Asphodel

ries of the Bureau of the Census, Washington, 1905.

Asphodel, a plant of the order Liliaceæ. There are several species, originating chiefly in Mediterranean countries. A. luteus, the yellow, and A. albus, the white, asphodels are cultivated in gardens, the former having a tall, simple stem, surrounded by sheathing bases of narrow leaves, and with a mass of flowers at the top. Medicinally it has been used as a substitute for squill. The asphodel, being sacred to Proserpine, was in the days of the Romans used in funeral ceremonies. In the Odyssey, Minos sits in judgment in the asphodel mead

428

ness. In warm-blooded animals a few seconds more under such conditions will bring about exaggerated respiratory movements, quickly followed by convulsions, the effect of poisoned blood (unoxygenated, and saturated with carbonic acid gas) upon the great nerve-centres. Insensibility and cessation of movement now rapidly supervene, and death is possible within about three minutes from the beginning, though the time will vary with the strength of the sufferer and with the manner of asphyxiation. Respiratory efforts cease before the heart stops, which it ultimately does in diastole. Recovery is possible while the heart beats, and may even be hoped for a little later still, in some cases, if the heart's work be made easier by bleeding. Since both respiratory and cardiac movement may be present, though undetected by the untrained, it is of the first importance that help to the asphyxiated should be given at once, and all efforts continued until a fully competent person can take the case in hand. The cause of asphyxia must be removed, fresh air must be insured, and crowding around must be guarded against. If respiration has not ceased, these steps, with the use of smelling-salts or dashing cold water on the chest, may be enough. But no time should be lost before proceeding to artificial respiration.

Asphyxiants are substances which cause death by the production of asphyxia. Examples of these are carbonic acid gas, coal gas, marsh gas, and acetylene. Sometimes a distinction is drawn between simple and toxic asphyxiants, the first being those asphyxiants which are not in themselves poisonous, but cause death purely by filling the lungs to the exclusion of respirable air. Hydrogen and nitrogen may be taken as examples. Water is the asphyxiant in drowning. On the other hand, chloroform, chlorine, and the fumes of hydrocyanic (prussic) acid are toxic asphyxiants. Artillery shells have sometimes been filled with asphyxiants and hurled against an enemy; but their use was condemned by the Hague Peace Conference of 1899. The Chinese missile known as the stink-pot' seems to partake of the same character.

Aspidistra, a Chinese genus of the order Liliaceæ, now much cultivated. Three species are grown, but A. lurida is the one commonly seen in rooms. The branching stems are entirely underground; they soon fill the pot with cord-like roots, and send up robust leaves, which when young appear as lengthened conical growths protected by scale-leaves.

Aspirator

A variety shows creamy white streaks or bands running lengthwise through the blade, but the whole leaf becomes green when the soil is enriched. Small purple flowers appear in early summer, and they should be removed if vigorous foliage is desired. The plant is popularly known as 'parlor palm.'

Aspidium. See MALE FERN. Aspinwall. See COLON. Aspinwall, WILLIAM H. (180775), a New York merchant and shipowner who obtained a concession in 1850 to construct a railway across the isthmus of Panama. It was completed in February, 1855, and the eastern terminus, now called Colon, was named after him. He was also one of the organizers of the Pacific Mail Steamship Co.

Aspirate (Lat. ad, 'to;' spirare 'to breathe '), in phonetics, is the strong breathing of a letter, approximating the guttural sound. From very early times there appears to have been a difference of opinion as to when and where the aspirate ought to be used. Catullus (Ep. lxxxiii.) ridicules a contemporary because he said 'hinsidias' and 'Hionios' instead of 'insidias' and 'Ionios.' A similar tendency has been noticed in Sanskrit and Greek. In Gaelic it is a recognized law that a euphonic h shall be intruded between the final vowel of one word and the initial vowel of another; thus, 'na h-iasgan' (the fishes). Systematic aspiration, in certain connections, is indeed a notable characteristic both of Gaelic and Cymric. The habit of dropping the h' when (according to modern usage) it ought to be retained is prevalent in the English lower class, and this is accompanied by the contrary habit of prefixing an h where it is not wanted. An Englishman of this class, therefore, will say hash' for 'ash,' and 'ash' for 'hash.' Nowadays a mark of inferior breeding, this heterodox practice was once orthodox. In the 13th century, eye, earl, old, and English were written heie, herle, hold, and Henglishe; while in recent times the use of 'an' before many words, such as hundred, habit, and household, seems to indicate that the h was almost, if not altogether, silent. In the English of the cultivated class of to-day there is a tendency to restore the aspirate in some words and to drop it in others. See The Aspirate, by G. Hill (1902).

Aspirator, an apparatus used to draw air or gases through pipes or other apparatus connected with it. In its simplest form it consists of a vessel of glass or metal fitted with inlet and outlet cocks at the top and bottom. It is filled with water, and, by allowing the water

Aspiroz

to escape through the lower tap, air or any gas may be drawn through the upper tap, and, if necessary, through a series of tubes or bottles. The filter-pump is another form of aspirator much used in laboratories. It consists of a tube with constricted bore, through which water is passed under pressure; a small opening in the side of the tube communicates with the vessel from which air is to be withdrawn. As the water passes through the constricted tube it draws air in with it, and a partial vacuum is soon produced in the vessel.

The name is also given to a surgical instrument, introduced by Dieulafoy in 1869, for removing fluids from body cavities, as in pleurisy, ascites, abscesses, retention of urine, etc. A fine hollow needle, connected by a rubber tube with a syringe or bottle, from which the air is partially exhausted, is passed through the skin; and the fluid is driven into the bottle by atmospheric pressure.

Aspiroz, MANUEL DE (18361905), Mexican statesman and diplomat, born at Puebla, Mex. He advanced to the rank of lieutenant-colonel, while serving with the Mexican troops in resisting the French invasion, was appointed fiscal in the council of war which tried Maximilian, and himself formulated the charges upon which he was condemned. Afterward he served in the Mexican Senate (1867); as secretary of state for foreign affairs for three terms; in the foreign relations department (1881-83), and as professor of law in the College of Puebla (1883-90). Under

President Diaz he was secretary of state for Mexico during various periods, and in January, 1899, was appointed Mexican minister to the U. S., his rank being raised to that of ambassador two months. later. His relations with the Austrian ambassador at Washington were confined to strictly official business, the Emperor Francis Joseph holding him accountable for the execution of Maximilian -his brother.

Asplenium. See SPLEENWORT

FERN.

Aspromonte, a wooded mountainous dist. in the extreme south of Italy, rising above the Strait of Messina to 6,425 ft. in Mt. Montalto. Here Garibaldi was defeated and taken prisoner (1862).

Asquith, THE RIGHT HON. HERBERT HENRY (1852), English lawyer and statesman, was born at Morley, Yorkshire. He was educated at the City of London School and Balliol College, Oxford. Called to the bar at Lincoln's Inn in 1876. his marked legal ability rapidly brought him into prominence (notably during

1. Kiang or kulan of Tibet.

during the succeeding GladstoneRoseberry ministry of 1892-5, he held the office of Home Secretary.

Prior to the hostilities in South Africa Mr. Asquith dissociated himself from the anti-war section of his party, and in a speech at the Reform Club in 1901, while supporting the vote of confidence in Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, claimed for himself and others full liberty of action on South African questions without incurring the imputation of party disloyalty. In

2. Abyssinian ass. 3. Onager.

ing the domestic ass (E. asinus), probably identical with the wild ass of Africa and the Asiatic wild asses, which seem to belong to one species, E. hemionus. From the horse the ass differs in its long ears, the absence of long hairs at the base of the tail and of 'chestnuts' on the hind leg, in the erect mane, and the well-marked dorsal stripe. There is also a stripe across the shoulders, and the limbs are often banded. Where, as in many parts of the East, the

as well as in appearance. Of the Asiatic wild asses there are three varieties-the kiang (kulan), the onager, and the Syrian wild ass. The first is very horselike in appearance, and exceedingly swift in movement; it roams over the Tibetan plateau in troops, and is very wary. Its flesh is eaten by the Mohammedans of E. Turkestan. From time immemorial the ass and the horse have been crossed together, the hybrid offspring being known as mules or hinnies, according as the male parent is an ass or a horse.

Assai Palms (Euterpe), trees of tropical America, much cultivated for their pulpy fruit, assai, from which a beverage and a food are prepared that is thick and creamy, tasting like a fresh nut kernel. The common assai (E. edulis) grows in swamps, flooded by tides, and is remarkable for its slender trunk. Even when 80 feet high, this palm will have a smooth trunk only about 4 inches in diameter.

Assam, chief-commissionership, British India, lies at the N.E. angle of the peninsula of Hindustan. Bounded on the N. by Bhutan and Tibet, it narrows at

Brahmaputra traverses Assam from E, to w. The country is subject to volcanic disturbances, and the disastrous earthquakes of 1869, 1875, and 1897 are epochs in its history. The Khasi Hills have the heaviest annual rainfall on the globe. In the Khasi and Jaintia Hills are large limestone quarries, and coal and petroleum are found in Lakhimpur; good coal is mined near Dibrugarh, on the Brahmaputra. An extremely fertile soil yields abundance of tea, rice, and mustardseed. Cotton, silk, gold, and ivory are also exported. The people are of Siamese stock. Tea -the great commercial industryis worked with European capital, under European supervision. The first experiment was made by government in 1835. In 1840 the Assam Tea Company took over the plantations: speculation and bubble companies led, in 1866, to a financial crisis; but since 1869 the trade has prospered. In addition to a large river-borne traffic on the Brahmaputra, the AssamBengal Ry. enters the province at Mantola, about the centre of the S.W. border, and stretches to Dibrugarh, at its N.E. angle.

Assassination

Manipur is the only feudatory state of any importance. Nearly half the inhabitants profess the Hindu faith, about one-fourth are Mohammedans, and the hill tribes, about one-sixth of the population, are animistic. The districts of Sylhet and Goalpara were granted to the East India Company in 1765. In 1824 the first Burmese War led to the occupation of the southern portion of the country by the British, and two years later it was ceded to the crown. Cachar lapsed to the British in 1830, on the death of its ruler, and in 1835 flagrant misrule led to the annexation of Upper Assam. Assam was included in Bengal until 1874, when it was constituted a separate province. Remains at Gauhati, and ruins scattered over the valley of the Brahmaputra, are of historic and archæological interest. Pop. (1901) 6,126,343.

Assandune. See ASHDOWN. Assassination, a term sometimes applied to any murder, but usually restricted to the killing of some prominent person from fanatical or political or religious motives. The following is a list of the most famous assassinations:-Philip of Macedon, 336 B.C.; Julius Cæsar, Mar. 15, 44 B.C.; Thomas à Becket, Dec. 29, 1170 A.D.; Albert I., emperor of Germany, May 1, 1308; James I. (Scotland), Feb. 21, 1437; Alessandro de Medici, Jan. 5, 1537; Cardinal Beaton, May 29, 1546; David Rizzio, Mar. 9, 1566; Lord Darnley, Feb. 10, 1567; James, Earl of Murray, Regent of Scotland, Jan. 23, 1570; William of Orange, July 10, 1584; Henry III. of France, by Jacques Clément, Aug. 2, 1589; Henry IV. of France, by Ravaillac, May 14, 1610; Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, by Lieut. Felton, Aug. 23, 1628; Wallenstein, by Butler, Leslie, and Gordon, Feb. 25, 1634; Archbishop Sharp, May 3, 1679; Gustavus III. of Sweden, Mar. 16, 1792; Marat, by Charlotte Corday, July 13, 1793; General Kléber, June 14, 1800; Czar Paul, Mar. 24, 1801; Spencer Perceval English premier, by Bellingham, May 11, 1812; Kotzebue, German dramatist, Mar. 23, 1819; the Duke de Berry, Feb. 13-14, 1820; Capo d'Istria, president of the Greek republic, Oct. 9, 1831; Abraham Lincoln, by Booth, Apr. 14-15, 1865; Michael Obrenovitch, prince of Servia, June 10, 1868; Marshal Prim, Spain, Dec. 28, 1870; Earl of Mayo, viceroy of India, Feb. 8, 1872; Czar Alexander II., Mar. 13,1881; President Garfield, by Guiteau, July 2-Sept. 19, 1881; Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke, May 6, 1882; President Carnot, France, by Caserio (anarchist), June 24, 1894; Stefan Stambulov, Bulgarian statesman, July 15, 1895; Nasr

Assassins

ed-Din, Shah of Persia, May 1, 1896; Empress Elizabeth of Austria, by Luccheni (anarchist), Sept. 10, 1898; King Humbert of Italy, by Bresci (anarchist), July 28, 1900; President McKinley, by Czolsgosz (anarchist), Sept. 6, 1901; King Alexander and Queen Draga, of Servia, June 11, 1903; Grand Duke Sergius, Feb. 17, 1905; King Carlos I. and Prince Luiz, of Portugal, Feb. 1, 1908; Prince Ito, of Japan, Oct. 26, 1909. Assassins,

fanatical a sect which flourished in Persia and Syria from the 11th to the 13th century. It was founded by Hassan-ibn-Sabbah, who seized, in 1090, the fortress of Alamut in Persia, where he established his society, consisting of a supreme ruler, the Sheikh el-Jebel, or 'Old Man of the Mountain' of European historians, besides three grand priors, priors, refiks or associates, and the fedavis, the assassins proper, who, when selected for the commission of a murder, were first intoxicated with hashish (hemp), the origin of the name assassin, from hashishin (hempeaters). This society soon made its power felt, and the reign of its rulers, during and after Hassan's death in 1124, was marked by a long series of assassinations of famous men. The last of their

rulers was Rukhn ed-Din, who murdered his father, Mohammed III., in 1255. In 1266 their power in Persia was completely broken by the Mongols under Hulaku, 12,000 of the Assassins being massacred. A Syrian section, which had asserted its political independence in 1169, was subjugated by the Mameluk Sultan Bibars in 1270-3. The crusading chiefs Raymond of Tripoli and Conrad of Montserrat both fell under their daggers. Certain analogies of their doctrine still exist among the Druses and the small Syrian race Ansarii. See Von HammerPurgstall, Geschichte der Assassinen (1818); F. Walpole, The Ansayrii, or Assassins (1851); Guyard, Fragments relatifs à la Doctrine des Ismaéliens (1874), and Un Grand Maître des Assassins au Temps de Saladin (1877).

Assateague Island is off coast of Accomac co., Va., s. of Assateague Bay. It has a light-house.

Assault. An offer of personal violence to another. Thus, to threaten to strike a person within striking distance, or to shake one's fist in his face, or to present a gun at him when within range, to pull a rosette off his coat, or to incite a dog to attack him, or to attempt to kiss a woman, or to do any act accompanied by circumstances which denote both intention and ability at the time to molest or do violence to the person, is an assault. If a blow is struck or VOL. I.-28

431

violence actually used, it is a battery; but the word assault is frequently used in the sense of a battery. Verbal abuse does not amount to an assault. A person actually struck is justified in striking back in self-defence, but not in revenge. His retaliation must, therefore, not be greater than is necessary to put an end to the assault. A person assaulted may either bring an action for damages, or prosecute the assailant criminally, or both. For the purposes of criminal proceedings, assaults may be divided into (1) common assaults, and (2) aggravated assaults. Illustrations of the latter are assaults causing actual bodily harm; indecent assaults:

malicious wounding; wounding or shooting at a person with intent to maim, disfigure, or disable, or to resist apprehension; assaults with intent to rob, or to commit any felony; attempting to choke, suffocate, or strangle, or to render any person insensible, with intent to commit an indictable offence; poisoning so as to endanger life, or with intent to injure; using or sending explosives with intent to injure, and the like. These are indictable offences and are usually punishable by imprisonment at hard labor.

Assaye (A sái), vil., Haidarabad (Deccan), India, 46 m. N.E. of Aurungabad. Here the British under Wellesley defeated the Mahrattas (Sept. 23, 1803),

Assaying. The term 'assaying' in its widest sense, comprises that section of analytical chemistry which has for its object the estimation of the value of ores and metallic products. In general, two classes of methods are followed: one, the 'dry' or 'fire' assay, and the other the 'wet' or more strictly scientific methods of gravimetric and volumetric analysis, the latter including colorimetric determinations. The chemical reactions in the dry assay are accomplished by the aid of high temperatures obtained in a furnace, while in the wet assay these reactions take place in cold, or only slightly heated solutions. In its limited sense the term assaying is restricted to the determination of the precious metals in coins, jewelry, silver and gold plate and other commercial alloys. The standard assays to determine the purity of these alloys are made at the Goldsmith's Hall, Great Britain, and at the various government mints and assay offices in the United States and other countries.

It is impossible to present in a limited space a detailed description of all methods of chemical analysis. The reactions vary in each class of work and frequently the manipulation differs according

Assaying

to the individual practice of the assayer or chemist. The following examples of assaying are selected to illustrate the principal methods of determination.

The first step in assaying an ore or furnace product is to select, by hand or machine, a proper representative sample. Various methods of sampling ore are used, the simplest, called 'quartering,' consists in taking every tenth shovelful of ore as it is discharged from the ore cars until about 10 tons have been obtained. This is shovelled into a conical heap, which is then flattened out into a circular cake and divided diametrically into quarters. Two opposite

quarters are taken for a second conical heap, which is likewise flattened and quartered, and the operation repeated until the sample has been reduced to a few pounds. This small quantity is then ground until it will pass through a very fine sieve, and constitutes the final sample for assay. Solid metallic products are drilled or punched, the drillings or punchings forming the sample. Molten products are sampled by ladling out a small portion of the fluid material.

DRY OR FIRE ASSAY METHODS. -Copper. The determination of copper by the fire assay is unsatisfactory for the reason that the results are only approximate. However, it may still be of value to prospectors who are in outlying districts, far from laboratories or assay offices.

The fire assay method is modified according to the character of the ore. If an impure sulphide, the ore is first roasted to remove sulphur, arsenic, etc.; it is then mixed with a reducing agent, charcoal or other carbonaceous material, and a flux, borax-glass, the mixture placed in a suitably lined crucible, and submitted to the heat of a furnace, whereby the copper compounds become reduced, and the metal collected in the form of a button at the bottom of the crucible, while the flux combines with the gangue of the ore and forms a fluid slag. When cold, the button is detached from the brittle slag and refined in a muffle furnace by placing it on a clay dish with an equal weight of borax-glass and a little pure lead and heating it until fumes cease to form. The refined button is then weighed.

Lead. The fire assay for lead ores, though not accurate, is used for the determination of lead by ore-purchasers on account of the rapidity and ease of the operation; as a rule the results are too low. In the Western United States the general practice is to charge in a clay crucible 5 grams of pulverized ore, 15 to 20 grams of lead flux (one or two nails or pieces of

Assaying

iron wire if the ore is a sulphide or is 'base'), place the crucible in a mufile and heat from 15 to 20 minutes. The resultant metallic button is weighed, from which the percentage of metal in the original ore is calculated.

Silver.-The fire assay for silver in bullion, coin or plate is made by wrapping a half-gram sample in from 5 to 10 grams of pure sheet lead, placing on a bone-ash cupel, and heating in a muffle until the base metals have been oxidized and absorbed, leaving a small button of silver, which is detached, cleaned, and weighed. Silver ores and other compounds are assayed by mixing from 15 to 30 grams each of ore, litharge, and sodium carbonate (depending on the character of the material), and 2 grams of argols; fusing the mixture in a clay crucible until all action ceases. If sulphides be present, a little metallic iron, or nitre, must be added. The molten contents of the crucible are poured into a mould; when cold, the lead button, containing all the silver, is detached from the slag, cleaned, cupelled, and the remaining button of silver weighed.

Gold.-The fire assay for gold bullion, coin or plate is made the same as for silver, except that twice as large quantities are generally used. After fusion, the resultant lead button is cupelled, and the remaining gold is cleaned and weighed. Any base metal present in the bullion must first be removed by sporification. If silver be present, the button of gold and silver, after the removal of the lead by cupellation, must be made to contain two and a half times as much silver as gold; the silver is then readily dissolved by nitric acid, leaving the gold unaltered, which is ignited and weighed.

Tin. The fire assay for tin is made by taking 5 grams of the ore, 1 gram of charcoal, 15 grams of sodium carbonate, and flour, and 1 gram of borax-glass; cover with a layer of salt; fuse in a clay crucible for an hour or more; when cold, the metallic buttons of tin are detached from the slag and weighed. Or the ore may be reduced in a clay crucible with about five times its weight of potassium cyanide which will yield the tin in a metallic button. The fire assay for tin is not closely

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cinnabar, mercury sulphide, the chief ore of mercury, is made by heating 1 or 2 grams of ore mixed with iron filings in a porcelain crucible, the distilled mercury being condensed on a weighed gold plate or spiral with which it forms an amalgam. From the increase of weight, the quantity of mercury in the original ore is estimated.

WET OR SOLUTION ASSAYS.Iron. The percentage of iron in ores is generally estimated by a volumetric method, and in alloys by a gravimetric method. There are two chief volumetric methods:

(1) the permanganate method and (2) the bichromate method. (1) The Permanganate Method is based on the fact that the purple color of a solution of potassium permanganate will be decolorized as long as any ferrous salt remains undecomposed; but the instant the latter is all oxidized to the ferric form, the addition of a single drop of permanganate will impart a pink tint to the solution. A standard solution of permanganate is prepared by standardizing it against a known weight of iron dissolved in hydrochloric acid. In making the assay, from 1 to 2 grams of iron ore, crushed very fine, is dissolved in hydrochloric acid, and as the iron, in whole or in part, is in the ferric form it is reduced to the required ferrous form by means of metallic zinc or sodium sulphite. The standard solution of permanganate is then added until the pink color of the solution becomes permanent. From the number of cubic centimeters of standard permanganate solution used can be calculated the amount of iron present in the original sample. (2) The Bichromate Method `requires a standard solution of potassium bichromate which has been standardized against known weight of iron dissolved in hydrochloric acid, using potassium ferricyanide as an indicator for the 'end' reaction. The procedure is similar to that of the permanganate method, the dissolved ore is reduced by metallic zinc or sodium sulphite, and from the quantity of solution required for complete oxidation the percentage of iron can be calculated.

a

In alloys iron is generally determined by dissolving the alloy in acid, precipitating by means of ammonium hydrate; wash, dry, and ignite the precipitate; and weigh as ferric oxide, from which is computed the percentage of iron in the sample. The presence of manganese, chromium, or aluminium interferes with this method.

Copper (1) The Potassium Cyanide Method.-In ores and products free from manganese, nickel, cobalt, silver, mercury and zinc,

Assaying

copper may be determined by the potassium cyanide volumetric method. The reaction is based on the fact that potassium cyanide will decolorize a blue ammoniated solution of copper. A standard solution of potassium cyanide is standardized against a known weight of copper dissolved in nitric acid. To make the assay, 1 gram of ore is dissolved in 7 c.c. of nitric and 5 c.c. of sulphuric acid. The solution is cooled, reduced by metallic zinc, the remaining zinc is dissolved by sulphuric acid, and ammonia is added until a permanent blue color is imparted to the solution, the standard solution is run in, and from the quantity required to decolorize, the percentage of copper in the sample is calculated. Should much iron be present, it is first precipitated by ammonia and filtered off.

(2) The Sodium Thio-Sulphate (Hypo-Sulphite') Process is used for alloys free from large quantities of lead and iron. This process is based on the reaction between iodine and thio sulphuric acid, the completion being determined by the bleaching effect that is produced upon a solution of starch that is added during the operation. A standard solution of sodium thio-sulphate is standardized against a known quantity of copper dissolved in nitric acid, the end reaction being shown by a few drops of starch solution acting as an indicator.

(3) The Colorimetric Method.— Copper in slags and products containing less than 2 per cent. of the metal may be approximately estimated by comparing the color of a known weight in a solution with a series of copper solutions containing 0.01, 0.02, etc., per cent. of copper, kept for comparison. This method yields only approximate results, but can be quickly done.

(4) The Electrolytic Method. -(Gravimetric) Copper in ores, alloys and in other products may be accurately determined by dissolving from half to 3 grams of the sample in nitric acid, evaporating almost to dryness, adding 1 c.c. sulphuric acid, and diluting with water to 200 c.c. in a beaker in which are placed a platinum wire anode and a platinum sheet cathode connected with a current of electricity. The increased weight of the cathode after the test gives the amount of copper present.

Lead. (1) The Gravimetric Method is used for the determination of lead in alloys and for analyses in which very accurate results are required. By this method the lead is precipitated as lead sulphate containing 68.3 per cent. of the metal. On account of