Page:Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition, v. 5.djvu/598

586 68,&G8 swine. They live in well-built villages, and main tain industrial habits. Their territory is distributed into eight districts ; and their chief town is Tahlequah, situated in the south-east corner of the country. A newspaper is published in the capital in English and Cherokee, and a literature is being gradually formed. Their language con sists of two dialects, a third, called Gidoowa, having been lost. The syllabic alphabet invented in 1821 by Georgv Guess is the character employed.  CHERRY (Cerasus). As a cultivated fruit-tree the cherry is generally supposed to be of Asiatic origin, whence, according to Pliny, it was brought to Italy by Lucullus after his defeat of Mithridates, king of Pontus, C8 B.C. As with most plants which have been long and extensively cultivated, it is a matter of difficulty, if not an impossibility, to -identify the parent stock of the numer ous cultivated varieties of cherry ; but they are gene rally referred to two species, Cerasus sylvestris, the wild or corone cherry or gean-tree (the merisier of the French) and G. vulyaris, the common cherry-tree (French cerisier). The former species appears to be indigenous on the Mediterranean coasts, and in Central Europe, including the British Islands ; and it is probable that it is the latter species or some of its valuable cultivated varieties which was introduced by Lucullus. The genus Cerasus includes trees of moderate size and shrubs, having smooth serrate leaves, white flowers, and a drupaceous fruit. They are natives of the temperate regions of both hemispheres ; and the cultivated varieties ripen their fruit in Norway as far as 63 N. The geans are generally distinguished from the common cherry by the greater size of the trees, and the deeper colour and compa rative insipidity of the flesh in the ripe fruit, which adheres firmly to the &quot;nut&quot; or kernel ; but among the very numerous cultivated varieties specific distinctions shade away so that the fruit cannot be ranged under these two heads. In the Fruit Catalogue published by the Horticultural Society in 1842, eighty varieties are enumerated, and to these con siderable additions have since been made by cultivation both in Europe and America. The leading varieties are recognized as Bigarreaux, Dukes, Morellos, and Geans. Several varieties are cultivated as ornamental trees and on account of their flowers. The cherry is a w T ell flavoured sub-acid fruit, and is much esteemed for dessert ; but it should be used cautiously, as, especially if not quite ripe, it has a tendency to disorder the bowels. Some of the varieties are particularly selected for pies, tarts, &amp;lt;fcc., and others for the preparation of pre serves, and for making cherry brandy. The fruit is also very extensively employed in the preparation of the liqueurs known as kirschwasser, ratafia, and maraschino. Kirsch- wasser is made chiefly on the upper Rhine from the wild black gean, and in the manufacture the entire fruit-flesh and kernels are pulped up and allowed to ferment. By distillation of the fermented pulp the liqueur is obtained in a pure colourless condition. Ratafia is similarly manu factured, also by preference from a gean. Maraschino, a highly valued liqueur, the best of which is produced at Zara in Dalmatia, differs from these in being distilled from a cherry called marasca, the pulp of which is mixed with honey, honey or sugar being added to the distillate for sweet ening. It is also said that the flavour is heightened by the use of the leaves of the perfumed cherry, Cerasus Mahaleb. The wood of the cherry tree is valued by cabinetmakers, and that of the gean tree is largely used in the manufac ture of tobacco pipes. The American red cherry, Cerasus serotina, is much sought after, it being compact, fine grained, not liable to warp, and susceptible of receiving a brilliant polish. The bark of this species is very highly esteemed in America as a mild tonic and sedative medi cine, and is coming into use for the same purpose in Great Britain. The kernels of the perfumed cherry, C. Mahaleb, are used in confectionery, and for scenting toilet soap. A gum exudes from the stem of cherry-trees similar in its properties to gum arable.  CHERSO, an island of Illyria, included in the govern ment of Trieste, in the Gulf of Quarnero. connected with the island of Osero by a bridge, and separated from the mainland by the channel of Farissina. It is about 35 miles in length, with an area of 105 square miles, and has about 7GOO inhabitants. It is traversed by a range of mountains, forming natural terraces on which vines and olive trees flourish. The other parts of the island are covered with bushes of laurel and mastic, but there are scarcely any large trees. There is a scarcity of springs, and the houses are generally furnished with cisterns for rain water. The capital of the same name, on the western side of the island, has a cathedral, several churches and monasteries, and 4673 inhabitants. In the centre of the island, at 40 Paris feet above the level of the sea, is an inter esting lake called the Vrana or Crow s Lake, which, accord ing to the hypothesis of Dr Lorenz of Fiume, is connected with the island of Osero.  CHERSONESE,, or (from epcros, mainland, and v^cros, island), is a word equivalent to peninsula. In ancient geography, the Chersonesus Thracica, Chersonesus Taurica or Scythica, and Chersonesus Cimbrica correspond respectively to the peninsula of the Dardanelles, the Crimea, and Jutland; and the Golden Chersonese (^ XP va ~*l XW 1 7 ? *) * s usually identified with the peninsula of Malacca. The Tauric Chersonese was further distinguished as the Great, in contrast to the Heracleotic or Little Chersonese at its south-western corner, where the town of Sebastopol now stands.  CHERTSEY (in Saxon Ceortcs Eye or Ceorta s Island), a market-town of England, on the south bank of the Thames, in the county of Surrey, about 25 miles W.S.W. from London by railway. It is connected with Middlesex by a bridge of seven arches, built of Purbeck stone in 1785. The parish church, rebuilt in 1808 at a cost of 12,000, contains a tablet to Charles James Fox, who resided at St Anne s Hill in the vicinity, and another to Lawrence Tomson, a translator of the New Testament in the 17th century. The principal educational establishments are sup ported by a foundation bequeathed in 1725 by the liberality of Sir William Perkins ; and they afford a free education to upwards of 200 children. Hardly any remains are left of the great Benedictine abbey, which was rebuilt by Edgar in 963 on the site of an earlier monastery established by Earconwald, bishop of London, in the 7th century. Its buildings at one time included an area of 4 acres ; but they fell into almost complete decay in the 17th century, and a &quot; fair house &quot; was erected out of the ruins by Sir Nicholas Carew of Beddington. The ground-plan can yet be traced; the fish ponds are still complete ; and carved stones, coffins, and encaustic tiles of a peculiar manufacture are frequently exhumed. Among the abbots the most famous was John de Rutherwycke, who was appointed in 1307, and continued, till his death in 1346, to carry on a great system of alteration and extension, which almost made the abbey a new building. The house in which the poet Cowley spent the last years of his life is still extant, and the chamber in which he died is preserved unaltered. The town is the seat of a county court, and possesses a literary institute and an agricultural society. Its principal trade is in produce for the London markets. During the 7th cen tury Chertsey was the residence of the South Saxon kings. Population of the parish in 1872, 7763; of the town, about 3000