Chiffon
shif'on or she-fon', a thin, transparent, gauzy, silk textile named from its flimsy qualities, the word chiffon signifying in French a rag. Chiffon is strong and durable as compared with its weight, for the best of thread is used in its manufacture. One pound of the warp used will measure about 42,240 feet or eight miles. In finishing, the fabric is "sized." That which is made quite stiff is called full-sized; that of softer and lighter texture, demi-sized. Chiffon is dyed in a variety of colors and delicate tints. It is printed in beautiful patterns and is used specially for evening gowns and millinery purposes. See Sizing
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Chignecto Bay
an inlet at the head of the Bay of Fundy, in British North America. It separates Nova Scotia from New Brunswick, is 30 miles long and 8 broad, and has an isthmus of only 14 miles in width between it and Northumberland strait, in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.
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Chihuahua
the largest State of Mexico; bounded on the N. and N. E. by New Mexico and Texas; area, 90,036 square miles; pop. about 450,000. In the E. is the Bolson dé Mami, a vast desert of sand and alkali pimi, plains; in the S. and W. the surface is mountainous, and there are numerous rivers. The State is better adapted for stock-raising than for agriculture; the fertile districts are mainly confined to the valleys and river-courses. Cotton is grown in the S. The silver mines were for centuries among the richest in Mexico, and though many are now abandoned, mining is still the chief industry. The State is traversed by the Mexican Central railway and has also several other railroad lines. The capital, Chihuahua, 225 miles S. of El Paso, rises like an oasis in the desert, among roses and orange groves. It is well built, with broad, clean streets, an imposing cathedral (1717-1789), a mint, and an aqueduct 3 miles long, and is the center of considerable trade with Texas. It is in the center of a rich mining district and has important cotton and woolen mills. Founded about 1700, it had in the 18th century 80,000 inhabitants. Pop. about 40,000.
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Chilblain
or FROSTBITE, a blain or sore on the hands or feet produced by cold, especially if the parts were previously much heated.
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Child, Lydia Maria
Lydia Maria (1802-1880), an American writer of prose and verse. She was born in Massachusetts and died there. She came into notice through interest in the abolition movement. One of the first anti-slavery books published was her Appeal for the Class of Americans called Africans. For several years she and her husband, Mr. Child, edited the National Anti-Slavery Standard. She wrote much for children. Among her writings may be mentioned. The First Settlers of New England , Flowers for Children, and Looking Toward Sunset. One of Mrs. Child's well known poems is Thanksgiving Day : Over the river and through the wood-- Now grandmother's cap I spy. Hurrah for the fun! Is the pudding done? Hurrah for the pumpkin-pie!
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Childe Harold's Pilgrimage
a narrative poem in four cantos, by Lord Byron. The first two cantos were published in 1812, the third in 1816, and the last in 1818. The third canto is the best. The poem is autobiographical in style and describes the impressions and reflections of a misanthropical young man traveling through southern Europe. See Byron "In Childe Harold the scenic background to the somber figure of the pilgrim is Europe itself, brought before us with a sympathetic breadth and truth unmatched in the history of the literature."
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Children's Bureau
a bureau of the United States Government, established under the supervision of the Department of Labor in 1912. It is authorized to investigate and report on matters pertaining to child life. These include the birth rate, infant mortality, juvenile courts, accidents and diseases of children, etc. The chief of the bureau in 1921 was Miss Julia C. Lathrop. CHILDREN'S COURTS. See JUVENILE COURTS.
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Children's Crusade
THE, a singular movement in 1212, preached in France by Stephen, a peasant boy, and in Germany the same year by Nicholas, also a peasant boy. Some 90,000 children left their mothers and schoolmasters in the spring "to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels," and ships were placed at their disposal. The French contingent embarked at Marseilles in August; part perished the same month by shipwreck on the island of San Pietro, and the rest were sold into slavery to Mohammedans. The German contingent reached Genoa in August, and was utterly dispersed by various disasters before the next spring.
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Childs
GEORGE WILLIAM, an American philanthropist and publisher; born in Baltimore, Md., May 22, 1829. He published the Philadelphia "Public Ledger," 1864-1894. He gave a Shakespeare memorial fountain to Stratford- gato, Descabezado, Chillan, Osorno, and on-Avon, a memorial window in Westminster Abbey to Cowper and Herbert, and assisted in establishing a home for printers at Colorado Springs. He published "Recollections of General Grant" ( 1885), and "Personal Recollections" (1889). He died in Philadelphia, Feb. 3, 1894.
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Chilkat Inlet
western arm of Lynn Canal, an inlet in Alaska, in about 50° 7' N. lat.
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Chilkoot Pass
a pass over the mountains in the northern part of Alaska, traversed by thousands of goldseekers in the Klondike gold fields' excitement in 1897-1898. By way of the Chilkoot Pass is the most direct route to Dawson City, the principal starting point to the Klondike region. Since 1899 it has been superseded by the railway from Skagway over White Pass. The old trail went from Dyea on the western side of the inlet, and was the one formerly used by the Indians. It lies to the west of the railroad and ends at Lake Lindeman, an extension of Lake Bennett. The distance from Dyea was 28½ miles and the trip a very rough one, with one stretch hazardous and fatiguing in the extreme.
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Chill
The heavy cast-iron casing or former which is placed to give shape to the casting, and, by its rapid absorption of heat, produces a hard chilled surface there. This mode of chilling or hardening is the one pursued for treads of wheels, rolls of various kinds, and many other purposes. See CAR-WHEEL; ROLLS; STEEL-CASTINGS; CASE-HARDENING. China-clay is prepared by washing a white decomposed granite found in the southwestern part of England and other places. It is prepared by first breaking into pieces and allowing streams of water to carry it to pits, where, having settled to the consistence of cream, it is run into moulds to be subsequently kiln-dried. It is then cut into convenient-sized blocks and shipped for the manufacture of porcelain, earthenware, paper, etc., as well as for numerous other purposes in the iron industries, such as the manufacture of crucibles, etc. This is the kaolin of the foundry, being the name given by the Chinese to a similar clay found in China and used by them in making porcelain. See FELDSPAR; KAOLIN; DAUBING.
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