sources, before even things not in themselves very improbable can be believed. In a state of confinement, it exhibits, at least when young, considerable

CHINCHILLA, a town of Spain, in the province of Albacete, 10 miles south-east of the city of that name. It is situated on an abrupt rocky hill, crowned by a castle, and is surrounded by walls. The town is in general well built, with good streets, and a fine parish church, containing some excellent works of art. It has manufactures of cloth, linen, leather, earthenware, and glass, and a trade in the agricultural produce of the district. Pop. 7500.

CHINCHILLA (Chinchilla, Eriomys, or Cullomys), a genus of South American quadrupeds, of the order Rodentia; the type of a family, Chinchillida, allied to Cavies (Cavida), but differing from them in possessing clavicles. The general aspect is somewhat rabbit-like. There are several genera of Chinchillida, distinguished in part by the number of toes; the true chinchillas having four, with the rudiment of a fifth on the fore-feet, and four on the

Chimpanzee.

gentleness and docility, and readily learns to imitate human actions, in eating with a spoon, drinking out of a glass, and the like; but its intelligence does not appear to be superior to that of many other monkeys, or indeed of many kinds of brutes. Its natural food consists chiefly of fruit and other vegetable substances; in confinement, it exhibits a great fondness for sweetmeats and for wine. The C. is impatient of cold, and the climate of Britain soon proves fatal to it.

CHINA. See CHINESE EMPIRE.

CHINA, or CHINA-WARE. See PORCELAIN. CHINA BARK, a name of Cinchona (q. v.) Bark, often to be met in books, and in common use on the continent. It is derived, not from the empire of China, but from Kina or Quina, the Peruvian name of cinchona.

CHINA CLAY, or KA'OLIN. See CLAY. CHINA GRASS, or CHINESE GRASS, the popular name of a fibre used in China for the manufacture of a beautiful fabric known as Grass-cloth. The name appears to have originated in the belief that the fibre was that of a grass; but this is not the case, it being chiefly obtained from Bohmeria (q. v.) nivea, a plant allied to the nettle. Besides this and other species of the natural order Urticaceae, other plants, as species of Corchorus (q. v.) and Sida (q. v.), are believed to yield fibres employed in the same manufacture. The fibres are said not to be spun after the European manner, but joined into long threads by twisting their ends together. Grasscloth is now brought in considerable quantity to Europe, especially in the form of pocket-handkerchiefs. It has a fine glossy appearance and a peculiar transparency.

CHINA ROOT, the root, or rather the rhizome (root-stock) of Smilax China, a climbing shrubby plant, closely allied to sarsaparilla, and belonging to the same genus; a native of China, Cochin-China, and Japan. See SARSAPARILLA and SMILACEE. The stem is round and prickly, the leaves thin and roundish oblong; the rhizome tuberous and large; sub-astringent and diaphoretic. It is occasionally used in medicine, and is imported in a dry state into Europe; but it is also employed in the East as an article of food. It abounds in starch.

Chinchilla.

hind-feet; whilst in the genus Lagidium or Lagotis there are four on each foot; and in Lagostomus,

four on the fore-feet and three on the hind-feet. All the species of this family are gregarious; feed much on roots, for which their strong and sharp incisors are particularly adapted; and live either in holes, which they select for themselves in rocky districts, or in burrows, which they excavate. They are valued for their fur, particularly the CHINCHILLA of the Andes (C. lanigera), of which the fur constitutes an important article of commerce. Their numbers are said to be sensibly decreasing in consequence of the demand for the fur. The ancient Peruvians were accustomed to employ the wool of the C. for the manufacture of fine fabrics. Molina suggests, that it might easily and profitably be kept

in a domesticated state.

CHINCHO'N, a town of Spain, in the province of Madrid, 25 miles south-south-east of the city of that name. It is pleasantly situated on a hill near the Tagus, and is well built, with wide, regular, and clean streets. Agriculture forms the chief occupation of the inhabitants, but leather, linen, and earthenware are manufactured to a small extent. Pop. 5400.

CHINDWA'RA, a town of Nagpore, in Hindustan, in lat. 22° 3′ N., and long. 78° 58′ E. It occupies a plateau amid the Deoghur Mountains, standing 2100 feet above the level of the sea. Its climate is consequently one of the most agreeable and salubrious in India, attracting many visitors in search of health or recreation.

CHINE, LA, a village of the Dominion of Canada, on the south side of the island of Montreal, and about 9 miles to the west of the city of that name. Both the city and the village stand on the left bank of the St Lawrence, or rather, of a branch of the Ottawa; for here, and at least 10 or 12 miles further down, these united rivers keep their waters unmingled. As the intermediate portion of the