CHEQUE CHERBOURG. the Wye here is a railway bridge by Brunel, combining the principles of Telford's suspension and Stephenson's tubular bridges. C. has no important manufactures. It exports corn, cider, bark, iron, millstones, timber, and salmon. Pop. (1871) 3347. About 1000 vessels of 36,000 tons enter and clear the port annually. CHEQUE, an order on a banker, or other party, for the payment of money. In all cases, the document must be on a penny-stamp, and it must not be for less than 20s. It is obligatory on the banker to honour the C. if he have funds belonging to the drawer. It must be presented within a reasonable time, otherwise the holder will have no recourse against the drawer should the banker fail. A C. is to be regarded as payment of a debt until dishonoured on presentation. It is not payable after the date of the drawer's death. The banker is liable for forgeries unless caused by carelessness in drawing. mole. of England, the harbour-works have been extended, strengthened, fortified, and provisioned with cannon the dock-yards improved, and facilities of embarkation afforded, to a degree that, as it is unparalleled in ancient or modern times, not unnaturally excites the lively apprehension of Englishmen. A description of the stupendous breakwater of C., enclosing a space of nearly 2000 acres, will be found in the article BREAKWATER. In connection with its fortifications, this breakwater assumes an importance that attaches to no other work of the kind in existence. At the apex of the angle formed by the meeting of the two branches of the breakwater or digue, there is a centre fort or battery, measuring 509 feet! on the inner line of the parapet, which forms a fist semi-ellipse. The circular forts at the extremities of the breakwater are remarkably well placed for purposes of defence. Behind the centre battery there is to be an elliptical tower, measuring 225 feet on the major, and 123 feet on the minor axis. Altogether there are six large batteries on the The entrances to the harbour are round the ends of the mole; and the passages are further defended by the fortifications of the Ile Pélée, and by the batteries of La Roche Chavaignac and Fort Querqueville. A series of coast redoubts, and the two large fortifications of Les Roches des Flamands and du Homet, are situated behind this outer zone of defence. The arsenal,' says Mr W. H. Russell, who visited C. during the summer of 1860, 'is CHER, a tributary on the left side of the river enclosed by a continuous line of bastion and curtain Loire, rising near Crocq, in the department of of a very elevated profile, defended by outworks, Creuse; flows first north by Auzances, Evaux, Mont-wet and dry ditches, and by profuse batteries of luçon, and St Amand; then north-west through the the heaviest guns, either in casement or en barbette. department of Cher by Vierzon; then westward by Wherever you look, you fancy that on the spot you Selles, Montrichard, and Bléré, to the Loire, which occupy are specially pointed dozens of the dull it joins below Tours. Its whole length is about black eyes from their rigid lids of stone.' Alto200 miles; and it is navigable for the last 47 of its gether, besides the batteries on the mole, C. is course.-CHER, the central department of France, defended by 24 regular forts and redoubts. The to which the above river gives its name, is situated town itself is commanded by La Roule (an exceedin lat. 46° 25′-47° 39′ N., and in long. 1° 55'-ingly strong fort) and Fort d'Octeville on the 3° 10′ E. The surface is mostly level, traversed by well-wooded elevations, and produces corn, fruits, wine, hemp, flax, &c. The climate is mild and pleasant. Agriculture and pasturage of cattle are both capable of improvement. Area, upwards of 2800 square miles. Pop. (1872) 335,392. C. is divided into the three arrondissements-Bourges, St Amand, and Sancerre. Bourges is the chief town. CROSS-CHEQUE. An ordinary C. is payable to a certain party, or alternatively to 'bearer.' To prevent misappropriation when sent by post or otherwise, cross-cheques have been introduced. Two transverse lines are drawn across the cheque. If the words & Co.' or 'and Company' are written within the lines, payment can be obtained only through a banker. If the name of a particular bank be specified, as National Bank, Glasgow,' it must be presented at that bank only. CHERA'SCO, a town of Piedmont, situated on the Tanaro, 30 miles south-east of Turin. It has manufactures of silk, and a pop. of about 10,000. A peace was concluded here between Louis XIII. of France and the Duke of Savoy in 1631. On April 26, 1796, the place was taken by the French; and here, three days after, the Armistice of Cherasco' was concluded between the Sardinian commissioners and Napoleon, by which the latter obtained the right of free passage for his troops through the Sardinian States; and the treaty that followed gave to the French republic Savoy, Nice, and the possessions of Piedmont to the westward of the Alps' highest ridge. heights behind. The military port of C. consists of an outer harbour of 776 feet in length by 663 feet wide, its minimum depth being 58 feet, and the entrance to which is 206 feet wide at its narrowest point. This harbour communicates by means of a lock with a floating basin, 957 feet long by 712 wide. The outer harbour has four building-slips for 120-gun ships, besides some smaller slips, and a fine graving-dock. In August 1858, an inner floatingharbour was inaugurated by the Emperor of the French, in presence of the Queen and many of the Lords and Commons of Great Britain. This harbour, entirely cut out of the solid rock, has a length of about 930 yards, and a breadth of 437 yards, I and is surrounded by beautiful building-slips and capacious graving-docks. It is calculated that the roads of C. cannot, on account of the small depth of the greater portion, shelter more than 25 or 30 sail of the line, and about as many frigates, at one time. C. has a commercial port quite distinct from the other, situated on the south-east; but it displays little activity, the principal exports being eggs, butter, and cattle. The town itself is insigniCHERBOURG, a fortified seaport town and ficant, the streets being narrow and dirty; and arsenal of France in the department of Manche, is there are no public buildings of note. There are situated at the head of a deep bay on the northern some manufactures of hosiery, chemicals, lace, and extremity of the peninsula of Cotentin, on the leather, and sugar and salt refineries; but the indusEnglish Channel, and opposite the west coast of the trial energies of the great bulk of the population Isle of Wight, in lat. 49° 40′ N., and long. 1° 35′ W. are absorbed in the arsenal and dock-yards. C. is Napoleon I. began to build the great defences of a very ancient place; in the 10th c. it was known this northern stronghold of France. His nephew, under the name of Carusburg. In 1758, C. was Napoleon III., developed his plans, but not with taken by the English, who destroyed the naval and the original view of an invasion of England. Occu- military works, and levied a contribution on the pying a prominent position on the French coast, town. Pop., exclusive of naval and military forces, only some 60 miles removed from the south shore (1872) 46,000. CHERIBON-CHERRY. CHE'RIBON, or SHERIBON, a seaport town of Java, situated on the north coast, 125 miles eastsouth-east of Batavia. It has a considerable trade in coffee, indigo, and teak-wood, and is the residence of a Dutch governor. Pop. 11,000. CHERIMOY'ER, or CHIRIMOYA (Anona Cherimolia), the most esteemed fruit of Brazil and Peru, now common, and even naturalised in some parts of the East Indies, and other tropical countries of the Old World. It is a fruit of most delicious flavour, is sometimes described as the finest of all fruits, and sometimes as inferior only to the mangosteen. It belongs to the same genus with the Custard Apple (q. v.). Both flowers and fruit emit a pleasant fragrance, but when the tree is covered with blossom, the odour is so strong as to be almost overpowering. The fruit varies from the size of an orange to 16 lbs. or upwards in weight. It is roundish, or heart-shaped. austere fruit; the latter having smooth shining b a Cherimoyer: Branchlet with leaves, and section of fruit. Externally, it is greenish, covered with small knobs and scales. The skin is rather thick and tough. Internally, the fruit is snow-white and juicy, and contains a number of small brown seeds. The eatable part is soft like a custard, and forms almost the entire mass of the fruit. The C. attains its highest excellence only in particular soils and situations, and some varieties are much finer than others. No tropical fruit seems better to deserve a higher degree of attention than it has yet received in our hot-houses. CHERKA'SK. See TCHERKASK. CHERRY (Cerasus), a genus or sub-genus of plants, of which the best known yields one of our most esteemed stone-fruits. This is usually regarded as a sub-genus of Prunus (see PLUM), but is erected by some botanists into a distinct genus on very slender grounds, the most obvious distinction between the species of Cerasus and the true species of Prunus being that, in the former, the young leaves are conduplicate, or folded up, and in the latter they are convolute, or rolled together. Two species are pretty generally regarded as the parents of the garden cherries usually cultivated, Prunus or Cerasus Avium, and P. cerasus or C. vulgaris-the former having the underside of the leaves hairy and a small Common Cherry (Cerasus dura'cina): Both have white flowers in clusters or nearly sessile umbels, and both are generally regarded as natives of Britain, and of the middle and south of Europe. In a wild state, they are usually called GEAN (guigne), and C. Avium is frequently planted-not only because it is exceedingly ornamental when in flower, but also as a timber-tree, being of rapid growth, with firm, strong, close-grained wood, suitable for the purposes of cabinet-makers, turners, But according and musical-instrument makers. to some botanists, there is only one species, of a principal article of food, especially the wood-cutters 795 CHERRY-LAUREL-CHERUB. the second for the fragrance of its fruit; and the CHERRY-LAUREL (q. v.). CHERRY-LAUREL, or LAU'REL-CHERRY, a name given to those species of Prunus or Cerasus (see CHERRY) which have evergreen leaves. They are also often called LAUREL. They have small flowers in long racemes, and small fruit; the fruit but particularly the leaves and kernels, remarkably of a nauseous taste; and most parts of the plant, abounding in hydrocyanic (prussic) acid, and therefore very poisonous.-The COMMON C., sometimes called the BAY-LAUREL, or LAUREL-BAY, very often spoken of simply as the LAUREL or COMMON LAUREL (Prunus or Cerasus Lauro-cerasus), is a shrub, sometimes of very large size, with ovato-lanceolate, convex, smooth, remotely serrated, shining, yellowish green leaves, and erect racemes of flowers. It is originally from Asia, but is now naturalised throughout the south of Europe, and is one of the most common ornamental shrubs in Britain, where it suffers only from such severe frosts as are of rare occurrence. It is propagated by seeds, layers, and cuttings. Its leaves resemble bitter almonds in smell and taste, and contain in great abundance the same essential oil (see ALMONDS, VOLATILE OIL OF), rich in hydrocyanic acid. From these leaves, by maceration in water for 24 hours, and subsequent distillation, is obtained the Laurel-water (q. v.), or Cherry-laurel water, sometimes employed in medicine as a substitute for hydrocyanic acid, and which formerly was so much used as a poison. The leaves are sometimes employed also for flavouring puddings, sauces, &c., and are safer for such purposes than oil of bitter almonds, but ought to be used with caution. -Another species, also very common as an ornamental shrub in Britain, but not quite so hardy as the common C., is the PORTUGAL LAUREL (Prunus or Cerasus Lusitanica), a native of Portugal, a large shrub sometimes a tree-with dark-green leaves and lateral racemes. It does not grow so well under the shade of trees as the common cherry-laurel. From the dissimilarity of form and colour of their leaves, these species present a pleasant appearance when mixed, as they usually are, in the shrubbery. CHERSO, an island of Illyria, belonging to Austria, in the Adriatic, 12 miles south-south-west of Fiume. A bridge unites it with the adjoining isle of Lossini. It has an area of about 105 square miles, with a population of some 14,000. Its surface is generally hilly and rugged, with forests in the north. The chief town is Cherso, at the head of a bay on the west side. Pop. 3500. CHERSO'N. See KHERSON. CHERTSEY (Anglo-Saxon, Ceort's Eye or Island), a town in the county of Surrey, on a low strip of land between the right bank of the Thames, here crossed by a stone bridge, and the brook from Virginia Water, 20 miles west-south-west of London. It is irregularly built, chiefly consisting of two long cross-streets, and is surrounded by villas. The 3146. C. arose in a monastery founded in 666, and chief trade is in malt and flour. Many vegetables are raised for the London market. Pop. (1871) rebuilt in 964 by Edgar and the Benedictine monks The South Saxon kings had a seat here during the heptarchy. Charles James Fox lived on St Anne's Hill, an abrupt elevation about a mile from the town. Cowley the poet resided in Chertsey. CHE'RUB, in the plural Cherubim or Cherubs, is the Hebrew name of a winged creature with a human countenance, which in the Scriptures is almost always represented in connection with Jehovah, and especially as drawing his chariotthrone. Cherubim are first mentioned in the Old Testament as guards of paradise; a C. with a flaming sword hindered the return of the expelled human pair. In the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, cherubim wrought in embossed metal were represented above the mercy-seat, or covering of the Ark of the Covenant, so that they appeared to rise out of it. Figures of cherubim were also wrought into the hangings of the Holy of Holies. The cherubim that appear in the visions of Ezekiel and the revelations of John depart much from the early representations. In Ezekiel they have the body of a man, whose head, besides a human countenance, has also that of a lion, an ox, and an eagle; they are provided with four wings, two of which support the chariot of Jehovah, and serve to fly, while the other two cover the body; the hands are under the wings, and the whole body is spangled with innumerable eyes. In the Revelation, four cherubim, covered with eyes, and having six wings, surround the throne of Jehovah; the first has the face of a lion, the second of an ox, the third of a man, and the fourth of an eagle. This gave rise at a very early period to the symbolical figures of the four evan CHERT, or HO'RNSTONE, a variety of quartz, gelists, the human countenance being associated always massive, and having a kind of granular with Matthew, that of the lion with Mark, of the appearance and structure. It is common in the ox with Luke, and of the eagle with John. Most Mountain Limestone, Oolite, and Green-sand forma- Jewish writers and Christian Fathers conceived the tions; sometimes forms rocks; and often contains cherubim as angels; and Dionysius the Areopagite, petrifactions. It passes into common quartz and in his Celestial Hierarchy, makes them a separate chalcedony, also into flint and flinty slate. Its class in the first hierarchy. Most theologians also colours are gray, white, red, yellow, green, or brown. considered them as angels, until Michaelis shewed The name C. is sometimes limited to the finer them to be a poetical creation; and Herder, in his varieties, and the coarser are called Hornstone. Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, compared them to the The name C. is very commonly given to the silicious concretions which occur as nodules and layers in limestone rocks, like flints in the chalk. When these materials exist to such an extent as to render the limestone useless for economical purposes, it is said to be 'cherty.' CHERSONE'SUS, the ancient name of several peninsulas and promontories in Europe, the most important of which are the Crimea (q. v.), C. Taurica; Gallipoli (q. v.), C. Thracia; and Jutland (q. v.), C. Cimbrica. Cherub. griffins that watch treasures and other fabulous figures. In Christian art, they are generally repre sented as sexless figures, with wings from the shoulders, the legs also being either covered by wings, or having wings substituted for them. Very often they have also a glory round the head. CHERUBINI-CHESHIRE. CHERUBINI, MARIA LUIGI CARLO ZENOBI SALVADOR, one of the best Italian composers, was born September 8, 1760, at Florence, and died March 15, 1842, in Paris, where he was director of the Conservatoire. In his thirteenth year, by his early compositions-a mass and an intermezzohe attracted the attention of Sarti, who received him as a pupil. In the interval from 1780 to 1788, he composed eleven Italian operas, including Ifigenia in Aulide, the most successful of the series. In After 1786, C. resided 1784 he visited London. chiefly in Paris, whence his fame rapidly extended over Europe. Besides the Ifigenia, his chief pieces are Demophoon (1788), Lodoiska (1791), Elisa (1794), Médée (1797), the Portuguese Inn (1798), Les Deux Journées, and Anacreon. C. also composed church music, chamber music, &c., with singular beauty and success. It is worthy of remark that the richness of his instrumental music, which was once made a ground of objection, now appears moderate as contrasted with the monstrous prodigalities of the modern orchestra. See Piechianti, Notizie sulla Vita e sulle Opere di Cherubini (Milan, 1843). CHERU'SCI, a German tribe first mentioned by Cæsar. They dwelt north of the Silva Bacencis, or Harz Forest, but the exact boundaries of their territory cannot be ascertained. They are chiefly memorable in connection with their great leader Årminius, or Hermann, who, having formed an alliance with other German tribes, attacked and annihilated the Roman legions under Varus, in the forest of Teutoburg, 9 A.D. After the death of Arminius, internal strifes broke out among the C., and Tacitus says that they were subjugated by the Chatti, a neighbouring tribe. Notwithstanding this they again appear as the chief tribe in the military league of the Saxons about the end of the 3d century. In the beginning of the 4th c., they are included among the peoples who had leagued against Constantine, and towards the close of the same are still mentioned distinctively by Claudian. CHERVIL (Anthriscus Cerefolium), an umbelliferous plant, which has been long cultivated as a pot-herb, and used in soups and for a garnish, &c., in the same manner as parsley. It is much more used in some parts of the continent of Europe than in Britain. It is a native of Europe, naturalised in some parts of England. The leaves have a peculiar, somewhat sweetish, pleasantly aromatic smell and taste, by which the plant may be known from its congener Anthriscus vulgaris or Scandix Anthriscus, a poisonous weed, whose leaves have a disagreeable smell, and which is also distinguished by its hispid fruit. There is a variety of C. with large roots, for the sake of which it is cultivated.-The umbelliferous plant called VENUS' COMB or SHEPHERD's NEEDLE (Scandix pecten or S. Pecten Veneris), a native of Britain and of the continent of Europe, often found in cornfields, and remarkable for the appearance and large size of its fruit, and another species (S. australis) which grows in the south of Europe, have a taste and smell resembling C., and are used in the same way on the continent. SWEET C. or SWEET CICELY (Myrrhis odorata; Scandix odorata of the older botanists), a native of the south of Europe and of some parts of Asia, common in the neighbourhood of houses in Britain, although probably not a true native, is frequently cultivated in Germany under the name of Spanish C. or Anise Chervil. In Scotland, the plant is commonly called Myrrh by the peasantry. Its smell is peculiarly attractive to bees; and the insides of empty hives are sometimes rubbed with its leaves, to induce swarms to enter.-The species of Charophyllum, coarse weeds, are also called chervil. CHESAPEAKE BAY, the largest inlet on the Its entrance, 12 Atlantic coast of the United States, being 200 miles long, and from 4 to 40 broad. miles wide, has, on the north, Cape Charles, in lat. 37° 3′ N., and long. 76° 2′ W.; and on the south, Cape Henry, in lat. 36° 56′ N., and long. 76° 4′ W., C. B. has both promontories being in Virginia. arms, which receive many navigable numerous rivers, such as the Susquehanna and the Patapsco on the north, through Maryland; the James on Unlike the south-west, from Virginia; and the Potomac on the west, between these two states. the shallow sounds towards the south (see CAROLINA), this network of gulfs and estuaries, to say nothing of its noble feeders, affords depth of water for ships of any burden, virtually carrying the ocean up to the wharves of Baltimore and the arsenals of Washington. CHE'SELDEN, WILLIAM, an English surgeon and anatomist, was born in 1688, at Barrow-on-the studies at fifteen, at twenty-three established himHill, in Leicestershire. He commenced his medical self as a lecturer on anatomy, and in the following year was elected a fellow of the Royal Society. He was afterwards appointed surgeon to St Thomas's, St George's, and Westminster hospitals, where he acquired great reputation as an operator. In this respect, few surgeons, if any, ever surpassed him. He died at Bath, 11th April 1752. C.'s principal works are-the Anatomy of the Human Body (1713), long a text-book on the subject in England; a Treatise on the Operation for the Stone (1723); and Osteology, or Anatomy of the Bones (1733). He also contributed several valuable papers to the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society. CHE'SHIRE, a maritime county in the west of England, bounded north by the river Mersey, and 54' N., long. 1° 47′-3° 11′ W. Its greatest length partly also by the Irish Sea, in lat. 52° 56′-53° from north-east to south-west is 58 miles; greatest breadth, 32; area, 1052 square miles, of which only is uncultivated; circuit, 200 miles, of which 8 are coast. The surface forms an extensive nearly level plain between the Derbyshire and Welsh mountains, well wooded, and studded with small lakes or meres, and chiefly occupied by grazing and dairy tracts, which are among the most important in England. This plain, comprising four-fifths of the surface, rests on new red sandstone, and is crossed, near the middle, by a tract of high ground running south-west from a promontory overlooking the Mersey, near the mouth of the Weaver, to Beeston Castle rock, 366 feet high. On the east border of the county is a line of new red sandstone hills. In the north-east is part of the Lancashire coalfield. In the east, are large tracts of peat, and much of the county is wet and rushy. The northwest part of C. forms a hammer-headed peninsula called Wirral, about 8 miles broad, between the estuaries of the Dee and Mersey. Coal measures appear on the west side of this peninsula, as well as on the west border of the main part of the county. The chief rivers are the Dee, Mersey, and Weaver, which are navigable. The Dee skirts the county on the west 55 miles, and the Mersey on the north for 40 miles. The Weaver rises in the east part of the county, and runs 40 miles west-north-west into the Mersey. The county contains an almost unrivalled system of canals, including the celebrated Bridgewater Canal, and is traversed by the main line of the London and Liverpool Railway, and the Crewe, Chester, and Holyhead Railway. The chief mineral products are rock-salt and coal. The rock-salt, discovered in 1670, and mined by gunpowder, is found near the Weaver and its branches, especially 797 CHESNUT-CHESS. near Northwich, at the depth of 28 to 48 yards, in and is used in house-building, for making furniture, two beds, the upper one being 15 to 25 yards, and for many other purposes. The timber of the C. and the lower one above 40 yards thick, under a so much resembles that of the oak, as in old buildstratum of hard rock, 25 to 35 yards thick. The ings to be distinguished with difficulty. The bark mines, one occupying 35 acres, when lighted up, is used for tanning, but is worth only about half resemble a fairy palace sparkling with gems and the price of oak-bark. Young C. trees are much crystal. Much salt is also made from brine-springs esteemed for hop and espalier poles. The C. is 20 to 40 yards deep. Coal is worked in the north- therefore frequently grown in England as coppiceeast part of the county. There are also lead (with wood; but it succeeds well as a timber-tree even in cobalt) and copper-mines, and in almost every Scotland, although it does not generally ripen its part of the county freestone, limestone, millstone, fruit. In Devonshire, however, and in some other and marl are found. The climate is moist. The parts of England, it is planted to a considerable soil is mostly a clayey or sandy loam, with marl extent as fruit-tree. It succeeds throughout all and peat, and very fertile. The soil and climate the middle latitudes of Germany, but dislikes a are well fitted for pasturing, dairy-farming, and damp foggy atmosphere. It prefers a dry light soil, cheese-making, which are the chief agricultural and succeeds only where there is a dry subsoil occupations. About 150,000 cows are kept in The nuts are generally two in each husk. They C., and the quantity of cheese annually pro- form a principal part of the food of the poor in duced is estimated at from 15,000 to 30,000 tons the south of Europe, being used either roasted -the best being made on the strongest lands. The or boiled, and often ground into flour, and made ! hedgerows abound in oaks. C. is a manufacturing into a kind of bread. They contain 15 per cent. as well as an agricultural county. Pop. in 1871, of sugar, and by pressure yield a sugary juice, 561,131. The chief towns are Chester (the countytown), Macclesfield, Stockport, Congleton, Knutsford, and Birkenhead. The county of C. returns 6 members to parliament. C. has some Roman roads, tumuli, barrows, remains of religious houses, and many old castles and halls. The 12th Roman legion occupied Chester till the 3d century. Egbert, in 828, added C. to the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of Mercia. William the Conqueror erected C. into a county palatine, under Hugh Lupus, with an independent parliament and 8 barons. Henry VIII. subordinated it to the English crown; but C. did not send representatives to the English parliament till 1549, and the separate jurisdiction ceased entirely only in 1831. CHE'SNUT, or CHESTNUT (Castanea), a genus of plants of the natural order Cupulifera, closely allied to the Beech (Fagus), and distinguished from it by long male catkins, longitudinally set with groups of flowers, a 5-8-celled ovary, and compressed rounded nuts. The name is derived from the town Branchlet, Leaves and Catkins of Sweet Chestnut. which readily undergoes the vinous fermentation, and from which a crumb-like kind of sugar may be obtained. The best kinds of chestnuts are called by the French Marrons. When cultivated as a fruit-tree, the C. is generally grafted, by which means the better varieties are secured.Other species of C. also bear eatable fruits: those of the AMERICAN C. (C. Americana), a tree much resembling the common C., and of the DWARF C., or CHINQUAPIN (C. pumila), a low tree, or more generally a shrub of 7-8 feet high, are used in America. The fruit of the Dwarf C. is of the size of a common hazel-nut; the nut is convex on both sides. The plant reaches its southern limit on the banks of the Delaware.-A number of species are natives of the East. The inhabitants of the mountains of Java eat the fruit of the SILVERY C. (C. argentea), and the TUNGURRUT (C. Tungurral, boiled or roasted, like the common chestnut. Both of these are large trees, the Tungurrut reaching a height of 150 feet.-The HORSE C. (q. v.) is entirely different from the true chestnut. CHESS (Fr. échecs, Ger. schach). The origin of this, the most purely intellectual of all games of skill, has been much disputed; thus much may now be considered as certain, that, under the Sanscrit name of Chaturanga, a game, essentially the same as modern C., was played in Hindustan nearly 5000 years ago. In its gradual diffusion through the world in succeeding ages, the game has undergone many alterations and modifications, both in nature and in name; but marked traces of its early Asiatic origin and descent are still discerned by the learned in its nomenclature and other characteristics. From Hindustan, C. spread into Persia, and thence into Arabia. The Arabs, it would appear, in the 8th c., introduced the game into Spain and the rest of Western Europe; and in England, chess-play seems to have been known prior to the Norman Conquest. Into Constantinople, and probably some other cities of Eastern Europe, the game may have been imported from Persia at a period earlier than its Moorish conveyance into Spain. of Castanum, near Magnesia, in Asia Minor. The COMMON C., SPANISH C., or SWEET C. (C. vulgaris), is said to have been first brought from Asia Minor to Sardinia, and from thence to have gradually extended The original Hindu game was played on a board over the south of Europe, where it has long been of sixty-four squares, as now, but by four persons, naturalised, and forms extensive woods. It is an two being allied against two, as in whist. Hence ornamental, stately, or, in exposed situations, a the name Chaturanga, from chatur, 'four,' and anga, very spreading tree, of great size and longevity; a member' or 'component part.' The name Shatranj, the still surviving C. of Totworth in England used by the Persians and Arabs, is a corruption was known as a boundary-mark in the reign of the Sanscrit. The English, French, and other of King John. A celebrated C. tree on Mount European names are derived from the Persian terin Etna measured 204 feet in circumference of trunk. shah, king.' Check, the warning when the king The C. has oblongo-lanceolate, acuminate, serrated, is in danger, is but another form of shah; in fact, smooth leaves. The timber is durable and hard,king' is sometimes used for 'check,' and in German 798 |