ASIAGO-ASMANSHAUSEN.

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scribed under the different countries. History.-A., now so passive, anciently took an active part in the great movements of the world's history; contended against Egypt and Greece, and afterward contributed to the greatness and glory of the Macedonian and Roman Empires. From the N. of the Caspian Sea came the vast hordes of the Huns, who spread themselves abroad over Europe. The armies of Genghis Khan and Tamerlane overran the Slavonian plains, while the Arab cagovernment in three quarters of the world. Under the Osmanli fell the Eastern Roman Empire; and still the Turk maintains a political position in Europe, but one now become very feeble and insecure. In proportion as Europe has advanced A. has declined in political power, so as to countenance the theory of a gradual movement of the spirit of civilization and progress from the Eastern to the Western world. So soon as the Asiatic nations have reached a certain moderate pitch of culture the history of civilization ceases, so far as they are concerned, and is followed by the mere chronology of states or dynasties.

The hotter regions near the Indian Ocean and China Sea are cubject to violent cyclones or typhoons, and the heated air blown over southern A. by the S.-W. monsoon brings watery vapor and heavy falls of summer rain. The annual rainfall varies from 5 to 100 in. The great diversities of climate, water distribution, and soil yield a corresponding variety of natural productions. In forestry, while vast regions of territory have been wholly stripped of trees, pines, birches, and willows abound in the N., balsams, palms, acacias, ban-liphs, with their fanatical troops, established their religion and yans, bread-fruit, cedars, etc., in the southern and central portions. Medicinal plants, dye-woods, and spices grow in profusion. China and Japan are the great cultivators of the tea-plant and the camellia. Rice is of Asiatic origin, and in the cooler regions wheat, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, maize, and millet are grown. Bananas, plantains, yams, sugar-cane, pepper, tobacco, indigo, cotton, hemp, flax, and that baneful plant, the opium poppy, are largely cultivated. The orange, lemon, olive, peach, fig, mulberry, vine, etc., all are natives of A. Among the animals are the ox, buffalo, sheep, goat, horse, camel, elephant, yak, reindeer, dog, ape, bear, fox, lion, tiger, leopard, boar, rhinoceros, etc. Among birds are the eagle, vulture, raven, owl, heron, swan, goose, duck, flamingo, albatross, pigeon, nightingale, bird of paradise, parrot, ostrich, etc. The cobra and other serpents infest the tropical regions. Fish are abundant in the inland and ocean waters. Insect life is rampant in the warmer regions, and the locust in innumerable swarms often devastates wide areas. The great fertile districts cultivated by native industry sustain the enormous population and yield surplus productions for export, roughly estimated at $450,000,000 per annum. Gold is found in Siberia and Japan; silver in China, Asiatic Russia, Anam, etc.; mercury, tin, lead, copper, and iron in Japan, Siberia, India, Persia, and Turkey; coal has been mined in China and Siberia, and salt is abundant. A. is also rich in various precious gems. Population and Religion.

-The pop. may be divided into the Mongolian, Aryan, and Semitic groups. The first of these includes all the peoples and tribes in the E., N., and S.-E. of A.; the second embraces the inhabitants of North India, Afghanistan, Persia, and part of Asiatic Turkey; the third includes the Syrian, Hebrew, and Arabian races. The same Asian characteristic of variety and wide contrast is found in the creeds as in the countries and tribes of people: the Brahmauical religion of India; the doctrines of Buddha, Confucius, and of Laotse in China; the worship of

Asia'go, Ital. town in the prov. of Vicenza, in a district called the "Seven Communes;" pop. 5,140.

A'sia Mi'nor, the ancient name of what is called Anatolia. Here, in Ionia, was the early seat of Grecian civilization, and here were the countries of Phrygia, Lycia, Caria, Paphlagonia, Bithynia, Lydia, Pamphylia, Isauria, Cilicia, Galatia, Cappadocia, etc., with Troy, Ephesus, Smyrna, and many other great and famous cities. Here from the obscure era of Semiramis (about 2000 B. C.) to the time of Osman (about 1300 A.D.) the greatest conquerors of the world contended for the supremacy; and here took place the wars of the

Asmanshausen.

thians; of the Arabs, Seljuks, Mongols, and Osmans with the weak Byzantine Empire. It was here that Alexander the Great and the Romans successively contended for the mastery of the civilized world.

Asiat'ic Soci'eties, associations organized by savants in different nations to promote acquaintance with the Asiatic languages, literature, etc.

Asinalun'ga, or Sina Lon'ga, a town of Tuscany, northern Italy; pop. of commune 8,500.

the Grand Lama in Thibet; the creed of Islam in several | Medes and Persians with the Scythians; of the Greeks with varieties in Arabia, Persia, and India; the rude heathenism the Persians; of the Romans with Mithridates and the Parof the north; the various sects of native Christians in Armenia, Syria, Kurdistan, and India; the Greek Church in Siberia. Christianity, now the religion of Europe and Am., owes its origin to A. The same may be said of Mosaicism, Buddhism, Brahmanism, Zoroastrianism, Mohammedanism, and nearly all the great religions of mankind. The number of people civilized-in the Asiatic sense of the word-is far greater than that of wild and nomadic hordes. The laws of states, families, industry, commerce, art, and science are, in India and China, so many branches of one fixed and permanent religious system, which has maintained its sway through many c., and would long remain unchanged if left undisturbed by European influence. The Arabs, Persians, and Turks, collectively known as the Orientals, are distinct in civilization from the Hindus and Chinese. The institution of slavery among the former, of caste among the Hindus, and the civil and political equality of China, are distinguishing marks. The Turk is a monotheist and fatalist; the Hindu is either a mystical pantheist or polytheist, acknowledging a multitude of gods; the Chinese is rather a utilitarian moralist. The industry and commerce of the Asiatic continent bear no adequate proportion to its capabilities. They will be found de

Askew, or As'cough, (ANNE,) one of the sufferers for Protestant opinions at the dawn of the Reformation in England. Having embraced the views of the reformers she was turned out of doors by her husband, a zealous R. C. On this she went up to London to sue for a separation; but she was eventually arrested on a charge of heresy, and was examined by the Bishop of London and others on the doctrine of transubstantiation, the truth of which she denied. After further exami nation and torture by the rack she was burned at the stake in Smithfield, July 16, 1546; b. 1521.

Asmanshaus'en, a village in the jurisdiction of Rüdes. heim, Prussia, famous for its red wines and for the slatemountains in its neighborhood.

Asmode'us, (prop. Aschmedal, "the Destroyer,") an evil genius or demon mentioned in the later Jewish writings. A. was described as the author of many evils. In the Book of Tobit he is represented as slaying the seven husbands of Sara, and hence in modern times has been jocularly spoken of as the destroying demon of matrimonial happiness. In the Talmud A. is described as the prince of demons, and is said to have driven Solomon from his kingdom.

Asmonæans. See MACCABEES.

Asmo'næus, a Levite from whom the illustrious Asmonæan princes derive their name.

Asnieres, a village of France, a short distance from Paris; pop. about 6,000. In April, 1871, there were various fierce struggles near this village between the Communists and the government troops.

Aso'ca, (Jonesia Asoca,) an Indian tree of the natural order Leguminosa, sub-order Casalpina, remarkable for the beauty of its red and orange flowers. The leaves are abruptly pinnate, shining, and very beautiful. The A. is often mentioned in Indian poetry, and is connected also in various ways with Hindu myth.

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Aso'ka, Aco'ka, or Ashoka, a king who reigned in Maghada, India, and was converted to Buddhism 250 B.C. Aso ́lo, a fortified town of northern Italy; pop. 5,437. It is a very ancient place, and has several Roman antiquities. Asp, (aspis,) a venomous serpent, the name of which has come down from ancient times; the vague descriptions of ancient authors, however, causing uncertainty as to the species. It is very generally supposed to be the Naja Hajea, the El Haje or Haje Nasher of the Arabs, which is very common in Egypt, Cyprus, etc., and often appears in hieroglyphic and other sculptures as one of the sacred animals of ancient Egypt. It is sometimes from 3 to 5 ft. in 1., of nearly equal thickness throughout, with a gradually tapering tail; brownish, varied with dark and pale spots; the scales of the neck, back, and upper surface of the tail slightly carinated; the tail about one fourth of the whole length of the animal. The neck is capable cf considerable dilatation through the distension of its loose skin, although not so much as that of the nearly allied cobra di capello of India, (Naja tripudians.) The dilatation of the neck takes place when the serpent is irritated.

Asp.

Asparagine is a crystalline substance which exists ready formed in common asparagus, in the marsh-mallow, in comfrey, in potatoes, in chestnuts, in the leaves of the deadly nightshade, in licorice-root, in the milky juice of the lettuce, in the tubers of the dahlia, and in the young shoots of vetches, peas, beans, etc. This substance is readily obtained from the expressed juice of the young shoots of asparagus, of young vetches, etc., which, after filtration and evaporation to a syrup, soon deposits it in crystalline prisms of a right rhombic form. These crystals dissolve freely in boiling water, the cooled solution having a mawkish and cooling taste, and a slight acid reaction.

for after her union with Pericles, who had parted from his first wife by her own consent, her house became the rendezvous of all the learned and distinguished people in Athens; d. B.C. 432.

Aspa'sia the Youn'ger, a favorite mistress of Cyrus the Younger, distinguished for intellect and beauty; consecrated by Artaxerxes, her captor, as priestess of Anaitis, 401 B.C. Aspa'siolite, hydrated silicate of magnesia and alumina, a greenish mineral of Norway.

Aspe, a town of Spain, in the prov. of Alicante; pop. 6,744. Flourishing oil-mills and flour-mills are here.

As'pects, in Astron., are certain positions of planets with respect to one another, as seen from the earth. In the days of astrology there were 5 A.: Conjunction, (indicated by the symbol 8,) sextile, ( *,) quartile, ( □,) trine,(^,) opposition, ( 8 .) Two planets are in conjunction when they have the same longitude; the aspect is sextile when they are 60° apart; quartile, when the distance is 90°; trine, when it is 120°; and at 180° they are opposite one another, or in opposition. Astrology ascribed to these A. great influence over the fate of individuals and of nations. The only two of the terms now in use are conjunction and opposition, and occasionally they are said to be in quadrature when 90° from each other.

As'pen, a mining town and county-seat of Pitkin Co., Colo., on the Colo. Midland and D. and R. G. R.Rs.; pop. 5,108. The surrounding mountains contain rich deposits of silver, and there has been a great influx of Eastern capital. A. is well-built and laid out, with churches, banks, schools, newspapers, etc.

As'pen, or Trem'ulous Pop'lar, (Populus tremula,) a tree which grows plentifully in Europe and Siberia. It is a native of Britain, and is frequent in Scotland, where it is found even at an elevation of 1,500 ft. above the sea. It has received the specific name tremula from the readiness with which its leaves are thrown into a tremulous motion by the slightest breath of wind-a property for which the A. leaf has become proverbial. The leaves are nearly orbicular, but broadly toothed so as almost to exhibit angles. The footstalks are compressed, which favors the readiness of motion. It grows quickly with a straight stem, reaching to a h. of from 60 to 80, or even 100 ft.

As'pergill, a brush used to sprinkle holy water on the worshipers in R. C. churches. A. in Bot. is a genus of plants including the fungi known as mold.

Aspergillum, a genus of lamellibranchiate conchiferous mollusca, in which the shell has the form of an elongated cone terminating at the larger end in a disk, which is pierced with numerous small tubular holes, the little tubes of the outer range being the largest and forming a sort of ray around it. The animals of this genus are borers, some of them living in sand, others burAspergill. rowing in stone, wood, or thick shells. A. Javanum is popularly called the watering-pot, and the same resemblance has suggested the name A., (from the Lat. aspergo, "to sprinkle.")

As'pern, or Gross As'pern, a village of Austria; pop. about 700. This village and the neighboring one of Essling are celebrated as the scene of a battle (1809) between the French and Austrians.

Asparagus, a genus of plants of the natural order Liliaceae having an almost bell-shaped six-partite perianth upon an articulated stalk, six stamens, one style, with three recurved stigmas, and the cells of the berry two-seeded. The species of the genus are herbaceous or shrubby plants, natives chiefly As'phalt, or Asphal'tum, is the name given to a of the S. of Europe and of Africa, with abortively dioecious bituminous substance of a solid consistence, often called flowers; the stem is unarmed in some, in others thorny; at mineral pitch. It probably owes its origin to vegetable matits first sprouting leafless, and covered with scales at the top; ter which has been subjected to a slow process of decompoafterward very much branched, with numerous fasciculate, sition or decay, resulting in the production of a bituminous generally bristle-like, leaves. The most widely diffused spe- coal, from which, by volcanic agency, the A. has been distilled cies is the common A., A. officinalis, a native of Europe, and diffused over the neighboring district. The largest natwhich grows on the banks of rivers and on the sea-shore, in ural deposit of A. is in the island of Trinidad, where the plain meadows and bushy places, especially in sandy soils, and is known as the Pitch Lake is found. This A. is used for ships' also in general cultivation as a garden vegetable; its young bottoms, and is reputed to kill the teredo, or borer, so deshoots, when they first sprout from the earth, form a much-structive to the wood of ships in tropical regions. A. is also esteemed article of food, which, however, is only in a slight degree nutritious.

Asparit'ic Ac'id, an acid appearing when asparagine is decomposed.

Aspa'sia, one of the most remarkable women of antiquity, was the daughter of Axiochus, and b. at Miletus. The fact that in Athens all foreign women, whatever their character, were equally esteemed, or rather disesteemed, and that their children, even when begotten in wedlock, were held illegitimate, has originated the erroneous notion that A. was a cour

tesan.

She certainly broke through the restraint which confined Athenian matrons to the seclusion of their own homes;

found on the shores of the Dead Sea in large quantity, and is called Hajar Mousa, or Moses' Stone by the Arabs. It likewise occurs in S. Am., Mexico, Cuba, various parts of the European continent, California, etc. In connection with sand, cement, gravel, etc., A. is used for foot-pavements, and also for floors of cellars. From 1879 to 1889 there were laid 3,500,000 sq. yds. of A. surface in the US. The production of A. in the U. S. for 1895 was 68,163 short tons.

Asphalt'ic Coal, ancient asphalts found in crevices of rocks, and from their dryness and compactness closely resembling coal, with which they have been classed.

As'phodel, (Asphodelus,) a genus of plants which has by