Page:Cyclopaedia, Chambers - Supplement, Volume 1.djvu/505

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brafs, as well as a yellow one ; which Arlftotle gives us the manner of making, and lays, that it was prepared by adding a certain earth to copper while in fufion, as the yellow brafs was by adding calamine.

Chalcolibanos, therefore, fignifies no more than brafs-coloured frankincenfe. The Greeks called one fort of frankincenfe olibanum xanthum, that is, reddifh olibanum. A fecond kind they called by a name formed of a metal, and the name of the thing itfelf, with the name of the metal prefixed, as in this word, argyrolibanum ; this was white. The third kind, a yellow, was called chakoUbanon. This word is compounded ib like the former, argyrolibanum, that this alone might lead any one to the right meaning of it.

Pliny divides the frankincenfe into male and female, the one white, the other yellowifli : this latter is probably the chalco- libanoi of the apocalypfe. And even Aretbas, who has given the other explanation of brafs of Lebanon to this word, ac- knowledges, that it may be underftood of olibanum, one kind of which, he obferves, is of the colour of that metal. It is plain alfo from the hymns of Orpheus, that this word chal- colibanos was in ufe among the Greeks as a name of olibanum or male frankincenfe; for he orders the ufe of it under this very name for a fuffumigation, in the addrefs to Latona and Apoilo, and to fome other of the deities. CHALCOMUIA, the brafs-fy, in natural hiftory, the name of a fly, whofe wings are of the colour of polifhed brafs. It is of the carnivorous kind, feeding on other flies, beetles, and on the bodies of ferpents when dead ; whence it has been alfo called by fome ophioborus ; others have called it Hefycius. CHALCOPHTHONGUS, in natural hiftory, a word ufed by Pliny, and other writers, as the name of a peculiar fpecies of marble, which was very hard, and of a deep black colour, and when ftruck upon, founded like brafs. It is alfo called by fome chalcotes, and chalcoponus. The antients, who had a great opinion of the fympathetic and hidden virtues of ftones, recommended this to people upon the ftage, who acted in their tragedies, always to be worn about them, to preferve the voice clear. It was alfo efteemed a fpecific to prevent in- continency, and the young fingers, in their public diverfions, were in the fame manner advifed to wear it, to keep them in abftinence from thofc things' which would hurt and break their voices. The antients were fond of thefe imaginary virtues in ftones, and our writers of the middle ages have handed down all their traditions. CHALCOSMARAGDUS, in natural hiftory, a name given by the antients to what they called a fpecies of the emerald, found about the copper mines of the ifland of Cyprus, and of adufby appearance, and vein'd with yellow.

The antients were very indeterminate in the characters of the gems, and one or other of them have called almoft every green ftone in the world an emerald. This was probably only a dirty green fpar or cryftal tinged with copper, and fuch as we daily find about our own copper mines. CHALCUS, XateSc, among the antient Greek phyficians, a weight of about two grains, the fame as asreolus or asreolum. Caji. Lex. in voc. CHALEF, in the botanical writings of the antient Arabs, the name of a tree often occurring, and feldom explained, tho' that bea veryneceflary talk, astheotherplants they defcribe are often compared to this ; and we are left in the dark, after all the accounts, by not knowing what the chalef was. Some have fuppofed it to be the bay-tree; others, mint; and others, the quince tree: three very different things, and all equally wrong interpretations. The beft account we have of the chalef or chalaf is in the writings of Profper Alpinus on the Egyptian plants. He tells us, that it is a kind of willow, growing in Egypt and in Mefopotamia. This agrees very well with all that we know concerning the chalef of the antients, and ferves to explain the account Oipfcorides gives of his hydropiper, which from every thing elfe that was faid of it, was fuppofed to be the common arfmart ; but this has been doubted by many, becaufeAvifenna, who defcribes it under the name of zinziber caninum,or dog's ginger, calls its leaves oblong,and like'thofe of the chalef. While chalef was underftood to mean the bay or quince tree, this could not be fuppofed to be the arfmart ; but when we find that chalef is a willow, this very circum- ftance pleads as much in favour of its being the arfmart, as it before feemed to make againft it, the leaves of our perficaria or arfmart being very like thofe of the willow. Thus the ex- plaining of one word often explains many more. CHALINOS, Xa^.voc, in antiquity, the bit, or that part of a bri- dle which is put into the mouth of a horfe : but it was, among the antient phyficians, alfo ufed to exprefs that part of the cheeks, which, on each fide, is contiguous to the angles of the mouth. Blanc. & Cajl. Lex. in voc. CHALIZA, in the Jewifh cuftoms, the ceremony whereby woman who is left a widow, pulls off her brother-in-law's fhoes, who fhould efpoufe her, and by this means is allowed to be at liberty to marry whom fhe pleafes. The word figni- fies extrattio vel exuvits. Calm. Diet. Bifol. CHALK (Cycl.) — The hard, dry, and firm chalk, is much the propereft for burning into lime ; but the foft unctuous chalk is greatly the beft for lands, becaufe it difiblves with froft and rain in the manner of marl. This fort of chalk ufed inftead of Suppl. Vol. I.

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mad by way of a manure, is a very line improvement for fome lores or land, efpecially the firft time it is laiipn. It changes the very nature of the foil, and makes it rich fir a time, but it foon exhaufls itfelf, and requires dunging to keep it in heart atewards. A fecond chalking will prove of very little bene- fit to thofe lands which fucceeded ever fo well with tl e firft, unlets they have lain a long time to recover themfelves after it. It is from hence that the f,.rmers have their trite faying, that chalk makes a rich tenant, but a poor landlord The beft method therefore of ufinp kali, is to mix one load of it with two loads of dung or mud ; this will make it not only a temporary, but a lairing advantage to the ground. It is the beft improvement for fowre and cold lands, and is obferv- ed always to do moft good to thofe lands that lie fartheft oft" from any natural beds of it ; the ground near chalk beds par- taking of their nature, tho' there is no chalk diftingurffaabk in them by the eye. The common method of chalking lands, is to lay twelve or fourteen load of chalk upon every acre, and this will fometimes make the land bring very rich crops for fourteen or fifteen years together.

"1'is beft to carry the chalk upon a lay a year or two before it is plowed up ; by this means it will fweeten the furface of the earth, and will not work fo much downwards, as it will if plowed up at firft. It makes corn yield well > and when laid upon grafs ground, it makes the grafs fweet and rich ; and cattle that feed upon it growfat foon. The cows alfo thatfeed in theie paftures, are obferved to give better milk than or- dinary.

They have a very eafy way of digging chaH in Kent. It lies on the fides of hills, and the workman undermines it as far as he thinks proper, then digging a trer.ch at the top, as far dif- tant from the edge as the undermining goes at bottom, they, fill this with water, and that foaks thro' in the fpace of one night, and the whole flake falls down at once. In other parts of the kingdom, chalk generally lies deeper, and they are often forced to dig for it to confiderable depths, and draw it up in buckets ; yet in thefe places, it fells cheap enough at the mouth of the pit to be worth buying, even to carry a great way, for manure. Mortimer's Hufbandry. BlaciCHALK., a name given by the printers to a fpecies of ochreous earth, with which they dr.lv/ on blue paper, and other fubftances. It is very improperly called chalk, being more of the nature of the Cologn earth than any other known fub- ftance, but containing much lefs vegetable matter than that. It is found in the earth in broad flat pieces, from two to ten foot long, and from four inches to twenty in breadth ; gene- rally flat, but fomewhat rifmg in the middle, and thinner to- ward the edges, and commonly lies in large quantities toge- ther. While in the earth, it is moift and flaky, but being dried, it becomes confiderably bard, and very light ; but al- ways breaks in fome particular direaion ; and if attentively examined when frefh broken, appears of a ftriated texture. It is of a fine black colour, of a clofe even ftrudfure, and rough and dufty furface. It adheres firmly to the tongue, and is fomething harfh to the touch. It breaks tolerably eafy be- tween the fingers, and ftains the hands. It finks in water, in which it differs from the nature of the Cologn earth, and makes no effervefcence with acids. When put into the fire, it rea- dily takes fire, and burns to a fine white fubftance, harder than before, and feeming as if made of a mixture of tobacco- pipe clay and wood afhes. This calcined fubftance on trial yields a fmall quantity of an alkaline fait ; and all experiments prove it to be partly of vegetable, partly of foflile origin. It is dug in Spain, Italy, and fome parts of the German domi- nions. Hill's Hift. of Foffi p. 66. Red Chalk, an earth much ufed by painters and artificers, and common in the colour-fhops of London, and ehewhere. It is properly an indurated clayey ochre, and is dug in Germany, Italy, Spain, and France, but in the greareft quantity in Flan- ders. Its characters by which it is diftinguifhed from other red earths, are thefe : it is of a fine, even, and firm texture, very heavy, and very hard, of a pale red on the outfide, but when broken, of a deep dufky chocolate colour within. It adheres firmly to the tongue, is perfectly infipid to the tafle, and makes no effervefcence with acids. Hill's Hift. of F'ofl'. p. 62. Chalk land. Barley and wheat will fucceed very well on the better fort of chalky land, and oats generally do very well on any kind of it.

The natural produce of this fort of land in weeds, is that fort of fmail vetch called the tine tare, with poppies, May-weed, &c. Saint foin and hop-clover will generally fucceed tolerably well on thefe lands ; and where they are of the better fort, the great clover will do. The beft manure for thefe lands is dung, old rags, and the fheep dung left after folding them on it. If rain happens to fall upon thefe lands juft after the fow- ing, the earth will bind fo hard after it, that the fhoots from the feed cannot pierce thro' it, and the greater part of the crop will be by this means loft. In Hertfordfhire they manure their chalk lands with pidgeons dung, afhes, ana foot, and with fome horfe dung: and in Oxfordftijre they ufe no other manure than half-rotten dung, with which they mix fand ; and this, they fay, prevents the earth from binding. They gene ally fow thefe lands there with wheat, meilin, and tarley, only 6 Y a f ter