Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/553

* CHAMISSO. 475 CHAMONIX. Kevinond, Vhamisso als Xatiirforscher (Leipzig, 1889). CHAMOIS, sham'mt. Fi: pron. sha-mwa' (Fr., It. cti in U.Z :■! ; probably from MHG. ycnie:c, gem:, Ger. Clciiist: chamois; cl". also Sp., Port, gamo, fallow deer), or Ge.mse. A goat-antelope {Riipi- capiii tragus), inhabiting the high mountains of southern Europe. It oet-urs in the Pyrenees, where it is called 'izard;' in the mountain.s of the coasts of Spain. Dalmatia. and Greece: in the Alps, Carpathian, Caiuasus, and Taurus ranges, and in Georgia. The izard of Spain and the atchi of the Caucasus and beyond dilVer somewhat from the typical chamois of Tyrol, but onlj- as local races. The chamois is about the size of a large goat, but the neck is longer in proportion, and the body shorter. The color is l)roTi, deeper in winter than in summer: the tail is black: the head a pale yellow, with a dark-brown band along each cheek. The horns, seldom more than 6 or 7 inches long, rising nearly straight up from the forehead, are black and so bent back at the tip as to form a hook, (See Plate of Goat- AXTEI.OPES.) The usual summer resort of the chamois is in the higher regions of the mountains which it inhabits, not far from the snow-line, and it is often to he seen lying on the snow. In winter it descends to the higher forests, where, indeed, the females and their young fawns spend most of the time. The aromatic and bitter plants of the mountain pastures are its favorite food. Flocks of 100 are sometimes seen; but in the Swiss Alps, where the numbers have been much reduced by hunting, the flocks are generally very small, and often consist only of a few in- dividuals. Old males often live solitarily. The chamois produces one or two young at a birth, in May or June. It is an animal of extraordinary agility, and flocks may often be observed sporting in a re- markable manner among the rocky heights. It can leap over ravines 16 to 18 feet wide; a wall of 14 feet high presents no obstacle to it; and it passes readily up or down precipices which almost no other quadruped could attempt. It is said to descend obliquely almost perpendicular precipices of more than 20 feet, striking its feet once or twice against the rock, as if to stay and guide its descent, and alighting securely, often on a ver>- narrow ridge of rock, with its hind feet first, and bringing the fore feet almost into con- tact with them. When a flock of chamois are feeding (usually early in the morning) one is always on the watch, and by a sort of whistle amiounces apprehended danger. The hunting of the chamois is attended with great hardship and much danger, but calls forth the highest qualities of both sportsman.shi[) and mountaineering, since no great numbers exist, nor is any free hunting to be had except in the remotest and loftiest Carpathians, or else in Persia. Tiiis is due to the fact that for many years the .lpine resorts, and much of the region to the eastward, have been most strictly pre- served l>y royal decree or private ownership, and only a verv limited number of animals permitted to l)e killed annually; yet much poachhifr is done. The finest and proper way is to stalk the quarry alone, or with only a giiide. but battue methods are frequently followed in Bavaria and Transyl- vania. The flesh of the chamois is highly esteemed. Its skin is made into leather, and from it the original 'shammoy,' or '.shammy Vol. IV.— 31. leather,' so much prized for softness and wannth, was obtained. (See Leather.) Its horns and hoofs are mounted as ornaments, alpenstock- handles, etc., and form a valuable article of trade at mountain resorts. When taken young the chamois is easily tamed. CHAMOMILE, k:-im'6-mil, or CAMOMILE I OF. rijinatnillc, Med. Lat. camamilhi. Lat. cliaiiioiiiilla, from Gk. X"l"'-K chamai, on the ground -f /if/'/.ov, melon, apple). A genus of plants of the natural color Composita?, sub- order Tubulillora', distinguished by imbricated bracts, a .scaly conical receptacle, a ray of one row of female "florets, those of the disk hermaph- rodite, the aeh;i'nia obscurely four-cornered, and destitute of pappus. The species are annual and )>crennial herbaceous plants, chiefly natives of Europe and other temperate parts of the world. The common chamomile {.liithcmis nobilis), the Roman or true chamomile, the most impor- tant species of the genus, well known for its mediciual virtues, is a perennial plant with a stem about a foot long, procumbent and much branched, each branch terminated by a flower (head of flowers) more than an inch broad, with yellow disk and white ray, the whole plant in- tensely bitter and highly aromatic. It contains a bitter principle, tannin, and a volatile oil, oil of clnnwmile. which abounds most of all in the involucre. The dried flowers constitute the part used in medicine: the infusion made from them is used to a slight extent as a stomachic tonic, especially in convalescence. The German chamo- mile, or Matricaria, consists of the flowers of Matricaria cItamomiUa. This is called wild chamomile in Great Britain. Its flowers are smaller and the taste and odor stronger and less pleasant. Xo small quantity of common chamomile is illegally used in the manufacture of beer in England, and it is imported from Ger- many for this purpose. Yet this plant is so abundant in some parts of the south of England as to form a principal part of the pasture in sheep-walks, and to fill the whole air with its scent. The other British species of chamomile are mere weeds ; one of them, called stinking chamomile (Anthcmis cotiila). is so acrid as to blister the fingers if much handled. But the flowers of the ox-eye chamomile, or dyer's chamomile {Antheinis: tiitctoria), a native of many parts of the Continent of Europe, yield a beautiful yellow dye, on account of which the plant is often cultivated. CHAMONIX, sha'mo'ne', or CHAMOUNI, sha'mnn'ne' (Lat. Campuft munitiifi]. The name of a wild and romantic valley and village among the Alps in the Department of Ilaute-Savoie, France (ilap: France, N ti). It lies at an eleva- tion of about 3400 feet above the level of the sea, is about 13 miles long and 1 mile broad, and is tra^•ersed by the Arve. It begins at the northeast, from the Colde-Balme, over which there is a mule-path to Martigny, in the upper valley of the Rhone. From the other end issues the road to Geneva, which is .53 V> miles from Chamonix. On the north side lie Mont le BrC-vent and the chain of the .Aiguilles Rouges, and on the south is the giant group of Mont Blanc, with its enormous glaciers. The chief of these glaciers are the Glacier des Bossons, des Bois, d'Argen- ti^re. and du Toir. By ascending to a point called Montanvert, we come upon the u])j)pr course of a glacier, where it expands into a great mountain-