Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 04.djvu/670

CHERBTTLIEZ. 588 CHEROKEE. popular favor by Lc comic Kostia (1863). The best of a iiiultituflo that followed in quick sue- cession are: Prosper Randoc.e (1868); LmUslas Bolski (1809); itiss Roccl (1870); Meta Hol- dciiis (1873) ; and Samuel lirohl ct Cie. (1877). lie is best in cosmopolitan characterizations of Russians, Poles, English, Germans, or .Tews — persons of exaggerated independence, incoherent and improbable as the plots in which they fig- ure. Cherbuliez's descriptions are varied and clever, but superficial: his psychology is weak and conventional : the story may be interesting, but the ending is apt to be trivial. He grazes burning questions of sociology or science, deftly adapting his treatment to currents of popular interest, and with a sharp, cynical, and rather narrow irony. Cherbuliez became an Academi- cian in 1881. !Most of his novels have been popular in English translations. His essays, under the assumed name of G. Valbert. are in part collected, under various titles, and deal with politics, literature, and art. Consult the FAoge, by E. Faguet, on his succession to Cherbuliez's seat in the French Academy. CHEBET, shf-rft', Jri.ES (1836—). A French artist, born in Paris. He was the first to take up and make an art of poster designing. In 1806 he set up his own printing establishment in Paris, and printed the first posters in color. This establishment was afterwards acquired by the Maison Caix (1881). With very simple means he accomplished a most artistic effect, and his original and charming work opened a new field for artists. Jules Cheret's posters were catalogued by Jl. Biraldi, and number more than .500. The finest of them is the "Fetes de JIont-de-Marsan." CHERETHITES AND PELETHITES, ker't-thits. pel'i-thits. Two peo])les settled in the Xegeb of Palestine, and furnishing a bodyguard for David. They are mentioned together in II. Sam. viii. 18; xv. 18; xx. 7. 2.3: I. Kings i. .38, 44: I. Chron. xviii. 17. In all these passages the troops are referred to. The Cherethites alone are mentioned in I. Sam. XXX. 14: Zeph. ii. 5; Ezekiel xxv. 10; and prob- ably Ezekiel xxx. 5. The Greek and Syriac ver- sions translate Cherethim as 'Cretans,' and they are evidently regarded as belonging to the Philistines. The Pelethites are probably only a dialectical pronunciation of Philistines. There is nothing improbable in David's having a body- guard made up of Philistines. Possibly the Cherethites were more closely related to the Eteo-cretans than were the Pulsta, or Philistines. CHERIBON, shPr'i-bon. The capital of the residency of that name, situated on the northern coast of -lava, about 12.'5 miles southeast of 13a- tavia. Although it has lost to a great extent its commercial importance, it still has a consid- erable trade in coffee, indigo, and teak wood. Population, about 19.000. CHER'IMOY'ER (Fr. chMmoUer, corrup- tion of Peruv. cherimofcfi) or CHlniMoy. (Anona cherimoUa) . One of the most esteemed fruits of P.razil and Peru, now common and even natural- ized in some parts of the Fast Indies and other tropical countries of the Old World, and cultivat- ed upon the Keys of Florida and in California. The tree is from I.t to .30 feet in height, with drooping branches and oblong leaves which are velvetv beneath. The fruit is of most delicious flavor, is sometimes descril)ed as the finest of all fruits, and sometimes as inferior only to the mangos- teen. It belongs to the same genus with the cus- tardapple (q.v.). Both flowers and fruit emit a pleasant fragrance, but when the tree is cov- ered with bhxmi the odor is so strong as to be almost overpowering. The fruit varies from the size of an orange to 10 ])ounds or upward in weight. It is rotindish or heart-slui]ied. Ex- ternally it is nearly smooth, greenish or brown- ish yellow when ripe, and often with a reddish cheek. The skin is rather thick and tough and marked off into pentag07ial or hexagonal areas. Internally, the fruit is snow-white and juicy, and contains a number of small brown seeds. CHERKES'SIANS. See Circassi.xs. CHER'NIGOV. See Tcuernigov. CHER'NOZEM ( Kuss. chernozem u. from chcr- nuii, black + zciiihiii. earth). The Russian name for a very fertile lilack or dark-colored soil cov- ering the larger part of the southern third of Russia, extending from the southwestern boun- daries to the southern half of the I'ral Moun- tains, and reaching beyond the Ural ^Motmtains into ."Vsiatie Russia. The aggregate area of tliis .soil is estimated to be from '216,000.000 to 270.- 000,000 acres. Soils similar to chernozem are foimd on the prairies of the western United States and the pampas of Argentina. Typical cliernozem is formed by the admixture of liunuis with loess (qq.v.). The proportion of hunuis varies from 3 to 10 per cent., the humus con- taining from 5 to 8 per cent, of nitrogen. Cher- nozem is rich in plant food, and is of great depth, so that it bears continuous culture with the same crops without deterioration : but its physical properties, due to its very fine particles, are such that under unfavorable weather condi- tions it loses its normal gramilar structure, dries out, and becomes so compact as to result in cro]) failures, followed by the distressing famines which occur occasionally in Russia. CHER'NYSHEV'SKI. See TcherxyshevsivI. CHER'OKEE (X. Amer. Indian, ujiland field 1. The largest and most important native tribe of tlic eastern Ignited States. They are of remote Iroquoian affinity, and formerly occu- pied the mountain region of the Carolinas. Ten- nessee, Georgia, and -Alabama, in numerous permanent villages of substantially liuilt log houses. They depended chiefly upon agriculture, and raised large crops of corn, pumpkins, and beans. De Soto passed through their country in 1540, and for three centuries later they were prominent in the history of the South, taking lirecedence during the colonial period over all the other tribes of that region. They espoused the British cause during the K<'volution, but in 178.1 made a treaty of peace with the I'nitcd States. and at once took up the road to civilization, at- taining in a very short time a high degree of prosperity and advancement. This was largely d>ie to the work of dev<itcd missionaries, and to the presence of a respectable mixed-blood clement, the descendants of former British traders. In 1820 they adopted the regular civilized form of govcnuiicnt, and seven years later formulated a constitution under the style of the 'Cherokee N'a- tion.' In the infen^al. Spquoya (q.v.), known also as George Guess, had devised for the lan- guage an alphabet, which was officially adopted bv the Cherokee Government. Within a short