CHERRY, LAUREL. Mawe, as containing the best varieties for general cultivation, the whole being arranged in the order in which they ripen :-June: Early May, May Duke, Knight's Early Black, and Late Duke. July: Archduke, Black Tartarian, White Tartarian, Black Eagle, Kentish, Bigarreau, Holman's Duke, Elton, Herefordshire Heart, Bleeding Heart, Carnation, and Waterloo. August: Harrison's Heart, Black Heart, Waterloo, Couronne, Lukeward, Black Geen, Small Black, Small Red Wild, White Swiss, Lundie Geen, Transparent Geen, Cluster, Yellow Spanish. September: Florence, Amber Heart, Flemish Heart, Red Heart, White Heart. October: Morello or Milan. For small gardens, either as wall trees, espaliers, or standards, the following varieties are recommended: - The May Duke, Morello, Archduke, Black Heart, White Heart, Bigarreau, Harrison's Heart, and Kentish Cherries. Miller considers the common Red or Kentish, the Duke, and the Lukeward as the best trees for an orchard; they are plentiful bearers. This tree prefers a light dry sandy loam, with a free exposure. The wood of the cherry tree is close, takes a fine polish, and is not liable to split. It is used in the manufacture of chairs, musical instruments, &c. and stained to imitate mahogany. The principal supplies of cherries for the London market are brought from the cherry orchards in Kent and Herts. The wild cherry tree is found frequently in our woods and hedges, and has round branches with a polished ash-coloured bark. The leaves, in all the varieties are simply folded flat while young, by which cherries differ from the Bullace tribe. (Phil. Hist. Fruits, p. 76.; Willich's Domestic Encyclopædia; M'Cullock's Commercial Dictionary; Baxter's Library of Agriculture; Smith's Eng. Flora, vol. ii. p. 354.) CHERRY-LAUREL. (Cerasus laurocerasus.) This shrub is an exotic, although it is now naturalised to this climate, and was brought to Europe from Trebisonde in 1576. It is an evergreen, with smooth bark, and short-stalked, oblong, lanceolate, remotely serrated, coriaceous, shining leaves, with two or four glands at their base. The flower is white, with round spreading petals, and the fruit a small, black drupe or cherry. The leaves of the cherry laurel have long been employed both in medicine and in confectionery, on account of the agreeable odour and flavour of the bitter almond which they possess. They lose their odour after they are dried, but retain their flavour. The odour depends on the elements of a volatile oil, which is developed by the addition of water, and, thence, readily obtained by distillation. It contains Prussic CHERVIL, GARDEN. acid in considerable quantity. In conse quence of these components, the leaves of the cherry-laurel, when chewed, or employed too freely in flavouring dishes, are poisonous: and the distilled water, laurel water, is as poisonous as Prussic acid. It causes an uneasy sensation at the stomach, insensibility, and death in a few minutes. Notwithstanding these deleterious properties, the distilled water of the cherry-laurel is valuable sedative medicine; but it should not be entrusted to the hands of the ignorant. When it has proved hurtful in paddings, or any form of cookery, its effects should be combated by cordials, and salvolatile, and dashing cold water on the face and the chest. CHERRY, WINTER. (Physalis Alkekengi.) This is a pretty shrub; sometimes cultivated. It grows two feet high; its stalk is thick and strong, with large sharppointed leaves. The flowers are white, with yellow anthers. The fruit is a red berry, contained in a round green husk, about the size of a large cherry. The berry is sometimes medicinally used: it is slightly diuretic. See ALKEKENGI. CHERVIL, GARDEN. (Charophyllum sativum.) This herb grows in gardens, and sometimes wild in waste ground; perhaps the outcast of gardens. The flowers are white, and bitter-tasted; the seeds are smooth, furrowed, and large; altogether the plant resembles parsley, only the leaves are paler and more divided. The roots are given in decoction. Chervil is slightly diuretic: the cutters of simples distil a water from its leaves, which they consider excellent in colics. Dioscorides says it is healing to the lungs, and softens phthisicky coughs. He speaks of it also as forcing in its effects, and recommends it in salads, or boiled in broths and potages, to which it is better adapted than to medicine. It is much used in France for salads; and is mentioned as a potherb by Gerarde. The parsley-leaved chervil (Scandix cerifolium) and fern-leaved chervil (S. odorata), are still cultivated by the Dutch for soups, salads, &c.; but in this country they are not often found in the kitchen garden. The soil for these plants must be mouldy, and containing a portion of calcareous matter: it need not be very poor, yet far from rich. The situation cannot be too open, but a shelter from the meridian sun is of great importance. Seed may be said to be the only means of propagation, and the only sowing of this that can be depended upon must be performed in early autumn, immediately after it is ripe; for if kept until the following spring, it will seldom germinate; or if this first grade of ve 1 CHERVIL, THE NEEDLE. place, the seedlings are generally weak, and die away during the hot weather. The seed may be sown in drills eight inches apart, or broadcast; in either mode being only just covered. The plants are to be thinned to eight inches asunder, and to remain where they are raised. The only after-cultivation required by them is the keeping them clear of weeds. For the production of seed, some of the autumn-raised plants of the annual species must be left ungathered. They flower in April, and ripen their seed about June. Of the perennial species, some must in a like manner be left untouched: they will flower about June, and ripen their seed in July or August. (G. W. Johnson's Kitchen Garden.) The wild chervil, or smooth cow parsley (Ch.sylvestre), is the only indigenous species, besides Ch. sativum. It is a perennial, flowering in April and May, and thriving in hedges, orchards, and pastures. The root is spindle-shaped, a little milky; it has a striated stem, downy in the lower part. The snow-white flowers, some of the earliest of their tribe, plentifully adorn the hedges and margins of fields in spring and announce the approach of summer. The whole herb having the flavour of carrots, is eaten by domestic cattle, particularly asses, cows, and rabbits. Its presence indicates a fertile soil, but it ought to be eradicated from all pastures early in the spring. The umbels of this plant afford an indifferent yellow dye, the leaves and stems a beautiful green. (Smith's Eng. Flor. vol. ii. p. 48.; Willich's Dom. Ency.; Sinclair's Weeds.) CHERVIL, THE NEEDLE. See SHEPHERD'S NEEDLE. CHESSEL. The mould or vat in which the cheese is formed. It is made of thick staves, generally of white or American oak, bound with two strong iron hoops to withstand the necessary pressure. The chessel is perforated with many small holes in the bottom and sides to let the whey drain out of the curd. CHEST. The breast; or that part of an animal's body which contains the heart and the lungs. CHEST-FOUNDER. In farriery, a disease incident to horses, which proceeds from inflammation about the chest and ribs. CHESTNUT, or CHESNUT. (Faguscastanea.) The species cultivated in England are the common or sweet chestnut, of which there are two kinds, the Spanish (Cas. vesca) and the American (Cas. Americana); and the horse chestnut, which belongs to a distinct genus. The true chestnut tree flourishes on poor gravelly or sandy soils, and will thrive in any but moist or marshy situations. It has been CHEWING THE CUD. much questioned whether the chestnut is indigenous or exotic. It was at one time very common in England, and a great many chestnuts have been planted within the last thirty years. It is longlived, grows to an immense size, and is very ornamental. The wood is hard and compact: when young, it is tough and flexible; but when old it is brittle and often shaky. When divested of its sap wood, this timber will stand in situations exposed to wet and dry longer than oak; and for gate posts it ranks in durability next after the acacia, the yew, and probably it lasts longer than the larch. The nuts form an article for our dessert. In some parts of the Continent they are frequently used as a substitute for bread, and form a large proportion of the food of the inhabitants. During the three years ending with 1831, the entries of foreign chestnuts for home consumption averaged 20,948 bushels a year, and they pay a duty of 2s. per bushel. (Tredgold's Princip. of Carpentry; M'Culloch's Com. Dict.; Willich's Dom. Ency.; Phillips' Hist. of Fruits, p. 84.) CHESTNUT, HORSE. (Esculus hippocastanum.) This ornamental tree, now so common throughout Europe, is a native of Asia. The first plant is said to have been brought into Europe by the celebrated botanist Clusius in a portmanteau. It is too well known to require description. The wood is soft and of little value. The fruit contains much nutritive matter, but it is combined with a nauseous bitter extractive, which renders it unfit for the food of man; but horses, kine, goats, and sheep are fond of it. The bark of the tree contains an astringent, bitter principle, which operates as a tonic. It has cured agues, and some authors affirm that it might be a substitute for the Peruvian bark; but trials and experience have not justified their opinion. Given in a decoction, made with an ounce of the bark to a pint of water, it may be advantageously taken, to strengthen the habit weakened by previous disease. CHETWERT. A measure of corn in Russia, equal to 5% Winchester bushels; so that 100 chetwerts 74 Winchester quarters. = CHEVIOT SHEEP. See SHEEP. CHEWING-BALL. In farriery, the name of a medicine in the form of balls adapted to restore lost appetite in horses. CHEWING THE CUD. The operation of leisurely re-chewing or masticating the food in ruminating animals, as the cow, sheep, &c.: by this means the food is more effectually broken down, and mixed with the saliva. If a ruminant animal ceases to chew the cud, immediate illness may be ex CHICCORY. pected, as the digestive organs cannot act without this natural process. See an excellent article "On Rumination, or Chewing the Cud," in the Quart. Journ. of Agr. p. 344. CHICCORY, or SUCCOŘY. (Cichorium intybus.) An English perennial weed, the wild endive, common on the borders of cornfields and poor gravelly soils; extensively cultivated in Belgium, Holland, and Germany. The cultivated variety was much brought into notice by the late Arthur Young, as a forage plant. He brought the seed from France in 1788, and grew it extensively on his own farm; and reports (Annals of Agr. xxxix.), "The quantity of seed required to sow one acre is 13 lbs. The root runs deep into the ground, and is white, fleshy, and yields a milky juice. On the Continent, the dried root is roasted and used instead of coffee, and it is now allowed by the excise to be mixed with coffee. The root contains a strong bitter, which may be extracted by infusion; it is also used in the brewing of beer to save hops." Mr. Gorrie (Quart. Journ. of Agr. N. S. vol. iv. p. 206.) says, "No plant cultivated in this country will bring the cow-feeder nearly an equal return with the chiccory." It should be added, however, that the leaves give a bad taste to the milk of the cows which eat them. (Brit. Husb. vol. iii. art. "Flem. Husb." p. 42.) And Von Thäer, in his Principles of Agriculture (2d ed. vol. iv. p. 322.), asserts that it is extremely difficult to eradicate from the land, and has been found to materially impoverish the soil. The fresh root of chiccory, when sliced and pressed, yields a juice which is slightly tonic; and has been used in chronic affections of the stomach, connected with torpid liver. (Sinclair's Hort. Gram. Wob. p. 412.; M'Culloch's Com. Dict.; Willich's Dom. Encyc.; Brit. Husb. vol. ii. p. 303.) CHICK, or CHICKEN. See POULTRY. CHICK PEA. (Cicer arietinum.) A plant too delicate for field culture in England; but in the south of France it is grown for the same purpose as vetches in England. It is the gram of India. (Parton's Bot. Dict.; Low's Agr. p. 286.) CHICKWEED. A low, creeping weed, of which there are several varieties. The common chickweed, or stitch-wort (Stellaria media), has an annual, small, tapering root; flowering from March to December. Small birds and poultry eat the seeds, and whole berb; whence its name. Swine are extremely fond of it; and it is eaten by cows and horses; but is not relished by sheep, and is refused by goats. The herb may be boiled for the table like spinach: it is reported to be nutritive. The field chickweed (Cerastium arvense) is a perennial, CHICKWEED. from four inches to a foot in length, found in fields and on banks and hillocks, on a gravelly or chalky soil. In this order there are seven other species of mouse-ear chickweed, viz. two kinds of broad-leaved (C. vulgatum and C. latifolium); the narrow-leaved (C. viscosum); the little mouseear (C. semi-decandum); the four-cleft (C. tetrandum); the alpine (C. alpinum); and the water (C. aquaticum). These call for no observation. The berry-bearing sort, which grows with smooth erect stalks, and the stamens longer than the petals, is the wild lychnis, or white behen, and is a very rambling weed, natural to most parts of England, frequently called spattling-poppy. Its roots are perennial, and strike so deep into the earth that they are not easily destroyed by the plough; for which reason, bunches of this plant are too common among corn, in land which has not been perfectly well tilled. Summer-fallowing, and carefully harrowing out the roots, which should then be burnt, is the best and most effectual remedy. The common chickweed grows in almost every situation, in damp or even boggy woods, and on the driest gravel walks in gardens. In its wild state, this plant frequently exceeds half a yard in height; and varies so much from the garden chickweed, that if a person were acquainted only with the latter, he would with difficulty recognise it in the woods. Its small white flowers, and pale green leaves spreading in all directions, sufficiently point it out to our notice. It may be considered as a natural barometer; for if the flowers are closed, it is a certain sign of rain, while, during dry weather, they are regularly open from nine o'clock in the morning till noon. The plant boiled in vinegar and salt is said to cleanse breakings-out or eruptions of the hands and legs. (Smith's Eng. Flor. vol. ii. p.301.; Sinclair's Weeds, p. 52.; Willich's Dom. Encyc.) CHICKWEED, EUROPEAN WINTER-GREEN. (Trientalis Europea.) A species of chickweed growing on turfy heaths and woody declivities, in mountainous countries. Found in several parts of the north of England, but most plentiful in Scotland. Perennial; root slightly tuberous; herbage smooth; stem solitary, erect, roundish, three or four inches high, almost naked, except at the top, where it is covered with a tuft of leaves, and very elegant white flowers; seeds dotted, black, with snowwhite reticulated tunics, like fine lace. (Smith's Eng. Flor. vol. ii. p. 208.) CHICKWEED, GERMANDÉR. See SPEEDWELL. CHICKWEED, PLANTAINLEAVED. See SANDWORT. CHICKWEED, SEA. CHICKWEED, SPEEDWELL. See WALL SPEEDwell. See SANDWORT. | cultivation required is to keep them free from weeds. By autumn they multiply into large-sized bunches; and if required may be taken up as soon as the leaves decay, and be stored, after the necessary precautions, as a substitute for the onion: the leaves, which are fit for use as long as they remain green, must, when required, be cut down close to the ground, when they will speedily be succeeded by others. (G. W. Johnson's Kitch. Garden.) CHICKWEED, UMBELLIFEROUS JAGGED. (Holosteum umbellatum.) Found on old roofs and walls; rare. Root annual; small fibrous stems, weak and partly decumbent, branched from the bottom only, four or five inches high, round, leafy. Leaves hardly an inch long, spreading, single-ribbed, glaucous, and rather succulent, entire and even at the edges. Flower stalks about five, terminal, umbellate. Petals white with a tinge of red, various and unequally jagged at each side. Seed reddish. (Smith's Eng. Flor. vol. i. p. 188.) CHICKWEED, UPRIGHT. See SPEEDGHT. WELL, BLUNT-fingered. CHICKWEED, WATER. See BLINKS, WATER. CHICLING-VETCH, or EVERLASTING PEA. See VETCH. CHIFF CHAFF. (Sylvia hippolais.) A hardy small bird, which takes its name from its oft-repeated double note, resembling the two syllables “chiff, chaff. Frequents shady woods, hedgerows, and bushes. Food insects; nest oval or rounded, with a hole in the side, by which the bird enters; outside formed of dry grass, dead leaves, and moss; lined with a profusion of feathers; it is generally placed on or near the ground in a hedge-bank; eggs usually six, white with a few specks of dark purplish red; beak shorter and narrower at base than the willow warbler; legs very dark brown; and the plumage partakes more of brown and less of green than that bird. (Yarrell's Brit. Birds, p. 307.) CHINA-ASTER. See ASTER. CHINE. In horsemanship, the backbone, or ridge of the back. In pork, that part of the back which contains the backbone. CHINESE DUCK. See POULTRY. CHISLEY LAND. Soil between sandy and clayey, containing a large admixture of small pebbles or gravel. CHISSUM. A term used provincially for to put forth roots, or to vegetate. CHIT. A word used in the same sense for to bud, or sprout out. CHIVES, or CIVES. (Allium schanoprasum.) This plant is a perennial, flowering in May and June. It is easily propagated by offsets of the roots. The time for making plantations is January or February: how ever, March is the month to be preferred to either; but if previously neglected, it may be performed as late as June. It is also planted in the autumn. They are to be inserted by the dibble, eight or ten inches apart, and eight or ten offsets in each hole. The only CHIZZLE. Provincially, the bran or husky parts of ground wheat. CHLORIDE OF LIME. This substance is a compound of lime in its slacked state, or as a hydrate and chlorine. The combination is loose, and the chlorine is exposed to the air, affording the colour of that gas. It dissolves only partially in water; and the solution, when exposed to the air, evolves chlorine, whilst the freed lime attracts carbonic acid, and forms an insoluble carbonate of lime, which collects in the bottom of the vessel. The use of the chloride of lime, or bleaching powder, has been recently proposed again as a manure; and I am much inclined to believe that on hot sandy soils, if used in proper pro portions, it would be productive of very good results; for it not only, when applied with the seed, stimulates its germination, but also by gradually giving out a portion of its chlorine, and being converted into carbonate of lime, it produces much good It is only in this way that chloride of lime can be useful to vegetation, unless, as an experiment of Mr. Fincham's suggests, its odour may be found to keep off the attacks of the fly; for chloride of lime is certainly not a food, nor constituent part of vegetation. It is important not to confound chloride of lime with chloride of calcium, which is a compound of chlorine and the metall basis of lime. The latter salt is a perfect chemical compound; but the former is sa imperfect combination of chlorine and lime; and, as the lime has a greater affinity for carbonic acid than for chlorine, it attracts the former and evolves the latter when it is exposed to the air. Davy investigated the fertilising, or rather stimulating properties of chlorine, but he made no experiment on its compounds. what he did he did well; yet in this instance he stopped short at the very threshold of the investigation. But he shall tell his oa story:- "There are several chemical menstrua," says this great chemist, "which res der the process of germination more rapid when the seeds have been steeped in the As in these cases the seed leaves are quickly produced, and more speedily perform their functions, I proposed it as a subject of ex CHLORIDE OF LIME. periment, to examine whether such menstrua might not be useful in raising the turnip more speedily to that state in which it would be secure from the fly; but the result proved that the practice was inadmissible; for seeds so treated, though they germinated much quicker, did not produce healthy plants, and often died soon after sprouting. I steeped radish seeds, in September, 1807, for twelve hours in a solution of chlorine, and similar seeds in very diluted nitric acid, and in very diluted sulphuric acid (oil of vitriol), in weak solution of ox-sulphate of iron (green vitriol), and some in common water. The seeds in solutions of chlorine and ox-sulphate of iron threw out the germ in two days, those in nitric acid in three days, in sulphuric acid in five, and those in water in five. But in every case of premature germination, though the plume was very vigorous for a short time, yet it became at the end of a fortnight weak and sickly, and at that period less vigorous in its growth than the sprouts which had been naturally developed, so that there can be scarcely any useful application of these experiments. Too rapid growth and premature decay seem invariably connected in organised structures, and it is only by following the slow operations of natural causes that we are capable of making improvements. (Agric. Chem. p. 217.) Chloride of lime is prepared in large quantities for the service of the bleachers in most of the manufacturing districts. It is composed, according to the analysis of Dr. Marcet, of Dr. Ingenhouz, in a paper published by the Board of Agriculture in 1816, remarks, in alluding to some experiments he had tried at Hertford in company with the Baron Dimsdale with various salts, "Be it sufficient to say here, that of all the neutral salts we tried, the glauber salt did seem to be one of the best in promoting vegetation; and the steeping the seeds in water, impregnated with oxygenated marine salt (which is now employed in bleaching linen in an expeditious way), had a particularly beneficial effect in producing vigorous and early plants. We were somewhat astonished that those seeds, viz. of wheat, rye, barley, and oats, which had been steeped in the above mentioned oxygenated muriatic liquid, even during forty-eight hours, did thrive admirably well; whereas, the same seeds steeped during so long a time, in some of the other medicated liquids, were much hurt, or had lost their vegetative power. CHUB. The same oxygenated liquid poured upon the ground had also a beneficial effect." These experiments of Ingenhouz were made, it appears, in 1795. See SALTS, their uses to vegetation. (Brit. Farm. Mag. vol. ii. p. 258.: On Fertilisers," p. 366.) CHOCCY. A vulgar term used provin cially to signify chalky, or resembling chalk. CHOLIC, or COLIC. See HORSES, CATTLE, SHEEP. DISEASES OF. CHOPPER, HAY. See CHAFF-ENGINES. A new and very efficient straw-cutter under the title of the "Canadian Straw and Haychopper," is figured and described in the Trans. High. Soc. vol. vi. p. 336. One person driving the machine can, it is said, cut with ease 5 cwt. of hay or straw in an hour. CHOUGH, or RED LEGGED CROW. (Fregilus graculus.) The plumage of this British bird is uniformly black, glossed with blue; beak, legs, and toes, vermilion red; claws, black. In the family of the crows the males are larger than the females; in this species the male measures almost seventeen inches in length, female about fourteen inches. Food, insects and berries, occasionally grain. Nest of sticks, lined with wool and hair, in the cavities of high cliffs, old castles, or church towers, near the sea. Eggs, four or five, yellowish white, spotted with ash-grey and light brown; one inch eight lines by one inch one line in breadth. (Yarrell's Brit. Birds, vol. ii. p. 56.) CHRISTOPHER, HERB-. See BANE BERRIES. CHRONIC COUGH. In horses, this is a frequent consequence of chest diseases. In a few instances this seems to be connected with worms; and if the coat is unthrifty, the flanks tucked up, and there is mucus around the anus, it will be proper to put the connexion between the worms and the cough to the test; otherwise a sedative medicine may suffice to allay the irritation. (Clater's Far. p. 123.) CHRYSANTHEMUM, INDIAN. (Chrysanthemum indicum.) A native of China and India and a perennial, growing three feet high, blowing its purple, yellow, and white flowers in November and December. It loves a rich soil, and must be removed every two years. Propagate by dividing the roots, and by cuttings. The garden Chrysanthemum coronarium is an annual, blowing yellow or white flowers in July, August, and September. Sow the seed where it is to grow. CHUB, or CHÈVEN. (Leuciscus cephalus.) A powerful fish belonging to the Cyprinidæ, common in our English rivers, and which takes its name from the size of its head. The scales are large; the co |