Page:The New International Encyclopædia 1st ed. v. 02.djvu/166

ASOKA. be inscribed upon rocks and pillars in various parts of India Bear witness to his religious devo- tion and show his loving care for animals, as well as for man; and they entitle him to -he proud name, 'Beloved of the Gods,' by which he desig- nates himself. They also shed much light upon the wisdom and justice of his administration, and upon the condition of India at the time when he reigned. One column, which was discovered as recently as 1890, is especially interesting, be- cause we learn from it that he had caused it to be erected upon the spot where, according to tradition, the Buddha was horn. Asoka died about B.C. 231. Consult V. A. Smith, Aioka, the Buddliist Emperor of India (London, 1901); E. Senart, Les inscriptions de Pii/adasi (Paris, 1881-Sti).

AS'OLAN'DO: FAN'CIES AND FACTS. A volume of poems by Robert Browning, pub- lished on the day of his death, December 12, 1889.

ASO'PUS (Gk. 'Affoi-or, Asopos). The god of the river Asopus. By Jletope, daughter of the river-god Ladon, he had nvimerous daughters, through whom he became the ancestor of many of the heroes of Greece. When his daughter iEgina was carried away by Zeus, Asopus pur- sued, but was slain by a thunderbolt.

ASO'TUS. A character in Jonson's Ci/nthia's Revels: a hanger-on of Amorphiis, whom he slav- ishly imitates.

ASP. The name applied in Kurope to the T'?- pera aspis, a venomous serpent distributed all over southern Europe and the Alps region. It is the only poisonous snake that is found as far north as Sweden. The word bethen of the Bible, usually translated "asp,' and the aspis of the Greeks (dffjrif) and the Romans, probably re- ferred to several venomous snakes; at any rate, several poisonous serpents are found in Pales- tine and Egypt; but in some cases the biblical context seems to show that the much-dreaded cobra (JVo/n hiije) of Eg^-pt and Cyprus is re- ferred to. This serpent is represented in the hieroglyphics of ancient Egvpt, and is the snake which, after the poison-fangs have been ex- tracted, is used by modern Eg^'ptian jugglers in their snake-dances. It has loose skin on the neck that can be dilated into a hood much like that of the cobra di capello of India, but it does not have the spectacled markings. ( See Cobra. ) The asp of Cleopatra fame was probably the small-horned viper (Aspis hasselquistii) . Sev- eral other vipers are sometimes called asps, espe- cially the South African puff-adder (q.v. ).

ASPAR'AGINE, C,H (NH,) CONH.CH, COOH. A I lystalline substance which exists ready formed in common asparagus and in many other plants. Chemically it is. as the ' structural formula shows, an amide of asparitic (aniido-succinic) acid; like the amide of any other acid, it yields the acid itself when boiled with dilute mineral acids or with alkalis. Aspai-agine is readily olitained from the expressed juice of the young shoots of asparagus, young vetches, etc., which, after fil- tration and evap(uation to a sirup, soon deposits it in crystalline form. These crystals dissolve freely in boiling water, the cooled solution hav- ing a mawkish and cooling taste. That aspara- gine plays an important jmrt in the physiology of plants is obvious from its wide distribution. It occurs in plants as a product of decomposition of albuminoid substances.

ASPAR'AGUS (Gk. a<nrdpayo!, aS'paragos, or a<T(puiHi} uc, iisphuruijos) . A genus of plants of the natural order Liliacece. The species of this genus are herbaceous or shrubliy plants, na- tives chiefly of the south of Europe and of Africa. The most widely diffused species is the common asparagus (Aspunigus officinaiis), a na- tive of Europe, which grows on the banks of rivers and on the seashore, in meadows and bush.y places, especially in sandy soils, occurring in a few places in Great Britain, and is also in general cultivation as a garden vegetable; its young shoots, when they first sprout from the earth, form a much-esteemed article of food. These sprouts contain a peculiar crystalline sub- stance called asparagine (q.v.). The thick and tender kinds of asparagus are most esteemed for the table. Asparagus has been much increased in size and considerably altered in general ap- pearance by cultivation, being seldom more than a foot high in its wild state, and not much thicker than a goose-quill, whereas it has been obtained in gardens more than half an inch in diameter, with a stem 4 or 5 feet in height. As- paragus is grown from seed. When the plants are one year old, the}' are transplanted to rows, and set at distances varying from 1 to 2^4 feet apart each way. The plant will grow on almost any soil, but gives the best results on deep, rich, sandy loams, with a south or east exposure. It requires heavy manuring each year if large yields are desired. Male plants are held to be more productive than female. The first sprouts may be gathered when the plants are three years old, but a full crop is not to be expected until the spring of the fourth year. Beds once estab- lished and cared for endure many years. The raising of asparagus for the market has become an important market-gardening industry near the larger cities of Europe and the United States. Asparagus is sometimes forced out of season. For this purpose mature roots may be placed under the greenhouse benches or in pits, cellars, or almost any place where there is suffi- cient heat. But little light is needed. The as- paragus shoots thus oljtained are formed from the reserve material already stored in the roots. Roots tlius forced once are exhausted and are thrown away.

In the open field, forcing trenches are sometimes dug between the rows, and filled with fermenting manure. The trenches may also be heated with hot-water pipes and with loose steam. The latter method has proved very effective at the ilissouri Agricultural Experiment Station. Another method of forcing is to place sashes over the plants. At the Cornell Experiment Station, in Xew York, a low house was built over the bed. the frame of which was made of steam-pipes. The top was covered with canvas. Asparagus plants forced in place by any of these methods recuperate after one or two years, when they may be again forced. The young shoots of several other species of asparagus are also eatert, as those of Asparagus tenuifolius. Asparagus aeutifoiius. and Asparagus albus, natives of the south of Europe : the last of which is nuich used in Spain and Portiigal as a salad, in soups, and as a boiled vegetable. On the other hand, the sprouts of the bitter asparagus (Asparagus scaler), which is very similar to the common as-