins and written documents, &c. Chemical Classification and Nomenclature. The chemist finds a small number of bodies, from which only one kind of matter can be obtained, in the present state of his knowledge, and by the instruments and agents which he now has at his disposal. On the other hand, there is a large number of bodies, from which he obtains several kinds of matter. The former he calls elements, or simple bodies; the latter, compound bodies. The number of simple bodies now known is 53: that of the compounds is much greater, and might, at first, appear to be infinite, since not only a difference of elements, but even a difference of the proportions in which they are combined, makes an essential difference in the properties of the compound. It is, however, much less than would be supposed, and even less than the number of possible combinations of simple bodies. Twelve of the simple bodies are oxygen, iodine, chlorine, bromine, fluorine, hydrogen, boron, carbon, phosphorus, sulphur, azote and selenium; and 41 are metals. (q. v.) The five first

are called supporters of combustion, because they combine with the others, producing a disengagement of heat and light, and acidifying principles, because they are also capable of producing acids by a similar combination. The 48 others are called simple combustibles, because their union with the supporters of combustion, abovementioned, is a real combustion. Compound bodies, as has been observed, are not so numerous as might be supposed. They result, 1. from the combination of oxygen, or one of the other simple sup porters of combustion, with one of the simple combustibles; such are the acids: 2. from that of a simple body combined with oxygen, with another similar compound; such are the salts: 3. from that of two, three, rarely four, simple combustibles with one another: 4. from that of oxygen with hydrogen and carbon, forming vegetable matter: 5. from that of oxygen with hydrogen, carbon and azote, forming animal matter. Combustibles combined with the simple supporters of combustion are sometimes called burned bodies; from the number of their elements, they are also called binary compounds. When their taste is acid, and they have the property of reddening vegetable blues, they are termed acids. If they are not acid to the taste, and have the property of turning blue what has been reddened by acids, they are distinguished by the termination ide, as oxide, chloride, &c. If only one of the latter class is formed, that is, if the supporter of combustion will unite with the combustible in only one proportion, we call this compound simply the oxide, chloride, &c., of the combustibles; as, oxide of carbon. If they unite in several proportions, we call the first, or that which contains the smallest proportion of oxygen, &c., protoxide, &c.; the second, deutoxide; the third, tritoride. The highest is also called peroxide. So, if only one acid is formed, we designate it by the name of the combustible, with the termination ic. Thus carbon with oxygen forms carbonic acid. If several are formed, that which contains the larger proportion of the acidifying principle is designated by the termination ic, and that which contains less, by the termination ous. Thus sulphur forms sulphuric acid and sulphurous acid. If there are still intermediate compounds, we annex hypo (signifying less), to designate a lower degree of acidity. Thus we should have sulphuric, hyposulphuric; sulphurous, hyposulphurous. In the acids and oxides, chlorides, &c., the combustible is called the base.

When

Morocco and the Ottoman empire, was consul-general), went, when very young, to Paris, served as an officer of dragoons, left the service, and devoted himself to literary pursuits in Paris. After an interval of three years, he published his Charles IX, which may be considered as a monument of the taste prevailing in France at the beginning of the revolution, and is not without poetical merit. Chénier, by flattering the passions of the people, soon gained great popularity. His Henri VIII, La Mort de Calas, and Caius Gracchus, were received with great applause. He was chosen a member of the convention, where, for a considerable time, he belonged to the party of the most violent democrats. This spirit appears even in his Fenelon and Timoleon, published in 1793 and 1794. In the last years of his life, he was engaged in preparing a history of French literature. His discourses at the Athenæum, in Paris, in 1806 and 1807, contain the history of the French language, and of the different departments of poetry and prose, down to the times of Francis I. In an introduction, published in 1806, he explained the plan of the work, together with the principal results of his researches. (See his Fragmens du Cours de Littérature, fait à l'Athénée en 1806 et 1807, &c., Paris, 1808.) Chénier also treated of the characteristic features of the principal works in French literature, from 1788 to 1808, in his Tableau historique de l'État et des Progrès de la Littérature Française depuis 1789. In his last piece on the decennial prizes, he maintained that the prize promised for the best didactic work was due to one of his former enemies. His criticism on La Harpe's Lycée is the most correct and impartial view which has been given of that work. He died Jan. 11, 1811.

CHEQUERS. (See Draughts.)

CHERBURG, or CHERBOURG; a seaport of France, on the Channel, in the department of La Manche (the Channel); 16 leagues N. St. Lo, 34 W. N. W. Paris; lon. 1° 37' 3" W.; lat. 49° 38′ 30′′ N; population, 15,600. It has a commercial court, an exchange, a school of navigation and a learned society. It is situated at the bottom of a large bay, between cape Barfleur and cape La Hogue. The building of small vessels and the manufacture of woollen stuffs form the principal employment of the inhabitants. This port has always been considered, by the French, as an object of great importance in the navigation of the English channel, and immense sums have been expended

in the erection of piers, deepening and enlarging the harbor, and erecting fortifications. After the peace of 1783, the French government determined to make Cherburg a great naval depôt, and in different attempts, before 1808, expended more than £2,000,000 in constructing a vast bulwark to break the water, rendering the road a safe anchorage. Afterwards, under Napoleon, a basin was formed, 1000 feet long and 770 wide, occupying 18 acres, having a depth of 50 feet, and capable of containing 50 sail of the line. In addition to this, a wet dock has been constructed of equal dimensions. The cost of the basin and dock was nearly £5,000,000, without the expense of improving the roads. The mud, however, already begins to accumulate in the basin. The current, if the tide sets in, is so strong, that sometimes 10 or 12 cables are necessary to hold a vessel. Napoleon's views respecting Cherburg, as given in count Las Cases' Journal, are very interesting.

The

CHERIBON; a principality of Java, on the N. coast; lat. 6° 46' S.; lon. 108° 35′ E. It is divided into 9 districts, and contains about 90,000 inhabitants, besides strangers. This country is divided between two princes, both of whom are feudatories of the Dutch East India company. productions are coffee, timber, cotton yarn, areca, indigo, sugar, and also a little pepper: this last article formerly grew here in such abundance, that, in the year 1680, the bhar, of 375 pounds, was paid for at the rate of no more than 10 Spanish dollars. The rhinoceros is seen on the hills and in the forests in this district. The horses are small and well made, but vicious.

Cheribon, Sheribon, or Tcheribon; a town in Java, capital of the principality of the same name, 170 miles E. Batavia. It is situated at the bottom of a deep bay, and was formerly a station of some importance. 25,000 inhabitants.

Cheribon Reef; a reef in the East Indian sea, near the north coast of Java; lat. 6° 9′ S.; lon. 108° 34′ E.

CHEROKEES, or TSULLAKEES, the more proper name. (See Indians.) The name Cherokee is now perfectly settled (it is used, in fact, by the Indians themselves); but the condition of this tribe is of so interesting a character, that we have thought proper to defer our account of them to a place where we may be able to give the reader something more satisfactory than would now be in our power, particularly in respect to the subject of their political relations to the U. States and the state of Georgia,

which have already occasioned much discussion, and are likely to remain some time longer in controversy.

CHERONEA. (See Charonea.)

CHERRY. The cherry is a fruit of the Frune or plum tribe, the original stock of which is the wild cherry (prunus cerasus). The gradual effect of cultivation on the cherry has been the production of several kinds, which, both in size and flavor, greatly exceed the fruit of the parent stock. The kinds that are best known are the May-duke, _white-heart and black-heart cherries. The trees are propagated by grafting them usually upon the stocks of wild black and red cherry-trees, which are reared for that purpose. This agreeable fruit is eaten fresh or dried. It is sometimes preserved with sugar as a sweet-meat, made into jam, used in the preparation of the liquor called cherrybrandy, and made into wine. From wild black cherries the Swiss distil an ardent spirit, by the sale of which to the French and Germans, they derive considerable profit. The wood of the cherry-tree, which is hard and tough, is much used, particularly by turners and cabinet-makers, in many places, for the manufacture of chairs and other furniture. The gum that exudes from the bark is, in many respects, equal to gum arabic, and is considered very nutritive. Hasselquist informs us that, during a siege, more than 100 men were kept alive for nearly two months, without any other sustenance than a little of this gum, which they occasionally took into their mouths, and suffered gradually to dissolve.

CHERRY-LAUREL. The cherry-laurel (prunus lauro-cerasus) is remarkable only as producing the celebrated laurel-water. This is a most powerful poison, the strength of which (like that of peachkernels, bitter almonds, cherry-leaves, &c.) depends upon the presence of prussic acid, now so well known. Laurel-water is obtained from the leaves and flowers, or the leaves only, of this plant, by distillation, and was formerly much used, and much dreaded, as a poison. Of late years, it has gone out of use. The German kirschwasser is a strong spirit, possessing the same properties, in a less degree, as do noyau, and other similar cordials, which should all be used with great caution.

CHERSON, capital of the Russian government of Cherson, on the Dnieper, about 60 miles from its mouth, formerly the chief naval station on the Black sea, founded in 1778, is well fortified, and

contains about 2000 houses, partly of stone, with 20,000 inhabitants. The city consists of four parts:-1. the fortress, with a church, a mint, an arsenal and a cannonfoundery; 2. the naval office, with extensive naval magazines and dock-yards; 3. the Grecian suburb, with a large warehouse; and, 4. the suburb for soldiers. The naval office has been transferred to Nikolajev (at the confluence of the Ingul with the Bug), founded in 1789, the situation of which is more convenient and healthy. The harbor is annually entered by 400 Greek boats, besides several Austrian and French vessels. Wherever large rivers have but a slight descent towards their mouths, a great quantity of mud accumulates, which renders the bed gradually shallower, and, finally, rises above the surface of the water, forming morasses and islands, which leave a narrower bed for the stream. Such an accumulation takes place more rapidly, if two rivers of considerable size, like the Dnieper and Bug, empty into the same bay. A deep bed should, therefore, be dug and embanked for the united rivers, which will be kept free by the action of the current, at least for some time. This was overlooked by Potemkin, when he formed the plan of this city; and large vessels are, therefore, obliged to discharge part of their cargoes in the harbor of Oczakow, which has 17 feet of water; and those which are outward bound complete their cargoes there. In 1823, however, the bed of the Ingul, which discharges its waters into the Black sea, was deepened to 18 feet, so that, in 1826, a ship of 110 guns could be launched at Nikolajev. The province of Cherson or Nikolajev (containing 25,500 square miles, and 371,000 inhabitants) is a dry heath, rising gradually towards the south, containing rich meadows here and there, and, along the rivers, about 18 limens, or marshy lakes. The soil along the shores is every where impregnated with iron, and produces salt plants in abundance. It is, therefore, suitable for raising sheep. The climate, in summer, is hot; in winter, cold. The mulberry-tree, which loves a soil impregnated with salt, thrives here luxuriantly; but the inhabitants do not turn it to advantage by the cultivation of silkworms: agriculture is yet in its infancy here. In 1787, the emperor Joseph and the empress Catharine II met at Cherson, and, amid the splendid festivities of that occasion, formed an alliance against the Porte. The tomb of Potemkin is in the city, and that of Howard a few miles from it. The cities of Odessa and Oczakow,

and the ruins of Olbia, at the mouth of the Bug, are in the government of Cherson.

CHERSONESUS (Greek; a peninsula). This name has been given to several peninsulas; as, 1. the Cimbrian chersonesus (chersonesus Cimbrica), now Jutland, &c. (see Cimbri); 2. the Taurian chersonesus (ch. Taurica, also called Magna), the peninsula formed by the Black sea and the sea of Azof-the Crimea; 3. the Thracian chersonesus (ch. Thracica, or merely Chersonesus), the great peninsula in Thrace, now the peninsula of the Dardanelles.

CHERUB, in the Scriptures; an angel of the second choir of the first hierarchy. Cherubim is the Hebrew plural of cherub, as seraphim is of seraph. The former signifies, as children; the latter, as flames of fire. The church has assigned to them their rank in the heavenly hosts. Painters and sculptors commonly represent the cherubim by a child's head, between wings. Raphael's paintings are beautifully adorned with these lovely creations of fancy.

CHERUBINI, Luigi, born at Florence, in 1760, a disciple of Sarti, at the age of 18 composed an opera, Adriano in Siria, at Leghorn, which was, however, too learned for the connoisseurs of that city. He was better understood at Mantua and Turin. At the former place, in 1784, his second opera, Alessandro nell' Indie, and, at the latter, in 1788, his Ifigenia in Aulide, were received with universal applause. He was then invited to Paris, where he attracted attention by his operas Demophoon, Lodoiska, Medea, &c. But the triumph of his genius was the celebrated opera Les deux Journées, which is a masterpiece of musical composition. The merits of Cherubini are enhanced by his singular modesty, in which he resembles the great Mozart, whose sublime genius he reveres. He is one of the five superintendents of the conservatoire in Paris. In 1805, he was invited to Vienna, to compose an opera for the imperial theatre. There he produced his Faniska, which was represented with the greatest applause in 1806, and displays great depth of feeling and power of awakening emotion. He has composed much since his return to Paris. In 1821 appeared his Blanche de Provence ou la Cour des Fées, in three acts, in which he was assisted by Berton, Boïeldieu, Kreutzer and Paër.

CHERUSCI; the most celebrated German tribe among the Istævones. They inhabited both sides of the Hartz mountains, between the south-western part of the Thu

ringian forest, where the Catti were their neighbors, and the Saale. Drusus, on his retreat from the Saale to the Rhine, passed through the southern part of their country. But, in advancing from the territory of Paderborn, over the Weser, towards the Elbe, he took his course through the northern part. Here the Aller seems to have been their northern and eastern boundary. They also possessed some territory on the west bank of the Weser. Their national league comprised all the tribes between the Weser, the Rhine and the Lippe-the Cattuarii, Ansibarii, Dulgumnii, Marsi, Chamaveri, &c. The Romans first became acquainted with the Cherusci in the year 10 B. C., when Drusus forced his way as far as the Weser, but, for want of provisions, was obliged to return. In the following year, he advanced from the Weser towards the Elbe, on the north side of the Hercynian forest, through the midst of the Cherusci. At that time, they were not very formidable. In the year 7 B. C., they even entered into an alliance with the Romans, and served in their armies. But when Varus attempted to make them tributary to Rome, and subject them to the Roman laws, they revolted. Varus, being decoyed by them into the forest of Teutoburg, in the year 9 A. D., was destroyed, with his whole army, in a battle which lasted three days. (See Arminius and Germania.)—Upon this, the Cherusci became the chief object of the attacks of the Romans. Germanicus (q. v.), victorious over the Marsi and Catti, marched against the Cherusci, whose leaders, Segestus and Arminius (the latter of whom had carried off the daughter of the former), were at war with each other. Segestus, pressed by Arminius, called Germanicus to his aid, who delivered him, indeed, from his danger, but was obliged to return, after several campaigns, without having obtained any permanent advantages. By their last successes, the Cherusci had become very powerful. Their alliance with the Lombards and Semnones, who had renounced the Marcomannic confederacy, and the victory of Arminius over the Marcomanni under Maroboduus, raised the Cherusci to the first rank among the German nations. But, after the assassination of Arminius (21 A. D.), new disturbances broke out among them. They committed the supreme command to Italicus, the last survivor of the family of Arminius, but soon after expelled him. The Lombards restored him to his rights and dignity, after a long and destructive war with the Cherusci, who,