piece of ground adjoining to a church, and set apart for the interment of the dead. In the Church of Rome such grounds are consecrated with great solemnity; and if afterwards profaned, as by the burial of an infidel, a heretic, or an unbaptized or excommunicated person, the ceremony of reconciliation is performed with all the solemnity of the original consecration.

Churchyard, Thomas, a poet who flourished in the reigns of Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary, and Elizabeth. He was born at Shrewsbury; and inherited a small patrimony, which was soon exhausted in a fruitless attendance on the court. He found his only recompense in having gained the favour of Lord Surrey, who retained him as a domestic, and encouraged his first poetical attempts. On his patron's death he joined the army; and in the engagements at which he was present he was frequently wounded, and twice made prisoner. He published several pieces, which were afterwards collected into one volume under the title of Churchyard's Chips; and also the tragedy of Thomas Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk. He died in 1604.

Churn (Saxon cierne), a machine for separating the oily parts of milk or cream from the caseous and scrofulous parts, to make butter. (See Dairy.) The common churn is a vessel in the shape of the frustum of a cone, in which the milk is agitated by means of a perforated circular board attached to a long rod, which is worked up and down through an orifice in the lid of the vessel; or several such boards are arranged around a horizontal spindle, one end of which is made to pass through the side of the vessel, and attached to a handle. In some churns the agitation of the milk is increased by a double apparatus acting in contrary directions. The construction of churns however varies greatly.

Chusan, the principal of an immense group of smaller islands off the eastern coast of China, in Lat. 30° N., Long. 122° E. It lies N.W. and S.E., and has a circumference of 514 miles—the extreme length being 20, the extreme breadth 10, and the minimum breadth 6 miles. This island is beautifully diversified with hill and dale, and is well cultivated. Of the numerous small streams which run from the mountains and cross the plains to the sea, the most considerable is the Tungkeang, which falls into the harbour of Tinghae. On most of the hills there is a moderate coating of earth, which by industry has been rendered very productive. Nineteen-twentieths of the inhabitants are engaged in agriculture. Wherever it is possible to rear rice, the cultivation of every other product is abandoned; yet the quantity produced is not sufficient for the wants of the inhabitants. Millet, wheat, sweet potatoes, yams, taros, &c., are also grown. The tea plant is found almost everywhere, but is treated with little or no care. Chusan annually exports about 30,000 dols. worth. The cotton plant is largely cultivated near the sea. The capital, Tinghae, stands about half a mile from the beach, and is surrounded by a wall nearly 3 miles in circuit. The ditch outside the wall is interrupted on the N.W. side by a spur from a neighbouring hill, which projects into the town, and forms an easy access to an attacking force on that side. The town is traversed by canals, and the harbour, which has from 4 to 8 fathoms water, is landlocked by several islands. Temple or Joss-house Hill, which commands the town and harbour, is 122 feet high close to the beach, and on its east side there is a canal. The population of the town and suburbs of Tinghae, which at the commencement of 1843 was about 27,500, had increased in 1846 to above 35,000. The population of the entire island was estimated at 200,000. Chusan has but few manufactures; of these the chief are coarse cotton stuffs and agricultural implements. There are salt works on the coast; and the fisheries employ a number of the inhabitants. In Tinghae a considerable business is carried on in carving and varnishing. The principal exports are fish, coarse black tea, cotton, vegetable tallow, sweet potatoes, and some wheat. Chusan was taken by the British forces in 1840 and 1841, and retained till 1846 as a guarantee for the fulfilment of the stipulations of the treaty.