CHERSO, an island of Illyria, included in the government 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 7600 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 interesting lake called the Vrana orCrow’s Lake, which, according to the hypothesis of Dr Lorenz of Fiume, is connected with the island of Osero.

CHERSONESE, Chersonesus, or Cherronesus (from χέρσος, mainland, and vησoς, 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 (η χρυσή χepp6vησoς) is 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.